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Apple Mac Tablet with Docking Station in 2007?
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$5,000, still waiting
Hi,
I've said it before, and I'll say it again. I will pay up to $5,000 for an Apple branded Tablet Mac. I don't understand why they don't have one already. I've always preferred pen and paper to a keyboard, and will be the happiest dork alive when Apple releases a Tablet Mac.
Pen and paper are the foundations for most graphic artwork. One of Apple's target audiences is the graphics industry. It just makes sense.
I'm not a fan of Palm or any other of those tiny handhelds. A Tablet Mac needs to be a freakin' Tablet. I'd pay more for a decent one of those than I would for a Mac Pro.
-Chilton
Hi,
I've said it before, and I'll say it again. I will pay up to $5,000 for an Apple branded Tablet Mac. I don't understand why they don't have one already. I've always preferred pen and paper to a keyboard, and will be the happiest dork alive when Apple releases a Tablet Mac.
Pen and paper are the foundations for most graphic artwork. One of Apple's target audiences is the graphics industry. It just makes sense.
I'm not a fan of Palm or any other of those tiny handhelds. A Tablet Mac needs to be a freakin' Tablet. I'd pay more for a decent one of those than I would for a Mac Pro.
-Chilton
If the tablet had built-in Bluetooth and could use a wireless keyboard and mouse then it could replace a notebook computer. Maybe the keyboard snaps on and acts as a cover for the tablet screen. Maybe it's like a Macbook that come apart at the hingebut also you can write on the screen. You have to figure Apple is doing something different but yet this thing still runs the same Mac OS X Leopard as the other Macs.
I think the reason tablets have failed is that they haven't got their own identity... people want it to do what their laptop does but without a keyboard. Of course, as you say, that means the writing interface has to be foolproof.
If Apple can identify or create a new market, it could be very interesting.
You can almost have your $5K talet Mac today. Just get a Macbook Pro and one of these from Wacom
http://www.wacom.com/lcdtablets/index.cfm
and plug it into the MBP's USB port. OK the packaging is not so nice. So get a wireless interface between the Wacom tablet and the Macbook that you keep in your backpack.
I think this is what Apple will release basically a "Cintiq" with a macbook inside. Kind of like an iMac is an LCD screed with a mac inside.
This is an iSight shot from the front page of today's CompUSA flyer. The Sony VAIO UX Micro PC with Windows XP Professional is brand new, and an "origami" device.
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You naysayers are a tiresome lot. I've read so many "tablets are stupid" related comments in the last year or so it's ridiculous. Interestingly, many of the comments don't seem to come from ACTUAL tablet users. Sure, they're not perfect, but then again, all my students want one, quite a few other professors use one, and I see more and more of them being used in class. How many of you have tried to type notes in a meeting where it would just be plain impolite, but you need more than just pen and paper? In fact, the main complaint is NOT that the tablet form factor is limiting - it's the OS. They all want Mac OS X.
Remember that the world didn't want a minivan until Chrysler created it either. Keep THAT in mind. Don't knock what you don't know.
Huh? COTS components are *always* cheaper than custom components.
Yes, it's a shame that they moved away from the PowerPC, but it was pretty clear that IBM was going to put all its consumer-level processor research on the Cell, and the Cell would have been a whole different kettle of fish for Apple. However, I've been told that using my iPod as a boot drive with any kind of regularity is a bad idea - that the 1.8 inch drives aren't sturdy enough for that kind of constant wear. For flash memory, you get all the reads you want, and the write limits are comparable to a hard drive. I also think that you'd want to use separate non-flash volatile RAM (integrated video would use the RAM as well as running applications), and not just use flash for working memory.
Buy out OQO and make the resulting device a little thinner.
http://www.pcstats.com/articleimages/200401/ces2004OQO-4.jpg
http://www.pcstats.com/articleimages/200401/ces2004OQO-4.jpg
This will make the perfect addition to my Space age Bachlor pad! dim lights, play slow music... ha ha.
what a laugh! I do like the idea. But I cant see myself buying one, unless I have a bunch of money to waste on something that wouldnt be especially productive for me.
what a laugh! I do like the idea. But I cant see myself buying one, unless I have a bunch of money to waste on something that wouldnt be especially productive for me.
