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Last Minute Leaked Photos of Apple Tablet?

SirHaakon said:
Why on earth would you want the tablet - which is a mobile computer in itself - to have to "tether" to an iPhone for internet connectivity when they could just build it into the device itself?
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Precisely. It would be for whenever said user is away from a hotspot (their home, a coffee shop/bookstore). Tethering simply would be ideal if in an area/situation where a free and consistent wifi signal is not available.

I suspect that Apple won't make the no-data plan tablet completely insulated (a la iPod Touch). I'm sure it will have tethering capability and one could assume that they would be charged some rate/MB or some rate/minute of usage to their existing iPhone or other capable device contract. :apple:
 
SirHaakon said:
My point was that the "classic" desktop operating system CAN'T "go the way of the dinosaur," because people need to still be able to create content.
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Hmm, I just wonder why they wouldn't be able to create content using something like a table-sized equivalent of this, as opposed to the traditional box, mouse and keyboard with a desktop metaphor based operating system. They'd just launch the equivalent of Quark / Photoshop / Whatever that they bought through the application store, drag things around to create a layout etc.

I'd rather have the classic desktop personally, as I have more control over it, but as far as Apple is concerned I can see them steering people towards the custom built morphing device/appliance way of doing things.
 
SirHaakon said:
I think this is pretty obvious, and no doubt Apple will come up with a really intuitive way of dealing with interacting with the device. This is where I believe they will impress.

The question, however, is what will you use your tablet for? Many people are speculating at this point that it will be nothing more than a movie player/audio player/picture viewer/book reader... essentially a big iPod touch. Besides the obvious advantage of a bigger screen, does that really warrant comments like "the greatest thing Steve Jobs has ever done?" Would you pay $1,000 for a big iPod Touch?
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Do you know how many iPod Touches Apple has sold? Tons and tons. And they keep selling like crazy. Even if it were just a "giant iPod Touch", that wouldn't be a bad thing.

However, I don't think it will be that. The Tablet will primarily be a new platform for interacting with textbook, newspaper, and book content, things which the iPod Touch does not specialize in.

To put it another way: the Amazon Kindle is selling very well, and it's only a shadow of what the Apple Tablet is.

(Of course, movie media will look much better with the bigger screen, and this will be an added plus. Also, video conferencing, which is not possible on the iPod Touch due to lack of forward-facing camera, will be a huge selling-point).

So, no, this is not just "an oversized iPod Touch". It is a new paradigm for interacting with media. That happens to be a tablet.

:)
 
Cloudane said:
Hmm, I just wonder why they wouldn't be able to create content using something like a table-sized equivalent of this, as opposed to the traditional box, mouse and keyboard with a desktop metaphor based operating system. They'd just launch the equivalent of Quark / Photoshop / Whatever that they bought through the application store, drag things around to create a layout etc.
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I think that's pretty much what everyone was hoping the tablet would do. But do you think it's going to be a notebook replacement or just a big iPod? All signs are pointing to "big ipod" at this point in time.

Also, there would still be many applications just better suited for a desktop even if the tablet did have full OSX. Final Cut Pro on a tablet would be pretty difficult.
 
heres a thought that hit me this morning...but with all the talk of being game-changing, and apple usually doing something innovative...what if what appeared to be a front-facing camera was actually a projector for those long-rumored holographic keyboards? i don't honestly know how close that tech is to being a consumer-ready deal....but imagine if, instead of having to dock it or connect a bluetooth keyboard/mouse to it, it was capable of projecting your input device on any reasonable surface?

i know thats like a trillion to one longshot....but that could certainly be interesting....

i think thats where the big wow factor is going to be for this--how new and different 4.0 is, how we interact with the device and such....because at first glance, all anyone would say (assuming the leaked images are it), is that it is just a big iphone.
 
MacbookSwitcher said:
Also, video conferencing, which is not possible on the iPod Touch due to lack of forward-facing camera, will be a huge selling-point).
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I think video conferencing would be a very attractive feature - it's glaringly absent from the iPhone - but I'm not sure we're even going to get that. Apple hasn't really shown an interest up to this point in a front-facing camera and it's completely separate from the content-selling infrastructure for which these devices are created.
 
jmdeegan said:
heres a thought that hit me this morning...but with all the talk of being game-changing, and apple usually doing something innovative...what if what appeared to be a front-facing camera was actually a projector for those long-rumored holographic keyboards? i don't honestly know how close that tech is to being a consumer-ready deal....but imagine if, instead of having to dock it or connect a bluetooth keyboard/mouse to it, it was capable of projecting your input device on any reasonable surface?

i know thats like a trillion to one longshot....but that could certainly be interesting....

i think thats where the big wow factor is going to be for this--how new and different 4.0 is, how we interact with the device and such....because at first glance, all anyone would say (assuming the leaked images are it), is that it is just a big iphone.
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Sorry, no projector - Although this will become feasable in the not to far future (talk about months) because of the pico projectors: You will be able to buy a portable surface computer: Projekting Screen and keyboard on talbe with touch/gesture recognition.

