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Apple Snapping Up 7-Inch Touchscreens Ahead of January Tablet Launch?
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Try 8. The 'iWalk' was rumored as a device at the original iPod announcement:
https://www.macrumors.com/2001/10/22/spy-photos-iwalk/
It bounce up several times in the next couple of years, went dormant for a while, then gained a touch screen and has been bobbing around again from time to time the last couple years. For all I know, it could have been an old rumor by 2001 (I wasn't paying much attention to Apple or Apple rumors before then).
The question is, how many of those rumors were actually the development of the iPhone and not actually the tablet? iPhone is the PDA they were talking about, so really we have no idea how long the tablet has been talked to death for.
Indeed, but that Sports Illustrated prototype interface was designed for something bigger than 7", closer to 10+". I'm not arguing against the viability of Apple's upcoming tablet, I'm arguing against the viability of one that's too small and therefore too close to the iPhone.
I believe their interface was flexible, not fixed at any specific size in order to work on multiple devices.
Either way, unfortunately, that's something Apple probably has been struggling for years, determining which size to make the tablet. This thing probably was in development for a decade or more.
If Apple releases 10" tablet, they have to convince people to buy it instead of any generic 10" netbook for 300-500$, especially if it's running the iPhone OS with no full desktop/finder. That's not going to be enough, 7" might be okay for that and it has to be lower than 400$ for sure.
So there's a constant balance issue with the screen size. Do you go with iPhone's bigger brother, or do you go with netbook's killer?
Optimal size depends on the use profile (or vice versa). 7" is good for reading text, i.e. books and newspapers, would be decent for traditional websites, and would work well with handheld typing. Essentially a large iPod Touch, but that's not necessarily a bad thing -- the larger screen will make a lot of things easier. 10" is better for reading magazines and stuff with lots of graphical content, would be great for watching movies, and would make full typing possible if set down on a lap or table in exchange for making handheld typing difficult (at least with thumbs; using all the fingers of one hand might work well, though, especially with a chording keyboard layout or some such). Given how little actual information there is about this thing, we really have no idea what they're going for -- possibly both, if they actually do release multiple sizes.
Tablet screen must be big enough to offer new "experience value" vs. iPhone
The iPhone needs no siblings.
So I go with netbook's killer at 10".
And from a product lineup standpoint, so should Apple. A 7" iPhone big brother would be more of an incremental product: a bit different, slightly bigger, marketed differently... but just not different enough to clearly offer a new "experience value" versus the iPhone.
This upcoming tablet has already attained mythical status (as the iPhone did leading up to its announcement), and knowing Apple, you can bet they have lofty intentions for this thing to be another game-changer, a media re-inventor, a publishing industry savior, a must-have for everyone, including existing iPhone owners... not just a "bigger-but-still-practical alternative to the iPhone for a slightly different audience that maybe likes to read newspapers and watch videos and stuff (yawn)." Nah. Maybe that's the kind of not-so-mind-blowing incremental sibling product that another company would add to their lineup, but not Apple.
The iPhone needs no siblings.
So I go with netbook's killer at 10".And from a product lineup standpoint, so should Apple. A 7" iPhone big brother would be more of an incremental product: a bit different, slightly bigger, marketed differently... but just not different enough to clearly offer a new "experience value" versus the iPhone.
This upcoming tablet has already attained mythical status (as the iPhone did leading up to its announcement), and knowing Apple, you can bet they have lofty intentions for this thing to be another game-changer, a media re-inventor, a publishing industry savior, a must-have for everyone, including existing iPhone owners... not just a "bigger-but-still-practical alternative to the iPhone for a slightly different audience that maybe likes to read newspapers and watch videos and stuff (yawn)." Nah. Maybe that's the kind of not-so-mind-blowing incremental sibling product that another company would add to their lineup, but not Apple.
The iPhone needs no siblings.
And from a product lineup standpoint, so should Apple. A 7" iPhone big brother would be more of an incremental product: a bit different, slightly bigger, marketed differently... but just not different enough to clearly offer a new "experience value" versus the iPhone.
This upcoming tablet has already attained mythical status (as the iPhone did leading up to its announcement), and knowing Apple, you can bet they have lofty intentions for this thing to be another game-changer, a media re-inventor, a publishing industry savior, a must-have for everyone, including existing iPhone owners... not just a "bigger-but-still-practical alternative to the iPhone for a slightly different audience that maybe likes to read newspapers and watch videos and stuff (yawn)." Nah. Maybe that's the kind of not-so-mind-blowing incremental sibling product that another company would add to their lineup, but not Apple.
You're right about the mythical status but the difference between now and the past several years is that we have reach the technological point where such a tablet is possible with excellent performance with the Atom Cpus or the Ultra-low voltage CPUs, the multitouch screens, the cloud computing, SSDs, fast and low power WiFi chips and so on that can be produced for a device that's lower than 700$ and not to mention the major huge success with the App Store (what about the Lala streaming service that Apple just bought recently, that could be useful on the tablet as well). The only problem is, will Apple be willing to go with a low margin profit in order to gain market share as next year is going to be the year of the tablet with multiple vendors readying their own tablet solutions?
That's the major difference between Apple and other vendors, the App store for the tablet is going to be super huge and all the developers that already has Apps for iPhone are going to jump over to the tablet as well since they have the development experience and can see that they can make some more profit with another Apple device. That's going to push the tablet to gain huge market share as well.
Because I want:
- Multitasking
- Background processes
- Being able to install what I want (not just what is allowed by Apple)
- Being able to develop my own stuff without paying for certificates and being able to share this stuff with friends without asking Apple.
- Being able to share data between different apps, not just "copy and paste"
- Being able to cusomize my system
- free access to all files on my system!
For me "Real OSX" is not equal to X86 compatibility, it means to be the base for a small but general porpose computer, not just another "consume only" device.
Christian
How fast your internet connection, and condition of your system (sch as the presence of malware, downloaders etc) that would affect your browsing speed.
I agree 7" to small for my eyes and formating of the contents.
Your profile pic gets me every time. I always think there is a bug on my screen.
I hope for a little large one, 10" would be great for me
10" would be great for me? that's what she said!
Right, but that device had neither a touchscreen nor a dedicated UI. The iThing will have both.
Hoo boy, memories. Thanks Spymac!
Edit: wow...what happened to Spymac...?
Foldable tablet?
I was hoping for a foldable tablet--a flexible display, and a hinge in the middle back--pocket-size when folded, big when opened. Not gonna happen this time around, though.
I was hoping for a foldable tablet--a flexible display, and a hinge in the middle back--pocket-size when folded, big when opened. Not gonna happen this time around, though.
I hope it´s foldable
Maybe it is foldable like the Microsoft Courier. 2 x 7" Display would be very nice. Apple always tries to stand out. I don´t think apple will release an bigger iPod Touch. That wouldn´t make sense.
And, like somebody in this thread already said, no more shiny scratch-magnet please.
Maybe it is foldable like the Microsoft Courier. 2 x 7" Display would be very nice. Apple always tries to stand out. I don´t think apple will release an bigger iPod Touch. That wouldn´t make sense.
And, like somebody in this thread already said, no more shiny scratch-magnet please.