Not to say I'm not interested in what Apple unveils later today, but my level of excitement is near nothing to the level I had before the iPhone was unveiled nearly 3 years ago. This morning, I had to ask myself, "Why no excitement?" Probably because thus far, the rumors and purported leaked images of the Apple tablet are nothing exciting.

If you haven't seen the "leaked" images, just close your eyes and picture a slightly larger iPod touch. And if you haven't read the reports of what the Apple tablet is likely to do, just close your eyes and picture yourself using a larger iPod touch with eBook reading capabilities. Seriously. How is it going to be better than an iPod touch? Well, with its larger size, it could have a beefier processor, a bit more RAM, and a longer lasting battery, but are those things worth the extensive amount of hype this thing is already getting? Will this thing actually be a candidate to replace your laptop? I doubt it.

If the "leaked" images are accurate, then the hardware and design of the Apple tablet will be nothing to get excited about. What about the software? The iPhone set the bar for multi-touch technology and porting it to a tablet with a 10" screen won't be revolutionary at all. A tablet with the iPhone's and iPod touch's multi-touch technology won't add anything major in the arena of features and capabilities. Well, those of us with morbidly obese fingers may find it easier to type on a 10" screen, but why not just use a traditional computer with a good ol' fashioned traditional keyboard? Although a 10" iPod touch would be useful, it will not be a replacement for a traditional laptop. It would have too many limitations largely due to the absence of a physical keyboard.

Slapping eBook functionality onto a 10" iPod touch device would interest some, but is that where the Apple tablet magic will be? If it is, I don't think it's going to be all that magic. Even so, with the iTunes Store distribution method, Apple could easily become the leader of the eBook market. Students especially would benefit from having all their text books digitally stored on one device, but the rumored $500 price tag subsidized by a contracted data plan with a cellular carrier, it may be a hard sell to financially burdened students.

I may be grasping at straws, but my instinct is telling me that there may be some Apple tablet magic that hasn't been leaked. It could have advanced multi-touch technology, such as a touchscreen with haptic feedback, thus making it much easier to type and making it a realistic candidate to replace laptops. It could have a new media streaming service from Apple which would mean you would not have to store your media on the device itself. It could be a number of things. Here's hoping the tablet will be something more than a 10" iPod touch.

And here's hoping the keynote unveiling the Apple tablet won't be filled with 90 minutes of demos from third party developers. Seriously, I want Steve Jobs' charisma on stage, not some stuffy developer spewing on and on about how great their app is.