Apple Tablet to Run iPhone OS and Launch in May or June 2010?

[akira2501]

hopefully

it will run a hybrid of the two. Obviously it won't run both for then it will be a killer product, meaning that it would kill touches and laptops since it combines the two, however if it is between the two in terms of functionality, then people will still buy the other two products. Also, it most likely will come with special apps from the app store just for it, like games that use advanced finger controls rather than the accelerometer for play (since swerving a big screen left and right is kind a funny) If that's the case, sign me up

 

[yg17]

iPhone OS = EPIC FAIL

 

[str1f3]

Obviously the interface wouldn't be the same as the iPhone even if the OS was iPhone-OS-based. I expect this device to have a huge impact. Check out the MS Courier book style tablet which was leaked on Gizmodo (similar approach with no Finder/File Explorer) - there is a race on to do this and do it right.

Agreed and I think that iLounge and many others missed that common sense point. While it's perfect for the iPhone, the tablet wouldn't look right with a 100 apps on the home screen. It'll run App Store apps but I expect this to be a revolution. The only thing is that it concerns me that the only way to install apps may be through the App Store.

 

[Small White Car]

I'm glad you don't work for Apple! A product's thinness alone does not make it desireable.

Then it's a good thing I already pointed out that the software was what made it desirable.

 

[Rojo]

I actually think the iPhone OS part of this rumor is true. (Or at least some new hybrid inbetween that and OSX). As much as people don't want to hear it, it makes some sort of sense -- and really, as long as Apple allows the use of multiple apps at once, it will do fine.

But the "curved back" part of this rumor really makes me question the validity of the whole thing. Why would a tablet have a curved back?!? It made perfect sense for the iPhone -- made it more comfortable to hold, and created the illusion of being just as thin as the 1st gen. (even though it was thicker at the center). But for a tablet, a curved back is just preposterous.

 

[wolfpackfan]

can't be a valid book reader unless it uses digital paper.

So I guess all the books I've been reading with the iPhone Kindle app are invalid.

 

[lord patton]

Will all these specific screen sizes that are different in each rumor, it is easy to track down who is leaking what.

exactly. This is a red herring.

No one knows what processor, OS, form factor, or even function this tablet is supposed to have. But what we can tell—with great certainty—is that if Apple is going to enter this market they *think* they've solved a bunch of problems and made a revolutionary product.

Now, they might succeed or they might fail, but if they fail, they're going to fail big. Not by making a larger, more awkward iphone.

 

[RyanR.]

but it'll play blu-ray right?

 

[Marx55]

Apple iTablet:

- Light and small. As much as possible. Hint: the MacBook Air is too heavy and too large. A 400 to 600 g and 5 to 7 inch would be great.

- Mac OS X (touch version) inside to run NATIVE Keynote and PowerPoint.

- Video-out and USB2 ports to connect to videoprojectors and use USB2-based remote controls like the Keyspan-by-Tripp Lite http://www.tripplite.com/en/products/product-series.cfm?txtSeriesID=517&EID=2988

The idea is to always carry it with you, on your hand, pocket, purse or bag. With a tremendous halo effect on all corporate, education and domestic markets. The ultimate presentation tool.

More specifications:
http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/apple_itablet_design_and_technical_specs

 

[slffl]

iPhone OS? boo!

Give me one good reason why it would be better to run OSX than the iPhone OS? The iPhone OS is just as capable as OSX, already built around multitouch, and they would probably be very likely to add multi-tasking because as you know it IS possible in iPhoneOS.

The iPhone OS is the way to go and I would HATE it if they used OSX on a TOUCH device!

 

[hajime]

If the size is 10.7", I would rather buy a laptop.

 

[ss957916]

If the size is 10.7", I would rather buy a laptop.

Exactly - surely one would buy the Air with its full OS X & keyboard. More expensive, sure...

 

[*LTD*]

Game-changer. This'll be huge.

