Rumors of Apple’s upcoming tablet-based (touchscreen) computer have been around for months, while the rumors of a possible Apple netbook have more recently been circulating. We have substantial evidence that they are, in fact, to be the same product.

Earlier we reported an Apple netbook prototype in the wild, and we have now uncovered more evidence about this prototype being handed out by Apple to key partners and software developers: it has all the features of both a netbook AND a tablet computer.

9-10 inches wide, ARM CPU, touchscreen input interface, and even iPhone application/app store compatibility are all features of this upcoming product. Integrating Apple’s now famous app store with a wider, more personalized range of products is a brilliant move by Apple, since now developers can both tailor apps to a given platform or just write an application for both audiences at once thanks to the app store’s distribution mechanism.

Apple has publicly downplayed the success of netbooks, while also promosing an upcoming tablet/touchscreen product, and now it seems that they are instead making them the same product in a move that bridges the gap between the iPhone and the full-sized Macintosh line of computers with an ultraportable touchscreen subnotebook.

We don’t have any pricing details yet, because the only evidence of this device is a top-secret prototype being used by a very select few Apple partners and developers. The device hints at having builtin 3G wireless mobility, although not necessarily tied to AT&T’s network, this time.

Other than having iPhone application compatibility and its own touchscreen hardware (and possible hardware keyboard), we don’t have any more details regarding the operating system of this device. It’s almost guarenteed to contain the same architecture as the iPhone, which we covered in our article An Overview of the iPhone’s Architecture, although what additional APIs and functionality lie specific to the new product are at this time uncertain.

These are the updated details we know of regarding Apple’s tablet/netbook product. As I said, key Apple partners and developers are getting a head start for developing applications tailored for the new platform in addition to beta-testing the new OS and APIs, but the rest of us won’t see the release of this new device until either later this year or 2010.

Netbooks and tablets are so closely related in design and functionality that combining the two into one product, integrating it with their now-famous iPhone/app store line of mobile products, is a brilliant move by Apple and will address both audiences at once and marrying the praised functionality of both tablets and netbooks (granted they price it correctly).

That said, Apple has plenty of time between now and the release of this product to alter the hardware or software of the device, but we will keep track of the changes to the best of our ability. Maybe this will put an end to (or boost) some of the rumors circulating about Apple’s tablet and netbook device(s).