So here’s the picture. Sales of the Microsoft Zune digital media player have tanked big time. Nobody cares about the thing, and the market for such gear is saturated. Apple took that segment over long ago, and even their sales are falling slightly, with more and more people moving on to the iPhone.

When it comes to search, Microsoft has revised and refreshed the interface to a fare-thee-well. Their share of the market goes up and down within a narrow range, pretty much in the same fashion as their stock price. At the end of the day, they can’t make it click with the masses, who long ago learned that Googling was the be all and end all of online searching.

Just recently, the splashy interface of Bing graced the airwaves in a new set of spots from Microsoft. The name itself is either an indicator of a brilliant result, or someone at Microsoft recalling the name Bing as in the late crooner Bing Crosby, and somehow believing it’ll miraculously gain traction in the 21st century.

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If you have tech sites on your regular media diet, you might believe that Apple has already released a tablet computer, and you’re wondering just where you can buy one.

Rest assured, however, that no such gadget has been announced, at least not yet. Depending on whom you believe, though, there may be one this fall, or perhaps early next year. That depends on the state of product development, Apple’s priorities and factors regular people probably can’t fathom.

However, far be it for me to pose a logical alternative, but there are larger questions about such a device that have yet to be fully explored. The first is where the iTablet, MacTablet — or whatever it will be called — might be situated in Apple’s product line. Will it be based on the MacBook innards, and thus able to run the standard version of Mac OS X with the appropriate modifications to support tablet computing? Or will it be in large part a grown up iPod touch with the standard iPhone operating system, plus beefier hardware to support the fatter form factor?

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Folks, give me a break! How can anyone believe for a second that Microsoft has any valid business reason for opening retail outlets other than for the childish purpose of imitating Apple?

Consider, for example, that the vast majority of Microsoft’s sales team is focused on business-to-business direct sales. They sell OEM licenses to PC manufacturers, and software subscriptions to the enterprise. Yes, there is a consumer department that markets Windows and Office to retail stores, and even an entertainment division struggling to earn profits, without success, from the Xbox and the Zune music player.

Put all that together, then, and what is it that Microsoft intends to do with a retail chain? Where is the marketing plan, and how can they benefit from putting their storefronts near Apple’s, assuming the spaces are even available?

What’s even more troubling is that several versions of Microsoft’s store strategy have altered filtered out. Microsoft, you see, has great difficulty keeping secrets, or is that the marketing plan? Are they just hoping that media analysts will find a concept that seems to convey magic, and go for that?

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So Apple is supposed to come out with a tablet computer, possibly called the iTablet. Is that true? Well, if you believe some published reports that stretch back for months, it is, but the precise form of the new product depends on whom you ask.

Now understand that Apple seldom discusses unreleased products. There are rare exceptions, such as a forthcoming operating system upgrade, such as Snow Leopard, or even a new gadget that will be released a few weeks hence. In rare circumstances, that new gadget may be preannounced months ahead of time, such as the original iPhone at the Macworld Expo in January 2007. Has it been that long ago? It didn’t go on sale for approximately six months, which gave the naysaying pundits plenty of opportunity to rag on the product.

More recently, Apple has continued to blow cold water on the prospects for an Apple branded netbook. The official mantra is that these tiny variants of the traditional notebook computer are pieces of junk. They have squished keyboards, tiny screens, poor performance and there’s plenty of buyer’s remorse. Since Apple doesn’t build junk, don’t expect them to consider entering that sandbox.

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