What is the Ultimate Role of the Apple Tablet?

[Clix Pix]

I'm pretty sure this thing is going to have handwriting recognition..... Yesterday I was at the Apple store and when it came time to sign for my purchases I was handed a little stylus-like thingy with a soft tip. Today I was back at the Apple store for something else that I'd forgotten yesterday and this time I used my fingertip to sign for my purchase. This was on the Apple store's POS iPod Touch-based doohickeys. Both times my signature appeared and gazing at it, I thought, "this feature is definitely going to be in the new iTablet!"

 

[ShiftyPig]

People never thought they could text without a physical keyboard. Until the iPhone came out.

Today people don't think they can do regular computing without a physical keyboard.

If Apple can convince people that they can type on a virtual keyboard, then Apple can sell a no-keyboard device that replaces a notebook computer.

That would allow them to price this thing at $800-$900, because that's entry level for MacBooks anyway.

Ooooh... so that explains why the iPhone still trails Blackberry's physical keyboard models. Got it. And good thing I have a third hand to hold a 10" screen so I can type on a tablet.

 

[danerh]

You make good points, and I agree.

But.

What if the Tablet is not an AppleTV replacement, but an AppleTV extension? In other words, what if the Tablet syncs to all your Apple devices (AppleTV, iMac, etc.) and allows you to take the same content with you when you leave?

When you ARE at home, what if it turns into a remote when it's on the same network? What if it allows you to purchase media on the go, which then tells the AppleTV to automatically download it for your family to watch as well?

If it could function both as a player and a portable manager for all of your media, I think it could really be something.

Every mac with itunes is already an apple TV extension that can sync to the apple TV... Download something on your mac and its on the TV too. I'm sure if this tablet has itunes it will offer the same functionality. As for every other mac on the network, well that new home sharing function of iTunes does that too, though not automatically. And as for being some kind of super management tool, well its not going to have a HUGE hard drive, and to store massive amounts of content you'd need a big hard drive, which the apple TV's also currently don't have...
... so I don't think this tablet could really be described as an apple TV replacement (in any way), and assuming it does have itunes and the same functionality as a mac then it doesnt bring any kind of new extension you've described to the table either.

As for the remote, well every ipod touch and iphone acts as apple TV remotes already and i'm sure that same app could end up on the tablet (and i'm supprised something very similar isnt available for the mac, well nothing official anyway (though I guess a mac isn't very remote-like in appearance).

 

[ahm]

A tablet... what a dumb idea. An unguarded screen, a display that's not big enough, a device that's not small enough to just grab and take with you... if this thing comes out I predict it will be popular with the small population of people who actually give a crap about it and then it will die out. It won't be good enough to replace a macbook, and too big (and pointless) to replace an iPod touch or an iPhone. It will be a bastard device with a cult following.

 

[apolloa]

The answer to that question you can find on this website.

You just have to read it carefully and there you have it.
http://daringfireball.net/2009/12/the_tablet

An interesting read that say's nothing really? A new type of personal computer? The only way they can sell a keyboard less device is on a coolness factor, it would be useful but what if you want to make a quick word document on the go? You going to type on a 7" plus device lying flat on a table? Won't work, and that's a point that is not really answered in that article, just asked.

Still they brought the click wheel to the masses.....

 

[TraceyS/FL]

I'm pretty sure this thing is going to have handwriting recognition..... Yesterday I was at the Apple store and when it came time to sign for my purchases I was handed a little stylus-like thingy with a soft tip. Today I was back at the Apple store for something else that I'd forgotten yesterday and this time I used my fingertip to sign for my purchase. This was on the Apple store's POS iPod Touch-based doohickeys. Both times my signature appeared and gazing at it, I thought, "this feature is definitely going to be in the new iTablet!"

http://tenonedesign.com/

Great company, fast shipping - and awesome customer service!!!

(my order shipped within 30 minutes of placing it, and 1 of the 2 i ordered had something funky going on - and again, in less than an hour of sending the email, i had fed ex shipping info for a resend!)

AND, it's way cool to play & draw with on the Touch!

 

[DeLoradore]

A tablet... what a dumb idea. ............It will be a bastard device with a cult following.

Let's see... shall we?

 

[DeLoradore]

.....it would be useful but what if you want to make a quick word document on the go? ...

Every device is good for certain things. No device is good for all of them at the same time. Maybe it is not the right device for producing word documents, maybe it is a device for consuming content, reading, watching, shopping, gaming, you name it.

