What is the Ultimate Role of the Apple Tablet?

[davemccr]

To be a success

This new device must do a few things,

Surf the web as well as an iphone (That means anywhere access 3g/wifi)
Connect to a larger display for sharing (like the iPhone or a notebook)
Have 8 hour battery life
Play back HD video
Allow for ebooks of multiple types
Allow user to input data (hopefully better than on an iphone)


If it does all of these things, they will sell tonnes of them. I'll buy one... I need something to replace my laptop and supplement my iPhone. I don't want to have to pull out my laptop to post on a forum like this... and my iPhone is too damn small for large amounts of media consumption.

A light weight OSX would be ideal, something that could run OSX based basic creation apps (light photo/wordprocessing/movie and presentation software) would be best in my view, but as long as it can do everthing I initially listed. I'm in.... no, I didn't drink the kool aid, I'm tired of my laptop when I don't need it... but I do need more than my iPhone...

 

[Eidorian]

I could not control my laughter at the thought of buying a book. I'd have to be pretty desperate to do that.

Hopefully it won't end up as a gray area tablet that's trying to live off the good will and dollars of previous products. It has to be more than a big iPod Touch.

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

How many Kindles has Amazon sold? They've never said.

arn

But we have some really good estimates.

 

[3N16MA]

I can see Apple doing a larger iPod Touch with MacBook type apps. You have your regular apps on that are on the iPod Touch just scaled to the new screen size along with full access to the app store. Tablet specific apps like "iLife Lite" and "iWork Lite". Full version of iTunes with access to digital magazines, e-books, music, movies, iTunes LP, apps. Perhaps lite versions of Front Row and Quicktime for media playback. This would be more powerful than an iPod Touch/iPhone but not quite as powerful as a MacBook/MacBook Pro. I would buy something like this.

 

[Rot'nApple]

If it surfs web, but also runs Keynote and is nice to type on, then I'll buy. I think it is for those occasions a Macbook is just too much.

Agreed.

My next computer may be a Macbook or Macbook Pro, but my iMac is handling all my computer needs regarding my business perfectly well. If I was to go to a laptop in the upcoming future for my business computing needs, depending upon the capabilities of the tablet, I think I'd still want to leave my notebook at the office and use the tablet for mobile purposes.

There are nearly 4000 suppliers I represent and instead of mailing a catalog or sales sheet to me, the industry, 500 for now, is beginning to create digital catalogs in PDF format. It would be interesting to see how future catalogs from companies like these could be interactive with weekly sale items, closeouts, order forms, product demonstrations, etc. - similar to the interactive magazine enhancements that can be seen on that Sports Illustrated you tube video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntyXvLnxyXk A tablet could be a lot workable then a notebook to show possible customers the digital catalog product line. Definitely a tablet is a lot easier to carry and work with over a MacBook or 500 catalogs!

So I look forward to seeing what Apple has up it's sleeve!

 

[Rot'nApple]

what about productivity? How much will theTablet "eat into" the Macbook's space? Personally, I hope that at least I will not only be able to read the "Great American Novel" on my "iSlate", but also be able to WRITE the next one! Writing more than e-mail and tweets is a MUST for me....

And wouldn't it be something if Steve intros the tablet and then says two ways for productivity... virtual keyboard and writing. Regarding writing, we're not talking about a stylus. No! Fingers and gestures? It's there but NO! We're talking about using any pen or pencil you have immediately at hand to use on this tablet to write in block or cursive script!

 

[mattwolfmatt]

I'm sure Mac Rumors is filled with posts of people who said a few years ago, "Why, oh why, Apple, are you going into the cell phone business? Just make better computers!" I have confidence in their research.

I could search, but it's 1:30am. Happy New Year and good night.

 

[mkelly]

Don't get me wrong, I do not like netbooks myself, but a lot of people do and I can see why.

