Foxconn to Manufacture Tablet for Q1 2010 Launch?

[guet]

I think his point is not so much OS X vs. iPhone OS, but rather OS X applications vs. iPhone OS apps. The underlying OS matters, sure (see Windows vs. OS X), but the key thing is the applications (and screen size).

Given his business needs, certainly he'd want "real" accounting applications, word processing, spreadsheets, etc. not to mention the ability to connect a keyboard, mouse and screen. That makes one think of OS X instead of the iPhone OS, but it's really the apps and if/when those types of apps are available for the iPhone OS, then the concern over what OS the tablet would run would disappear.

You cannot run desktop apps written for x86/ppc on an arm chip. It is impossible without rewriting and recompiling the apps. Any tablet running ARM will be running iPhone apps if anything (probably with minor modifications required), it will never run desktop apps. So if you consider non-desktop apps to be not real enough for you, please buy a laptop which runs OS X, has a keyboard, trackpad, and screen which make those apps usable, and stop complaining about wanting 'real' OS X.

Personally I don't think there's any point having a tablet which turns into some kind of desktop surrogate, because it would have to compromise on the stuff that could make a tablet great. That's already been tried and found useless with Windows combo tablet/laptops - they're more laptop than tablet.

 

[MikeDTyke]

Ultimately if the demand for an app was there, an app would be developed. The biggest restriction on apps on a tablet would be the hardware, not iPhone OS. Full OSX would lead to a user experience that in my opinion doesn't meet Apples standards. Navigating OSX programs designed for a cursor and more powerful processors could be very troublesome and annoying. Looking at what iPhone OS is now and only the currently available apps is just very short sighted in my opinion. I would rather wait for a properly designed app than be stuck with an unintuitive (for touch input) and sluggish program forever.

iPhone OS is Apples touch platform right now. As hardware improves, iPhone OS will simply borrow more and more from OSX.

+1 I've said this too, but the number of imagination less morons on this thread demanding OS X like it's the holy grail of operating systems.

Hey Morons, you know when you say OS X you are essentially referring to both operating systems. Mac OS X = OS X. iPhone OS X = OS X. The difference is cocoa touch, a handful of frameworks and the myriad of utils/apps that are bundled with Mac OS X... Anyone one of these can be easily ported from the Intel build to the ARM iPhone OS X as and when Apple needs them to be.

The difference you should be expecting is that any app you currently run on Mac OS will have to be rebuilt with cocoa touch front end. This is the right way (tm) not slapping a gesture processing layer in front of a desktop OS and creating a $1500 lump of tech you can barely life with one hand, and is only usefull for reading MacRumors in the toilet. So if there's something you think you'll miss on the tablet, start bitching at the developer now, i'm sure they'll be real receptive to your constructive whining.

 

[paradox00]

No but we've seen concepts from Microsoft. I have seen artists concepts for Apple, but nothing from Apple yet. They are both in relatively the exact same place, concepts. Though I would argue that Microsoft seems to be thinking something completely different than Apple.



The same logic Applies with tablet to laptop.

My biggest concern is this...if I already have a smartphone, or more specifically an iPhone, what feature is this tablet going to offer that I don't already have on my phone. Keep in mind you already take your phone with you everywhere, so we are talking about something that would actually convince you to carry a second device (an expensive device). Its not convenient to carry something that I have to hold.

Print media would be great on a tablet no doubt, but if I'm not going to use my iphone, which already does this stuff, and will carry around a second device (the tablet), why would I spend the X amount of money on an Apple tablet when I could get a kindle or other e-reader for a fraction of the cost? Its not worth a couple hundred dollars to own a second device, a less portable device, that simply duplicates features available to the iPhone on a larger screen. I'm not implying that the tablet is going to be a big iPhone/iPod Touch, but no doubt it will be offering the same access to all the apps, media, internet and what not.

