Apple Tablet Computer?

[narco]

the missing 60gb drives?

Maybe this will sport those 60gig drives Apple bought, thinking they were for the 60gig iPod (that is said to not come out any time soon).

I agree with everyone else: a remote is good enough.

I'd love it to control iTunes from my couch, maybe a "shared" folder so that I can stream ripped-DVD's (or downloaded porn!) to my television without having to eat up all the hard drive space.

Ideally, I'd love a device that'll sync with Mail.app so that I can have all of my mail with me, and maybe Safari Lite (or something) so that I can check my mail and other tasks for work.

Probably not possible, but I'd spend up to $500 for such a device.

.narco

 

[narco]

Would be cool, but I honestly don't see people lugging around a 17 or 20 inch display with them.

Say if the new iMac did have a detachable screen. I bet everyone will try it out the second they hook their computer up, then get sick of it a week later and use it like a normal computer. It's a cool idea, but it'd seem like a lot of money to create something that only a small amount of people could actually utilize.

.narco

What if this was the screen of the iMac G5? Like there was a base station type thing that housed additional ports (for your keyboard, ethernet, mouse, etc.), and you plugged the screen into the base, and poof, an iMac? Then when you're done doing whatever, you detatch the screen, (which would slide into a connect-ey thing like the iPod and its dock), and they carry it around with you? Like when it'd plugged in, it's a screen/monitor... When you unplug it, it just wirelessly displays the desktop that the base station is sending? Hmm... That might be kinda cool

 

[whooleytoo]

I haven't yet found this specific patent, but there are some more interesting Apple patents here.

 

[big]

I still want an electronic notebook for classes or notes on the job site.... or meetings, one that you could easily sketch or draw on....

 

[flyfish29]

Would be cool, but I honestly don't see people lugging around a 17 or 20 inch display with them.

Say if the new iMac did have a detachable screen. I bet everyone will try it out the second they hook their computer up, then get sick of it a week later and use it like a normal computer. It's a cool idea, but it'd seem like a lot of money to create something that only a small amount of people could actually utilize.

.narco

You don't think there are people that own an iMac that have a need to take it into the tv room, bedroom or kitchen for some reason. To show someone a web site, a picture, movie, ask someone a question, etc. Tablet type pc's are much easier to carry around, show people things, etc rather than balancing a laptop with a screen and keyboard, etc. I for one would love this and I know many others that would as well.

 

[whooleytoo]

Interesting.. while searching for the tablet, I found this, a quad jointed flat screen iMac! I'd seen a flexi-attachment, but not this one before.

 

[Bendit]

I'd say it's just a tablet monitor like the Wacom Intuos.

 

[Nicky G]

iMac? doubtful

Of note is that the only place one can purchase an iBook G4 these days is through Apple's online store, or a store that happens to have them in stock. Delivery time to resellers is in the 2-5 week range, and neither of the big distributors has ANY in stock.

 

[biederman]

Not desktop or portable

Assuming that the description is correct, and this device will have a 10" screen, it's hard to imagine what this could be used for. A 10" screen is not large enough to use as a general-purpose computer, nor a decent video player, and yet it's probably too large to be a universal remote. The real test, I think, is whether this device has its own hard drive (like an iPod), or is simply a wireless-enabled client device.
If I had to guess what this device will be, I would say either a high-end input tablet for graphics professionals, or a controller for a home media network that includes Tivo-like capabilities delivered via AirPort wireless networking.

 

[beatle888]

The tablet didn't work for anyone else, why would it work for Apple?

didnt apple take the mp3 player and make a huge market out of it? they tend to do things right. think of it this way. how many times a day did you use to break out a cd and continualy scan your CD collection to play music? i know i never really played my CDs as much as i do now that they have been converted to mp3s and managed by iTunes and if i had an mp3 player i would benefit even more from this "interest" which is music that apple has made so easy to enjoy. inshort its very easy for people to enjoy something they love when its easy to do. apple will find a market and make it huge by thoughtful design and usability.

 

[SiliconAddict]

Oh god. I think I just had an orgasmic thought. Windows Tablets come in two flavors. Slate devices that are pure tablets that aren’t all that popular and convertibles where the display of the screen spins around and lays flat against the keyboard simulating a tablet without losing the keyboard. And then you have MS’s failed dumb tablet edition that really ran nothing more then Windows CE but linked back to an XP system through WIFI using terminal services. Good enough idea. Poorly marketed and executed though.

Now what if somehow Apple is working on a 3rd type of tablet? One where you can remove the display and take it with you. What if the display has a very thin battery in the back of the display? Lithium ion polymer batteries can be molded in any form so a very thin very flat battery wouldn’t be out of the question. And Apple already has some experience with the ARM architecture what with the Newton and all. (Well they did at any rate before Jobs ****canned the project. Wonder how many talented people got booted for that.) The ARM CPU is low enough powered that you could easily slap it in the back of a display without too many problems. Add some SS RAM and a flash ROM for memory and you got yourself 2 computers in one.

So lets say you are going to a board meeting. You don’t want to haul your laptop into the meeting with you so you disconnect the display and drag that along. You power on the display. The low power WIFI card in the system detects the network and uses the cached credentials to authenticate to the network. Then it uses rendezvous to call back to mama and lets you start a remote session on you *book. Since the CPU isn’t a factor anymore and since there wouldn’t be a speaker on this tablet for sound the only think you have to worry about is the display and the WIFI card.

