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It's sounding more and more like a giant iPod touch.

It is a giant iPod touch. Haven't there been several articles claiming that it's the success of the touch that drove Jobs to reconsider tablets?

Reading some of these posts is a little like hanging out at an insane asylum where people feel free to shout out whatever thought pops into their heads.

Thanks, Alanis.
 
A camera doesn't really make sense for a 10" tablet.

makes sense for me

For videoconferencing, you would have to prop up the device and any sort of touchscreen interaction would probably look a bit creepy to the person on the other side. On a MacBook, you have a stable platform and you can adjust the camera via the screen hinge; typing on the notebook's keyboard isn't really an issue.

well, in my situtation it makes perfect sense. i travel for work and my work computer is locked down for security reasons. no skype, flash and such can be installed. so i'd like to have a small device that i can take with me for web browsing, itunes, videos, movies and video skype. i don't need to touch the device while i'm on video skype.

For taking photos (or video) with a tablet, you would be hand holding a fairly large device which would exacerbate camera shake.

i agree that such a device would be a lousy camera. but it's nice to have the possibility to take a shot of a newspaper article and mail it to a friend and such.

bottom line: a webcam is a must, a camera for photos is a nice to have for me.
 
i was hoping for front and back cameras. 5mp on back, 3 on front for ichat. i was hoping this would be for media and for social networking too. doesn't it seem this should be geared to high school seniors going to college?? i'm not one but that would be the target market. textbook, study guides. doing homework and keeping up with friends and family? no cam/cams would be a deal breaker!!
 
A lot of people thought the original iPhone was a bit disappointing. Most came on board with the launch of the 3G with iPhone OS2 and the App Store.
I can't remember who said it but wasn't the App Store a complete 180 from what they originally said about the phone's apps?

Looks to be that and somewhat more.
Looks like I'll be getting another Windows 7 license if it turns out this way.
 
I really doubt Apple would fail to put a camera on the new tablet. Apple is a company that seems to put a big importance on photography and video capturing and loves cramming a camera into anything. Hell, even the iPod nano has a camera.
 
There is a webcam!

I know it!

A camera might not make much sense, but a webcam does.
Of course we were saying the same thing about a front facing camera on the iPhone and you know where that ended up.

How's this for a wacky idea (and hello to all of you... this is my first contribution to the forums)

Perhaps the new tablet will be geared specifically to operate WITH the iPhone. So, you hook your iPhone up to the tablet and that gives you your webcam, and it doesn't matter that the camera is on the 'wrong' side of the phone. It'd also (assuming exclusivity) behoove people to have both an iPhone AND a tablet device. In this case, you don't have to build any iPhone functionality directly into the tablet... it could leverage the iPhone when connected, and have its own set of functions that don't make the phone redundant.

...or am I nuts?
 
Makes sense. Apple isn't going to release everything on the first iPod Slate. It will hold back a lot of features for future releases. I don't want a camera on it, but I did hope we would get a web cam on the front so we could do video conferencing like the Frenchman who said so yesterday. It really might mean that he didn't have any clue of what he was stating. Unfortunately, that supposed screw up will just make many disappointed when the new tablet doesn't have a web cam.

Future releases are going to improve on hardware and software... that's the Apple way. Look back at the iPod, iPhone, and all Macs to see that they include one or two features on every version of a product that should have always been there... but weren't included earlier for the simple point of future sales.

I still expect the initial iPod Slate to be an amazing product worth every penny of the retail price. I also expect it to be sold out across the world. Everyone will want one, and soon enough Apple will have us all believing that we NEED an iPod Slate!
 
It was will sell just as many units with or without video chat, as it's no where near an important feature. Some people would use it, occassionally. Beyond that it's worthless. We have other machines that can do that. Give us multi touch productivity apps, something NEW that actually matters.
 
They'll use iPhones / iPod Touches with cameras to integrate with the iSlate and implement video conferencing and all sorts of other applications. That way people will have to buy both products.

Heh. You beat me to it, and were more succinct. :rolleyes:
 
I can't remember who said it but wasn't the App Store a complete 180 from what they originally said about the phone's apps?

Steve Jobs at WWDC 2007

WWDC 2007 took place from June 11 to June 15 in Moscone West, San Francisco with the keynote presentation hosted by Steve Jobs. Apple showed off a feature-complete beta of Mac OS v10.5 "Leopard", though its release date was pushed back to October. Jobs announced that Safari would now be available for Windows and announced support for third-party development for the then upcoming iPhone via online web applications through the iPhone's web browser. Jobs also announced the launch date for the iPhone, which he was widely expected to do, as June 29, 2007. Jobs also announced that Apple Safari, Apple's proprietary web browser, would run on the iPhone; and that Apple (at the time) had no plans to release an iPhone SDK, meaning that developers would have to use standard web protocols.
 