It needs an x factor if you will, and at the moment its not their, or simply Apple isn't going to let anyone find out what it is. Oh and yes I know this product will most likely not be marketed at me and I will most likely not buy it.

I'm not sure you even read my comment. A tablet by its nature would be able to do more than an iPhone.

It would run a more fully featured version of iPhone OS because its hardware would be capable of some much more. Web browsing would be better because the screen would be much larger. It would have storage capacities in the 100s of Gigabytes instead of 10s. It would play higher quality videos (I'd say 1080p has an outside chance at this point). It may accept the iPhone as an input device, internet tethering and my PowerPoint example. More suited to you, it would likely have tablet only applications available including productivity suites of various flavors designed and optimized for the tablet hardware (instead of faster hardware and cursor input seen on OSX machines). It may have handwriting support allowing you (or a student) to to jot down notes and diagrams quickly. Multitasking is almost a given, so you could also record the meeting/lecture at the same time without pulling out another device.

Other things would include vastly improved VNC clients, through which you could access the full power of your mac/pc from anywhere and possibly the ability to use the tablet as a secondary monitor/input device for your computer when you are at home.

Then of course there is everything covered in this article, namely ebooks. Textbooks will probably be huge on this thing as a self declared minimalist, you must appreciate how big a of a deal it would be for a student to ditch all their physical textbooks and put a tablet in their bag instead. An iphone isn't well suited to be a reference and major productivity device due to its size.

Edit: With respect to the Microsoft tablet prototype, it litterally looks like two LCD screens removed from their housings and loosly stuck together with a piece of leather. I don't know if it is operable, but it is nowhere near a finished product. While apple is more secretive, I've heard rumors of several prototypes far more polished than microsofts. Couple those with the rumors that Apple has contracted companies to build the production version of the tablet and I would assume that Apple has a bit of a lead.

 

[doug in albq]

hybrid GUI/OS people, not either iPhone or Mac GUI…

say it with me H Y B R I D…

 

[xhambonex]

I'm not sure you even read my comment. A tablet by its nature would be able to do more than an iPhone.

It would run a more fully featured version of iPhone OS because its hardware would be capable of some much more. Web browsing would be better because the screen would be much larger. It would have storage capacities in the 100s of Gigabytes instead of 10s. It would play higher quality videos (I'd say 1080p has an outside chance at this point). It may accept the iPhone as an input device, internet tethering and my PowerPoint example. More suited to you, it would likely have tablet only applications available including productivity suites of various flavors designed and optimized for the tablet hardware (instead of faster hardware and cursor input seen on OSX machines). It may have handwriting support allowing you (or a student) to to jot down notes and diagrams quickly. Multitasking is almost a given, so you could also record the meeting/lecture at the same time without pulling out another device.

Other things would include vastly improved VNC clients, through which you could access the full power of your mac/pc from anywhere and possibly the ability to use the tablet as a secondary monitor/input device for your computer when you are at home.

Then of course there is everything covered in this article, namely ebooks. Textbooks will probably be huge on this thing as a self declared minimalist, you must appreciate how big a of a deal it would be for a student to ditch all their physical textbooks and put a tablet in their bag instead. An iphone isn't well suited to be a reference and major productivity device due to its size.

Edit: With respect to the Microsoft tablet prototype, it litterally looks like two LCD screens removed from their housings and loosly stuck together with a piece of leather. I don't know if it is operable, but it is nowhere near a finished product. While apple is more secretive, I've heard rumors of several prototypes far more polished than microsofts. Couple those with the rumors that Apple has contracted companies to build the production version of the tablet and I would assume that Apple has a bit of a lead.

It would be more full featured than my iPod and less full featured than my MBP. That's just my reality. I have both those mobile devices already. And I simply am not gaining anything from a tablet unless it accepts pen input and I can digitally sketch on it.

Plausible, yes. Worth $800, no.

All I am saying, this isn't enough to convince me to buy this product...what's the killer feature?

