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

I dunno. I really don't see a market for this, other than really niche industrial/healthcare market. Everytime Apple comes with a new product (iPod, Apple TV, iPhone), they are targeting the mass consumer market.

Let's assume they're going to do it (which I think they won't). 10" is probably too big. To be highly attractive (for something that many would consider as a solution looking for a problem), it has to be around the size of the Kindle, light and thin. Also, if it's just a larger iPod Touch, I don't think people would buy that (they just get the smaller, cheaper Touch). If it's a full-fledged tablet running OS X, I don't think Apple could make one without compromising performance/battery life/heat dissipation. Also, if Apple try to put this against the Kindle, it has to have cellular wireless connectivity. Unless Apple can get a deal like Amazon (free wireless for the users), I don't think people will want to pay yet another monthly bill just for this.

It would make more sense if Apple make this as their "netbook." However, then there's the price issue (although Sony beat Apple with their $1500 netbook, :D).

What I can see as being attractive would be for Apple to design this as a complete Internet+telephony tablet with LTE connectivity in mind. Another reason that imo they won't do it this year.
 
I can't believe how many people are jumping up and down and presenting target markets and uses for this thing. Tablet PCs have been available forever, we already know the target markets. What you have to do is suggest what Apple will do differently from all those other tablets that will make their tablet a success where others have failed.

And no you aren't allowed to say "Apple will give it a slick UI and present it better than any previous tablet." That's too general.

Tablet PCs failed because the prices were higher than a normal laptop but with less power. Features such as handwriting recognition were very poor, and not a lot of effort was made in marketing them.

Now that technologies have caught up, mobile computing prices have come down and laptops out sell desktops this is probably as good a time as any to launch a tablet.
 
firewood said:
Something done quickly means a few text messages to the twitter generation, and they can send those out from their iPhone before you can even boot whatever is attached to your current (full-sized) actual keyboard.

Done.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the update on the twitter generation, you whippersnapper! I had to go look for my bifocals and replace a couple vacuum tubes on my "thinking machine" in the basement before I could write this.

We use keyboards and trackpads because some of us actually work on our computers and we value productivity, and we're not all ADD-addled bloggers and internet marketers. If this tablet comes out, it looks like it will be tied in to the iTunes store and will be more for media consumption than actually getting things done. Which segues in with the direction Apple Entertainment has been taking the past couple of years.
 
Here's what I think it might look like. I'd LOVE to view my digital comics on it!
Anything visual would be great on a tablet like this. Video, photos, ebooks, music video, maps...

For the mockup I used a MacBook Pro screen then just added iPhone widgets. I like the name touchPad.

touchpad2.jpg
touchpad1.jpg
 
Would love to have a 10 inch screen with multi touch but will it come with USB or any other connection possibilities

I see the device being used in combination with the app store
Movies, PDF's, internet etc. like the way it works on ipods and iphones but on a bigger screen
I can see that happen :)

I don't think it will have the full OS X running because then they would sell less MacBook and MacBook pro's

For me it would be very nice if I could use it as a second monitor
(EG. on a shoulder rig with a Canon 5D2)

Or for usage like a controller
(EG. as a drawing board for FCS3 and CS4 or for plugin control with Logic Studio etc.)
 
Nice

unknown mr T said:
this is how I think it will look like http://www.flickr.com/photos/fotoboer/3226244527/sizes/o/, looks very sexy if you ask me:D
Click to expand...

Very Nice rendering! :)

If it did in fact have an aluminium backing it would certainly be a sweet device to handle... :D

I wonder though with the 3G, WiFi and other radio components, would they still work 100%... or possibly work through the glass screen instead because there's a lot of real esatate to transmit through..

®:apple:
 
So you mean to tell me that I can take any rumor and no matter how long the resulting sentence is I can just put a question mark at the end and it makes a great title?
 
A

If this is true then can it be a coincidence that September is also the big roll-out month for the Beatles remasters? Expect a certain Sir Macca at the media event in San Francisco...:cool:
 
skellener said:
Hmmmm....What's wrong with a laptop or netbook? I mean, at least they have their own stand to hold the screen up. I can't imagine the tablet being more "fabulous" for watching movies than a big screen TV in your home.
Click to expand...

