Apple 'iSlate' Trademark and What is a 'Magic Slate'?

[peterdevries]

these may not be failures, but they're certainly failure-ish. "less successful then the competition," as you describe below, is actually a pretty good definition for "failure.". And arguing that things are still a growing product is not a good defense- mobe me has been around a long time, for example, and has yet to gain any traction.

Maybe we should first define what a failure really IS before we discuss further whether any Apple products indeed are failures.

To me a failure is a product that generates less revenue than it cost to develop and produce. I don't think Apple has any products currently and recently that fall into that category. As most products we talked about are still sold, there can be no conclusive judgement made in that respect.

Another way to look at it is whether the thing is fulfilling customer expectations. That is difficult to judge, since people complain more than rave about products. I can see that people view MobileMe, iPod Shuffle and Apple TV in these categories, but also here I haven't seen any conclusive data about customer experience. Although the App Store Review process is apparently universally hated...

I don't agree that "less successful than competition is failure" is by default true. Just look at Apple themselves. Apple most likely sells less iWork suites than Office for Mac suites, but I would definitely not call iWork a failure. You can apply this logic to most if not many apple products.

edit: That's not fair, you added stuff while I was writing 🙂 : I was not explicit enough about one point.. Many times a product (not only by Apple) is released and by updates etc. matures into a successful product. MobileMe is (IMHO) a good example of this. Apple keeps adding functionality, and it could grow into a very successful product within the next few years as more and more functions migrate into the cloud. Maybe that doesn't make it a hit (like the iPhone or iPod Touch), but also doesn't make it a failure.

At the point when Apple retires e.g. the Apple TV in the next year without a new update, I think we can safely say that it has been a failure. But I think there is still enough potential within the current Apple TV hardware to make it a great product with the potential to accelerate the sales with some marketing behind it.

p.s. I didn't say that no-one buys them (referring to iPod Shuffle). I haven't seen any people around with it, because they are just too damn small.. And I don't stand around in the Apple Store all day counting sold units. In addition, I didn't say of any product that it has crappy features.. Please quote me right. 🙂

 

[cmaier]

fair enough. I define failure as not achieving "economic profit." this is different than accounting profit and is defined by earning more return on investment than one's competition. Another way to look at it is that r&d and marketing costs would have been more profitably spent on any other product.

Every product suits SOMEONEs needs. If apple spends a million to make a million plus 1, its shareholders will not regard that as profitable because they could have invested in a company that did better than that. When management decides how to allocate resources, you can bet they were looking for better results than were produces by those products I mentioned.

Maybe we should first define what a failure really IS before we discuss further whether any Apple products indeed are failures.

To me a failure is a product that generates less revenue than it cost to develop and produce. I don't think Apple has any products currently and recently that fall into that category. As most products we talked about are still sold, there can be no conclusive judgement made in that respect.

Another way to look at it is whether the thing is fulfilling customer expectations. That is difficult to judge, since people complain more than rave about products. I can see that people view MobileMe, iPod Shuffle and Apple TV in these categories, but also here I haven't seen any conclusive data about customer experience. Although the App Store Review process is apparently universally hated...

I don't agree that "less successful than competition is failure" is by default true. Just look at Apple themselves. Apple most likely sells less iWork suites than Office for Mac suites, but I would definitely not call iWork a failure. You can apply this logic to most if not many apple products.

 

[beez1717]

what I think

What would you say if they named it the "FlatMac" or the "Mac Go" or "Magic Mac" or "MacBook Slate"? I like the ring of FlatMac, or even the macbook slate sounds quite cool, but i'm just thinking they won't use the i in the name. If they make it too much like the iphone then people won't get it because it would just be an expensive version of the iphone, and yet they can't make it too mac like or people will see it as an expensive gimick.

 

[dfs]

I've wondered for some time

For the past couple years I’ve been wondering, what if somebody were, in essence, to take a trackpad out of a laptop, put it in a nice little plastic box, add USB or Bluetooth connectivity, and market it as a new kind of pointing device for desktop computers. Wouldn’t have to be Apple, anybody with a little bit of imagination could do it for either Macs or PCs, and for a little while that person would have a monopoly on that sort of device. Are all peripherals manufacturers equally lacking in imagination?

 

[str1f3]

It's obviously not just an "e-reader." What's a "stand alone device?" My iPhone never has to sync except to get new music on it at this point.

