According to Shaw Wu, analyst at Kaufman Brothers, the announcement of the tablet next week may come with a catch: No shipments until June. Wu says there are still some last-minute technical issues to resolve, “including battery life and durability.” Earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal reported that the new device would ship in March.

Wu expects the device to come in at $999 and says rather than a touch-based Macbook Air, the new product will be more of a “Super iPod Touch where video, gaming, Web browsing, e-books, and the ability to run multiple apps would be enhanced with the much larger screen.” In a statement that would be shocking if true, CNN Money indicates “the device will rely on Wi-Fi” rather than 3G. That would be a significant limitation, and could only be viewed as a slap in AT&T's face. We can hope it means that Apple is considering other carriers that might have better coverage and be willing to offer new customers a lower price for the tablet in exchange for a contract.

Regardless, expectations for the new device are running high, and Apple's stock has climbed to $215.04—near the all-time high of $215.59—in anticipation of its upcoming earnings report and the impact of the new addition to their lineup. Wu expects Apple to sell 1 million units per quarter.