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I'm hoping for a "mac touch" pure tablet with multi core ARM.
My other thought is that we may see this as a dual display clamshell design, possibly with no physical keyboard. That would be rockin.
 
Jobs mentioned they were not in the market for making an eBook reader, since people really don't read anymore. So, supplement that capability with magazines, comic books, daily newspapers, local publications, plus Wifi for Email and web browsing, then I think we're almost there.

Just add in the requirement to get/buy/rent everything it displays, through iTunes, and it'll be a very Apple device.

Its not the keys, its the qwerty. When are we going to stop trying to adapt everything to a 100+ year old, intentionally crappy method of input?

When you start with myths, you end up with false results. The QWERTY layout was never meant to slow anyone down.

As for auto-correction mentioned by others... the main reason to have such a crutch is because small touchscreens are prone to entry errors.

At the risk of assuming that most on this list were in some way Trek influenced, may I ask where the indispensable qwerty keyboard was on a TriCorder?
Just asking.

Ever look at a TriCorder interface? Useless. Same goes for LCARS. It's all bogus, just like having nothing but touch controls on a ship that bounces people around. :eek:

Touch is new and exciting to a lot of people. So was speech recognition. It's not the answer to everything, or even most things. But it can be fun. (Some predict that vision based interfaces will be the next hot market.)
 
I don't think it'll just be a screen. That would be hard to use and the ergonomics would be uncomfortable for long periods of time. What would be more logical is having no touchpad, but only touchscreen AND a keyboard. It would still be small, but really there's no need for a touchpad if you make the touchscreen good enough.

Also, ion chipset and atom probably.
 
i'd absolutely buy one, especially if it could do the following:

a) provide a mobile decent sized full photography portfolio for me (i carry a wood bound 11"x14" portfolio currently and would like something in between that and my iphone

b) work as a tablet when tied in with my mac pro and cs4, that would just be plain awesome if there was a stylus available

c) provide the same services as a netbook to take over for my aging powerbook that i haven't seen fit to replace yet

huzzah!
 
I'm hoping for a "mac touch" pure tablet with multi core ARM.
My other thought is that we may see this as a dual display clamshell design, possibly with no physical keyboard. That would be rockin.

I was just going to comment on the same thing.
Netbook? Samo, samo, not an apple route.
Tablet? (I have two) samo, samo.....

DUAL IDENTICAL SCREENS? YEAH. then you can software-in any type of keyboard you want to. You can also open the i-device like a book or magazine, with left and right screens for reading purposes. The answer to the Kindle.

If it had an active digitizer then read on the left and write comments on the right screen or vice-versa for lefties. Or use an external wireless keyboard and you now have two screens.
 
We're missing something.

What exactly is the market for this? Multimedia device? With a 10in. screen, will it fit in your pocket? Can you even use something with a screen slightly smaller than your foot as a phone? If it's not a phone, would at&t allow 3G connectivity?

Will it be some sort of supplement to a laptop? Will it have an optical drive? Or be app-store only?

Finally, have any of you ever tried typing on something that's not a keyboard? I'm not sure how that will be without any sort of tactile feedback.

There are just a lot of pieces to this puzzle that are not fitting together just yet. My best guess is that this will tie in with the iPods and related announcements in September.

You raise some good questions. We obviously know nothing other than some company might be making 10" screens for Apple. But you can make some educated guesses if you look back at Apple's recent history.
The Air - introducing people to the idea of a computer without an optical drive; introducing SSDs; an exercise in making a small but powerful device
The iPhone - product of an attempt to make a tablet; possibly a way to reduce the price of touch screens?; introducing a smaller, more efficient verison of OS X
The App store - Taking what people miss most from a real OS (the abiity to install custom apps) and putting it on their new smaller, more efficient iPhone OS
Trend of removing every possible non-essential feature (Shuffle anyone??) - Again points to the push for smaller but still adequately powerful devices.


If they really are making a 10" multitouch device then I think it's pretty clear it isn't going to have an optical drive. It's definitely not going to be a phone (would anyone buy a 10" phone?). I would say it's pretty likely it will be iPhone-OS based and use the App store, though with Snow Leopard being so streamlined we can always hope...


If it can be connected to a regular keyboard and doesn't cripple file transfer I'll be on board in a second, even if it's $1000. I would love to have a computer the size of a book that I could curl up on the couch with, or throw in my bag for a trip to the cafe. It would be a perfect travel companion if it had lots of room and I could transfer photos onto it.

