Apple Tablet Computer..

[netytan]

I was just reading an article about the demise of the desktop computer and it occured to me that Apple doesn't currently have a Tablet Computer right?

Which begs the question of why not, they look really cool and Apple being at the for-front of the digital world in most cases i just kinda expected to see one :). That would be so damn cool i have to say, maybe soon? Or do Apple have some reason to stay away from these things?

Later guys,

Mark.

[PlaceofDis]

i doubt that we will see an apple tablet for a while, if at all, there just isnt a large enough market for these types of machines yet

[Savage Henry]

:eek: Tablet PCs look terrible and are less marketable than a mini-disc unit smelling of kippers.

Apple are keeping well away from such a money-pit.

[DGFan]

Why not?

There is no reason to buy one.....so no one is.

That's why

[legion]

Apple has said they won't be going into tablet PCs because there isn't a market for it.

(BTW, it's "forefront")

[svenr]

I heard a while ago that MS originally made sort of wireless displays that connect to a desktop for storage and computing power. Without own HD, DVD and powerful CPU, that would be nice, slim and light units, which you can take to your sofa to read an e-book, surf the web, take notes etc.

Then they realized that such units wouldn't require a full Win XP license, but could get by with a much cheaper WinCE/PocketPC version. They figured it would cannibalize XP sales, because families, small offices etc would buy only one full PC with XP and several displays. So they shelved the idea and instead came out with the current TabletPC, which requires a full Win license.

Now, if Apple isn't as stubborn, I think there's a good opportunity. Something like the Cintiq from Wacom but wireless:
http://www.wacom.com/lcdtablets/index_15x.cfm

[LaMerVipere]

:eek: Tablet PCs look terrible and are less marketable than a mini-disc unit smelling of kippers.

Apple are keeping well away from such a money-pit.

It's so true.

Notebook computers now comprise 54% of the comsumer computer market, and tablet PC's comprise less than 1% of the market. Why would apple invest all the R&D, and marketing dollars for something that clearly has no audience?

[iSaint]

My kids' pediatricians' office is all Mac. They are currently looking for a tablet to complete their paperless office. The nurses would have them and receive pop-ups from the doctor's orders as they see each patient. Of course all of this would be downloaded to each patient file daily.

The office is a father and son outfit, and the son has written his own patient dbase with Filemaker. Mom has been using Apples for over 20 years, so credit goes to her. She has a 15" PB on her desk. I think they have two G4 servers.

So why not a tablet? Here's one prospective buyer. And I understand they are going to market their software package with a Mac dealer...so there's much more need right away!

BTW they have no network engineer on staff, the son does all of the work. When I asked Mom what happens when they crash, she told me they don't crash. Once in five years maybe he's had to work on the system during lunch.

Think of the $$$ they are saving...making!

Mac wannabe

[Veldek]

Well, last I heard was that MS (in person of Mr. Ballmer) admitted that Tablets are a loss for them. They sold just too little of them. So I wonder why Apple should enter a market which will be a loss. This only shows that Apple researches before bringing out a product.

[adamjay]

because tablets are dumb.

[PlaceofDis]

also, my friend bought one last summer, instead of a powerbook, which i urged her to get, and she wanted, but her father said that it was a no-no, but anyways they ended up paying 3000+ for her computer and its had plently of problems already, plus its ugly and pointless

[furrina]

I never understood what was so great about the tablets.

Better ideas?

1. PDA
2. TV/computer/display integration thingy

[svenr]

It's so true.

Notebook computers now comprise 54% of the comsumer computer market, and tablet PC's comprise less than 1% of the market. Why would apple invest all the R&D, and marketing dollars for something that clearly has no audience?

How about this hypothetical statement a few years ago:

"Portable CD players now comprise 54% of the comsumer portable audio market, and MP3 players comprise less than 1% of the market. Why would apple invest all the R&D, and marketing dollars for something that clearly has no audience?"

[DGFan]

How about this hypothetical statement a few years ago:

"Portable CD players now comprise 54% of the comsumer portable audio market, and MP3 players comprise less than 1% of the market. Why would apple invest all the R&D, and marketing dollars for something that clearly has no audience?"

But, see, there was solid *reason* to buy an MP3 player: because it can hold so much more music than a CD.

There is no reason currently to buy a tablet.

