iPhone Started as 'Safari Pad'?

[dgdosen]

I hope it's the size of the old Newton, and the resurrect the name!

Do it Steve, you know you'd get all sorts of free publicity for using the Newton name!

 

[miketcool]

3G and Dvorak keyboard. Two handed typing on the iphone with dvorak would be amazing. It would be nice to take advantage of the SDK and develop some more keyboard options. Now all I have to do is get Big Brother off TMobiles wireless spectrum so I can enjoy 3G without leaving for ATT.
We just have to wait for the MBA and the iPhone to have tablet offspring. Extremely light, powerful, thin, sturdy, completely wireless, seamless and sexy. The ability to pop in a GSM card on something with an 8 in screen or less that I can modify and script to adapt to my mobile habits. Like a tablet I can use to edit photos on the fly using an updated Aperture interface. Or a display surface to show to my clients the renderings I do in Maxwell, and annotate them as we go over the design progress. Applescript, SDK, Automator, and a muti-touch device = new design possibilities. I am excited for this new horizon of GUI interaction, not input oriented.

 

[quinney]

Very interesting, but I don't think we will see a tablet this year at least. Perhaps at next Macworld, and I have a feeling that if we see a tablet like computer, it won't be a tablet, but something radically different yet fimilar enough to be considered a tablet (just like apple does with most of their products )

It will be exactly the same, only different.

 

[JeffTL]

It really wouldn't surprise me if we seem an Apple PDA within the next few month especially after Intel has announced the release of Atom.

I think that's called the iPod Touch. A coworker and I were discussing just earlier today our independently devised plans to procure them for that purpose, particularly after the January software update.

The SDK will make it basically what the Palm Tungsten C should have been, in a slightly less BlackBerry-like form factor and hopefully with better reliability.

 

[nxt]

John Markoff meh, I'll believe it when it comes from someone with some credibility.

"Markoff was also accused by Jonathan Littman of journalistic impropriety and of over-hyping Mitnick's actual crimes. Littman himself had also profited from a sensationalized account of Mitnick's time as a fugitive in his own book on the incident, The Fugitive Game. In his book, Littman recounted how he invited Markoff to lunch after Markoff had referred a Playboy assignment on Mitnick to Littman, and then Littman stiffed Markoff for the lunch. Further controversy came over the release of the movie Takedown, with Littman alleging that portions of the film were taken from his book The Fugitive Game without permission."
-Wiki

 

[Small White Car]

OMG! It's the most under-powered laptop ever! Why not get a Macbook?

No, wait, it's the most expensive iPod ever! Why not get an iPhone?

Wait, no... Well, hold on. I'm sure we can all think of more reasons to hate it already. Come on. Surely we have some experts lurking?

 

[ravenvii]

If this is true, doesn't this remind anyone of the original Macintosh? Jobs seized that project and turned it into something revolutionary back then too. A lot of bitter people resulted, though.

Is Tim Bucher gonna one of the repeat performers of that result?

 

[MacFly123]

Can we get some mock-up pics people? Seriously I have been trying to find one I saw a few months ago. It was posted on some guy gadget site I think laying on a red backdrop with a disc drive and a hot leopard looking iPhone style glass home screen with iPhone icons vertically lined up on the left and right sides of the screen. Anyone know the one I'm talking about? Can someone post that pic please? It was by far the best mock-up I have seen so far of an Apple tablet. Thanks!

 

[Abstract]

Personally, i think the iphone is a much more ideal product than a tablet used for, well probably what the touch is used for. No wonder Jobs switched them to the iPhone.

I agree.

If this tablet doesn't fit into your pocket, you may as well be carrying a small laptop, or a 8/10/12" tablet. Why make something bigger than the iPhone, but not big enough to matter? If you're going to make it pocket-able, then do it. If it's not going to be pocket-able, then make it substantially bigger than the iPhone. It's either going to be pocketable, or it's going to need its own bag. If someone is willing to carry a 5" tablet in a bag, are they going to cry if you announce an 8" tablet instead? Probably not.

The only thing I can think of is a screen that can fold shut, like a book. Actually, it won't be a folding display. It'll be 2 screens with no "frame" or bezel at the centre to separate them. It would look exactly like a MacBook display (except maybe smaller), except foldable down the middle. THAT I can see being useful, but not a 5" tablet.

 

[neven]

Just get 3G on the damn iPhone first! what country still uses EDGE for data??!?

Can we have a "think for 3 seconds before you post" rule?

