Apple January 26th Event 'Confirmed' by Internal Source? Focus on 'Mobility Space'?

[inkswamp]

Typing your answer in the style of a dictionary doesn't make it a noun, I'm afraid

It's a horrible sounding phrase. Why not just say the event will focus on mobile products? I still like plain English the best.

Even more succinctly, just say the event will focus on mobility. "Mobility space" sounds like one of those jargon phrases that get corporate types all hot and bothered. It does sound horrible.

 

[LagunaSol]

Tablet, great. But MacBook updates please!

And BRING BACK THE NEWTON NAME! Tired of iStuff. Newton is a great brand.

Must you come into news threads with your political trolling?

He didn't start it.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

Then he announces "Starting today we are discontinuing the MacBook Air; it's history. Also we are discontinuing the Macbook.

I can see Apple EOLing the MBA but Apple not only just updated the MB but they gave it a brand new case. There is no way Apple spent all those scarce R&D dollars to re-engineer the MB only to kill it a few months later. If that was their intent they would have just given the MB a lousy speed/HD bump to string it along until they were ready to dump it.

I suspect the limited MB reduction was to pump up EDU market share by making it easier to grab students' Xmas cash and nothing else.

 

[hugodrax]

The rumor is the xMac is going to be announced with Duke Nukem Forever OS X port demonstration to show off the graphics of the new low priced minitower Mac.

Tablet is not gonna happen.

 

[wizard]

I'd like to know also why people expect Mac OS/X on the tablet.

Agreed. The air and a tablet would fit into different categories. I have an air and it does not disappoint.

I'm glad you like the AIR but for many of us the initial device was a huge disappointment. It is probably the best Apple example of failure due to an excessive focus on design over function.

They improved the machine a lot with the NVidia chipset but in my opinion it still doesn't offer everthing a laptop should offer. Even that would be so bad but we gave $399 Netbooks far outclassing AIR in features. In the end I highly doubt that AIR brings in enough revenue to justify the whole development process.

Why are all these people hoping the tablet runs full OSX? Just get a laptop. The tablet will run iPhone OS.

That is what I'd like to know myself. Mac OS/X simply would be a huge mistake. I think part of the problem is that people look at iPhones tiny screen and equate that functionality with a tablet. That won't be the case at all; much of what is seen on iPhone are apps, these can beceasily enhanced to offer up even more features on a tablet. Those fatures can be easily supported by the larger screen and faster hardware.

Part of the problem is that Anericans are so technically ignorant now that the don't know the difference between an app and an operating system. On the iPhone all that users really see are the apps, the OS for the most part is hidden away. About the only thing that can be considered OS related might ve Spring board and the preferences pane.

Also when it comes to the tablet Apple might see web apps as the future for some services. E-Mail might be a good example with Apple dropping the native app.

Note right now I'd hate to see that happen as I prefer the native E-Mail client. However an E-Mail service accessed with a full HTML 5 client, on a fast machine, might not be that bad. In the end though we are still talking about iPhone OS, the apps and services might be different but does anybody expect Apple to simply port the apps over with no effort to use the new screen real. estate?

Well some apps they might due simply to the lack of need to add features. But let's face it Safari on a tablet could use a few more features than what is offered up by iPhone. With more RAM and faster hardware those features are easy to add. All would still use the Multi Touch base that comes from iPhone.

Plus on top of all of this it is well known that the tech in iPhone was acquired from tablet project at Apple that has yet to see the light of day. This should be most significant as one can easily imagine a triming process to prune that code base to fit an iPhone as originally speced. All Apple needs to do now is to finish off that development, make sure it is compatible with iPhone software and sell it to us in a cheap tablet.


Dave

 

[Chupa Chupa]

The rumor is the xMac is going to be announced with Duke Nukem Forever OS X port demonstration to show off the graphics of the new low priced minitower Mac.

Tablet is not gonna happen.

If nothing is going to happen it's a low priced Mac minitower. Desktops are becoming less and less popular. Portable computing is where the dollars are these days. Apple's not going to waste it's cred announcing a 1990s style minitower.

 

[BryanLyle]

Maybe iPhone will be coming to Verizon.

Pretty please.

 

[cvaldes]

The rumor is the xMac is going to be announced with Duke Nukem Forever OS X port demonstration to show off the graphics of the new low priced minitower Mac.

Chupa's right.

Every year, the percentage of notebook sales increases (they account for over half of Mac sales these days). The Mac Cube sold poorly and a mini-desktop tower would be a rehash.

There is growth potential for a media tablet. There is no growth for a minitower.

 

[hwhalers]

Tablet, great. But MacBook updates please!

And BRING BACK THE NEWTON NAME! Tired of iStuff. Newton is a great brand.

Newton was John Sculley's baby. Steve Jobs isn't going to do anything that gives any kind of tribute to Sculley if he can at all help it.

 

[Black Belt]

I agree with a couple of posts -

iPhone OS for the Tablet, lord help them if they put MacOS on it, no one wants that on a utility device.