[strider42]

How about this hypothetical statement a few years ago:

"Portable CD players now comprise 54% of the comsumer portable audio market, and MP3 players comprise less than 1% of the market. Why would apple invest all the R&D, and marketing dollars for something that clearly has no audience?"

its not really the same thing though is it. MP3 players do something CD players can't. And there wasn't relaly a lot of well done hard drive based MP3 players at the time, whereas there is an established set of tablet PC's that are just nto selling at all. I can't really figure out what tablet PC's do that laptops can't. In fact, they do less, are less powerful and cost more. Even MS thihnks they are for specialized business needs, not home computers. Tablets just seem silly to me.

[LaMerVipere]

How about this hypothetical statement a few years ago:

"Portable CD players now comprise 54% of the comsumer portable audio market, and MP3 players comprise less than 1% of the market. Why would apple invest all the R&D, and marketing dollars for something that clearly has no audience?"

It's not the same thing, it's like comparing apple's to oranges. (no pun intended) And if you compare the dollars invested in developing the iPod whereas what it would probably take for apple to create their version of a tablet, and you consider their current marketshare in the computer world. It's asinine! Not to mention they have so much on their plate as is to try and figure out, like getting the G5 or some other chip into a notebook sized enclosure, and revamping their desktop line in the future. I think tablets are the PDA of the computer world, sure they are cool but do we really see them being around for a long time? I doubt it.

[slooksterPSV]

When I firstly heard of the Tablet PCs and saw them I thought they were pretty neat, but after seeing their specs, the bulkyness of them and the weight its not worth it. Apple is doing better by staying out of the Tablet Computer phase. The idea was good at the time, but it really sucks now. Buy a PDA they can do more and are faster than a couple tablets.

[svenr]

All good replies and I have my own doubts about full-blown TabletPC. But I still think a sort of dumb wireless display as described in my earlier post (#6) would be nice.

Think of sth as small and light as the display of an iBook alone without the computer attached. Added features? Obviously you could write on screen and Inkwell http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/inkwell/ converts it to text. Save quickly sketched-out ideas. Read an eBook or a news site comfortably on your sofa. Use it as remote control for your Airport Express powered stereo...

I think there would be a market, I for one would buy one.

[davecuse]

I don't think that the current design of a tablet pc can ever be successful. When bandwidth allows I certainly do think that something similar to a tablet that would allow you to basically remotely control a desktop/central server over a wireless connection (that doesn't cost an arm and a leg) could be very successful, and take over the laptop market. I like many other users who have purchased a laptop, made the purchase as a desktop replacement. For my needs, a tablet could never be my fulltime computer. If however I could pick up a speed demon desktop and emulate it from a tablet that would be ideal. It could be done now, the price just needs to come down to fit the bill. If Apple were first to the market with something like this it would be tough for a family or business not to buy into the idea.

A lot of IT departments are making a big push towards Citrix and similar products, imagine if Apple could make it that much easier.

[vwguy]

I have a couple of tablet PCs at work and they are pretty well built. The hand writing recognition has truly come a long way and its almost effortless to just write on the screen when you are just tired of typing. Its also good for people that has carpal tunnel syndrome as they do not have to type anymore. Also, its good to have a tablet PC to carry around on a conference hall to display products or software to customers instead of hauling a laptop.

It would be really great if Apple do some R&D on it and prehaps/maybe produce one thats similar to an iBook... prehaps call it tBook or something. I truly think its a good idea and we shouldn't (in my humble opinion) discard it hastily but neither should Apple rush into it.

[cr2sh]

Last Summer I used a tablet pc, everyday for about 3 months... I liked it.

To dismiss it quickly would be easy to do, I would guess, if you've never used one. You say "no market" but I have a feeling if Apple ever releases an eBook... it'll be a tablet. Just $0.02.

Oh, one other thing... I'm quite sure that the same people saying "there's no market for it..." are the same ones posting in the "new apple displays" thread that they want write-able lcds. :rolleyes:

[legion]

I heard a while ago that MS originally made sort of wireless displays that connect to a desktop for storage and computing power. Without own HD, DVD and powerful CPU, that would be nice, slim and light units, which you can take to your sofa to read an e-book, surf the web, take notes etc.