The decision on the 3G iPhone is almost entirely in AT&T's hands. Even if it were solely up to Apple, how does this overlap the rumor in this story? If there are people at Apple working on a tablet device, why do you think they would be in charge of upgrading iPhone to 3G?

This "screw MacBook, where are Final Cut updates" attitude is the single most infuriating thing on these forums. Stop hijacking threads, especially when you have nothing smart to say.

P.S. It's "first things first."

 

[rikers_mailbox]

iPhone SDK? More like Apple Mobile Device (w/ multitouch) SDK.

It comes as no surprise that Safari WebKit has seen recent improvements and updates. The iPhone SDK and Safari must be evolving together. And what better way to convince developers to write apps for iPhone if they also work with the Touch, and some yet-to-be-released larger form factor (maybe one that shares internals with MBAir?).

Come to think of it, I've always thought that Dashboard was a simple-enough interface to be manipulated by multitouch. Widgets certainly share the same UI guidelines as iPhone apps. When will touch capabilities come to Mac? Oh, I'm just getting ahead of myself...

 

[MattInOz]

Just get 3G on the damn iPhone first! what country still uses EDGE for data??!?

Well if all reports are correct about increased mobile data use since iPhone release in respective market is true.
Then the answer is any country with iPhones.

and Which damn countries use 3G data, well not many it would seem, but lots have it available.

 

[frawgz]

Old news

This news is eight months old.

See "A Trade-Off on iPhone Data Speed" on the NYT, dated June 29 of last year:

Mr. Jobs seized on the multi-touch technology after Apple product designers proposed it as a “Safari Pad,” a portable Web-surfing appliance. Instead, he saw the technology as something that could be used for a similar purpose in a cellphone, said a former Apple employee.

 

[Kar98]

"Allowed"? You make it sound like Apple had the iPhone, multi-touch and all, ready to go in the 90s, but they were too busy rubbing their hands in villainous laughter to rain it down on you.

*hands over box of q-tips*
You seem to have hearing problems.

Prospective buyers have been begging for an "Apple iPad" since the demise of the Newton. Meanwhile we saw Palm and Handspring come and go, the rise of Windows Mobile, the invasion of the Blackberry, the Nokia Communicator.

Finally, Apple comes out with the iPhone and iTouch, and even though there are so many other examples to learn from, even from their mistakes, they pretend (and act like it!) as if nobody ever thought of combining a music player with a phone with a PDA.

May I please buy one, use it on any compatible carrier and install third party apps like I can with a Mac? Noooo, we'll tell you what you need and want and what you can use it for. And you'll pay dearly for it.

 

[John.B]

Well if this is "The Tablet" ****choir voices sing**** (just to be clear, I'd be first in line) I hope we don't have to get 's permission to install programs on it or go through some jailbreak nonsense.

I can't tell you how much of my day I spend in meetings, planning sessions, design reviews, etc. where a laptop is overkill but an iTouch or smartphone isn't enough. I need a modern version of the Newton but with Teh Snazzy™ of the iTouch interface.

 

[Shagrat]

Just get 3G on the damn iPhone first! what country still uses EDGE for data??!?

Er.. Blackberrys seem to do quite well here in London with EDGE...

 

[aswitcher]

I think it needs to be 4 times the size of the current touch - 4 touches. That way a virtual keyboard will be big enough and it could be nicely couple with the existing Bt keyboard

 

[mac jones]

I think we will see it inspite of any "Newton phobia".

I would imagine that all they would need to do is basically change a few dimensions and parameters of the existing iphone model.

All the work is already done. I don't see a downside (but i'm a bit biased perhaps) ,and it would be a good idea to cover this niche and secure their already substantial lead in this rapidly progressing mobile internet/phone
market.

I'll go so far as to say they had BETTER DO IT, as it would be a bitter pill to lose the edge.

Just as the iPhone was a no-brainer, they just need to green light this.

 

[aLoC]

There needs to be widespread open wireless networks before these kinds of devices can really take off.

Steve Jobs was right to make a cell phone out of this technology because it's too soon to try something else without the cellular network.

 

[thajeztah]

I really hope so

A device like that is -really- what I'm looking for. I don't need a full-fledged laptop, just a simple device to browse the internet, check my mail and (hopefully) Skype/iChat from my couch.

When I'm surfing, checking the 'news' on the internet, I don't do much typing. So a iPhone/iPod 1.5x bigger would be perfect!

If the price is right, I will be first in line

 

[Tosser]

Assuming it's true (that they actually will bring out Newton Take II), I'll probably pass.

