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

[MacUser1985]

ipod was a slow seller until Apple ported iTunes to Windows

New cutting edge stuff is sometimes slow at first, because people fear the unfamiliar (I remember my dismay when having to switch over to USB). When iTunes went to Windows, it became available to the majority, which was a smart move.

iphone was a disaster until the first price cut saved it. then it was on life suport until the 3G with the app store and Exchange compatibility

Just because it's not perfect out of the gate doesn't mean it's a bad idea. Obviously, the iPhone is desirable to a few people IN SPITE of the fact that it's only available on AT&T. And the App store; 2 billion downloads. I think some people are on board with this concept. And I'm sure Apple will continue to improve on it- they have to.

So whatever this tablet does, it could either kill, or fail miserably. I just think Jobs is good at envisioning where tech is going. He's certainly had his share of failures, and hopefully has learned from his mistakes.

 

[TMay]

You're right - you should've seen these forums when the iPhone was first announced:

"What rubbish", "I'll never buy it", "FAIL".

I did, and it was a bloodbath.

Hence my assurance.

 

[xhambonex]

But no the AKMCD has decreed tha: because this rumor does include the possibility of e-ink, its going to fail. (Yeah because the Kindle and Sony are taking all that e-reader marketshare away from Apple and have been runaway best-sellers and are lauded as extremely useful by such places as Princeton University). And if it can't run Photoshop then it will fail because EVERYONE runs Photoshop EVERY SINGLE DAY on any and every device they own including their toasters and bidets and absolutely HAVE to be able to run Photoshop while standing in line waiting for their High Colonics!!

You do realize those students at Princeton hated the kindle right? (or maybe that was sarcasm.)

http://gizmodo.com/5369527/princeton-students-in-kindle-dx-pilot-program-sure-hate-the-kindle-dx

I guess all the Ps talk comes from the idea that a tablet is basically a digital piece of paper. And if you have used a Cintiq you'd know how amazing it is to draw directly on the screen of a device and be able to edit those drawings. But either way Photoshop isn't great for pen input drawing sketching...we'd be better off with Painter or Sketchbook Pro

Seriously though, everyone wants something different out of this product, but since MS has already begun marketing the Courier Project towards designers and pen input, I'm looking there first.

I'm still waiting for an actual decent content or feature out of this rumor before I start considering what Apple is offering (or not even producing).

 

[paradox00]

First thought was "Oh, will this also not have Flash available in it?

Second thought was ... I wonder if they could create an OS that allows virtualization of the iPhone OS within it.

You turn it on when you want it to be a "super phone" or iPod Touch and have access to your apps. You flip it back to OS 11 or whatever when you want to access a "full" iTunes experience + OS X applications, etc.

I've gotten quite used to being able to run any operating system I want on my Mac. Even run OS X in Virtualization mode within my Mac. Linux, Windows 7, WinXP, DOS, whatever.

Why not run iPhone OS in there. There are times I wish I had access to certain apps as "dashboard widgets" on my MBP using Wi-Fi.

Make the Apps easily work as Widgets. I get access to them by hitting F11. Even if it is at the "lower" resolution of the phone.

Homer.

Keep in mind that even if this rumor is 100% true, the iPhone OS running in this tablet would be the June 2010 version of iPhone OS, not the current version. I would suspect that multi-tasking will come to the iPhone in the next iteration as mobile hardware continues to improve.

More likely though, would be a tablet variant of iPhone OS. iPhone OS with a few more features borrowed from OSX. At the very least, you would get a new version of Safari to accommodate the larger screen. Given a tablets beefier processor and larger battery I would consider flash to be a fairly likely addition.

I see so many complaints about the tablet running iPhone OS rumors that I will repeat myself in point form:

1. We are talking about iPhone OS 4.0 or 4.1 with a June release date, not the current iPhone OS.
2. Apple would most likely optimize iPhone OS for the tablet, it wont be ported "as is".

Even though I quoted you, this isn't necessarily aimed at you. You at least seem somewhat open to the idea of iPhone OS.

 

[TMay]

But I will use the tablet as an i/O peripheral to complement apps on the Mac [rewritten to recognize and exploit the MultiTouch Tablet].