 

[paradox00]

hybrid GUI/OS people, not either iPhone or Mac GUI…

say it with me H Y B R I D…

I don't like the term because it implies that you will be able to run both iPhone OS and Mac OSX apps, or neither. Both of which I feel are highly improbable. Running iPhone OS doesn't mean that the home screens will look the same or that all apps will run full screen. We may see something that looks more like a dock and there may be an expose like feature, but the underpinnings will clearly be iPhone OS.

 

[Bubba Satori]

That's already been tried and found useless with Windows combo tablet/laptops - they're more laptop than tablet.

Useless ? I've never had one of the ones I've sold returned. Students love them, especially since One Note became a part of Office.

Or are you just venting cause Apple is about eight years late with their tablet "innovation".

 

[paradox00]

It would be more full featured than my iPod and less full featured than my MBP. That's just my reality. I have both those mobile devices already. And I simply am not gaining anything from a tablet unless it accepts pen input and I can digitally sketch on it.

Plausible, yes. Worth $800, no.

All I am saying, this isn't enough to convince me to buy this product...what's the killer feature?

I can't tell you that. Maybe there isn't one for you, or maybe I listed it and you failed to recognize it, or Apple has something we haven't thought of up their sleeve. I would consider all to be equally likely. I mentioned handwriting recognition which is traditionally done through pen input in the post you quoted. I don't see why you wouldn't be able to digitally sketch on it. There are already capacitive screen styli on the market, the only question is if Apple will offer improved accuracy on their touch screen.

 

[paradox00]

Useless ? I've never had one of the ones I've sold returned. Students love them, especially since One Note became a part of Office.

Or are you just venting cause Apple is about eight years late with their tablet "innovation".

Slapping a touch screen on a laptop isn't innovation, but it is good enough for some niche uses.

 

[j33pd0g]

Apple is aiming to redefine print media with the device? I don't see this happening. To accomplish this, any company, not just Apple will have to get these into every household. The old won't care, the young already leverage the internet, and I'm sure most will be left in the cold due to financial restraints. This thing really needs to be $29.95 for any redefining to take place. JM2C.

 

[whooleytoo]

You will cannot run desktop apps written for x86/ppc on an arm chip. It is impossible without rewriting and recompiling the apps.

Being a bit of a pedant here - but you probably wouldn't need to re-write anything; just re-compile. Performance-critical apps might need to be re-optimised - but then they shouldn't be running on an ARM in the first place.

If Apple did actually make a Mac OSX tablet on ARM, counter-intuitively the time consuming part of getting apps to work would probably be trying to get the interface to be useable on a small screen.

 

[xhambonex]

I can't tell you that. Maybe there isn't one for you, or maybe I listed it and you failed to recognize it, or Apple has something we haven't thought of up their sleeve. I would consider all to be equally likely. I mentioned handwriting recognition which is traditionally done through pen input in the post you quoted. I don't see why you wouldn't be able to digitally sketch on it. There are already capacitive screen styli on the market, the only question is if Apple will offer improved accuracy on their touch screen.

Yup thats all really. I am hoping they have something that few people know about that really sets this apart from previous attempts at a tablet. Handwriting recognition is cool, I wouldn't mind just keeping my handwriting and not worry about converting it to text. That's easy though.

Sketching for me can't just be some bad program. Pressure sensitivity is more or less a must and they could get more accurate with a pen on a 10" screen. Hopefully its an option, either way I'm always excited to see what they got planned.

And yes I'm reading all your posts and I accept your points which is why I don't mention them again in my post.

 

[guet]

Being a bit of a pedant here - but you probably wouldn't need to re-write anything; just re-compile. Performance-critical apps might need to be re-optimised - but then they shouldn't be running on an ARM in the first place.

If Apple did actually make a Mac OSX tablet on ARM, counter-intuitively the time consuming part of getting apps to work would probably be trying to get the interface to be useable on a small screen.

