More Apple Tablet Rumblings [Archive]

MacRumors

May 24, 2005, 01:10 PM

http://www.macrumors.com/images/macrumorsthreadlogo.gif (http://www.macrumors.com)

With increased interest in Apple across the web, rumors are distributed at a faster rate frequently without much attention paid to credibility or records.

The most recent is a blog entry (http://robbushway.blogspot.com/2005/05/apple-tablet-pc-sightings.html) claiming that an Apple Tablet is imminent and that prototypes have been sighted running "a reduced version of OSX, with some funky start-up PDA like Apple icon menu." This report has been reposted a number of places around the web.

Obviously, this is not the first time that the Apple Tablet rumor has surfaced, but does provide a good opportunity to recap recent tablet evidence.

This blog post claims that the Intel-Apple rumors (http://www.macrumors.com/pages/2005/05/20050523070726.shtml) are surrouding the use of an Intel processor for an upcoming Apple Tablet. Tablet rumors have been popular over the years with the demise of the Newton. Apple Tablet rumors hit a peak in early 2003 (http://www.macrumors.com/pages/2003/02/20030221004455.shtml) when several credible sources strongly hinted at the imminent release of a Mac-based Tablet design from Apple.

More recently, Apple's patent design application for a tablet computer (http://www.macrumors.com/pages/2005/05/20050510195340.shtml) reawoke the tablet rumors. One interesting observation, however, is that in the past, Apple has only applied/received design patents for current shipping devices. Suggesting that the Tablet may have been delayed from initial launch plans or indeed imminent.

miketcool

May 24, 2005, 01:13 PM

Weird, wonder if an HD tablet is in the works. Ya know, scuff up a pretty HD screen with stylus scrawling...

MightyB

May 24, 2005, 01:14 PM

does this mean G5 PB's??? er, I mean...I've got my cC ready!!

er....

Mr. G4

May 24, 2005, 01:14 PM

where can I get one of those?

I want one sine my newton is dead :mad:

Josh396

May 24, 2005, 01:15 PM

PlaceofDis

May 24, 2005, 01:16 PM

i'm still hoping for a tablet, but i'm not expecting one at all. hopefully Apple will surprise me one day :D

Daveway

May 24, 2005, 01:16 PM

O gosh here we go again...

Please spare another 20 page thread. We don't need this again.
The market for tablet is not yet big enough for Apple to enter it.

akac

May 24, 2005, 01:17 PM

Makes sense now (if true, of course). Intel != Pentium. Intel == XScale.

BlackLilyNinja

May 24, 2005, 01:18 PM

why do they need to go to intel when a mac mini type unit could be reworked into a tablet. unless they are going to be inovating again.

SpaceMagic

May 24, 2005, 01:20 PM

Please Please Please! I really want an Apple Tablet.

SiliconAddict

May 24, 2005, 01:30 PM

Again. Who do I have to bl......pay to get one of these....yes....pay. :D

My preeeecioussss.

rog

May 24, 2005, 01:30 PM

wileypen

May 24, 2005, 01:31 PM

The market for tablet is not yet big enough for Apple to enter it.

The market for hard drive based MP3 players was basically non-existent until Apple created it.

wizard

May 24, 2005, 01:34 PM

While I have to wonder if a tablet would ever interest me I'd be more interested in the technology inside. People have been thinking about and speculating about Apples use of an Intel X86 processor. That is all well and good but if it was me and I was looking out side of the PPC family for a processor the ARM series would be the first to be considered. So the thought is that Apple is looking towards Intel for one or more of its ARM based processors.

As good as the Centrino family is it is still far to hungery for power to be used in anything that I'd want to call a tablet. That is a computer that is less than 3/8" thick. With one or more ARM processor in the machine they should be able to keep the profile very thing and passively cooled.

The whole idea of a tablet is interesting but there is a huge mountain of issues to over come not the least of which is human and electronic I/O. Electronic or data I/O can be solved with WiFi if they can get the power low enough. Human I/O is a bigger hill in my opinion and they ultimatly would need some sort of speech recognition.

Dave

m-dogg

May 24, 2005, 01:34 PM

[QUOTE=Daveway]O gosh here we go again...QUOTE]

You took the words right out of my mouth!

Veldek

May 24, 2005, 01:36 PM

One interesting observation, however, is that in the past, Apple has only applied/received design patents for current shipping devices. Suggesting that the Tablet may have been delayed from initial launch plans or indeed imminent. Hmm, wasn't there a patent for a mouse-like device with a scroll wheel that never saw the light of day?

dernhelm

May 24, 2005, 01:36 PM

Makes sense now (if true, of course). Intel != Pentium. Intel == XScale.

Agreed. XScale is about the only interesting technology that Intel owns.

ZeeG

May 24, 2005, 01:38 PM

Daveway

May 24, 2005, 01:38 PM

The market for hard drive based MP3 players was basically non-existent until Apple created it.

iPods also costed well below what a tablet computer costs, therefore, a tablet would have a slower adoption rate than a $300 ipod.

graphyte

May 24, 2005, 01:38 PM

I'd love to see one, and to have it too! :p

Nickygoat

May 24, 2005, 01:39 PM

I still think it's a remote, for either Airtunes or maybe a "media center" thing. The tablet market isn't big enough for a reason - they're rubbish. Admittedly Apple could do it better but I don't see why they would. The PDA market is dying, replaced by ever smarter phones so I don't think it's that either. Maybe a portable display for an iFlicks store? But the remote seems the most likely, like one of those Lutron things that populate high end home cinema systems.

clonenode

May 24, 2005, 01:40 PM

Hmm, wasn't there a patent for a mouse-like device with a scroll wheel that never saw the light of day?
Most people think that patent was a smoke screen for the click wheel on the iPods. Even though the pictures show a mouse, reading the text exactly describes the control on the iPod mini and the newer full size models.

clonenode

May 24, 2005, 01:45 PM

iGary

May 24, 2005, 01:45 PM

I think all of our heads are going to explode before WWDC gets here. :eek:

StudioGuy

May 24, 2005, 01:48 PM

This at least makes more sense to me than making PowerMac's into x86 boxes, to make any sense out of the Apple-Intel thing.

But, I agree, another tablet thread.....

Daveway

May 24, 2005, 01:50 PM

I think all of our heads are going to explode before WWDC gets here. :eek:

Agreed. Well, I'm going to have to go to a Cyber cafe' to explode as I will be in TN for vacation on the 6th.

BTW: I think abrooks deserves some credit on this story as he reported on it early this morning in this thread. (http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=128361)

Toe

May 24, 2005, 01:52 PM

why do they need to go to intel when a mac mini type unit could be reworked into a tablet. unless they are going to be inovating again.If they are using an Intel chip, then I would guess that the tablet would run a version of Darwin, not necessarily OS X. Or some intermediate.

This would make sense if it is to be a terminal, and not a computer. Think of it not as a small Mac you write on, but rather a remote terminal to your main computer (iServe?).

When you're sittin' around the house, yuou can just grab any ol iTablet and change the music playing on iTunes. Or select a different channel or movie to play on the TV. Or do a web search.

All of these (and a heck of a lot more) could be accomplished with a relatively dumb terminal, logging into a nice robust server in the closet (or in the den or whatnot). Ideally, wirelessly.

Oryan

May 24, 2005, 02:01 PM

I would love to see an Apple designed tablet. I'm not exactly sure if I would buy one or even how well they would do but I would still like to see what Apple could do with one and the price range they would put it at.

Same here. I've liked the tablet design since I first saw a working model but I'm not sure how I would use it, esp for editing. I'll keep waiting for the G5 PB.

suntzu

May 24, 2005, 02:01 PM

I think the Tablet Mac will be released aimed towards the professional/education crowd more than any other group. For example, I'd buy one to use as a digital sketch pad. Alias makes a program called Alias Sketchbook Pro (http://www.alias.com/eng/products-services/sketchbook_pro/index.shtml) that is amazing.

If they can make it cheaper than a Tablet PC and a Wacom Cintiq then I'm totally in. All I need is a Tablet Mac that can run Sketchbook Pro, connected to my network, and has a card reader.

Stella

May 24, 2005, 02:07 PM

SiliconAddict

May 24, 2005, 02:08 PM

why do they need to go to intel when a mac mini type unit could be reworked into a tablet. unless they are going to be inovating again.

Reworked is one thing. To make it small and thin enough that it isn't a burden to carry around while maintaining a good battery life is another matter altogether. The only thing that comes close on the PC side are slate devices that either use the craptastic Transmeta or Intel’s ultra low voltage Pentium M’s that I think range from 900Mhz to 1.2Ghz. (Which is pretty much the equivalent of a 1.5 on the desktop.)
If Apple releases a tablet it isn’t going to be a reworked mini.

AlmostThere

May 24, 2005, 02:12 PM

gfox25

May 24, 2005, 02:13 PM

That's incredible!! I had no idea it was there. And once you do it, the Rotate menu disappears from the Displays screen. You have to navigate around fairly awkwardly because the trackpad DOES NOT CHANGE ORIENTATION!!! This is a sure sign of on-screen cursor control.... like on a TABLET!!!

WOW!!!!

Or maybe just maybe... just bare with me on this.....
its for displays that can be rotated...

oh, man my ATI x700 pro can do this to... can't wait for the tablet verison to come out.

sorry for sounding like such an as_ but people are looking way to hard into this.

agreenster

May 24, 2005, 02:15 PM

This
Has
To
Happen

the_ki

May 24, 2005, 02:17 PM

Lepton

May 24, 2005, 02:17 PM

Apple won't put OSX on an Intel CPU. But it might use one in a non OSX device like a video iPod, or... my vision of an Apple tablet:

My idea on an Apple tablet is that it will _only_ run a version of Apple Remote Access. Over AirPort and the Internet, it will be able to connect to another computer and mirror, take over the screen, or work as a second monitor. The stylus works like a mouse whch is fine, and since the controlled Mac has Inkwell, you're in business even without plugging a keyboard into the tablet's USB!

This lets you have a lean, light, long-battery-life tablet that can be anything from an iTunes remote to an enterprise-wide device. It's a great idea and if I was a hardware guy I'd make the thing myself!

rosalindavenue

May 24, 2005, 02:19 PM

Yeah those tablet PCs have become such a colossol hit! I mean you can't go anywhere without seeing one.

I hope Apple doesn't waste its money developing a tablet PC when there is so much work to be done on making good value, fast ibooks and powerbooks. [...].

My sentiments exactly.

Additionally, if Apple is just talking to Intel about processors for a tablet, it seems very doubtful that the release of the tablet would be "imminent"-- seems more like it would be a year away, at least.

puckhead193

May 24, 2005, 02:20 PM

why a tablet, why not a PDA

slffl

May 24, 2005, 02:21 PM

dibabear

May 24, 2005, 02:24 PM

If I connect the dots of rumored talks with Intel, the tablet patent application and WWDC starting in two weeks...nah.

I'd like to see an Apple tablet if for no other reason than I'm starting to get frustrated with my Palm Tungsten and am considering changing. The only thing that keeps me loyal to Palm is that I don't want to run WinCE. Or buy anything from HPaq. :)

Hell, I even considered buying a Newton on eBay until my meds kicked in. :D

In spite of what I'd like to believe, it's still rumorware. And if luck is any indicator, the day after the return policy on my Tungsten replacement expires will be the day Apple announces the tablet.

Buggy

May 24, 2005, 02:26 PM

I disagree re: not enough market. My work bought a tablet for almost every employee (education). We are buying new ones this year for new staff.

I think even more people would buy them , the disadvantage right now is Tablets are either fully capable and poorly designed behemoths or they have a good form factor but are limited.

I think if anyone could make a fully functional Tablet, it would be apple.

ioinc

May 24, 2005, 02:27 PM

Yeah those tablet PCs have become such a colossol hit! I mean you can't go anywhere without seeing one.

I hope Apple doesn't waste its money developing a tablet PC when there is so much work to be done on making good value, fast ibooks and powerbooks. Something they apparently no longer have an interest in.

There is very little doubt in my mind that there is a market there.

As many meetings that I have been to where the boss asked for sum unexpected numbers only to hear "I don't have the numbers in front of me, but..."

Imagine a tablet that contains all the documents you use at work that you can carry around from meeting to meeting.

Less than a laptop, but more than a pad of paper (or hard copy of reports).....

Build one thin enough and elegant enough (and powerful enough) and there is a huge market for this.

The PC world (in true PC fashion) came out with clunky junk that never fit the role.

I would love to see what apple could produce with their design team.

ZeeG

May 24, 2005, 02:31 PM

Does this not work with a rotating monitor?

EDIT: Nevermind, the_ki answered it for me. It does work and it's not useless.

For the pivot monitor, you just need "portrait" and "landscape" option.
Why do we need 90, 180, 270 degree settings?

Yvan256

May 24, 2005, 02:31 PM

Any Apple tablet better be able to run existing Apple software.

Apple will be starting from a base of zero software which is never good.

PC Tablets have never really taken off, so Apple better pull something out of the hat for an Apple tablet to work.

One word: widgets. Add Quicktime/H.264, MP3/AAC, PDF, JPEG/PNG/etc and perhaps even Keynote playback capatibility and that'd make a kick-ass laptop replacement!

Thanatoast

May 24, 2005, 02:32 PM

This would make sense if it is to be a terminal, and not a computer. Think of it not as a small Mac you write on, but rather a remote terminal to your main computer (iServe?).