And no, a clamshell netbook wouldn't cut it. Netbooks are only an innovation in their size and portability. I'm counting on Apple to innovate on the interface front, and if they try, I know they'll make something I will WANT to use.
 
I doubt it'll use an Atom-based CPU for battery life concerns. I'll bet they use a new generation of Apple-designed ARM chips.

I hope they would use a quad core ARM chip too. Then we can complain about macbooks and imacs being dual core while the new fangled netbook has a quad core.:D
 
We're missing something.

What exactly is the market for this? Multimedia device? With a 10in. screen, will it fit in your pocket? Can you even use something with a screen slightly smaller than your foot as a phone? If it's not a phone, would at&t allow 3G connectivity?
Of course we are. We know nothing about it, aside from being a 10" screen, it's from Apple, and it is probably coming in the fall.

Why does it need to fit in your pocket? Does a laptop fit in your pocket? how WOULD a 10" screen fit in your pocket? This product has never been labeled in rumors as an iPhone or iPhone device. People are bringing that weirdness into this without thinking.

Will it be some sort of supplement to a laptop? Will it have an optical drive? Or be app-store only?
We don't know, but the best guess is that it won't have drives for weight and power consumption.
We are all wondering about the capability--will it be merely a big iPod or a limited laptop? it could be a tablet with full OSX.

Finally, have any of you ever tried typing on something that's not a keyboard? I'm not sure how that will be without any sort of tactile feedback.
Yes. Remember the 80's? Good god, they were cheap and cheesy. There was a spate of flat plastic keyboards for a small while. Awful, but only because they often didn't work and didn't register key hits. The iPhone keyboard is small but nice enough and works. With a bigger device would come a roomier keyboard on screen. The finger taps are sounded out. Hopefully they can link with a BT keyboard when needed.

There are just a lot of pieces to this puzzle that are not fitting together just yet. My best guess is that this will tie in with the iPods and related announcements in September.
That's why we are here just contemplating possibilities--markets, processors, size, function,etc.
-----------
The moment someone pegs a processor for this thing is when we probably know where Apple is heading: large iPod or small "laptop".

Most likely we won't know until they reveal it to the public.
-----------
My guess/hope is for a 10" tablet looking like an iPhone with iPhone resolution density running (nearly)full OS.
It has stylus (or just a pencil/pen) recognition along with touch.
It has 64 GB+ SSD.
It can run for 6+ hours.
It has wifi and bluetooth.

Cost: I don't care, if it can do the above. Everyone wants some $600 thing, but I bet it starts well above $800.

It could just be...

10" iPod Touch.
600x800 resolution, if lucky.
Multi-touch only.
Limited OS like the iPhone/iPT.
32 GB.
Wifi only.
A joke.

We'll see.
When you start with myths, you end up with false results. The QWERTY layout was never meant to slow anyone down.

Yes it was.
The QWERTY was made to stop secretaries from jamming together the typewriter strikes when they were cruising too fast due to a simple layout of keys. There's nothing wrong with QWERTY--it's as good as any other layout. Most people these days aren't entering data so fast and furious that they need a special layout to help boost speed.
 
If we assume the resolution density is like the iPhone, this new device should be around 1400x900.

That would be incredibly nice resolution for a handheld device. Kick ass, in fact. It would trounce the current crop of products in the netbook range, and it would be keeping with Apple's one-up-manship.

If this is a tablet with that resolution, and it has stylus recognition, I'd buy it for $2000.... assuming it runs a full/near full OSX and can run Photoshop. Watch it be just a larger version of the iPT with some small improvements.

You have any clue what netbooks are for? They aren't supposed to be $2,000 devices, and they sure as heck won't be designed to run Photoshop with any sort of power. If it's a true netbook, it'll have an Atom CPU (think slower and uses less power), maybe 1GB of RAM and a small SSD. These devices are literally for people who want a cheap way to do e-mail, Web browsing, word processing...just basic stuff. If you use Photoshop, get a MacBook.
 
Yes it was.
The QWERTY was made to stop secretaries from jamming together the typewriter strikes when they were cruising too fast due to a simple layout of keys. There's nothing wrong with QWERTY--it's as good as any other layout. Most people these days aren't entering data so fast and furious that they need a special layout to help boost speed.