Then they realized that such units wouldn't require a full Win XP license, but could get by with a much cheaper WinCE/PocketPC version. They figured it would cannibalize XP sales, because families, small offices etc would buy only one full PC with XP and several displays. So they shelved the idea and instead came out with the current TabletPC, which requires a full Win license.

Now, if Apple isn't as stubborn, I think there's a good opportunity. Something like the Cintiq from Wacom but wireless:
http://www.wacom.com/lcdtablets/index_15x.cfm

Viewsonic makes the device you speak of and it is sold (it is the airpanel) We have 2 at work an they are awesome and have written custom apps for them.

[PlaceofDis]

Viewsonic makes the device you speak of and it is sold (it is the airpanel) We have 2 at work an they are awesome and have written custom apps for them.

i glanced at Viewsonic's site, it can connect to a Windows XP machine, Only if they supported Macs i would be saving my money right now for one, i think this would be awesome and is a much better alternative to the whole tablet PC idea....

[wide]

tablets are useless pieces of junk. there is almost no market for them, and the only people that use them are inventory supervisors, etc...in other words, people who have to walk around a dim room full of boxes with a tablet pc and stylus and check off what products are in or out of stock

essentially, any portable device without a keyboard can be rendered useless for every task..

[viper1701]

I would love to have a tablet- if it were light, easy to handle, had good battery life, and was a capable alternative to a laptop. Most of you would like it too. Because it is just a laptop with a screen you can write on! Have you ever tried computing on a plane? It's not possible! With a tablet, it would be easy- you could look at the screen head-on without the seat in front of you getting in the way. What about joting down some notes during a meeting or during class. My Profs don't like having laptops open, but a pad of paper is ok (of course). Well, why not a digital pad instead?

Of course the tablets suck now- they are a new technology. Do you remembet what the first portable computers where like (don't even think of calling them laptops)? They were 50 pound suitcases with 5 inch screens!

Don't bash new technology because it isn't perfect or you don't see a use for it- perhaps you simply lack the vision to see what potential tablets have.

Keep in mind, people bash Apple all the time, Why? Because they don't understand why Apple is so special, and worse, they won't even make an attempt to understand.

-Jeff
--------------------------------------------
My baby is a G4 867 with a 17" Cinema Display

[amyhre]

One of the reasons they probably sell poorly is they have Newton-like handwriting recognition. At least, that's what I've been told. A new Newton would be cool but it looks like that won't be happening.

[wide]

viper1701:

you talk about handwriting recognition as though it is a good thing...i don't agree at all. the purpose of a keyboard, in my opinion at least, is to make my writing legible to all and to allow me to rest my hands. i have difficulty writing for a long time with a pen or pencil--my hand starts to cramp up and i cannot do it any longer. even worse, i can't read my handwriting after i write it! i would much rather have a Treo 600 or Blackberry handheld than a tablet PC (and the treos are really cool).

also, i like computing while sitting down. and a laptop makes me more motivated to sit, so that all works out. with a tablet someone might be like "yo come over here and stand next to me because you have a tablet and not a laptop"

scary stuff we're getting into...

[furrina]

viper1701:

also, i like computing while sitting down.


As opposed to....?

viper1701:
and a laptop makes me more motivated to sit, so that all works out. with a tablet someone might be like "yo come over here and stand next to me because you have a tablet and not a laptop"

scary stuff we're getting into...

Wait...huh??

[legion]

tablets are useless pieces of junk. there is almost no market for them, and the only people that use them are inventory supervisors, etc...in other words, people who have to walk around a dim room full of boxes with a tablet pc and stylus and check off what products are in or out of stock

essentially, any portable device without a keyboard can be rendered useless for every task..

Odd, we use ours for pro-audio work (the airpanels mentioned above) on multi-million dollar movies. :eek:

[legion]

One of the reasons they probably sell poorly is they have Newton-like handwriting recognition. At least, that's what I've been told. A new Newton would be cool but it looks like that won't be happening.

Where are you, trapped in 1994??? Go to anyone who sells tablet PCs and try one out.. they're far better than the Newton's handwriting recognition...