Well, *if* Apple ported standard cocoa and NSView etc to ARM, and they/you were happy presenting users with a desktop interface on a mobile device, *then* you could recompile only rather than rewriting as well. That seems unlikely though as they'd be effectively redoing iPhone OS. Why would Apple bother doing that?

They already did all that work with iPhone OS, which uses slightly different UI APIs, so I doubt very much they'd port full OS X, as it wouldn't mean desktop apps being available even if Apple did all that work over again, and many big desktop apps not based on cocoa (Word, Photoshop, OpenOffice, etc) wouldn't be portable even then.

I understand the point you're making, but in reality I think it would also require a rewrite by someone - either Apple porting all their desktop APIs again (with UI issues as you note), or desktop app writers porting their app to a new API as well as a new target platform. Calling it a recompile does not do justice to the work involved, and it is extremely unlikely to happen.

 

[paradox00]

Yup thats all really. I am hoping they have something that few people know about that really sets this apart from previous attempts at a tablet. Handwriting recognition is cool, I wouldn't mind just keeping my handwriting and not worry about converting it to text. That's easy though.

Sketching for me can't just be some bad program. Pressure sensitivity is more or less a must and they could get more accurate with a pen on a 10" screen. Hopefully its an option, either way I'm always excited to see what they got planned.

And yes I'm reading all your posts and I accept your points which is why I don't mention them again in my post.

We really just need to see the tablet in action. There is no substitute for the real thing. It is hard to visualize a use for an unreleased product. There was plenty of skepticism prior to the release of the iPod and the iPhone too. We will have to see how well Apple executes with this product, and no it won't meet everyones needs.

 

[kockgunner]

...

Finally, the report notes that the device will place an emphasis on e-Book functionality, echoing claims that Apple is aiming to redefine print media with the device. Apple's extended-life battery technology such as that found in recent MacBook Pro revisions, Internet connectivity, and Apple's typical attention to user interface detail are all expected to be featured in the new device.

Article Link: Foxconn to Manufacture Tablet for Q1 2010 Launch?

I thought they were making a tablet that uses floppy disks and has a complete disregard to the user interface running on 7 AA batteries

 

[Ubele]

Ye of little faith in the Genius of Jobs...

Imagine downloading (through AT&T, of course), the Deluxe Special Edition of the new Dan Brown thriller, The Machiavelli Manuscript. It contains not only the original best-selling version, but also the Extended Writer's Cut, containing scenes that the publisher made him delete so that the book wouldn't run more than 300 pages. But wait! Because you ordered before midnight last night, it also includes the Reader's Digest Select (Condensed) version, which eliminates all unnecessary adjectives.

You open iReader in Text Classic view and dig into the original version. On page 3, the beautiful Italian archaelogist Francesa Fontinella drives up to the gates of the Vatican in a new Ferrari Ciaobella. You remember you've been wanting one of those, so you highlight the text and click on the Buy Me button. An app running in the background searches the Internet for the best deal on this car, and, calling up the credit-card and color-preference information you entered when you created your profile during iTablet setup, places an order for a Satan-red Ciaobella, which will be delivered to your front door in six to eight weeks.

You need to cook dinner but don't want to stop reading, because the mysterious blind hunchback is about to murder a high-ranking Greek Orthodox priest with a blowgun. You switch to Audiobook view, and the sonorous voice of Dan Brown himself picks up precisely where you left off.

So it goes. Eventually, you finish. You enjoyed the book overall, but you find the ending rather lame. You switch to Interactive view and rewrite the ending, which you save in the My Versions folder and then post to the Novels section on itcouldhavebeensomuchbetter.com.

You switch to Games view and play the video game, taking on the role of Robert Langdon. You shake your head, thinking about the Mac bashers who say that the game runs so much better under Windows 7 on a Dell. They're obviously idiots.

Finally, you switch to Movie view. A helpful message informs you that Tom Hanks and Ron Howard are currently shooting the film, so you pre-order a copy, which should be available in March.