But surely not for cutting video, working in Photoshop or writing word documents, and why should it be? That you can do better on a MacBook or MacBookPro, right?

 

[Eric S.]

How about watching 3-d movies without polarising glasses?

How about playing VR games?

How about reading a sports magazine that included 3-d video footage of a game?

No, no, and no. Yawn.

Just look at the angle on the Dock in the current MacOS; or in Coverflow - and you can see where the new UI is headed...

Nope, I still haven't heard anything that attracts me, at least nothing I wouldn't rather do on my Macbook or iPod touch.

 

[BVeritas]

http://tenonedesign.com/

Great company, fast shipping - and awesome customer service!!!

(my order shipped within 30 minutes of placing it, and 1 of the 2 i ordered had something funky going on - and again, in less than an hour of sending the email, i had fed ex shipping info for a resend!)

AND, it's way cool to play & draw with on the Touch!

Those pens have a huge fake fingertip. Presently the iPhone cannot deal with small granularity, so all handwriting is huge.

The table will have to employ much better granularity to be a useful handwriting input device. I hope it has it though.

 

[str1f3]

An interesting read that say's nothing really? A new type of personal computer? The only way they can sell a keyboard less device is on a coolness factor, it would be useful but what if you want to make a quick word document on the go? You going to type on a 7" plus device lying flat on a table? Won't work, and that's a point that is not really answered in that article, just asked.

Still they brought the click wheel to the masses.....

If I need to type quick word document on the go I use my iPhone. As for typing on a flat surface, we have no idea how this is supposed to stand up on its own. We don't know anything really considering Apple has never acknowledged the tablet even exists. It wasn't Gruber's job to answer these questions. It's Apple's.

 

[redkamel]

Do you continuously read zen poems in a woodland glade for days on end?

Why couldn't you just plug it in at night like the rest of us?

It would go totally against how I normally use my books. I leave them in the car, I leave them in my bag. I read them for 8 hours on a plane, then 2 in an airport. I read them on road trips. I leave it open while writing a paper at the library. I like the immediacy of opening a book and reading, so an ebook would need to be always on, or instant on. I might take it to a foreign country. Part of the reason I am take books over ipods/phone my book doesn't need cables, power,and can be reasonably mistreated. I also don't like reading backlit screens for long periods of time, so e-ink is it for me for books. And if my book needs to be plugged in, why not take a DVD player, or anything else? If I used my iphone like I would an ebook reader, it would fail when I needed it most: long trips and marathon sessions.

I'm sure one will be able to read ebooks on the Apple tablet. But will it take the world by storm and replace books? I doubt it. But ebooks kind of suck now anyhow.

My point was this: ebooks are a niche market. If someone wants to make it a big, new thing, they need what I described earlier (this is what I want).

If they want to take Amazon's cheese, the Apple tablet just has to be an ipod/computer you can comfortable read on, with a touch screen. While its not what I want, I think this is what will happen.

So it won't be what I consider a "real" ebook reader.

 

[str1f3]

Every device is good for certain things. No device is good for all of them at the same time. Maybe it is not the right device for producing word documents, maybe it is a device for consuming content, reading, watching, shopping, gaming, you name it.

But surely not for cutting video, working in Photoshop or writing word documents, and why should it be? That you can do better on a MacBook or MacBookPro, right?

Why do people bring this up as a content consuming device? No one in their right mind is going to pay $700 + monthly data plan for that.

Typing on a laptop actually sucks because unlike desktop keyboards it lies flat and is not elevated. The tablet, when operating in widscreen for example, could have something that folds out from the top to have the device slightly elevated. Combine that with rumored elevated keys and it could potentially be better than typing on a laptop. You can also have the option of a Bluetooth keyboard. You can potentially hold it in portrait mode and type similarly as you would on an iPhone.

I would rather use a tablet for editing movies in a iMovie type app. As for Photoshop, I doubt that this machine is powerful enough but that is a professional level app which needs a professional level machine. If it could work on this tablet, I'm sure many would prefer to use a stylus over a mouse for better precision.

 

[AppleFanatic112]

Apple Tablet

I heard from a friend at Verizon that the rumored tablet will be introduced at the next Mac World and will kill Amazon's Kindle. It will be serviced by Verizon.

 

[cmaier]

Why do people bring this up as a content consuming device? No one in their right mind is going to pay $700 + monthly data plan for that.

Probably a good point, except that you invented the $700 and you invented the monthly data plan.