Response time, with some background info:

I currently own 3 Netbook devices:

1. HP Mini 110 with 2 gigs of RAM
2. Sony Vaio P (oh right, Sony doesn't want me to call this a netbook )
3. Viliv X70 (it's more of a tablet, but very similar netbook specs)

I've also spent some quality time with a Samsung NC-10 and a couple Dell netbooks.

Now, to respond to your points:

1. Netbooks are definitely fast enough for most tasks they are bought for (web surfing, emails, watching DivX videos, Skype). Yes, Flash is a bit of a laggy affair on them, but you can see how much people "need" Flash if you take into account they are buying iPhones and use them for web surfing.

Web-surfing, definitely fast enough. Watching DivX vids and Skype? Maybe. Sure, low-quality DivX plays fine, but a 720p file? Not as well. Skype? Well, the hardware can handle it, but the video quality from my HP and Viliv leaves much to be desired. The Sony? Forget about it, it's too slow to do all of the above. This is likely due to the fact that Sony put a low-end Atom processor in there, and tried to get it to drive a crappy GMA500 chipset at 1600x768.

The HD factor is still like 2-3 years down the road.

Gotta disagree with you here. I'm not talking 1080p. I'm talking 720p ... people are downloading this stuff now to their primary machines and then trying to play it back on their netbooks & are disappointed. Some more than others, but overall the experience is ... meh.

2a. You can already buy Ion-based netbooks that are well fit to play HD content. They don't play a major role though.The next Atom generation (due in a few weeks) is supposed to support HD acceleration, too. We'll have to see if they keep their promise.

Yes, this is true - although the Ion netbooks are relatively new to begin with, the upcoming crop should improve things.

4. No it doesn't. Battery life compared to notebooks is awesome, that isn't just a recent development. Getting 7-8h out of a Samsung NC-10 is no big surprise. Don't expect a tablet to magically double or triple that battery life somehow, because the device would get too thick and heavy (i.e. unsexy).

Yes, it does. There are specific netbooks that have great battery life (eg: the NC-10 you mentioned, MSI Wind U115, etc) but until quite recently most netbooks were shipping with 3 cell batteries. My HP 110? 2 hours of battery life. The Vaio P? 1.5 if I'm lucky. The typical Acer and MSI models that are available at your local Best Buy / FutureShop (if you're Canadian)? You're looking at 2-ish hours. Take someone who walks in off the street and gets a "good deal" on a netbook, and they're getting 2 hours of battery life unless they get a salesperson who knows what they're talking about.

A tablet may not double or triple battery life, but I expect we're going to see *some* improvement over an average 2009 netbook. The 2010 models are a different matter.

5. Many of the first netbooks had crappy keyboards. Have you typed on the recent Samsung netbooks? Nice keyboards! Resolution will obviously not be substantially higher on a tablet, so I don't know why you bring this up. The one big advantage that remains in this department would be the touch screen.

The Samsung keyboards are functional. I prefer the HP Mini keyboards. But take a look at the mainstream Acer and MSI models - crappy keyboards.

As for resolution, I bring it up because it's a complaint about many low-end netbooks (1024x600 or even lower). I didn't specifically say that a tablet would have higher resolution, I was merely stating the deficiencies of most current netbooks, and crappy resolution is definitely an issue. It's nice to see some newer machines with 1366x768 (ie: HP 311), but the 311 is almost too large to be considered a netbook now.

I'd like to reiterate: I'm talking about the *current* crop of netbooks, which is what the tablet would have been designed against (how long has this device supposedly been in the works?). Yes, there are exceptions to the netbook faults I've listed (the NC-10 being a good example), and yes, there are some nifty machines coming down the pipeline in the next few months. But I think my argument still stands:

Rather than building their own netbook, Apple is taking a different route and will try to sell people a tablet device as an alternative.

