Mike Kelly (of Strangely Entangled fame and partner-in-crime of friend-of-Social-Signal Natasha Scott) (see how I got that little bit of disclosure out there so subtly?)… where were we?

Right. Mike has just beta-launched a new and highly cool news-and-opinion-site for anyone following tablet computers… in particular, the upcoming (so-the-rumour-mill-has-it) Apple tablet.

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls… Dr. Tablet.

Here, by the way, is my comment on one of Mike’s posts:

One area where I still think Apple could miss a trick: extensibility. Yes, the iPhone has the app store – but so much of what apps are allowed to do is truncated and locked down.

While we accept that in a phone – grudgingly – for now – we’ve grown to expect the ability to enhance and extend our computer experience. On the Mac, even the simplest add-ons like Default Folder X and TextExpander have dramatically improved the way I work. Mail.app enhancements and Safari plugins add functionality that many (or even most) users might not need, but that make my life easier. And there are other programs and utilities that extend or combine the features of existing programs and system functions in a more sophisticated way.

I’m excited about the Apple tablet. But if it really is “just” a giant iPhone, or a Kindle in funky black, then I’m quickly going to be frustrated – and looking at other options.

(By the way, nobody knows for sure what Apple’s big January 27th event is. Could still just turn out to be this.)