A big screen TV hardly fits into the "portable entertainment device" category now, does it?
 
It it's just going to be a games platform on steroids, I'm out.

But that mock-up linked by unknown mr T does look very sexy indeed. And if I could use it to do some semi-serious work as well as admire photos/videos of my daughters, I might just be in the market.
 
BlurburgerPete said:
Here's what I think it might look like. I'd LOVE to view my digital comics on it!
Anything visual would be great on a tablet like this. Video, photos, ebooks, music video, maps...

For the mockup I used a MacBook Pro screen then just added iPhone widgets. I like the name touchPad.

touchpad2.jpg
touchpad1.jpg
Click to expand...

I love it! But would that be 10"? Looks a little small. :cool:
Is that an iSight camera I see?
 
I think that some of the folks commenting aren't using their imagination. Stop thinking about this like an incremental improvement over existing tablet PCs and try to imagine it as an answer to a question that may not even have been asked yet. The time is right for a device that literally expands on the concept of the iPod Touch, with increased screen real estate, processing power, media access, and peripheral compatibility. Consider these several points:

1) The iPhone and iPod Touch have gotten people used to the "glass interface", and at a scale far beyond Windows tablet PCs ever have. They are nothing if not mini tablets. The average consumer is going to view the new device as "even better than my iPod Touch" rather than "not as capable as my Macbook Pro".

2) What will really drive this product's success are the App & iTunes Stores. Apple has every incentive to leverage the App Store content onto more types of devices. It's exactly what has been missing from any other "tablet" offering until now. It is the difference that makes a difference.

3) Multi-touch is more and more relevant the larger the screen. See the original multi-touch screen previewed at TED to realize just how underutilized multi-touch is on the iPhone. On the new device, movements and controls that would be too fussy on an iPhone screen are now possible, paving the way for unbelievably creative new kinds of Apps.

4) This thing will be an insane portable gaming platform. What the Wii was to home gaming, the new device will be to portables. Games with haptic interfaces developed for the iPhone will now enjoy much greater screen space and processing power. New games optimized for the new hardware will appear in the App Store. This is a product that will gobble up market share held by Nintendo and Sony in the portable space, like the iPod Touch has only begun to do.

5) New "album like" features will be a great boon to artists and fans alike. Once again, the bigger the screen, the more relevant the album art and liner content becomes. The day of the Album App is here.

6) If people want a net book-like experience, who is to stop someone from creating a folding shell for the new tablet that opens to reveal a BT keyboard? As long as the new device supports BT (and it would be insane for it not to) this is such a no brainer. Ditto for a DVD player-like stand that includes higher power speakers.

7) Whereas AppleTV is not yet a product of mass appeal (though still completely worthwhile), the new device will jump start online sales of visual media like never before. When you can take your content with you on a viewing platform big enough to share with a friend, now you have much more incentive to shell out a few bucks for a movie or TV show.

Just my 2¢! :)
 
kristoffer4 said:
I love it! But would that be 10"? Looks a little small. :cool:
Is that an iSight camera I see?
Click to expand...

Glad you like it. Thanks. 10" isn't very big :) I added an iSight cam coz I thought iChats on this would be great. And I put the Home button on the bottom right thinking that's where it would be easiest to reach with your right thumb on a device this big.
 
It just hit me what Apple could do, probably fairly easily, to make this stand out. Combine a super-size iPod touch with... Apple TV! Let it stream any content from iTunes to the screen, let it rent and view movies directly on the device etc etc. You then end up with a device that can act as an iPod (potentially with the same apps as the Touch and iPhone only scaled up by the device), be a portable interface into your home library and run basic productivity apps (even if web based like Google Docs). Add in a function similar to that between the PS3 and PSP for remote play across the internet and you've got something potentialyl very powerful indeed.