 

[Thex1138]

More

It wont just be for the consumer market... it will have a fair bit of commercial applications for example restaurant ordering systems, medical, engineering, communications, mobile lab work...
i think there will be expansion slot and at least one USB port, audio port, interface port, sim card slot and 2 or more controls on the side appart from the front face home button.
A hybrid or new OS mix which will be able to use some OS X Apps and some iPhone Apps.
Battery life will make or break though... a user will want at least a whole days usage or a couple of days stand by...
I think it will do well, especially after I buy one and show off to everyone in my office

 

[DriveByPoster]

I think the potential here is huge, and can prove problematic for a lot of companies.

Not only could it be used as a separate device, but it could also be the perfect Mac peripheral.

From a music production standpoint, a company could make a fullscreen touch sensitive sequencer/groovebox that could render instruments such as the Tenori-On or Maschine obsolete. A tablet midi controller!

I think that calling it "Slate" is the perfect name, because other companies will have to start over with a clean slate in order to catch up.

 

[Eidorian]

Rather than building their own netbook, Apple is taking a different route and will try to sell people a tablet device as an alternative.

This is pretty much the response that I expected from Apple. They don't want to compete in the netbook marketspace so they'll create their own product and space for it.

I do remember mentioning this before but it's going to be ARM tablet vs. cheap x86 netbook/MID.

 

[Rot'nApple]

It wont just be for the consumer market... it will have a fair bit of commercial applications for example restaurant ordering systems...

An application MS applied to their $10,000 "Surface" table. Apple will add one letter "t", call it 'tablet' sell at 1/25th the MS price, and call it "Scratch the Surface", (get it ) and once again show MS how it's done!

 

[LoganT]

I feel the tablet is one of those devices that we don't realize we want until he shows it to us.

 

[InfoSecmgr]

I just don't see any usefulness unless it runs Mac OS 10.

 

[bobringer]

This is spot on. The tablet is not about running the same things your do on a MBP. The tablet can be summed up in one word: content. Think of a single device to access all published content, whether it be Web, News, Video, Apps, Music, etc. It will use HTML5 and CSS to render everything. Make no mistake, this is a game-changer in that it will be the first true content device. Brilliant.

I've been saying exactly this for a good six months. It's clear that the iTunes LP format goes well, well beyond albums. HTML5/JavaScript/CSS are the engine that is going to drive the content on this thing. Hopefully, Apple's HTML5 video implementation can kill Ogg Theora so we get a single standard... would be beautiful for consumers as the format would basically be a standard for ALL devices, not just Apple. Of course, Apple's would blow away the competition... still... the prospect of a totally open standard for this next generation of content is exciting. FearlessFreep, you're spot on.

 

[mikes70mustang]

Taking peoples money.

 

[marksman]

The iTablet's eventual goal will be to serve as a seamless extension of your other Apple devices. It will either carry on it, or have fast access to, any of your content on any of your Apple products such as Macs, iPods, iTV, and iPhone. We're talking apps, programs, files, bookmarks, and media content. Watch and see... That is exactly where Apple is going with this. It may take a few iterations, but that is the end game.

I am trying to figure out what this will be that will make it attractive to me.

I do think the idea of allowing me a more portable experience to shrink down my mac, and a portable experience to blow up my iPhone would be awesome.

I like my big macbook and my little iphone, but sometimes they are both too big or small for what I want to do. a tablet that allowed me to control those things, and also do some of the interesting content things people have mentioned would have significant worth to me.

I have never found using a laptop on a lap or while relaxing in a chair or bed to be all that comfortable, so for those times, I would like some more manageable way to get at things. Perhaps the tablet will do that.

 

[gibbz]

But we have some really good estimates.

What classifies these as good estimates? It is some analyst putting a guess out there. It says he "expects" and then goes on to talk about "sales forecast". It doesn't describe how he reaches those numbers. Neither does Amazon. So there is nothing other than carefully crafted press releases touting its success. Don't get me wrong, I have a Kindle 2, but I would say there is any reason to believe this guy over anyone else.