The Newton is a GREAT name. They'd be fools to not call it that. Sure John Sculley was a moron but what better way to wipe him off the history books than to make the Newton that actually sells.

 

[spydr]

My bet is on:
Mobility device(s) - Revised iPhone/iPod touch and a preview of iSlate
Mobility service(s) - iWork on the cloud and the next version of iTunes that has Lala within.

 

[iMacmatician]

I think part of the problem is that people look at iPhones tiny screen and equate that functionality with a tablet.

To me it seems that this is the main assumption people will make, they think that everything but the display size will be copied right over to the tablet.

Hence the comments along the lines of "the tablet will be nothing but a larger iPhone."

 

[Mr. Gates]

I think that 4.0 will not be announced until closer to the release date of the next gen iPhone. iPhone 2g & 3g support will have to be included because the 3g is still being sold today, which puts it in the update window. The 3g and 2g are extremely similar, so the 2g will probably be included because of its shared components. Major optimization of the OS is necessary in order to maintain a consistent user interface. They certainly have their work cut out for them....

I don't see why incompatibility of OS 4.0 with the 2G means lack of support. The OS has already undergone several revisions and all have been supported so far. But in hopes of some Really Amazing hardware....... I reall hope the 2G is NOT supported .

 

[applesupergeek]

I'm glad you like the AIR but for many of us the initial device was a huge disappointment. It is probably the best Apple example of failure due to an excessive focus on design over function.

They improved the machine a lot with the NVidia chipset but in my opinion it still doesn't offer everthing a laptop should offer. Even that would be so bad but we gave $399 Netbooks far outclassing AIR in features. In the end I highly doubt that AIR brings in enough revenue to justify the whole development process.
Dave

Dave, tell me one netbook that outclasses the AIR in features. ONE. And tell me ONE netbook then that "far outclasses" the AIR.

Actually the contrary is true, the air far outclasses ALL and ANY netbook that was EVER on the market.

And what is everything a laptop should offer? Because each laptop class , the 13", the 15" the 17" has a very different scope of what they should offer.

What's more, the air is lighter and thinner than most laptops, and thus it offers MORE than most laptops in that sense.

The air is a fully developed product that's just churning in a great deal of $$$, no need for further development at the moment, except the addition of better features as the ssd, cpu and memories evolve.

 

[flynz4]

Dave, tell me one netbook that outclasses the AIR in features. ONE. And tell me ONE netbook then that "far outclasses" the AIR.

Actually the contrary is true, the air far outclasses ALL and ANY netbook that was EVER on the market.

And what is everything a laptop should offer? Because each laptop class , the 13", the 15" the 17" has a very different scope of what they should offer.

What's more, the air is lighter and thinner than most laptops, and thus it offers MORE than most laptops in that sense.

The air is a fully developed product that's just churning in a great deal of $$$, no need for further development at the moment, except the addition of better features as the ssd, cpu and memories evolve.

I have owned about 20 laptops in my life... and my MBA is my favorite of all time. I also have a 15" MBP (supplied by my employer) and I do not like it 10% as much as my MBA.

Having said that:

If I could only have a single computer (or if I chose to have only one)... I would choose a MBP. I would be torn between a 13" and a 15"... but I would probably choose the 15".

If I could own two computers... it would currently be a 27" i7 iMac and a MBA w/SSD. This is what I personally own for my private use... and the combination is fantastic. As more of our data moves naturally into the cloud... the MBA gets better and better.

I also own a 15" MBP... but I use that exclusively for work. Previously, I always used my corporate laptop for both work and personal use... but the MBA is such a joy to use... I no longer use my 15" MBP for personal use.

I cannot see Apple dropping the MBA. The trend in laptops is thinner and lighter... and the MBA is the best of breed already.

/Jim

 

[str1f3]

I agree with a couple of posts -

iPhone OS for the Tablet, lord help them if they put MacOS on it, no one wants that on a utility device.

I see this tablet coming in at a very low subsidized price (possibly $300). Maybe even the data plan would be cheap.

IMHO, the problem is the iPhone OS is too simple for a larger screen and the Mac OS is not meant for multitouch.

I would have liked to see them remake OSX to be a touch OS, at least for this device. It doesn't have to have all the features of the Mac but just the fundamentals. As it is rumored this thing will have to jailbroken to get even the fraction of the potential this machine has to offer.

 

[TheWatchfulOne]

iLife/iWork

Has everybody but me forgotten that January seems to be the time when new versions of iLife and iWork are talked about?

How about this for an event agenda:

1. iLife 2010 and iWork 2010 software suites introduced as full 64 bit applications for Macs running Snow Leopard. 32 bit version included for Macs running Leopard.

2. But what if you want to take it with you on your iPhone? Introducing mobile version of iWork (and maybe some select iLife applications) which can sync with desktop iWork via iWork.com. Now you can have iWork in your pocket! Available in the App Store starting today!

