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Apple Tablet Computer Design Patent

Eh... This really isn't interesting to me. I don't see how it could be any better than an iBook or PowerBook. I don't really believe that Tablet PC's are the next big thing. Maybe this is just a science project for Apple. They probably do that all of the time, develop machines of all shapes and sizes and then pick apart the most innovative features and incorporate them into their actual line of products.
 
Just at the bar.

I was just at the bar conversing about how I am on the verge of entering the PDA, blackberry, palm arena just wishing there was something a little different. Maybe something a little bigger than PDA but smaller than my ibook beater. Must be that time of year again for the tablet rumors.
 
I would love one of these. As an artist a screen that you can just draw on is awesome. If I were able to use this with Flash or Photoshop I would be so happy.

Come on Apple! :D
 
I bought a Toshiba M205 tablet PC which i am currently trying to sell becuase i didnt know that my current major requires an Apple Powerbook purchase. Now if a tablet Apple comes out its really just going to be annoying, because the re-sale value on my tablet is absolute garbage. O'well, what can i do, theres always something better coming out.

edit: The screen has held up remarkably well after 2 full semesters of writing on it almost every day. Its show virtually no wear, incredible technology and its not glass so it feels more like paper. So i dont see any problems with reliability in an Apple Tablet
 
Tiger and tablets

Technologically wise, Tiger offers a few features which may be of use to a lite OS....

1. Dashboard - these apps don't require a full fledged OS. Also, many of them could easily be used on a touch screen.

2. Quartz extreme... it has very low bandwidth between the OS and the graphics card. A remote display would thus be much easier, wouldn't it?

No idea if either of those ideas has a bearing on a Tablet PC - but it is possible that a low-power cheap tablet could be a very usable system around the house or office.
 
Macrumors said:


Many readers note that Apple was granted a US patent on "the ornamental design for an electronic device, substantially as shown and described". The US patent was filed on March 17th 2004 and posted today (May 10th, 2005).
Click to expand...


Don't want, wouldn't buy.

Today Tablet computers are really only useful for specific applications. Example: My wife (then girlfriend's) car was inspected by an insurance adjustor w/ a tablet pc.

Now add this

http://www.actualitysystems.com/

To a tablet mac and we'd be talking.
 
Slipperyskates said:
I don't know how practical that would really be. I think it would be more of a novelty than anything else. Apple has always been about media, and I don't see people editing DV in FCP on a tablet- especially if the cost is signifigantly more than a standard notebook.
Click to expand...

Do you see people editing DV in FCP on a Mac Mini?

My point is that Apple has been noticing that they can't stay in a niche market if they intend to make money. There are people other than video editors who need computers. The more Apple can satisfy their needs, the better.
 
From my understanding, you would plug some type of componet into the back of your already exisiting Mac and the device would wirelessly transmit to the tablet Mac which would basiclly be your Mac sitting on your desk just a wireless transmit to it and with the wireless transmit you could control the Mac, in addition to view the screen.

Sounds like a neat idea. It's like the concept of carrying your iMac around the house but without the 25 pound iMac shell. If the tMac is released with something like a 14' (;)) screen for about $500, there will be bound to be many buyers. Something like $1,000 might be a bit rich. I would say 500 is the sweet point.
 
Apple!Freak said:
From my understanding, you would plug some type of componet into the back of your already exisiting Mac and the device would wirelessly transmit to the tablet Mac which would basiclly be your Mac sitting on your desk just a wireless transmit to it and with the wireless transmit you could control the Mac, in addition to view the screen.

Sounds like a neat idea. It's like the concept of carrying your iMac around the house but without the 25 pound iMac shell. If the tMac is released with something like a 14' (;)) screen for about $500, there will be bound to be many buyers. Something like $1,000 might be a bit rich. I would say 500 is the sweet point.
Click to expand...

Exactly! It's like a portable Mac Mini
 
GregA said:
Technologically wise, Tiger offers a few features which may be of use to a lite OS....

1. Dashboard - these apps don't require a full fledged OS. Also, many of them could easily be used on a touch screen.

2. Quartz extreme... it has very low bandwidth between the OS and the graphics card. A remote display would thus be much easier, wouldn't it?

No idea if either of those ideas has a bearing on a Tablet PC - but it is possible that a low-power cheap tablet could be a very usable system around the house or office.
Click to expand...
that's great except that technologies like quartz extreme relies on a fast graphics card. it is not a 'lite' technology by any measure.

personally, i don't think these will sell all that well. sure there'll be a lot of hypein the beginning and gadget freaks with money to burn lining up to get one, but i just don't see these things having much widespread adoption. if the choice was between getting a tablet without a keyboard or an ibook/powerbook, most people would chose a full-featured laptop with a keyboard.

there just aren't that many uses and advantages of a tablet. some say graphic artists but i doubt many will abandon their existing setup for a keyboardless i/o system. others say they'd take notes on it, but my guess is most people would rather have a quite keyboard to type their notes than scribbling them. beyond the coolness factor, there just aren't any 'killer apps' out there...yet.

still, if all they're having to do is repackaging an existing ibook/pbook and selling it at a comparable price, why the heck not. i doubt it'll do much for apple's bottom line, but it probably won't cost a lot of r&d either to produce one of these. worth a gamble.
 
