Apple iTablet Mac Communicator?

[MacRumors]

Looprumors claims that Apple is poised to release a "Mac Communicator" device, which is designed to be an accessory to those who already own macs.

Apple will gear this new device at those users who already own Macs. The iTablet will run its own version of Mac OS X Leopard, specifically designed for the device. The iTablet will interact with other devices better than an iPhone or iPod. Users will be able to screen share with their home or work computer from a remote location, video conference with other users, and information suggests the iTablet will have beaming capabilities.

The remainder of the rumor reads like a summary of circulating patent applications over the past year, but without many specifics. LoopRumors has had a spotty accuracy record in the past.

Article Link

[mirffy]

What is it with this tablet-craze everybody is on
Is everybody who wants one secretly in the medical industry wanting to look up a patient's history or just flick through some pages of an ebook?

I have never understood what use a tablet (that's too big to put in your pocket) would be to the average consumer, but perhaps I'm not thinking of every angle...

So far a pure tablet (without a keyboard) hasn't been very successful, so why should it be if apple slaps on the and puts osx on it? It still stays a strict "too big for your pocket and strictly point and click - no decent input possibilities"-device, or am I missing something?

[Stella]

Sounds like a cool device. Also a remote control.

A Star Trek work tablet thingy from Next Generation.

[mixel]

I dont really like the idea of a remote thingy unless it works nicely as a Mac in it's own right, but I've always wanted a true osX tablet.

For art!

And now Apple have proven their multitouch/software keyboard abilities I can't see why there are people so against the idea of a tablet. If it was done well there'd be very little lost functionality over a traditional laptop form factor. and you'd have (hopefully) something like wacom pressure in there too. And it'd use up much less space, be more portable... etc.

Bring on the Mac tablet! .. Saying that - I bet they dont even give a stylus option, making it almost entirely useless for artists unless they specialise in finger painting.

[crees!]

Originally Posted by Macrumors

Users will be able to screen share with their home or work computer from a remote location, video conference with other users, and information suggests the iTablet will have beaming capabilities.

Just as long as it doesn't "squirt" anything I think we'll be okay.

[twoodcc]

i'll believe it when i see it. but i hope i see it, whatever it is

[TimJim]

I have faith that whatever apple releases will be sweet.

[dpaanlka]

Doubt this very much.

It actually doesn't even sound appealing.

[DavidLeblond]

Mini DVDs? Uh, right.

[DanBUK]

information suggests the iTablet will have beaming capabilities

What information? Where? Will I need eye protection? Body armo(u)r? Can iBeam and if so where? And iTablet? Worst. Name. Ever.

LoopRumors has had a spotty accuracy record in the past

. Hilarious!

[Lepton]

Reading of the functionality described in thus rumor reminds me.. The iPhone killer app is: Apple Remote Desktop! (We already have VNSee on hacked phones which is a start, and proof of my assertion.) Apple should get this on the iPhone right away. Control iTunes with your phone. Control Keynote, Front Row, any app. Read any document, cause file transfers, control any peripheral hooked to your Mac (for me that's EyeTV).

Apple Remote Desktop is iPhone's killer app! I've been saying this since way before there was an iPhone. [In 2004 and later]

[skunk]

Salling Clicker did much the same as you describe years ago.

[fluidedge]

i'm getting a bit fed up with this obsession of Apple's to keep focusing on crappy 'consumer' products.

I have a phone that makes phone calls already so i don't want all these extras like youtube and maps?!, i don't want some 1.8GHz ultra thin - ultra underpowered - NAND 16GB toy, and now what the hell is this stupid 'concept' thing.

I want penryn, i want 10,000 RPM drives I want more RAM

Don't forget the Pro's who actually use their machines to do something worthwhile.

[Spades]

The Pros are long long overdue for an update, but Apple can do more than one thing at a time.

[macduke]

...information suggests the iTablet will have beaming capabilities.

Wow, this would revolutionize the entire world. Just imagine being able to go anywhere instantly! Or the ability to have shipments delivered as soon as a customer orders them. I can hardly wait for Apple to implement this technology into their entire product lineup.

Seriously though, who in the hell writes this stuff?

[EagerDragon]

Originally Posted by mirffy

What is it with this tablet-craze everybody is on
Is everybody who wants one secretly in the medical industry wanting to look up a patient's history or just flick through some pages of an ebook?

I have never understood what use a tablet (that's too big to put in your pocket) would be to the average consumer, but perhaps I'm not thinking of every angle...

So far a pure tablet (without a keyboard) hasn't been very successful, so why should it be if apple slaps on the and puts osx on it? It still stays a strict "too big for your pocket and strictly point and click - no decent input possibilities"-device, or am I missing something?