Had it been three or four years ago, I would have jumped on it instantly.

But if they bring out such a product, it will propably have a great interface, be crippled ad nauseum and be tied way too much into iTunes and their "pay up, if you want to actually do something with your purchase"- tie-ins.

 

[bmk]

*hands over box of q-tips*
You seem to have hearing problems.

Prospective buyers have been begging for an "Apple iPad" since the demise of the Newton. Meanwhile we saw Palm and Handspring come and go, the rise of Windows Mobile, the invasion of the Blackberry, the Nokia Communicator.

Finally, Apple comes out with the iPhone and iTouch, and even though there are so many other examples to learn from, even from their mistakes, they pretend (and act like it!) as if nobody ever thought of combining a music player with a phone with a PDA.

May I please buy one, use it on any compatible carrier and install third party apps like I can with a Mac? Noooo, we'll tell you what you need and want and what you can use it for. And you'll pay dearly for it.

And you seem to have technology comprehension problems. I'm with Neven on this as you seem to know little of what you're talking about. The Newton failed because essentially it didn't work. The technology wasn't good enough to meet the desire. The same is true of voice interactive technology, it still just isn't good enough. If Apple or anyone could bring a computer or 'platform' to market which could be reliably and simply interacted with either through natural voice communication or through some kind of 'multitouch' input, they would do it. The reason they don't, is not because of some dark secret plot to keep cool technology out of our hands but because what we want can't be done yet. If you knew a bit more about what is involved in creating such technologically advanced pieces of equipment maybe you wouldn't have such unrealistic expectations.

 

[HiRez]

IDK about all this tablet talk, but when I first saw the Iphone I thought it would have been cool if it was a bit bigger. I know everyone is obsessed with small but as a guy who wears baggy pants quite a bit the Iphone could easily probably be 2 times as big and still be just as portable. I just want a bigger screen- maybe a fold out Iphone??? that would be cool.

Yes, I would love an iPhone that's bigger but still "pocket-sized". The current iPhone is too small to do any but very simple typing on for me. I'm already about 5x more efficient on the horizontally-aspected keyboard than I am on the vertically aspected one, no joke. I simply cannot get used to the vertical one, it's just too small. But, at the horizontal size, the keyboard takes up most of the screen leaving none for content.

So with that extra 50% space, I'd like to see a larger and slightly higher-density screen. Something like 640x400 compared to the current 480x360. That should allow you to finally do some serious typing (recall the original Macintosh was only 512x384 at 1-bit depth and was quite usable for writing, painting, and all sorts of things). Then a bigger, higher-capacity, removable battery and a little faster CPU/GPU. It really wouldn't hurt to add some programmable DS/PSP-style buttons for gaming or other uses. You can do many cool things with a touchpad but it brings limitations as well. Maybe one button wrapping around each of the four corners. If made low-profile they could be quite useful while unobtrusive. Probably violates Apple's "it has to be so simple a 108-year-old blind, arthritically-challenged grandmother can use it" principle, but I'd still like to see it.

My dream would be to run Xcode and Interface Builder on my iDevice. In my pocket. Soooo awesome. A device such as this would be the absolutely perfect compromise of power and portability for me. It might even completely obviate the need for me to have a traditional laptop (the iPhone has already replaced much of it's use).

The one final thing I want on any new iPhone-style device is a simple external colored LED that can inform me, without sound, of when there are various types of messages waiting for me or other status information.

 

[pixelbart]

please please please

give it EDGE/UMTS/WiMax/WiFi and make it completely transparent for the user. Like, you insert a SIM card (or not), enter a couple of usernames/passwords/settings for known networks and from then on it always connects to the cheapest/fastest/most reliable network available (some fuzzy logic to select the best network, yadda yadda). Should be nice, reliable and omnipresent Internet without one underlying infrastructure

 

[gjosho]

Can we get some mock-up pics people? Seriously I have been trying to find one I saw a few months ago. It was posted on some guy gadget site I think laying on a red backdrop with a disc drive and a hot leopard looking iPhone style glass home screen with iPhone icons vertically lined up on the left and right sides of the screen. Anyone know the one I'm talking about? Can someone post that pic please? It was by far the best mock-up I have seen so far of an Apple tablet. Thanks!

I think you're talking about the mock-up that Stuff Magazine did on their Stuff.tv site a short while ago. I have had a quick search for it but to no avail.

Anyone have a link to it please? It was pretty cool!