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More Apple Tablet Rumblings
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... bunch of tablet haters here...
You know, I rarely like to defend Microsoft or other Wintel products, but there's a bunch of tablet haters (or at least naysayers) here. I for one would be very interested in seeing what Apple can do with a tablet like device.
How many of you tablet naysayers have actually used one? I actually own and have used a Palm PDA, a Pocket PC, and a Tablet for extended periods of time (1 year or more) and can say that that the tablet handwriting recognition is superior to what you can normally get for Palm or PPC. Newton? Don't know - never had one. Out of the box, the handwriting recognition is, in my estimate, from 90% to 98% accurate. Is it perfect? Of course not, but nothing is.
It is true - if you can touch type - forget handwriting - typing is faster and more accurate. BUT if you can't type, then what do you do? I gave my tablet to one of my grad students who happens to be older and her PRODUCTIVITY has increased tremendously. I'm sure there are MANY other people in this category.
And even more, people communicate by drawing arrows, connecting diagrams, quick sketches, etc. which you can in a tablet and you cannot do on a regular computer setup unless you have a digitizer handy. The tablet is also great for allowing you to mark up and edit freehand a Word document, practically the same way you would a piece of paper. A huge advantage to those of us who have to mark, edit, or collaborate on multiple projects.
Furthermore, tablets are very useful in business, corporate, or other social settings where you need an immediate electronic record but cannot or should not type. I've been in every situation from a president of company across the table from me, to sampling waste in a developing country. There are MANY situations where a tablet can be very useful.
Why don't I use a tablet anymore? Because I can type at least 40 wpm, far faster than I can write. BUT there are at least a half dozen situations where I wish I had one that was 'just right': a little smaller, a bit more elegant, etc. and I'd like to see Apple's version.
... and for the perpetual 'tablets have such low market share' argument, well, it seems that everybody applies that to Apple stuff and there's always a ready counterargument. Besides, sure, maybe only 2% of the population use tablets - but it'd be enlightening to see how much money that 2% controls.
Don't knock it until you try it.
You know, I rarely like to defend Microsoft or other Wintel products, but there's a bunch of tablet haters (or at least naysayers) here. I for one would be very interested in seeing what Apple can do with a tablet like device.
How many of you tablet naysayers have actually used one? I actually own and have used a Palm PDA, a Pocket PC, and a Tablet for extended periods of time (1 year or more) and can say that that the tablet handwriting recognition is superior to what you can normally get for Palm or PPC. Newton? Don't know - never had one. Out of the box, the handwriting recognition is, in my estimate, from 90% to 98% accurate. Is it perfect? Of course not, but nothing is.
It is true - if you can touch type - forget handwriting - typing is faster and more accurate. BUT if you can't type, then what do you do? I gave my tablet to one of my grad students who happens to be older and her PRODUCTIVITY has increased tremendously. I'm sure there are MANY other people in this category.
And even more, people communicate by drawing arrows, connecting diagrams, quick sketches, etc. which you can in a tablet and you cannot do on a regular computer setup unless you have a digitizer handy. The tablet is also great for allowing you to mark up and edit freehand a Word document, practically the same way you would a piece of paper. A huge advantage to those of us who have to mark, edit, or collaborate on multiple projects.
Furthermore, tablets are very useful in business, corporate, or other social settings where you need an immediate electronic record but cannot or should not type. I've been in every situation from a president of company across the table from me, to sampling waste in a developing country. There are MANY situations where a tablet can be very useful.
Why don't I use a tablet anymore? Because I can type at least 40 wpm, far faster than I can write. BUT there are at least a half dozen situations where I wish I had one that was 'just right': a little smaller, a bit more elegant, etc. and I'd like to see Apple's version.
... and for the perpetual 'tablets have such low market share' argument, well, it seems that everybody applies that to Apple stuff and there's always a ready counterargument. Besides, sure, maybe only 2% of the population use tablets - but it'd be enlightening to see how much money that 2% controls.
Don't knock it until you try it.
