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IMHO - I don't think the aim of this tablet is the office... It will be a more consumer/personal device. Like I said, content is going to be cloud based (such as YouTube) and this tablet is going to be able to access that content very easily and in a fun way.

I have no desire for an all cloud based system. I don't have many wifi spots, and i'm not paying AT&T (or Verizon) $30/mo for this thing to be online and have access to "my" stuff.

But i need media on the go - that i can load myself.
 
I have no desire for an all cloud based system. I don't have many wifi spots, and i'm not paying AT&T (or Verizon) $30/mo for this thing to be online and have access to "my" stuff.

But i need media on the go - that i can load myself.

Same here,

A good system would be "Antenna Chips"

I saw at a small University openday that a couple of students were working on a cellphone system where you could change the Antenna type by use of a add-on board. The Chip/s sat on a small PCB that had a controller(?) chip to "translate" the OS signals to the CDMA/GSM electronic signals. This might be a good system for Apple and the iPhone/Tablet to reach a large user base and give users freedom.

After that bit I left because I wanted to go to the OS Dev mini-lecture. :D
 
I don't think Apple would release a tablet with the vague notion that someone might consider it a workable laptop replacement lacking any evidence of this.

I think you overestimate the computing needs of the average users. The things they are using most of the time is the iLife suite, iTunes, Office/iWork, IM & the web browser.

I think it's more likely that Apple would develop a new device with a specific role in the iTunes ecosystem in order to deliver content and drive sales. This would include music, video, applications, and hopefully books and magazines.

I don't think its place is necessarily in the iTunes ecosystem but it will have a redesigned iTunes for that device. Yes it will probably also need it to install apps but I believe this is something you sync your iPhone to and not a device that needs to be synced to your Mac.



I also think it's incorrect to assume that apps developed for the iPhone would be lacking in a larger screen. On the contrary, many apps for the iPhone are extremely powerful and are limited by the iPhones form factor. These apps would benefit greatly from a larger screen with multitouch support.

The reason why the apps need to be reworked is because the UI elements would look strange and spaced out on a larger screen. There certainly are powerful apps on the App Store that will become even more powerful with a larger screens and more gestures to use.

Additionally, Apple probably recognizes that laptops and desktops are not the ideal form factor for multitouch display applications. It's simply not ergonomic to reach across the desk to touch the screen. Multitouch displays would require additional hardware as well which would lock out customers with older systems. More likely, Apple would leverage the built in iSight and consider a motion/gesture recognition system as some patents have shown and will soon appear in the Xbox as Natal.

A tablet, on the other hand, is naturally a multitouch device and makes for a logical extension of this technology.

Agreed.
 
Will the tablet do something like this?

The tablet is probably going to be designed to run apps like this, with the same type of business model.

Now, whether you actually need a tablet for this is another matter. Remember the netbook here has a 10" screen like the proposed iSlate, and will probably be a lot cheaper.

Maybe the main motivation for a tablet is for Apple to develop technology to prevent Adobe's Air from becoming the defacto standard for newspaper publishing.
 
I can't see Apple immediately dumping the MB for a tablet because it's not going to be competing for that market. A tablet won't be able to do everything a MB can, and to drop the entry level laptop and force people up to $1200 in a recession is nuts.

When Apple introduced the iPhone it practically reinvented the segment. Up until that point the Palm 700 was about the coolest phone out there -- it looks like a joke today, and that was only 4 years ago. The Palm 700 had all the same features as the iPhone, more really, but the iPhone led people to use their phones for more than just phones.

So it's with that history in mind, that whatever people think the "iSlate," will be, it won't. It will be mind blowing. It has to be because that is what people expect of Apple now, not just a lame variation on a theme that everyone else does.

What really puzzles me is how Apple is going to sell 10 million in the first year. That is a huge number. You can say "subsidized," but I'll tell you I, and lots of other people are tired of paying for multiple Internet access accounts. I'm not interested in a subsidized machine with a $2000 contract attached to it.

So say it's unsubsidized at $600 -- has to be at least that much judging from the price of the 64GB iPod Touch. Do 10M people really have $600 to spare for a toy in this economy?
 
The Teachers in our school all had to have Tablets.
And from what I see and hear they just use them to surf the web and send their grades and attendance in to the office. They could of used net books for that and saved the school a small fortune.
 
