Apple Handwriting Engineer?

[danielwsmithee]

My Prediction

Bring in an Apple PDA with the following features:
- very-low power intel CPU (with weeks of battery life)
- full version of OS X (no need for "special software", it runs what your desktop/laptop runs)
- enough CPU power for Keynote 2 and medium resolution MPEG-4 playback (portable video)
- 512MB RAM (here's hoping, since it probably won't have any RAM slot)
- 1.8" 40GB HD (made possible by Hitachi's perpendicular technology)
- Wi-Fi
- S-Video out (so you can use it as a portable video playback and Keynote presentation device)
- One or two USB 2.0 port (for external mouse/keyboard)
- One FireWire 400 port (for video editing on-the-go)

Maybe a built-in CompactFlash/SD slot to make it friendly to camera/iPhoto users.
X.

I would agree with most of what you have hear. I envision a larger version of what the iPod allready is alla iPod Video/PDA.

Give it a 10.4" widescreen display and a stylus. It will only have two connectors, the headphone jack, and a custome connector which can be used to connect to a dock having USB, Firewire S-Video, Component Video, DVI, and HDMI for docking to your HDTV, and of course a superdrive.

Of course Blootooth and WIFI will be standard, the entire thing would be 1/2" inch think. It will also use the latest ATI graphics card that was anounced that will contain hardware decoding of H.264 so that true High Definition content will be possible running native OS X.

 

[hob]

Steve Jobs isn't a tech visionary? Seriously dude, think about that for a moment. He's one of the most influential people in the tech industry and you don't get that kind of moniker without being a teensy bit of a visionary.

I actually feel, now, that he just seems to know how to take something and make it work. Most of the work for the iPod was done by another company, they showed it to him and he took it and here we are.

Isn't it basically the same story with the original Mac? How much work did Woz do compared to Jobs? (I'm actually asking - I don't rightly know!) I'd assume that Woz did the hard work (see woz.org) and Jobs marketed it just right.

That's what he does - he's a marketing genius. Not a visionary.

 

[wdlove]

Maybe it will eventually have to do with security for the Mac. Just wonder how difficult the learing curve will be?

 

[Squire]

hmmm....maybe it's some sort of glorified remote control with a touch-screen interface to manage all your media via wi-fi and/or BT between yor mac, airport, stereo & tv?

Some random thoughts:

Good point. I seem to recall reports of Steve just grinning when asked about the problem of getting up and walking to your computer to change tracks (Walt Mossberg referring to the AirPort Express).

The thought of a video iPod doubling as an AE remote, although initially interesting, seems a bit out of whack. I wouldn't want a remote control any larger (width-wise, anyway) than a normal iPod. And I wouldn't want an iPod video any smaller than the current iPod.

Ever notice how Steve gives a reason for almost everything they do, especially if they were originally against doing it?
* entering the mp3 market: The devices had a limited capacity and/or terrible UI.
* iPod photo: Finally there was some content to display (while there was no content providers for portable video players) [Now, of course, there are music videos.]
* Flash-based mp3 players: They have crappy little screens and cumbersome controls. Solution= ditch the screen and make simple controls.
* Tablets: Who knows? They'll refine them or give us a good enough reason to want one. Same goes for video iPod, I guess.

<edit> I see SiliconAddict kind of made reference to these. (I started typing this post two hours ago, watched Shanghai Knights, then finished the post.)

PDA sales are perfectly fine. The problem is the idiots out there doing the surveys are classifying Blackberry's as not PDA's but smartphones.

Speaking of Blackberry, I read some news about a RIM (ResearchInMotion)- Intel deal.

http://www.cbc.ca/story/business/national/2005/08/23/intel_rim_2005_08_23.html

Squire

 

[Quartz Extreme]

This makes sense. Think back to WWDC 2005 when Steve Jobs said...

As we look ahead we can of envision some amazing products we want to build for you and we don't know how to build them with the future PowerPC road map.

