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More Apple Tablet Rumblings

A take-anywhere monitor on your home computer

cr2sh said:
Why? Because its your concept?

I want to do email, I want to do iTunes, I want to do sketches, I want to do internet. I want at least 1280x800 reolution.
Click to expand...
Great, this will work perfectly for you then. Your home computer HAS EMail. It HAS Internet, it HAS a browser, and your favorite art program, and in fact this device has everything your home computer has, has all the storage your home computer has, and it runs it all just as fast as your home computer does.

It's a take-anywhere monitor on your home computer. You just need to connect with some WiFi hooked to the internet with enough bandwidth to support what you want to do, and this thing will work great, securely, and all day long. Use it in any major hotel, any Starbucks, most libraries, probably your friend's house, on some city streets - lots and lots of places. You only need a little bandwidth to browse most Net pages or do EMail, or send a file from your home computer to someone else's. You need some more, to do iTunes, and more still to do moving images. These days, decent WiFi bandwidth is not hard to find. You might be surprised how efficient ARA can be.

No, it's not a laptop. But it's a fraction of the price and weight with CPU power equal to your home computer, and good battery life. Well worth it.
 
Lepton said:
Great, this will work perfectly for you then. Your home computer HAS EMail. It HAS Internet, it HAS a browser, and your favorite art program, and in fact this device has everything your home computer has, has all the storage your home computer has, and it runs it all just as fast as your home computer does.

It's a take-anywhere monitor on your home computer. You just need to connect with some WiFi hooked to the internet with enough bandwidth to support what you want to do, and this thing will work great, securely, and all day long. Use it in any major hotel, any Starbucks, most libraries, probably your friend's house, on some city streets - lots and lots of places. You only need a little bandwidth to browse most Net pages or do EMail, or send a file from your home computer to someone else's. You need some more, to do iTunes, and more still to do moving images. These days, decent WiFi bandwidth is not hard to find. You might be surprised how efficient ARA can be.

No, it's not a laptop. But it's a fraction of the price and weight with CPU power equal to your home computer, and good battery life. Well worth it.
Click to expand...
How many people would like to lugg around with a 20'' monitor? My guess is a smaller device, more of an iPod video with some PDA capabilties.
 
Dr.Gargoyle said:
How many people would like to lugg around with a 20'' monitor? My guess is a smaller device, more of an iPod video with some PDA capabilties.
Click to expand...
I'd like a pocket 640x480, or maybe the size of today's new 800x480 Nokia device but 852x480 (16:9) and much thinner and lighter without all the switches and buttons. Umm, like a PSP if you cut off the two ends with the video game controls, perhaps. There may be different models with different screen sizes. Note you can shrink a much larger virtual screen down, or pan around on it following the cursor or keyboard focus automatically, ARA/OSX has all this well taken care of already.

A portable monitor on your computer, just with a relatively lousy video card - how lousy depends almost solely on your bandwidth. ARA can even cut down on color depth to help with that, it's even (barely) usable on a modem's bandwidth.
 
Lepton said:
I'd like a pocket 640x480, or maybe the size of today's new 800x480 Nokia device but 852x480 (16:9) and much thinner and lighter without all the switches and buttons. Umm, like a PSP if you cut off the two ends with the video game controls, perhaps. There may be different models with different screen sizes. Note you can shrink a much larger virtual screen down, or pan around on it following the cursor or keyboard focus automatically, ARA/OSX has all this well taken care of already.

A portable monitor on your computer, just with a relatively lousy video card - how lousy depends almost solely on your bandwidth. ARA can even cut down on color depth to help with that, it's even (barely) usable on a modem's bandwidth.
Click to expand...
ok, then we are talking about the same thing.
I too imagine a small tablet computer, a iPod video. you can load such device in many ways, remote, tablet, iPod video...
Since it is Apple we are talking about I am sure that whatever comes out will be brilliant.
 
Dr.Gargoyle said:
ok, then we are talking about the same thing.
I too imagine a small tablet computer, a iPod video. you can load such device in many ways, remote, tablet, iPod video...
Since it is Apple we are talking about I am sure that whatever comes out will be brilliant.
Click to expand...

But this is not what the patent filing resembles... at all. The patent image that stirred all this up to begin wiht resembles a half a 12" laptop.. or so.

figure7.gif


Lepton said:
It's a take-anywhere monitor on your home computer. You just need to connect with some WiFi hooked to the internet with enough bandwidth to support what you want to do, and this thing will work great, securely, and all day long. Use it in any major hotel, any Starbucks, most libraries, probably your friend's house, on some city streets - lots and lots of places. You only need a little bandwidth to browse most Net pages or do EMail, or send a file from your home computer to someone else's. You need some more, to do iTunes, and more still to do moving images. These days, decent WiFi bandwidth is not hard to find. You might be surprised how efficient ARA can be.
Click to expand...