[chief]

If Apple did produce a Tablet it would be called iTablet or iSlab or iPad or iSlate or iParchment ... am I going to far? ;)

[svenr]

you talk about handwriting recognition as though it is a good thing...i don't agree at all. the purpose of a keyboard, in my opinion at least, is to make my writing legible to all and to allow me to rest my hands. i have difficulty writing for a long time with a pen or pencil--my hand starts to cramp up and i cannot do it any longer. even worse, i can't read my handwriting after i write it!

That's why handwriting recognition would turn your scribbles into text just as if you had typed it with a keyboard. Why is that not a good thing?

Also, while typing is a very recent phenomenon, people have been (hand)writing for hundreds or even thousands of years, which probably means it's more "natural" for most people. IMO, writing as an input method is more intuitive, combine that with editing capabilities of modern text processors and you have a real winner. It allows you to quicky draw a diagram, sketch out an idea and write obscure characters - would you know off the top of your head how to type mikro (µ), the Euro (€) or the pound (£)?

If you have difficulties writing, that may mean you're doing something wrong. I can write pages w/o getting cramps but I've heard a lot about people with wrist pain from typing. Just google for "Carpal Tunnel Syndrome".


also, i like computing while sitting down. and a laptop makes me more motivated to sit, so that all works out. with a tablet someone might be like "yo come over here and stand next to me because you have a tablet and not a laptop"

I have not the slightes clue what you're talking about... :confused:

[netytan]

its not really the same thing though is it. MP3 players do something CD players can't. And there wasn't relaly a lot of well done hard drive based MP3 players at the time, whereas there is an established set of tablet PC's that are just nto selling at all. I can't really figure out what tablet PC's do that laptops can't. In fact, they do less, are less powerful and cost more. Even MS thihnks they are for specialized business needs, not home computers. Tablets just seem silly to me.

Hey guys,

after reading more about this and the posts you all made in this tread i can see the problem. If there isn't a market for this kind of thing yet then of course no good company would handle them. Though i got the idea from this article that they were gaining in popularity - possibly even riveling notebooks.

As for the relation between MP3 Playes and CD playes, we all agree that the reason MP3 players are becoming so popular is they can do things that CD players just cant! Well this is also true of TabletPCs, and one main problem with this right now is there just isn't enough software that takes advantage of this. I thought with Apple making hardware and OS they could easily solve this kind of problem; or more easily than M$.

Thanks for setting me right :).

Mark.

[wide]

Odd, we use ours for pro-audio work (the airpanels mentioned above) on multi-million dollar movies. :eek:

what is pro-audio work but the inventory of sounds.....

i guess what i'm trying to say is that there is no market for tablet PCs (at least for consumers). people want them as "gadgets", so to speak, but i personally do not find them useful when it comes to productivity (id est microsoft word (excel might be cool though....).

sure, they are good for "pro-audio", inventory, and maybe powerpoint presentations, but all of that makes up very little of the market. tablet PCs are small, maybe two pounds, and they are VERY expensive. the new sony x505 is as light and thinner too, and it has a keyboard built in. fujitsu has been making miniature PCs, a little bigger than that really small sony laptop, that have keyboard, combo drives (possibly dvd-rw now), and touch screen displays.

i'd send a link, but the fujitsu server seems to be down as of now.

i just cannot see myself or any of my aquaintances used a tablet PC, or anything without a keyboard for that matter. for notetaking i have my laptop, or my palm pilot with the cool miniature keyboard that crumples up. when it comes to note taking, a 33 MHz processor is all one needs. we shouldn't have to pay a lot of money for a slow, low voltage 1.0 GHz Pentium-M tablet PC with almost no video memory.

[svenr]

As for the relation between MP3 Playes and CD playes, we all agree that the reason MP3 players are becoming so popular is they can do things that CD players just cant!

Well, when I used that to paraphrase an earlier post, it was really just a random example that kinda hit me. It could've been a lot of other things. Sometimes new products create their markets and before they're introduced all the "experts" say: "There's no audience." I can easily imagine people back in the 60s or 70s saying that no one will ever buy computers for their homes... Now, don't cling on that one, it's just another example.

I checked out the Viewsonic site. I love that idea. But sth strikes me as odd. The airpanel V150p has the same resolution as my iBook (1024*768), and it is NOT a Tablet PC. Just a wireless display. No HD, scaled down CPU, no DVD/CD, no keyboard, no expansion slots of any kind. Yet, it's bigger in every dimension than my iBook (38.7*30*4.6 cm vs. 28.5*23*3.4 cm) and heavier too (2.9 vs. 2.2 kg). If Apple can even put a full-blown computer in a smaller and lighter package, couldn't they work their design magic to come up with a really slim and light "smart display"?