Another message appears, informing you that a new version of the iTablet has been released. It's a sixteenth of an inch thinner and comes in five new colors. You log onto MacRumors and post, asking whether you should upgrade or wait for the next version. The buzz is that the next version will be as thin as a credit card and have an eight-core processor. You decide you can't wait for the next new version, so you order the current new version. Life is good.

 

[akira2501]

read it

osx has chinese character recognition. Now if it can do that, the english alphabet should be a breeze. It has to be a hybrid osx with apps from the store. It could do both well, since it would take years for everyone to be onboard with a tablet. I'm really looking forward to it, and already have the dough for when it comes out (though I might not be 1st in line since 6 months later one comes out that makes the former look like crap)

 

[Tower-Union]

Ye of little faith in the Genius of Jobs...

Imagine downloading (through AT&T, of course), the Deluxe Special Edition of the new Dan Brown thriller, The Machiavelli Manuscript. It contains not only the original best-selling version, but also the Extended Writer's Cut, containing scenes that the publisher made him delete so that the book wouldn't run more than 300 pages. But wait! Because you ordered before midnight last night, it also includes the Reader's Digest Select (Condensed) version, which eliminates all unnecessary adjectives.

You open iReader in Text Classic view and dig into the original version. On page 3, the beautiful Italian archaelogist Francesa Fontinella drives up to the gates of the Vatican in a new Ferrari Ciaobella. You remember you've been wanting one of those, so you highlight the text and click on the Buy Me button. An app running in the background searches the Internet for the best deal on this car, and, calling up the credit-card and color-preference information you entered when you created your profile during iTablet setup, places an order for a Satan-red Ciaobella, which will be delivered to your front door in six to eight weeks.

You need to cook dinner but don't want to stop reading, because the mysterious blind hunchback is about to murder a high-ranking Greek Orthodox priest with a blowgun. You switch to Audiobook view, and the sonorous voice of Dan Brown himself picks up precisely where you left off.

So it goes. Eventually, you finish. You enjoyed the book overall, but you find the ending rather lame. You switch to Interactive view and rewrite the ending, which you save in the My Versions folder and then post to the Novels section on itcouldhavebeensomuchbetter.com.

You switch to Games view and play the video game, taking on the role of Robert Langdon. You shake your head, thinking about the Mac bashers who say that the game runs so much better under Windows 7 on a Dell. They're obviously idiots.

Finally, you switch to Movie view. A helpful message informs you that Tom Hanks and Ron Howard are currently shooting the film, so you pre-order a copy, which should be available in March.

Another message appears, informing you that a new version of the iTablet has been released. It's a sixteenth of an inch thinner and comes in five new colors. You log onto MacRumors and post, asking whether you should upgrade or wait for the next version. The buzz is that the next version will be as thin as a credit card and have an eight-core processor. You decide you can't wait for the next new version, so you order the current new version. Life is good.

+1 Thank you, that was awesome! (PS I still hope this thing is good enough to convince me to buy one).

 

[EarthDawn]

I just want to see the damn thing !!!!

 

[iMacmatician]

+1 I've said this too, but the number of imagination less morons on this thread demanding OS X like it's the holy grail of operating systems.

I've learned to ignore them. I've been saying iPhone OS "extended" for a while for the same reasons already mentioned in this thread.

Note the "extended." The tablet won't be a "big iPod touch (or iPhone)."

 

[EagerDragon]

I'm not sure you even read my comment. A tablet by its nature would be able to do more than an iPhone.

It would run a more fully featured version of iPhone OS because its hardware would be capable of some much more. Web browsing would be better because the screen would be much larger. It would have storage capacities in the 100s of Gigabytes instead of 10s. It would play higher quality videos (I'd say 1080p has an outside chance at this point). It may accept the iPhone as an input device, internet tethering and my PowerPoint example. More suited to you, it would likely have tablet only applications available including productivity suites of various flavors designed and optimized for the tablet hardware (instead of faster hardware and cursor input seen on OSX machines). It may have handwriting support allowing you (or a student) to to jot down notes and diagrams quickly. Multitasking is almost a given, so you could also record the meeting/lecture at the same time without pulling out another device.