And if the wi-fi is down? If there's a problem at my home? If I'm on the road and my cable is out? I have no way at all to use, access, or create files... do I? I don't have iTunes... I don't have anything... if the wireless internet fails me.

My files/work is important enough that I would NEVER take the risk of leaving my files at home... HOPING that the wi-fi is up when I get to my destination.
 
cr2sh said:
But this is not what the patent filing resembles... at all. The patent image that stirred all this up to begin wiht resembles a half a 12" laptop.. or so.
Click to expand...
The patent is design patent as I understood it, hence it is valid at all scales. Consider that you are not allowed to manufacture a slightly smaller Lego brick.

Besides, it would make sense to file a patent that covered your new product, but vague enough such taht people had no idea about your intentions, assuming you want to keep your future actions unknown.

...and yes I agree.... this is wild speculations, but isnt that what rumor sites are all about? ;)
 
Dr.Gargoyle said:
The patent is design patent as I understood it, hence it is valid at all scales. Consider that you are not allowed to manufacture a slightly smaller Lego brick.
Click to expand...

Yes, but to call the item pictured above an "ipod video" wouldn't quite be accurate. Not in the ipod photo sense, at least. To call an Apple Tablet and iPod Video wouldn't even be accurate... I think we're talking about two different imaginary devices here. :p

I want a computer.

You want a remote control.
 
excuse for PDA

Maybe this is just a new PDA... I, for one, would love to see Apple break some new ground in that department
 
cr2sh said:
Yes, but to call the item pictured above an "ipod video" wouldn't quite be accurate. Not in the ipod photo sense, at least. To call an Apple Tablet and iPod Video wouldn't even be accurate... I think we're talking about two different imaginary devices here. :p

I want a computer.

You want a remote control.
Click to expand...
Well, I am not so sure that we disagree, but I might be wrong (wouldn't be the first time):rolleyes: :)
First, I dont think Apple would manufacture just a remote control. It wouldnt be their style.
I can envison a tablet computer doubling as a iPod video (you need a much larger screen in the iPod video) or a iPod video doubling as a tablet computer.
Just as the iPod today has some very very basic PDA capabilties, I can see a larger (much larger) iPod video where there PDA capabilities have been beefed up considerably. Something inbetween an iPod and a laptop. This "gadget" would probably have some of the specs you posted above, perhaps even a remote.
 
intlplby said:
that's exactly what i am saying lepton....... all you need is the degree of communications ability and that seems like the future to me...

it'd be the power of the desktop in the laptop.....
Click to expand...

I have real problems with this. It's relying on technology that just isn't there yet. If anything goes hay-wire with the connection, then I have nothing. How often do I get annoyed when I slip into a low- or no-coverage area with my cell phone? I couldn't imagine the frustration with needing to worry about whether or not I was in a coverage area just to be able to access my data. I suppose that this could work for big businesses, distributing them to people for use on the premises, but that makes it an awfully small niche market, and not the kind of thing that Apple is going to be too keen on.

As things stand now, I can have all the access that you described, plus local functionality with a PowerBook.

No, at this point I think this is a dead end. At some point in the future, when wireless broadband is more ubiquitous, maybe. But, then, maybe at that point all computers will be just dumb terminals, except the special few. (i.e. the difference between cellular phones and satellite phones).
 
GOD!! not again

greenmonsterman said:
This would be a great solution for many artists out there. I for one would love a Mac tablet that I could draw on. I've been seriously considerering a tablet PC for my long train rides to and from work each morning. Bringing the 17" Powerbook and the Wacom tablet seems a little over the top to me. ;)
Click to expand...


PLEEEEEZE.
No more so called graphic artists/designers saying that this should or would be a tablet for them (us). We've killed this discussion long ago on other threads. Let's stick with reality concepts and stop day dreaming.
 
This all-over-the-place discussion is enough to convince me that Apple will never release this iTablet-thingy. Everyone has a different, conflicting idea of what it needs to do. That's probably because everyone is simply projecting their own personal geek fantasies.

It's obvious that there is no one clear, compelling need for such a device. Portable music--now that was clear. It was a very specific activity that almost everybody participated in.

Apple is NOT gonna get into a market without a clear market. And they're not gonna produce a jack-of-all-trades either. It'll be designed to do one thing really well, and in an ingenius way that improves our daily lives. A tablet PC doesn't qualify. Nor does a PDA. A portable video player probably doesn't either. The only thing that has mass appeal is a iTunes/media remote. Steve Jobs has practically gone on the record saying that they're working it. Now what this 'remote' looks like and how it works is anyone's guess.

