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Apple Tablet Seen by Analyst While Competitors Hold Off to Wait for Details?
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My prediction of the way Apple will market a Tablet:
Primarily for mobile video conferencing and screen sharing. WiFi will be stressed as best because of higher bandwidth (802.11n, presumably), but capable of 3G+ cell connections.
Apple will demonstrate it both handheld and propped up on a table via a collapsible foot/hinge. The way you naturally hold it will allow your fingers to press the underside buttons (One or two each side, max. Button functions are duplicated on each side).
The "wow" factor will be when it's demonstrated to initiate a video conference in handheld mode, then stood at an angle on a table to continue the call and start screen sharing. Wireless keyboard and mouse are then brought out to complete the transaction.
A final "wow" moment will be when Apple demonstrates the "World's first video outgoing greeting" that the Tablet owner will record for use when the Tablet is off or the call is declined.
Oh, and Apple will use clever wordplay about "Table" and "Tablet". Something like, "Here's a device that fits your Table to a T", with the "T" coming in from offscreen to spell "Tablet".
Primarily for mobile video conferencing and screen sharing. WiFi will be stressed as best because of higher bandwidth (802.11n, presumably), but capable of 3G+ cell connections.
Apple will demonstrate it both handheld and propped up on a table via a collapsible foot/hinge. The way you naturally hold it will allow your fingers to press the underside buttons (One or two each side, max. Button functions are duplicated on each side).
The "wow" factor will be when it's demonstrated to initiate a video conference in handheld mode, then stood at an angle on a table to continue the call and start screen sharing. Wireless keyboard and mouse are then brought out to complete the transaction.
A final "wow" moment will be when Apple demonstrates the "World's first video outgoing greeting" that the Tablet owner will record for use when the Tablet is off or the call is declined.
Oh, and Apple will use clever wordplay about "Table" and "Tablet". Something like, "Here's a device that fits your Table to a T", with the "T" coming in from offscreen to spell "Tablet".
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.
Check out this link:
http://www.macworld.com/article/142044/2009/08/speedtext.html
This site compares an iPhone app, SpeedText, with the Newton.
I just bought & tried SpeedText.
It does a pretty good job on the small screen. I got improved results using a home-made stylus.
SpeedText doesn't do handwriting recognition,it just captures a photographic image of the written text. That capability would mitigate the problem of misinterpretation-- WYSIWYS (What You See Is What You See).
Now, consider that Apple still has already implemented, what some consider to be, the best handwriting recognition software for the Newton.
http://www.economicexpert.com/a/Apple:Newton.html
And, the Newton ran on a much slower, lower-speced ARM processor:
http://pdadb.net/index.php?m=specs&id=1398&c=apple_newton_messagepad_2100
Note: The newton a 6.1" 320x480 screen (same pixel resolution as the iPhone's 4" screen).
So, how about this scenario:
1) Apple updates the handwriting recognition to run on the new tablet
2) Apple supports an optional stylus
3) The tablet senses the stylus and automatically accepts smaller, more precise, touches (2-3 pixel radius instead of 10 pixel radius for finger)
4) The software interprets the handwriting and also retains a photograph copy of the input (signatures, Rx, drawings, etc.).
Possible?
But again...they are NOT 3x the cost. You can see a break-down on ANY smart-phone site and even with the royalties they are still making FAR MORE on the iPhone than any iPod Touch.
I do understand the reason behind the extra cost - but 3X? It is COLLUSION between the carriers and the manufactures and the FCC is looking into not just exclusive carrier options but pricing of unsubsidized hardware.
Good luck and as a libertarian I am AGAINST Government intervention but in certain cases intervention is the ONLY way to fix things as a customer will never stop buying a cell phone even if the cost was twice the price - just look at the iPhone! Anyway - that is why no one political philosophy can encompass all the right answers.
D
i really really hope its a full computer....otherwise i can't justify it. it makes sense since the macbooks left to become macbook pros...it stands to reason these would be come the new macbooks and the white one will go bye bye..
Nope - if you have ever taken any MACRO Economics class you will see that is simply incorrect. Collusion might be more appropriate - and I AM a free-market, capitalistic type of guy so no - that reply is not correct.
D
Yeah for it to be worthwhile it will need to run 'full osx' otherwise you might as well just buy an touch.
Actually, I was agreeing with you, there could be 1 version on the server. Then intelligent streaming software could resize/reformat for each streamed-to device. Apple already supports on-the-fly adaptive streaming to compensate for slow links and poor link quality.
Sure, part of the time. But, field setup/teardown, running laps, breaks, team business, passing out uniforms take up about 45 minutes of a 2-hour practice.
Besides, I was just testing the viability of streaming full-length movies (in addition to shorter audio and video content) for an app I am writing.
The fact that it works well, without any special prep, gives proof of concept with a prototype of the app.
Interested to see the killer feature
Other than for purposes of working in retail stores or looking "ultra-hip" when doing powerpoints, i just do not understand the benefit of tablets.
People may say that movies will look real nice on them, but $600-700 is unacceptable for a glorified movie player.
Nevertheless, I believe in Apple's ability to be a game changer in every segment of Electronics industry that it enters. So, I look forward to more impressive features than "it supports album content!!!" or "movies look SOOOO crisp!!!"
Other than for purposes of working in retail stores or looking "ultra-hip" when doing powerpoints, i just do not understand the benefit of tablets.
People may say that movies will look real nice on them, but $600-700 is unacceptable for a glorified movie player.
Nevertheless, I believe in Apple's ability to be a game changer in every segment of Electronics industry that it enters. So, I look forward to more impressive features than "it supports album content!!!" or "movies look SOOOO crisp!!!"
