To some, it may look like a giant iPhone, but to most people, it looks like Apple’s new “Tablet” is a winning combination of state-of-the-art design and technology. Already touted as “The Next Big Thing”, the Apple Tablet’s appearance on selected websites has incited such excitement that many have contacted the company to put themselves on the waiting list to buy one. And being on the waiting list is probably the only way anyone can guarantee themselves one of the new hi-tech devices.

It’s no bad thing for a device to look like the iPhone. After all, many mobile phone manufacturers have attempted to imitate the iPhone’s shape, styling and its touch-screen functionality, although with varying degrees of success. Long-time Apple resenters have snapped those other devices up with relish and claimed them to be superior than the original. But the fact remains that iPhone is, indeed, the original. When it was launched, many were perplexed by its designed and functionality. And even more balked at the high price, claiming it would be a passing fad.

But, like the iPod before it, the iPhone has earned itself a large and loyal fan base. So why should Apple not try and emulate its success. As for the design, most professional design companies will tell you that your products and services should be presented in a consistent style so there is no confusion about whose product it is. And even with all the imitators out there, Apple retains a strong design aesthetic which is unmistakable, and their products and services are always presented with a style that has grown over the years to include different “flavours” – a term coined during the iMac days.

So what is this new Tablet? Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Is it a supercomputer? Is it a laptop computer? Is it a desktop computer? Is it a giant mobile phone, or a glorified electronic notepad?

Well, maybe the bird and plane don’t apply, but some elements of the others do. The derision in some quarters that the iPhone was subjected to when it was launched was similar. People were not sure if it was a phone or a minicomputer. The answer is, of course, that it is both. And greater than the sum of its parts.

But, as with the iPhone, the Tablet is likely to push social and technological barriers, further blurring the lines between various devices, thereby aiding the convergence process so many pundits talk about but not many of the manufacturers really want because it would ultimately mean one all-purpose device, which would mean people that don’t have to spend as much money on a variety of devices for a variety of tasks.

For example, the Tablet (by the way, the official name of the device has not been released, we are just using the word Tablet because it kind of looks like one) is likely to be a more attractive and convenient way for people to read magazines and newspapers. Even though the online newspapers and magazines have significantly eroded the market share of their real-word equivalents, having something as portable and physically user-friendly as the Tablet will mean that commuters who are on their way to and from work will be able to read their favourite newspapers and magazines – and try out new ones – all on one device, at their leisure, wherever they happen to be.

Some are calling the new Tablet the “Kindle killer”, but the since it launch, the Kindle has sold around 5,000 units, which is probably the number of units Apple will distribute just for market testing purposes. Maybe that’s an exaggeration, but the Tablet is likely to have a mass market, and it’s likely to sell in the hundreds of thousands, if not millions. Although its popularity will depend on the price, an area where Apple are not particularly user-friendly.

Some experts estimated that an Apple tablet, with an onscreen keyboard like the iPhone, would cost around $600 (£363), putting it between the highest-end iPod Touch at $399 and the MacBook, which starts at $999. At $600, the sale of 2 million Tablets could add $1.2bn (£727m) to Apple’s revenues next year.

And even if it priced high, if the iPhone is anything to go by, 2 million is not an outlandish estimate. The Apple brand alone would probably enough for 1 million units to be sold.

“The Apple magic is great technology and great marketing,” said Leander Kahney, a blogger and author of The Cult of Mac. “We’ve seen it with the iPod, the iPhone and, before that, the Mac. That’s why this is so exciting.”

He added: “They’ve been working on this for the past six years. People expect it to be the ultimate Apple surprise. This thing will knock people’s socks off.”

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