3. Oh, and there is just one more thing... iSlate (iGuide, iTab, iSlab, or whatever it will be called) The mobile iWork we just showed you was actually running on our new tablet device which we are calling... (iSlate?)
Available in black or white in 7" and 10" sizes!
64GB or 128GB internal storage!
Bluetooth/WiFi/GSM 3G and 32 pin connector for connectivity and synchronization!
FaceBook and Flicker support built in!
Mobile iWork suite included!
Built in camera for pictures and video as well as forward-facing iSite camera for use with mobile iChat!
Synchronize with iPhone, Mac, and/or PC via MobileMe over web or celular data network!
Available subsidized and unsubsidized. Data plans and carriers to be announced at a later date.
High profile publishers on board to supply content including NY Times; Random House; etc...

Remember y'all... iTunes/iPod stuff usually happens in September.
iPhone stuff has always happened in July.

Please keep in mind, my event "prediction" is intentionally "outrageous." The only thing I find I can ever realistically expect from Apple is for them to do something I never would have thought of.

 

[jfudem]

January Event

I'd love to be able to attend this event, it would be sooooo cool to watch them reveal their latest products especially if they demo the tablet. I live in SF and am part of my High-school newspaper and am wondering if there is any way I could get in. I know this event isn't official yet but I'm thinking I should contact the Apple PR department. Does anyone have any tips for getting inside these things?

Thanks!

 

[Rot'nApple]

Foxnews.com is part of the Murdoch empire. As such they could tell me the sky is blue and I'd feel the need to go outside and check.

Whereas the Jeffrey Immelt group, who is part owner of the MSNBC.com fiasco, could tell you the sky is blue and if you go out to check, they would label you a tea bagger who hates Obama for the color of his skin, and can't understand why you can't see that he is God's gift to the United States of America. What are you unpatriotic? You don't get a tingle running up your leg every time the man reads his teleprompter? Better watch out or you're going to be on Bathtub Boy Keith's "Worst Person in the World" line up!

Alright enough with dispensing with that...

What really is going to be announce at the January 26th event is the new Applewear for Mobile Computing. Remember how Steve was always pulling out an iPod or iPhone from his pants. Well for a 10" tablet, you need the right apparel...

 

[Detlev_73]

I can see Apple EOLing the MBA but Apple not only just updated the MB but they gave it a brand new case. There is no way Apple spent all those scarce R&D dollars to re-engineer the MB only to kill it a few months later. If that was their intent they would have just given the MB a lousy speed/HD bump to string it along until they were ready to dump it.

I suspect the limited MB reduction was to pump up EDU market share by making it easier to grab students' Xmas cash and nothing else.

Although you make a good argument that the MB seems different, is it really that revolutionary technologically speaking rather than cosmetically-speaking? I'm sure someone else will compare the specs. As the MB didn't interest me, I didn't memorize the current specs. I posit that Apple didn't spend too much in reengineering the MB to what it is now. I haven't taken a look at the current specs versus previous specs, but perhaps it wasn't all that difficult? I don't know.

Perhaps another scenario is that the current MB will only be sold to the education market similar to what Apple did with the eMac; wasn't it essentially a low-spec'ed iMac? I'm only going from memory and granted it's not what it used to be 10 years ago, but I don't feel like I'm ready to retire to Shady Pines yet.

 

[CAAPPLE]

Invite-only!!!

I'd love to be able to attend this event, it would be sooooo cool to watch them reveal their latest products especially if they demo the tablet. I live in SF and am part of my High-school newspaper and am wondering if there is any way I could get in. I know this event isn't official yet but I'm thinking I should contact the Apple PR department. Does anyone have any tips for getting inside these things?

Thanks!

This is invite-only event and your chance being able to get in very slim. Otherwise you may contact Tareq and Michaele Salahi, the infamous White House dinner party crashers and get some helpful tips

G@@d Luck!

 

[na1577]

Part of the problem is that Anericans are so technically ignorant now that the don't know the difference between an app and an operating system. On the iPhone all that users really see are the apps, the OS for the most part is hidden away. About the only thing that can be considered OS related might ve Spring board and the preferences pane.

I had to disregard your entire post because of this mistake. The word you were looking for was "technologically."

 

[zacman]

So it really will just be a fun drive with iPhone OS for a 1000 USD and not a real computer. I guess most people will probably buy a 200 USD netbook instead.

"Hey I just bought that 1000 dollar thing. And have a look, it has an AppStore and it runs flashlight and fart apps! Oh it's so brilliant!!!!!111"

 

[PeterQVenkman]

That tablet better not cost $1000. I already think the base white MacBook is overpriced.

Although if it runs Zombieville USA, I'll take a look.

 

[DakotaGuy]

Chupa's right.

Every year, the percentage of notebook sales increases (they account for over half of Mac sales these days). The Mac Cube sold poorly and a mini-desktop tower would be a rehash.

There is growth potential for a media tablet. There is no growth for a minitower.

There will never be a mini-tower or low priced tower from Apple. Apple's flagship desktop is the iMac. The Mac Pro and Mac Mini are only small side line businesses at this point and Apple isn't very interested in them. Apple is all about mobile devices and portable computers now. If they could get away with it and not get clobbered by their loyal professional customers I think they would trim their desktop line down to just the iMac.