More the other way arround, no one has marketed a tablet at the right people.
I mean how many ads or images do you see with spreadsheets, when the main target of a tablet would surely be Creative types, or school kids. or as web machine.
Does a Tablet have to be that big even?
To me perfect size would be A5 (about 8inch wide screen) but high res like 300 dpi. This is the same size as the biggest selling sketch pad size.
Then again if you use the screen casting in iChat then each tablet in the house could run it's own low power apps, say dashcode apps, front row, iChat, then hook into a more powerful machine to run fullblow applications.
Gives Apple a nice little ecosystem of complimentry products.
I think the PSP is just a little too squint-inducing. I like the 6 inch screen form factor of the Sony Reader, but rotated landscape (e.g., something on the order of 7 in. x 4.5 in., with a little more frame on the bottom). Something vaguely like this in form factor (this is just a photoshopped iPod with a photoshopped MacBook Pro screen, intended to show aspect ratio).
Something comparable to this, but with a native res of 1024x600 (are there TFTs that size and res?), replace the hd with flash, and much cheaper (which means at least 2-3 years from now).
[Edit: added a photoshop where I overlayed this image over the Sony Reader ad to show scale against a hand. I was too lazy to get rid of the junk around the border from the original iPod ad. I found an existing UMPC that had similar specs, but was much more expensive than I think would be ideal, so removed some of the UMPC comments and added link.]
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if apple is going to release a tablet pc they will introduce a touch interface feature that will be shared with the macbook lines. this would explain the recent rumors for the multi use touch pad in the Mb's. IF there is to be a tablet it will be a hand held. It will be the Mac Mobile. the fore told professionals interfacing device. Download media wirlessly or fron data cards. Use it to move media from the capture device to a hard/external drive.
with front row 2 and internal airport x wirless you can preview on the itv enabled plasma or from the mac mobile in you hand.
i think it will take the form of the mini but i hope they take it to the level of the consumer. like ibook was.
with front row 2 and internal airport x wirless you can preview on the itv enabled plasma or from the mac mobile in you hand.
i think it will take the form of the mini but i hope they take it to the level of the consumer. like ibook was.
Microsoft Panic
I have just been told that on a Sunday from home, Todd Rutherford, Microsofts e-Home Program Manager at Microsoft in Seattle contacted an Australian Company that is working on wireless speakers for Apple asking them for information.
He claims that Microsoft is "keen to get everything they can on Apples e home activities including media centres, wireless initiatives and tablet PC initiatives.
Does anyone know of any third party Companies in the US that have lodged patents for Apple related home entertainment technology?
I know who to talk to in Taiwan but I am keen to chase down the US firms that are working with Apple on new home entertainment automation.
I am also told that Apple is working on an open standard type technology for the home that other Companies can license.
I have just been told that on a Sunday from home, Todd Rutherford, Microsofts e-Home Program Manager at Microsoft in Seattle contacted an Australian Company that is working on wireless speakers for Apple asking them for information.
He claims that Microsoft is "keen to get everything they can on Apples e home activities including media centres, wireless initiatives and tablet PC initiatives.
Does anyone know of any third party Companies in the US that have lodged patents for Apple related home entertainment technology?
I know who to talk to in Taiwan but I am keen to chase down the US firms that are working with Apple on new home entertainment automation.
I am also told that Apple is working on an open standard type technology for the home that other Companies can license.
There maybe "ZERO" interest in a Tablet PC for the M$ implementation of it.
There were MP3 players before the iPod, but Apple made it easy and cool to have one.
The original Toshiba Libretto had a decent following in its day.
The iBook is a close also ran IMHO. Given the comments here there is a desire for something the size of the 10" Sony sub-notebook that would give users the option of a touch screen and keyboard. In particular, if it were very near or under the $1000 price point.
