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What Will be the Killer Feature of an Apple Tablet?

Looking forward to seeing this device if it is ever released. It has to be the most talked about un-launched Apple product ever. I seem to remember that whilst people knew the iPhone was coming a lot of the features like the complete lack of a keypad were a bit of a surprise. I think that something similar will happen here too. There will be a killer feature that surprises most of us.

Just hope that with all this build up people aren't disappointed when it does materialize and doesn't have the killer feature that they were hoping for.
 
The only "killer feature" that I can think of off the top of my head is the ability to view your iTunes library video over 3G. Sort of like a little portable TV.

Then again, the iPhone could have such capability and it would be just as cool.
 
We don't know what this thing is going to be.

But we know Apple will not allow this to be a repeat of Microsoft's Origami Project. This will be a consumer device intended to sell *more* than a mere computer.

So it isn't going to be a Mac
A 9 or 10" screen would make for a poor Mac OS X experience. (See the Origami Project. )
Existing desktop apps assume mouse and keyboard and large screen. They will just suck on a 10" multi-touch touch screen, with a virtual keyboard.
It would need a stylus - and I don't think there is any possibility of that.
So forget MS Word, forget Photoshop. Forget Snow Leopard. That is desktop software.

Microsoft have thoughtfully demonstrated that you can't cram desktop software on a tablet without it sucking.

Apple don't want to go down the netbook path.
Apple do not want it to cannibalise sales of full priced notebooks.
So this is not going to be a Mac.

It isn't going to be a iPhone OS device
ALL iPhone apps are built for a fixed-sized screen.
And this device does not have the same screen. And it almost certainly does not have the same type of processor.

No one wants a pocket device, running pocket apps, with a pocket interface that is too large to fit into your pocket.

So what is it?
I dunno... But. Here's my guesses:

1) It will get all its software and content from iTunes/App Store.
2) It's interface will be perfectly designed for its screen size and multi-touch.
3) The underlying system will be OS X and Cocoa.
4) It will have some feature we have not heard about yet.


C.

(modified from an earlier post in the iPhone forum)
 
The killer feature is that it is a tablet that you can swallow with water. You choose the ailment to be cured via a built-in app before you swallow it. The power of Steve Jobs will cure us all!

No bashing please.
 
Funny reviews from Engadget and PC World, bashing a product that is yet to exist using a set of criteria that sounds more like a wish list of how Apple will fail.

I think this will have a thin, unibody case that is a cross between the Air and and an iPhone on looks. It will be ran by Snow Leopard (this OS is optimised, has a smaller foot print than Leopard and uses GPU for extra power). I think the on screen keyboard will be scrapped in favour of a new intuitive multi touch interface because or another version of an on screen keyboard with a different layout or voice input through a noise filtered microphone.
 
For my needs this is a no-brainer.

Personally a tablet would be indispensable if it could be the mac that I carry around to meetings, use on trains and planes and generally have with me to stay connected to my work and personal life without lugging my MBP around. Admittedly the iphone can do a lot of this, but in a small-screen size that's not suitable for professional/power use. On the other hand the MBP is brilliant, but doesn't connect to a cell network by itself, and is not the kind of device I can have with me at all times.

Features would include:

1. A-4 Screen (is that 10 inches?) that allows easy reading & notation of documents (inc word, pdf & jpeg: basically an e-reader on steroids) - I would use it to manage all my reading and briefing work, annotate maps and sync work server or dropbox - this alone would mean that the thing would practically never leave my side.
2. 3G and wireless, with push notification over 3G for email and staying up to speed on events (I work in emergencies)
3. Either native OSX applications or apps store (apps including news, radio and productivity - Omni apps and RSS readers such as netnewswire).
4. Microphone & camera for recording meetings & conducting videocons over skype etc.
5. Docking station that allows quick connection to a second screen, keyboard/mouse and external hard drive for backup (time machine, nats).
6. Mini-display port for running presentations.
7. Wireless sync with the other macs I own, and streaming music etc over airport.