*

Yours is the money quote of the day, and the very reason I would buy a tablet.

 

[NetScheduler]

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

How about no software? MS Office is required for a real computer (Please, don't insult my intelligence with rants about iWork, Open Office, Neo Office, or some other sort-of compatible package)..

I suppose Steve will decide what you can and can not load on it as well - better yet, Steve will decide what can be written for it...... And will it be able to run more than 1 app at a time...

I work for a living. I suppose iPhone OS would work for you and the rest of the fanboys who have nothing to do but play Super Monkey Ball all day - unfortunately, that won't work for the majority of the world...

 

[t0mat0]

So what was the advert in the diner for?? If the Tablet isn't till early-mid or later 2010...

 

[puffnstuff]

I am sure it doesn't take much to open up the iPhone OS a bit to make it less restricted. Even if they do make it as restricted as the iPhone/iPod touch I am sure it can be jailbroken

things like these are meant to be web surfers so I don't see the need for a full blown OS

 

[sam10685]

Wow. Accept what ever comes people.

 

[OllyW]

I'm still to be convinced by the usefulness of a tablet but I'll keep an open mind until it is officially announced so I can find out what it actually does.

 

[crackbookpro]

There's something here that still hasn't been leaked. There is some selling point that we do not know... there has to be.

Look at it this way, if the rumored tablet is just going to be an overgrown iPod Touch it would have been released last year. With as much time as Apple is taking I have to assume that there is more to this than anyone outside Apple can appreciate.

At least I hope so.

I have a feeling the 3G model will be sold through prominent cell carriers - like Verizon & T-Mobile (as well as AT&T).

...this will be a way to spark sales for Apple with other cellular/data providers besides just AT&T.

 

[akac]

Pointless.

If it runs iPhone OS, it just won't sell. Why buy that when you could have... an iPhone?

Because it won't be "iPhone OS 3G" iPhone OS. First of all, it'll be iPhone OS 4.0. Second, that OS is scalable. Its based off OS X. It can run multiple apps. Make a netback and turn that feature on. Enable multi-windowing (3.0 added some new abilities there). Stuff that only works on the tablet.

Makes total sense to me.

 

[alent1234]

New cutting edge stuff is sometimes slow at first, because people fear the unfamiliar (I remember my dismay when having to switch over to USB). When iTunes went to Windows, it became available to the majority, which was a smart move.



Just because it's not perfect out of the gate doesn't mean it's a bad idea. Obviously, the iPhone is desirable to a few people IN SPITE of the fact that it's only available on AT&T. And the App store; 2 billion downloads. I think some people are on board with this concept. And I'm sure Apple will continue to improve on it- they have to.

So whatever this tablet does, it could either kill, or fail miserably. I just think Jobs is good at envisioning where tech is going. He's certainly had his share of failures, and hopefully has learned from his mistakes.

ipod wasn't cutting edge. the itunes store was the first decent online place to buy music. Microsoft never made any product itself and so they did their usual strategy of providing the basics and letting other companies make the device. Creative had a nice competitor for a while, but the management destroyed the company

 

[mrboult]

Perhaps a more advanced and open version of the iphone OS?

ie: App Store not necessary (as only software option) but an option none the less. And shipped with some kind of iLife/iWork suite?

I can imagine the iPhone OS being the basis of this machine but it just can't be exactly the same. I'm sure apple are not that unwise.

 

[Stately]

I think it will be mainly about the apps. Full size/length games, and much more of a threat to the DS/PSP because of more developers and interactivity.

Add a reading/e-book function and proper pen/writing capabilities and a few corporate-esque things to make it a business toy and tool, and you're good to go.

Still not sure if it'll be that successful since no one's managed to crack the tablet market so far. Seems a bit on the big side for anything but corporate and home use to me, but then again I guess it's too close to netbooks if it's smaller.

I think most fans of an upcoming tablet are really wishing for something that can run more powerful apps along with being able to do what is seen as minor like iphone games and smaller apps. Many are looking for a smaller computer basically, basically a true netbook in a much smaller form factor with only touch input. For this, true OSX is needed. Something like this would be fab for designers for instance that need to design, edit, and send and receive on the go. If something like this had a stylus and extremely sensitive input something like: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnQHoCDxiRw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsfxdxmAUoo far surpassing the sensitivity of something like a Wacom and had a mini usb, forget about it, they would fly off the shelves literally.