[budaapple]

That was the noise made when tablets hit the market, it was twice cause I think it bounced!

[ozone]

For all you people bashing tablets out there... have you actually used one? I've owned and used a tablet for over a year now. Granted, they aren't the perfect machines, but then again, I doubt that machine has yet to be created. Just as all Windows users dump on Apple fanatics until they try one, the tablet PC platform has a lot of uses. Many of my colleagues who were never touch typists say the tablet has changed how they approach computing. Also, tablets have software that allows a user to hand annotate an electronic document, making it possible to avoid printing out reams of paper simply to mark up or edit a few sentences.

Perhaps the tablet will become a niche market. My own needs may dictate that a tablet will be useful for me one day, but that's because of my changing circumstances, not because it's a horrible machine.

... and as for appearances, many of commented on how futuristic and cleanly designed mine appears. (And yes, for all you wondering, we also own a 15" PB.)

[wide]

i have used a tablet PC, and i hated it. also, most tablet pc users use Microsoft Tablet Edition XP or whatever their Tablet OS is called. that's another reason tablets suck.

[cubist]

Ah, you guys. You know that if a Mac Tablet came out tomorrow, you'd all be saying it was evidence of Steve's genius.

As for the doctor/nurse thing - I think there are some PDAs that support wireless ethernet (802.11, aka WiFi). You might be able to cobble together an application to let the nurses check patients in using a relatively inexpensive PDA. It would be a pain to develop, since all the PDAs use yucky proprietary OSs with crappy APIs, but it should be doable. You might be able to find a Linux PDA that would make it slightly easier. FTM, you might be able to get used Newtons and do it with NewtonScript - not much better.

It'd be a lot easier to just deploy a bunch of iMacs around the office.

As for recognition on the Newton, I use Graffiti on mine, and it's as close to perfect as I've ever seen. Much better than PocketPC PDAs.

[dave__]

I am wondering if you could use a PDA to draw diagrams, and other things into your notes, or would you need a tablet? Are there any tablets that work with macs? The new OneNote software isn't aval. for mac, i think, but is there any equivilent? I am trying to find a way to enter my notes in my pb, would a tablet or PDA accomplish this?

[netytan]

Think you got the got drawing tablet's mixed up with Tablet PCs which is what this thread is about. You might get a better responce if you start a new thread. But Wacom get my vote:

http://www.wacom.com/

Mark.

[ozone]

"dave"... yes, you can use a PDA and a Tablet PC to draw diagrams so I think you are in the right thread. One of the reasons the Tablet came about was to capitalize more on how most people "think with paper and pen". I have used and owned Palms, PocketPCs, and a Tablet. Both have either built in or 3rd party programs that allow you to sketch. PDAs for drawing have average performance in my opinion. One of the limitations is that the screen is a bit too small to be an effective drawing surface.

While a tablet PC is not a drawing tablet per se, a tablet PC does have full sketching ability. The "Journal" function allows you to sketch much as you would on a piece of paper, and 3rd party programs, such Corel Grafigo are quite advanced and allow for sophisticated drawing, painting, and illustration. The previous response by netyan suggested Wacom tablets; in fact, many of the tablet PCs use Wacom technology.

However, if you want to sync drawing type information into your PB, you're going to have to look at 3rd party syncing software and see what can be transferred over.

For example, when I use a Tablet and if I make a freehand diagram but want somebody else to look at it who doesn't have a tablet, I can have that person load Windows Journal Viewer, which is a free viewing program not unlike Adobe Reader. The person can see the document but cannot change it. However, I don't think there is such a viewer for Mac, so you might have to run it in VirtualPC or save the file in the Tablet to something cross platform (PDF?).

As for a PDA, I'm not so sure. If the drawing is in a Notes file on the PDA (PocketPC), and if Entourage can handle Notes via 3rd party software (e.g., MissingSync), then the drawing should show up on your PB. I don't think you'd be able to edit it however - it would be strictly view only. I'm less sure about this as I'm in a similar situation and am contemplating moving everything to the Mac.

Good luck.