 

[KnightWRX]

I heard from a friend at Verizon that the rumored tablet will be introduced at the next Mac World and will kill Amazon's Kindle. It will be serviced by Verizon.

You heard wrong. Apple doesn't do product introductions at MacWorld anymore.

Probably a good point, except that you invented the $700 and you invented the monthly data plan.

Yeah, all the people thinking this will have built-in 3G don't really make sense. Just throw a USB port on there, and support the USB 3G devices that all carriers have and then people can have choice of their carrier, like they do with a laptop. If this thing is tied to a carrier, that's a sure fail right there. Why get a hulking 10" monster that can't make phone calls and have to pay a monthly fee for it to a cellphone company ?

 

[axual]

iThink

The ultimate role will be to boost my Apple stock further ... so that Apple will then decide to split the stock so that I will have twice as much.

 

[cmaier]

I heard from a friend at Verizon that the rumored tablet will be introduced at the next Mac World and will kill Amazon's Kindle. It will be serviced by Verizon.

Unless your friend at verizon is the CEO, I doubt he would know.

 

[thegoldenmackid]

Unless your friend at verizon is the CEO, I doubt he would know.

1. Apple isn't going to be at MacWorld
2. Verizon isn't getting anything Apple, anytime soon.

 

[str1f3]

Probably a good point, except that you invented the $700 and you invented the monthly data plan.

Have you seen this thing not rumored with a data plan? Also, how much do you expect a 10" "media player" to cost when a top of the line touch costs $399?

Yeah, all the people thinking this will have built-in 3G don't really make sense. Just throw a USB port on there, and support the USB 3G devices that all carriers have and then people can have choice of their carrier, like they do with a laptop. If this thing is tied to a carrier, that's a sure fail right there. Why get a hulking 10" monster that can't make phone calls and have to pay a monthly fee for it to a cellphone company ?

LOL, yes, because as we all know what Apple is famous for is choice and any consumer customizations. This thing is not going to have the option of any dongle protruding out of the device. Apple will have this built in. If it isn't built in, then it will be unsubsudized and consumers will consider the device cost-prohibitive like they did with the original iPhone.

 

[lilo777]

Probably a good point, except that you invented the $700 and you invented the monthly data plan.

At least one of the points must be correct. Unsubsidized tablet can not cost less than $600 (considering that iPhone costs about that much). The price can only be reduced through subsity (i.e. data plan). Also it might be difficult to consume anything on such device without data plan

 

[KnightWRX]

At least one of the points must be correct. Unsubsidized tablet can not cost less than $600 (considering that iPhone costs about that much). The price can only be reduced through subsity (i.e. data plan). Also it might be difficult to consume anything on such device without data plan

What about a tablet without 3G or cellular built-in would make it cost the same thing as an iPhone ?

Netbooks come in 10" devices and cost less than 300$. What mythical hardware drives up the price that much ? The touch screen ? Highly doubtful.

Though this is Apple, forget about getting a 399$ device...

LOL, yes, because as we all know what Apple is famous for is choice and any consumer customizations. This thing is not going to have the option of any dongle protruding out of the device. Apple will have this built in. If it isn't built in, then it will be unsubsudized and consumers will consider the device cost-prohibitive like they did with the original iPhone.

Ok, so you're just too cheap to pay for it, you hope Apple finds a way to give them away ?

People don't consider a 1299$ laptop cost prohibitive and don't need cellphone carriers to subsidize them. I'd hope an Apple tablet would be in the same boat at the price point they introduce them.

And Apple doesn't seem to mind the USB dongle sticking out of my Macbook giving me 3G access on it.

 

[bergmef]

If ATT can't seem to handle the iphone traffic, why add another data link like a tablet?

 

[Mr. Gates]

If ATT can't seem to handle the iphone traffic, why add another data link like a tablet?

Who said anything about this going to AT&T's incompetent hands ? Hmmm?

 

[AidenShaw]

And Apple doesn't seem to mind the USB dongle sticking out of my Macbook giving me 3G access on it.

That's the one that blows me away - that Apple doesn't have at least the option for internal 3G on any computer systems. Three year old Dell, Lenovo and HP laptops have internal 3G options - but no Apples have them.

Bizarre.

(And note that the other laptops don't *require* a 3G plan, it's just a BTO option to have the radio installed in case you want a data plan. Verizon even has a "pay per day" plan - sign up for a day's access without any strings attached.)