Perhaps it helps to think of the tablet as an iPod video with optional KB & mouse? Or a mini iMac with a battery. Or maybe even iTV to go!
I think the market for a well-executed device like this is much larger than one might think, particularly after the last time I flew long distance in coach and saw lots of folks trying to watch DVDs on their 15" Windows notebooks and trying to balance them on their laps partially open to as to not interfere with the seatback in front of them.
B
As a student I would LOVE to have a Mac tablet with a screen maybe a little bigger than an A4 sized piece of paper. It would be so helpful to be able to scribble notes down and I sure that Apple could come up with some fantastic and creative software for note taking and the like. It's exciting to think this could actually finally by happening sometime next year. Look for my MBP on ebay if this actually happens
Agreed. Not a computer... but connecting to it.
Interesting idea. I guess if you could make it a little thicker than an iPod nano but 7x4" (or 9x5"?) it could be a neat picture frame. It could also do eBooks.
Yes... complimentary products. A very simple device that ALSO can connect and get extra functions.
There was a patent a few months ago for touch pads surrounding a screen. That could allow some touch applications without the expense of the touch screen (but maybe I'm behind the times... and touch screens can be done cheaply and well?). Would you need a "scroll wheel" if you had a slide down one side for scrolling?
Another patent was for keys that could have their display change depending on their purpose. A full screen ipod with unobtrusive buttons around the edge that change display to show available options would be interesting. Then again... if you can't input information it's going to limit it's appeal for many people!!
I personally think the key to a usable tablet will be simplicity and being quite inexpensive. My parents wanted to buy a $500 programmable remote but I think they're an exception rather than the norm!
Another patent was for keys that could have their display change depending on their purpose. A full screen ipod with unobtrusive buttons around the edge that change display to show available options would be interesting. Then again... if you can't input information it's going to limit it's appeal for many people!!
I personally think the key to a usable tablet will be simplicity and being quite inexpensive. My parents wanted to buy a $500 programmable remote but I think they're an exception rather than the norm!
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.
Its running a slightly modified version of Windows. What did you expect?
Sorry, Silicon, but your "If Apple does it, it works" argument is weak in this case...the Tablet market is simply tiny, period.
And why so? Because, instead of facing a constrained demand for music players or video players (as in the case of the iPod market), the Tablet faces NOTHING which is not already dealt with under other segments.
We have, on one hand, desktops, laptops and notebooks which fit the bill for everyone, notably if we consider the small-sub note market (10"-13").
On the other hand, we have full-fledged mobile phones and PDAs which cover the needs of those preferring portability over sheer power.
And where are the tablets? NOWHERE, because they only fit the bills of us freaks desiring a nice pen-based Mac...sorry, it's not enough for a big company like Apple to base its products on such a small audience...and I am sure their market analysis team has already done its homework.
Windows is a CRAP, granted...but this doesn't block PC fanboys from buying millions of notebooks every year; this argument is moot as well, and OS X will have limited market impact for the adoption of a Tablet.
As for your funny arguments at the end, I may just say that they have nothing to do with other product adoptions such as the vPod and the Intel switch...the former is a basic evolution of the iPod (although still selling much less than normal iPods devoted to music), the latter a clear choice by Apple in face of IBM's lack of devotion to the PowerPC.
Sorry, your argument is also insufficient. Construction companies have used PDAs for years, including the Newton...and that's why a mere evolution of such products is more than enough. If you think ONE anecdotal evidence of a company adopting advanced technologies is enough, think again.
For 99% of the market needing portability (including construction, engineering, delivery companies, logistics integrators and the like), people will go either "notebook" or "advanced PDA"...the Tablet is right in-between, squeezed among 2 MUCH clearer choices. "Footprint" and "technology" are pretty much covered by both poles...and not by a vaporware Tablet.
Origami = Tablet = Flop...never forget this.
Really? So please find me market share data on Tablets...even better, find me a Tablet that costs less than a small notebook. No, you won't find it, sorry...it's not about having one, it's about wanting to have one...and most people don't these days...that's why Origami flopped.