Apple Mac Tablet with Docking Station in 2007?

[Gosh]

I think this will be and sooner than we might expect. Possibly announced in Jan and available alongside Leopard.

I can feel it in my water!

If the price is right it might not leave a place in the range for a Mac mini!

 

[MattInOz]

The original article here is based on this smarthouse article, and has a link to it So unfortunately, the plot stays the same

What the hell do any of us know . Interesting to speculate though.

I'll have to ask my partner about the graphics stuff - she's a high end graphic designer and a painter. My first thought is "the touch screen can't mimic her hand tools"... I figure that the accuracy of where she's touching the screen, the pressure she's exerting etc, will not be enough for real work

Yep a normal touch screen is limited, but then agian Apple have that patent application for a screen with camera pixels interlaced with normal pixels. If they have a screen close to production then a touch screen based on this would not only to do multi-touch control but could see the shape of the tool on the screen. Instead of using pressure to guess the shape the tool has made.

Then again that just makes for another missing piece of the tech puzzle to make a device like this work well.

There seems to be a couple of tech levels for such a device leading to the whole is it a iPod / PDA / laptop replacement. On the plus side i think most people given a quality device would prefer something touch based, pens brushes what ever they feel like.

I think we'll see a new family of devices rolled out over a couple of years as the tech comes online. Much the same way the iPod grew.

 

[Llewellyn]

If it happens...

If Apple were going to release a tablet then I would imagine it would build on the UMPC platform (Origami) but use OSX. It already has all the pieces to be successful; all it’s waiting for is a killer app. And that app is a computer specifically designed for the living room. I have my iMac sitting on the coffee table now so I know first hand how great it is to have a computer while watching TV on the sofa.

It will do everything Macs currently do (having the same power of a macbook); however it will really inspire people to use an iTV and the iTunes music store. It will just make it all so easy.

You will be able to show guests your iPhoto gallery directly on the pad or send it to your TV through your iTV at the touch of a button. Home movies or movie downloads will at your fingertips. No need to go cue them up in your den or office. Apple will try to make computer an integral part of your at home lifestyle whatever room you're in.

Battery life won't be such a big deal 'cause apple will design a funky charge for the coffee/end table. Sure you can take it with you, but where you'll really love it is on the sofa.

 

[GregA]

It will do everything Macs currently do (having the same power of a macbook); however it will really inspire people to use an iTV and the iTunes music store. It will just make it all so easy.

You will be able to show guests your iPhoto gallery directly on the pad or send it to your TV through your iTV at the touch of a button. Home movies or movie downloads will at your fingertips. No need to go cue them up in your den or office. Apple will try to make computer an integral part of your at home lifestyle whatever room you're in.

Out of interest - and since you already use a computer near your TV . If a tablet can do everything you describe EXCEPT be a regular Mac too, would it still be of interest?

ie: If it allows you (as you say) to show guests your iPhoto gallery directly on the pad or on the TV, Home movies or downloads at your fingertips (no need to cue them in the office)... and if it costs less than half what a MacBook costs... is it still appealing?

What about if it can interface with MacMini to become a remote screen? (ie: do everything you say, but only when in the house)

 

[ingenious]

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.

But most tablets just let you write normally... they're not like PDAs that need Graffiti or something like that...

 

[ozone]

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.

BRLawyer... you talk about market share and other quantitative data as if they were the last and only delimiting factor. Obviously YOU do NOT use a tablet. Allow me to enlighten you about the benefits you do not know about or care to investigate:

