Another tablet controller? Meh.

You don't want 384 bits in the graphics chip (348 must be a typo) plus the main memory traces because that's a routing nightmare in an all integrated motherboard. 1100 stream processors? which configuration provides you 1100? 1.4 GB graphics memory, with 384 bits? You can't have an 1.4 GB graphics memory pool with all the chips of the same size, are they going to use different capacity memory chips for the graphics memory? 4 GB main memory? Who in his sane mind would design a console with so much more main memory than graphics memory? 48 threads?

It all smells fake to me, you don't go from 256 bits to 512 bits, 512 bits means 16 memory chips, that's too costly.

Who exactly has been invited? Are there any gaming centric press or are they all just generic tech/news sites?

Yeah its definitely the MS iPad, hopefully they will stay clear of Zune branding

Courier? Day 1 for me if it is, although very unlikely.

It'll be a 10" tablet based on WP7.

No there tablets will be WinRT which is based on Windows 8, The phones will move to WinRT as well in the not so distant future

they buy nintendo! lol

Perhaps they show the tablet and announce that they buy Nokia.

They will either talk about the Windows Tablet or their buy out of Yammer.

Nothing makes too terribly much sense. Regarding the secrecy and the timing. There are just as many arguments for as there are against each thing listed above. That makes me think that none of them are right. The announcement needs to be big enough to warrant the event. Plus the secrecy being so complete would point to it coming from a unanticipated direction. I honestly don't think we would be caught off guard by hardware. We would have found out about it by now. I also don't think a new version of Windows would justify a unveiling. Everyone knows that is on the way.

My best guess is that Microsoft has decided to up their investment in a online presence. The best way to do that would not be a social media acquisition, but a true content provider. Especially one that already follows the very model that Microsoft employs. I think Microsoft intends to hit Apple where it hurts, and that would be in acquiring Netflix.

Which would be a huge announcement, and would entirely justify the secrecy. Hell it even plays into the entire geography. More importantly it gives Microsoft something it needs to offer. Content to bundle into its very own subscription services. After all it is one thing to have a service like Live just being a hub, but adding Netflix free to Live gold members. Well now that is a severe value increase, and Microsoft could still offer Netflix outside of Live. At the current subscription rate.