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Apple Tablet Launch to Coincide With iTunes Digital Album Enhancements in September?

The future will have voice recognition and touch tablets

Hello,

I agree with some posters that the the lack of real keyboard maybe a pain but I think the future of most text inputting will be voice dictation. Now if Mac can just perfect that with this!

I'm not one of those people who seeks out cafes and park benches to do my academic work. I get most of my heavy academic work done at home on my two big monitors and nice sized keyboard. I also have MacSpeech, and although I was a skeptic at first, using this dictation app has been wonderful--it has got flaws but it will get better, including the ability to navigate, open apps, etc--everything a keyboard can do.

But I do wish I had a small device that I can carry with me if inspiration strikes me at the library, on the subway, while walking, so that all I have to do is speak into my tablet, have it notate my ideas fairly accurately.

I believe in the future the keyboard may go out the window. There are times when I want to use the keyboard because it feels like I have more control. Also at times I want to feel "old school".

But I think if Apple can get a small touch tablet and good voice recognition/dictation on a built in mic, the lack of keyboard and mouse will not be an issue.

The only other problem Jobs needs to solve is to have someway to dictate to your tablet privately so you don't bother anyone in quiet library or don't have people eavesdropping on your work.
 
BoyBach said:
The sad truth is that we don't know what we want until Apple (or whoever) tell us that we want it. :eek:
Click to expand...

++QFT


That's the difference between sales:

-- The sellers sell you what they have in their wagon (Laptops, Netbooks, etc.)!

and marketing:

-- The seller creates the desire, nay need, for what he wants to sell you, NeXT time!

Dick
 
dicklacara said:
All of this for, say, $800 per device 1-time cost (instead of buying dedicated music players, game players, book readers, netbooks, etc).

And, say, $100-$400 per month, total, for all the members of the family unit to access the services. This could be subsidized by advertising, and/or offset by replacing current, monthly, telephone and cable television costs.

Merry Christmas, everyone!
Click to expand...

I love how you bandy about extortionate figures and then cry "Merry Christmas, everyone!"
 
doug in albq said:
WHAT WILL MAKE OR BREAK THIS DEVICE IS HOW THE OPERATING SYSTEM IS IMPLEMENTED.

done screaming.

It need to be a perfect hybrid of Snow Leopard and iPhone/iPod Touch OS.
Click to expand...

Consider this:

Much of iPhone OS X and UI already runs on SNL, using the iPhone Simulator.

What remains, if not already done, is to implement the low-level hardware drivers for the touch screen, GPS, Cell radio(s), accelerometer, compass, etc.

I suspect that Mac OSX and Mobile OSX share a large common code base, with frameworks/APIs implemented in one ported to the other, as necessary.

Apple's Touch Tablet could be sold, either/both, as a walled-garden appliance; and/or, as an open general-purpose device.

Apple could supply the appropriate OSX, depending on the target use of the device.

Remember, Leopard was delayed so that Apple could finish the OSX port [to ARM] in time for the iPhone release.

I suspect that SNL already runs on ARM as well as Intel.

Dick
 
windywoo said:
I love how you bandy about extortionate figures and then cry "Merry Christmas, everyone!"
Click to expand...

Extortionate? Hardly!

It is fairly easy to justify $800 for a tablet instead if the costs of: a $50 music player, a $150 game player, a $100 ebook reader, a $300 netbook, a $150 handy videoCam, a Voice Recorder, a sneaker-net thumb drive, a $150 GPS device, a $50 low-use cell phone, a personal TV..... you pick'em!

$100-$400 is a reasonable estimate for a cell/data plan for a family unit (we currently pay about $220 to ATT for landline, 1 3G, 1 3GS, and 3 throw away cell phones). (The kids use the old SIM-less 1G iPhones as game and educational devices). We can likely remove $100 of TV from our cable bill and kill the $30 landline. Might even get a Tablet to program and use as a power shedder-- monitor temperatures and control HVAC, lights, etc. Based on past experience, this could reduce $400 electric bill by 25%.

Then, there is the reduced cost (to us and the environment) of content: music, books, movies... etc.

It is personal! It is at your fingertips! It is really quite liberating!

Merry Christmas, everyone!
 
dicklacara said:
Consider this:

Much of iPhone OS X and UI already runs on SNL, using the iPhone Simulator.

What remains, if not already done, is to implement the low-level hardware drivers for the touch screen, GPS, Cell radio(s), accelerometer, compass, etc.

I suspect that Mac OSX and Mobile OSX share a large common code base, with frameworks/APIs implemented in one ported to the other, as necessary.

Apple's Touch Tablet could be sold, either/both, as a walled-garden appliance; and/or, as an open general-purpose device.

Apple could supply the appropriate OSX, depending on the target use of the device.

Remember, Leopard was delayed so that Apple could finish the OSX port [to ARM] in time for the iPhone release.

I suspect that SNL already runs on ARM as well as Intel.

Dick
Click to expand...

What the heck is SNL? Saturday Night Live?

I believe Snow and Leopard are only 2 words. Therefore, the correct acronym for that would be SL.
 