The PowerPC architecture didn't have the power to performance ratio necessary for a truly powerful tablet Mac, but Intel chips have that going for them. The Newton was a great product, crippled by the poor technology of the day, which made it too big and in eariler incarnations, have faulty handwriting recognition. Now, Apple, learning from it's mistakes, introduces a tablet Mac in 2007 that is ultralight and thin, but has the power and performance of today's PowerMacs. That is one heck of a product, but I'm sure Apple will surprise us with something even more amazing than that!

 

[sushi]

That's what he does - he's a marketing genius. Not a visionary.

Gates is the marketing genius.

Jobs is the visionary.

Just compare Winders to Mac OS X.

Sushi

 

[FoxyKaye]

Tablet sales have crashed in recent years.

I bet it's something else.

Thinking the same thing -- To me, tablets seemed silly from the get-go. You know, like a laptop that never closes and everything hits the screen.

Now, give me an iBook or PowerBook with a touch-sensitive screen and handwriting recognition, maybe coupled with some sort of swivel on the screen to make it easy to manage and write on. That would be pretty nice...

Newton Redux would be cool too, but entering the PDA market so late, it would have to be a real iPaq killer.

 

[Some_Big_Spoon]

this would really be nice. there are plenty, and I mean plenty, of times that I don't want to lug around even my 12"PB during the day just to get my mail, surf and talk to clients and friends.

I'd love a slide out keyboard and pen writing on a larger ipod-type machine that would let me get smaller tasks done and leave the heavy lifting for when i need heavy lifting.

If the Danger Hip-Tops are any indication, there's certainly a market for this, it just needs to be done in a non-clunky way that integrates and "just works". Sounds like a job for your friendly neighborhood Steve-Man.

 

[~loserman~]

Now, give me an iBook or PowerBook with a touch-sensitive screen and handwriting recognition, maybe coupled with some sort of swivel on the screen to make it easy to manage and write on. That would be pretty nice...

You mean like this Toshiba except with some Apple flair to it? The screen folds completely down for use too.

 

[danielwsmithee]

Where is the Creativity!

You mean like this Toshiba except with some Apple flair to it? The screen folds completely down for use too.

Just like every other tablet PC on the market that has not been succesful.

Get rid of the keyboard, the optical drive, all that stuff can be connected seperatly if you want at your desk. If you want a keyboard carry around a BT keyboard, or even better yet get one of those laser BT keyboards that turns any desktop into a keyboard.

If Apple is going to have a succesful tablet it will need to be trully revolutionary!! It can't just be taking the PC tablet design and throwing OS X on it.

 

[SiliconAddict]

Just like every other tablet PC on the market that has not been succesful.

Get rid of the keyboard, the optical drive, all that stuff can be connected seperatly if you want at your desk. If you want a keyboard carry around a BT keyboard, or even better yet get one of those laser BT keyboards that turns any desktop into a keyboard.

If Apple is going to have a succesful tablet it will need to be trully revolutionary!! It can't just be taking the PC tablet design and throwing OS X on it.

[Nelson Laugh] Ha! ha!
You are going in the opposite direction of common sense dude. A pure slate device will never achieve high market saturation. Users do NOT want a Tablet PC without a keyboard and in point of fact the convertibles (The devices that have the flip around screens.) outsell the slates by a fair margin. Go visit the boards on tabletpcbuzz.com. Pen input is what I define as bandwidth limiting when it comes to entering data. You can do more with a pen but it’s slower then typing which is slower, usually, then speaking.

The only “pure” slate devices Apple would ever come out with would be dummy terminals that links to something. Be it a home media server, a desktop Mac, or an Apple media Server up on the net. That would be it. (Well that or a PDA but I doubt that will happen under King Steve’s rein.)
I’m going to go out on a limb and make the statement that Apple will NEVER sell a computer system running OS X that has a detachable keyboard. EVER. In fact I highly doubt Apple would ever sell a device with external hardware with one possible exception: and ultrathin PowerBook that is less then 1” thin with an external DVD burner. But the reasoning for that is clear - allow a smaller form factor.

