OK, so I’m going to go on record that I believe the alleged Apple iSlate/tablet will actually be quite successful.

Here’s why:

Before Apple’s laptops had taken over the notebook category, there were users who had great desktops, with crappy notebooks they toted around. As the expected-quality grew for notebooks, because of Apple’s great PowerBooks, then MacBooks, large quantities of consumers began simply paying the single price for a great notebook.

Oh, there’s been mobile tablet PC’s for a while, but the segment isn’t real until Apple makes something for it.

I propose that we’ll see a return to the SOP of having a great desktop at home, with an affordable netbook or tablet in tote. Yes, the Apple version will top off the scale with a Grover Cleveland, but there will be a wide variety of alternate tablets, some sporting Linux and Android, and a few cursed with the latest crap from Redmond.

But the point is that Apple will once again choose the direction of travel.