I'd argue that given the inherent limitations of the likely device (form factor, processing power, memory, etc.), it had better NOT be a stand-alone device - it had better be a companion device. It should rely on a connection to the cloud or a linking to a desktop or laptop, to take my files and data along with me when I don't want to carry my "big" machine because I'm going to be spending my time consuming rather than creating content.

A standalone device is a device that is not dependant on another device for content. You may rarely sync your iPhone but you sync your movies, music, photos, etc. from iTunes. With your iPhone you are still dependant on another device for content.

As to your second paragraph, you could make that same comment about the Macbook Air. This tablet will have a dual-core ARM chip running at 1.2 Ghz. This processor will be no slouch. It is comical to have to sync a tablet with a 10" screen to your laptop.

Exactly how many devices do you need that do close to the same thing? You mention you're "big" machine. C'mon. It is yet another device added to your life. Do you need separate devices for consuming and creating content? There is a point of reaching gluttony. It replaces nothing and adds a monthly 3G fee.

If you're the e-reader type then I can see how a few would want it. Most would not.

 

[cmaier]

When i'm not at my desk, why do I want to carry the detritus of content creation (keyboard, heatsink/fan for superior CPU, etc) with me? By your argument my mac should vacuum and make toast so that inhabe fewer devices.

A standalone device is a device that is not dependant on another device for content. You may rarely sync your iPhone but you sync your movies, music, photos, etc. from iTunes. With your iPhone you are still dependant on another device for content.

As to your second paragraph, you could make that same comment about the Macbook Air. This tablet will have a dual-core ARM chip running at 1.2 Ghz. This processor will be no slouch. It is comical to have to sync a tablet with a 10" screen to your laptop.

Exactly how many devices do you need that do close to the same thing? You mention you're "big" machine. C'mon. It is yet another device added to your life. Do you need separate devices for consuming and creating content? There is a point of reaching gluttony. It replaces nothing and adds a monthly 3G fee.

If you're the e-reader type then I can see how a few would want it. Most would not.

 

[twoodcc]

not sure i like the name iSlate, but i'm very excited about this thing. can't wait for it

 

[str1f3]

When i'm not at my desk, why do I want to carry the detritus of content creation (keyboard, heatsink/fan for superior CPU, etc) with me? By your argument my mac should vacuum and make toast so that inhabe fewer devices.

Most Mac users are laptop users and has been that way for years. A Macbook weighs three pounds more and would give you a lot more ability. Though I hate Flash, at least you have the ability to watch Flash videos on the web as opposed to this device if it is based on the iPhone OS. You can actually download files as well as numerous other things.

Keyboards are merely a way to interact with a desktop and Apple could have changed with the tablet. The tablet could have been a laptop replacement. As it is now rumored it is only a large iPhone.

Your last sentence is going ridiculously overboard. I can do just the same and say why stop with the tablet. Why don't you have one machine for CS, another for Office/iWork and another for Final Cut?

You acting as if it is wrong or flawed that a device can serve dual purposes. The tablet could have still been a dual purpose machine and served your needs.

 

[DMann]

True to form, you are embellishing Microsoft's accomplishments while downplaying Apples. As someone who has been an avid reader of Macrumors for years, I have yet to read anything from you that doesn't insult/bash/tarnish Apple in any way. As many have asked, why are you here?

Perhaps, to satisfy a twisted desire to stand out, as well as to proselytize for, and promote MS, within any given context.

True to form - so very true.

 

[firewood]

Most Mac users are laptop users and has been that way for years.

But most people worldwide are not Mac users, even if you only count the people who can easily afford to buy an higher-end Apple product. Not even 10% in the U.S. Something completely different from a MacBook (like an iPod?) might be more likely to get the attention of these potential new customers.

 

[powers74]

shuffle

iPod Shuffle: no way to say that this is a failure without sales data and development cost data. Granted I don't see a lot of people with these around, but then again I can imagine that this thing didn't take the same kind of money to develop as a unibody MBP.

I have two; a second and a current gen. I know several people who have several. The reason you don't see many is simply because you actually can't see them! 😛

 

[oxygen8]

Finally!!!

islate it will be it appears!
Magic slate will probably be some kind of product in line with magic mouse, aka a keyboard with virtual keys as raised bumps, then as a track pad the bumps hide, then as a mouse the mousepad outline appears an forced feedback from the screen to the finger aids in tactile location… also the brail optioned keyboard to compliment the mouse.

i had to scroll thru 8 pages of mostly silly comments until someone got it right. all the brail and bump stuff is way off, but spot on with the principal. this product will replace both the keyboard and mouse on all macs.