Other things would include vastly improved VNC clients, through which you could access the full power of your mac/pc from anywhere and possibly the ability to use the tablet as a secondary monitor/input device for your computer when you are at home.

Then of course there is everything covered in this article, namely ebooks. Textbooks will probably be huge on this thing as a self declared minimalist, you must appreciate how big a of a deal it would be for a student to ditch all their physical textbooks and put a tablet in their bag instead. An iphone isn't well suited to be a reference and major productivity device due to its size.

Edit: With respect to the Microsoft tablet prototype, it litterally looks like two LCD screens removed from their housings and loosly stuck together with a piece of leather. I don't know if it is operable, but it is nowhere near a finished product. While apple is more secretive, I've heard rumors of several prototypes far more polished than microsofts. Couple those with the rumors that Apple has contracted companies to build the production version of the tablet and I would assume that Apple has a bit of a lead.

With you 100%. Well said.

 

[polaris20]

OK, but $900 is more or less the price of the 3GS in countries where it is sold factory unlocked - Hong Kong, Italy, etc. So whatever the reason for the price difference between the Touch and iPhone, a tablet would most likely have 3G and GPS, so at the very least we can assume that with a 10" touchscreen and minimum 64 GB SSD, the tablet would cost somewhat more than an unlocked iPhone.

Additionally, going by what other similarly-sized tablet computers cost, any price point under $1K seems unlikely, given that this will A. most likely be sleeker and contain more expensive miniaturized parts, and B. be made by Apple.

you're assuming it'll have 3G. Nothing's been confirmed.

 

[Rocketman]

You cannot run desktop apps written for x86/ppc on an arm chip.
Personally I don't think there's any point having a tablet which turns into some kind of desktop surrogate, because it would have to compromise on the stuff that could make a tablet great. That's already been tried and found useless with Windows combo tablet/laptops - they're more laptop than tablet.

It could have virtualization or it could have a dongle/dock for that. In the mean time assuming an ARM chip tablet and no Intel compatibility, it will run web apps just fine. So some users when they get to a dock or a table will want to use a keyboard and pointer. That accessory could simply be an IBM/Lenovo style keyboard via BT/USB. The rest of us don't need that.

The main problem with a tablet is the sorts of users that crave it each use it very differently, but largely as a "clipboard".

Rocketman

 

[intel]

Proof or GTFO

Proof or GTFO. I'm sick of apple tablet rumors. I need at least a mockup or entertaining video of some sort like Mucrosoft's promising courier to offer hope of better things to come. Concept videos are amazing and generate free publicity over blog sites everywhere and not just rumor sites. Give us proof or hope that we can see in such a way that we can start planing in how to use the tablet before it even comes out. (I was already using my iPhone in my head a whole Year before it was available to buy).
Now all I have in my head is a confusion jumble of a courier booklet/large iPhone/newton/ipad thingy. I need more inspiration bcs the way it is in my head is completely unusable.

 

[paradox00]

Proof or GTFO. I'm sick of apple tablet rumors. I need at least a mockup or entertaining video of some sort like Mucrosoft's promising courier to offer hope of better things to come. Concept videos are amazing and generate free publicity over blog sites everywhere and not just rumor sites. Give us proof or hope that we can see in such a way that we can start planing in how to use the tablet before it even comes out. (I was already using my iPhone in my head a whole Year before it was available to buy).
Now all I have in my head is a confusion jumble of a courier booklet/large iPhone/newton/ipad thingy. I need more inspiration bcs the way it is in my head is completely unusable.

Apple doesn't do concepts. They deliver products, they have said that much before. Concepts also bring disappointment when they are not released, or are delayed. Not arguing which route is better, but Apple has chosen secrecy.