Sorry, the idea that it was 'designed to slow down typing' has been debunked. You are correct in that it was designed to prevent jams; but it was done by moving frequently moved letters so that their strikers weren't next to each other. The fact that other layouts are faster was *NOT* a consideration, because until then, raw typing speed was not something that had been able to be empirically measured easily. Indeed, by moving frequently used letters further apart, typists could type *FASTER*, because of the lack of jams.

Indeed, if someone had thought to do layout research first, and had actually thought about making typing speed faster by improving layout, then making the mechanism to fit; rather than changing layout to match a more efficient mechanism, someone may have redesigned the entire mechanism, like was done with electric 'ball' typewriters. But that wasn't what happened.
 
What if.....

I hear a lot of people talking about a large iPhone type of thing. This could actually work if you don't mind looking like an agent from "Get Smart" or more realistically use a blue tooth ear bud with every call. This would answer the 3G question plus you could through it in your bag and still take your call.

im not saying I would want it for this reason at all, I'm just saying it is possible. I don't see apple doing this because then you might not buy 2-3 product when in reality you could get by with one.

Phone
Games
iLife 09
iPod/media player Via Blue tooth
a true full size safari/ internet browser....cough.cough(firefox)
eComic/Book
throw in an eyesight while your at it ...

Whatever they make we will
1. complain (how/why would we use it, cost)
2. buy
3. wonder how we lived without it

now I'm just rambling....:confused:
 
The QWERTY was made to stop secretaries from jamming together the typewriter strikes when they were cruising too fast due to a simple layout of keys.

Has been discussed here recently. Please Google "qwerty myth".

Yes, it was to prevent jams. But slowing people down was not how it did so. Early competition was fierce, and the LAST thing he wanted was to slow down customers.

The keys were arranged so that common combinations were not directly next to each other.

They were arranged specifically so that jams would NOT slow the user down.
 
You have any clue what netbooks are for? They aren't supposed to be $2,000 devices, and they sure as heck won't be designed to run Photoshop with any sort of power. If it's a true netbook, it'll have an Atom CPU (think slower and uses less power), maybe 1GB of RAM and a small SSD. These devices are literally for people who want a cheap way to do e-mail, Web browsing, word processing...just basic stuff. If you use Photoshop, get a MacBook.

I never said I wanted a notebook.

I have been writing about how I WOULD LIKE a tablet like the one I described, and the price I would pay.

If it scared you, that's awful. There are plenty of people who want what I want, but it might not be enough of a market for Apple to make such a device.
They were arranged specifically so that jams would NOT slow the user down.
Of course.

I remember from the plethora of documentaries I've seen on the subject that the rearrangement actually did slow down the typists, but allowed them better speed because they weren't prying apart the strikes every few seconds. My memory might be wrong--the subject of the QWERTY invention is a nice footnote in history or a winning question in Trivial Pursuit.
 
Does anyone else here remember the keynote show where Steve Jobs showed off iWeb or Garage Band and made a joke pod-cast talking about a 10" iPod? ("It's going to be really big!") Was that in 2006 or 07? I forgot when it was.

I'd like to find a video clip of that. Seems it was true. He really may have known at the time that a 10" iPod was in the works.

I remember that too. That is really funny if you think about it. Steve knows it all and makes jokes that we think are just so funny and only he knows that it is really based in truth and we don't even see it coming :) Sounds like something I would do if I had privileged information haha :p

P.S. This will NOT be a "netbook" it will be a the tablet. It will also run iPhone apps and Apple will finally introduce iWork Mobile into the app store.

Also funny is that Amazon just introduced the Kindle app and when this tablet comes out that runs it, they are really going to be kicking themselves haha!

My prediction in toward the end of the year after Snow Leopard and iPhone OS 3.0 come out. They will have a nice overhaul to iPhone OS 3.0 with Snow Leopard technologies and everything ready and baked in for the new larger tablet! They will release it then along side the new iPhone.

Man we have all been waiting a LOOOONG time for this one. Hope it does the whole home theater automation thing :) Sign me up for one!
 
Only time...

So interesting how Apple dismissed Netbook significance over the past year. Great way to down play expectations of Apple in this area. It will be interesting to see how Apple markets the product.

Paul

Blog:
www.appledesire.com
 
Wirelessly posted (Opera/9.60 (J2ME/MIDP; Opera Mini/4.2.13216/670; U; en) Presto/2.2.0)

Eh.... It's interesting. But the rumors aren't enough to persuade me out of buying my future netbook
: EEEpc 1000he :)
 
Qwerty

Its not the keys, its the qwerty. When are we going to stop trying to adapt everything to a 100+ year old, intentionally crappy method of input?