But: Not in an iPad!
 
harley3k said:
It says "no service", but the WiFi icon is still lit up...
Hopefully there's a WiFi, no 3G service option.
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I'm sure that will be the case. They want to market this to the K-12 segment and cell service has no place in that segment.
 
Superdrive said:
The "No Service" is interesting. Only 12 hours to go.
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If this is a leak, of course it will say "No Service"...

  • If it says "AT&T", there is an immediate uproar that it will be tied to the carrier everyone loves to hate.
  • If it says any other US carrier, it steals the thunder of any carrier-related announcements today.
 
SirHaakon said:
I think that's pretty much what everyone was hoping the tablet would do. But do you think it's going to be a notebook replacement or just a big iPod? All signs are pointing to "big ipod" at this point in time.

Also, there would still be many applications just better suited for a desktop even if the tablet did have full OSX. Final Cut Pro on a tablet would be pretty difficult.
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True. I'm guessing they'd have special input devices for things like that, with them being the exception more than the rule, or they'd rethink the whole process of video editing. But obviously I'm not talking about overnight here, I'm just theorising on their long term goals in the decades to come. Not so long ago everyone thought we needed mainframes for everything :)

If you think about what most people do with their computers it's based around the internet and activities that are covered by iLife and iWork and I think these could easily be adapted to touch interfaces for some large "media desk" that would eventually replace things like the iMac. Sure, I don't think they'd completely abandon OSX and the Mac Pro etc, as they'll still need that kind of grunt in some specialist business requirements.. but for the most part, this is just a personal theory though, I think they'll head much more towards the model of the iPhone and its evolutionary form in the tablet (and bigger and beyond) as far as most of their resources go.

Everything is pointing to "big iPod" and I'm sure they'll go for that OS. BUT, I'd be surprised (and disappointed) if they didn't put a little bit more thought into it now that they're scaling it up and selling it as a more generic computing device. I think there will be more to it, and it'll be an evolution of the iPhone style OS specifically designed for this purpose - with multi-tasking*, a more suitable home screen, etc. But I really do get the impression (call it a hunch) that they'll see this type of interaction with a computing device as "the future" - and start persuading developers to port more desktop-based software (which wouldn't have made sense on the iPhone or Touch) across to this platform.

{*} For pedants: yes I know the iPhone OS is technically a multi-tasking OS and it's just not allowed in the interface etc.
 
this thing looks like something on tech life support with wires all over the place, bolted to a table. its quite funny actually.
 
Controlled leak for sure

For one, anytime I was ever at Motorola HQ, they would take your cell phone if it had a camera or put a piece of security tape over the lens so no one could leak anything. And thats Motorola. Two, the new image, appears to be a different tablet in a different location. The odds of someone even grabbing a couple of pics of one, let alone two, are rare.

Newest leak
http://www.engadget.com/photos/is-this-the-apple-tablet/#2653752
 
Cloudane said:
But obviously I'm not talking about overnight here, I'm just theorising on their long term goals in the decades to come.
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Right, and I think that's ultimately what's going to happen. Version 1.0 will just be a big iPod and it'll be another 8 years before we can actually use the thing to do something useful. It's just a little disappointing because we've heard rumors about the tablet (and there is evidence they've been working on it) back to 2002... I guess I was hoping they had spent THOSE last 8 years making the "future" device and that we didn't wait this long just to get the minimalist product. You know, to really blow our minds about what is actually possible with a tablet and exceed expectations. I guess we'll see in a few hours, but I have my doubts.
 
SirHaakon said:
I think this is pretty obvious, and no doubt Apple will come up with a really intuitive way of dealing with interacting with the device. This is where I believe they will impress.

The question, however, is what will you use your tablet for? Many people are speculating at this point that it will be nothing more than a movie player/audio player/picture viewer/book reader... essentially a big iPod touch. Besides the obvious advantage of a bigger screen, does that really warrant comments like "the greatest thing Steve Jobs has ever done?" Would you pay $1,000 for a big iPod Touch?
Click to expand...


Bingo. This thing has the potential to be much larger in scope than the typical end-user that will have this as a recreational electronic device. The tablet will enter the professional world as well - and not as a glorified gadget version of a notepad either. There have been serious apps from the medical field for the iPhone - real doctors writing content to streamline workflow in the ER, etc. This kind of forward-thinking for professionals will now go deeper on the tablet platform because of screen real-estate and native interactive functionality.

I think the tablet will span not only recreational users but will also be complimentary to professionals in a way that the iPhone has not been able to. :apple:
 
Are we going to be discussing the tablet for the day in here or are we going to create a new thread for the event?
 
wow, looks sweet. i've been very frustrated with Google Maps on the iPhone. in times where it used to save me, it now messes me up. so it's good to hear there is a reason maybe as to why that app sucks...because Apple has made their own.
i hope this tablet is affordable. i've been thinking i wouldn't need one, but now it's becoming more temping. very excited about the news today...how will i work.
 
What's this? New Shake?
20nd


apple.com/uk/mac
 
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