Add to this the usual browser & lifestyle aps (dashboard, iTunes, iPhoto, VLC player etc) and I almost don't care what it would cost, but that's just me :D
 
This is what it needs:

http://www.swypeinc.com/index.html

Swype keyboard, its a better way of typing on a touchscreen keyboard. If you have a touchscreen there is no need to replicate the typing action of a mechanical keyboard. With this system you draw the word by moving yur finger in one Swipe from letter to letter, the software works out from your motions which keys you were typing with and which you were merely passing over. I remember Bob Cringely mentioned this in one of his columns when the iPhone was released and said it would be the perfect upgrade.

Apple should buy them out and use this.
 
The only feature I really ask for, is a slot at the bottom that dispenses chocolate when you press a button.

No seriously, would be nice if the screen also had some kind of e-ink layer, so that you can read stuff at almost no cost to battery life. That and the chocolate dispenser would make me buy it for sure. :)
 
I think all of the possible killer features mentioned in this thread are quite cool and all have their raison d'être. Most of them are tied to a special target audience and seem to be mutually exclusive.

There are home users who imagine the device to be a control center or replacement for their home entertainment systems, an electronic cookbook lying the kitchen table or a trimmed down internet tablet for browsing the web and checking mails from the couch.

The second feature set makes the device your omnipresent mobile companion. Online always and everywhere, deeply integrated into the mobile.me service architecture.

The third group consists of professionals who imagine the device to be an extension of their desktop mac which can be used for serious artwork or taken to meetings, serving as a notepad.

(Well, 2 and 3 aren't mutually exclusive actually.)

I think broader adoption will only happen if apple takes into account all of them. This is why I think (and hope) that it will be a bit of everything.

I'm wondering why so many people think that a device with this form factor is perfect for video conferencing, though. I think any other device is better suited for this. A tablet is designed for lying flat on a table or on your lap. Looking downwards into the camera gives a lovely double chin, and the other party would have a splendid view of my boogers. I wouldn't want that. Holding the thing in front of my face during a one-hour video conference isn't my vision of usability either.
 
Success!!

stainlessliquid said:
Easy: A good way to type

The worst thing about tablet pc's are their text input. Hand writing sucks, the on screen keyboards suck. Apple needs to make something that doesnt get in the way and is easy to type with.
Click to expand...

After an inundation of apple tablet rumors, I couldn't but help myself consider the possibility. So here are my expectations/predictions.

At around $700-800. It will be more powerful than noteboks, yet less powerful than a macbook. Though, considering the fact that intel will roll out new mobile processors in september and the prices falling on the current chips, I think its reasonable to expect almost as much power as a macbook.
Of course that means it needs to have a full blown OS X highly optimized for touch. (I don't see it succeeding without that)

Then I totally agree that it need a good kickstand. But it should also be bundled with a really light detachable keyboard. That solves the biggest problem with tablets. People want to be able to type on a proper keyboard. But they don't always need it. and not everyone needs it. With a really thin and light detachable keyboard, people can type they way they like to. And leave it behind when they don't really need it. (media, some emailing etc)

This could be awesome.

Ofcourse, with Apple expect the unexpected. I'm sure that if they do release such a product, it'll have a killer feature none of us can think of right now, cuz it doesnt exist. But once they announce it, none of us would able to resist it. (e.g. The awesome touch controls introduced on the iphone, remember the people going mad at the flick controls!!)
 
what if... it is an advanced gaming station? with a fast video card in it. it would be a total diffrent kind of gameplay than the psp or the nintendo ds, and more and better games could be developed than on the iphone and ipod touch because of the video card.
 
Multi Touch Tablet

Well I for one am quite excited by a multi touch tablet. The keyboard is when you think about it a pretty duff way of controlling many apps; designed as it was for inputting text it is not that great even when combined with a mouse. If Apple can get real multi touch functionality working on a number of key iLife apps a mac tablet (or macblet?) could be great - we would actually use our hands again
 
talkingfuture said:
This is what it needs:

http://www.swypeinc.com/index.html

Swype keyboard, its a better way of typing on a touchscreen keyboard. If you have a touchscreen there is no need to replicate the typing action of a mechanical keyboard. With this system you draw the word by moving yur finger in one Swipe from letter to letter, the software works out from your motions which keys you were typing with and which you were merely passing over. I remember Bob Cringely mentioned this in one of his columns when the iPhone was released and said it would be the perfect upgrade.