A 'back door' way to switching to Intel?SiliconAddict said:
Could be an interesting way to test the waters. Apple could implement a x86 version of OS X (slimmed down and optimized for a tablet) without having to worry about screwing developers or customers. No need for a painful transition period since all the apps would be in house, e.g. iLife & Appleworks, and whatever new apps developers write for the iTablet could be compiled and optimized for x86.
On the other hand, I'm not sure a 1.0 ghz Pentium M would offer much of an advantage over a 1.0 ghz G4. Recycling the iBook G4 architecture seems to be the most cost-effective way of implementing a tablet. A cut-down iBook (take out the optical drive, keyboard, speakers, etc. and use a smaller, lower-power LCD) would get you a pretty good form factor and battery life.
Very true.rockthecasbah said:
Depends on how you want to define "first" and in this case "dual core". The "dual core" systems Intel released recently are rather weak versions of a dual core processor (very little integration between the cores in the memory pathways, etc.). AMD's implementation is a better dual core design while IBMs Power4 and Power5 CPUs are very good examples of how to do it "the right way".rockthecasbah said:
Well IBM has been shipping dual core CPUs (ones even wrapped in multi-chip packages with 8+ cores) in the form of the Power4 and more recently Power5 for a few years now.rockthecasbah said:I haven't seen an IBM dual core and don't expect to for a very long time
Intel improved a heck of a lot in the last two years in the space, my hats off to them for coming up from being piss poor to darn good in the laptop CPU space.rockthecasbah said:
My PowerBook 15" generally average 5 hours of battery life. My PC laptop (a recent top end system from HP) can go for just shy of 9 hours using a second battery in the drive bay. I once had a PowerBook with dual batteries that could do 8+ hours about 6 years ago (when most PC laptop had battery runtimes of a couple of hours).rockthecasbah said:
sigamy said:
See, this makes great sense. Hints of upcoming movie store, Mac Mini due for a refresh, Airport Express begging for video capabilities, it really does all fit together. Except that, as far as I know, no one in their right mind would pay like $700 for a super-duper remote-control for Airport Express. That was the problem with the old suggestion that the iPod could broadcast music over Airport: it's just too damn expensive when there are much cheapers solutions.
So either this tablet thing is really cheap, and I mean like $100 at the most, or it does more than broadcast movies and music to your Airport and is independent of a home computer. So it's a pretty tough situation.
greatm31 said:
Guys...if they have iTunes Mobile running on a phone they can build a $100 remote control. That's all this thing has to do--be a front end interface to the content already on your mac. It is not going to be streaming the content. That will be handled by the new Airport Express HD and your Mac. This is just a remote control with a display that allows you to easily select songs/movies.
Think Philips Pronto/Motorola iTunes phone, not TabletPC.
A PDA or a Entertainment Device?
As others have suggested, maybe this is a media device (photos, movies, music) rather than just PDA functionality.
Would you play The Incredibles on a Symbian phone? How about a widescreen Apple tablet?
Stella said:
As others have suggested, maybe this is a media device (photos, movies, music) rather than just PDA functionality.
Would you play The Incredibles on a Symbian phone? How about a widescreen Apple tablet?
PDAs ARE dead. Phones are good at very basic web info, contact, calendar, etc. PDAs, currently, dont bring that much more to the table except basic office apps, etc. However, I dont think you can really work or web browse on a PDA type device, its too restricted by power and form factor.
I would like, and I think we are going to see it, is an apple tablet, running a lite version of OSX. Full web browsing, office apps, etc. I dont think we will see it with a keyboard, unless it is an on-screen option. It will be about the size of its paper replacement, a notebook (about 9x11), and very thin, so it isnt like carrying a laptop.
Street Price: $700-800 (I would like to see it at $500, but apple was selling ipods at 500 not all that long ago!)
I would like, and I think we are going to see it, is an apple tablet, running a lite version of OSX. Full web browsing, office apps, etc. I dont think we will see it with a keyboard, unless it is an on-screen option. It will be about the size of its paper replacement, a notebook (about 9x11), and very thin, so it isnt like carrying a laptop.
Street Price: $700-800 (I would like to see it at $500, but apple was selling ipods at 500 not all that long ago!)