Slate devices will always be around. But for the average user its too radical. Since the dawn of the modern computer a keyboard has been attached. Every time someone tried to get rid of it with a slate device it has bombed in a spectacular fashion. Na ah. It won’t happen.

 

[guifa]

I agree that handwriting is too slow and wonder where this (interesting and impressive) technology will be useful or an improvement?

I can see older people in my office who never learned to type using it. An aging and shrinking market.

Sometimes, it would be helpful on large spreadsheets or Internet forms.

The best place I can see would be to ingetrate it into PDA, blackberry, iPod, and phone broswers where keyboards occupy valuable, limited space. This might be a larger market given that many people in developing countries can't afford computers but have cell phones or other devices with Internet browsing capability.

Any other strong uses for the technology?

Well I for one would love to use it when I'm writing in Asian scripts. Besides the fact that I still haven't totally memorised where all the letters are on the Korean keyboard, if I want to randomly put in a Hanja character, it'd be cool to just write it. And I could see that as being a great benefit to Chinese and Japanese users and other ideographic-based languages, to assist in the learning curve for computer input. Of course, then I might draw a stick figure and accidentally input Us: ?. (Unicode c6c3 if this doesn't display it)

 

[GilGrissom]

1. MS doesn’t know jack about designing interfaces. All they did was slap Windows XP with a few apps installed and called is Windows XP Tablet edition. No tweaking of the interface. No designing the GUI for one-handed use. No designing the GUI to keep in mind that your arm is going to be covering the display x amount of time.

2. Tablet PC’s are just as expensive as laptops. Until tablet PC’s drop in price to close to $1000 a pop they are going to remain niche.

3. MS charges MORE for the tablet PC OS then Windows XP. There is a reason why OEM’s are saying screw you to the tablet concept. Its more expensive to them.

4. They haven’t been rolled into standard laptops yet. I’m a firm believer that at some point tablet capabilities will be rolled into most laptops without incurring a price point hit. The Tablet PC convertible is what, at some point in the future, all laptops will act like. Where the screen of the laptop will simply flip down, backwards, on the keyboard and away you go. If you don’t want to use that mode no one is forcing you too. It will simply be another feature on the laptop like WIFI, burners, or fingerprint scanners.

I mostly agree with these points, having used RM tablets in my last school and having provided support for them, I am really disappointed at how much they do miss out on potential. They could be so much better.

Your last point is interesting. To a certain degree I agree with you, however part of me wonders whether it is the best course of action. We've had tablet/notebook intergration happening for a while, and it still doesn't seem quite right. To me trying to integrate the two at times seems like sitting on the fence, its neither here or there, it tries to cover two things and as a result doesn't do either very well. I know you don't agree with me here, and you're probably right, just my views and hopes.

Having a total new unique tablet design, that is small and cheap, (as you say), that is simple, light, easy to use and with an amazingly pleasent GUI could win over more people. Syncing and later intergration with, as someone has said, the "heavy weight" technology maybe the key. I don't know.

Having said that we all know how these all in one gadgets do very well and that is the way things are going! So what do I know! Just my thoughts and feelings!

- full version of OS X (no need for "special software", it runs what your desktop/laptop runs)

I see this in some cases as essential, for intergration, usability and syncing to be worthwhile etc, not making the mistakes of other PDA operating system, like you say, like Windows 3.1!
However SiliconAddict has given a good point that the failure of todays tablets are the bad GUI, Microsoft using the same XP interface with a few extra programs. Not taking into consideration the totally different interaction with the computer, and for one-the user's arm being across the screen. So I'm not sure whether Apple will need to do some VERY VERY clever OS programming, making it totally compatible and intergratable with normal OS X but make it so that it is much more easier to use with a pen and screen. Granted OS X is probably much better on a tablet than Windows as it is, but is it enough?

This kinda helps point out my point of where tablets should go.

