Sigh... Okay, we know the score. At CAUSE98, Steve Jobs flat-out stated that the "P1" consumer portable would not be introduced at this week's Macworld Expo. A bunch of news sources reported that the P1 would be unveiled anyway, and Apple was forced to break its own policy of not commenting on rumors or unannounced products just long enough to deny that the P1 was ready for prime time. And yet, despite all of that, part of us keeps clinging to the dream, and hoping against hope that when Steve takes the stage tomorrow, he'll be toting a four-pound, iMac-colored WebMate. Hey, a body's gotta dream, right?

And apparently we're not the only ones dreaming. O'Grady's PowerPage, that endless source of all news PowerBookish, just spotted a WebMate in a photograph over on some Japanese website. Is it the real thing, or an elaborate fake? At first glance, it sure looks like what we've all heard the WebMate described to be: a smallish laptop with an iMac color scheme. The only photo available shows some guy using this supposed WebMate, but the photo only shows the top of the lid flipped open, so there isn't much to go on.

Alas, after exercising a few underused deduction muscles, we've got to conclude that the photo is just a hoax. For one thing, the plastics don't appear to be translucent, and we find it hard to believe that Apple would go back to opaques at this stage. For another thing, the Apple logo on the lid just looks wrong somehow. It's kind of lopsided and off-center. And finally, the metal latch that apparently serves to hold the alleged WebMate closed just doesn't look like anything you'd find in a true-blue Apple product. Nope, while it's a nice dream and all, we've got to say that this "WebMate" is some other kind of laptop dressed up in an iMac suit-- it may not even be a PowerBook. It's a shame, really, because we're absolutely jonesing to see the real thing. But we still haven't given up hope-- the latest edition of the PowerPage lists a source who still claims that the WebMate will accompany Steve onstage. I suppose we'll know for sure in twelve hours or so.