SiliconAddict said:
Oh, please. It has been proven time and again that tablet PCs are a solution without a problem. I work directly with *thousands* of field sales professionals who these things are directly marketed towards. Guess what? They hate them. They used to have a laptop for real data entry, number crunching, email and they had a PDA for electronic signature capture and quick inventory mgmt and tracking. Now they've been told they have to lug around a huge tablet everywhere. The PDA was small, unobtrusive, out of the way. It worked.
I've followed Tablets & PDAs for longer than I can remember. Way back when they were called Pen-based computers. The police were going to write your ticket on these, the waiter was going to take your dinner order on one. You would carry one around the house and jot down all those great inventions that you used to write on napkins. It hasn't happened. And it's not because no one has "invented" it right. It's because there is so little need for these devices. Look up "niche" in the dictionary and you'll see a picture of a TabletPC.
but, if Apple makes one, I'll buy it!
Daveway said:
Nor was the iPod when they entered the that market, it will grow. If it can run a europe GPS system i'l buy it for sure.
rog said:
Just because PC tablets haven't been a stellar product doesn't mean the idea of a tablet is bad. It just means the implementation has been poor. There is nothing there that automatically implies an Apple tablet would be equally poor.
Stella said:
You mean aside from the 25% increase in shipments year on year last quarter?
http://www.internetnews.com/stats/article.php/3503606
the mac mini should have an touchable OLED screen on top of it. a computer that looks like korgs kaos pad? HELLS YEAH
call me silly...
but I just want it to ichat video style lying on my couch but still looking right at the person I'm talking to. So a built in iSight and mic. Throw in a chip-set to do gsm and/or wifi and I'm happy. Well it would have to have bluetooth for the keyboard and mouse. oh... and it needs to run all the iLifers. Would be great if it managed photoshop.
I'm afraid the list goes and goes. Tech is always evolving. It's just a matter of when size-weight-performance-energy requirements-daylight viewing-price all play nice.
but I just want it to ichat video style lying on my couch but still looking right at the person I'm talking to. So a built in iSight and mic. Throw in a chip-set to do gsm and/or wifi and I'm happy. Well it would have to have bluetooth for the keyboard and mouse. oh... and it needs to run all the iLifers. Would be great if it managed photoshop.
I'm afraid the list goes and goes. Tech is always evolving. It's just a matter of when size-weight-performance-energy requirements-daylight viewing-price all play nice.
BlackLilyNinja said:
Because an 80-90 MHz ARM processor (like those used in the iPod) isn't going to be enough to drive a tablet. A 400 MHz XScale processor, on the other hand, might just cut it if the OS is stripped down enough (on the other hand, my 500 MHz G3 can't handle H.264, so . . . )
akac said:
well XScale is RISC based (i believe) so it is possible. just mind numbingly unlikly.
Intel makes the Itanium, which is true 64 bit using IA64. The have been making these chips for many years now. Hyper-threading is actually fairly nice.shyataroo said:
Also, IBM has been making dual core processors. Just because the G5 isn't dual core yet, doesn't mean IBM hasn't been making them in there many many other processors.
Please, please, please, please, please be true. I would so rather buy a fast Powermac G5 plus a tablet with tons of battery life instead of a slow, overpriced Powerbook G4 w/ less battery life for college. The evidence of being able to rotate the screen in Tiger, and of course widgets, gives me hope. Widgets are PERFECT for a small screen tablet. Come on, apple, amaze me!
ZeeG said:
Unless of course you want to get an neck problem by looking at the computer sideways!
I think this might not be a bad idea, schools will love them too! If Apple goes intel that not a big deal for me, but imagine if we get a "1.5ghz" intel and people start chosing the tablet oven the iBook or the PowerBook. Apple could eaily fit a G4 in them though.I mean look at the iBook. is skinny and fast! maybe like an iBook tablet or an iBook Mini with a screen that flips around! Oh and make it like $600 so that the PCers can't have excuse that apple doesn't make a cheap laptop
Wow...this is an interesting time to be a [new] Mac fan. Perhaps something will be announced in June? I'd get a tablet mac to complement my iMac... to give me some portability, and to show off to my PC-user friends
*switcher since Oct '04*
*switcher since Oct '04*