 

[iPoodOverZune]

Ever heard of out of the box thinking, folks.

I actually would like to see that happen - iPhone OS like OS on this tablet. If tablets were to succeed with full OS, they probably would have happened with windows on tablets from five years ago.

Why do "MOST OF US" even need full blown applications everywhere? Why not take things which are used by most (imagine functions of Word that are used >95%) and put those fully touch-capable!?

Apple always seems to do things differently. I see them thinking along two lines:

1) For the future touch-happy computers, you need radical thinking or revision of OS. But full blown OS X must be quite heavy for mobile machines like iPhone or even this netbook variety (or sized) tablet. Imagine if iPhone is pretty fast with the current crop of apps, then this tablet with more powerful components could drive "more advanced and powerful" versions of these apps better. Plus you tap a huge iPhone developer base to this (some of which trickle to full OS X also).

2) Instead of microsoft-type attempt to put full blown OS on the tablet (which is half-assed and only few components of any app are truly full-touch capable), put all apps which are complete touch capable. This way, and coinicidentely just like iPhone, you will "lead the pack" and drive the market towards how you want touch-capable OS to be and should be done, and thus one step always ahead of competition.

just my two cents!

 

[ss957916]

Give me one good reason why it would be better to run OSX than the iPhone OS?

Just one?! There's hundreds!

1. The ability to run Photoshop.

Do you want any more?

 

[stainlessliquid]

Just what I always wanted, a big expensive device to carry around for poor web browsing (no flash ftw!) and listening to music, since thats all my ipod touch gets used for. Every time I look in the app store Im bombarded with garbage and I cant sift through it to find anything good, its like trying to find a needle in a haystack, so thats out.

This doesnt make a single bit of sense. If you want a crappy limited OS then you have the iphone and touch, which you can put in your pocket. There is no point in having a gigantic PDA, it defies logic. Who here would carry around a 10" ipod?

Check out wolfpackfan's post below yours.

It's not about what's possible, it's about their sales strategy.

Killing $1,200 laptop sales with an $800 tablet makes no sense.
Up-selling $300 iPod users to an $800 tablet makes a LOT of sense.

EDIT: I can totally imagine a full OS X tablet. It will cost $1,500. Deal with it.
Any rumors of an $800 device are clearly going to be more like an iPhone than a Macbook. No doubt.

Making a device nobody is going to buy makes the least amount of sense.

 

[Padraig]

I disagree. e-ink is good for plain black-and-white, but we live in a color world. We also live in a world where the light isn't perfect for reading all the time; the two devices you mentioned are effectively worthless for roughly half the day.

Stunning observations there regarding the fact that most of us live a world with colour and where it's not constantly light. What books are you reading, seriously is it the "Where's Waldo" series? I'd honestly like you to name the books you're reading where black and white only would be an issue. You know people have somehow managed to find ways to read before without backlight screens?

 

[jeznav]

Obviously the interface wouldn't be the same as the iPhone even if the OS was iPhone-OS-based. I expect this device to have a huge impact. Check out the MS Courier book style tablet which was leaked on Gizmodo (similar approach with no Finder/File Explorer) - there is a race on to do this and do it right.

EXACTLY! If its using full blown OSX, UI might be awkward and less intuitive, If its using iPhone UI, it doesn't feel like what a tablet should be. If the UI look as intuitive as Courier's UI, it wouldn't matter what OS it uses as long as it just works.

 

[HiRez]

Wow, you guys sure are negative on the iPhone OS. You do realize that the iPhone OS is very similar to the full OSX underneath, don't you? From a developer standpoint the two share many components, and more traditional Cocoa pieces are making it to Cocoa touch with every major release, like Core Data, OpenGL capabilities, Core Animation, and much more.

Right now you wouldn't want to run an iPhone app on a screen that large, but Apple is not stupid and I'm sure they will vastly extend Cocoa Touch to cover those needs, like multicolumn tables. In some ways Cocoa Touch is already more advanced than Cocoa and there's no reason it can't do a lot more wih a larger screen, faster CPU/GPU, and some developer additions.

