Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
I disagree.

iPhone with mobile safari but no multi-touch -> still pretty awesome
iPhone with multi-touch but no mobile safari -> eh

arn

The iPhones killer-feature was its integration of Apps. All the other stuff was good, but this is what continues to make the phone great.
 
In any case, not all Apple products have the "killer app." The Apple TV is still something I wouldn't buy.
I don't see the point to Apple TV either... Buy a device for 200 dollars so I can spend more money renting movies from it...
Sure it streams music, and you can access Youtube on your TV, but thats not worth the price... An iPod touch can do so much more...
 
Apple doesn't quite have what I want yet.

I want to have one computer, not one of each size, and have the display be stretchable. It's in my pocket when not in use, say at iPhone size. If I need to look at my calendar, I might want to stretch it a few more inches to see the whole month at a glance. To work on a spreadsheet I might want to stretch it up to tablet size. A photo gallery of a friend's new baby? Stretch. Watching a movie on the plane? A little bigger. Editing my home movies or watching video at home? Stretch to maximum desktop size. All done? Back in the pocket.

If it can't stretch, let it fold out or roll out or grow and shrink like a sponge.

Whatever size tablet Apple creates, it will be the perfect size for me, but only a few times per day.

Q dreams of the iSpandex.
 
I'm going to come out of left field and say something which would make me want one:

Make it water proof

Something I could have on the dinner table and not worry about spilling my drink on or being affected by moisture and is easy to clean food off of would be great.

At first, I read that and I was like, wow, stupid. But that would be cool to swim with your laptop... How would the speakers work? New technology?
 
Ultimate Tablet Points

  1. Comes with Bluetooth headset for voice control, speech recognition.
  2. Curved edges but a flat back so it doesn't rock when you use it on a table.
  3. Screen is as wide as a full-size keyboard, so touch-typing is possible.
  4. Dock allows portrait or landscape orientation, accelerometer will adjust the screen automatically when docked (can be set manually otherwise).
  5. Wedge-shaped (think the Apple Keyboard) to give obvious "Top" edge and make room for drive/components.
  6. No optical drive. Software has started to come on USB sticks or be downloadable. Tablet, like the Air, will not be many people's first computer.
  7. Full Mac OS X, but with multi-touch additions, so you can use Safari like you do on an iPhone. OS & iLife Apps are already primed for multi-touch ability, anyway.
  8. Bluetooth 3.0.

Then the dream points.
  • Dock integrates Time Capsule / AirPort Extreme Base Station. Backup wirelessly or wired.
  • Docks are accessible with MobileMe and Back to my Mac.
  • Cellular data or other expansion using ExpressCard/34 slot.
  • Tablet can serve as Bluetooth tablet for another computer.
 
some ideas

Here are a few ideas for what could give this a killer feature: Some more silly some more unlikely than others.

location awareness through networked or bluetooth plugins: For example, in the car half the screen is Nav half is itunes and works with the garage door opener. Living room, media remote and safari. At work it defaults to a secondary display and email/RSS reader. On the bedside table its weather/news alerts, alarm clock. In the kitchen its a cutting board.

ultimate media collection: $100 a month gets you all you can eat media from itunes and 3G internet from Verizon. Billed through itunes or Steve can come by and pick your wallet each month.

media deals with magazines: Kindle sucks for magazines IMO, full color touch features allow flipping. Linkable advertising in the ezines supports the model? Multitouch Playboy.

mulit mode display: automatically flips between modes, one easy to read low power for books one high contrast/color mode for regular operations, one so you can see yourself and how much cooler you are than the guy next to you with a Kindle or a MSI Wind.

evolved voice recognition to control features and text entry: alleviates some need for keyboard or handwriting recognition since we know Steve hates the stylus

Just some ideas.
 
I disagree.

iPhone with mobile safari but no multi-touch -> still pretty awesome
iPhone with multi-touch but no mobile safari -> eh

arn
However, the combination of multi-touch and Safari brings power steering to the browsing experience, bringing it up yet another notch. Full OS X with multi-touch would likely send it off the charts.
 
Simple.

"What Will be the Killer Feature of an Apple Tablet?"

Easy. Fully supported Mac OS X!

Once people start harnessing that thing for gaming ... WOW! A full-hand, multi-touch interface that is also position/orientation aware, SUH-WEET! Or, how about changing the display as if it were a window as you pan around a virtual room, or maybe even some cool augmented reality apps!

A big tablet-sized device that has a full version of Mac OS X on it with multi-touch is gonna be a must have for gamers in the near future. The possibilities are staggering...
 
However, the combination of multi-touch and Safari brings power steering to the browsing experience, bringing it up yet another notch. Full OS X with multi-touch would likely send it off the charts.
Which will probably be limited to the ModBook for the near future.
 