Apple should buy them out and use this.
Click to expand...

Thats a feature thats available on a jailbroken iphone today. I tried it, and seriously its not as good as it seems. With any text input it needs practice, and I rigorously tried working on it for more than a week. It was OK, but tapping works way better. This seems fast, but its highly error prone, as it basically works on guess work. It records all the letters you swype your finger over and then tries to make a word out of it. Honestly I think the iphone onscreen keyboard is awesome, and I'm very comfortable with it. I prefer it anyday to the blackberry, which is less error prone, but just not as quick for me. A detachable thin and light keyboard is what this thing needs!!
 
I have read the garbage on here....

Ok, I have trawled through the 16 or so pages on here with people bitching and moaning about this device...

Too expensive....
It must have this feature, that feature, not that feature
It must run this, run that...etc, etc, etc.

To sum up
1. Apple will not create another operating system.

Running another team on a third OS (Mac OS, iPhone OS) is expensive. From an economic viewpoint it makes sense to leverage ONE of them moving forward.

2. It will make use of either the iPhone or Mac chip sets

Due to point 1, there is little point standardising on OS development then re-coding for multiple platforms

3. It must provide access to the App store

Apple will not want to canibalise the development community across another platform. The killer feature on the iPhone is not, as some have described, the interface (although that brought people to the table) but the App store. The difference between iPhone 1 and iPhone 2 was the app store. Look at the volume at which they sold.

4. It can not target a niche audience

People have suggested
Education (text books etc):students don't have spare money and school boards/deparments will not standardise on a commercial product
Medicine (patient records): Moving between patients with devices is a great way of spreading infection. Hospitals will not want to develop for a commerical platform out of their control
Music Studio: How big is the market ?
Gaming: There is a need for games to fit the device, and most gamers seem to like sitting down
Car Stereo units: They are all built in now, and I don't think Audi/BMW/Mercedes/Toyota/Honda et al will want to give away any profit right now
Books: Amazon seem to be doing well with Kindle, and a two horse race is not worth getting into
Underwater: Come on people. Thing about it before you put these ideas in here.
Ponies: I quite like this idea, although they may only be my little ponies

5. It will not be a remote desktop

People have been talking about this being a cloud based desktop/visual panel forgetting that the biggest problem will be sending large volumes of graphical updates across the ether.

It is NOT possible to use the network for any high bandwidth graphical tasks, just try watching a movie on a CITRIX terminal when the servers are in another country


6. It will not be designed to replace the desktop or the iPhone but compliment.

It is a hybrid products, trying to offer something else to people with these devices. Want to watch a film (iphone too small), want to read a document on the train (laptop too big), want to take a device on holiday (laptop to big), want to take notes in a meeting (iphone too small).


So what, in my view, will the device (if it even exists have) - assuming it is the dimensions that has been discussed at length
1. No keyboard
Never, not even likely, no way.
2. Designed to
Lay flat
Be held comfortably (not too thin, not too fat, not too sharp, and an area for your fingers on the front side)
3. Unibody design
Aluminium. Glass. But it will have some kind of cover for the screen when not in use
4. Not folding
I can not see apple having a design with a screen that folds/splits in half. They change to glossy and the fanboys go mad, can you imaging the impact of having a crease !!!
5. No user replacable battery
No (almost none) devices today have them, why introduce one again
6. Harddrive
I think this device will be the first apple product line to have NO harddrive. This will be SDD/flash only. How big - driven by price.
7. Touch controls
Coverflow on steriod across the OS
8. Wireless connectivity
WI-FI is a given for internet access
3G/4G is likely although may sporn multiple versions like iPhone/iPod Touch
Bluetooth - lots of if for most items (expect to see a massive growth of 3rd party products)
9. No TV recieving capability
Apple does not want to get in to the business of different specs for different countries. Removing the keyboard really helps with this, why introduce a components that MUST be different. Content is to be delivered over the network - the IP network
10. Built in iSight
on the screen side, to support iChat
11. Dockable
Not into a screen, but something to charge and sync
(sync'ing large volumes over the wi-fi is not achievable)
12. Mac OS
Apple will announce an application for OS X that enables/emulates the iPhone to provide a window'd iPhone application. Which means the device will run Snow lepoard
13. Frontrow
Improvements to the frontrow app to provide better media access through touch controls to control media on the device, within itunes and on the apple TV
14. eBook capability
Either access to Amazon (apple taking a cut on the profit) or a new Apple Book Store based on iTunes Store or potentially both
15. Sync'able
It will let data be sync'd across your platforms, shared across iPhone, Tablet, laptop, desktop