When you're sittin' around the house, yuou can just grab any ol iTablet and change the music playing on iTunes. Or select a different channel or movie to play on the TV. Or do a web search.

All of these (and a heck of a lot more) could be accomplished with a relatively dumb terminal, logging into a nice robust server in the closet (or in the den or whatnot). Ideally, wirelessly.
Now, that's an idea I like. It would keep the cost down to a reasonable level (assuming you already own a mac) and does everything you need it to (well, your computer does it, but what's the effective difference?)

dibabear

May 24, 2005, 02:33 PM

A tablet that runs only Remote Access? Yeah, I'd buy one of those...not. Ditto with anything that needs to be plugged in to operate. I know PDA is a dirty word these days but something that melds the iPod to a PDA with some real computer functionality, I believe, would sell. The only reason the PDA market is nearly dead is because Palm is the only player. The stopped innovating sometime after the Pilot was introduced.

As for names...how about the iScratch?!?!

Yvan256

May 24, 2005, 02:33 PM

As the owner of a Samsung 710T monitor which can rotate, I certainly don't think it's a useless feature at all.

Way cool with MAME for vertical games (Pac-Man, Dig-Dug, etc)

slffl

May 24, 2005, 02:34 PM

For the pivot monitor, you just need "portrait" and "landscape" option.
Why do we need 90, 180, 270 degree settings?

Maybe different monitors rotate different ways. I do hope it's a sign of something though.

dibabear

May 24, 2005, 02:36 PM

Now, that's an idea I like. It would keep the cost down to a reasonable level (assuming you already own a mac) and does everything you need it to (well, your computer does it, but what's the effective difference?)

The "effective difference" is that you have to be in range of your computer. Or punch a hole through your firewall to reach it via the 'net. Which requires you to have 'net access. Which, at 19.2kbps, sucks rocks when running graphics even on thin clients. Not to mention it makes the client about as useful as a rock on airplanes or anywhere else 'net access isn't available.

SiliconAddict

May 24, 2005, 02:37 PM

O gosh here we go again...

Please spare another 20 page thread. We don't need this again.
The market for tablet is not yet big enough for Apple to enter it.

The same thing could be said of the portable music market and the uber cheap PC market. Apple makes markets they don't just invade them.

winjer2k

May 24, 2005, 02:38 PM

Hey, Just think!

A special stand for the tablet that plugs in via firewire and DVI to the Mac Mini. When you place it on the stand, the Mini syncs with any changes you made to your tablet and uses the tablet as its display.

That would be sweet!

shyataroo

May 24, 2005, 02:40 PM

Intel is dead. if apple maintains not using intel processors for its computer the final nail in the coffin will be put in.

rockthecasbah

May 24, 2005, 02:46 PM

Intel is dead. if apple maintains not using intel processors for its computer the final nail in the coffin will be put in.
Intel is far from dead buddy. As I recall didn't they ship the first dual cores a month or so ago? I haven't seen an IBM dual core and don't expect to for a very long time ;) Intel knows how to get good battery life, IBM doesn't. It's smart to learn about battery life from people that can get like 6 hours battery life on a portable. Powerbooks have horrible battery life, especially in comparison to windows machines.

To me the Tablet idea still seems a bit iffy. I wouldn't put my money on saying it is or isn't that, I just am leaning more towards a Newton revision that is a hybrid of a PDA and a low power iBook.

Toe

May 24, 2005, 02:56 PM

My idea on an Apple tablet is that it will _only_ run a version of Apple Remote Access. Over AirPort and the Internet, it will be able to connect to another computer and mirror, take over the screen, or work as a second monitor.
You need to look at Tiger Server a little more. It can support a much more robust platform than this. ARA is nice, but very simplistic compared to what is currently available in OS X. One of the critical components of Unix is that multiple users can use the same system at the same time without interfering with (or even knowing about) each other.

Tiger supports Network Home Directories (http://www.apple.com/server/file_and_print.html), meaning all user information can be stored on a server, and any network client can log into that user account and access that user's complete identity.

Apple is completely set up to have cheap tablets be robust interfaces to home or work servers.

The main sticking point as I can see it is the wireless component. This scenario works great on a gigabit or even 100 Base-T network, but on a spotty wifi network... what happens when you lose the connection? If they can work through that, I think wireless terminal tablets would be easy and cheap for them to produce.

fabsgwu

May 24, 2005, 02:57 PM

I bet there's already an accessory market forming (Places the order for laser keyboard and bluetooth headphones).

But seriously, I think this would be a great add-on to a desktop Mac; perfect for the couch, and with some limited computing functionality maybe perfect for the hot-spot at Starbucks. Also, do I hear iTMS movie downloads?? :p

Noiseboy

May 24, 2005, 02:57 PM

Every time I use the excellent Lake Contour sound reinforcement software I have to do so on a clonky tablet PC. The nice people at Lake said they would certainly port it to OS X if Apple built a tablet computer. I want one now. I wanted one months ago. :)

Toe

May 24, 2005, 02:58 PM

fabsgwu

May 24, 2005, 03:00 PM

The main sticking point as I can see it is the wireless component. This scenario works great on a gigabit or even 100 Base-T network, but on a spotty wifi network... what happens when you lose the connection? If they can work through that, I think wireless terminal tablets would be easy and cheap for them to produce.

Simple, all the work is saved on the server (Mac running tiger). Sort of like Citrix applications which use remote applications; if you get booted, your work is all there when you log back on.

mcadam

May 24, 2005, 03:01 PM

I still think it's a remote, for either Airtunes or maybe a "media center" thing.

Yeah, that makes sense imho... wasn't the mac mini partly thought of as a mediacenter kind of thing, where you, in some bright future, would have several networked minis around the house?

A tablet would fit nicely into that concept.

A

sigamy

May 24, 2005, 03:02 PM

If this is true, there is no way this Tablet will be a Mac. Trust me, so few people need a tablet computer.

It will be a remote control for the new Airport Express HD, which will stream audio and video to your living room. The tablet will run the scaled down version of iTunes (itunes mobile) and allow you to select songs/playlists/movies/iphoto slideshows which are stored on your Mac. It will be nothing more than a fancy remote with 802.11g. You'll be able to purchase new songs and movies from the new Movie Store.

The writting is on the wall...QuickTime 7, H.264, music videos in iTunes. The iPod photo was the beta test for this.

Toe

May 24, 2005, 03:05 PM

Simple, all the work is saved on the server (Mac running tiger). Sort of like Citrix applications which use remote applications; if you get booted, your work is all there when you log back on.
Hm, well... they certainly don't have this down in Tiger Server 10.4.1. If you lose your network connection, you get a lot of complaints from your Mac. Generally, the best you can do is re-login. There is no "save state" command, where you can return to the exact place you left off (like there is in Virtual PC, and I believe in Windows XP).

1macker1

May 24, 2005, 03:06 PM

What's the advantage of a tablet pc over a laptop?

SiliconAddict

May 24, 2005, 03:10 PM

PC Tablets have never really taken off, so Apple better pull something out of the hat for an Apple tablet to work.

PC tablets have never taken off for several reasons:

1. Price points are ridiculously high for a tablet device and marginally high for a convertible device that transforms into a tablet.

2. MS forced a dumb*** method of handwriting recog. More specifically NONE. Yes folks. When a note is written in ink it stays in a handwritten form instead of converted over to typed text. You have that option but MS implementation is sloppy to say the least. So how impressed am I supposed to be when I get an e-mail from my insurance broker quoting me a figure and I can’t figure out if that it a $6,000 or a sloppy $5,000. There is a reason why typed text as taken over the world. I not longer have to translate someone’s crappy handwriting. This is where MS fails and where Apple excelled back in 1997! Yah I still own a Newton 2100 and I also own a iPaq 4705 and let me tell you the handwriting recog on the Newton still blows the iPaq away even though the recog software is supposedly based on the software that was on the Newton.

3. Not really MS's fault because they don't make hardware but the integration of the OS into the hardware is sloppy to say the least. Seriously. All MS did was create a package that gets installed on top of an XP install. Hardly tailored to a tablet. They did the same thing they did with their PDA when it first came out (Palm Sized PDA.) They dumped the Windows GUI on a platform that it wasn't designed for. That is partly why Pocket PC 2001 and so forth is more popular. MS did some tweaking to the GUI for the platform. Similarly MS just dumped XP onto the tablet without any forethought about the interface. No thought on how a user works when he or she has their arm draped over half the screen. No thought on how you access your applications or how to interact with them. Nope. Dump and run.

4.MS dipped a toe into the market. Their position? These devices are for the vertical market. That is all well and fine but its hardly going to grow a market if all you are doing is saying that hey! You average consumers don’t want this. This is for the business industry.

'
In typical MS fashion they did everything they could to sabotage the Tablet PC before it even shipped. All of the above Apple could fix, enhance, and well frankly do it right out of the gate. The tablet PC can work. I’ve used one for about a week. The experience feels much more personal then typing on a desktop. The problem with a tablet and something that most people don’t get is that the pure slate will NEVER succeed. Ever. Only the convertible. The laptop that has the display swing back and lay flat against the keyboard. Why? Because as I like to put it handwriting is bandwidth limited when it comes to entering data. In terms of speed it generally follows OCR, speech, typing, handwriting. (I have seen a person type faster then they could talk but those people are super freaks and are not the norm. If Apple could make a convertible tablet that gets 5+ hours of battery life, has a tweaked GUI for the pen, is marketed as a personal computing experience, is less then 1” thick with the screen, and keeps the keyboard they could blow the market wide open.

shyataroo

May 24, 2005, 03:11 PM

Intel is far from dead buddy. As I recall didn't they ship the first dual cores a month or so ago? I haven't seen an IBM dual core and don't expect to for a very long time ;) Intel knows how to get good battery life, IBM doesn't. It's smart to learn about battery life from people that can get like 6 hours battery life on a portable. Powerbooks have horrible battery life, especially in comparison to windows machines.

To me the Tablet idea still seems a bit iffy. I wouldn't put my money on saying it is or isn't that, I just am leaning more towards a Newton revision that is a hybrid of a PDA and a low power iBook.

IBM hasn't made a dual core CPU you right... but they have made a 3 and a 9 core CPU. (Xbox 360 and PS3 Respectivly) additionally Pentium Chips are Cycle per Cycle The slowest on the market they still have yet to make True 64Bit CPU's and All the Video game consoles (next gen) are running IBM CPU's and that will certianly help kill intel. Hyper-threading technology sucks.
IBM needs to hurry up and invent Multi-Threading.

douggottlieb

May 24, 2005, 03:13 PM

Let's hope that the Apple iSlate (my name, not theirs, yet) is:

* Priced like a PDA, not like a laptop
* Stays cool like a PDA, not like a laptop
* Is super portable like a PDA, not like a laptop

But . . .

* Can run OSX like a laptop, not like a PDA.

And as long as I'm dreaming, how about:

* A sticker price of $500 or less.

And of course it should be able to communicate wirelessly with that new Apple living room device -- the Apple iBox / iHome / iHub / iMediaCenter / iThing that plays content thru my TV and downloads shows and Movies from the iVideoStore . . .

SiliconAddict

May 24, 2005, 03:13 PM

If this is true, there is no way this Tablet will be a Mac. Trust me, so few people need a tablet computer.

Once upon a time the same was said of the laptop.....How many of those were sold last year?
Of course people don't need what they have never had before. Apple simply needs to provide an easy natural interface to use a tablet. Hmmm what company is know for ease of use...dude the tablet is screaming, crying, and generally begging for Apple to come along and reinvent it.

griz

May 24, 2005, 03:22 PM

Why do people continue to insist that apple will cram every feature of the ibook into a tablet. I would like a tablet that has no HD. Is as thin as the top of an iBook and needs no fan. If it needed an HD, it could possibly have a 6gig from a mac mini, but no CD or ethernet or Firewire. Just one USB2 connection for syncing.
Heck, require that people have bluetooth to use it and dispense with the wires entirely. Or maybe it would use 802.11. You could control a desktop or use the standalone browser to go to the web directly from the tablet.
Could have 128MB of flash ram for storing simple configs and user prefs like calender info or addresses or bookmarks if it had no HD. It could send and receive e-mail. Oh and it should most certainly boot instantly.
Apple will make this device fully integrated with itunes and airtunes and even give it the ability to link with a future set top box. This of course is all speculation, but knowing the history of apple, when they enter a new arena, they rarely steal from their previous technology, they go in with a new idea that kills everyone else. Look at the iPod and past powerbook designs. The early powerbook was a brick, but at the time, a beautiful design.
Track pads were on all the powerbooks and Apple was one of the first to use the keyboard pushed to the back to allow for hand rests. And must I mention the original Mac design. Like nothing else. And the Newton, It was ahead of its time, but beat Palm to the punch by many years.
They continue to lead with impressive style. If apple puts out a tablet, it will not simply be a copy of anything else anyone had done and it will likely not have every feature that people expect. They are masters at finding the usability key in a device and making the most of it. I'm sure they will do the same with a tablet some day.
Lastly, I think a key feature of a table will be making it so that I can hold it with 2 fingers like a piece of paper or a clipboard. Watch an episode of startrek lately? Their tablets are sweet and no reason apple can't do something like that.

Toe

May 24, 2005, 03:22 PM

Lacero

May 24, 2005, 03:26 PM

I'm about as excited of an Apple Tablet as I am of filing my taxes. I just don't see the need for one, when I laptop does the job admirably. I'm waiting to be impressed by what Apple can come up with that'll make it a must-have.

akw

May 24, 2005, 03:26 PM

Hmm, wasn't there a patent for a mouse-like device with a scroll wheel that never saw the light of day?

