That's a bit specific though, isn't it? I mean, it's a steak restaurant in Las Vegas. I've never been to a restaurant where they use tablets as menus, although that is a bit ingenuitive. Seems like a rather costly idea though, for just a menu.
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What Will be the Killer Feature of an Apple Tablet?
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That's a bit specific though, isn't it? I mean, it's a steak restaurant in Las Vegas. I've never been to a restaurant where they use tablets as menus, although that is a bit ingenuitive. Seems like a rather costly idea though, for just a menu.
Best part of
TV for may family is all our own personal home movies are categorized and readily available. We took plenty of video over the years but never had such an easy way to watch it all. Same with our family photos. Occasionally I play my music through it, like while cleaning up the house (buy could just as well use my iPhone for that).Plus I took the time to rip all the kids' DVDs and other stuff for me like the whole Seinfeld and Star Trek DVD sets. Haven't actually bought a thing directly with the
TV, just filled it with my own content.
I honestly don't think there is a serious market for tablet macs or tablet pcs in general. They simply don't offet enough practicality and new features over existing laptops/netbooks to justify the higher price. I think apple should simply add multi touch capabilities to the imac. HP has created a similar all in one desktop with a touch screen and it is really good as a media centre.
I have to admit i don't really like the iphone either. I mean i appreciate the fun features and gadgetry, but ultimately a mobile phone should be small, durable with long battery life and a decent camera (>5MP).
I have to admit i don't really like the iphone either. I mean i appreciate the fun features and gadgetry, but ultimately a mobile phone should be small, durable with long battery life and a decent camera (>5MP).
First off for those that think it's "pointless" I can see how many people will feel this way if they already have a iPhone and a Macbook. However Apple still has a very small market share overall and a Tablet (either a large iPhone based around the app store or a Macbook tablet) can expand that market share to people who may be with another phone company and have no portable media device.
Netbooks are the latest craze and if you do a bit of research you will find that for every 10 people that buy one, 3 people return them because they don't like them after realizing they are underpowered and really don't do what they want. IF a tablet has the ability to become a mobile media player for streaming sites like Hulu, Netflix etc... This will be reason enough for many people to buy a quality built "netbook" device that is powerful enough to run not only the video they want but the entire app store full of games. Video games have driven more PC sales, innovation of more powerful graphics chips and will continue to be a major reason people buy devices like an Apple tablet.
Personally if it is nothing more than a 10" iPhone for the app store, not sure if I would spend upwards of 1000 bucks on it. However if it is a hybrid of an iPhone using the entire app store library as well as a full featured version of OSX allowing it to be a Macbook I would probably purchase one as I do watch alot of video when out of the house. Not to mention using this with my Slingbox would be very cool!
As far as features, I think if it is going to stand alone as a tablet mac/iphone combo it needs a few ports. 1 USB, 1 SD at minimum, Wifi, BT and possibly a 3g chip are expected if not a given based on rumors of them working with Verizon. I see the Verizon deal more of a reason for it to fail than anything as the millions of AT&T iPhone users will not pay yet another carrier for a data plan they already pay $30 a month for with the iPhone on AT&T. Hopefully that part of it is in fact just a rumor.
Netbooks are the latest craze and if you do a bit of research you will find that for every 10 people that buy one, 3 people return them because they don't like them after realizing they are underpowered and really don't do what they want. IF a tablet has the ability to become a mobile media player for streaming sites like Hulu, Netflix etc... This will be reason enough for many people to buy a quality built "netbook" device that is powerful enough to run not only the video they want but the entire app store full of games. Video games have driven more PC sales, innovation of more powerful graphics chips and will continue to be a major reason people buy devices like an Apple tablet.
Personally if it is nothing more than a 10" iPhone for the app store, not sure if I would spend upwards of 1000 bucks on it. However if it is a hybrid of an iPhone using the entire app store library as well as a full featured version of OSX allowing it to be a Macbook I would probably purchase one as I do watch alot of video when out of the house. Not to mention using this with my Slingbox would be very cool!
