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Apple Mac Tablet with Docking Station in 2007?

Interface with iTV, AirPort Express, possibly your Macs for some limited controlling, maybe your iPod or iPod HiFi... I don't want the tablet to be a remote...

I still want a real Tablet Mac. It probably isn't all that easy to hit the sweet spot for price and capability. You could do something stupid like a remote as I stated above, something like a PDA or something full-blown like a laptop. Frankly, I would love tablet because for college it's useful to whip out the tablet and scribble some things, and it would be nicer than a trackpad on laptop. I just wish my Palm TX and MacBook Pro would meld together... The best I could do is hook up my graphics tablet, but that's just unwieldy to carry around and I don't have the desk space in my dorm.

Stop talking about it and just make it already!
 
Simple...it's NOT gonna happen anytime soon.

The Tablet market is a sad failure, as it represents a tech in search of a purpose...nobody needs or wants it.

Hint? Think Origami, one among too many MS failures...just like the Zune in the next months.

Apple will NOT enter the fabled Tablet market again, as the focus of demand is on notebooks, nothing else...yet another borndead rumor.
 
21286fujitsustylisticmodded.jpg
 
After time-and-time-again of seeing no Apple tablet (even after following "Next MWSF, 100% for sure!" rumors) I've been convinced that there won't be one. As everyone is saying, the Tablet PC is dead... or, if anything, is being replaced by laptops whose screens turn around at the neck.

What does anyone need a tablet for anyway? If the demand is for a $300 - $600 portable, there is WAY more demand for a MacBook Mini than a tablet. Plus, how would you protect that screen?? Laptops have distinct advantages over tablets... the main ones being that they are durable and versatile. Tablets are clumsy and weak.

I would be SERIOUSLY surprised if Apple debuted a tablet

-Clive
 
BRLawyer said:
Simple...it's NOT gonna happen anytime soon.

The Tablet market is a sad failure, as it represents a tech in search of a purpose...nobody needs or wants it.

Hint? Think Origami, one among too many MS failures...just like the Zune in the next months.

Apple will NOT enter the fabled Tablet market again, as the focus of demand is on notebooks, nothing else...yet another borndead rumor.
Click to expand...

Lol. I totally forgot about the origami. What a flop!
 
I think such a device would fit nicely between the iPod with video and full blown laptops. If you couple this with an e-book reader. *coughs*ereader.com*coughs* I wouldn't run to the Apple store. I'd physically smash through the mall doors with my car and drive up to the store.
 
BRLawyer said:
Simple...it's NOT gonna happen anytime soon.

The Tablet market is a sad failure, as it represents a tech in search of a purpose...nobody needs or wants it.

Hint? Think Origami, one among too many MS failures...just like the Zune in the next months.

Apple will NOT enter the fabled Tablet market again, as the focus of demand is on notebooks, nothing else...yet another borndead rumor.
Click to expand...


God I'm so sick of people making this excuse. So just because no one else has found the right formula it means that Apple can't right?

Have you ever used a tablet before? If not you are missing out. The experience feels much more personal for some reason. It feels like a platform that is begging for Apple to do something with it.

PS- Let me guess you were one of those people screeching that Apple would NEVER go Intel. Would never release an iPod with photo capabilities or video. Would never allow Windows to run on a Mac.


justflie said:
Lol. I totally forgot about the origami. What a flop!
Click to expand...

Its running a slightly modified version of Windows. What did you expect? :rolleyes: Anyone who comes out with a tablet needs to do more then slap their OS on it. there needs to be a fundimental shift in HOW you interact with the OS.
 
Mechcozmo said:
Like this? Linkety
A bit more expensive than you would like, but otherwise seems to fit pretty well.
Click to expand...

Hey, I remember reading about this device back when it was still a prototype. It seems that the company was founded by some ex-Apple engineers (and it certainly shows... that thing suspiciously resembles a shrunken TiBook). I thought, at the time, that using it to run XPee would be such a waste, and after seeing the final product, I'm definitely sure about it.

If there's one device that could have been developed by Apple, or deserved to run OS X, this is definitely it.

Just look at the specs:

1GHz Transmeta Crusoe
30GB hard drive (shock-mounted)
512MB DDR RAM
Dimensions: 4.9" x 3.4" x 0.9"
Weight: 14 ounces
800 x 480 W-VGA 5" transflective display (indoor/outdoor readable)
3D accelerated graphics with 8MB of video RAM
QWERTY thumb keyboard with mouse buttons and TrackStik
802.11b wireless
Bluetooth wireless
4-pin FireWire (1394)
USB 2.0
3.5mm stereo headphone jack
Microphone
Speaker
Digital pen
Removable lithium polymer battery
Battery life up to three hours, depending on usage
OQO docking cable includes:
3D accelerated 1280 x 1024 VGA video output
Additional USB
Additional FireWire (1394)
Ethernet
DC power
Audio out

These specs roughly match the early 2004 G4 iBook (it has less 1/4 of VRAM but 2x more RAM!), so with some optimization, I'm guessing Tiger/x86 would run fine on that Trasmeta processor. Sure, it's a tad expensive and the battery life isn't that great, but it has some sweet specs...

Of course, I'm preety sure Apple could do even better, especially with their accumulated experience with the iPod and all those wicked patents, and some Intel partnership and their ULV processors, so I'm very eager to see what they come up with next year... ;)
 
I would definitely buy a Tablet Mac. Well, I mean a laptop with a rotating touch screen.

I would like it even more if it was smaller than the actual 13" MacBooks. I carry my laptop with me a lot, and light-weightness is important for me.
 