Very likely facts about the tablet:

- Will be aimed at home users primarily. Apple has never been a company that has showed much interest in the business world. They don't have "business DNA" as some people would say. Sure, there will be uses in the corporate sector, but it won't come with the manageability that is required for big-business-use. (just like the iPhone)

- Will not try to replace Macbooks. That is not possible and a reason why other tablets failed. It would also steal their own revenue. Dumb idea.

- Will not come with a physical keyboard. Would make it too thick and steal battery life. Instead it will entirely rely on its touchscreen.

- Will primarily be a reading / browsing device. User input via touchscreen will be provided with a virtual keyboard, iPhone style. It will not work as a Wacom tablet replacement.

- Will not run full OS X, but a tailored version instead, something between iPhone OS and full OS X. Previous tablets failed mostly because they did not provide a proper UI but instead left people alone with standard OSes and standard applications, with a very unstatisfying user experience.

- Will not run OS X applications but require special apps. It will be made easy for developers to turn current OS X apps into tablet apps, with new APIs for user input. This UI API approach worked extremely well on the iPhone, where most apps nicely blend in with the whole great user experience and like on the iPhone, u.e. is the basis for success.

- Therefore, we'll have an app store and no other way of installing something else. The app store idea has been working extremely well, and I always expected Apple to extend it to bigger devices. It will be a challenge to prevent a race to 1 dollar apps, since Adobe et al. will want to sell tablet versions of Photoshop for a good price. However, Adobe might also realize that people will not use a full blown Photoshop on a _reading_ (remember?) tablet and offer a iPhone-like stripped down version. It will also be a challenge to convince users that they do not want/need to install any software that is not available on the app store.

- Will come with some sort of newspaper / book content, iTunes shop-style. There's a reason why everyone in publishing is suddenly forming digital content alliances.

- Will not exceed 8-10hrs of battery life

- Will not have an e-ink screen

- Will not have an OLED screen

- Apple will buy BMW or Audi and build a car with a proper UI.

- Just kidding.
 
- Will not run full OS X, but a tailored version instead, something between iPhone OS and full OS X. Previous tablets failed mostly because they did not provide a proper UI but instead left people alone with standard OSes and standard applications, with a very unstatisfying user experience.

If Apple made the Code base identical for OSX Tablet, but the XIB files were the only difference it would be a big helping hand to devs.

Making new XIB files would be relatively easy, all you do is make a new UI and re-drag the relationships.
 
I can't see Apple immediately dumping the MB for a tablet because it's not going to be competing for that market. A tablet won't be able to do everything a MB can, and to drop the entry level laptop and force people up to $1200 in a recession is nuts.

When Apple introduced the iPhone it practically reinvented the segment. Up until that point the Palm 700 was about the coolest phone out there -- it looks like a joke today, and that was only 4 years ago. The Palm 700 had all the same features as the iPhone, more really, but the iPhone led people to use their phones for more than just phones.

So it's with that history in mind, that whatever people think the "iSlate," will be, it won't. It will be mind blowing. It has to be because that is what people expect of Apple now, not just a lame variation on a theme that everyone else does.

What really puzzles me is how Apple is going to sell 10 million in the first year. That is a huge number. You can say "subsidized," but I'll tell you I, and lots of other people are tired of paying for multiple Internet access accounts. I'm not interested in a subsidized machine with a $2000 contract attached to it.

So say it's unsubsidized at $600 -- has to be at least that much judging from the price of the 64GB iPod Touch. Do 10M people really have $600 to spare for a toy in this economy?

I think Gruber's most important point was that this is like the transition from the Apple II to the Mac. The Mac did not have all the customizations and expandability but it gave you the things you needed in a revolutionary UI and the way you interacted with it. Why does the tablet need every feature of OSX? Seriously, how often do you actually use those features?

The only way Apple could sell 10 million is if it was a computer. No one is going to pay a data plan for an e-reader. If so then they are a fanboy of the worst kind. If it's a computer then it could be priced at $600-800 with a $30-50/monthly data plan.
 
what if it did ran on OSX and not the iPhone os....

MacSlate?

iLife, iWork on it... all iPhone apps work ... and of course a new way to read newspapers, magazines, gps, etc etc

?

That's what I'm hoping for.. Since my iPhone is my mac these days, I'd like to run iLife and Reason 4.0 that I never took out of the box as I sold my mac before it arrived..... :(
 
How many Kindles has Amazon sold? They've never said.

arn

I have never seen one, nor heard of anyone I remotely know owning one. The only mention I've ever heard of te Kindle is here and on Amazon. But I'm sure they're big in Europe.
 
