The Observant, the Blind and the Unseeing
(cue 'spaghetti western' theme music)
It's interesting that there are those who insist this new device, whatever it is, will have impossible hardware and capabilities -- despite all the reports and patents to the contrary.
It's interesting that there are those who insist this new device, whatever it is, will be no different from the dozens of other 'similar' devices already on the market, despite historical evidence to the contrary with the iPod and iPhone introductions..
I'm impressed that some, at least, truly pay attention and offer a realistic concept of what this device, whatever it is, may be. Like the Man With No Name, these are the ones who will reap the rewards of their study and planning, while their opponents fall to the bullets of skillful analysis.
I, too, have been waiting for the right kind of tablet computer. A modified laptop doesn't do it for me--they simply aren't a tablet, they're a laptop without a keyboard (disregarding the flip-top models which are nothing but a laptop.) A tablet should be something you can 'write' on just as you would a clipboard with a legal pad. A tablet should be simple, graphical and easy to use, no matter where you are or what you're doing. If you have to put it down to use it, it's not a tablet.
There are those who want proof that Apple has even been working on a tablet concept; I suggest looking at the iPhone and iPod Touch--they're incomplete as tablet computers, but they include much of what has been lacking in the tablet PC world. Rumor has it that the iPhone/Touch came from preliminary studies that proved certain concepts but still lacked what was most needed to be a Tablet.
If you want to think Tablet computer, think of the PADD from the original Star Trek series; add to that the graphical touch features from Star Trek: TNG; perhaps even add the Tricorder functionality through plug-in sensor devices. Maybe then you'll get close to what a Tablet really should be. The functionality is available, only the device is missing--and Apple may be announcing it this month.
Open your eyes, you who are blind.
Look around, you who will not see.
The future is coming. Are you ready?
