A touch-screen device from Apple has been in the rumor mill for quite some time. But recently, its once again emerged, this time with a little more evidence.

According to an un-named source, Apple have placed an order for 10-inch touch-screens from a Taiwan company. The source is apparently close to the company.

So maybe this will be Apple’s entry into the netbook/tablet market later this year. Something like this along with Steve Job’s return, would be great. It will, however, be very interesting to see how Apple handles this. Of course it won’t be another store update like the desktop updates or the new iPod shuffle. It’s most likely to be around WWDC if not later. For something of this scale, Apple may hold their own event at Cupertino.

Apple will need to be careful that this isn’t a cheap product, will still keeping the price low. The build quality, user interface and control methods need to be Apple’s usual excellent standard. But for the size and market, the price will need to be, as an estimate, around the £500 mark.

I’m not sure if I’d personally buy a touch-screen computer. At least not without a wireless keyboard to type on. A downside for the iPhone is typing on the screen – you loose screen space, and errors are quite frequent. Maybe a keyboard will slide out – who knows?

I’m sure more rumors will follow during the coming months, but we’ll have to wait until the third quarter of this year to see results, if anything, from Apple regarding an Apple tablet.