$800 for each member of your house and on top of that the subscription?

And hold your horses there, who said this was going to do all the jobs a netbook would do? As a matter of fact, a netbook does all those things you listed with exception of the GPS.

Besides you are missing the point that $800 may seem like a pittance to you but its someone else's savings for the whole year.

So no. Its not "Merry Christmas, everyone."
 
E-Ink, Wacom Killer?

So, there's no information if it come with e-ink for E-reader portion OR if can be used for drawing and painting, a la the expensive Wacom tablets?
 
ericinboston said:
That is untrue. I work in hi-tech selling to the healthcare industry. You've been watching too much Star Trek. :)

More like 5% of hospitals/clinics/doctors' offices use such devices...and even then, they are more beta-testing and field-testing rather than some kind of mass rollout/adoption.

Healhcare needs to fix their Business Process problems first (by computerizing and removing paper for examples) and then will go mainstream into individual tablet-thingies later.

Your quote should really be re-written as "most uses of a tablet are in the hands of individuals like hospital staff to replace a clipboard"...but that brings up my earlier point that there really aren't many uses for a tablet to go mainstream into consumer land.

-Eric
Click to expand...
That's pretty much my experience working in healthcare as well. Going to an EMR was hard enough in some cases. We always talk about pie in the sky tablets but that has never gone beyond conversation.
 
My guess is that it will come with it's own special dock that will have a USB port and a mini-display port out and magsafe power cable for hooking up to a Cinema Display. Also bluetooth, so you can use a wireless keyboard. Apple loves upselling you on accessories!
 
I really hope it runs iWorks and iLife.

USB, SD, FW, audio in/out, ethernet (or second USB with adapter), mini-video out (1920x1200 support).
BT, WiFi.
 
windywoo said:
$800 for each member of your house and on top of that the subscription?

And hold your horses there, who said this was going to do all the jobs a netbook would do? As a matter of fact, a netbook does all those things you listed with exception of the GPS.

Besides you are missing the point that $800 may seem like a pittance to you but its someone else's savings for the whole year.

So no. Its not "Merry Christmas, everyone."
Click to expand...

No, $800 gets reduced by the other purchases avoided and devices sold that get replaced by the Tablet. Subscriptions get reduced by discontinuance/reduction of services no longer needed because the Tablet replaced the devices that required them.

I gave some examples in my prior post, that I feel comfortable with. But, there may be more. Here're some possibilities.

Let's say Apple and the TelCos get creative. What if they offered a cell unlimited data plan at a fixed cost and PayGo for phone calls. So, instead of a netbook or laptop, and a cell phone the student takes a tablet to school.

Then, say, SJ announces a plan where textbook publishers publish their books on the electronic iTunes bookStore, for download to the Tablet. Purchase/reimbursement to schools and publishers could be handled electronically, similar to coupons & promo codes are now handled in iTunes. This should reduce school costs, taxes, and lessen the 30 lbs of books in the students' backpacks.


I expect that Apple's tablet will do more things and better, then the netbooks. IMO, the netbook is a product whose time has come... and gone (or about to go).

$800 is not a pittance to me. I spend my money very carefully, considering purchases as investments.

Here's my history

When the 1G iPhone was first available (we stood in line for 8 hours) I bought 3-- 2 for the adults to use and 1 for development. The 3 Kids all got throw away phones (less than $100 each). These have all been replaced, at least once, at $75 each. When I replaced the 2 1Gs with the 3G and then the 3GS I considered putting them on EBay for $200 each. About this time the oldest had her 13th birthday & asked me for a portable Nintendo DS and a few games-- about $200. We talked about it and she decided that she would prefer the 1G iPhone and $100 worth of games instead (much wider selection and and lower price per game). And of course all the other things the iPhone does (except cell phone).

On a recent car trip to Canada, she had about 60 games/apps, lots of music, 4 movies, and took 400 pictures.

Next month, her ATT contract will renew and instead of buying another $75 throw away, we will activate her iPhone for cell usage... or, we may just see what's available (an $800 Tablet, perhaps) and recycle the iPhone (SIM-less) to her younger brother.


Here's the (simplified) hard numbers recap of this iPhone device costs since 2007:

$600 iPhone 1G
-$100 Apple refund
-$100 >1 year of use as my cell phone (about what you'd pay, with subsidy, for a quality smart phone)
-$200 gift in lieu of Nintendo DS & games (actually she got 3 times the games for the same price)
-------
$200 Net cost of iPhone 1G after 2+ years

So, now we can activate this as a cell phone for her (and avoid spending $50 for another throw away), put it on EBay ($100 is the going price), or recycle it with her younger brother.

If I go the EBay route, my initial investment, after 2+ years of constant use, will have a net cost of $100. This is $50 per year, or less than the cost of a throw away.

That's getting bang for the buck!

One of the major reasons that this was a successful investment, is that the iPhone was/is a defining technology, implemented with care and quality that would deliver its promise and hold its value. Knowing Apple, this was a given at product announce!

I expect that Apple's Tablet will be even more of a defining technology.