Hope this makes sense to someone! My 2 cents! (Always wanted to say that!)

 

[danielwsmithee]

Inovation

[Nelson Laugh] Ha! ha!
I’m going to go out on a limb and make the statement that Apple will NEVER sell a computer system running OS X that has a detachable keyboard. EVER.

I can name 4 right now: iMac, Mac Mini, eMac, PowerMac. All of these machines have a detachable keyboard. J/K

In fact I highly doubt Apple would ever sell a device with external hardware with one possible exception: and ultrathin PowerBook that is less then 1” thin with an external DVD burner. But the reasoning for that is clear - allow a smaller form factor.

That is the reasoning behind everthing I have stated. Imagine a small tablet with a 10" widescreen display 1/2" think. There is nothing on it except the display a stylus, headphone connector, and a dock connector. The entire device would be the size of the top half of a 8.5 X 11" inch peace of paper. It could easily fit in large pockets, or be carried to meatings.

Handwriting would only be used as the input device when you are on the go. Taking notes at a meeting, checking your email. When you need to make more text entry simply use a bluetooth keyboard.

A device like this would not just be a PowerBook with a touch-sensitive screen. It would also be a iPod, Video iPod, PDA, and PowerBook just by connecting it to it's dock. This is a device that will drive a whole new market of on the go entertainment and functionality. I agree with you keyboards are the best input method, but why carry arround a keyboard when all you want to do is watch a video or read your email? There are plenty of great portable BT keyboards out there for those ocassions when you want to enter text fast and not lug around a full size keyboard!

For a tablet mac to be succesful it must redefine the purpose of a tablet PC. It is not just a laptop you can write on, what is the point? That is why tablet PC's have not sold the average Joe blow consumer doesn't see the point of being able to write on a PC.

It needs to be looked at something that will help you stay organized, allow you to take your entire video and music collection with you. Most importantly it must be the HIP must have consumer product like the iPod has become. I'm sorry but that Toshiba just aint going to cut it.

 

[corywoolf]

The market for a tablet isn't that big from what I understand, who here really NEEDS a tablet? Sounds like a bit overboard to me, I would much rather type then write on a damn screen. I have a palm T3 and don't really care for the whole handwriting translation thing. Even for artists, I don't think the resolution would be good enough for it to be any use for serious drawings. The tablet better have a killer feature, like a google search using just a drawing or image that is uploaded. I don't think that would even be a good enough feature. I guess it would be cool to actually sign your emails by hand! I know you could already do that by scanning in a image of your sig. and attaching it though. It would be cool for schools for grammer/spell checking and grading papers. I guess it could add a personal touch to things. I doubt it will be affordable for a while though.

 

[7on]

It seems like everyone is forgetting us Graphic Designers. Us graphic Designers who basically kept Apple alive through the 90s (not me personally cause I was 10 or so). Anyway, Graphic designers and other art people will buy OSX tablets. Personally I've always found pen input on my wacom to feel more natural than a mouse. And if Apple puts out a Tablet Mac with a large enough screen - I'd save like $500 on buying a Wacom in addition to the mac.

 

[GilGrissom]

It seems like everyone is forgetting us Graphic Designers. Us graphic Designers who basically kept Apple alive through the 90s (not me personally cause I was 10 or so). Anyway, Graphic designers and other art people will buy OSX tablets. Personally I've always found pen input on my wacom to feel more natural than a mouse. And if Apple puts out a Tablet Mac with a large enough screen - I'd save like $500 on buying a Wacom in addition to the mac.

I agree with you. I have a Wacom tablet that I brought for my wintel notebook and used it for a long time as a total replacement for a mouse, as I too thought that it was much more fluid and natural once you are used to it. It made using the notebook far more enjoyable. Unfortunately the drivers for Mac don't give it the same feel or function, so it has never felt as good on my mac.
I would be interested in any improvement in handwriting software from Apple, whether it be for a tablet or not.