Is there a huge market for this? Probably not but let's face it, Apple are in a position to take a chance or two. If they pull it off... well, they stand to dominate another market sector as there ain't anyone playing in that space right now. If not, well, they've had their failures in the past and it really hasn't hurt 'em much.
 
metroblis said:
I think that some of the folks commenting aren't using their imagination. Stop thinking about this like an incremental improvement over existing tablet PCs and try to imagine it as an answer to a question that may not even have been asked yet. The time is right for a device that literally expands on the concept of the iPod Touch, with increased screen real estate, processing power, media access, and peripheral compatibility. Consider these several points:

1) The iPhone and iPod Touch have gotten people used to the "glass interface", and at a scale far beyond Windows tablet PCs ever have. They are nothing if not mini tablets. The average consumer is going to view the new device as "even better than my iPod Touch" rather than "not as capable as my Macbook Pro".

2) What will really drive this product's success are the App & iTunes Stores. Apple has every incentive to leverage the App Store content onto more types of devices. It's exactly what has been missing from any other "tablet" offering until now. It is the difference that makes a difference.

3) Multi-touch is more and more relevant the larger the screen. See the original multi-touch screen previewed at TED to realize just how underutilized multi-touch is on the iPhone. On the new device, movements and controls that would be too fussy on an iPhone screen are now possible, paving the way for unbelievably creative new kinds of Apps.

4) This thing will be an insane portable gaming platform. What the Wii was to home gaming, the new device will be to portables. Games with haptic interfaces developed for the iPhone will now enjoy much greater screen space and processing power. New games optimized for the new hardware will appear in the App Store. This is a product that will gobble up market share held by Nintendo and Sony in the portable space, like the iPod Touch has only begun to do.

5) New "album like" features will be a great boon to artists and fans alike. Once again, the bigger the screen, the more relevant the album art and liner content becomes. The day of the Album App is here.

6) If people want a net book-like experience, who is to stop someone from creating a folding shell for the new tablet that opens to reveal a BT keyboard? As long as the new device supports BT (and it would be insane for it not to) this is such a no brainer. Ditto for a DVD player-like stand that includes higher power speakers.

7) Whereas AppleTV is not yet a product of mass appeal (though still completely worthwhile), the new device will jump start online sales of visual media like never before. When you can take your content with you on a viewing platform big enough to share with a friend, now you have much more incentive to shell out a few bucks for a movie or TV show.

Just my 2¢! :)
Click to expand...

Agreed. And if it doubles as a Wacom-like input device, then it would be perfect in my eyes.
 
Size Matters

Ok, like most men I have difficulty working out what 10" looks like. In order to clear things up I started looking for real examples to help people visualize it.

Apple's possible 10" touch device will most likely (based on iphone ratio) be a 9" screen with a boarder. This then would be slightly larger than a DVD case.

Also if you scale up the ipod touch (10" = 4 ipod touch) then it would weigh 600g (4 x 125g).

So it may well be smaller and lighter than you think.

I know the device will be very popular as my wife has always said she would love a 10".
 
An important thing in my opinion...

Is, besides the device and the its implementation, also CONTENT.

Apple's devices are becoming more and more "content dependent" and the iPhone is the perfect example of this. Its success depends, in large part, from the App Store and its availabilty wordlwide.

An Apple Tablet, and a possible future AppleTV should, in order to have sustainable sales worldwide (after all outside the US is where Apple generated much of the growth which prevented it from suffering the harsh economic times) should be backed with content.

Music works, and is interesting, but doesn't "need" a 10" screen (not even iPod Touch's 3.5" for that matter).
Only Books, movies and tv shows would make sense as sales drivers for this platform (and the AppleTV and the iPhone/iPod Touch once the "app hype" has passed and competitors also start selling apps on their platforms).

The next important step, in my opinion, for Apple would be to make the same TV and Movies (both sales and rentals, SD and HD) available in all markets, before competitors get there (Microsoft but also Hulu and the like).
That will make it possible for AppleTV and a possible Apple Tablet to have some appeal for other markets besides the US.
I know it isn't entirely down to Apple, but I think a lot of energy should be invested in striking such deals if they want to continue growth abroad.
 
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