Spy Photos - iWalk?

[MacRumors]

Ah... it's time for the spy photos - what self respecting Apple announcement and speculation be without the obligatory Spy Photos of questionable authenticity....

SpyMac has posted their version of Apple's new product: iWalk:

The iWalk is a kind of PDA with a lot more features than one could have previously expected: It features a high-color TFT-screen with handwriting recognition (using former newton-technology so it's a lot better than current palm os recognition) and direct access to both data stored on local macs (using AirPort) or on iDisk-volumes (using either routing through AirPort or the built-in modem). It has audio in- and output-ports so it can act as a usual mp3-player when connected to a stereo

Ah well... less than a day to go...

 

[MacAnonymous]

I disagree.

It's not a handheld and it's not going to do EVERYthing like Mac OS Rumors contributing writer says. If you step back for a moment you'd think it was an iMac in a Cube case for $300!

It will be a set top device that can record and play music and movies.

It's sad and I think we might be witnessing another public disaster like the Cube (all though I owned one!) I love Apple and will die by them but I think they're coming up with something (again) that people just won't understand.

How frustrating!!!!

 

[Spy_photos_my_butt]

You've GOT to be kidding me...

Anyone who buys that these are "photos" of the real rumored Apple thingy needs their eyes checked. I've never seen a more obvious 3D model in my life. Although, I loved the "shot in the bathroom" backdrop to add to the mystery, and the added grain was a nice touch.

 

[arn]

I didn't say I thought they were real...

arn

 

[Gelfin]

Dead giveaway...

http://www.spymac.com/gfx/iwalk03.jpg

Okay, now who DOESN'T know at this point that everybody on Earth knows what a Photoshop lens flare looks like?

Besides which, I don't think Apple would have designed something so stupid. As a left-handed person, I can attest that that design would be disastrous for us Southpaws. For that matter, even if you're right-handed, where do you hold the thing while writing on it? The only natural position for your left thumb is all full of buttons.

But then, I suppose that's why the artist is posting fake photos of Apple devices instead of designing real ones.

 

[gandalf55]

Ok -

I just went to "http://www.apple.com/pr" to see if i could see anything there...

check the status bar... i swear i saw "tiny DVD" appear for a split second. I wonder if the pr release is somewhere on a sever & is time activated to appear for the press?

- I dunno. maybe i'm nuts?

 

[rekras]

damn, i really hope that thing is indeed fake, it looks nice but, it looks to much like your average handheld nothing really that groundbreaking.

 

[rekras]

oh yea, and who the hell at apple would let someone take pictures of this thing, in a bathroom too?

 

[gandalf55]

its def. not going to be a handheld. it won't be huge, but i think it's gonna be component-like. and not portable.

looks like i can order my Treo from Handspring. which isn't a bad thing.

the handheld market is a minefield right now.

 

tiny dvD

gandalf55 open the source code of that page, and command-f for "dv" then hit command-g once or twice and you will see that one of the images is called "tiny_dvd.jpg" which i a guessing is the image of the tiny dvd disks. i don't think they would post anything new to their page until it actually is released. nice try tho!

 

[gandalf55]

can't blame me for trying

what time is the press conference anyway?

 

my predictions

those photos look pretty fake to me. here is my guess after discussing with some friends:

set top box/stereo component. portable but not handheld. possible remote? optional airport (to keep pricepoint down) usb or usb2? (supposed to be even faster than firewire-and if it going to be compaitble with pc, this would be smart), little screen (on the remote or on the device? maybe it uses your tv with the itunes visuals as the saver?) has rca cables, maybe (hope) optical cabes? i am guessing it will be around the sixe of a 4x6 pen tablet and about 2" thick. looks like an ibook, now the only thing left is the sex appeal. i am hoping it will be under $200, but most likely will end up at $300ish.

just a guess. -efg

 

my predictions (cont.)

i forgot... my guess is $129 (not including airport)... but maybe i am dreaming...

 

[gandalf55]

let's say you're right...

who is gonna buy one of these?

 

component system

anyone who wants to connect their pc or mac to their stereo in a different room. especially those of us who have LARGE mp3 collections and don't want to have to sit in front of their pc to listen to the music.

 

[Obsidian]

yeah right

I dont beleive for a second that this item will link your stereo to your computer! Now, I could be wrong, but I have a stero connected to my computer, and it cost me $3.99 to do! I have a stereo miniplug to rca that goes into my panasonic
sa-pm22, it works beautifully and sounds great. Ive also seend mini radio transmitters from radioshack for $50.00 that allows you to broadcast to a stereo on the fm band.

My neighbor has one of these and he uses it to hook his computer, and it sounds awesome.

Now, mabye apple is making a transmitter like this, but why would someone buy it if they could buy a lowertech version that works great?

Oh, and yeah, I use photoshop in my spare time. I am self taught, and I can see plainly with my own eyes that those 'photos' are fakes.

Just ask yourself - what morionic person in charge of this device would let, or even be allowed to let it out of their sight? Or let some other guy take it to the bathroom? whats he gonna do, look at porn on it??

I mean come on!