1. Tablets allow me to lecture while writing and projecting simultaenously, thereby allowing me to retain a written record of what I actually keep.
2. Because I am involved in about 10 educational and professional committees, I use the MS OneNote program to create virtual file folders. Sure, you can do this with Mac journal type programs, but I am able to write within each folder in my own handwriting, which not only increases my memory retention, but is far more polite when you are in the mixed company of those with more power and money than you.
3. Because I am able to keep handwritten notes, I am able to reduce the amount of paper I carry with me. It is both tiresome and counterproductive to retain endless amounts of paper files.
4. I am able to receive assignments, faculty reports, articles, journal papers, etc., and ink them digitally and then return the marked document WITHOUT printing out and hauling around what amounts to about a vertical foot of paper. I challenge anyone to mark up and edit a document faster using a keyboard than they can with a "pen" type arrangement.
5. In science and engineering fields where you often have mix of graphical, formulaic, and written data, it is far superior to write out notes of mixed symbols than to type them on a keyboard. The keyboard is faster argument ONLY applies to situations where you do not have to interpret and draw diagrams.

The argument that tablets are only useful for artists is totally without merit: explain to me then why the Deans of both engineering and science at my university use tablets.

I must stress that too many people harp on the need for the OS to interpret handwriting perfectly. What many people discover after using a tablet is that often you leave your notes handwritten: they are yours, filed away for your use, and for your reference.

Is the tablet perfect? No. Is it for everyone? No. Is it cheaper than a notebook? No. However, your market share - not enough people use or need one - argument is without substance. Since you bring up "there are cheaper notebooks" point, why don't we just use this oft-tiresome rant against Apple itself? Many have in the past. At less than, what, maybe 10% of the market - even if it is higher - why should Apple exist at all? Anything less than, say, 20% is pretty low market share - why bother with Apple? Furthermore, there are many, many models of hardware comparable to Apple's, and at far lower price. Why then should Apple products even exist?

I do not know why so many are so resistant to the tablet idea from Mac. You don't like it - don't buy one. Accept that there are others who would benefit tremendously from such a product, even if it is a small market segment.

 

[MacMan93]

Actualllly somthing like this with a touch screen and it flips around like other tablets..


http://www.theapplecollection.com/design/macdesign/ibookmini_r01.html
Pic From^^^^^^

 

[SMM]

......

You don't like it - don't buy one. Accept that there are others who would benefit tremendously from such a product, even if it is a small market segment.

While your needs are not the same as mine, we both seem to find this an important technology to work with. I do believe there is a BIG market out there, no one has really been able to capture it. Maybe it is just a timing thing?

 

[ozone]

While your needs are not the same as mine, we both seem to find this an important technology to work with. I do believe there is a BIG market out there, no one has really been able to capture it. Maybe it is just a timing thing?

I agree ... there could be a myriad of reasons why the tablet platform is not as universally accepted as one would think. I've never stipulated that everybody must use a tablet or that it is perfect. What is irritating are the perpetual naysayers who focus on one aspect while ignoring everything else it has to offer and its potential.

 

[Billy Boo Bob]

In My Case...

I would welcome a flip-top laptop that doubles as a tablet. I'm often on the road at a customer's location and I'm working with them on a counter top. Right now I have to use a book flipping pages of examples (products), and I have a separate book for writing up quotes / orders.

It would be nice in my case if I could flip the top over and touch my way through the pages of examples / products. I could visually show pricing differences with any given options while it lays flat on the counter. With a MacBook, this is just not feasible. When it comes time to fill out an order or quote, I could bring up a form and fill it out. Not sure what to do about printing it out at the moment, but there are options (one would be to wirelessly send it to the fax machine that sits somewhere around the shop).

If they were to include that previously rumored touch sensing "Gestures" interface, that could come in real handy with it. Then, when needed, flip it back and use the laptop keyboard.

I guess it helps that I can write my own software, too, so I could tailor the thing to work exactly as I need.

I've seen units similar to the one pictured above in use all over the hospital and doctor's offices nearby, and they sure look like a pretty handy device (even if it is running Windoze). I've asked a few people there how they like it and they all say they just love it.

All I ever see them use is computer generated text. I don't know that it even attempts to do handwriting recognition. For input they just flip it around to show the keyboard. Many of them just leave it flipped as a laptop to have keyboard access, but still use the stylus to navigate around.