A one more thing premonition - well maybe

Jobs finishes his presentation on gesturing in a 3d space. The crowd is in awe - the software and the ui represents the new frontier of computing. Then Job says . . . and one more thing . . .

"Some of you may have noticed that the tablet doesn't have a camera", then he looks at the screen seeing/hearing phil say - "hi steve". Their video conferencing!

"The reason we don't need a camera is because the whole screen is a camera!"
 
...There are way too many cameras on things already...

Heresy, I tells ya, heresy. I am anxiously waiting for Apple Real-Time Underwear, so that I can constantly check on my bits and easily share them with anyone and everyone.
 
Makes sense. Apple isn't going to release everything on the first iPod Slate. It will hold back a lot of features for future releases. I don't want a camera on it, but I did hope we would get a web cam on the front so we could do video conferencing like the Frenchman who said so yesterday. It really might mean that he didn't have any clue of what he was stating. Unfortunately, that supposed screw up will just make many disappointed when the new tablet doesn't have a web cam.

Future releases are going to improve on hardware and software... that's the Apple way. Look back at the iPod, iPhone, and all Macs to see that they include one or two features on every version of a product that should have always been there... but weren't included earlier for the simple point of future sales.

I still expect the initial iPod Slate to be an amazing product worth every penny of the retail price. I also expect it to be sold out across the world. Everyone will want one, and soon enough Apple will have us all believing that we NEED an iPod Slate!
That's encouraging people not to buy it, yet. I'm still getting an AppleTV vibe from the tablet.

Steve Jobs at WWDC 2007
Thanks

I'm not surprised.
 
A lot of people thought the original iPhone was a bit disappointing. Most came on board with the launch of the 3G with iPhone OS2 and the App Store.

They sold roughly a million a month in 2007 and in 2008. 4 million phones in 2007, and almost 12million in 2008. Considering the first 2-3 months were slow due to the non-subsidized cost, and the store didn't come out until June 08, I'd say the app store didn't affect iphone sales all that much right out of the box. Now that there is competition from droid, etc. it is certainly a major selling point.
 
No camera makes sense to me. If it's the size they say it is going to be, the only possible use for a camera would be for video conferencing....................

Hey, wait a minute!!!!
 
I'd be very disappointed if there's no front-facing camera. I'd *love* to videoconference with friends with this tablet, from anywhere (provided there's wifi, of course). I'm not expecting it to work with 3G - I wouldn't pay for a plan with a tablet, I'm already paying out of my ass for my iPhone, I don't need another bill.

And for those saying videoconferencing takes more power than the tablet would have - are you serious? I videoconference just fine with a 1.6 GHz Atom netbook a couple years ago. And even further back, I videoconference decently with an iBook G3 6 years ago.

Is the tablet predicted to be even weaker than an iBook G3?
 
They'll use iPhones / iPod Touches with cameras to integrate with the iSlate and implement video conferencing and all sorts of other applications. That way people will have to buy both products.

The iPhone and iSlate will be integrated in other ways. I don't believe the iSlate will have 3G. WiFi and Bluetooth only. But I do expect the iSlate to be the first device that works with the iPhone for "legal" tethering through AT&T. AT&T said it was coming, they just didn't say when. I say it's going to happen when the iSlate gets released. Price? An extra $20-$30 per month on top of your existing iPhone account. I'd sign up for that! That's WAY better than another $60 per month for a dedicated 3G data card built into the iSlate.

You'll hear all about it on January 26 (or is it the 27th now?). :)

Mark
 
A camera on a tablet would just make the tablet even more stupid. It's already trying to be an iPhone and a Macbook.

Yeah, making it a 10" hand-held portable video conferencing device just by adding a simple quarter inch camera would be SO STUPID!

WHY DO PEOPLE MAKE SUCH STUPID REMARKS??? :confused::confused::confused:

This really is all about Apple's 20th century American money making scheme. Make is worse than it can be, then release upgrades one at a time and the suckers will keep buying. I'm so sick of this.
 
makes sense for me ... (post truncated)
Again, Apple's design decisions have nothing to do with an given individual's needs.

They select features that have bring value to the overall marketplace, likely consumers in this place.

While you are certainly free to state your case, my hunch is that the functionality you desire would not be used by most users for the reasons I mentioned.

I guess you won't be buying the tablet. That's too bad.

As an AAPL stockholder, I want them to make very careful decisions about which features to install on this device and to keep a watchful eye on costs. I want this thing priced attractively with fat margins so they increase shareholder value.
 
And to all the naysayers.... I also predict the iSlate is going to be so cool -so revolutionary- that a whole bunch of you naysayers with iPhones and MacBooks are going to be drooling all over the thing. So, you all better start scheming now how you can all talk your wives, husbands, or significant others into letting you buy one! :)

Mark
 
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