Yeah. It was a patent that described the click wheel that showed up on the iPod Mini. The real intention of the patented mechnism were being disguised by describing it in a device other than the one on which it finally appeared.

Daveway

May 24, 2005, 03:26 PM

* A sticker price of $500 or less.

Such wishful thinking. It be more like 3x that much.

wdlove

May 24, 2005, 03:34 PM

It's just making the run up to WWDC even more exciting. My wife has been looking for a tablet to use with Photoshop. It would be better if it was made by Apple.

Darrin Bell

May 24, 2005, 03:36 PM

Toe

May 24, 2005, 03:50 PM

But isn't the market for high end home cinema system Lutron things pretty small, too? I'm not sure a Mac remote would make much more sense than a Mac tablet.Isn't any bluetooth phone a Mac remote?

I would think the tablet would be based more on the concept of a terminal than a remote.

Engagebot

May 24, 2005, 04:03 PM

In the System Preferences, try "option-click" of "Displays". (in Tiger)
Then you will see "Rotate" menu in there. You can rotate your screen orientation with it.
I believe this is an implication of coming Tablet Mac. Other than that, it is just an useless feature.

Its not useless, and it doesnt necessarily mean tablets. There are tons of regular (non-apple) LCD's out there that rotate to go portrait. Its a really useful feature, especially when you're working just with Word or Acrobat. *some lcd's have the rotating function in the hardware, but alot of them use a software thing in windows. Apple's just giving that portrait functionality to those LCDs out there.

You can get a Dell (samsung) 19" LCD that rotates to portrait for around $300.

iSwift

May 24, 2005, 04:24 PM

well idk if i'd buy the first generation, but sign me up for one after a revision or two.

ozone

May 24, 2005, 04:28 PM

You know, I rarely like to defend Microsoft or other Wintel products, but there's a bunch of tablet haters (or at least naysayers) here. I for one would be very interested in seeing what Apple can do with a tablet like device.

How many of you tablet naysayers have actually used one? I actually own and have used a Palm PDA, a Pocket PC, and a Tablet for extended periods of time (1 year or more) and can say that that the tablet handwriting recognition is superior to what you can normally get for Palm or PPC. Newton? Don't know - never had one. Out of the box, the handwriting recognition is, in my estimate, from 90% to 98% accurate. Is it perfect? Of course not, but nothing is.

It is true - if you can touch type - forget handwriting - typing is faster and more accurate. BUT if you can't type, then what do you do? I gave my tablet to one of my grad students who happens to be older and her PRODUCTIVITY has increased tremendously. I'm sure there are MANY other people in this category.

And even more, people communicate by drawing arrows, connecting diagrams, quick sketches, etc. which you can in a tablet and you cannot do on a regular computer setup unless you have a digitizer handy. The tablet is also great for allowing you to mark up and edit freehand a Word document, practically the same way you would a piece of paper. A huge advantage to those of us who have to mark, edit, or collaborate on multiple projects.

Furthermore, tablets are very useful in business, corporate, or other social settings where you need an immediate electronic record but cannot or should not type. I've been in every situation from a president of company across the table from me, to sampling waste in a developing country. There are MANY situations where a tablet can be very useful.

Why don't I use a tablet anymore? Because I can type at least 40 wpm, far faster than I can write. BUT there are at least a half dozen situations where I wish I had one that was 'just right': a little smaller, a bit more elegant, etc. and I'd like to see Apple's version.

... and for the perpetual 'tablets have such low market share' argument, well, it seems that everybody applies that to Apple stuff and there's always a ready counterargument. Besides, sure, maybe only 2% of the population use tablets - but it'd be enlightening to see how much money that 2% controls.

Don't knock it until you try it.

dongmin

May 24, 2005, 04:33 PM

Reworked is one thing. To make it small and thin enough that it isn't a burden to carry around while maintaining a good battery life is another matter altogether. The only thing that comes close on the PC side are slate devices that either use the craptastic Transmeta or Intel’s ultra low voltage Pentium M’s that I think range from 900Mhz to 1.2Ghz. (Which is pretty much the equivalent of a 1.5 on the desktop.)
If Apple releases a tablet it isn’t going to be a reworked mini.A 'back door' way to switching to Intel?

Could be an interesting way to test the waters. Apple could implement a x86 version of OS X (slimmed down and optimized for a tablet) without having to worry about screwing developers or customers. No need for a painful transition period since all the apps would be in house, e.g. iLife & Appleworks, and whatever new apps developers write for the iTablet could be compiled and optimized for x86.

On the other hand, I'm not sure a 1.0 ghz Pentium M would offer much of an advantage over a 1.0 ghz G4. Recycling the iBook G4 architecture seems to be the most cost-effective way of implementing a tablet. A cut-down iBook (take out the optical drive, keyboard, speakers, etc. and use a smaller, lower-power LCD) would get you a pretty good form factor and battery life.

Stella

May 24, 2005, 04:36 PM

why a tablet, why not a PDA

PDAs are dead. Smartphones, such as Symbian based, are quickly replacing them.

It would be a huge mistake for Apple to invest in PDAs.

shawnce

May 24, 2005, 04:49 PM

Intel is far from dead buddy.
Very true.

As I recall didn't they ship the first dual cores a month or so ago?
Depends on how you want to define "first" and in this case "dual core". The "dual core" systems Intel released recently are rather weak versions of a dual core processor (very little integration between the cores in the memory pathways, etc.). AMD's implementation is a better dual core design while IBMs Power4 and Power5 CPUs are very good examples of how to do it "the right way".

I haven't seen an IBM dual core and don't expect to for a very long time ;)
Well IBM has been shipping dual core CPUs (ones even wrapped in multi-chip packages with 8+ cores) in the form of the Power4 and more recently Power5 for a few years now.

Intel knows how to get good battery life, IBM doesn't.
Intel improved a heck of a lot in the last two years in the space, my hats off to them for coming up from being piss poor to darn good in the laptop CPU space.

It's smart to learn about battery life from people that can get like 6 hours battery life on a portable. Powerbooks have horrible battery life, especially in comparison to windows machines.
My PowerBook 15" generally average 5 hours of battery life. My PC laptop (a recent top end system from HP) can go for just shy of 9 hours using a second battery in the drive bay. I once had a PowerBook with dual batteries that could do 8+ hours about 6 years ago (when most PC laptop had battery runtimes of a couple of hours).

greatm31

May 24, 2005, 04:54 PM

It will be a remote control for the new Airport Express HD, which will stream audio and video to your living room. The tablet will run the scaled down version of iTunes (itunes mobile) and allow you to select songs/playlists/movies/iphoto slideshows which are stored on your Mac. It will be nothing more than a fancy remote with 802.11g. You'll be able to purchase new songs and movies from the new Movie Store.

The writting is on the wall...QuickTime 7, H.264, music videos in iTunes. The iPod photo was the beta test for this.

See, this makes great sense. Hints of upcoming movie store, Mac Mini due for a refresh, Airport Express begging for video capabilities, it really does all fit together. Except that, as far as I know, no one in their right mind would pay like $700 for a super-duper remote-control for Airport Express. That was the problem with the old suggestion that the iPod could broadcast music over Airport: it's just too damn expensive when there are much cheapers solutions.

So either this tablet thing is really cheap, and I mean like $100 at the most, or it does more than broadcast movies and music to your Airport and is independent of a home computer. So it's a pretty tough situation.

sigamy

May 24, 2005, 05:01 PM

See, this makes great sense. Hints of upcoming movie store, Mac Mini due for a refresh, Airport Express begging for video capabilities, it really does all fit together. Except that, as far as I know, no one in their right mind would pay like $700 for a super-duper remote-control for Airport Express. That was the problem with the old suggestion that the iPod could broadcast music over Airport: it's just too damn expensive when there are much cheapers solutions.

So either this tablet thing is really cheap, and I mean like $100 at the most, or it does more than broadcast movies and music to your Airport and is independent of a home computer. So it's a pretty tough situation.

Guys...if they have iTunes Mobile running on a phone they can build a $100 remote control. That's all this thing has to do--be a front end interface to the content already on your mac. It is not going to be streaming the content. That will be handled by the new Airport Express HD and your Mac. This is just a remote control with a display that allows you to easily select songs/movies.

Think Philips Pronto/Motorola iTunes phone, not TabletPC.

bikertwin

May 24, 2005, 05:02 PM

PDAs are dead. Smartphones, such as Symbian based, are quickly replacing them.

It would be a huge mistake for Apple to invest in PDAs.

As others have suggested, maybe this is a media device (photos, movies, music) rather than just PDA functionality.

Would you play The Incredibles on a Symbian phone? How about a widescreen Apple tablet?

RichP

May 24, 2005, 05:03 PM

sigamy

May 24, 2005, 05:10 PM

Once upon a time the same was said of the laptop.....How many of those were sold last year?
Of course people don't need what they have never had before. Apple simply needs to provide an easy natural interface to use a tablet. Hmmm what company is know for ease of use...dude the tablet is screaming, crying, and generally begging for Apple to come along and reinvent it.

Oh, please. It has been proven time and again that tablet PCs are a solution without a problem. I work directly with *thousands* of field sales professionals who these things are directly marketed towards. Guess what? They hate them. They used to have a laptop for real data entry, number crunching, email and they had a PDA for electronic signature capture and quick inventory mgmt and tracking. Now they've been told they have to lug around a huge tablet everywhere. The PDA was small, unobtrusive, out of the way. It worked.

I've followed Tablets & PDAs for longer than I can remember. Way back when they were called Pen-based computers. The police were going to write your ticket on these, the waiter was going to take your dinner order on one. You would carry one around the house and jot down all those great inventions that you used to write on napkins. It hasn't happened. And it's not because no one has "invented" it right. It's because there is so little need for these devices. Look up "niche" in the dictionary and you'll see a picture of a TabletPC.

but, if Apple makes one, I'll buy it! :D

Bonte

May 24, 2005, 05:14 PM

O gosh here we go again...

Please spare another 20 page thread. We don't need this again.
The market for tablet is not yet big enough for Apple to enter it.

Nor was the iPod when they entered the that market, it will grow. If it can run a europe GPS system i'l buy it for sure.

jouster

May 24, 2005, 05:19 PM

Yeah those tablet PCs have become such a colossol hit! I mean you can't go anywhere without seeing one.

Just because PC tablets haven't been a stellar product doesn't mean the idea of a tablet is bad. It just means the implementation has been poor. There is nothing there that automatically implies an Apple tablet would be equally poor.

jouster

May 24, 2005, 05:24 PM

PDAs are dead.

You mean aside from the 25% increase in shipments year on year last quarter?

http://www.internetnews.com/stats/article.php/3503606

puuukeey

May 24, 2005, 05:42 PM

the mac mini should have an touchable OLED screen on top of it. a computer that looks like korgs kaos pad? HELLS YEAH

tex210

May 24, 2005, 05:42 PM

but I just want it to ichat video style lying on my couch but still looking right at the person I'm talking to. So a built in iSight and mic. Throw in a chip-set to do gsm and/or wifi and I'm happy. Well it would have to have bluetooth for the keyboard and mouse. oh... and it needs to run all the iLifers. Would be great if it managed photoshop.
I'm afraid the list goes and goes. Tech is always evolving. It's just a matter of when size-weight-performance-energy requirements-daylight viewing-price all play nice.

jobberwacky

May 24, 2005, 05:45 PM

where can I get one of those?
One? imagine a Beowulf cluster of these.

Oops, wrong forum.

tny

May 24, 2005, 06:03 PM

why do they need to go to intel when a mac mini type unit could be reworked into a tablet. unless they are going to be inovating again.

Because an 80-90 MHz ARM processor (like those used in the iPod) isn't going to be enough to drive a tablet. A 400 MHz XScale processor, on the other hand, might just cut it if the OS is stripped down enough (on the other hand, my 500 MHz G3 can't handle H.264, so . . . )

poundsmack

May 24, 2005, 06:04 PM

Makes sense now (if true, of course). Intel != Pentium. Intel == XScale.

well XScale is RISC based (i believe) so it is possible. just mind numbingly unlikly.

NuPowerbook

May 24, 2005, 06:06 PM

IBM hasn't made a dual core CPU you right... but they have made a 3 and a 9 core CPU. (Xbox 360 and PS3 Respectivly) additionally Pentium Chips are Cycle per Cycle The slowest on the market they still have yet to make True 64Bit CPU's and All the Video game consoles (next gen) are running IBM CPU's and that will certianly help kill intel. Hyper-threading technology sucks.
IBM needs to hurry up and invent Multi-Threading.
Intel makes the Itanium, which is true 64 bit using IA64. The have been making these chips for many years now. Hyper-threading is actually fairly nice.

Also, IBM has been making dual core processors. Just because the G5 isn't dual core yet, doesn't mean IBM hasn't been making them in there many many other processors.

Lacero

May 24, 2005, 06:09 PM

What about the Power5s? They are massively multi-core multithreaded.

enoch

May 24, 2005, 06:10 PM

So.. there's all these iPhone rumours, and now there's all these iTablet rumours...

Then, there's all these UIQ symbian phones, which suffer from software bloat.

I'm not able to put two-and-two together. Let's all post supposition.

OK... go!