Add some Apple class (hardware-wise and with OS X) and I see a nice product possible.

 

[InsiderTravels]

What about artists?

i don't think it would appeal to that many people, to have an apple tablet.

i mean, the PC/Win versions aren't great sellers...

I think a lot of you are forgetting about artists and the rest of the creative market. Sure, a programmer or tech geek or business person or writer may have little use for a tablet, but artists are another story. Carrying around a separate, cumbersome USB tablet can become a pain. It's much easier to draw with a pen than it is with a mouse. Whether or not the handwriting recognition is accurate and lightning fast is largely irrelevant, as artists would rarely be using the tablet for that feature. Remember, the majority of creative pros are Mac users, hence a great reason why tablet PCs have yet to take off; there's never been one that was marketed towards and could be used by the creative crowd; many of them wouldn't touch a Windows PC with a ten-foot pole.

 

[InsiderTravels]

BRLawyer... you talk about market share and other quantitative data as if they were the last and only delimiting factor. Obviously YOU do NOT use a tablet. Allow me to enlighten you about the benefits you do not know about or care to investigate:

1. Tablets allow me to lecture while writing and projecting simultaenously, thereby allowing me to retain a written record of what I actually keep.
2. Because I am involved in about 10 educational and professional committees, I use the MS OneNote program to create virtual file folders. Sure, you can do this with Mac journal type programs, but I am able to write within each folder in my own handwriting, which not only increases my memory retention, but is far more polite when you are in the mixed company of those with more power and money than you.
3. Because I am able to keep handwritten notes, I am able to reduce the amount of paper I carry with me. It is both tiresome and counterproductive to retain endless amounts of paper files.
4. I am able to receive assignments, faculty reports, articles, journal papers, etc., and ink them digitally and then return the marked document WITHOUT printing out and hauling around what amounts to about a vertical foot of paper. I challenge anyone to mark up and edit a document faster using a keyboard than they can with a "pen" type arrangement.
5. In science and engineering fields where you often have mix of graphical, formulaic, and written data, it is far superior to write out notes of mixed symbols than to type them on a keyboard. The keyboard is faster argument ONLY applies to situations where you do not have to interpret and draw diagrams.

The argument that tablets are only useful for artists is totally without merit: explain to me then why the Deans of both engineering and science at my university use tablets.

I must stress that too many people harp on the need for the OS to interpret handwriting perfectly. What many people discover after using a tablet is that often you leave your notes handwritten: they are yours, filed away for your use, and for your reference.

Is the tablet perfect? No. Is it for everyone? No. Is it cheaper than a notebook? No. However, your market share - not enough people use or need one - argument is without substance. Since you bring up "there are cheaper notebooks" point, why don't we just use this oft-tiresome rant against Apple itself? Many have in the past. At less than, what, maybe 10% of the market - even if it is higher - why should Apple exist at all? Anything less than, say, 20% is pretty low market share - why bother with Apple? Furthermore, there are many, many models of hardware comparable to Apple's, and at far lower price. Why then should Apple products even exist?

I do not know why so many are so resistant to the tablet idea from Mac. You don't like it - don't buy one. Accept that there are others who would benefit tremendously from such a product, even if it is a small market segment.

I didn't get to your comment before I posted mine; sorry about that. You're absolutely right. I could see artists, students, professors, scientists, engineers, mathematicians, and countless other professionals who would be elated to have a Mac-based tablet. In fact, the only things I can see it not being useful for is Word and Excel. Even writers could use it to markup their edits using standard proofreading symbols. Much faster than other methods, I'd think; plus much more environmentally friendly because it would alleviate the need for printing out so many hard copies of everything.

 

[ozone]

I didn't get to your comment before I posted mine; sorry about that. You're absolutely right. I could see artists, students, professors, scientists, engineers, mathematicians, and countless other professionals who would be elated to have a Mac-based tablet. In fact, the only things I can see it not being useful for is Word and Excel. Even writers could use it to markup their edits using standard proofreading symbols. Much faster than other methods, I'd think; plus much more environmentally friendly because it would alleviate the need for printing out so many hard copies of everything.