It will have a killer feature and at a guess the killer feature will be software.

Th killer feature will be mobile me, eventually.
 
wonderbread57 said:
Arn,

how about putting the real big story on the front page instead of burring it with this conjecture thread?

Apple rejects Google Voice App. This is a big story, even touching the main stream news and it's left in the iphone blog department in favor of this speculation thread that is not even based on any new rumors?

Something down right illegal is happening with Apple and the Apple Store in terms of anti-competitive behavior and you can't blame it all on AT&T since after all the Apple store is bigger than just the iPhone, it services the iPod Touch (no AT&T connection there) and will likely also be available for the Tablet discussed in this thread. Apple is literally controlling the market place and even die hard mac fanatics should be realizing the danger of this. Can you image a world with the Microsoft Store and Microsoft could just outright deny any program that did something a Microsoft program did?!!

complete BS
Click to expand...

Wow. You're not just talking about a simple app, you're talking about an app that enables consumers to bypass much of the business of a wireless carrier, which is for example texting plans. Thats where the carriers make their money, so they obviously will try to prevent something like this from being distributed.

Yes you can blame it all on ATT, because without ATT, Apple has no iPhone, they have an iPod Touch with a 3G radio built in. Until Apple builds their own cellular network, they have to play (for the most part) by their rules. I'm not saying ATT can completely boss Apple around, considering how dependent ATT has become on iPhone exclusivity, but Apple can't just allow apps like this to be distributed on their servers without ATT approving first.
 
As long as it is priced well, runs snow leopard, and has multitouch, I reckon this will do very well (though a combination of the three is probably unlikely, but I can hope). A feature I would like to see is the ability to sync my data to and from my MacBook pro, making it the device I would use when i don't want to carry my MacBook around.
 
seemless integration.. AppleTV on the GO!

impresario13 said:
Apple has a patent pending for a 24" monitor similar to current monitor, but with a docking slot where the optical drive is for an iMac. So, if this tablet has a docking mechanism like that patent-pending design, then you have a tablet for the road and an iMac-like set-up at home.

That would be a killer app plus!

Hope they call the tablet the Einstein.
Click to expand...


Definitely this.. or a way to actively sync/stream from your current setup.
Like and AppleTV on the go..

I wanted a laptop, but the issue with syncing frustrates me as you cannot easily keep a mirror of your desktop.
And iPhone/iTouch was a great example of what could be done as iTunes manaegd your media.
So how about taking this a step further... have stuff locally on your iTablet, but add the ability of a laptop by adding:

- AppleTV ability to stream off your desktop
- laptop usability = editting of docs/spreadsheets
- iTouch = media player.
 
Wi-Tricity

As well as all the other magic SJ no doubt put in this thing, how about it will be the first major product to use wi-tricity? It will be able to recharge when within a certain distance of a special base station using the technology developed by MIT (I think it was MIT) that allows a 'tuned' energy transmission.
 
naman34 said:
Thats a feature thats available on a jailbroken iphone today. I tried it, and seriously its not as good as it seems. With any text input it needs practice, and I rigorously tried working on it for more than a week. It was OK, but tapping works way better. This seems fast, but its highly error prone, as it basically works on guess work. It records all the letters you swype your finger over and then tries to make a word out of it. Honestly I think the iphone onscreen keyboard is awesome, and I'm very comfortable with it. I prefer it anyday to the blackberry, which is less error prone, but just not as quick for me. A detachable thin and light keyboard is what this thing needs!!
Click to expand...

oh well, was hoping it may be better than that. Maybe thats why they have never got this into any OEM stuff.
 
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