Cougarcat

May 24, 2005, 06:24 PM

Please, please, please, please, please be true. I would so rather buy a fast Powermac G5 plus a tablet with tons of battery life instead of a slow, overpriced Powerbook G4 w/ less battery life for college. The evidence of being able to rotate the screen in Tiger, and of course widgets, gives me hope. Widgets are PERFECT for a small screen tablet. Come on, apple, amaze me!

w_parietti22

May 24, 2005, 06:43 PM

In the System Preferences, try "option-click" of "Displays". (in Tiger)
Then you will see "Rotate" menu in there. You can rotate your screen orientation with it.
I believe this is an implication of coming Tablet Mac. Other than that, it is just an useless feature.

Unless of course you want to get an neck problem by looking at the computer sideways! :D

I think this might not be a bad idea, schools will love them too! If Apple goes intel that not a big deal for me, but imagine if we get a "1.5ghz" intel and people start chosing the tablet oven the iBook or the PowerBook. Apple could eaily fit a G4 in them though.I mean look at the iBook. is skinny and fast! maybe like an iBook tablet or an iBook Mini with a screen that flips around! Oh and make it like $600 so that the PCers can't have excuse that apple doesn't make a cheap laptop

imz

May 24, 2005, 07:05 PM

Wow...this is an interesting time to be a [new] Mac fan. Perhaps something will be announced in June? I'd get a tablet mac to complement my iMac... to give me some portability, and to show off to my PC-user friends :)

*switcher since Oct '04*

bbyrdhouse

May 24, 2005, 07:08 PM

GregA

May 24, 2005, 07:44 PM

One of the critical components of Unix is that multiple users can use the same system at the same time without interfering with (or even knowing about) each other.

Tiger supports Network Home Directories (http://www.apple.com/server/file_and_print.html), meaning all user information can be stored on a server, and any network client can log into that user account and access that user's complete identity.

The main sticking point as I can see it is the wireless component. This scenario works great on a gigabit or even 100 Base-T network, but on a spotty wifi network... what happens when you lose the connection?Add a couple of technologies and rumours, and things become even more interesting.
- Quartz extreme (which AFAIK isn't yet enabled in 10.4?) allows a lower bandwidth connection between the CPU and the screen, useful for remote work - though I agree the key is the robustness (or simply re-connecting if the connection goes down).
- The rumours of iChat providing a DNS name for your computer (yourMacName.youriChatName.mac.com)- this could allow you to find your home computer from any remote location. Perhaps you could connect via iChat (VPN?).
- Then there's the possible use of .Mac as a home directory.
- And rumours of Apple providing Wifi and phone networks themselves (with roaming to existing carriers). Pretty unlikely though this one, I think

Guess we'll see what happens.

neesley

May 24, 2005, 07:59 PM

advocate

May 24, 2005, 08:15 PM

PDAs are dead. Smartphones, such as Symbian based, are quickly replacing them.

It would be a huge mistake for Apple to invest in PDAs.PDAs are not dead. You'll have to pull my Palm V from my cold, dead fingers first! The problem with using a phone as a Personal Digital Assistant is that it's more or less read-only. If I can't enter a new appointment just by writing it in, then I would have to carry a dayplanner as well as a phone that supposedly replaces it. And you won't find me entering a paragraph or two of notes on a phone using the keypad, that's for sure. You can't put a fully functional touch screen on a phone, either - there's no room for it, and the glass is going to shatter on the first day when I carry it around in my jeans pocket.

bbyrdhouse

May 24, 2005, 08:18 PM

My PowerBook 15" generally average 5 hours of battery life. My PC laptop (a recent top end system from HP) can go for just shy of 9 hours using a second battery in the drive bay. I once had a PowerBook with dual batteries that could do 8+ hours about 6 years ago (when most PC laptop had battery runtimes of a couple of hours).

5 HOURS!...GOODNIGHT! I am doing good to get 3 hours. Usually 2.5 hours.

I have a 15inch Powerbook too. How do you have your settings?

FreeState

May 24, 2005, 08:33 PM

In Tiger if you install the developer tools there is a Controller in Quartz Composer with this as its information:

Tablet

This patch returns the current state of the tablet pointing device.

The pen position is expressed in units in the Quartz Composer coordinates system. The pen tilt on the X and Y axes is normalized to the [-1.0,1.0] range and the pen pressure is normalized to the [0,1] range.

Note that this patch does not read the tablet state directly but is dependent on the proper information being passed to the composition. This information may not always be available, depending on the environment in which Quartz Composer is running.

I know you can get something like an art tablet however Im not to sure what this is referencing... As a graphic artist I have not seen anyone use one in years, so I find it a little curious that they would include support in a small app for something that is rarely used.

mactarkus

May 24, 2005, 08:50 PM

I so desperately want a handheld Mac that I'm willing to hammer out this post by thumbtyping it on my Sidekick 2 waiting for my flight. I love my Macs and I want an inconspicuous one to carry and use wherever I am.

About the size of a hardcover book but thinner is what I envision. It wouldn't have a kybrd because they take up space and like an earlier post pointed out -- typing is conspicuous. Writing with a stylus is not. Since this baby would run the full OS X, it would be my media center on the go too. It would have no optical drive (too much space) and have a decent sized hard drive. It would be wireless (BT and 8011g) along with USB2 and FW. It could use an older G4 (or a fast G3 for that matter) and start at Mac mini prices. No, it wouldn't be blazing fast, but it was a fully *functional* OS X, then that would be what mattered. Think of it as a Newton or even an iPod on steroids. You would sync it with your PC (Macs for full feature set and integration) so you could take your music, movies, documents with you -- perhaps your entire home folder (at least the best parts anyway). I would buy one for me and one for my wife...today.

bellis1

May 24, 2005, 09:21 PM

Hope that thing doesn't make me curse. Bring it on b*tches.

LGRW3919

May 24, 2005, 10:06 PM

Anybody think this eerily coincides with the fact the mini has no monitor?

not really, i don't see that connection. the mac mini has no monitor because it'd be hard to keep it at the $500 range (unless they include some 13" CRT :D )

lajocaab

May 24, 2005, 10:45 PM

The technology is available to provide consumers with a product like "iSlate ". Of course only Apple could really do it right, although several other companies are attempting to create some variation of this device. Unfortunately many are too focused on video playback only, & not creating a true multi-function device that could be used at home, at the office, or on the road. This product would integrate well into the "Digital Lifestyle" philosophy & compliment existing Apple products.

It would provide a screen large enough to actually watch video & view photos, while still being small enough to be portable. It needs to be smaller than a notebook computer, but larger than a PDA. Granted, you can not put a device the size of a DVD case in your pocket, but something doesn't have to fit in a pocket to be portable. This device could be used in so many different situations that it would have broad appeal in the market. I only pray that Apple is working on such a device & will release it in 2004. They have an opportunity to impact the industry with the iSlate & iVideo media Store as much as the iPod & iTMS will.

iSlate

New Apple mini-tablet –> PMA (portable media appliance)

Designed not to be a creative device like a desktop or laptop, but rather a sophisticated display device that communicates seamlessly with other devices via Rendezvous & 802.11, BT, GPRS, FireWire, etc.

Device Size:
8” x 5.0” x .65” (±15oz)
± 1/2 size of a 17” PowerBook
± 2x size of a Palm T5 or an iPod
± size of a DVD movie case
small enough to hold with one hand by the bezel (.5” bezel on the sides)

Screen:
±8” LCD (16:9 ratio) -> 800 x 480 pixels minimum (1024 x 600 ideally)
± 1/2 size of 17” PowerBook screen
± 2x size of a Palm T5 screen
able to display “640 x 480 material” & DVD (720x480) quality video natively

Battery:
6-9 hr. Li-Ion battery (or some new battery technology)

Storage:
1.8” 40GB or 60GB hard drive (additional capacity can come from external devices)
128MB or 256MB RAM - fixed
CF slot (w/ adapter for SD, xD, Smart Media, Memory stick)

Processor & OS ?:
Motorola 800 MHz G4 mobile w/ Mac OS X lite or
Intel 400 MHz XScale PXA273 w/ Mac OS Mobile?

Connectivity:
802.11 –> Desktop or Laptop, Stereo, Internet via Wi-Fi hotspots
Bluetooth –> Keyboard, Mouse, PDA, Wireless Headphones, Internet via GSM Phone
FireWire –> iPod, Computer, Hard Drive, DVD/CD writer, Video Camera, iSight
USB 2.0 –> Printer, PDA, Digital Still Camera
mini-DVI w/adapter for:
-> ADC & VGA for larger monitor
-> DVI for video projector or HDTV
-> S-Video for video projector or TV
-> Composite for video projector or TV
Stereo mini out
Stereo mini in
Rendezvous for seamless connectivity to other devices

Input:
Inkwell via touch screen &/or stylus
Keyboard & mouse via Bluetooth or USB
Microphone
Remote control via Bluetooth

Applications:
inkwell, iPhoto, iTunes, iMovie, Safari, QuickTime, iSync, Rendezvous
Preview or Acrobat Reader, Mail, iCal, Address Book, Sherlock, iChat AV
Keynote, FileMaker, Quicken,

A/V Formats:
Pixlet, MPEG-4, MPEG-2, MPEG-1, AAC, MP3, WAV, AIFF, Audible, JPEG, TIFF, GIF

Accessories:
Charger, External Battery, Stand, clip for iSight, Portable folding BT keyboard, BT mouse
Headphone w/Microphone boom, quality stereo headphones

Price ??:
$699 to $999

Create a device that is bigger that the largest PDA or Archos type device, yet smaller than the average notebook or tablet computer. Imagine if you will, holding a device (about the size of a DVD case) away from you anywhere from 12" to 18". Obviously a 4" screen would be inadequate, but a 7" to 9" diagonal widescreen would be more than acceptable. It could still be small enough to fit in a stack of books, a briefcase, a large purse, of any number of other carrying cases. It would be something that could be viewed in an office, at home, in a coffee shop, on an airplane or train, or even in the backseat of a car.

The idea is not to see how much visual information one can cram into a small space (3" to 4" screens) or replace existing devices like the TV or Video Projector. The idea is to create a device that is a reasonable compromise between portability & "acceptable or pleasurable" viewing for multiple applications & that also complements existing devices.

Although a 4 lb, 12" notebook computer displays video beautifully (I use one everyday), it is too big for the situations I have described. Beyond the innumerable business applications it could fulfill, it could display video & photos on a screen that is much bigger than an Archos type device or PDA, & yet smaller than a notebook computer. It doesn’t need to carry everything all the time, so it doesn’t require a massive hard drive. The internal HD needs only to be large enough for the OS, applications & enough storage to carry material while you away from any connectivity to other devices or the internet.

From a strictly “video perspective”, a large part of its success would hinge upon Apple's ability to distribute video clips through an online store much like iTMS. This store could provide educational content, business content, news content, & entertainment content beyond just movies. To be truly successful, it must integrate into Apple's "Digital Lifestyle" strategy, & be truly portable (ubiquitous wireless connectivity & good battery life).

Originally Posted by: lajocaab on Feb 11, 04 | 11:05 pm

Snowy_River

May 24, 2005, 10:58 PM

PDAs ARE dead. Phones are good at very basic web info, contact, calendar, etc. PDAs, currently, dont bring that much more to the table except basic office apps, etc. However, I dont think you can really work or web browse on a PDA type device, its too restricted by power and form factor.

I would like, and I think we are going to see it, is an apple tablet, running a lite version of OSX. Full web browsing, office apps, etc. I dont think we will see it with a keyboard, unless it is an on-screen option. It will be about the size of its paper replacement, a notebook (about 9x11), and very thin, so it isnt like carrying a laptop.

Street Price: $700-800 (I would like to see it at $500, but apple was selling ipods at 500 not all that long ago!)

Though it's been said a couple of times, I feel that I must reiterate. PDAs are NOT dead. Smart phones are either not as fully functional, or are too big. Get a smart phone that's small enough to be comfortable, and you don't have enough room to display the information, or allow proper input. As it is, my Palm Tungsten T5 is barely adequate for such things, but it's small size is indispensable. So, it's the perfect balance between my phone and my laptop. I wouldn't want a phone that was large enough to replace my T5.

Tablets are another matter. I think that if they were properly designed, they could be a tremendous hit. Imagine a board room meeting where everyone has one, instead of a packet of papers. Now, it's true that you can do this with laptops, but the fact that the screen of the laptop stay up and in the way, rather than laying down like a real notebook, would interfere with the meeting.

Of course, this is a limited example, but it gets one idea across. There are, of course, others. Think of a student taking notes in class. I used to do this on my laptop, but I couldn't add figures easily enough, so I stopped. Overall, I think there is a potential market for this, it's just a question of whether the technology has matured enough for them to be truly viable.

bystem

May 25, 2005, 12:43 AM

27ray

May 25, 2005, 01:29 AM

HumanJHawkins

May 25, 2005, 01:59 AM

O gosh here we go again... <CUT> The market for tablet is not yet big enough for Apple to enter it.

You seem to be forgetting that Apple often creates a market... Look at iTunes or the iPod. Even back with the original iMac, Apple created a market for an all-in-one computer like that where it was almost non-existant.

I am not saying I buy the tablet thing... Just that the lack of a market for it does not seem to be relevant.