You bet Insider! The tablet was intended to be an electronic notebook - literally. There are many professions that could benefit from it - it depends more on your personal approach to work and what you need to do rather than rigidly grouping users into broad categories.

Most of us do not complain about the tablet form factor or even the handwriting recognition - it's pretty good. What bugs most of us is that we're wedded to Windows and all its problems since there is no alternative platform at the moment.

Here's hoping we see some kind of tablet in the near or far future from Apple...

 

[Llewellyn]

Touch screen is not a artist's tablet

Sure, a programmer or tech geek or business person or writer may have little use for a tablet, but artists are another story. Carrying around a separate, cumbersome USB tablet can become a pain. It's much easier to draw with a pen than it is with a mouse.

I once contacted a touch screen manufacturer concerning how a touch screen tablet compared to the wacom cintiq display tablet. I was told that touch screens are very basic in comparison and would not provide anywhere near the level of sensitivity of a art tablet or the Cintiq.

Last I looked the Wacom Cintiq was $2500+ by itself so I would expect you would at least have to add $1500 to the price of a top of the line laptop to have the kind of tablet you describe.

It would be very cool, just not practicle.

 

[Llewellyn]

Out of interest - and since you already use a computer near your TV . If a tablet can do everything you describe EXCEPT be a regular Mac too, would it still be of interest?

ie: If it allows you (as you say) to show guests your iPhoto gallery directly on the pad or on the TV, Home movies or downloads at your fingertips (no need to cue them in the office)... and if it costs less than half what a MacBook costs... is it still appealing?

What about if it can interface with MacMini to become a remote screen? (ie: do everything you say, but only when in the house)

I would. I could move my iMac out of the living room and/or add a Mini. But that doesn't answer the question "Is Apple going to release a Tablet soon?"

With a tablet mac Apple would only be a small player in a small market. This is why they have never released a tablet mac.

What I'm speculating on is what might drive Apple to enter the market now. If it is a true Tablet Mac then there has to be something that sets it apart from what is being offered now. Since 2007 is going to be "the year of the movie downlod" (iTV and iTunes Movie Store playing very promeniently in Apples product lineup) I tried to come up with an explanation which fit into this focus. A living room orientated tablet seemed to fit.

Of course this so called tablet could be several different things — a true video iPod, a supered up remote, a UMCP based micro mac. I just find it fun to speculate based on the info at hand

 

[GregA]

Of course this so called tablet could be several different things — a true video iPod, a supered up remote, a UMCP based micro mac. I just find it fun to speculate based on the info at hand

Absolutely.

That was why I asked... you were speculating on a full Mac, but in a tablet form. In contrast to a new (and cheaper) device in tablet form (which might appeal to me).

Apple has the mind share and technology to create any new products which fit somewhere between iPods and Macs. The iTV is an excellent example. Will they release some form of Tablet? I think a MacTablet will experience similar popularity to existing tablets. As such, I think a Tablet-Pod (or iTablet or iPad or something) is more likely from Apple and opens more possibilities... I'm not confident they'll release anything SOON though

 

[50548]

How do you define a REAL tablet?

A thing the size of a notebook, with an open screen for handwriting...not just like a PDA or vPod.

 

[GregA]

A thing the size of a notebook, with an open screen for handwriting...not just like a PDA or vPod.

So for you a tablet pretty well means a Laptop, without a keyboard?

 

[OdduWon]

So for you a tablet pretty well means a Laptop, without a keyboard?

i belive that the tablet edition macbook will have a full virtual interfacing touch slab where the keyboard is, or it will be a flip back cover that becomes the stand for the tablet. if they go with a more notebook tablet i dont think they will go for the swivel screen like hp has. in stead i belive they will hav the touch pad be the lower half and the top the screen. though this nay tie in with the 17 inch flat screen rumor and ipod docking keyboard.