Interesting thought, but IMHO:

The problem with running OS X (as we know it) on a tablet is the user interface. OS X is designed to be used with a keyboard and mouse - not the kind of gesture-based controls that you'd want on a flatscreen, touch-enabled device.


Apple's Ink (aka Inkwell) hand writing recognition software is built into Mac OS X and has been waiting in the background for something substantive and innovative to do for sometime. It is only installed if you have a drawing tablet attached to your Mac, I believe. I have installed on my MacBook running snow leopard.

While this won't give you much confidence Ink originally was Rosetta as part of the Newton OS.

see http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.5/en/8138.html (which refers you to another Apple website for more info but that link doesn't work)
see also http://software.techrepublic.com.com/abstract.aspx?docid=428423
and http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=5972056
Also check out apple patent
http://www.unwiredview.com/2009/11/...-recognition-techniques-for-pen-aware-tablet/


Maybe the new Apple Tablet will make use of an upgraded and expanded INK software application
 
Apple Ink software

Interesting thought, but IMHO:

The problem with running OS X (as we know it) on a tablet is the user interface. OS X is designed to be used with a keyboard and mouse - not the kind of gesture-based controls that you'd want on a flatscreen, touch-enabled device.


Apple's Ink (aka Inkwell) hand writing recognition software is built into Mac OS X and has been waiting in the background for something substantive and innovative to do for sometime. It is only installed if you have a drawing tablet attached to your Mac, I believe. I have installed on my MacBook running snow leopard.

While this won't give you much confidence Ink originally was Rosetta as part of the Newton OS.

see http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.5/en/8138.html (which refers you to another Apple website for more info but that link doesn't work)
see also http://software.techrepublic.com.com/abstract.aspx?docid=428423
and http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=5972056
Also check out apple patent
http://www.unwiredview.com/2009/11/...-recognition-techniques-for-pen-aware-tablet/


Maybe the new Apple Tablet will make use of an upgraded and expanded INK software application
 
Now, this did get me thinking ... what if you could use the Tablet to remotely control a Mac on your network, using the existing "Share Screen" / VNC feature built into OS X? Say you've got an iMac upstairs, and you're downstairs on the couch watching TV but you want to update a spreadsheet for work - just open up the iMac screen on the tablet, edit the spreadsheet quickly, and go back to whatever it was you were doing.

While I wouldn't want to use the regular Aqua UI on a tablet constantly, having occasional remote access to it might be nice.

That's sort of along the lines that I was thinking. If you can't run full blown apps on the thing, you could give the appearance of doing so by way of VNC/TB2. I write apps in SuperCard that I would love to be able to make portable on a device like this.

For a specific need of mine, I could leave the MacBook Pro in the car while stepping into a shop to deal with customers (selling printed advertising). I could utilize my custom app on it showing options for layout and pricing.

Granted, most people buying this won't have a laptop also, but in the example you give, that should be enough to include VNC/Screen Sharing.

An, in the reverse, while at home with the iMac, I'd like to be able to utilize the full blown keyboard of the iMac while working on the tablet. Just like I'd like to see that on the iPhone/Touch... The reverse of the keyboard popping up while using Remote.
 
Apple's Ink (aka Inkwell) hand writing recognition software is built into Mac OS X and has been waiting in the background for something substantive and innovative to do for sometime.

Hand writing recognition will not be sufficient. People would want an entirely new UI for a tablet device. No menu bar, no small icons, no tool bars, no keyboard shortcuts. In short: not a single current desktop application.
Remember why Mobile Windows sucked so badly? Because MS tried exactly the same: taking a mouse/keyboard-based UI and forcing it onto another device without mouse or keyboard. They, too, had a nice hand writing system, but no one cared, because you don't control basic functions by writing.
 
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.

...


I thought OS X apps were resolution independent and scalable to fit whatever display was given to them.

NO? I think apps might need a minor tweak to accommodate a smaller screen - aren't OS X apps already running on hacked netbooks?

Also I thought iPhone/iPod Touch apps can be easily and quickly tweaked to be scaled up or be made to run on various sized screens easily.
 
I think Gruber's most important point was that this is like the transition from the Apple II to the Mac.

I think more like the transition from ubiquitous note pads, pen/pencil and paper, and chalk and slate before that, to non user specific, but at hand, portable, wireless, remote access conduits to your online web based data and life space - iSlate - handheld periodical use internet remote access console with user based cloud access subscriptions.