I fully expect that schools with tight budgets will look for ways to replace textbooks, workbooks, homework, misc. paper, etc. with electronic media. Apple's Tablet, in the hands of every student (in a district) could make that happen. Today, several colleges require (or furnish) an iPhone or iPod Touch at admission. I see no reason that an Apple Tablet would not be more acceptable, for more students, at more grade levels.

It is possible that the kids (and adults) can use a single device for a much of their work and play, and lower their costs of media/content (or get more at the same price).

That sounds like a bargain* to me!

I define bargain as needed/desired product or service of quality, at a fair price.


In my experience, families with a tight budget, will invest in fewer, quality, things rather than buy junk at a "great price"*. If they do not have the money, they will defer buying, and save their money until they can buy what the want at a price they can pay.

* Just what is a "great price" for junk? Is $0 too much to pay if you get junk? Can you just pay the $0 and not take the junk?

If Apple's Tablet is what all that I anticipate, a lot of families thinking about how to budget their money for the next 6-9 months, will find that it is a very good investment.

Dick
 
SAN66 said:
That article wasn't posted when I made my comment. I would think that they'd have the sense that that wouldn't fly in NA. Especially since its not a phone. Its one thing for a phone to not have Wifi and other laptop functions, its another for a tablet/netbook device to lack those functions.
Click to expand...
That doesn't make you any less wrong. Apple is always disabling or removing features in their products. Not Adding apps by other means than the apps store, tethering with the iphone and with the touch 2nd gen having a bluetooth chip that is crippled to only work with Nike software- It goes on and on as enumerated by another member with better memory than you . When you make blanket statements you asking to be proved wrong in the particulars.
 
Steve-note material!

The rumors about new music and movie add-ins and a tablet make sense for good "one more thing" productions.

I think the "Album Enhancements" will be something like DVD menus we have now. Something to click around and see liner notes, cover art, music videos, maybe even link to the artist's webpage or get push notifications about concerts. I could see you getting the "sleeve" with one song purchase and empty slot for you to "unlock" buy purchasing the full album as "complete my album" is something iTunes was pushing last year. It might also open up something like DVD bonus material as well. I think it would be laid out similar to how the iTunes store lays out special artist pages right now.. and it would integrate in to coverflow so you wouldn't even realize it was there most of the time. Where it will work is that Apple will be really picky that the coverflow feature still has to "flip" just as fast with the liner notes turned on... no dragging you down for hosted ads or such and that will be the negotiation point that labels want crap like BD-Live that not just forces you to watch ads but forces you to wait, download, and watch new ads every time you access the media.

A tablet would feature nicely with a nearly CD-cover sized screen to showcase the art.
 
I'll be getting one for each of the kids, if on top of iTunes it can run Flash web sites. The kids play a lot of online games (Nick, Noggin, Cartoon Network, Club Penguin, etc.) and those are all Flash-based.
 
If it is true......

I have seen a concept rendering, and I am hooked. If it is true, I would like a $499 device, with a higher end model at $699, comparable in price to the Mac Mini. I wouldn't mind specifications that are comparable to the Dell Mini 10. An Intel Atom processor would be acceptable @1.33GHz, with an upgrade to 1.6GHz (or a 1.6GHz dual core Atom), 1GB RAM (1 PC3-8500 slot, or PC2-6400), nVidia 9400M processor,Airport a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1, 1 (or 2) SD card slots, 16 or 32GB flash memory. I would be fine with a 10" tablet that runs an advanced version of the iPhone OS.
 
If it is true......

I have seen a concept rendering, and I am hooked. If it is true, I would like a $499 device, with a higher end model at $699, comparable in price to the Mac Mini. I wouldn't mind specifications that are comparable to the Dell Mini 10. An Intel Atom processor would be acceptable @1.33GHz, with an upgrade to 1.6GHz (or a 1.6GHz dual core Atom), 1GB RAM (1 PC3-8500 slot, or PC2-6400), nVidia 9400M processor,Airport a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1, 1 (or 2) SD card slots, 16 or 32GB flash memory. I would be fine with a 10" tablet that runs an advanced version of the iPhone OS. A special dock would be nice, and a MiniDisplay Port would too.
 
SAN66 said:
The only one I'll agree with you on is the :apple:TV, I have one and its a POS unless you hack it, which is done very easily. I cannot understand any reason whatsoever why we can't connect an external harddrive to it. I have one connected to my hacked system, easily done and done.

The rest are just hardware revisions/upgrades, they still do what they're intended to, just in a different form. Expresscard... most would rather the SD card slot. Matte/glossy, they're still screens. FW/USB you can still IO. Blu-ray meh supply and demand. Mini display port is an evolution on video output and adapters are available, you needed an adapter before anyhow for 99% of devices to go from mini-dvi to whatever.
Click to expand...

But the fact still remains that one of the biggest complaints of Apple products is how they cripple the products & take away options. Most other PC manufacturers at least give you choices. My whole point was that as great as Apple products are, probably the biggest criticism (other than price) of them is how Apple tends to take away options that were standard or you'd expect them to have. That is what half the complaints on MR seems to be about anyway.
 
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