TechCrunch: Mac-based large tablet coming this year, running Intel

Amid lots of words of bet hedging, MG Siegler manages to mention that he’s heard from second hand sources that Apple is planning a bigger, Mac-based tablet launch within a year, and perhaps we might know more as early as WWDC.  The “MacPad” in question would be running an Intel chip and would come in a screen as big as 15-inches, according to Siegler.

We are more inclined to believe the 22-inch touch iMac story from Chinese-language Commercial Times reported earlier this year.  This would probably be  similar to the current iMac with a capacitive touch screen which could sit on an angle similar to a draftsman’s table.  It would run a special touch-enabled version of MacOS 10.7 (which we’ve seen running around our logs) and run on high end Intel portable hardware (Core i5, i3?).

Any product like this would likely be an evolution rather than a revolution, as Apple doesn’t release huge new product lines twice in one year.  

Below is Trolltouch’s Touch enabled iMac:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRrWEZXaqH4&w=700&h=400]