See post #164
and
http://bit.ly/8q3ZEs
 
Have you tried playing with any of the new "multitouch-enabled" PCs by HP & other manufacturers? Or using Windows on a TabletPC? It's awkward to try and control the OS & apps with a finger, when they were designed for a mouse/keyboard point & click environment.

Now, this did get me thinking ... what if you could use the Tablet to remotely control a Mac on your network, using the existing "Share Screen" / VNC feature built into OS X?


I don't follow you. In paragraph 1 you said, controlling mouse/keyboard-based UIs is awkward on a touchscreen. I completely agree with that.

And then in paragraph 2 you suddenly want to remote-control that very UI. Why would people want to do that? You gave the exact reasons why this sort of feature would merely be an afterthought / add-on possibility and not anything what many people would expect to see as a feature. It would also require your computer to be turned on for remote control.
 
Good article.

I'm still not sure about the role of the Tablet.

It's highly likely to mirror a combination of the iPod Touch and Apple TV. You'll be able to download and watch any movie at the click of a button and easy paymet.

People don't use their iPods to watch movies much now because of the small screens. They're fine for YouTube, but don't provide for the for a true video experience.

Of course, the ability for it to run Quicktime and iWork, and have HD video output, would blow this product off the charts.
 
Jan 26, 2010 KEYNOTE

SJ: Hi, Im Steve Jobs and we have some great products for you Today.
Audience : clapping, cheering.
SJ: Let me show you some stats_
Audience :*Ohhhhhh, Uhhhhhhh,*Ahhhhh
SJ :*We have some new updates to our products and services, New OS, apps, games_
SJ : We have some new partners for our future products (Verizon, T-Moble, Sprint) others
Audience :*Ohhhhhh, Uhhhhhhh,*Ahhhhh, Yeahhhhh, one geek faints.
Audience :*Thats it?
SJ : I have one more thing to show you_
Audience :*clapping, cheering,*Ohhhhhh,*Ahhhhh, Yeahhhhh
SJ : Takes out the New MacBook /(tablet)*
SJ : BOOM!!!!
Audience :*Faints, crying,*clapping, cheering, WOW! Ooooooooohhhhhhh, Yeaaaahhhhh
Internet : Twitter crashes again, over Apple news.
SJ: We have a great Super Bowl Ad I think you will enjoy.
Audience :*Yes, Yes, Please, Please,
SJ : Lets take a look.
Audience :*OMG! clapping, cheering,*Ohhhhhh,*Ahhhhh,
SJ : I think you will enjoy this new line up, thank you for coming.
Audience : Geeks walk out and start blogging on their iPhones.:D
Dude.....you may very well be the first person ever to get fast-tracked from "macrumors newbie" to "macrumors demi-God." Brilliant!
 
The ultimate role of the tablet, is to seperate Apple fanboys from more of their cash. :)
 
Best quote I've read this week: "Like all Apple products, The Tablet will do less than we expect but the things it does do, it will do insanely well." It's true, so true. Copy and Paste in iphone, optical drive in MBA, video camera on IPT, etc. What will be the big "missing design" of the tablet? No camera? No accelerometer? WIFI only? I don't know . . . but I'm sure I'll read all about it the evening of Jan 26.
Don't rain on our parade!

...but you're absolutely right. There will be at least one *huge* feature missing that *many* people will find as a glaring omission.
 
I have never seen one, nor heard of anyone I remotely know owning one. The only mention I've ever heard of te Kindle is here and on Amazon. But I'm sure they're big in Europe.

I went on a short road trip with a buddy of the primary hardware designer. He had been using V 1 hardware for a while and was very excited about it. He is an avid reader. He had just gotten V 2 and was testing it on this trip including downloading content as we drove. While that was a "neat trick", I asked why one would not be better docking it before departure to download one or more titles since it is short load, long read UI. He was so enamored with the fact he could load another book on the fly he could not be bothered with the simple question.

The Apple Tablet (ATNN) will rely on near live interaction with a server and any moments of disconnect will result in it looking for a connection ASAP. This will largely not be an offline device. The difference is it will be capable of broadband bandwidth in many situations. It will have to do short load, long view for video, but for everything else it can do mass-transfer. I sincerely hope the "streaming" model is fixed from live feed to "brief permission" and full download so the playback experience is not choppy.

Getting rid of the keyboard is exciting and a pet peeve of Steevie for literally decades. But one would think streaming would have been sorted about a week after release and it is not, still all these years later.

Rocketman
 
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