MikeTheC said:
...Why would I want to waste my time learning shorthand (which makes the assumption that TPCs could handle various forms of shorthand) so I could do through writing what I can already do at 70+ WPM via typing. And with typing, it solves the whole problem of handwriting recognition, because there ISN'T ANY...
Click to expand...

Just for the record, if you can type more than 70 WPM, then your typing speed is well into the top 10%. Average typing speed is around 35 WPM, and most people can write faster than they can type.
 
mikeinternet said:
21286fujitsustylisticmodded.jpg
Click to expand...

Close but no banana. Any type of tablet needs to have at least 1"-1.5" of border so when you pick it up one handed you don't touch the screen. Also I think Apple would NEED to have grips on a couple sides of the thing. I don't know ab out you guys but picking up my MBP one handed is difficult and sometimes scary.
Also screen size dictates battery life. Granted this picture doesn't depict the screen size but it can't be larger then 12-13" max

12-13" + Intel Core 2 Solo ULV + the entire backside being a battery + a swivel keyboard on the thing + a modified OS X GUI == Apple for the win.

Mainyehc said:
Just look at the specs:

1GHz Transmeta Crusoe
Click to expand...

Transmeta sucks....like black hole sucking.


MikeTheC said:
I've always been of the impression, since the time of the pre-release discussions of tablet PCs, that they were a solution looking for a problem.

I would never, ever want to spend my money on an electronic equivalent to a notepad. And I happen to use notepads, BTW. However, if I was taking notes with it (which is NOT at all what I do with the notepads I own), there's no way in the world I'd be writing on it; that would be far too slow.

Why would I want to waste my time learning shorthand (which makes the assumption that TPCs could handle various forms of shorthand) so I could do through writing what I can already do at 70+ WPM via typing. And with typing, it solves the whole problem of handwriting recognition, because there ISN'T ANY.

The TPC market is so highly specialized and so incredibly vertical that I believe it would be nothing more than a distraction for Apple away from their core business and development strengths.
Click to expand...

handwriting on a tablet PC is what I define as bandwidth limiting. In order from fastest to slowest.

Speech
Typing
Handwriting

All three can be done a tablet, granted speech to text is still a hit and miss tech, as long as said tablet is a convertible and NOT a slate design. Slate designs, ones that don't have a keyboard are for vertical markets and dedicated devices like multimedia players and the like.
 
bah! how many times do we have to hear these tablet rumors! one day they will come out with a tablet and one of these rumors will be right, untill then...
 
rowanhall said:
i'm digging this idea! i love macs, home cinema and home automation! the one thing is i feel that the screen should be at least macbook size, although the 8" from previous rumours may be a tad small, although i think i'm already sold...
Click to expand...

Yes, if the screen was some tiny affair it wouldn't be nearly as useful. I say at least 10" or so minimum.
 
The tablet, of course, never saw the light of day... though its unclear why Apple never released the tablet
Click to expand...
Maybe because there isn't a market for one, or at least a market of the size Apple would be interested in. Tablet PC, PDA, etc., is just another way of saying crippled computer and particularly in the case of the tablet PC, the dimensional savings aren't that significant compared to, say, a 13-inch Macbook which is obviously a full-fledged computer with keyboard. Microsoft has made numerous forays into the tablet PC space and all have been stillborn. It's another classic case of form over function and a smattering of interested geeks and gadget hounds doesn't translate into mass market consumer interest.

If there is anything to this, it's probably some sort of next gen iPod with better video capabilities (screen size) then than the present generation - assuming the iTunes video store experiment has paid off enough to warrant a more video oriented portable media player.

But an Apple tablet PC? Dream on.
 
BRLawyer said:
Simple...it's NOT gonna happen anytime soon.

The Tablet market is a sad failure, as it represents a tech in search of a purpose...nobody needs or wants it.

Hint? Think Origami, one among too many MS failures...just like the Zune in the next months.

Apple will NOT enter the fabled Tablet market again, as the focus of demand is on notebooks, nothing else...yet another borndead rumor.
Click to expand...

You seem to speak from a position of personal knowledge. Is this because you actual know these facts, or is it just the conviction of your analysis?

I happen to know one of your statements is false. My company needs it and wants it. So do many people in the construction industry. In many respects, we are blind to the activities where we make our money. So, we are forced to often depend on a management layer to provide a communication stream between our administrative resources and our jobsites. However, in many cases, we manage in reactionary mode because of the inadequacies of our communication pathway.

When I was hired seven years ago, one of my assigned goals was to automate our field operations. I am going to condense many years of study and experimentation into a single statement. Tablet PC's have the right combination of footprint and technology to 'close the loop' for what we need.

My company has incorporated many advanced technologies. We have hosted numerous 'show and tell' sessions for others in the industry. A by-product of this has been the development of a large peer group of other construction IT professionals. We all see the need to manage field operations through technology, not through untimely reports, telephone calls and/or faxes, weekly meetings, etc.
 
Warbrain said:
To me, Tablets are worthless. I've had to deal with them at work because some people continue to order them for all their tasks, but they're less mobile than some laptops. They're usually the same thickness or size as a portable, so why carry something that's going to be crippled in some manner?
Click to expand...



I think you may be forgetting about Apple and the way they use their products.:) If Apple jumped into the tablet market, they would change everything. If they are going with their original idea, then it wouldn't be a full on tablet computer. And if they release iTV and their 50" TV as the rumors say, then this would be a universal remote. But you say tablets are useless? Not if you are Apple.:p Apple will link this to everything they can as an incentive for greater ease with their products. iTV, their monitors, laptop/home computers, ipods, and their servers for IT guys. This will either be the best, or the worse product Apple will have. If people realize that this hardware could simplify everything, then it will succeed. But if Apple cripples it and people find it useless, then it will fail. It all depends on Apples creative ingenuity. Just think of the possibilities. :D
 
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