As far as features, I think if it is going to stand alone as a tablet mac/iphone combo it needs a few ports. 1 USB, 1 SD at minimum, Wifi, BT and possibly a 3g chip are expected if not a given based on rumors of them working with Verizon. I see the Verizon deal more of a reason for it to fail than anything as the millions of AT&T iPhone users will not pay yet another carrier for a data plan they already pay $30 a month for with the iPhone on AT&T. Hopefully that part of it is in fact just a rumor.
Microsoft never blocked any software from running on Windows. It was sued because it bundled IE with Windows at a time when browsers were not free. This pretty much destroyed Netscape.
Try that for a few minutes and see how your hand feels.
Well... it seems to be a given, since they decided to spend, what? $300m? on a chip designer.
Pressure Sensitive
Add pressure sensitivity and it'll be a winner. It will have a display input so that it may be tethered to a Mac and used as a Cintiq type display.
Untethered, it'll act like a big iPod Touch only with GPS and forward/rear facing cameras. (And Album booklets.)
Add pressure sensitivity and it'll be a winner. It will have a display input so that it may be tethered to a Mac and used as a Cintiq type display.
Untethered, it'll act like a big iPod Touch only with GPS and forward/rear facing cameras. (And Album booklets.)
Multi-docking and waterproof
A tablet has to be useful all over the place. So it'll dock with all kinds of things. In your office you'll slot it straight into a nice little keyboard with built-in touch pad hat angles it so you can use it like a mini desktop. In the gym you'll dock it into one of the machines to track your fitness progress. In the kitchen it'll talk you through recipes or entertain you while you do the dishes. For a party, it'll dock into your boombox. In the bathroom it won't mind getting wet (may as well take advantage of that touch screen and sealed battery...). Liekwise out in the garden, it'll be okay if you leave it in the rain. The point is, it needs to be useful to the whole family, in every situation possible. That'll be its killer feature.
A tablet has to be useful all over the place. So it'll dock with all kinds of things. In your office you'll slot it straight into a nice little keyboard with built-in touch pad hat angles it so you can use it like a mini desktop. In the gym you'll dock it into one of the machines to track your fitness progress. In the kitchen it'll talk you through recipes or entertain you while you do the dishes. For a party, it'll dock into your boombox. In the bathroom it won't mind getting wet (may as well take advantage of that touch screen and sealed battery...). Liekwise out in the garden, it'll be okay if you leave it in the rain. The point is, it needs to be useful to the whole family, in every situation possible. That'll be its killer feature.
To those asking if a tablet would be useful:
My development mac has a 30" display. My wife mac has a 23" display.
But we browse the internet on the Wii or the iPhone and listen to our music through the AppleTV sitting on the sofa.
If I could have a tablet docked somewhere on my living room I'll use it in place of the wii/iphone/appletv...
My development mac has a 30" display. My wife mac has a 23" display.
But we browse the internet on the Wii or the iPhone and listen to our music through the AppleTV sitting on the sofa.
If I could have a tablet docked somewhere on my living room I'll use it in place of the wii/iphone/appletv...
I've been puzzling over this question, too. The best I could come up with is this (and I don't know if I really believe it):
The tablet will let you take all your data, apps and OS with you, wherever you go. All your stuff will be on it.
You can use it standalone with the small (but not too small) screen.
And you can also connect it (wired or wirelessly) to "any" computer around and use the apps, data, and/or OS on it. There would probably be a couple modes:
1. You remote into the OS the device is running. Since the whole thing was designed for this capability there will be much less lag than other remoting options -- maybe none with a speedy connection.
2. You mount it as a drive and use the data and apps on it from the host's OS. The iTablet approved apps will all be designed to run this way.
The custom remoting software the host computers will need will be installed off of the device itself. Windows and OS X will be supported -- maybe linux too!
- - -
So this is basically an alternative to Google's vision where everything is in the cloud: you're using web apps to access your data stored out on the web somewhere. With this idea you have your own personal cloud. (Kind of like Charlie Brown exdcept it rains data and apps.)
The advantages are (1) that you control your own data, not some potentially evil company; (2) you don't need a connection all the time; (3) Potentially, natively hosted apps could provide a better user experience than web-standards based ones.
The tablet will let you take all your data, apps and OS with you, wherever you go. All your stuff will be on it.
