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Will it really be revolutionary

H

hundleton1

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 29, 2008
266
6
Wales UK
iv been going through all the hype and have go to thinking about charging, if the device is as predicted with a 10" screen its going to love its juice, no one is going to want it hocked up to a mains cable when it goes flat, i wonder if Apple have come up with a better option, wireless charging for instance so when you put it down you can place it on a charging mat so when ever you pick it up its charged.

having to hook it up to a adapter once a day is going to be limiting factor when using it, if they are going to push it as a ultra mobile media device your going to want to just pick it up, us it then put i down not mess about with cables.

just my thoughts
 
H

hundleton1

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 29, 2008
266
6
Wales UK
i know inductive charging has been around for ages but so few devices even use it, as for Revolutionary it does not always have to be the cpu or memory spec that makes it a step forward in a new direction, for it to truly be a portable media tablet it has to learn from the mistakes others have made, creating an all singing device that has to be plugged in every 6 hours is not going to do that,

so many devices have come and gone that were good, some even great however none have yet really been truly portable.
 
MisterMe

MisterMe

macrumors G4
Jul 17, 2002
10,709
69
USA
hundleton1 said:
...

having to hook it up to a adapter once a day is going to be limiting factor when using it, ...
Click to expand...
Your title is so much better than your post that it is not funny. As others have said, inductive charging is hardly revolutionary. The GM EV-1 electric car was just one famous application of inductive charging.

With that, I will answer the title of your post. To date, tablet computers have been useful only in science fiction. Real world attempts at tablet computers have varied in success from flop to "meh." By all accounts, the Apple slate has passed the "Steve" Test. Whether it will be a commercial success is a different question. Not all revolutionary products are successful. However, I can conceive of no scenario by which the Apple Slate is not revolutionary.
 
bobob

bobob

macrumors 68040
Jan 11, 2008
3,437
2,520
I don't understand the fascination with inductive charging? If it is is strong enough to charge the tablet at a distance while you can still use it, then I'd be concerned about the long term exposure to EMR (charging a car outside is one thing, but having an inductive field in your sleeping space all night long just doesn't sound very appealing). If it's low power, so that you have to lay the tablet on a pad to charge, why not just plug it in then? At least with a charging cord, the transformer is at a distance from you, and you can use it while charging.
 
MisterMe

MisterMe

macrumors G4
Jul 17, 2002
10,709
69
USA
bobob said:
I don't understand the fascination with inductive charging? If it is is strong enough to charge the tablet at a distance while you can still use it, then I'd be concerned about the long term exposure to EMR (charging a car outside is one thing, but having an inductive field in your sleeping space all night long just doesn't sound very appealing). If it's low power, so that you have to lay the tablet on a pad to charge, why not just plug it in then? At least with a charging cord, the transformer is at a distance from you, and you can use it while charging.
Click to expand...
I'm not aware of a commercial application for inductive charging at a distance. The inductive coupler for electric vehicles uses a very localized magnetic field. Even at that, the receptacle should minimize radiation leakage. The commercial inductive charging pads are also very localized. The new wireless entertainment components use electromagnetic radiant energy as it is transmitted rather than storing it in batteries.

Bear in mind that the greatest source of inductively transmitted energy that many of us will ever experience is lightening. It is this energy that knocks-out electronic devices such as computers and TV sets. Yet human beings display no ill effects. The most persistent source of inductively transmitted energy is due to the AC electrical power in your home and workplace. With an oscilloscope and two pieces of wire, it is easy to see. There are no noticeable ill effects there either.

It is healthy to ask questions. However, the answer to every question is not "Yes."
 
bobob

bobob

macrumors 68040
Jan 11, 2008
3,437
2,520
MisterMe said:
I'm not aware of a commercial application for inductive charging at a distance. The inductive coupler for electric vehicles uses a very localized magnetic field. Even at that, the receptacle should minimize radiation leakage. The commercial inductive charging pads are also very localized. The new wireless entertainment components use electromagnetic radiant energy as it is transmitted rather than storing it in batteries.

Bear in mind that the greatest source of inductively transmitted energy that many of us will ever experience is lightening. It is this energy that knocks-out electronic devices such as computers and TV sets. Yet human beings display no ill effects. The most persistent source of inductively transmitted energy is due to the AC electrical power in your home and workplace. With an oscilloscope and two pieces of wire, it is easy to see. There are no noticeable ill effects there either.

It is healthy to ask questions. However, the answer to every question is not "Yes."
Click to expand...
Assuming you are correct, I still don't see the advantage of inductive charging over a dock or cord.
 
t0mat0

t0mat0

macrumors 603
Aug 29, 2006
5,473
284
Home
bobob said:
Assuming you are correct, I still don't see the advantage of inductive charging over a dock or cord.
Click to expand...

I think it's just about the docking experience. Not having to line up the dock connector etc, being able to loosely put it on a magnetic pad for charging. The weight of a tablet could, with a misguided attempt to dock, twist the male dock connector on a dock i'd imagine.

Docks link into exporting media out in my view - Showing your video on the HDTV via a docking station, putting your music from your iPhone out to your hifi etc. We'll see. We've only just seen Sony's TransferJet (sp?) come out commercially, so the faster syncing, quicker charging battery problems are still around. If they made a miniMagSafe, or used a MagSafe, they could charge quicker. Powered Light Peak seems a way away...
 
Nautilus007

Nautilus007

macrumors 68030
Jul 13, 2007
2,642
1,320
U.S
If itunes evolves and enters the ebook and video game distribution market the hardware will fall into a league of its own.
 
tofagerl

tofagerl

macrumors 6502a
May 16, 2006
983
428
The dock needs to be tiny, adjustable so you can tilt the tablet when docked, support USB with power, and most of all - BE INCLUDED IN THE PACKAGE!
I hate it when I have to pay extra for the dock, so I always try to go without it. Still don't have one for any of the ipods I've had.
 
t0mat0

t0mat0

macrumors 603
Aug 29, 2006
5,473
284
Home
Energy is energy. A thorny problem, as advances in battery tech isn't as fast as the increase in energy usage people can do -

http://gizmodo.com/5284867/hypermac-external-macbook-battery-review

504xhypermac.jpg

526141968iwyekm.jpg

526147328acybks.jpg
 
4

4DThinker

macrumors 68020
Mar 15, 2008
2,033
2
At CES there was at least one company showing how to charge using the energy from WiFi in the air. A big coil antenna is required, and a 10" tablet would be perfect area for the technology.

They'd better have put some amazing battery life in it. A need to charge the iPad every two hours will kill it. If that battery dies after a year or two there had better be an easy way to get it replaced. My Archos 9 at least has a removable battery and replacement/secondary batteries are available for it.
 
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