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Apple Tablet Seen by Analyst While Competitors Hold Off to Wait for Details?
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The irony of the Zune HD is that it doesn't actually play HD video on screen. (Screen resolution is said to be 480x272.)
The "HD" part of the name is (intentionally?) deceiving, referring either to the HD radio functionality (LOL!) or the HD video output. Neither of which are of any real importance to the buying public.
Can you imagine, say, StarCraft with a touch interface on a 10" screen that sits comfortably on your lap? I can.
*drool*
Good for Old Guys
I think that if you fail to see the market for this product you are probably under 40 years old. Us old guys have to wear reading glasses to view video or web pages on an itouch. I would like something smaller and lighter than my laptop but with a bigger screen than ipod/itouch to carry on planes and car trips to watch HD movies, go on internet, listen to music, maybe read an ebook? I would prefer a 7" - 8" screen rather then rumored 10", but we will see. Having a 5 - 6 hour battery life is key. Now I admit a netbook might fulfill a lot of this, but seeing that I am looking for a portable entertainment device first and a computer second, I don't need the keyboard and want it to work flawlessly with itunes - which hasn't been the case with any PC I have owned.
I think that if you fail to see the market for this product you are probably under 40 years old. Us old guys have to wear reading glasses to view video or web pages on an itouch. I would like something smaller and lighter than my laptop but with a bigger screen than ipod/itouch to carry on planes and car trips to watch HD movies, go on internet, listen to music, maybe read an ebook? I would prefer a 7" - 8" screen rather then rumored 10", but we will see. Having a 5 - 6 hour battery life is key. Now I admit a netbook might fulfill a lot of this, but seeing that I am looking for a portable entertainment device first and a computer second, I don't need the keyboard and want it to work flawlessly with itunes - which hasn't been the case with any PC I have owned.
Could be done...
I ripped versions of the movie Bella:
-- for AppleTV to 46" HDTV 720x400 1.69 GB
-- for iPhone 480x266 .617 GB
1) On the HDTV the AppleTV movie looks great-- as good as or better than the DVD
2) On a 24" iMac the it is difficult to tell the difference between the 2 versions
3) You can stream the iPhone version over 3G to the iPhone and it looks great. It takes about 20-50 seconds to download and buffer enough to start playing. It takes 1-10 seconds to scrub from the beginning to 1:14:00. This is all done with a standard .mov file on my mobileme site (Apple's servers). In other words, vanilla video streaming with no special formatting or bandwidth for streaming.
I was in the middle of a park at my granddaughter's soccer practice watching a movie... it was great!
Dick
Oh, that'd be so much fun to play. Playing Starcraft while poking at the screen to get things moving.
Oh really? It's a virtual keyboard? Thank you soooo much for clearing that up for me.
It will be really great being able to see less than half of the document you're typing while the keyboard is up. I mean, who wouldn't love that?
Really? Doctors and lawyers could use these for quick and easy note-taking during their interviews/rounds? So how would they hold this device while standing and typing? I guess they'd have to type with one finger since they would need to hold it with their other hand. That's real efficient. Or maybe Apple will design a back mount so that they could mount it on the back of the person standing in front of them so that they could type with two hands.
The iPhone/iPod Touch already can do this, and you can hold it and type with two hands.
The only way that this would be useful to them is if the tablet device was able to recognize handwriting with a stylus. And it would have to be extremely accurate- otherwise diagnoses and dosages could be totally misinterpreted by the tablet.
Actually of those the only one I use is iTunes which would be on the device. I use Google Docs for word processing, which hopefully would run on the new device. If not there is Docs To Go.
Same here, if it doesn't have the full os x, or a bit run down version of it with a bit less functionality, I don't see myself getting it. The iPhone/iPod os is great, FOR A PHONE, not a tablet/computer!
Problem with that is that it clutters your library with redundant content. Instead of having just one movie in the library, you would have two.
Weren't you supposed to be watching your granddaughter, and not a movie? If you want to watch movies, why leave your home at all?