You can use it standalone with the small (but not too small) screen.
And you can also connect it (wired or wirelessly) to "any" computer around and use the apps, data, and/or OS on it. There would probably be a couple modes:
1. You remote into the OS the device is running. Since the whole thing was designed for this capability there will be much less lag than other remoting options -- maybe none with a speedy connection.
2. You mount it as a drive and use the data and apps on it from the host's OS. The iTablet approved apps will all be designed to run this way.
The custom remoting software the host computers will need will be installed off of the device itself. Windows and OS X will be supported -- maybe linux too!
- - -
So this is basically an alternative to Google's vision where everything is in the cloud: you're using web apps to access your data stored out on the web somewhere. With this idea you have your own personal cloud. (Kind of like Charlie Brown exdcept it rains data and apps.)
The advantages are (1) that you control your own data, not some potentially evil company; (2) you don't need a connection all the time; (3) Potentially, natively hosted apps could provide a better user experience than web-standards based ones.
I personally think apple are just waiting for the right time to launch such a product... as has been said before we cannot predict a "killer feature" if we had tried to do the same for the iphone or the ipod we would have been stumped.
The reason I buy apple products is because their design is so unpredictable and the ideas are so fresh (as well as the styling). IF/when this product does come to fruition one thing is for certain, it will look good and function well also, whether or not it will be successful, nobody knows. Apple have been at this for a long time and haven't disappointed us yet, they will have market research teams all over the place and analysts to make sure it isn't a 'flop'. I cannot think of one single apple product that has been totally rubbish yet.
Any tablet product that is released from apple will be great, they wouldn't invest the time, money and effort in it's development and sale if it wasn't so we can all just wait and see.
The reason I buy apple products is because their design is so unpredictable and the ideas are so fresh (as well as the styling). IF/when this product does come to fruition one thing is for certain, it will look good and function well also, whether or not it will be successful, nobody knows. Apple have been at this for a long time and haven't disappointed us yet, they will have market research teams all over the place and analysts to make sure it isn't a 'flop'. I cannot think of one single apple product that has been totally rubbish yet.
Any tablet product that is released from apple will be great, they wouldn't invest the time, money and effort in it's development and sale if it wasn't so we can all just wait and see.
The Killer Feature (KF) will be...
An extreme degree of adaptability. At your desk, it will connect to your peripherals (keyboard, mouse, printer) and work like a desktop. On the road, it will be either a small, slim notebook or a tablet (I envision a slim, small, and removable keyboard). I seriously doubt that it will be a convertible--those have not caught on with a wide audience. As others have said, it will talk to whatever other devices you want--your iTunes library on another computer, Apple TV, etc. It will be an e-book/newspaper/magazine reader, movie viewer, and music DJ. It will accept input from a keyboard, a touchscreen, a iPhone-like on-screen keyboard, or voice (could this explain why Apple turned down Google Voice for iPhone?). And there is no reason why it shouldn't be powerful enough to do Photoshop, Garage Band, and movie editing for the creative types.
An extreme degree of adaptability. At your desk, it will connect to your peripherals (keyboard, mouse, printer) and work like a desktop. On the road, it will be either a small, slim notebook or a tablet (I envision a slim, small, and removable keyboard). I seriously doubt that it will be a convertible--those have not caught on with a wide audience. As others have said, it will talk to whatever other devices you want--your iTunes library on another computer, Apple TV, etc. It will be an e-book/newspaper/magazine reader, movie viewer, and music DJ. It will accept input from a keyboard, a touchscreen, a iPhone-like on-screen keyboard, or voice (could this explain why Apple turned down Google Voice for iPhone?). And there is no reason why it shouldn't be powerful enough to do Photoshop, Garage Band, and movie editing for the creative types.
IMHO, an Apple tablet needs to be powerful in order to be successful.
Multitouch - duh
2 USB ports
SD slot
1 GB of DDR3 RAM
a CPU like the original MacBook Air (C2D 1.6Ghz)
32GB or 64GB SSD
Airport (duh)
Built in battery
I think it should run standard OS X.
