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Apple Tablet to Offer Webcam Option, Serve as Touchscreen Input Device for Macs?

srobert said:
Slap in an an infrared emitter and that would also turn it into the ultimate universal remote control (with a proper app).
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That would be killer!!!
All you would need is a code list like in current universal remotes.
I would love to use the "tablet" for something like that!

*Crossing fingers for IR emitter* :p


Lepton said:
Told ya! The killer app for this thing is going to be Apple Remote Desktop! Imagine a portable second screen for your main Mac that you can bring to the patio and touch control Front Row with. Or at the office bring your second screen to the big meeting.
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This would be awesome!!
 
lewisd25 said:
This tablet will make an awesome large remote for Plex...I can imagine the possibilities...and not just controlling the volume.

Let's say you are in the home theater watching a movie, and nature calls. Imagine being able to transfer the Plex video feed from your TV to the tablet so you can continue watching your movie while sitting on the throne...
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Man that's one feature I never thought of! A Throne Viewer--))) :eek:
 
If this thing's got a Wacom digitizer and will compete with the likes of a Cintiq I will be all over this thing. Otherwise, I can't see how this would be useful at all.
 
Roessnakhan said:
And look how little you get with the MacBook Air. Different hardware, different price. Don't expect an Apple tablet to be some kind of workhorse.
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The ability to use it as an external monitor with my existing laptop (or desktop) and the possibility of using a pressure-sensitive stylus with it to make effectively it a much more portable Cintiq* would more than make up for any shortcomings it has in the processor department, at least for me.

* If Apple doesn't do this themselves, I can see Wacom or some other third party jumping on it. (It doesn't even need to be as sensitive as the Cintiq; even just 256 or 512 levels of sensitivity would make it very useful.)
 
onlymac said:
Just wish they'd hurry up and put an lcd in where the trackpad is on the current lappies ... built-in multi-touch input control surface. Still I guess an external one provides a better revenue stream and can be used with any Mac, not just a laptop.
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For the next iMac generation I would love to see a new kb that has a detachable wireless blue tooth mouse pad! Now that would be sweet!
 
Here's how it starts:

All of us have tons of questions, many complaints, possible even doubt the product because of unanswered questions. We just can't envision a product that would have a legitimate use for us. Is this supposed to replace our notebook? Our iPod touch? The MacBook Air? What OS is it running? How much is it going to cost? Is it going to be a netbook killer or a full featured MacBook?

Then...

Steve Jobs comes out and announces it. It's more over priced and under powered than we expected, but it's perfect for our lives and somehow we feel...fulfilled. It's like we never even we knew we needed such a device. But we do. We all run over to the Apple Store and hand over our money, happily loving and using our [redacted].
 
I too, would not purchase it if it's not a full OS. If Apple releases this as an extension to the AppStore, it will be a big bag of hurt.
 
home video fon

maybe...
will have a big dock (optional because its apple...)
and ability to insert an AT&T SIM.
a front camera.
video fon.
even SOHO video conferencing via iChat.
 
all these rumors just make it sound like a giant iPhone or iPod touch and if it is then it's not worth the money or the hype.
 
I'm still trying to like the idea of the tablet. An input device for the Mac? Why? A 10 inch iPhone? Hard to hold to ones ear...

I personally would be more exited about a slightly larger iPhone, perhaps 50% bigger screen, which would allow for better typing and browsing, car GPS, movie viewing etc., while still fitting in my pocket.
 
Roessnakhan said:
Seriously, people would pay $799 - 999 for a glorified monitor/remote? Apple better pull out some better selling points than that, because I feel these should just be considered minor features.
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You have to realize though.. for on thing this isn't just a "remote".. it's really a keyboard for the future. I remember when people were all excited about a keyboard with OLED buttons that could be reconfigured. This tablet control device would blow that thing away completely. Imagine having a custom touch control interface for every different app..

Second of all.. on top of being a revolutionary control device... it's also the ultimate media player game device.

And an art device from the future. No one will ever want a wacom or cintiq drawing pad again.. why would you when you can get the same thing that does everything else you can imagine on top of it with the Mac Tablet?

Think of a laptop as a portable computer for business people or students.. and think of the tablet as a portable computer for everyone else... especially artists and young people.

Laptop-business/productivity
Tablet-fun/freedom
 
IF this thing even exists at all.

We have to be equitable to the haters. So let's first admit this is just a rumor and this device probably doesn't even exist. And, even if it does exist, it will be the biggest failure in the world, like everything else Apple ever made...