When you start with myths, you end up with false results. The QWERTY layout was never meant to slow anyone down.

Yes it was.
The QWERTY was made to stop secretaries from jamming together the typewriter strikes when they were cruising too fast due to a simple layout of keys. There's nothing wrong with QWERTY--it's as good as any other layout. Most people these days aren't entering data so fast and furious that they need a special layout to help boost speed.

Sorry, the idea that it was 'designed to slow down typing' has been debunked. You are correct in that it was designed to prevent jams; but it was done by moving frequently moved letters so that their strikers weren't next to each other. The fact that other layouts are faster was *NOT* a consideration, because until then, raw typing speed was not something that had been able to be empirically measured easily. Indeed, by moving frequently used letters further apart, typists could type *FASTER*, because of the lack of jams.

Indeed, if someone had thought to do layout research first, and had actually thought about making typing speed faster by improving layout, then making the mechanism to fit; rather than changing layout to match a more efficient mechanism, someone may have redesigned the entire mechanism, like was done with electric 'ball' typewriters. But that wasn't what happened.

Has been discussed here recently. Please Google "qwerty myth".

Yes, it was to prevent jams. But slowing people down was not how it did so. Early competition was fierce, and the LAST thing he wanted was to slow down customers.

The keys were arranged so that common combinations were not directly next to each other.

They were arranged specifically so that jams would NOT slow the user down.

Of course.

I remember from the plethora of documentaries I've seen on the subject that the rearrangement actually did slow down the typists, but allowed them better speed because they weren't prying apart the strikes every few seconds. My memory might be wrong--the subject of the QWERTY invention is a nice footnote in history or a winning question in Trivial Pursuit.


Either way, there are alternative keyboard designs that are supposedly more efficient
 
The UserInterface for such device must be tweaked a lot then, almost to the simplicity of iPhone. I can't imagine using Photoshop in finger touch based UI. I think if apple releases such addition to Mac OS X it will almost be another branch from the tree.
 
Isn't it about time for Aiden Shaw to tell us that Dell already has this?

;)



laptop-latitude-xt2-design1.jpg
laptop-latitude-xt2-overview1.jpg


Touch the Future

Now this is intuitive. With natural gestures like pinching or tapping you can quickly and easily scroll, pan, rotate, enlarge and reduce content. With multi-touch gesturing, the touch-screen responds to more than one finger contact. The Latitude XT2 provides this Multi-touch gestures functionality. The multi-fingertip movement conveys a command for actions such as: Pinch zoom in & out, Two-finger Pan/scroll, Double tap to close screen and more.

These gestures work in many business applications today, including Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, Internet Explorer, Firefox, Google Earth, Acrobat and others.


laptop-latitude-xt2-design2.jpg


It's a Tablet. It's a Notebook. It's Both.

The Latitude XT2 Convertible Tablet PC allows you to work comfortably in tablet or laptop PC mode. Use the multi-touch screen for fingertip convenience or the comfortable, two-button, battery-free pen to write or draw as you would on a piece of paper.

Convert to laptop mode and you've got a full-sized keyboard along with the touch-screen.
________________


With a 12.1" screen, 1.1" thick and 1.64 kg, this is more like a "12 inch PowerBook" than a netbook. With Windows support for Multi-Touch (add-on in Vista, native in Windows 7), it shows what to expect from Windows 7 multi=touch netbooks.

Other features:

  • eSata
  • 1394
  • 54mm ExpressCard
  • SD slot
  • daylight view LED backlit screen
  • Core 2 Duo ULV
  • up to 5 GiB RAM, 64-bit Vista
  • 80/120 GB 5400 RPM, or 64GB/128GB SSD
  • a/g/n WiFi
  • (opt) 3G cell modem (Verizon, Sprint or AT&T)
  • Bluetooth, GbE
  • (opt) fingerprint reader

Not cheap - the netbook would have to omit many of these features. Since Atom is functionally the same as a Core 2 Duo, however, that means that all of the software for a multi-touch Windows netbook already exists. When Windows 7 ships, expect to see some very interesting small systems. (note that telephone APIs are part of Win7, so any netbook with a 3G card could be a phone as well)

http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/laptop-latitude-xt2?c=us&cs=555&l=en&s=biz
 
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