GregA

May 25, 2005, 02:05 AM

not really, i don't see that connection. the mac mini has no monitor because it'd be hard to keep it at the $500 range (unless they include some 13" CRT :D )The Mac Mini has, apparently, an unusual dock-like connector on the back-top of it (hidden under the cover). When the Mini was released, many rumour sites said they thought the Mac Mini was originally going to also be a dock for the iPod. It is entirely possible that, if it was a dock, it was a dock for a tablet. The timing would also coincide with the timing of the Tablet patent.

That doesn't mean it would have been a MacMini + Tablet for $500, rather that perhaps there were other design goals that we don't know about yet (and maybe never will).

speleoterra

May 25, 2005, 02:13 AM

http://www.itablet.com/english/Products_itablet=04.htm

fraggle

May 25, 2005, 03:07 AM

IBM needs to hurry up and invent Multi-Threading.

AFAIK both the POWER5 and the Cell support SMT.

edit: The XBox 360 CPU does it, too.

Flickta

May 25, 2005, 03:12 AM

I think the only way Apple will make a tablet PC is making it more of an accessory rather a computer. There are iBooks and Pbooks already - for computing. iPad - an electronic notepad - would be cool. :)

NBathan

May 25, 2005, 03:25 AM

Come on guys. Seriously, what does a tablet do that your great powerbook doesn't already? Tablet PCs always seemed like a tech demo rather than usable solution. Big "so what" if you ask me.

aegisdesign

May 25, 2005, 03:40 AM

PDAs are not dead. You'll have to pull my Palm V from my cold, dead fingers first! The problem with using a phone as a Personal Digital Assistant is that it's more or less read-only. If I can't enter a new appointment just by writing it in, then I would have to carry a dayplanner as well as a phone that supposedly replaces it. And you won't find me entering a paragraph or two of notes on a phone using the keypad, that's for sure. You can't put a fully functional touch screen on a phone, either - there's no room for it, and the glass is going to shatter on the first day when I carry it around in my jeans pocket.

My Sony Ericsson p910i is evidence to the contrary. A much better PDA than my Palm Vx.

Veldek

May 25, 2005, 05:07 AM

Yeah. It was a patent that described the click wheel that showed up on the iPod Mini. The real intention of the patented mechnism were being disguised by describing it in a device other than the one on which it finally appeared.So, this points out to this patent not being a tablet, but being disguised as a tablet and used for something else.

intlplby

May 25, 2005, 05:21 AM

someone mentioned the idea of a tablet with simply and OS X remote access client and as far as i can see that seems to be a huge step in the future of laptops.

this is not a 'now' thing, but doesn't seem too incredibly far off. i guess it is basically an extension of the NC computer idea that places like oracle had in mind.

if the telecommunications industry got the bandwidth high enough you could essentially combine the cell phone and the laptop into one. you would not need to worry about making a super fast mobile processor.

all you would need is to be able to communicate with your mac at home or in your office fast enough that it behaves and looks as quick as if you were at your mac at home.

if the limit is 1.67 G4 now it would instead be 2.7GHz G5 instead.

you could also reduce the form factor of the laptop too. since it would be easy to miniaturize something that simply has to communicate a version of apple remote desktop.

if it gets lost stolen or broken you have nothing to worry about since everything is safe at home. you could have high amounts of diskspace available at home.

if such was the case, both a laptop version and a tablet version could both be very feasible. it'd be basically a remote for your primary machine.

Windowlicker

May 25, 2005, 06:33 AM

elmimmo

May 25, 2005, 06:58 AM

If they are doing that, they had better spend some time at enhancing Inkwell. As of now, it is simply "decent" (double space hell).

That's when writing in one of the three only languages supported (I just tried English, though, but there's also French and German).. Time to add a frigging Spanish dictionary to Inkwell, then, because in that language (or whatever other that is not it is in the languages tab of the Inkwell PrefPane) you'll be swearing at every three words out of four.

As of now, Inkwell is an absolute crap at recognizing Spanish (or Catalan, by the way).

I guess, though, if Apple refuses to *at least* bundle the Spanish voices (Mexican, though) that came all those years with Mac OS 9 and before (not even dreaming about enhancing them or getting something to the level of Speechissimo) when we are already in the 5th major release of X, it's stupid to think that they will be pouring any efforts in bringing English features into Spanish that never were there before.

Les Kern

May 25, 2005, 08:30 AM

IF they are coming out with a tablet (which I doubt) they had better do something Apple-like to make it a hit. I had a top-of-the-line PC version, and it was trash. I GAVE it away, no crap. If Apple follows the PC concept for this product, it will die. If they get creative and link it to a "media center" thing, MAYBE. I think it will take a lot more than even that to turn around a market that started low and stayed there.
Of course they are VERY good at that.

Savage Henry

May 25, 2005, 08:32 AM

You seem to be forgetting that Apple often creates a market... Look at iTunes or the iPod. Even back with the original iMac, Apple created a market for an all-in-one computer like that where it was almost non-existant.

I am not saying I buy the tablet thing... Just that the lack of a market for it does not seem to be relevant.In the case of iTunes, iPod, iMac it wasn't actually a lack of market, the market was already there it was the product that wasn't.

In the case of PDAs the products are already there, but the market isn't. So why put another product amongst the mass of others in a moribund market?

bokdol

May 25, 2005, 08:42 AM

http://www.palmone.com/us/products/mobilemanagers/lifedrive/

dont know if anyone posted this already.. be nice with a mini osx installed
:p

bikertwin

May 25, 2005, 09:55 AM

http://www.palmone.com/us/products/mobilemanagers/lifedrive/

dont know if anyone posted this already.. be nice with a mini osx installed
:p

Nice link, but Apple needs to create something larger for showing movies and high-resolution photos. Widescreen, between the size of an iBook screen and the LifeDrive screen. It would be perfect.

It needs:

Music (iTunes)
Movies (QuickTime Player)
Photos (iPhoto)
Mail
Safari
Address Book
iCal
Preview

Then we need an "iLife Store", which is the iTunes Store + movies + eBooks. Sony had the beginnings of this with their Clié line, but dropped out before they were finished. I'm looking to replace my Clié now. Tungsten E2 is too expensive for what it does; very uninspiring. LifeDrive is too small.

One more thing. If it has a 16:9 HD screen, it can play back HD content created in DVD Studio Pro, even before HD/BluRay drives are out.

emotion

May 25, 2005, 10:03 AM

interesting

http://www.nokia.com/nokia/0,1522,,00.html?orig=/770

GregA

May 25, 2005, 10:12 AM

Come on guys. Seriously, what does a tablet do that your great powerbook doesn't already? Tablet PCs always seemed like a tech demo rather than usable solution. Big "so what" if you ask me.Personally I think if they release a tablet at the same cost as a laptop, there just isn't much point.

The question is is there a market for something of far lower power but that's also far cheaper, AND useful.

Maybe you could consider it an iPod photo with a big screen - you can look at photos, read notes, listen to music, look up contacts, check your calendar. Not really enough is it?

Or consider it as a Newton modernised.
Or a remote terminal to something else.

If iTMS was selling eBooks (electronic books) I'd load them on a tablet to read - but iTMS doesn't sell electronic/digital books.

I don't think there's a market there for an ultra simple device until the tablet can replace a normal notepad in every way, a book in every way, and a diary in every way. Every way INCLUDES size, weight, and loooooong battery life. Perhaps if it replaces those closely enough, and adds another function like email, web, and iChat via 802.11?

Lepton

May 25, 2005, 11:03 AM

A small flat screen display with stylus, WiFi, Apple Remote Access and virtually nothing else is an ideal device. No hard disk, no big memory, no I/O but the WiFi and a USB for optional keyboard, mouse, printer. Minimum screen 640x480, but sizes from shirt pocket to laptop are possible. With an OLED display you can get really bright images in a tiny, thin case with an all-day battery. You can get Star Trek DataPad-y with a little work..

Small. Light. Cheap. Long battery life. 95% as useful as a laptop at one third the price. Most computers are on the Net, and Tiger is all ready for this as it has the ARA client and Inkwell built right in.

WiFi has plenty of bandwidth for this. I run Timbuktu/ARA all the time hooking my 12" laptop 1024x768 to my main machine and most of the time you hardly notice. You can run ALL the programs you have at home, you can roam anywhere there is a WiFi on the Net, you can tell your home computer to print, EMail, fax, file transfer anything, you've got all your data with you and up to date. Or you can roam an office floor linking to various computers on the fly.

The concept deserves very serious thought..

intlplby

May 25, 2005, 11:18 AM

that's exactly what i am saying lepton....... all you need is the degree of communications ability and that seems like the future to me...

it'd be the power of the desktop in the laptop..... examples

you work with final cut pro, motion and shake..... you shoot out on location. upload all the footage to your desktop workstation overnight...... all your work is then located in a safe place and you can then harness the power of your desktop machine out on location. editing with FCP, creating particle systems with motion and compositing with shake without having to carry around bulky large FW800 drives (which are more prone to failing when you travel with them, plus your data could be saved on a redundant system where size and weight are no issue) you can have as much ram as a desktop will hold (8 gb currently) utilize the dual 2.7s you have or even better yet a cluster of remote machines. all you would need is the laptop, a fast mobile wifi connection and a harddisk big enough for a days worth of information.

example 2

you are a DJ and you are traveling... you can have access to your entire library of MP3s at home without the need to carry around a harddisk with everything.... vinyl, turntables and laptop are enough equipment to carry without adding more to the mix.... plus when you arent playing you can harness all the ram and processor speed when working in logic or DP4

example 3

you are a photographer out on location.... same deal as the above two.... you got all the photos backed up and you don't need to worry about loss, theft, damage, or other mishaps since all your work will be safely secured back at home or in the office.... you can then utilize desktop power and lots of ram to work quickly in photoshop or batch processing your raw files

cr2sh

May 25, 2005, 11:24 AM

A small flat screen display with stylus, WiFi, Apple Remote Access and virtually nothing else is an ideal device.
The concept deserves very serious thought..

Why? Because its your concept?

I want to do email, I want to do iTunes, I want to do sketches, I want to do internet. I want at least 1280x800 reolution.

dobbin

May 25, 2005, 11:26 AM

Welli bought a 500 iBook so i could sit out side and read e-mail and surf the internet, now what i wanted was a smaller tablet, slightly bigger than the Palm Tungsten and smaller and lighter than the iBook.

-ray

Pretty similar here. I bought my iBook because I wanted to be able to carry my photos around with me to show people who don't have a computer like my mum and my gran.

Of course, the iPod photo came out 2 weeks later which I may have chosen instead.

I think its better to view on the iBook though, rather than having to plug the iPod into a TV.
So something in the middle - an extra large iPod photo - would have a market IMO.

cr2sh

May 25, 2005, 11:30 AM

you work with final cut pro, motion and shake..... you shoot out on location. upload all the footage to your desktop workstation overnight......

Wow. Upload video footage overnight. That is an impressive upload stream connection you have there... I mean jeez... the guy has a t3 connection in the field, but can't afford to bring his g5 with him. Dazzling.

you are a DJ and you are traveling... you can have access to your entire library of MP3s at home without the need to carry around a harddisk with everything.... vinyl, turntables and laptop are enough equipment to carry without adding more to the mix.... plus when you arent playing you can harness all the ram and processor speed when working in logic or DP4

What? You're not making sense. This DJ is going to carry around a laptop.... but not a harddisk with mp3s?

you are a photographer out on location.... same deal as the above two.... you got all the photos backed up and you don't need to worry about loss, theft, damage, or other mishaps since all your work will be safely secured back at home or in the office.... you can then utilize desktop power and lots of ram to work quickly in photoshop or batch processing your raw files

Ugh. Listen I'm not sure why he would need an elaborate system to connect him to his machine across the county... when a laptop in the field would do everything he needs. Half the hardware. No worries about not being able to get to his files. And if his connection ever goes down... he has somewhere to put his stuff. You guys seem to think that this tablet Apple might introduce would also include connectivity that never fails....

bikertwin

May 25, 2005, 11:34 AM

Will it be shiny, glossy black like the edge of this screen?

http://www.apple.com/macosx/

woodman

May 25, 2005, 11:40 AM

poundsmack

May 25, 2005, 11:41 AM

the lifedrives are really cool. i came really close to buying one but refuse to buy anything PALM untl OS6 is on them. but i think if we double the size of the lifedrive then it would be perfect. the problem is the hardd drive. while a micro drive would work. and i think thye have up to 10 gig microdrives (i could be totaly wrong in either direvtion) the fact that those drives were not ment to spin very fast or very offten without wearing down.

bikertwin

May 25, 2005, 11:43 AM

interesting

http://www.nokia.com/nokia/0,1522,,00.html?orig=/770

Yes! Nice find. Screen resolution is OK, but not perfect. :)

It doesn't have a hard drive, but does have an MMC slot (is that the same as SD?). Will that be fast enough to play movies?

The LifeDrive has a 4 GB hard drive, but soon SD cards will be available at 4 GB. So is the need for a hard drive all about speed? One review of the LifeDrive mentioned a 6-second delay as it spun up.

Dr.Gargoyle

May 25, 2005, 11:45 AM

I am sure someone else mentioned this before, but if not...
the only reason Apple could have to enter the dying tablet market would be if they combined a video iPod and a tablet computer. The fact that Apple seem to be selling movies through iTMS might open a market for a iPod video.
However, you need a much larger screen for watching video than the tiny one iPod Photo currently is sporting. Furthermore, it makes business sense to differentiate the different iPods in the iPod family. This might be one way of doing just that. That is, adding some basic emailing, webb browsing, etc capabilities would índeed help differentiate e.g. the iPod Photo from a possible iPod Video.
Regardless of which I doubt that Apple would market an ordinary tablet. It wouldn't be Apple's (Job's) style.