I really hope Apple is not wasting their R&D dollars on an iTablet. It'd be a cool gadget, I'm sure, but a gadget most people would pass on. I'd like to see Apple do something about the DVR market. There's a ton of demand out there and it's only gonna get bigger. I know it's a competitive market but no one's really figured out how to do it well. (TiVo comes close but misses big in some areas.)
 
woodman said:
I'd like a 12" PowerBook with no keyboard, no optical drive, and a shorter (wide screen) screen. I'd like it to have all the ports of the current powerbook so I could hook up an external keyboard/mouse and monitor. I'd like to to be viewable wide (for movies) or tall (for documents). I'd like it to recognize handwriting like the Newton or use its own alphabet like Palm. And of course it would have to save my handwriting as images, so i can jot notes without worrying about recognition.

Is this too much to ask?
How about if I ask it to be $799 ?
Click to expand...
Well......... I don't think it's too much to ask for a powerbook without DVD or keyboard, plus touchscreen with handwriting recognition.

I do think it's too much to ask for it to be much cheaper than a powerbook is today. Do you really think removing a combo drive and keyboard will save $700?
 
cr2sh said:
And if the wi-fi is down? If there's a problem at my home? If I'm on the road and my cable is out? I have no way at all to use, access, or create files... do I? I don't have iTunes... I don't have anything... if the wireless internet fails me.

My files/work is important enough that I would NEVER take the risk of leaving my files at home... HOPING that the wi-fi is up when I get to my destination.
Click to expand...
This is an important consideration. If Apple made a light tablet/terminal, what would it be able to do when it lost wifi connection (which it would do regularly if you're travelling around).

I just pulled an old Fat-Mac. 512KB of RAM, an internal 400K floppy and external 800K floppy out of my parents attic. I haven't found a boot floppy yet. It used to be quite capable of macpaint and macwrite and even an early word. It is possible to do word processing, email, with very low processing requirements - but it wouldn't be MacOSX as we know it. Of course Apple would have to be writing its own email and word processor to do that.

The key, in my mind, is being inexpensive and low powered. A terminal tablet would do that, but you're right about the question "what happens when I'm out of wifi range?". Staying inexpensive, Apple could make a device JUST for home and/or work. Or expand some functionality for basic needs. THere are possibilities - but what Apple is actually considering?... who knows.
 
speleoterra said:
PLEEEEEZE.
No more so called graphic artists/designers saying that this should or would be a tablet for them (us). We've killed this discussion long ago on other threads. Let's stick with reality concepts and stop day dreaming.
Click to expand...

Who died and made you mod? I hate posts like this. Shut the fug up newbie.

Truth is, I ALSO ride a train for an hour everyday too, and would love a tablet Mac so I can sketch and storyboard on. Voicing what you want is exactly what these threads are about.

Not all of us are "so-called" geeks living in their mothers basement or boring-as-hell IT guys--some of us are serious artists and want tools to help us be more efficient. What's wrong with saying it, even for the 500th time? Maybe it's because Apple needs to realize there is a market for it, and we want em to know it.
 
if the new airport or airport express has support for digital video out to an HD screen i could totally see this as a remote

basically it would remotely control iTunes, iPhoto and Video content (DVD player, Quicktime etc)

people would no longer need to buy standalone players.... their DVD, HD-DVD or Blue-Ray drive in their computer would be all they need - plus access to streaming internet content (music, video, podcasts) to your TV and entertainment center.

that makes one less piece of electronics you need to buy.... you can put the money into the sound system or computer instead.....
 
AlmostThere said:
Apple are going to rip the keyboard of an iBook stick the screen in it's place and call that the new tablet.

OK, not exactly, but why not recycle the older iB technology into a new form factor with new features ... especially considering the truly frightening and awe-inspiring rate at which Apple are developing their current laptop ranges (what with all those mobile, dual core G45 processors, the 1 Ghz FSB and HD screens found on all current models).
Click to expand...

To big. Tablet PC's have failed exactly because they are laptops without keyboards. They aren't useful at all. What WOULD be useful is something larger than a Palm but smaller than a 12" PBook.

I'm saying about and 8" screen in a portrait orientation. Touchscreen of course, but not a RF based so you can use a finger or whatever. The whole thing should be just a little bigger than a paperback book, and not much heavier than a couple iPods.

Base the OS on the Darwin core, with a designed from scratch GUI that resembles OS X, but without any bloat and with features that would make sense for a keyboardless device. Something innovative without being complicated.

A small built in speaker would be nice, and a mic is a must. Audio out for headphones is also a must, for iTunes purposes. A couple of harddrive options from 15-40gbs would be nice, but a single choice of 20 or 30 gigs would do. A couple of USB2.0 ports should suffice for hardwired I/O, with AE and maybe BT2 for wireless standards. A CF card slot, with a multi format adaptor would be useful, if not absolutely required.

