While we knew that Apple CEO Steve Jobs' had been working on the company's tablet project, the WSJ says that Steve has already "killed the project twice in recent years." That's right. The Apple tablet. Dead. Twice. Why?
The first time, apparently, he killed it for crummy battery life, and then the second time because it had "insufficient memory." Both of which seem like minor roadbumps, not fatal sins—isn't that the iPhone 3G nowadays to a T? But it actually kind of makes us happy, that Jobs—and Apple—are being that disciplined about it. Death to the weak models. That's promising.
The report also reveals that since Jobs came back from medical leave, he has been incredibly involved not just with the development of the "touch screen gadget," but with the strategy for marketing and advertising as well. Which isn't surprising, since it's the tablet and Steve Jobs, but apparently this involvement has been "jarring for some Apple employees who had grown accustomed to a level of freedom over strategy and products" while he was gone, said the WSJ, basing comments on a source who specifically said, "People have had to readjust" to Jobs' management.
Though the article is ridden with anonymous "people familiar with the situation," Jobs himself was contacted and responded with a curt, "Much of your information is incorrect." Hey, if he didn't specifically deny the existence of an Apple tablet, that's close enough for our dreams. [The Wall Street Journal]