Chaywa

May 25, 2005, 11:57 AM

I couldn't care less about an apple tablet. I'm sitting at a G5 tower editing, compositing and compressing massive amounts of video and loving it. But, here's something to add to the discussion. Perhaps this

http://www.samsung.com/PressCenter/PressRelease/PressRelease.asp?seq=20050523_0000123980

could be a solution to battery life and weight issues. Apple is an early adopter of new technology like this. Just my 2 cents.

dizastor

May 25, 2005, 12:20 PM

This would be a great solution for many artists out there. I for one would love a Mac tablet that I could draw on. I've been seriously considerering a tablet PC for my long train rides to and from work each morning. Bringing the 17" Powerbook and the Wacom tablet seems a little over the top to me.

That Nokia 770 looks pretty sweet, a slightly larger screen, a lite version of Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, and some Apple design cues and that would be an awesome solution.

Other things that I can see being the hit or miss keys to Apple's tablet success would be Apple software that adds functionality to the tablet right out of the box, a sketching app, a notebook app, maybe even a lite photo editor.

I think the thing that has been killing Windows tablet PCs is price. Tablets should be between $600-$1200, not the $1500-2300 that current tablets sell for. I think they are completely missing the point as to what people want a tablet pc to be. They try to make it a full fledged notebook with a fliptop touchscreen. I think they need to strip out the unecessary extras that make today's tablets more of a hybrid than a true tablet. A keyboard should be an add-on option. The screen should be somewhere between small laptop and a pda. (8 inches or so)

I can't stress enough how important I think the software is. OSX Lite, value added tablet apps, I'll take one, and I'm sure many of you would too.

;)

Toe

May 25, 2005, 12:34 PM

Instead of a tablet... howabout a sheet?

Flexible LCD technology (http://www.research.philips.com/newscenter/archive/2004/lcd-technology.html) already exists, and some flexible LCD products (http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000457027717/) have already been produced.

I doubt it would be appropriate for a tablet until it is very, very inexpensive. But at that point, some really interesting products come to mind.

P.S. At that point, I'll bet we'll see LCD tattoos as well, both for fashion (animated tattoos that change all the time) and function (a small screen in place of a wristwatch that acts as the interface to your communications).

peharri

May 25, 2005, 12:42 PM

I'm more than happy with a smaller laptop, preferably with built in 802.11, and some easy way of having it go online via GPRS, but it needs a keyboard. It seriously needs a keyboard.

I know there are those who find keyboards scary, but frankly the numbers are tiny these days. If you have a job, then with some exceptions, it generally requires regular use of a keyboard. And even a one finger typist pretty soon ends up faster on one than using a pen on paper.

Most importantly, it's not painful. Writing is.

While I know that there's a strong minority that disagrees with the above, I genuinely believe that for a product to be useful to the vast majority of its users, a keyboard is necessary. That, above everything else, is why the PDA never seriously took off, and why the tablet PC hasn't either.

Yeah, I said it. The PDA never took off. It was an interesting toy for the vast majority of people I saw using it - some execs and the odd geek. Despite falling to a price level where it could become an impulse purchase, the devices simply never found mass usage the same way as, say, the mobile phone. Even in its heyday, there were less people in my US based office with PDAs (about three) than there were mobile phone users (before the great surge in demand around 2001)

What we're proposing here is a larger PDA. One with less portability. One designed to have all of the disadvantages of the laptop coupled with the disadvantages of the PDA. It's just not a practical proposition, it doesn't have a market. About the best I can think of is that it'd be a nice thing to use to surf the 'web while in bed, or control some sort of iTunes server from the living room couch, and that's only if I don't plan to type anything beyond the occasional password. And we're assuming Apple has overcome technological problems that have plagued other implementers - like Nokia's astonishingly poor three hour battery life on the 770.

I hate to be a naysayer, but I don't see Apple doing this. There were always good reasons to believe a well implemented hard disk based MP3 player would be useful to people. This doesn't seem to have that.

intlplby

May 25, 2005, 12:47 PM

i know that uploading uncompressed video footage overnight is not currently possible... i had mentioned in a previous post that it's all dependent on the communications technology.... but it seems more and more difficult to keep making a laptop better while still reducing it's size.......you always have the luxury of space and wall power with a disktop..... i can totally see a point where gap between the power in a desktop and the power available in a notebook starts to widen significantly

madmaxmedia

May 25, 2005, 12:48 PM

Yeah those tablet PCs have become such a colossol hit! I mean you can't go anywhere without seeing one.

I hope Apple doesn't waste its money developing a tablet PC when there is so much work to be done on making good value, fast ibooks and powerbooks. Something they apparently no longer have an interest in.

I think Apple can chew gum and walk at the same time...Besides, faster notebooks will come when IBM develops the CPU's for them. Apple is not the rate-limiting factor here.

The next huge product out of Apple will likely be another red-headed stepchild, that Apple is able to develop and fulfill its potential. The iPod drew a collective groan when it was first introduced. The Shuffle spec leak (no screen or click wheel) drew a similar response here, and it has become a huge success. Looking at existing products and markets is conventional thinking, which is not how Apple has succeeded.

I personally don't really see this tablet happening, but it's not like I've done a whole lot of work analyzing tablet and PDA interfaces and assessing whether they could be improved to make them truly useful devices for a large number of people.

Dr.Gargoyle

May 25, 2005, 12:54 PM

I hate to be a naysayer, but I don't see Apple doing this. There were always good reasons to believe a well implemented hard disk based MP3 player would be useful to people. This doesn't seem to have that.
I couldn't agree more...However, the circumstances will change if Apple decides to sell movies from iTMS. My guess is that then they will also be launching an iPod with video capabilites. Since the display on the current iPod is very (too) small, we should see the introduction of an iPod with larger screen with some additional PDA capabilities... adds up to a tablet.
I do share your doubts about wether it will become a success.

madmaxmedia

May 25, 2005, 12:55 PM

What we're proposing here is a larger PDA. One with less portability. One designed to have all of the disadvantages of the laptop coupled with the disadvantages of the PDA. It's just not a practical proposition, it doesn't have a market. About the best I can think of is that it'd be a nice thing to use to surf the 'web while in bed, or control some sort of iTunes server from the living room couch, and that's only if I don't plan to type anything beyond the occasional password. And we're assuming Apple has overcome technological problems that have plagued other implementers - like Nokia's astonishingly poor three hour battery life on the 770.

I hate to be a naysayer, but I don't see Apple doing this. There were always good reasons to believe a well implemented hard disk based MP3 player would be useful to people. This doesn't seem to have that.

While I completely agree with your thoughts on a keyboard (I need one too), to say this this is just a larger PDA is way oversimplifying things, since we have absolutely NO IDEA what Apple might be coming up with.

There were good reasons to believe a well implemented HD mp3 player would be useful, but almost no one foresaw how successful the iPod would be. It's way to easy to say things in hindsight, heck the iPod didn't even start taking off until after its first year.

My point is not that a rumored Apple tablet will be great no matter what, but that everyon here is naysaying it based on conventional, current form factors and interfaces. While we should all know that if Apple does introduce a tablet, it will look and work like nothing that is currently available.

Dr.Gargoyle

May 25, 2005, 12:59 PM

While we should all know that if Apple does introduce a tablet, it will look and work like nothing that is currently available. THAT is something we all can agree with. Whatever Apple decides to launch it will not be what we have had expected

madmaxmedia

May 25, 2005, 01:02 PM

A small flat screen display with stylus, WiFi, Apple Remote Access and virtually nothing else is an ideal device. No hard disk, no big memory, no I/O but the WiFi and a USB for optional keyboard, mouse, printer. Minimum screen 640x480, but sizes from shirt pocket to laptop are possible. With an OLED display you can get really bright images in a tiny, thin case with an all-day battery. You can get Star Trek DataPad-y with a little work..

The concept deserves very serious thought..

At the very least, the concept is good enough that even a more fully-featured tablet (more than a thin client) should have this capability built-in.

You can do this with a regular PDA right now with PalmVNC and either a Palm or PocketPC. A more specialized device would be bigger though (bigger screen). USB for optional keyboard and other stuff would be key too.

If you had a good wifi connection, it would feel remarkably close to running your home Mac right there. Although the obvious question is then how is this dramatically better than a notebook computer? Anything bigger than a PDA is not pocketable, so 6 x 8 x .75 is not that much better IMO than 8 x 11 x 1 (or whatever my 12" PB is.)

The main negative vs. a notebook is that you have to have a relatively fast connection for it to work, otherwise you're DOA. I think that's why regular tablet/PDA functions would also be built in, not just the thin client.

madmaxmedia

May 25, 2005, 01:07 PM

THAT is something we all can agree with. Whatever Apple decides to launch it will not be what we have had expected

Yeah, my main point I guess is that it would be more fruitful and much more interesting to speculate on how such a device might actually be revolutionary. I mean it likely isn't going to happen anyway, but it's funner to brainstorm how an Apple tablet might be really useful and desirable, than talk about how crappy existing PDAs and tablets are.

I was completely surprised by the original Shuffle rumors. But after thinking about the possibilities for a few minutes was completely convinced that not only was such a device quite possible, but that Apple would really introduce such a product.

Lepton

May 25, 2005, 01:07 PM

Why? Because its your concept?

I want to do email, I want to do iTunes, I want to do sketches, I want to do internet. I want at least 1280x800 reolution.
Great, this will work perfectly for you then. Your home computer HAS EMail. It HAS Internet, it HAS a browser, and your favorite art program, and in fact this device has everything your home computer has, has all the storage your home computer has, and it runs it all just as fast as your home computer does.

It's a take-anywhere monitor on your home computer. You just need to connect with some WiFi hooked to the internet with enough bandwidth to support what you want to do, and this thing will work great, securely, and all day long. Use it in any major hotel, any Starbucks, most libraries, probably your friend's house, on some city streets - lots and lots of places. You only need a little bandwidth to browse most Net pages or do EMail, or send a file from your home computer to someone else's. You need some more, to do iTunes, and more still to do moving images. These days, decent WiFi bandwidth is not hard to find. You might be surprised how efficient ARA can be.

No, it's not a laptop. But it's a fraction of the price and weight with CPU power equal to your home computer, and good battery life. Well worth it.

Dr.Gargoyle

May 25, 2005, 01:17 PM

Great, this will work perfectly for you then. Your home computer HAS EMail. It HAS Internet, it HAS a browser, and your favorite art program, and in fact this device has everything your home computer has, has all the storage your home computer has, and it runs it all just as fast as your home computer does.

It's a take-anywhere monitor on your home computer. You just need to connect with some WiFi hooked to the internet with enough bandwidth to support what you want to do, and this thing will work great, securely, and all day long. Use it in any major hotel, any Starbucks, most libraries, probably your friend's house, on some city streets - lots and lots of places. You only need a little bandwidth to browse most Net pages or do EMail, or send a file from your home computer to someone else's. You need some more, to do iTunes, and more still to do moving images. These days, decent WiFi bandwidth is not hard to find. You might be surprised how efficient ARA can be.

No, it's not a laptop. But it's a fraction of the price and weight with CPU power equal to your home computer, and good battery life. Well worth it.
How many people would like to lugg around with a 20'' monitor? My guess is a smaller device, more of an iPod video with some PDA capabilties.

Lepton

May 25, 2005, 01:32 PM

How many people would like to lugg around with a 20'' monitor? My guess is a smaller device, more of an iPod video with some PDA capabilties.
I'd like a pocket 640x480, or maybe the size of today's new 800x480 Nokia device but 852x480 (16:9) and much thinner and lighter without all the switches and buttons. Umm, like a PSP if you cut off the two ends with the video game controls, perhaps. There may be different models with different screen sizes. Note you can shrink a much larger virtual screen down, or pan around on it following the cursor or keyboard focus automatically, ARA/OSX has all this well taken care of already.

A portable monitor on your computer, just with a relatively lousy video card - how lousy depends almost solely on your bandwidth. ARA can even cut down on color depth to help with that, it's even (barely) usable on a modem's bandwidth.

Dr.Gargoyle

May 25, 2005, 01:47 PM

I'd like a pocket 640x480, or maybe the size of today's new 800x480 Nokia device but 852x480 (16:9) and much thinner and lighter without all the switches and buttons. Umm, like a PSP if you cut off the two ends with the video game controls, perhaps. There may be different models with different screen sizes. Note you can shrink a much larger virtual screen down, or pan around on it following the cursor or keyboard focus automatically, ARA/OSX has all this well taken care of already.

A portable monitor on your computer, just with a relatively lousy video card - how lousy depends almost solely on your bandwidth. ARA can even cut down on color depth to help with that, it's even (barely) usable on a modem's bandwidth.
ok, then we are talking about the same thing.
I too imagine a small tablet computer, a iPod video. you can load such device in many ways, remote, tablet, iPod video...
Since it is Apple we are talking about I am sure that whatever comes out will be brilliant.

cr2sh

May 25, 2005, 02:08 PM

ok, then we are talking about the same thing.
I too imagine a small tablet computer, a iPod video. you can load such device in many ways, remote, tablet, iPod video...
Since it is Apple we are talking about I am sure that whatever comes out will be brilliant.