 

[pubwvj]

that I repeated over and over when I successfully predicted the doom of the Tablet PC from its inception: the fastest speed that people can write with pen on paper tops out at about 20 words per minute.

You, like some others on this thread, are totally missing the point. The tablet isn't for a focus on input. It is for output. The tablet is a wonderful way to navigate and view web pages, read email, read documents, etc. When I want to do little bits of input the handwriting recognition is good enough. When I want to do a lot of input I'll just use my bluetooth keyboard (130 wpm, thank you).

Tablets have a very useful place in the spectrum of computers.

 

[Bedawyn]

Slate devices will always be around. But for the average user its too radical. Since the dawn of the modern computer a keyboard has been attached.

And since the dawn of Star Trek, some of us have been wanting a slate computer.

I've never seen the point of the speed argument. No one's suggesting a tablet as a workstation replacement for typing-intensive tasks. I spend maybe a couple of hours a week actually typing at my keyboard -- typing words, that is. The rest is spent mousing, clicking, reading, hitting enter, and using shortcut keys that could easily be replaced with tapping. And if you do want to input data, well, on-screen keyboards that you tap work perfectly well. Still not as fast as a regular keyboard, but give me a decent-size screen, maybe 5 by 7, 4 by 6, small enough to fit in my purse easily but -- unlike cell phones -- large enough to read and work on without squinting or hand cramps, large enough to have a on-screen keyboard I can use with my fingers instead of a stylus, and I think the speed advantage would vanish pretty quick. It would certainly narrow enough to no longer be an issue. After all, we just want typing to be as quick as our (preferably well-considered) thoughts. No one's having races here.

Not to mention that people have been writing for millenia and typing is a newfangled invention. I doubt that the "slowness" of writing is quite the handicap that some of you think it is. Somehow I just can't see people being encouraged to think twice about whether their off-the-cuff thoughts are worth the "hassle" of writing -- and committing to permanence on the Internet -- as a bad thing.

 

[Deestar]

Internet Tablet?

Personally If apple were to go down the root of a touch-screen portable, I would love Apple to make a "Internet Tablet" like the Nokia 770. Coming out in the 3rd quarter it runs a version of linux, high resolution screen and wireless internet access. Built in web browser, RSS viewer, email, Notes...

Apple could do it even better by running a slimed down OS X add slim "Stylus friendly" versions of iTunes, iPhoto, iCal, Dashboard and open it to third parties to come up with slim versions of there apps!

Apple will be onto a winner.

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

 

[Lacero]

With the low power 0.5 watt intel chips coming in the second half of 2006, we MIGHT see handtop tablets half-inch thick. I think Apple will try pulling off creating the thinnest tablet PC ever made. I just feel it in my bones.

 

[hob]

Gates is the marketing genius.

Jobs is the visionary.

Just compare Winders to Mac OS X.

Sushi

Just because Jobs has a superior product doesn't mean he doesn't do the same job.

I'd never call Gates a genius though

 

[iMeowbot]

Even if handwriting recognition were perfect, the clumsiest keyboardists would still beat the pants off of the fastest handwriters.

It's still very interesting where size matters. The Treo is a great example of keyboard absurdity (though I suppose it would be ideal for the busy executive fetus on the go).

Sure, there are some niche markets where tablet computing makes sense, but it is a much smaller niche than some idiots (aka, Gates) believe.

It might still have wider applications than it sees now, but the current pattern, where handwriting is plumbed into existing applications, is goofy. The interfaces don't really mix.

 

[GilGrissom]

And since the dawn of Star Trek, some of us have been wanting a slate computer.

OH YE! I'd LOVE a PADD!

 

[Loge]

It's still very interesting where size matters. The Treo is a great example of keyboard absurdity (though I suppose it would be ideal for the busy executive fetus on the go).

The Psion 5 and (to a lesser extent) Revo were examples of PDAs with decent usable keyboards, that you could just about touch type on. Unfortunately there is so such comparable PDA in the market today.