Prior to the iphone nobody heard of a phone with a single button. A lot of artistic people can see and use an iTablet and can see and use a multi-touch device.

Think different, it is not for medical devices or FedEx.

[mcorange]

I was reading news on the possibly upcoming "Ultra portable" "iTablet" whatever thingie and out of curiosity I entered "tablet" into spotlight and saw a system preference panel called "Ink". I clicked it, system preferences opened and I got this..

Doesn't apple own a piece of tech called Inkwell? Inkwell + iPhone + ultraportable sounds logical... well, who knows....maybe this is just ancient newton support.

On second thought, LOL....I now remember it pops up when you connect a drawing tablet.
Yes, I'm stoopid.

[Veri]

Originally Posted by fluidedge

Don't forget the Pro's who actually use their machines to do something worthwhile.

Unfortunately, Apple have recently learnt that there's a lot more money to be made in the regular Joe than in the high end - in particular, it doesn't take many iPhones to make more profit than a Mac Pro. This killed the spirit of the once glorious HP/Digital/Compaq, which went from innovative hardware and software creator to glorified printer ink reseller.

This isn't quite Apple's problem - it's still being clever with technology, just less so with general purpose computer tech and more with specialised consumer goods. But one cannot ignore that the switch to Intel was a relief for Apple from the PoV of having to think about how to innovate on the raw hardware front, just as DECHPaq transitioned from the world-leading Alpha and PA-RISC - though again, HP fared worse, moving to the good ship Itanic. Apple's now all about the OS and UI, which is great for the personal and average business user, but falls short of what interests the enterprise, power-junkie (enthusiast or scientific), gamer, etc.

[johnpaul191]

Originally Posted by Veri

Unfortunately, Apple have recently learnt that there's a lot more money to be made in the regular Joe than in the high end - in particular, it doesn't take many iPhones to make more profit than a Mac Pro. This killed the spirit of the once glorious HP/Digital/Compaq, which went from innovative hardware and software creator to glorified printer ink reseller.

This isn't quite Apple's problem - it's still being clever with technology, just less so with general purpose computer tech and more with specialised consumer goods. But one cannot ignore that the switch to Intel was a relief for Apple from the PoV of having to think about how to innovate on the raw hardware front, just as DECHPaq transitioned from the world-leading Alpha and PA-RISC - though again, HP fared worse, moving to the good ship Itanic. Apple's now all about the OS and UI, which is great for the personal and average business user, but falls short of what interests the enterprise, power-junkie (enthusiast or scientific), gamer, etc.

all that aside, remember that Apple has sold more computers in the last 2 or 3 quarters than ever before. OS X 10.5 has shipped, and i am guessing we will see a lot on the computer side of things in the next few months.

The Mac Pro seems to be due for an update... i would not have expected it before 10.5 shipped. I am also guessing they can wait till all the 3rd party developers have time to make sure everything works 100% with 10.5. We know some products that are commonly run on Mac Pros (Pro-Tools, Avid video products, anything from Adobe) can take months to release a version for the newest OS. That seems to be the case here as well.

[shen]

"Don't forget the Pro's who actually use their machines to do something worthwhile."

like... trolling the rumor sites....

[egsaxy]

before the imac g5 i was doing drawings for a tablet style desktop mac. basically take a laptop and flip the screen give it a desktop dock and then make it removable for industries like medicine where it will be useful. also thinking of the home entertainment center where the dock sits easily in or on an entertainment unit and the actual puter acts as the remote selection (kinda like a digital catalog) choose your movie in your lap and the dock/tablet takes care of sending it to your home theater set up. i like the portability of a laptop but will continue to purchase desktops because of the "permanence" of them. so when the two actually marry (in a tablet) then we're set. Basically if we can get a 15 or 17 inch imac that docks instead of floats that is the tablet i'm looking for. the problem with the market thus far is the products haven't replaced laptops in their functionality. when apple (or anyone for that matter) figures out how to do it then the tablet market will take off.

[mirffy]

Originally Posted by EagerDragon

Prior to the iphone nobody heard of a phone with a single button. A lot of artistic people can see and use an iTablet and can see and use a multi-touch device.

Think different, it is not for medical devices or FedEx.

Good point, I do agree there But still I'm wondering what a normal consumer (not an artist) would do with a tablet lacking proper input.
Even if it had a stylus (which would go very well with the artist theory, using it as a combination of a Wacom-like tablet and screen) I'm still at a miss of how a normal consumer like myself would use this toy. They'd just be buying it for the sake of the on it.

I was assuming that most of the guys posting here are not exclusively pros, but just a mixture of pros aswell as consumers. I used a PDA for a while, and it's nice in the size of the iPhone/iPod touch, but anything bigger is to me just a very small niche market, even more so than the 12" Powerbook or an ultra-portable laptop. So I guess I just don't see the point.