 

[gandalf55]

If I can:

- download mp3s & play through my stereo
- broadcast an internet radio station off it
- get QT live broadcasts of games (espn) for a fee on it
- take digital photographs with it
- get my email on it (remotely - out of airport range)
- use it as a cellphone
- keep appointments / contacts in it
- burn CDs
- possibly publish photos to my iTools or something

If it has:

- a small color display
- at least graffiti or simple "on screen" buttons including a fake keyboard (like PDAs have if you tire of graffiti)
- a huge HD
- connection ports out the ying yang
- a headphone jack
- a DVD player
- a built in timer (wake my ass up)
- iTunes visual effects

i'll pay tomorrow ASAP... or whenever this thing is available. Even if this thing is a larger component, with a "snap off" pda-like device where i can:

- listen to my mp3s
- read my emails prev-synced from OUTLOOK
- trade mp3s with another of these devices
- burn a CD of selected mp3s
- watch a DVD movie (!!! <-- alone kick ass)

i would be really happy. if it's merely a way of playing mp3s aorund the house, and connecting to the internet to get more of them without a "Mac"... then i think thats a pretty small market to hit.

if it has expansion for

- memory
- something like the Handspring Springboard

... wow that could rock. rock the casbah !

 

expand your horizons

let's think general public here, and not tech geek. most people want a simple solution without all the messy wires running from room to room. plus, we have been missing the A/V interfaces (rca, s-video, etc) from previous models for a while now... maybe it is time to re-introduce the mac to the home theater?

 

[arson]

Originally posted by gandalf55
Ok -

I just went to "http://www.apple.com/pr" to see if i could see anything there...

check the status bar... i swear i saw "tiny DVD" appear for a split second. I wonder if the pr release is somewhere on a sever & is time activated to appear for the press?

- I dunno. maybe i'm nuts?

The "Tiny DVD" you saw was for... suprise, the tiny_dvd.jpg image located about halfway down the page... next to the iDVD 2 info.

Here is a link to the image:
http://a772.g.akamai.net/7/772/51/3a2a0ca163a24a/www.apple.com/pr/images/tiny_dvd.jpg

 

let's be reasonable here...

gandalf55... let's be reasonable. it's nice to dream, but let's come a little closer to reality: what can apple sell to the mass public, that is innovative, fills a niche, is easy to use and will make them some serious cash for the holdiay season?? i suppose we will find out tomorrow.

 

[Sayer]

Its not impossible, just highly improbable

That device could exist, but it appears to be a mockup of someone's grand idea of what Apple *should* do.

Technically there are many ways it could be real. There is a single components low power AirPort compatible chip thats been done for many months.

LCDs are dirt cheap as is RAM and densities are quite high now. Dont think in terms of SIMMs, its all built in to save space. Engineering is all about tradeoffs (usually power vs. space vs. feature set in PDAs).

The buttons on the left are too "think" and would definately be nicked or rubbed or whatever.

I also doubt OS X could really run on such a thing. OS X is fairly modular, but you still need Carbon/Cocoa to do things with QuickTime or a GUI as they are all tied together.

As for right/left handedness, there are many mice that are right handed-only in shape. So thats almost a moot point. Most people are right handed so its a fairly safe bet.

I didn't see any stylus holder, a bit of a mistake on the artist's part. If it has handwriting rec. it needs a stylus.

Judging by the aproximate size of those tiles (6x6 or more likely 8x8) thats a fairly large "thing" and it appears rather thick. Maybe about the size of a Newton only wider and always in portrait mode.

Whomever made that did a good job (model mockup or 3D model, looks fairly real tho so its prolly a mockup).

I don't think that is what Apple will introduce, but it is possible they could produce such a device if all the technological pieces fell into place and they had a low price point.

Whatever Apple introduces many Mac people will wonder why it wasn't done sooner and the mainstream press will dismiss it as another failed attempt by Apple to garner marketshare/mindshare. Watch the stock drop as the pressure is released.

Heck, Apple should just pre-announce things and let their stock rise and never ship like Microsoft - oh wait when Apple does any pump and dump they get sued and when Microsoft does it they take over another market segment with all the cash they raise.

 

[gandalf55]

well, whatever the device ends up being, it needs to offer:

- expandability in:
on board software (whatever) - even if just the iTunes
RAM (very, very cheap)
HD (very cheap)

people, even with simple solutions, like the ability to upgrade without buying a new device. i know this isn't going to be a "Mac" per se, but i would have more faith in a device i knew i could purchase & use for some time before the technology was worn out. i don't think most people are happy with generic solutions anymore... things somewhat packed with features are better than trying to stack them on later down the lifecycle. and yes, i would say most of the world, esp. those into music & stereos, are tech saavy to some degree. if this thing has features i would never imagine myself using (and i felt like i didn't have to pay a ton more for something i wouldn't use much), i would feel more comfortable KNOWING that those features were there.

The ability to play DVDs on my television, paired with anything else I think would be a boon.

perhaps the thing will be like a PS2... but with the ability to Software Update automatically like the current OSX.

to use this thing one assumes you have Airport running in the house. airport isn't exactly cheap. it could drive airport sales most likely.

- just my additional $0.02.

========
has there been an announcement of a press conference or anything? the only way i knew about this was to see the articles on the MR homepage.

 

[rekras]

yea what time is this conference at anyway?

 

[gandalf55]

my guess: noonish EST the world will know.

 

[marco114]

If it was real

If it was real, Apple legal would have shut it down by now