Apple is ultra-secretive about updates to existing product families, because validated rumors of updates will canibalization sales of current models.
With entirely new product categories, since there is nothing to cannibalize, Apple's concern with secrecy is only for the purpose of holding off the competition as long as possible. In fact, it is in Apple's interest to develop pre-release enthusiasm among "trusted" analysts and journalists, since they can speed early product adoption. As long as these folk keep quiet about the specific product details, providing them with a preview is well-worth lowering the veils a bit.
Your logic makes no sense. If the unsubsidized price of the largest capacity iPhone is $699, how could a tablet be cheaper? There is no way this device will be cheaper than the iPhone.
There a number of very good iPhone educational apps: The Brain Quest series, for example. I bought a couple for my youngest grandson who was in summer school (in the bottom 1/3 of his class). He studies every day, really learns, and enjoys it much more than traditional workbooks. His older siblings (with much better grades) find some of the lessons to be challenging.
Our goal is to get the youngest in the top 10% of his class, next year. The iPhone, or a tablet is an invaluable tool to help him meet this goal.
There are also some excellent classic eBooks, historical documents and travelogs that you can use on the iPhone or a tablet.
Oh, and yes, you will be able to do things like drawing, research, some homework prep, etc. on a tablet.
Morons, I think not!
If you just spent your allowance on a new MacBook, and a tablet is released and you no longer think your MacBook is "cool", then you are buying a MacBook for the wrong reasons (and you are proving those Laptop Hunters ads to be accurate).
Feeling threatened that a new product somehow lessens/cheapens your experience with another Apple product is also just ridiculous and idiotic. If this tablet actually arrives, it doesn't render my MacBook useless or crappy.
When I said I don't see the need, I didn't mean personally. What I meant by my comment is that I don't see a large market for such a device. It is too untraditional to make a huge impact. I'm sure a college student would love to type up a 5,000 word essay on that thing.
I am quite aware of that.
How would you type with two hands if the keyboard was split as you describe? You would still have to hold the device with your fingers, and only have your thumbs to type with. The keyboard would be too spread out for efficient thumb-typing (especially in landscape).
And don't get me started on the ergonomics of the tablet. Looking straight down at the half-screen that is right above the virtual keyboard while typing a document will do wonders for people's necks, shoulders, and posture.
Other than for purposes of working in retail stores or looking "ultra-hip" when doing powerpoints, i just do not understand the benefit of tablets.
People may say that movies will look real nice on them, but $600-700 is unacceptable for a glorified movie player.
Nevertheless, I believe in Apple's ability to be a game changer in every segment of Electronics industry that it enters. So, I look forward to more impressive features than "it supports album content!!!" or "movies look SOOOO crisp!!!"
As well you should. Personally I am expecting a breakthrough here for eBook reading. I know some people are proponents of digital ink, but I find that technology to be disappointing in practice.
$299 Mid-tier iPod touch
$299 Kindle
$199 Personal high res movie screen
------
$797
"Collusion is an agreement, usually secretive, which occurs between two or more persons to deceive, mislead, or defraud others of their legal rights, or to obtain an objective forbidden by law typically involving fraud or gaining an unfair advantage."
So who is Apple colluding with here? What laws are they breaking? What unfair advantage are they trying to get?
To me it seems that the prices for various Apple-products are set in such way that people are willing to pay those prices. That is, free market has decided the prices.
When I said I don't see the need, I didn't mean personally. What I meant by my comment is that I don't see a large market for such a device. It is too untraditional to make a huge impact. I'm sure a college student would love to type up a 5,000 word essay on that thing.
LOL. What percent of humanity do you think is going to type a 5,000 word essay over the next 4 years? You may have your market sizing backwards.
First of all the Zune HD screen is NOT HD, although it has HD output supposedly which would be great. So the title is misleading really.
Now the Tablet having a 10" screen and it not being HD would be pretty lame, especially if it is meant to be a Media Tablet. It should also have HD output as well.
No, what most of us said when we heard about Zune HD was:
"LOL!"
I said... EWW UUUGLY!!! Lol. I am glad it will supposedly have OLED though because that puts pressure on Apple to get OLEDs out sooner!
Grrrr If apple wanted to call it an iTouch they would have named it that. It's
an ipod that happens to have a touch screen therefore it's an (iPod Touch).
The world will buy anything Apple makes these days...
The problem with the iPod touch/iPhone is the lack of room left on the screen with a keyboard. Also your thumbs can cover the entire keyboard so its easy to type on. Holding a 10" screen with a keyboard on it you would have to type with one hand. That's not exactly efficient. I don't know if the iPhone does handwriting recognition, but writing with your finger isn't exactly practical either. A stylus? I can't see one with an apple product, but it would be needed for handwriting recognition.
I doubt we will see a 1080p screen on the device, but I wouldn't doubt it being able to output to 1080p, or at least it better.
The rumored thing is supposed to run the iPhone OS X (mobile OS X).
And heres is where you lost me...why would I have a tablet with a blue tooth keyboard. Exactly how is that any better than using your computer. You can't hold the tablet while typing, so you would have to have a stand. If you have a stand you have to have something to put the stand on like a desk. Now you just have stationed your tablet like a desktop and a laptop would be much more practical for your on the go solution. Battery life could be decent like their notebooks hopefully, the iPhones and iPod touch battery life isn't very good.
It comes down to the killer feature. What could they possibly think up that makes it so different than other tablets on the market? I don't know...but I've become more skeptical about their products lately. I could see them leaving off some big features just to streamline the design.