But this is not what the patent filing resembles... at all. The patent image that stirred all this up to begin wiht resembles a half a 12" laptop.. or so.

http://www.macobserver.com/images/news/2005/20050510tablet/figure7.gif

It's a take-anywhere monitor on your home computer. You just need to connect with some WiFi hooked to the internet with enough bandwidth to support what you want to do, and this thing will work great, securely, and all day long. Use it in any major hotel, any Starbucks, most libraries, probably your friend's house, on some city streets - lots and lots of places. You only need a little bandwidth to browse most Net pages or do EMail, or send a file from your home computer to someone else's. You need some more, to do iTunes, and more still to do moving images. These days, decent WiFi bandwidth is not hard to find. You might be surprised how efficient ARA can be.

And if the wi-fi is down? If there's a problem at my home? If I'm on the road and my cable is out? I have no way at all to use, access, or create files... do I? I don't have iTunes... I don't have anything... if the wireless internet fails me.

My files/work is important enough that I would NEVER take the risk of leaving my files at home... HOPING that the wi-fi is up when I get to my destination.

Dr.Gargoyle

May 25, 2005, 02:49 PM

But this is not what the patent filing resembles... at all. The patent image that stirred all this up to begin wiht resembles a half a 12" laptop.. or so.
The patent is design patent as I understood it, hence it is valid at all scales. Consider that you are not allowed to manufacture a slightly smaller Lego brick.

Besides, it would make sense to file a patent that covered your new product, but vague enough such taht people had no idea about your intentions, assuming you want to keep your future actions unknown.

...and yes I agree.... this is wild speculations, but isnt that what rumor sites are all about? ;)

cr2sh

May 25, 2005, 03:13 PM

The patent is design patent as I understood it, hence it is valid at all scales. Consider that you are not allowed to manufacture a slightly smaller Lego brick.

Yes, but to call the item pictured above an "ipod video" wouldn't quite be accurate. Not in the ipod photo sense, at least. To call an Apple Tablet and iPod Video wouldn't even be accurate... I think we're talking about two different imaginary devices here. :p

I want a computer.

You want a remote control.

lunchbox

May 25, 2005, 03:44 PM

Maybe this is just a new PDA... I, for one, would love to see Apple break some new ground in that department

Dr.Gargoyle

May 25, 2005, 04:12 PM

Yes, but to call the item pictured above an "ipod video" wouldn't quite be accurate. Not in the ipod photo sense, at least. To call an Apple Tablet and iPod Video wouldn't even be accurate... I think we're talking about two different imaginary devices here. :p

I want a computer.

You want a remote control.
Well, I am not so sure that we disagree, but I might be wrong (wouldn't be the first time):rolleyes: :)
First, I dont think Apple would manufacture just a remote control. It wouldnt be their style.
I can envison a tablet computer doubling as a iPod video (you need a much larger screen in the iPod video) or a iPod video doubling as a tablet computer.
Just as the iPod today has some very very basic PDA capabilties, I can see a larger (much larger) iPod video where there PDA capabilities have been beefed up considerably. Something inbetween an iPod and a laptop. This "gadget" would probably have some of the specs you posted above, perhaps even a remote.

Snowy_River

May 25, 2005, 04:45 PM

that's exactly what i am saying lepton....... all you need is the degree of communications ability and that seems like the future to me...

it'd be the power of the desktop in the laptop.....

I have real problems with this. It's relying on technology that just isn't there yet. If anything goes hay-wire with the connection, then I have nothing. How often do I get annoyed when I slip into a low- or no-coverage area with my cell phone? I couldn't imagine the frustration with needing to worry about whether or not I was in a coverage area just to be able to access my data. I suppose that this could work for big businesses, distributing them to people for use on the premises, but that makes it an awfully small niche market, and not the kind of thing that Apple is going to be too keen on.

As things stand now, I can have all the access that you described, plus local functionality with a PowerBook.

No, at this point I think this is a dead end. At some point in the future, when wireless broadband is more ubiquitous, maybe. But, then, maybe at that point all computers will be just dumb terminals, except the special few. (i.e. the difference between cellular phones and satellite phones).

speleoterra

May 25, 2005, 05:10 PM

speleoterra

May 25, 2005, 05:15 PM

interesting

http://www.nokia.com/nokia/0,1522,,00.html?orig=/770

Nokia bad.
Apple version of this good. Even better.

dongmin

May 25, 2005, 05:56 PM

This all-over-the-place discussion is enough to convince me that Apple will never release this iTablet-thingy. Everyone has a different, conflicting idea of what it needs to do. That's probably because everyone is simply projecting their own personal geek fantasies.

It's obvious that there is no one clear, compelling need for such a device. Portable music--now that was clear. It was a very specific activity that almost everybody participated in.

Apple is NOT gonna get into a market without a clear market. And they're not gonna produce a jack-of-all-trades either. It'll be designed to do one thing really well, and in an ingenius way that improves our daily lives. A tablet PC doesn't qualify. Nor does a PDA. A portable video player probably doesn't either. The only thing that has mass appeal is a iTunes/media remote. Steve Jobs has practically gone on the record saying that they're working it. Now what this 'remote' looks like and how it works is anyone's guess.

I really hope Apple is not wasting their R&D dollars on an iTablet. It'd be a cool gadget, I'm sure, but a gadget most people would pass on. I'd like to see Apple do something about the DVR market. There's a ton of demand out there and it's only gonna get bigger. I know it's a competitive market but no one's really figured out how to do it well. (TiVo comes close but misses big in some areas.)

GregA

May 25, 2005, 06:09 PM

I'd like a 12" PowerBook with no keyboard, no optical drive, and a shorter (wide screen) screen. I'd like it to have all the ports of the current powerbook so I could hook up an external keyboard/mouse and monitor. I'd like to to be viewable wide (for movies) or tall (for documents). I'd like it to recognize handwriting like the Newton or use its own alphabet like Palm. And of course it would have to save my handwriting as images, so i can jot notes without worrying about recognition.

Is this too much to ask?
How about if I ask it to be $799 ?Well......... I don't think it's too much to ask for a powerbook without DVD or keyboard, plus touchscreen with handwriting recognition.

I do think it's too much to ask for it to be much cheaper than a powerbook is today. Do you really think removing a combo drive and keyboard will save $700?

Xgreed

May 25, 2005, 06:39 PM

Nokia today anounced its new Internet Tablet!

http://www.nokia.com/nokia/0,,74866,00.html

There seems to be a definite market for these kind of devices.

The Nokia is anounced to come out 3rd quarter this year.
Apple hurry up or else I will buy the Nokia for my Couch.

GregA

May 25, 2005, 08:04 PM

And if the wi-fi is down? If there's a problem at my home? If I'm on the road and my cable is out? I have no way at all to use, access, or create files... do I? I don't have iTunes... I don't have anything... if the wireless internet fails me.

My files/work is important enough that I would NEVER take the risk of leaving my files at home... HOPING that the wi-fi is up when I get to my destination.This is an important consideration. If Apple made a light tablet/terminal, what would it be able to do when it lost wifi connection (which it would do regularly if you're travelling around).

I just pulled an old Fat-Mac. 512KB of RAM, an internal 400K floppy and external 800K floppy out of my parents attic. I haven't found a boot floppy yet. It used to be quite capable of macpaint and macwrite and even an early word. It is possible to do word processing, email, with very low processing requirements - but it wouldn't be MacOSX as we know it. Of course Apple would have to be writing its own email and word processor to do that.

The key, in my mind, is being inexpensive and low powered. A terminal tablet would do that, but you're right about the question "what happens when I'm out of wifi range?". Staying inexpensive, Apple could make a device JUST for home and/or work. Or expand some functionality for basic needs. THere are possibilities - but what Apple is actually considering?... who knows.

agreenster

May 25, 2005, 08:19 PM

PLEEEEEZE.
No more so called graphic artists/designers saying that this should or would be a tablet for them (us). We've killed this discussion long ago on other threads. Let's stick with reality concepts and stop day dreaming.

Who died and made you mod? I hate posts like this. Shut the fug up newbie.

Truth is, I ALSO ride a train for an hour everyday too, and would love a tablet Mac so I can sketch and storyboard on. Voicing what you want is exactly what these threads are about.

Not all of us are "so-called" geeks living in their mothers basement or boring-as-hell IT guys--some of us are serious artists and want tools to help us be more efficient. What's wrong with saying it, even for the 500th time? Maybe it's because Apple needs to realize there is a market for it, and we want em to know it.

intlplby

May 25, 2005, 09:31 PM

if the new airport or airport express has support for digital video out to an HD screen i could totally see this as a remote

basically it would remotely control iTunes, iPhoto and Video content (DVD player, Quicktime etc)

people would no longer need to buy standalone players.... their DVD, HD-DVD or Blue-Ray drive in their computer would be all they need - plus access to streaming internet content (music, video, podcasts) to your TV and entertainment center.

that makes one less piece of electronics you need to buy.... you can put the money into the sound system or computer instead.....

mrgreen4242

May 25, 2005, 10:00 PM

Apple are going to rip the keyboard of an iBook stick the screen in it's place and call that the new tablet.

OK, not exactly, but why not recycle the older iB technology into a new form factor with new features ... especially considering the truly frightening and awe-inspiring rate at which Apple are developing their current laptop ranges (what with all those mobile, dual core G45 processors, the 1 Ghz FSB and HD screens found on all current models).

To big. Tablet PC's have failed exactly because they are laptops without keyboards. They aren't useful at all. What WOULD be useful is something larger than a Palm but smaller than a 12" PBook.

I'm saying about and 8" screen in a portrait orientation. Touchscreen of course, but not a RF based so you can use a finger or whatever. The whole thing should be just a little bigger than a paperback book, and not much heavier than a couple iPods.

Base the OS on the Darwin core, with a designed from scratch GUI that resembles OS X, but without any bloat and with features that would make sense for a keyboardless device. Something innovative without being complicated.

A small built in speaker would be nice, and a mic is a must. Audio out for headphones is also a must, for iTunes purposes. A couple of harddrive options from 15-40gbs would be nice, but a single choice of 20 or 30 gigs would do. A couple of USB2.0 ports should suffice for hardwired I/O, with AE and maybe BT2 for wireless standards. A CF card slot, with a multi format adaptor would be useful, if not absolutely required.

Battery life should be no less than 5 hours, with 8 being the goal. It should have an integrated screen cover that is very light and unobtrusive when opened up. As much as I'd like to see the brushed aluminum motif, I think that iBook/Mac/Pod white would be perfect for something like this.

Price it at $500 for a basic model and $600 for an "advanced" model and market it as neither a tablet PC or a palm device and I think Apple could sell millions of them. Especially if it were at least partially compatible with OS X software, but even if it just an easy port it would do.

Aside from the obvious PDA and portable media player, it would be the best wireless internet access device on the market, fill in for a laptop in a pinch, and could have some awesome applications as a pointing/drawing device when attached to another Mac (wirelessly even), and if it had a highspeed connection to the Mac (FW400, for example) and the right software it could mirror the screen image while you used it as a graphics tablet.

Needless to say, I think there is HUGE room for improvement in both the PDA and tablet markets that Apple could fill without actually being in either market. i also see this as a way for Apple to get into the video iPod and iTunes game without actually making a video iPod, which would be a pretty silly device if all it did was play videos.

Clearly, I would buy one immediately, if it were a semi-computer like device that is about the size I am talking about.

speleoterra

May 25, 2005, 10:33 PM

Voicing what you want is exactly what these threads are about. • Apple needs to realize there is a market for it, and we want em to know it.

Voicing your wants is what these threads are about.

My background is a professional illustrator and designer for the last 20 years; using both pen/ink/paper & tablet/mouse and university and industry trained in both PC & Mac platform. Freelance, design firms and pre-press environments. Thank you.

Not trying to be an ass here, it's just; be real. Apple is not going after niche "markets" (such as ours) anymore. That was the 80's/90's.
Enterprise & consumer is Apple's future clearly. Pointlessly hoping that this is a glorified wireless Wacom tablet with Austin Powers mojo; for artists is
just a waste of dreaming/brainpower and threads and we've done it to death. I am not god, just real.

maveness

May 26, 2005, 12:02 AM

I think Apple is sneaking up on the thin client through the .Mac back door.

We'll have email, calendaring, our iTunes and iFlicks, and probably a suite of office software available through a wifi connection with a .Mac subscription and a thin-client tablet. Note: .Mac-only widgets are coming!

No wonder the phone companies are skittish about partnering with Apple. Can VoIP be far behind? Maybe the tablet has a built in iSight. Now all Apple needs to do is buy Skype.

I also note that .Mac subscribers were offered a free month of T-Mobile hotspot connectivity.... testing the waters for a future deal?

This is truly a crackberry + for the rest of us.

bikertwin

May 26, 2005, 12:18 AM

To big. Tablet PC's have failed exactly because they are laptops without keyboards. They aren't useful at all. What WOULD be useful is something larger than a Palm but smaller than a 12" PBook.

I'm saying about and 8" screen in a portrait orientation. Touchscreen of course, but not a RF based so you can use a finger or whatever. The whole thing should be just a little bigger than a paperback book, and not much heavier than a couple iPods.

Base the OS on the Darwin core, with a designed from scratch GUI that resembles OS X, but without any bloat and with features that would make sense for a keyboardless device. Something innovative without being complicated.

A small built in speaker would be nice, and a mic is a must. Audio out for headphones is also a must, for iTunes purposes. A couple of harddrive options from 15-40gbs would be nice, but a single choice of 20 or 30 gigs would do. A couple of USB2.0 ports should suffice for hardwired I/O, with AE and maybe BT2 for wireless standards. A CF card slot, with a multi format adaptor would be useful, if not absolutely required.