If it's out by June 13th, I would be interested in buying one... maybe. But, would it really be any MORE useful that a powerbook? I mean No keys, and really no way of proping it up on the go.
 
itsbetteronamac said:
If it's out by June 13th, I would be interested in buying one... maybe. But, would it really be any MORE useful that a powerbook? I mean No keys, and really no way of proping it up on the go.
Click to expand...

Maybe it's a revolutionary laptop that will change the industry itself! ;)
 
dongmin said:
that's great except that technologies like quartz extreme relies on a fast graphics card. it is not a 'lite' technology by any measure.
Click to expand...
The new Quartz technology doesn't actually require a fast graphics card per se - as far as I understand, it allows a low bandwidth description of the entire MacOSX screen to be sent to another chip, which does the displaying.

As such, the slowest old G3 iBook could have a display-only OS installed - optimised simply to display a remote terminal of another OSX machine. It wouldn't have to have a fast graphics card - simply devote all of its measly CPU power to being an effective display. As long as you've GOT another OSX machine with enough grunt, it would be a nice way of getting longer life out of your other Macs.

Now while I think an OS for old Macs would be great I think it's unlikely - the point is the Tablets. They could, really, be ONLY a screen with a high end graphics card and a pen interface, using airport to send data back to another machine. Couldn't they? - no CPU at all, no hard disk, no keyboard, no DVD drive. Or they could be a lower speed but fully fledged computer (without a great graphics card), and with an OS that EITHER works stand alone and is pretty limited (and syncs to your main Mac), OR becomes a remote display for that Mac.

That's all some big assumptions - I mean I'm assuming it's the cheapest thing Apple can make that you carry around, with a screen, and pen input. Maybe it'd be something more powerful. I figure Quartz extreme and Dashboard allow for the "lite" and cheap concept, but I may be simply dreaming.
 
GregA said:
...They could, really, be ONLY a screen with a high end graphics card and a pen interface, using airport to send data back to another machine. Couldn't they? - no CPU at all, no hard disk, no keyboard, no DVD drive. Or they could be a lower speed but fully fledged computer (without a great graphics card), and with an OS that EITHER works stand alone and is pretty limited (and syncs to your main Mac), OR becomes a remote display for that Mac...
Click to expand...

Not sure this is technically feasible just yet, transferring the display info would be really a hi bandwidth job, esp if you decided to watch a dvd on your "server" mac as it were.

In any case, I want one of these gadgets instinctively, though I can't for the life of me see any practical purpose for it that wouldn't be better served by a laptop, except for the smaller form factor, which is probably a negative in actual usage terms.

So, surprise me Apple! (again) :p
 
I guess this isn't the first time Apple has worked on a Tablet computer

0.jpg


1.jpg


2.jpg


This is owned by a Macrumors member that I guess worked with Apple in the past. The design is dated, but it was new and unique back when the Powerbook Duo was still alive.

It is a good indication that Apple may have been one of the leaders in the Tablet comptuer relm. The timing was too early, but may have helped them get their foot in the door for current and future patent applications on this technology.
 
Check out the Music Pad Pro... Apple showed interest in this company.

I heard that Apple had some close ties to Freehand Systems... www.freehandsystems.com and was interested in their MusicPad Pro... Could be interesting for them, perhaps. This is a great product for musicians.
This product looks very much like the patent drawings....

-Zappaman
 
iPad?

dan_ said:
i'm thinking this will be apple's PSP.
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Yep. I totally see this as an personal video player a la Sony PSP. Assuming Apple has this device in development, it has some serious decisions to make about what sort of device Apple wants to have. The choices are almost unlimited:

a. an iPod video
b. a game device
c. a fully functioning iBook
d. a WiFi remote
e. combinations of the above

Apple tends to try to do one thing (at least initially) and do it really. If they follow that logic with a tablet device, we might be looking at, more or less, an iPod video that may or may not also play DVDs.
 
840quadra said:
I guess this isn't the first time Apple has worked on a Tablet computer

...

This is owned by a Macrumors member that I guess worked with Apple in the past. The design is dated, but it was new and unique back when the Powerbook Duo was still alive.

It is a good indication that Apple may have been one of the leaders in the Tablet comptuer relm. The timing was too early, but may have helped them get their foot in the door for current and future patent applications on this technology.
Click to expand...

and also linked to in the first post of this thread...
 
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