[Cloud9]

Originally Posted by Lepton

Reading of the functionality described in thus rumor reminds me.. The iPhone killer app is: Apple Remote Desktop! (We already have VNSee on hacked phones which is a start, and proof of my assertion.) Apple should get this on the iPhone right away. Control iTunes with your phone. Control Keynote, Front Row, any app. Read any document, cause file transfers, control any peripheral hooked to your Mac (for me that's EyeTV).

Apple Remote Desktop is iPhone's killer app! I've been saying this since way before there was an iPhone. [In 2004 and later]

I completely agree! A device that will let me check my email, respond and attach documents to replies. A Device that gives me a visual representation of what my home machine is doing so that I can execute batch tasks. Remote desktop on a portable device. Give me Now!

[whidbeyben]

While patiently awaiting a replacement for my 12" PB G4, I keep running across rumors of a Mac Tablet. Why would anyone want a tablet, unless they were a UPS delivery guy or some sales representative who had to gather signatures? Then when hefting my son's textbook laden 30 pound backpack out of the back of my car, it dawned on me. Apple needs to create the iText.

Imagine using Apple's content negotiating savvy with text book publishers like they currently work with the music and video content industries. In this case, working out mega deals with school districts and universities worldwide for textbooks with live links to constantly updated content. Textbook publishers would have an outlet for copyright protected content while no longer having to go through the expense of hardback publishing and distribution. The revenue sharing possibilities would inject Apple with cash just like the iPod universe has done.

E-books have been done (see Amazon's Kindle), but they're lame because they don't offer any advantage over purchasing a $1.99 paperback that can fit in your back pocket. But with text books, this opens a whole new world of possibilities. I was just joking with my daughter that it was too bad she couldn't Google her American History text book to find out what significant event occurred in the middle colonies in the mid 1600's. Imagine using a touch interface to zoom in on graphs and multimedia content, or to pull up an instant reference, Google search, or dictionary citation. Flipping through pages would be a natural application for a touch interface and notepad (iText).

Swapping 30 pounds of hardback texts for a sleek 1 pound tablet would be a no-brainer. Built-in WiFi and bluetooth would enable teachers to send e-mail homework assignments, checklists, and (Apple iBoard) notes, while also enabling students to submit classroom assignments and tests wirelessly. In addition to the touch interface, they could use bluetooth keyboards, or have keyboards built into their school desks that the iText would dock into to charge.

The market for this would be huge. Unlike most notepads, which target a very small sales force/delivery market, this could mean a iText for every single public school student in the country. Can you imagine the power of having your product in the hands of all those kids? Let's get Apple back into the education market big time.

I'm hoping Steve Jobs and the folks at Apple are way ahead of me on this one. If not, they had better get busting before Bill figures this one out.

[gr8ful]

It is amazing to me what some people don't see a need for, others can't do without. Some of you could not imagine life without your laptop and others of you (us) don't own one because the "need" is not great enough to justify spending the money.

Every product Apple produces does not have to be a blockbuster that sets the world on its ear. Sometimes it is good, even necessary, to make a product that fills a niche (as long as it is profitable) to better explore the potential of a new technology (multi-touch) or to test demand of a new market (AppleTV, Mac mini?).

I personally would love a 7-10 inch touch tablet made by Apple. I carry around a Sharp Zaurus SL-C1000 handheld that is mainly used to replace my Franklin Planner and is my document/e-book reader. It also works part-time as a video /music player, photo viewer, voice recorder, and web browser ... all on a 3.7 inch screen. Though pocketable, I normally carry it in a case, so not being able to conceal it in a pocket is not that big a deal.

I tend to think I am a fairly typical user, as my story describes the reason most people carried a pda. The number one thing I wish for in my Zaurus/pda experience is a bigger screen when reading docs/ebooks and when surfing the web. For some of us an Apple iTablet would not just be neat, it would be the perfect companion device to either our phone or desktop.

I believe many of the Leopard's features are designed more for a portable touch device than a desktop or laptop; e.g. Back to my Mac, Coverflow in Finder, Stacks, etc. Is the tablet market a niche market? Sure, I don't think anyone argues with that. How big a niche and whether it can be a profitable line of business is something I hope Apple explores. All I know is that they will sell at least one device....but I kinda think I'm "definitely" not alone.

One more thing.... If Apple is skeptical about going "all in" to the tablet market, I could see them producing the much rumored super-thin ultraportable with a screen (10-12 inch) that converts into a tablet. This way you appeal to two market niches (ultraportable laptopers and tableters). Just thoughts.