Battery life should be no less than 5 hours, with 8 being the goal. It should have an integrated screen cover that is very light and unobtrusive when opened up. As much as I'd like to see the brushed aluminum motif, I think that iBook/Mac/Pod white would be perfect for something like this.

Price it at $500 for a basic model and $600 for an "advanced" model and market it as neither a tablet PC or a palm device and I think Apple could sell millions of them. Especially if it were at least partially compatible with OS X software, but even if it just an easy port it would do.

Aside from the obvious PDA and portable media player, it would be the best wireless internet access device on the market, fill in for a laptop in a pinch, and could have some awesome applications as a pointing/drawing device when attached to another Mac (wirelessly even), and if it had a highspeed connection to the Mac (FW400, for example) and the right software it could mirror the screen image while you used it as a graphics tablet.

Needless to say, I think there is HUGE room for improvement in both the PDA and tablet markets that Apple could fill without actually being in either market. i also see this as a way for Apple to get into the video iPod and iTunes game without actually making a video iPod, which would be a pretty silly device if all it did was play videos.

Clearly, I would buy one immediately, if it were a semi-computer like device that is about the size I am talking about.
 
You're right...it's what these threads are about.

agreenster said:
Voicing what you want is exactly what these threads are about. • Apple needs to realize there is a market for it, and we want em to know it.
Click to expand...

Voicing your wants is what these threads are about.

My background is a professional illustrator and designer for the last 20 years; using both pen/ink/paper & tablet/mouse and university and industry trained in both PC & Mac platform. Freelance, design firms and pre-press environments. Thank you.

Not trying to be an ass here, it's just; be real. Apple is not going after niche "markets" (such as ours) anymore. That was the 80's/90's.
Enterprise & consumer is Apple's future clearly. Pointlessly hoping that this is a glorified wireless Wacom tablet with Austin Powers mojo; for artists is
just a waste of dreaming/brainpower and threads and we've done it to death. I am not god, just real.
 
Gateway to .Mac

I think Apple is sneaking up on the thin client through the .Mac back door.

We'll have email, calendaring, our iTunes and iFlicks, and probably a suite of office software available through a wifi connection with a .Mac subscription and a thin-client tablet. Note: .Mac-only widgets are coming!

No wonder the phone companies are skittish about partnering with Apple. Can VoIP be far behind? Maybe the tablet has a built in iSight. Now all Apple needs to do is buy Skype.

I also note that .Mac subscribers were offered a free month of T-Mobile hotspot connectivity.... testing the waters for a future deal?

This is truly a crackberry + for the rest of us.
 
mrgreen4242 said:
To big. Tablet PC's have failed exactly because they are laptops without keyboards. They aren't useful at all. What WOULD be useful is something larger than a Palm but smaller than a 12" PBook.

I'm saying about and 8" screen in a portrait orientation. Touchscreen of course, but not a RF based so you can use a finger or whatever. The whole thing should be just a little bigger than a paperback book, and not much heavier than a couple iPods.

Base the OS on the Darwin core, with a designed from scratch GUI that resembles OS X, but without any bloat and with features that would make sense for a keyboardless device. Something innovative without being complicated.

A small built in speaker would be nice, and a mic is a must. Audio out for headphones is also a must, for iTunes purposes. A couple of harddrive options from 15-40gbs would be nice, but a single choice of 20 or 30 gigs would do. A couple of USB2.0 ports should suffice for hardwired I/O, with AE and maybe BT2 for wireless standards. A CF card slot, with a multi format adaptor would be useful, if not absolutely required.

Battery life should be no less than 5 hours, with 8 being the goal. It should have an integrated screen cover that is very light and unobtrusive when opened up. As much as I'd like to see the brushed aluminum motif, I think that iBook/Mac/Pod white would be perfect for something like this.

Price it at $500 for a basic model and $600 for an "advanced" model and market it as neither a tablet PC or a palm device and I think Apple could sell millions of them. Especially if it were at least partially compatible with OS X software, but even if it just an easy port it would do.
Click to expand...

EXACTLY! Well, except CF cards are so 2003--it would probably be SD. And probably $750-$1000, knowing Apple.
 
I think that apple is straying from the most important mission they have continueing to develope the Mac as the best computer they can. Tablets are a design whose time will not come, they will eventually be supplanted by wearable design with a wraparound head mounted screen.
 
mrgreen4242 said:
To big. Tablet PC's have failed exactly because they are laptops without keyboards. They aren't useful at all.
Click to expand...

Every tablet PC that I've ever seen has had a keyboard. They're all laptops with swivel/flip screens.

Gateway
Fujitsu
Acer
HP

Seems like a great idea, but overpriced and without a lot of software that would make them a breakout success.

Tablet pcs are in desperate need of their killer app.
 
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