Except for the many millions of potential customers who can't see stuff on those tiny displays without reading glasses.
Make the display of a Touch big enough for those new customers while keeping reasonable DPI for everybody else, and you get full HD resolution for free.
imho.
Very nice.. puting your kids infront of a screen when they are at home, when they are on the car and when they are on holidays... and creating complete morons this way...
.... i guess you are from the USA....
Rose hasn't been very forthcoming since ... eh ... the iPod Nano - so keep waiting. Methinks he's chums with sweet smelling employees in an unrelated Cupertino dept.
You wouldn't want to (see a need) if you just spent your annual allowance on a beautiful Macbook ... or felt threatened the tablet would somehow lessen or cheapen your experience with another Apple product. Regardless, that YOU don't see a need, doesn't mean there isn't one for someone else.
strange, i have a 22 month old who watches 2-3 hours of TV a day and has a larger vocabulary than other kids his age. even more than his cousin who's a girl
the grandparents have a ball when he sits on the floor with a few boxes of flash cards and names around 75% of the letters and pictures/words. wife and i even have a bunch of kids apps on our iphones that he loves.
you have to make sure they watch the right shows. our goal is to have him read by 3 years old
Rose hasn't been very forthcoming since ... eh ... the iPod Nano - so keep waiting. Methinks he's chums with sweet smelling employees in an unrelated Cupertino dept.
well he got the new itunes spot on, he got iphone 3.0 right on, and he crushed the original iphone rumors.
in general though, i believe appleinsider's source that this device will come out in 2010. there just has been a general void of any leaks or pictures of this new device. maybe apple kicked the enforcement into high gear over at FoxConn. not sure. just would expect to hear more if it is coming out in less than 8 weeks. i think apple would want this shopping season to be all about the iphone and then in 2010 you can bring out the new baby.
It is important to keep in mind that you are basing your comments on pictures that aren't even remotely confirmed to represent the actual product in question. In fact, they are just an example provided by an artist who has never seen the device nor talked to the person who supposedly has.
The keyboard could be split in half and displayed on each side so you can still type with two hands while holding the device (allbeit thumb-style, just like on the iPhone). Think Samsung Q1-like, but virtual instead.
The primary advantages this device *could potentially hold* vs. an iPhone or iPod Touch *might* be:
- Runs Mac OS X and its apps
- Offers a much larger more useable screen
- Supports a true virtual QWERTY keyboard experience when used on a lap or table
- Has more processing power and more memory
- Has better device connectivity and more expandability
The primary advantages vs. a MacBook *might* be:
- Touch screen, can be used like an iPhone/iPod touch
- Smaller footprint, lighter
- Handwriting recognition
- App Store support?
And others I've failed to mention. No one knows what it will be like, but there are definitely compelling reasons for a device like this, and Apple may be the first one to get it right.
Money is in my pocket but....
I am getting pretty tired of all the Tablet rumors. I loved my Newton and have been tempted to stray to a Linux or Windows tablet for years but these stupid Apple Tablet rumors keep me at bay.... I guess that is a win for Apple.
In short Mr. Jobs, no handwriting recognition, no deal for me. It will require more than a flashy media tablet to loosen my wallet. Give me the updated 2009 version of Newton's handwriting recognition, productivity applications that sync with my Mac and I will buy the tablet.
I am getting pretty tired of all the Tablet rumors. I loved my Newton and have been tempted to stray to a Linux or Windows tablet for years but these stupid Apple Tablet rumors keep me at bay.... I guess that is a win for Apple.
In short Mr. Jobs, no handwriting recognition, no deal for me. It will require more than a flashy media tablet to loosen my wallet. Give me the updated 2009 version of Newton's handwriting recognition, productivity applications that sync with my Mac and I will buy the tablet.
Consider:
Take the MB Air, remove the keyboard, lose half the clamshell, shrink the screen ... result is about the right size for an iTablet. The tech is there, is the world ready? what's the killer app to get thru to the "it's a loser" crowd?