Now that I've sated those fools, I just want to say this sounds great. Can't wait to see what comes out. The price is a dismay, but if it functions as a Cintiq lite, I'm sold for $900.

millerrh said:
... Otherwise, I can't see how this would be useful at all.
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Now, come on. Maybe not useful to you, but it has great use to others.
 
sishaw said:
Or you could just have a laptop and take the whole thing with you.
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I can name one thing a tablet can do that a conventional notebook can't.

Hold it stably in one hand while using it with the other.

Standard form factor notebooks are unwieldy at best and pretty much have to be set down on something to even be decently usable. Sure, you can hold it in one hand, but the risk is very high that it will tip out of your hand and fall while you're using it. This is one of the reasons I've been waiting for a tablet and why I like my iPhone 3G so much--I can use it almost anywhere.

Now, for something almost 6x the size of an iPhone, we may have the true use of a tablet; something you can use comfortably with one hand and can serve almost any purpose for which a clipboard was so ubiquitous historically. PnP gamers can use it for their rule books and character sheets; doctors can use it for patient data, lawyers can use it for client data and possibly even heavy research... I mean, the thing is almost unlimited in use, even if it isn't a full desktop processor as so many seem to want from it.

Can it play the latest and greatest games? I doubt it. Can it do the heavy Photoshop or Final Cut processing? I doubt it. But if it can handle the everyday stuff--if it can do things like iPhoto and iMovie, or play some of the lesser handheld games similar to the Nintendo DS or Sony PSP, then maybe it's a worthwhile product, hmmm?
 
Originally Posted by lewisd25
This tablet will make an awesome large remote for Plex...I can imagine the possibilities...and not just controlling the volume.

Let's say you are in the home theater watching a movie, and nature calls. Imagine being able to transfer the Plex video feed from your TV to the tablet so you can continue watching your movie while sitting on the throne...
Click to expand...

Wow, if we're that hooked on mobile entertainment, we're screwed :eek:.

It would be interesting to use this as a possible replacement for a Wacom tablet. I'm staring at mine right now, and while I've gotten used to it, I always wanted one that displayed the actual screen. It would make for easier editing (I know Wacom makes one but it's ridiculously expensive).

On another note, does anyone remember a patent filed by Apple a while back that demonstrated a display as a virtual input device? I believe it showed a larger screen that could become a keyboard, a musical device, etc. depending on the application. Something tells me that patent may have been directed at the [supposed] tablet.
 
gmcalpin said:
The ability to use it as an external monitor with my existing laptop (or desktop) and the possibility of using a pressure-sensitive stylus with it to make effectively it a much more portable Cintiq* would more than make up for any shortcomings it has in the processor department, at least for me.

* If Apple doesn't do this themselves, I can see Wacom or some other third party jumping on it. (It doesn't even need to be as sensitive as the Cintiq; even just 256 or 512 levels of sensitivity would make it very useful.)
Click to expand...

Can't this be done with an after market pen? So the pen is pressure sensitive rather than the display? Or is that how they work as well?
 
I love using Jaadu VNC on my iPhone to control my desktop Mac remotely, from the couch or wherever. A bigger screen would be great. (That alone would not justify any $900 of course!)
 
Minimoose 360 said:
So now it's a glorified track-pad/keyboard/Mac Accessory??

It better be running OS X, if it's some modified form of the iPhone OS, DO NOT WANT.
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Hahaha, exactly. That better not be what its for, otherwise my dough will remain in my pocket and my birthday is in September too . . . This thing better be all that has been speculated in the past and then some. :(
 
Minimoose 360 said:
So now it's a glorified track-pad/keyboard/Mac Accessory??

It better be running OS X, if it's some modified form of the iPhone OS, DO NOT WANT.
Click to expand...

+1

And hopefully it won't follow the minimalist ports of the Air. I'm not saying a full complement of MBP ports, nor would it even necessarily need FireWire, but one USB, one video out and one headphone jack just aren't enough for me.

Edit: Bet you it won't "connect" with PPC Macs or Leopard, but require Snow Leopard.
 
Shake-N-Bake said:
Can't this be done with an after market pen? So the pen is pressure sensitive rather than the display? Or is that how they work as well?
Click to expand...
Yeah, that's what I was suggesting.

The pressure sensitivity could be done in the pen itself. It might, however, require a battery or something, if Apple doesn't play nice and help Wacom out by making them "Penabled."
 
This is the next transition of the Mac OS X platform... ARM
ARM will power this tablet
This tablet will test the ARM with this hybrid OS X system
Get ready for it! I am.
 
This whole thread reminds me of an Apple patent back in the old days which I can't find that describe a device mounting on it's side.

Still, I found this render around
0512_iMac_Tablet_Inset_450.jpg
 
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