 

[WestonHarvey1]

I don't care as long as Macs don't start running iPhone OS. Some of us still need real computers.

 

[iSee]

The iPhone OS is Mac OS X with a multi-touch UI with a kernel and services optimized for a mobile media device...

It's a lot closer to what a Mac tablet needs than regular OS X.

A tablet would not provide a good user experience running software designed for mouse and keyboard, so it's OK if the Mac table won't run them at all.

What Apple needs to do to use iPhone OS on a tablet is open the OS up:

1. No limitations on software development and distribution (App store not required, no limitations on the apps that can be run; no approval process, background processes OK, etc.)
2. No artificial terms of use for users: let us connect to whatever network we want, run the apps we want, access files however we want, etc.

 

[paradox00]

How about no software? MS Office is required for a real computer (Please, don't insult my intelligence with rants about iWork, Open Office, Neo Office, or some other sort-of compatible package)..

I suppose Steve will decide what you can and can not load on it as well - better yet, Steve will decide what can be written for it...... And will it be able to run more than 1 app at a time...

I work for a living. I suppose iPhone OS would work for you and the rest of the fanboys who have nothing to do but play Super Monkey Ball all day - unfortunately, that won't work for the majority of the world...

Incredibly narrow minded viewpoint. Why would a tablet not be able to multitask just because the current version of iPhone OS doesn't? If Microsoft was smart, they would release a tablet optimized version of Office for this thing. Tablet optimized, meaning it would be easy to use. Interfaces designed for cursor navigation are terrible for a touch device.

 

[alent1234]

And I remember when 128MB MemorySticks debuted in our store at $149.

You seem to have completely missed the key word in my post: power. Apple can slam all the memory it wants in the thing, but a respectable level of performance for running OSX in this form factor is just not possible at an $800 price point. Basically people are saying they want something like a weak Mac Mini, but a touchscreen, smaller form factor, and all the other bits thrown in for about $200-300 more.

Edit to add: For $3000 Apple could probably make something that would blow our minds. For ~$800 you'll get a media pad.

if my 5 year old dell laptop can run Vista OK, this should run a full blown OS X or iphone OS just fine.

 

[crackbookpro]

The iPhone OS is Mac OS X with a multi-touch UI with a kernel and services optimized for a mobile media device...

It's a lot closer to what a Mac tablet needs than regular OS X.

A tablet would not provide a good user experience running software designed for mouse and keyboard, so it's OK if the Mac table won't run them at all.

What Apple needs to do to use iPhone OS on a tablet is open the OS up:

1. No limitations on software development and distribution (App store not required, no limitations on the apps that can be run; no approval process, background processes OK, etc.)
2. No artificial terms of use for users: let us connect to whatever network we want, run the apps we want, access files however we want, etc.

great point...

 

[puffnstuff]

The iPhone OS is Mac OS X with a multi-touch UI with a kernel and services optimized for a mobile media device...

It's a lot closer to what a Mac tablet needs than regular OS X.

A tablet would not provide a good user experience running software designed for mouse and keyboard, so it's OK if the Mac table won't run them at all.

What Apple needs to do to use iPhone OS on a tablet is open the OS up:

1. No limitations on software development and distribution (App store not required, no limitations on the apps that can be run; no approval process, background processes OK, etc.)
2. No artificial terms of use for users: let us connect to whatever network we want, run the apps we want, access files however we want, etc.

^ exactly my point and along the lines of what I said.

The reason why tablets sucked is because the OS was not tailored for it.

I was kinda disappointed in Archos for not putting Android on the 9 because I would have snagged one

 

[TMay]

How about no software? MS Office is required for a real computer (Please, don't insult my intelligence with rants about iWork, Open Office, Neo Office, or some other sort-of compatible package)..

I suppose Steve will decide what you can and can not load on it as well - better yet, Steve will decide what can be written for it...... And will it be able to run more than 1 app at a time...

I work for a living. I suppose iPhone OS would work for you and the rest of the fanboys who have nothing to do but play Super Monkey Ball all day - unfortunately, that won't work for the majority of the world...