I have OS X on a Dell Mini 9 (1.6 atom, 16 GB SSD and 2 GB RAM) and it runs well. There are limitations though, the atom processor means Hulu "burps" and it makes it hard to watch (but the screen is so small, that I just watch Hulu or Netflix on my MBP anyway). The mini 9 has a weak SSD and 2 GBs RAM, but a real C2D processor could mean Hulu works smoothly.
If this device could be subsidized and available thru verizon for $199 plus a contract, or easily available for $799 in the apple store, it could do quite well.
This is certainly a product I would "want" but likely never buy. I use my Dell Mini for on-the-go stuff, class or at work. I use my MBP at home. I use my iPhone all the time also. I just dont need another device, haha. If I was rich, and typing on the tablet was good, I would ditch the Dell Mini for it, because even typing on that is terrible and it has a physical keyboard.
All in all, weak specs and a high price would completely ruin the usefulness of the device to a point people wouldn't buy it, however, knowing Apple, they will give it just enough specs to make it a good buy.
The iphone user interface is great for websurfing and watching videos. A much bigger screen, higher specs, and a full version of OS X would make it a much more useful web surfing, media playing, travel companion.
Multitouch - duh
2 USB ports
SD slot
1 GB of DDR3 RAM
a CPU like the original MacBook Air (C2D 1.6Ghz)
32GB or 64GB SSD
Airport (duh)
Built in battery
I think it should run standard OS X.
I have OS X on a Dell Mini 9 (1.6 atom, 16 GB SSD and 2 GB RAM) and it runs well. There are limitations though, the atom processor means Hulu "burps" and it makes it hard to watch (but the screen is so small, that I just watch Hulu or Netflix on my MBP anyway). The mini 9 has a weak SSD and 2 GBs RAM, but a real C2D processor could mean Hulu works smoothly.
If this device could be subsidized and available thru verizon for $199 plus a contract, or easily available for $799 in the apple store, it could do quite well.
This is certainly a product I would "want" but likely never buy. I use my Dell Mini for on-the-go stuff, class or at work. I use my MBP at home. I use my iPhone all the time also. I just dont need another device, haha. If I was rich, and typing on the tablet was good, I would ditch the Dell Mini for it, because even typing on that is terrible and it has a physical keyboard.
All in all, weak specs and a high price would completely ruin the usefulness of the device to a point people wouldn't buy it, however, knowing Apple, they will give it just enough specs to make it a good buy.
The iphone user interface is great for websurfing and watching videos. A much bigger screen, higher specs, and a full version of OS X would make it a much more useful web surfing, media playing, travel companion.
This is an interessting point, if you know that apple built a new server farm in North Carolina. I think the killer feature is the content (complete MobileMe and Software)!
I got my first Apple product in the beginnig of this year, it was the iPhone, i have wait so long for a device like this and i´m very very happy about it, so i´m an apple rookie. If you see the gap between the MacBookPro´s an the iPhone it makes sense to put a product there. And you will see it will be a sort of iPhone/MacBook device. I think i would buy it, and my next computer will defintly a iMac (i wait for quad processors
, and i´m hoping it will have this slot for the tablet ) I see this for the tablet:1. 10" Multitouch device
2. Long lasting battery (like the Macbooks)
3. Mac OS X Leopard (faster, slim, MS Exchange...)
4. 64gb 128gb SSD Drive (short accesstime, low energy consumption)
5. 4g LTE, WiFi, Bluetooth (connectivity)
6. Possibly: iChat Cam, 2x USB, Monitor Out...
7. iPhone App support, some sort of a bigger Store to buy Programs, don´t know
8. The price (700$-900$) possibly less
Why more? Why a awesome feature? It makes totally no sense! The old white MacBook will be killed and the gap will be filled by the tablet. A smarter Mac but an better iPhone with a full OS X. Think about it they have rebuild the OS X completly.And if you want something better get a MacBookPro! If you have it fine, but you are not the target group i be the target group!
No?
They have tweaked the ass out of leopard. rebuilding a OS for me is to scratch the old one (like classic) and then make a new one (darwin/osx).
The immense cost for a device that is too big to be convenient, and too small to be useful for any real work.
