Apple Tablet? Return of the Newton?

Is Apple getting ready to come out with a Mac Tablet? That may be the case based on this patent application. Of course, I doubt their tablet will resemble the old Newton Messagepad.

I had a Newton while going through medical school. It was an amazing piece of technology and I wrote my notes on the touch screen. The digitizer and the handwriting recognition was unbelievable for its time. Then, Apple killed the Newtown. Those were some sad days.

So what type of tablet computer will Apple create? The bigger question is: when will we see this thing?