Funny, I know plenty of people accomplishing serious work on a real computer without need of Office, and barely touching iWork. But don't let me insult your intelligence with my limited anecdotal evidence.

BTW, you might tone down your arrogance a notch.

 

[dicklacara]

GAWD, teh Stupid is strong in this thread.

All this whining about it not having this or that or that it HAS to have this to survive when in reality, you guys know absolutely nothing about product design, development, or marketing. Oh individually, you may have expertise in one area and or knowledge about one of the others, but as a whole group? Nada. Zip. Zilch.

Seriously, Apple has proven that time and again. Witness the introduction of the iPod and how that was destined to fail miserably against the likes of Rio. Or the change over to Intel processors (many, many posters devoted many, many threads to the stupidity of that particular move and how Apple will be pirated and/or priced out of existence), the introduction of the first iPhone was widely panned for lack of off-line apps, no keyboard.,etc. Pretty much ANY move that Apple made that was groundbreaking or a significant change in the way it does business, has raised a hue and cry from the All-Knowing Masters of Consumer Desire of imminent predicted product failure, the death of Apple, and/or the end of capitalism as we know it.

But no the AKMCD has decreed tha: because this rumor does include the possibility of e-ink, its going to fail. (Yeah because the Kindle and Sony are taking all that e-reader marketshare away from Apple and have been runaway best-sellers and are lauded as extremely useful by such places as Princeton University). And the lack of a fullblown OSX is also going to make it fail. (Because customers have been CLAMORING and BUYING Windows tablets with a full OS for YEARS). And if it can't run Photoshop then it will fail because EVERYONE runs Photoshop EVERY SINGLE DAY on any and every device they own including their toasters and bidets and absolutely HAVE to be able to run Photoshop while standing in line waiting for their High Colonics!!

Seriously, get some perspective. You have no idea what people will buy nor what you will buy 6 months from now. This is not meant as a jab at your intelligence. Its just a simple fact about the way our brains work. So what if you don't like what this rumor reveals. Apple doesn't care. Jobs doesn't care. And in 6 months, you probably won't care either. Sure, you can say that by ignoring YOUR wishes, Apple is not not fulfilling the inviolate creed that "The customer is always right." But as Apple has indicated before, the customer doesn't know what they want. And they are ultimately right. Usually.

QFT +++

LOL... BTW, I teach "Bidet", and a minuscule number of my clients use Photoshop. Rather, the bulk prefer to use Pages.

*

*

 

[munkees]

awesome,

I think it is the right choice, I did not want to see a leak Mac OS X platform with a small screen struggling to run full app, and hearing people complain that it too slow.

I think the iPhone OS is better, There are some great apps out there, with a scaled up UI, would be even better, example brushes, and some of the photo edit drawing apps.

I really think it will be a winner.


(a better solution) is a cut down version of Mac OS X, with it own SDK like the iPhone, but more of the features of Mac OS X.

I expect only 10's of thousands of iPhone developers will line up to customize their apps for this useless tablet.

I think not, I would jump at the chance to put my App on another device, with not to much work on my side other than maybe changing the UI a bit more.

In fact as a iPhone developer, a larger screen more powerful device would allow me to have better apps, that can use this.

BTW there are only 10's of thousands of developers today for the iPhone.

 

[whooleytoo]

How about no software? MS Office is required for a real computer (Please, don't insult my intelligence with rants about iWork, Open Office, Neo Office, or some other sort-of compatible package)..

I suppose Steve will decide what you can and can not load on it as well - better yet, Steve will decide what can be written for it...... And will it be able to run more than 1 app at a time...

I work for a living. I suppose iPhone OS would work for you and the rest of the fanboys who have nothing to do but play Super Monkey Ball all day - unfortunately, that won't work for the majority of the world...

You want to use Office on a tablet? Why? A MacBook (or low-end PC portable) would be far better suited.

I'm sure you'll be able to view Office documents on the tablet; but a tablet is a very, very poor choice for word processing or accurate data input in a spreadsheet.

I can't even imagine the Office OSX UI would be workable on a touchscreen that small - imagine trying to tap tiny buttons in the toolbar with your fingertip?