Crystal Ball: The most obvious thing people will complain about a Tablet...
...is accidental damage. A notebook computer is designed so that the screen is protected (to some degree) when it's transported. If the iPhone is subject to accidental damage, imagine a glass/plastic surface much bigger and therefore more prone to flexing and breaking.
Sure, a cottage industry of screen protectors and corner bumpers will spring up, but in the end a properly protected Tablet will be as bulky as a notebook. After all, a Tablet with a covered screen is a notebook sans keyboard (albeit with a touchscreen).
Additionally, I remain skeptical about the usefulness of a device which requires two hands to operate. Setting a Tablet down on a table means you're hovering over the top of it, and most people underestimate the degree of fatigue that would occur if you had to hold your arms out to interact with a propped-up tablet. I've tried this, and I don't mean that the fatigue is physically exhausting, but it becomes annoying and imprecise. Try it yourself: set a book up at an angle and imagine the motions required for web browsing or entering even small amounts of text, such as login information. Then try to figure out how you can hold a Tablet and work with it by using only one hand. Too many compromises.
...is accidental damage. A notebook computer is designed so that the screen is protected (to some degree) when it's transported. If the iPhone is subject to accidental damage, imagine a glass/plastic surface much bigger and therefore more prone to flexing and breaking.
Sure, a cottage industry of screen protectors and corner bumpers will spring up, but in the end a properly protected Tablet will be as bulky as a notebook. After all, a Tablet with a covered screen is a notebook sans keyboard (albeit with a touchscreen).
Additionally, I remain skeptical about the usefulness of a device which requires two hands to operate. Setting a Tablet down on a table means you're hovering over the top of it, and most people underestimate the degree of fatigue that would occur if you had to hold your arms out to interact with a propped-up tablet. I've tried this, and I don't mean that the fatigue is physically exhausting, but it becomes annoying and imprecise. Try it yourself: set a book up at an angle and imagine the motions required for web browsing or entering even small amounts of text, such as login information. Then try to figure out how you can hold a Tablet and work with it by using only one hand. Too many compromises.
Make it round and add an accelerometer, so that orientation of the device would not be an issue anymore. Add a handle on the back. This way it can act like a multitouch scratch Dj pad too. Made of hard glass, and underlayer it with solar cells all over the non-screen sides, to keep batteries charged. The handle on the back can be rotated to provide further battery juice too. Make it dockable to a multi-pad rack, so that it can act as a single instrument controller in a more complex system.
Last but not least add teleport capabilities.
Last but not least add teleport capabilities.
Good thought. The problem with the Google cloud is something I've been thinking about. I find it very doubtful that people who do creative work for a living, such as writers, for example, would trust their intellectual property to a server. Certainly Google would be mining that material for data and advertising purposes, and if Google can get in for those reasons, some hacker could also, for malevolent reasons. I would hate to work for 3 years on a novel to find it's been published by someone else who stole it. Apple has always had a strong audience of creative workers, and while I'm sure Apple realizes some value in cloud computing (mobile me), it also realizes that some people would place a greater value on data security.
On your point (3), though, I think the lines on performance are starting to blur. Google Docs, for example, is perfectly fine for writing a letter or even a short paper, although I still find I need native Word or Open Office for things like legal documents, which require more precise formatting and are a bit long. But that distinction is being eroded by advances in connection speed and the sophistication of AJAX and other tools.
Anyway, interesting post.
Maybe it'll be like the new iPhone announced yesterday:
Apple introduces an iPhone for only the most rabid Apple fans
More seriously, Always Innovating has an actual TouchBook with keyboard dock, that might look like an iTablet.
Not so sure a tablet is a great idea. I've used many. I keep saying Apple should do a decent kitchen touch computer, akin to HP's TouchSmart series.
Apple introduces an iPhone for only the most rabid Apple fans
More seriously, Always Innovating has an actual TouchBook with keyboard dock, that might look like an iTablet.
Not so sure a tablet is a great idea. I've used many. I keep saying Apple should do a decent kitchen touch computer, akin to HP's TouchSmart series.
Last but not least add teleport capabilities.
LOL. Of course, teleportation would be beautifully integrated with Google Maps.
