Quoting an insider source AppleInsider.com is reporting that Apple is working to develop a minitablet computer based on the OS X operating system used in its iPhone and iPod Touch.

AppleInsider.com is calling it "the return of the Newton," referring to the e PDA that Apple sold in the mid-1990s.In case you missed the computer history lesson Newton, sometimes referred also as Apple Newton was a PDA developed and marketed by Apple from 1993 to 1998.

The official name of the device was “Message Pad” but because the device used Newton OS, the name has grown to include the device and its software.

Apple Insider has also some details about the new device. “Externally, the multi-touch PDA has been described by sources as an ultra-thin "slate" akin to the iPhone, about 1.5 times the size and sporting an approximate 720x480 high-resolution display that comprises almost the entire surface of the unit. The device is further believed to leverage multi-touch concepts which have yet to gain widespread adoption in Apple's existing multi-touch products -- the iPhone and iPod touch -- like drag-and-drop and copy-and-paste,” wrote AppleInsider.com.

They also advanced a possible launch date: sometimes in early 2008. Newton is considered as Apple’s response to UMPC (Ultra Mobile PC), a concept developed and promoted by Microsoft, Asus, Intel and Samsung. But despite the big names involved in its development, UMPC had so far a very limited success. And as AppleInsider’s reports seemed to encourage the day dreaming about Apple’s next products, the tech site Gizmodo.com has produced another interesting hypothesis: MacBook Touch.

“ If anything, our guess is that Apple may choose to marry touch technology with down-to-Earth thinner notebooks for a better, far-reaching product: the MacBook touch,” said Gizmodo.com

“For sure, a ultra-thin MacBook touch running Leopard on Intel's just announced ultra-low power Core processors, along with solid state storage and WiMax support, doesn't sound bad to me.” they added.

Indeed, a MacBook Touch sounds far better than a PDA, even a one with a larger screen than iPhone. But don’t get too excited, because for the moment it is all about rumors and speculations.