Battery life should be no less than 5 hours, with 8 being the goal. It should have an integrated screen cover that is very light and unobtrusive when opened up. As much as I'd like to see the brushed aluminum motif, I think that iBook/Mac/Pod white would be perfect for something like this.

Price it at $500 for a basic model and $600 for an "advanced" model and market it as neither a tablet PC or a palm device and I think Apple could sell millions of them. Especially if it were at least partially compatible with OS X software, but even if it just an easy port it would do.

EXACTLY! Well, except CF cards are so 2003--it would probably be SD. And probably $750-$1000, knowing Apple.

jnicolso1

May 26, 2005, 07:31 AM

I think that apple is straying from the most important mission they have continueing to develope the Mac as the best computer they can. Tablets are a design whose time will not come, they will eventually be supplanted by wearable design with a wraparound head mounted screen.

dizastor

May 26, 2005, 05:56 PM

To big. Tablet PC's have failed exactly because they are laptops without keyboards. They aren't useful at all.

Every tablet PC that I've ever seen has had a keyboard. They're all laptops with swivel/flip screens.

Gateway (http://www.gateway.com/products/gconfig/prodhmseries.asp?seg=hm&gcseries=gtwym275&clv=redirect)
Fujitsu (http://store.shopfujitsu.com/fpc/Ecommerce/PrdBridge.jsp?pclass=T4)
Acer (http://us.acer.com/acerpanam/page4.do;jsessionid=4999a726b39a846c413c83149d4460d0?dau22.oid=5150&UserCtxParam=0&GroupCtxParam=0&dctx1=25&ctx1=PA&crc=146319033)
HP (http://h18000.www1.hp.com/products/tabletpc/)

Seems like a great idea, but overpriced and without a lot of software that would make them a breakout success.

Tablet pcs are in desperate need of their killer app.

madmaxmedia

May 26, 2005, 06:43 PM

Interestingly, Nokia just came out with an internet tablet for $350-

http://www.infosyncworld.com/news/n/5991.html

Not the same as what Apple would do, but still interesting.

agreenster

May 26, 2005, 06:45 PM

No, there are many tablet PC's that dont have a keyboard. Two of my co-workers each have a different one

cr2sh

May 26, 2005, 06:50 PM

Every tablet PC that I've ever seen has had a keyboard. They're all laptops with swivel/flip screens.

Gateway (http://www.gateway.com/products/gconfig/prodhmseries.asp?seg=hm&gcseries=gtwym275&clv=redirect)
Fujitsu (http://store.shopfujitsu.com/fpc/Ecommerce/PrdBridge.jsp?pclass=T4)
Acer (http://us.acer.com/acerpanam/page4.do;jsessionid=4999a726b39a846c413c83149d4460d0?dau22.oid=5150&UserCtxParam=0&GroupCtxParam=0&dctx1=25&ctx1=PA&crc=146319033)
HP (http://h18000.www1.hp.com/products/tabletpc/)

Seems like a great idea, but overpriced and without a lot of software that would make them a breakout success.

Tablet pcs are in desperate need of their killer app.

Those are Convertible tablets... many of those same companies make Slate tablets. No keyboard... just writing and voice recognition.

http://www.pencomputing.com/images/TPCViewSonichand.jpg

Like this V1100 from Viewsonic that I used to own. This is my preference in tablets...

Lacero

May 26, 2005, 06:53 PM

I tablet Mac would be useful if it could control iTunes or at least control a Mac mini device-type DVR or media center, where you could lower the costs instead of producing a full-fledged computer. With integrated Bluetooth and 802.11g, it would

madmaxmedia

May 26, 2005, 07:21 PM

The thing about those TabletPC's is that they seem more like regular Windows notebooks with some extra pen input features slapped on. And since they're more expensive, they will then only sell into niche markets. The big driver seems to be the pen input thing to differentiate the form factor. Bad choice...

IF Apple does a tablet type device, I think they will have a completely different design goal. It's not going to be for vertical industries, it will be for regular consumers (but of course can be used at work and home.) And they won't start with a Windows XP notebook and go from there, they will start with a blank piece of paper. The basic idea I think is this-

1. Cheaper, smaller, lighter than a notebook but offering 95% of the same functionality that people actually use in their notebooks.

2. Designed from the ground up to go beyond basic PIM tasks, which is all the small PDA form factor is really effective at. I mean there are some people who do Office and email and web and programming on a PocketPC or Palm PDA, but I don't think most people are interested in that, the screen size and interface is way too confining.

Basically a roughly 5 x 7 tablet is what I'm thinking, in iPod/iBook white. In that size you can have a nice 800 x 600 screen and a good battery. Some of the random features that I was thinking about-

1. Some sort of 'Smart Agent' type software interface, to make the user experience really nice. Not just Zen of Palm, but something people will really enjoy using. Power users could still use faster shortcuts for doing stuff.
2. Thin client (already discussed here). Connect to your Mac or to iMac easily and seamelsssly. This would also give media-center Mac control.
3. Dedicated hardware for multimedia processing (faster and saves battery vs. everything being done by the CPU). The Sony CLIE TH55 is a great example, it does great movies and music with only a 123 MHz CPU.
4. Maybe a 20-30GB hard drive for storage, with a super-stripped OSX that runs in RAM (really doesn't have to be OSX based though. Having a Aqua-ish interface is more important.)
5. Works just like an iPod, with the touchscreen being used as a scrollwheel. Connects to a Mac/PC just like an iPod. Can stream music wirelessly (to and from) via Airport Express, etc.
6. Dock connnector for compatibility w/ many iPod peripherals, including the iPod Photo Camera connector
7. Wifi/IR/BT built in (of course), as well as ethernet port for wired access.
8. Support for Apple wireless keyboard and mouse, as well as 3rd party devices (Stowaway BT keyboard, Palm Wireless keyboard)
9. Streaming radio and podcasts
10. Simpler version of iPhoto, or maybe just iPod Photo functionality
11. Built in iChat with voice and maybe low-res video chat
12. Email, RSS, web (duh)
13. Skype Client
14. Some iWork or MS Office compatibility (like a version of Dataviz Docs To Go)
15. Dashboard widgets for all sorts of extended functions (in some ways they could be cooler here than on a Mac.)
16. Spotlight-like functions, with OS indexing. Automatic journaling of what you do, so you can go back to any date and see what you did.
17. Comes with a nice-looking 'man bag' to address portability (since it can't fit in your pocket.)

Most of these are very Mac OSX or iPod features (except for the man bag), but realistically don't need a G5 and Tiger to pull off (no ripple widget effect though!) But they can leverage both the Mac and iPod as much as possible here. So you can leverage a lot of this cool Apple software functionality in a small tight package. It's a lot of features, but not necessarily a lot of expensive hardware.

My brainstorm is somewhat half-assed, as I have been mainly brainstorming functionality and features, rather that starting from a end user perspective. But that would take too long, and I'm not a designer anyway..

This could come out at maybe $649 or so (probably $699 but can't be more.) But the cost would also drop over time, in a couple of years this would be a $299 device. At that point I think it could become pretty compelling for more widespread penetration.

Also, the lower the price point, the closer this becomes to actually being the 'video iPod' that we've all been speculating about.

Loge

May 26, 2005, 07:34 PM

There's some good ideas on this thread. There really isn't much choice in the market at present for those who want something more functional than a top end pda, but don't want the bulk and cost of a notebook pc. I thought Psion seemed to be on the right lines, but they bottled it a few years back and pulled out of the market.

GregA

May 26, 2005, 08:16 PM

The thing about those TabletPC's is that they seem more like regular Windows notebooks with some extra pen input features slapped on. <snip>

IF Apple does a tablet type device, I think they will have a completely different design goal. <snip> And they won't start with a Windows XP notebook and go from there, they will start with a blank piece of paper.Excellent point. Most posts here start from the principle of present understandings of either PDAs, Newtons, iPods, Remote Controls, or Computers.

The only thing I have to add is that the communications industry is changing far more rapidly than the computer industry at present. One key is seamless portability between home networks, 3G, and other wireless providers.

I raise this for 2 reasons
1) the potential for new devices is huge. What we use and How we use them will need fresh insight.
2) mobile phone companies currently subsidise a phone based on people using the phone on their network. Within a year you'll be able to buy an Ericsson or Motorola mobile phone and leave it in your house as a handset and never use the mobile network. Current sales and bundling methods will change, and more opportunities for Apple technology will arise.

I'm not really talking about phones here, more mobility and connectivity. Whatever Apple designs today may be a step towards that future.

( http://www.btplc.com/Innovation/Mobility/Global/index.htm )

swissmann

May 26, 2005, 08:39 PM

I'm curious as to how big this thing will be. I'm not interested in a full tablet but am interested in a PDA type thing.

madmaxmedia

May 26, 2005, 08:43 PM

The only thing I have to add is that the communications industry is changing far more rapidly than the computer industry at present. One key is seamless portability between home networks, 3G, and other wireless providers.

I raise this for 2 reasons
1) the potential for new devices is huge. What we use and How we use them will need fresh insight.
2) mobile phone companies currently subsidise a phone based on people using the phone on their network. Within a year you'll be able to buy an Ericsson or Motorola mobile phone and leave it in your house as a handset and never use the mobile network. Current sales and bundling methods will change, and more opportunities for Apple technology will arise.

I'm not really talking about phones here, more mobility and connectivity. Whatever Apple designs today may be a step towards that future.

( http://www.btplc.com/Innovation/Mobility/Global/index.htm )

3G would definitely be a possibility, with possible carrier subsidized discounts as well. 3G would address the problem of intermittent Wifi coverage.

A year or so down the line, I think unlimited 3G plans will be the norm. That changes things a lot too (from current pricing schemes.)

Dr.Gargoyle

May 26, 2005, 08:44 PM

Tablet pcs are in desperate need of their killer app.
iPod video would be just that...

sprescott1974

May 27, 2005, 05:48 PM

http://www.pepper.com/products/pepper.html

it's pretty much exactly what everyone is talking about except no OS X. it does not however appear to be running a flavor of windows either.

zymurguy

May 27, 2005, 06:21 PM

All the designers at work use Tablet PCs for doing freehand sketching / rendering etc. using Corel Painter, Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator.

We'd LOVE to be using Macs for this. In fact, I'm sure we would have purchased Macs... 'cause I made the purchase decision (!) So that would have been around $20K worth of computers all in one shot.

I'll admit, the Motion Computing tablets we're using that are running WinXP are pretty slick... I'm sure Apple could do MUCH better.

So there's a market opportunity that Apple could totally own - tablets used for graphics, design, art, etc.

cheers,

zymurguy

chicagdan

May 27, 2005, 06:46 PM

Even though I'm an insane early adopter, after reading all these posts and all the possible uses for a tablet, I still have no interest in one. I hate writing by hand -- I can't even read my own handwriting -- I use a keyboard for everything. No thanks, I'd rather tote around my 12" PB than a tablet, no matter what functionality Apple builds into it.

splintah

May 30, 2005, 09:36 AM

a powerbook with a nice touchscreen would be great

so you could paint in photoshop with a stylus

BrandonKea

May 30, 2005, 10:43 PM

...ok, so I totally fell for the whole "Rotate your screen" thing. It took me 3 reboots to get it back. Is there a quicker way to get it back.

pdpardue

May 30, 2005, 10:46 PM

Hey, I am going to go reall geeky here for a minute, what about a PADD from Star Trek... It's been some time, but didn't those things just interface to the main computer???

Maybe something like that? I mean you can't really do much other then say access your email or control itunes or something...

End geekyness

MontyZ

Jun 1, 2005, 04:03 AM

A Tablet Mac would only be good if it's also a programmable universal remote control and MP3 player and controls all the lights in your house and allows you to make phone calls. Now that would be cool.

Toe

Jun 1, 2005, 04:29 PM

Apple's new pod lineup:

iPod Shuffle and iPod mini
Take your music with you.

iPod and iPod Photo
Take your music and files with you. OR take your entire User Identity with you. Dock to any Mac and turn it into your Mac.

MacPod
Somewhat larger than an iPod; the entire front face is a touch screen.
A stripped-down Mac (no optical drive, one docking port for FW, USB, VGA).
Take your computer with you in your pocket, use it anywhere. Dock to a Mac to use it's greater power. Dock to any monitor and use a BT mouse and keyboard to have the full personal computer experience.

PowerPod
About the size of a 12" or 14" iBook screen.
Probably no optical drive, but as pimped out as they can make it while making it very thin and light.
A great tablet computer for any use. Can also be docked to another Mac or plugged into a monitor, etc. for a desktop experience.

The basic idea: Have an iMac at home, with your Pod docked to it. When you leave the house, take your Pod with you, and all your data travels with you (with a syncable backup on your iMac; yes this is a feature of Tiger Server). With a MacPod or PowerPod, you can compute anywhere, and net-communicate anywhere you can get signal (WiFi, or perhaps GSM/etc.). With any of the larger Pods, you can plop down in front of someone else's Mac, dock up, and use "your own" computer to your heart's delight. De-dock, and your identity hasn't touched their computer. Go home, dock to your iMac, and your account syncs to the local backup.

Nothing above is invented... this is all existing technology. It's just a matter of marketing. I would think something like "MacPod" would leverage the two great names "Mac" and "iPod" into one kickin' portable product.