Personally I think it's the right move to start with a mobile-specific OS for this tablet, because it's still focused on multitouch, still has limited real estate by today's standards, has no keyboard and mouse, and still needs to be power efficient. Cocoa Touch is designed for those things, Cocoa is not. Look what Microsoft ended up with when they tried to shoehorn their desktop OS into a mobile device—it's a disaster.

 

[lord patton]

iPhone OS = OS X optimized for ARM minus Finder + touch screen UI.

I'd much rather have an OS running apps designed and optimized for a touch interface then a desktop OS shoehorned into a touch device. I can't imagine any benefit whatsoever using an application like iTunes or Excel on a touchscreen device when those apps are expecting precision input from a mouse or keyboard.

I think you're probably right. I understand the many folks who want Mac OS X. But the only way I see a tablet working is if the HUI is *revolutionary*. If that's the case, existing apps aren't right for it.

Adobe (and a hell of a lot of other developers) probably don't want to recode (again) for a new processor/OS. But if Apple can catch lightning yet again and the customers line up around the block, the developers will do what they always do—work their asses off and make money, or get beat by someone else who works their asses off more.

 

[SirOmega]

Meh, I'd be ok with iPhone OS as long as they add in limited multitasking. I don't want everything running in the background - just IM and email, maybe streaming music (it would be nice if the device could see local iTunes library sharing and pick up on that so I don't have to transfer a bunch of music or movies to the device if it never leaves home).

Announcing it ahead of time is going to be crucial since you need devs to update their apps to work on both iPhones and iPad (please do not actually name it this Apple).

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

Exactly - surely one would buy the Air with its full OS X & keyboard. More expensive, sure...

With an open-swivel 180-close over keyboard feature, yeah, people would buy the Air... They are so close with the Air... So close...

But the iPhone OS on a tablet? That smacks of control and I doubt many people would like the 'this is a computer but you can't run what you want on it' idea. It works great on an iPhone because the damn thing can't be that flexible. How many DVD drive connector kits would Apple be able to sell for the iPhone? Cripple the tablet and you have a brick that will come off as more toy than anything.

Eventually there will be a backlash over the whole 'app store' concept and I think that a crippled tablet 'computer' will come very close to the straw that breaks that back. It has to be 1) expandable, 2) portable (obviously), 3) USABLE! I don't see a crippled system requiring down-loadable software from an 'app store' really cutting the mustard with the people that Apple needs to reach with this product. Apple could end up with a very expensive and feature rich e-book reader that no one would buy on a dare.

They need to think less 'big iPhone' and more 'smaller, touch interface computer'... Along the lines of the Air... Sorta...

Yes, multitasking is a must have feature and the iPhone OS doesn't really do that on a large scale. Again, a crippled tablet will be a 'smart e-book reader' or a dumb toy... If rumours hold true, this could actually be a fail for Apple... Sorry Steve.

 

[mrr]

iPhone OS = BAD NEWS!!

The iPhone is a toy at best. If Apple wants to compete with the Netbook movement than it needs a Netbook not a big iPhone!

I really want MacOSX, PEN INPUT and an external keyboard.

 

[Nym]

If it runs iPhone OS...

once again, we will have to limit ourselves to the apps allowed by Apple on the AppStore. That makes no sense to me.

My computer (tablet, phone, whatever) should run whatever I want and to see Apple expanding the iPhone business model to even more of their products is definitely a scary vision IMO.

Let's just hope that this is an unfounded rumor and that Apple doesn't go down this "we decide what you should use" path on Mac OSX somewhere in the future as well.

 

[jeznav]

I disagree. e-ink is good for plain black-and-white, but we live in a color world. We also live in a world where the light isn't perfect for reading all the time...

You should check out PixelQi. Its an LCD technology that looks great in bright sunlight and in the dark as well its in color.