Contrary to popular belief WIFI cards have become VERY power efficient. Just about every Pocket PC model released has them. A few Palm’s have them as well. At this point it isn’t the WIFI that is the problem it’s the display. And that can be dealt with by Apple engineers. Tweaking of the brightness and power profiles and the like can probably yield a few hours of battery life at minimum off of such a device. Possibly more if they use a bigger battery but of course the engineering trick is to get that balance just right. Too heavy and it makes the laptop top heavy on the screen and the overall laptop bulky and heavy as well. Too light and you’ll get 1/2 an hour of battery life. Also I would suggest making it replaceable. Such a method isn’t without precedent. Compaq’s WIFI implementation on some of their EVO notebooks was placed on the screen. You simply unscrews the bezel and removed that chunk and simply slide the WIFI card into the slot on it. Simple and easy granted we would be talking a much larger “chunk” that would be replaced but is should be doable.

Dang I would KILL for such a system.

 

[themacman]

ok

ok. This is a litle off topic but do you think a computer could sit on a table, but this tablet thingy can copy exactly what the computer was doing, like moving your computer without touching it, it would be efficent. I dont know if possible though

 

[granex]

Imagine every college student with an iPod connecting to low cost Apple tablet Screens all over campus. Colleges and schools will love the low cost computer screens. While students pay $299-$399 for a kick ass MP4 player and document storage system. Imagine no book bags! Just an iPod in your pocket!

This was actually Steve's initial vision for the NeXT computers. This is why he put a (256Mb) floptical drive in every unit initially, even though they were expensive and flakey. You were supposed to have your whole life in your pocket. Well a big pocket anyway, since the media on these things were about as large as the screen system we are discussing here.

I've still got an optical disk with all of my old stuff on it. No drive to read it with, of course. My later NeXT machines had - gasp - floppy drives (2.8 Mb media, of course).

 

[Xgreed]

Mac + PC?

If this thingy is a wifi remote-io, i.e. a wireless LCD and a wireless virtual mouse (=touch-panel) then it would probably be Mac + PC...

 

[puckhead193]

I can't wait to see another apple inovation!

 

[virividox]

god i hope this isnt true, it could spell disaster for apple, they cant afford to have a bad product line; like the cube (great product) but wasnt practical

 

[MattG]

I'll bet there's some Apple employee out there, trying his best not to pee his pants as he reads all of these crazy ideas

I will admit though, an iMac with a detachable screen/tablet type deal would rock.

 

[Nicky G]

god i hope this isnt true, it could spell disaster for apple, they cant afford to have a bad product line; like the cube (great product) but wasnt practical

Yes, another failed product will definitely end the company. After all, they only have 5 billion dollars in cash at their disposal.

 

[narco]

You don't think there are people that own an iMac that have a need to take it into the tv room, bedroom or kitchen for some reason. To show someone a web site, a picture, movie, ask someone a question, etc. Tablet type pc's are much easier to carry around, show people things, etc rather than balancing a laptop with a screen and keyboard, etc. I for one would love this and I know many others that would as well.

I'm sure there ARE people who would like to take a movie or picture to another room, but that's not very practical. If they want to watch a movie or look at a picture, they can walk 10 feet to the computer room and look at it.

.narco

 

[iMeowbot]

And Apple already has some experience with the ARM architecture what with the Newton and all. (Well they did at any rate before Jobs ****canned the project. Wonder how many talented people got booted for that.) The ARM CPU is low enough powered that you could easily slap it in the back of a display without too many problems. Add some SS RAM and a flash ROM for memory and you got yourself 2 computers in one.

They still know how to use ARM processors. That's what's in the iPod (2 of 'em).

 

[Agrippo]

Case FOR Apple Tablet Computer

I have been using Macs since 1989 and currently use two powerbooks along with a Wacom Cintiq tablet for my graphic artwork and animating. However, I have also recently purchased an Acer Tablet PC which I have used successfully to do the same work for the last five months. I don't know what experience you that don't like tablet pc's have, but I truly think the tablet experience is awesome, mostly for graphic drawing work. That said, I much prefer the elegant Mac computing experience to the more pedestrian Windows experience. If and when Apple presents a tablet computer, I have no doubt that I will purchase one. I agree that for many users it may not be neccessary, but for digital art creation, the tablet experience is a must. I never would have included a Windows machine into my arsenal if an all-in-one Mac Tablet was available as an alternative. That said, the abilities of my Acer Travelmate to communicate with my macs and to burn DVD content all in a compact, albeit heavy by today's standards (6 lbs.), portable unit are incredible.

 

[gerrycurl]

it's not a tablet folks, it's iPaper!

Sony released some electronic paper in japan a few months ago, i think apple's going in that direction and you can use firewire to upload recent publications onto your iPaper.

You heard it first here!

 

[cubist]

Well, maybe it's the iBook Mini. Maybe it'll have a metal case in colors. Maybe you can plug in an external keyboard and mouse.

I hope they get the price right. Tablet PC's would have sold aplenty if they had been $999 instead of $2499.

If the device is like what these notes describe and is priced anywhere below $1000, my order will be right there!

 

[ClimbingTheLog]

Sony released some electronic paper in japan a few months ago, i think apple's going in that direction and you can use firewire to upload recent publications onto your iPaper.

There isn't enough production capability yet, but it's coming, that's for certain.

 

[JoePike]

I love bizarre speculation like this. Some really creative ideas in this thread. If this theorized new tablet mac is half as innovative as what everyone has drawn it up to be in this board, I think it might have a chance.