It better have scratchproof, crackproof, shatterproof, heck, just make it bulletproof glass.

I decided to keep my iPhone 3GS naked (unlike my original model, which was skinned). I somehow managed to scratch it even when I keep it in a pocket empty of anything else. :(
 
It's going to be a touchscreen laptop that runs OSX and iPhone OS.

Ok... Here's what's gonna go down.
It will have a physical keyboard. This is a touchscreen notebook. Like a convertible laptop, the extremely thin keyboard will tuck away behind the screen, if you want to use it like a tablet.

Having a touchscreen, it will do away with a trackpad (saving more space). Multi-touch will be going full-force, so all your trackpad gestures will work right on the screen.

It will run both OSX and iPhone OS, so your full-fledged Mac apps will run along side all the apps in the app store.

It will have 3G, so you can connect to the iTunes store and download apps and songs.

No optical drive. It will replace the macbook air at the same price point.

I've got a good feeling about this prediction.
 
Useful

EDUCATION.
Go to www.circusponies.com and see how popular I am because i use this program in class.

BUSINESS.
Buying something at the Apple Store (card swipes are coming),
Taking inventory in a restaurant. A bluetooth pistol scanner and go to town!
Entire POS systems could be built with these!

I used to own a restaurant that uses touch screens and my staff was constantly pulling up the onscreen keyboard to surf the web.

This has a huge potential, without even thinking of new ways to utilize.
 
I don't see the point to Apple TV either... Buy a device for 200 dollars so I can spend more money renting movies from it...
Sure it streams music, and you can access Youtube on your TV, but thats not worth the price... An iPod touch can do so much more...

Don't want to hijack the thread but I was with you on the Apple TV ... until I got one.

Today, it is actually the Multimedia hub in my home.

Got all my films and music on it. The Apple TV + Airport Express + iPhone Remote App gives me music around my apartment; Films on my TV (+ Music to my hi-fi in the living room).

The Tablet to me, as I've said previously, is a grab-and-go thing for meetings at work, or movies in bed, or my photos from my holiday to friends and family.

And I like the eBook thing others have posted.

The more I think about it, the more I want!

- D
 
Oh, and it better have some good graphics power. I could see a Mac Tablet as the ultimate, finger-controlled StarCraft machine. :)
 
Apple never do their best job with the first generation of anything.

If Apple comes with a tablet probably is gonna be very fancy but the really worth it will be the 3rd generation of it.

So, do not start running like crazy and buying the first thing Apple sells.

The first table will lack from loads of things, memory, hard drive, conectivity and so on. The second one is gonna be an improvement but the trird generation will be the one full featured.

So... expect to have a really good one in 2 years.


You aren't serious? The original iMac was a classic, mine is still running. The original iPod was a classic, mine is still running. Sure, more features have been added - but at the time they were world beaters. Because something improves over time, doesn't mean the first iteration was poor. Everything needs to start somewhere...
 
I'm not so sure this device will require a killer feature to do well. The device will in of itself be a killer feature if you catch my drift. As far as Cocktail is concerned, I don't think I'd ever use it.
 
The only thing I can think of (that would make me HAVE to pay for this) would be a free, always-on 2g or 3g internet connection (obviously wifi as well) a-la Kindle except would have the obvious browser/app store/itunes components. Could have built-in GPS as well, paid or free. Perhaps with a lowish monthly data cap with higher (i.e. wanting to do anything other than email and light web browsing) tiers of dataplans being offered, and the free service being paid for by (perhaps, don't shoot me over this) taking a % of all itunes and app store sales to the data provider. Would not make phone calls. Would be more of an advanced iTouch than a lower-class macbook.
 
You aren't serious? The original iMac was a classic, mine is still running. The original iPod was a classic, mine is still running. Sure, more features have been added - but at the time they were world beaters. Because something improves over time, doesn't mean the first iteration was poor. Everything needs to start somewhere...
Classic still doesn't it was "right" out the gate. It did take a few revisions to get both products to their peak state.

It's becoming all too common that the first generation of users subsidize the later ones on Apple's products.

Oh, and it better have some good graphics power. I could see a Mac Tablet as the ultimate, finger-controlled StarCraft machine. :)
Are their any other touch controlled RTS for ARM based devices?
 
It will have a physical keyboard. This is a touchscreen notebook. Like a convertible laptop, the extremely thin keyboard will tuck away behind the screen, if you want to use it like a tablet.
I never thought of that but I like!
 
It will have a physical keyboard. This is a touchscreen notebook. Like a convertible laptop, the extremely thin keyboard will tuck away behind the screen, if you want to use it like a tablet.

I find a physical keyboard unlikely. Better yet, how about an onscreen keyboard that uses ShapeWriter-style input. Methinks you could really fly that way.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.