I don’t know about you, but I’ve been foaming at the mouth for an Apple “slate” – that ridiculously good-looking tablet PC that feels like an iPhone but rocks like a MacBook. It’s explicitly designed to compete with Amazon’s Kindle and the Sony eReader, and is predestined to swiftly conquer the digital book market before its release. In fact, when you consider the robustness of iTunes as a service platform for distributing content, Apple is poised to engulf the entire market and energize the self-publishing realm for fledgling writers everywhere. College bookstores will evaporate overnight, as academics will now be able to publish content instantly, and collegians will be able to purchase only the relevant substance they require (and of course, no more resold books that are out-of-date and abused by the previous owner!). And the ability to link rich media like audio and video, as well as external linking and blogging… it’s not just a gamechanger. It’s the granddaddy of all gamechangers. It’s the iPod all over again.

And I’m drooling.

But there’s one problem. The product doesn’t exist. At least not officially.

That’s right: Apple has been unresponsive, noncommittal and “unclear” on its intentions to release this “fictitious” product. Every image that exists online is the result of overactive imaginations – Apple aficionados that have whipped up their best Photoshopped composites and manufactured buzz for something that, well, might be happening… but we’re not sure. Even Conde Nast has been maneuvering their magazine publishing strategy into a digital format, publicly forecasting its preparedness for the impending Apple slate.

As I Google daily for the words “Apple Tablet”, I am amazed to see the flutter of activity surrounding this device. And the lesson to Apple – and perhaps the rest of the broad electronics market – is that the consumer is always right. We once had to read the minds of our buyers, conduct expensive focus groups and “think ahead” to what might be popular. I’m reminded of Motorola’s big score with the RAZR handset a few years back, and how supply chain management demanded another stellar design before the RAZR had even caught on. Creating these products requires years of advanced planning and development, and Motorola struggled to reinvent the magic they conjured with the RAZR product.

Ah… if only they had a base of rabid, borderline psycho fans out there, creating images of their next big product, nurturing demand – and creating buzz across the globe. Armed with the power of Web 2.0, it’s just possible that Motorola could have been given their next hot product design… simply by consulting Google.

And that’s exactly what’s transpired with the Apple tablet PC. At least in theory (my theory, of course). Perhaps Apple has already developed a prototype, and was well on their way to distributing. Maybe an inkling was leaked along the path (we all know it happens). Maybe they’ve been complicit in the greatest marketing promotion of all time. But I subscribe to the belief that the Apple ethos was responsible: its products attract some of the most creative and avant gard people in the industry, so it’s no surprise that they took it upon themselves to create their next big product.

If only every company could be so lucky.

But maybe it had nothing to do with luck. Maybe it demonstrates the importance of changing our relationship with consumers. We need to listen – and not just listen, but listen with the intention to act. As our tribe of fans expands, companies will now have the power to hear their collective voice like never before. Sometimes this may prove detrimental (think “Rotten Tomatoes” and the uncanny ability to ruin a film before anyone sees it). But I believe that, in the long run, understanding this collective voice will prove instrumental in mapping new products to real demand in the marketplace. There will always be risk… but calculating it has just gotten a little easier.

So what happens next? Will Apply unveil a real, tangible tablet? Or will interest fall by the wayside? Many have contested that the Apple PC will be too expensive to attract enough buyers – but have we learned nothing from the iPhone? With fans wrapping around the block to buy Apple products, I think we’ll see a real slate emerge from the house of Jobs.