Apple Gadget Drama Heads for the Mountains

What's the new gizmo Apple filmed at a diner in Truckee, the California ski-bum town?

By OWEN THOMAS
Updated 6:31 AM EDT, Thu, Aug 13, 2009

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Rumors are swirling that Apple is set to unveil a new tablet computer -- a sort of supersized iPhone or mini MacBook minus a physical keyboard.

Now the company reportedly shot a commercial in Truckee, Calif., a popular ski resort in the Sierras.

Bud Haley, the owner of local diner Jax on the Tracks, told the Truckee Sierra-Sun that a location scout working for Apple picked his restaurant. "Apple found us," Haley said. "They're trying to show us as a hip and cool spot for the 20-something crowd."

A diner by the railroad tracks? Apple's choice of venue is as mysterious as its product plans.  Apple has already drawn a tight veil of secrecy over its new products. But the new tablet computer expected by the entire industry has injected an extra element of mystery.

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The new device has been linked to the apparent suicide in Shanghai of an employee of Foxconn, a Taiwan-based electronics manufacturer which handles much of Apple's production in China.

Now the focus of the Apple rumor mill has rocketed from Taipei to Truckee, from Shanghai to the ski slopes.

With all of this drama, it's hard to imagine the unveiling of the mystery device itself won't be a letdown. All this for a handful of plastic and silicon?

Photo via Tahoeticker.

First Published: Aug 12, 2009 2:14 PM EDT on NBC Bay Area

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