 

[carmenodie]

it is going to be a product by a product company that is publicly traded and answers to wall street and stock holders. Hello!!!!!

 

[daze]

Maybe the tablet will allow you to finally play all those iPhone/iTouch games on a better screen with maybe, a way to allow USB based controls? One can dream...

 

[mac88]

This is my favorite mockup...

I like that version too. That would be great if that is what it ultimately looks like.

 

[AbblePC]

the 13" MacBook Pro could lower it's price and fill in for the MacBook. while the "Tablet" could replace not only the MacBook and MacBook Air, but also the AppleTV.

the tablet could also be Apple's entry into the netbook market, but by offering less? the value of a netbook may not be that substantial, but you can still type 60 words per minute on it, while it's not likely that you could do so on a soft-key screen.

Remember the Macbook Aluminum was just re-branded Macbook Pro... This would be going backwards wouldn't it?

Not only could it be used as a separate device, but it could also be the perfect Mac peripheral.

From a music production standpoint, a company could make a fullscreen touch sensitive sequencer/groovebox that could render instruments such as the Tenori-On or Maschine obsolete. A tablet midi controller!

I think that calling it "Slate" is the perfect name, because other companies will have to start over with a clean slate in order to catch up.

I love this type of enthusiasm and foresight, more people have to use their imagination as this guy, well done It's daydreaming like this that makes the items we love as Mac devices today.

It wont just be for the consumer market... it will have a fair bit of commercial applications for example restaurant ordering systems, medical, engineering, communications, mobile lab work...
i think there will be expansion slot and at least one USB port, audio port, interface port, sim card slot and 2 or more controls on the side appart from the front face home button.
A hybrid or new OS mix which will be able to use some OS X Apps and some iPhone Apps.
Battery life will make or break though... a user will want at least a whole days usage or a couple of days stand by..

Ditto: Same with this guy, I Love it! Keep brainstorming from the unconscious plethora of never ending ideas, conscious thinking can only relate to what is, not what is to be.

 

[MattInOz]

I can't see how there could be so much doubt after the success of the Kindle.

It seems pretty obvious to me that the iTablet is for reading.

"Books," (the definition will change) magazines, academic papers etc etc Long-form stuff -- not blog posts much less tweets.

And watching movies.

Isn't that enough?

I sure think so.

Jobs' name goes down alongside Gutenberg even if he thinks that the only place people read is in the bathroom.

Not just books,....
To me all paper is the target of this device.

All the paper in your school bag.
All the paper you take to a meeting. Believe me I can sometimes be carrying a ream of of A3 paper to meetings happy to slim that down.
All the paper you have lying around on your desk, around the house, in the kitchen, study,... Then can't put your hands on when you need it.
All the paper you would love to get of rid of but can't because nothing in the market really works well.

Kindle is about amazon moving content, While Apple does have content to move they get the most bang out of selling the device, so if they can help you get you own content on their then that is win for them as well.

The device needs to be good for reading, but also for note taking both on documents and new documents. It needs to go further organising documents along with main OS. Say picking up details from paper bills adding them to the calendar.

While the paperless push is in full swing and these devices could give a boost that laptops just haven't managed to move. On other hand I could see a resurgence of hard cover books like vinyl albums have return in the wake of digital music if we get a range of successful range of devices in this range.

 

[kennycheng93]

Handwriting

I think it's going to support handwriting / voice input so we don't need to use keyboard all the time.

 

[Ironduke]

This machine will be an epic fail running the current crop of mac os X 10 Applications, they just were not designed for 10" touch screens.

For the Tablet to replace the macbook, apple are going to have to rewrite all the iLife, iwork applications to be just as productive & user friendly using a new style of working, this could be anything from simple multi touch to a combination of voice & visual gesturing ala MS Natal also predictive Text possibly.

But Im laughing at these people who say No OSX 10 no sale why would you pay good money for a device that doesnt do the job as good as your macbook.

LOL @ You.