Haven't tried an iPhone/iPod-Touch yet, have you? The keyboard is a picture on the touch-sensitive screen.
Don't knock it. The iPod Nano has a resolution of 204 dpi - meaning a 1920x1080 screen would be 9.4"x5.3", aka 10.8" diagonal, right on spec. If Apple wants this to really happen as an out-of-the gate game-changer, it's gotta do HD 1080p native.
Many of us do. My iPod has practically replaced my notebook, which I keep only for big-screen use (iTablet: check), keyboard (iTablet+BlueTooth: check), and mass storage (iTablet+iDisk: check). Tack on a full-blown OS and a relatively huge battery, and this thing will rock. 'course, you can stick with your desktop-bound paperweight if you like...
If they use OS X, then wedging in a handwriting recognizer shouldn't be a big deal. (The Newton is dead - long live the Newton!)
Take the MB Air, remove the keyboard, lose half the clamshell, shrink the screen ... result is about the right size for an iTablet. The tech is there, is the world ready? what's the killer app to get thru to the "it's a loser" crowd?
Haven't tried an iPhone/iPod-Touch yet, have you? The keyboard is a picture on the touch-sensitive screen.
Don't knock it. The iPod Nano has a resolution of 204 dpi - meaning a 1920x1080 screen would be 9.4"x5.3", aka 10.8" diagonal, right on spec. If Apple wants this to really happen as an out-of-the gate game-changer, it's gotta do HD 1080p native.
Many of us do. My iPod has practically replaced my notebook, which I keep only for big-screen use (iTablet: check), keyboard (iTablet+BlueTooth: check), and mass storage (iTablet+iDisk: check). Tack on a full-blown OS and a relatively huge battery, and this thing will rock. 'course, you can stick with your desktop-bound paperweight if you like...
If they use OS X, then wedging in a handwriting recognizer shouldn't be a big deal. (The Newton is dead - long live the Newton!)
Oh really? It's a virtual keyboard? Thank you soooo much for clearing that up for me.
It will be really great being able to see less than half of the document you're typing while the keyboard is up. I mean, who wouldn't love that?
Really? Doctors and lawyers could use these for quick and easy note-taking during their interviews/rounds? So how would they hold this device while standing and typing? I guess they'd have to type with one finger since they would need to hold it with their other hand. That's real efficient. Or maybe Apple will design a back mount so that they could mount it on the back of the person standing in front of them so that they could type with two hands.
The iPhone/iPod Touch already can do this, and you can hold it and type with two hands.
The only way that this would be useful to them is if the tablet device was able to recognize handwriting with a stylus. And it would have to be extremely accurate- otherwise diagnoses and dosages could be totally misinterpreted by the tablet.
Actually we do that right now. (I work for a doctor's practice.) They use dragon speaking to enter data with a stylus driven tablet. (No it's not perfect so they have to hand-edit before they end out their letters. Hence why I wouldn't be worried about not using a stylus.) We easily paid $1k for each. If this is in any way cheaper.. and it's compatible (Nexgen and Logican both are talking about iPhone compatible apps)
We'll buy.
Our current lifecycle for tablets is about a year before we have to repair,replace or upgrade. If these can last longer we save money at the same price.
not just the hardware, but Apple has to pay out patent royalties as well for the iPhone and not the Touch. and if you go into Best Buy you'll see all the smart phones cost around $700
A contract-free 32 GB iPhone in Switzerland costs $1130 (that includes 7.6 % VAT), but that is Switzerland, everything is expensive here.
In Italy, a contract-free, unlocked 32 GB iPhone costs $1000 (that includes 20% VAT, ie, before VAT it would be $840).
Health Reform
Don't know if anyone else has mentioned a market for this product, but maybe the upcoming "US health reform" has something to do with it. All doctors have mac tablets with the national health record applications, etc.
Might be something big here.....
Don't know if anyone else has mentioned a market for this product, but maybe the upcoming "US health reform" has something to do with it. All doctors have mac tablets with the national health record applications, etc.
Might be something big here.....