 

[salmon]

I would absolutely love a tablet. I would suggest people not get hung up on what other tablet PCs are out there, because I don't see anything out there that matches what I want, and I've been searching for 3+ years now. MS attempted it, did something miserable and half-assed as usual, and so tablets are called a failure. There were lots of MP3 players around before the iPod too.

I want something that fits the following requirements:
- about the size of my day planner. Tons of people carry these around, so I don't think the size would be a problem except to a few.
- acts as an extension of a desktop computer, ie, synchronize data with it like a PDA or iPod - NOT intended to replace one. Actually, I suppose it might be good enough for some people, with a USB backup device.
- big enough to comfortably view information on it. I'm thinking 7-8" screen. PDAs are too small, they drive me nuts to look at. Different size models could make sense, from 4" to 8.5"x11". My thought is take a regular notepad of paper and cut it in half.
- designed for power consumption and long battery life, not for comparability to a laptop. This is the one that burns me. When you try to keep up with a laptop, you have to end up paying a huge premium to shrink all the technology down. I think it would have to have enough horsepower to play video adequately, which could be accomplished by a HW decoder chip.
- Also Wifi for internet browsing, and good enough HW for that.
- like the OLPC, it would be great if it had a dual mode screen for ebooks and viewing documents, primarily so battery life wouldn't be such a limiting factor.
- no HDD, maybe 8GB or so of flash memory, with a SD slot for more storage. Or make an iPod-like HDD optional.
- instant on
- weight less than 2 lbs
- a variety of docks: picture frame, stereo (for music), TV dock for media playing, full keyboard for extended notetaking.
- SD and USB ports for some expandability.
- Affordable: $500 would be a reasonable price point, although I bet it could be done for $300.
As for the software:
- dayplanner functionality
- good email client
- good web browser
- media player
- music player
- photos w/ slideshows (can use it as a digital picture frame when plugged in).
- ebook reading, utilizing dual screen mode.
- simple office apps, like a text editor and spreadsheet
- most importantly, design the software from the perspective of being a tablet device - not taking a desktop UI and attempting to "make it fit"

I do want a keyboard for the times you're taking notes and such, but I haven't figured out what would be a great form factor. Maybe something like the OQO, or an onscreen, or a hidden flip around one. Not like PDAs, where you have to route around to find it, open it, and set it up.

The closest form factor I've seen yet is http://dynamism.com/sa1/main.shtml, and the closest in functionality is the Palm T/X. The OLPC project has a lot of interesting points, but the form factor is wrong, and isn't available anyways. The Pepper Pad appears to be tantalizingly close in some ways, but I don't think I'd like the keyboard and it's ugly, along with the other discrepancies of my list.

In my tiny contribution towards rebuilding a healthy, competitive and innovative tech industry that benefits the customer, I don't buy anything that contains MS software or that helps support Microsoft, so if MS came out with something that did this, I'd be very annoyed; thankfully, they don't have the talent or capability of building something this useful, so I don't have to worry about it.

When someone finally creates a device like this, that has enough battery life that someone can use it for the day, then the paperless office becomes a real possibility IMO. Some see this merely as a gadget, but I believe this is a type of device that could revolutionize things dramatically.

 

[MonkeyClaw]

salmon, you hit the nail on the head with that post. A device like that would be amazing, I could totally see myself using it in classes, etc. And though I'm not sure about the $300 price point, but I think its completely doable for under $1000.

 

[Linito]

salmon, you hit the nail on the head with that post. A device like that would be amazing, I could totally see myself using it in classes, etc. And though I'm not sure about the $300 price point, but I think its completely doable for under $1000.

if they could make it sub $800 they would take the education market by storm

 

[Sweetfeld28]

i think this would make a good revision of the newly rumored 12" MacBook Pro.