Latest Apple tablet rumor: Feb. 2010 launch for $800-$1,000 - Page 3

Yeah, but Apple will drop the price two hundred bucks two months after its introduction causing a backlash from those that purchased the higher priced version and Apple will give a one hundred dollar credit to use in the Apple Store. Hey, it could happen...

iPhone OS? Why bother- one App open at a time? I don't think so.
Besides- you need to print directly from it or it's a no-go for me.

I wish someone was in a position to step back and rethink this whole mobile access mess. I don't want multiple data plans, and I don't a device tied to a particular service provider because of the hardware. Imagine if you needed one home computer if Comcast was your home internet provide, but a different one if you switched to AT&T DSL service. Switching SIM cards around is silly because then I can only use one device at a time.

Why can't we have a cell phone with capabilities similar to the mi-fi devices you can get? You can get that with a seperate mi-fi card now, but that's one more thing to carry around and your phone is the one thing you will likely always have with you. Would you ever have your tablet and not have your phone? Not likely.

So why not have one device that acts as a router to provide a connection to the carrier that can be shared with your other devices, either Bluetooth tethering or wi-fi local wireless network. Then my iPod touch, Apple's rumored tablet, my MBP, etc, could all use that single data connection.

This would make my billing/account management easier and may even make it simpler for the cell network infrastructure by having fewer connections to maintain. Granted, they'd have the same amount of data, but fewer devices constantly pinging the network.

But the providers would probably not like this because they'd have fewer data plans to gouge us on price with. And it would be too easy for us to switch providers if all we had to do is replace the one "router" device instead of all of our devices.


But what good is instant access if the device is to large to carry around with me everywhere I go? I can see a 10" device having a niche market where "local portability" is beneficial (offices, hospitals, and such). But I'd still need a bag or a briefcase for longer range portability (taking it home, the gym, etc), at which point I could take a lightweight laptop and have full computer capabilities.

Price doesn't concern me as much as size. I'm sure it will be a great device, just having trouble understanding where it fits between an iPhone/touch and a small laptop. It seems 10" is a bit too big to be in the sweet spot in that range.

I wonder if it would have cell phone connectivity? I mean, I'm not going to place a 10" hunka hunka burning techno love to my ear, but I wonder if it would have a phone app that allows you to connect to say Bluetooth in your car and use your contact lists for one to use the tablet to call while on the road?

Thanks for putting it in the context of an everyday object.

But now...pick up a steno pad and imagine how you'd type on an onscreen keyboard while holding the device in your hands.

If you hold it landscape, it's nearly impossible if you assume a similar keyboard as the iPhone has. Apple would need to create a new keyboard layout (perhaps a split keyboard) because most folks won't be able to reach the center of the screen with their thumbs.

Holding in in portrait orientation is better, but Apple will need to move the center of gravity down lower so it doesn't flip out of your hands.

Not insurmountable challenges, but could impact how we'd envision such a device being used.

damn man can you be any more gutless? You said something, stick to what you said. A few minutes down the line and you start the back stepping? It's one thing to make foolish predictions, but to not stand by them a few minutes down the line? ...tstsststst....

Somehow you got this fixation that since apple included a camera in the nano they are catering to the flip crowd and kids, and somehow they should release a kids tablet, or a kids priced tablets to compete with netbooks (although the ipod touch serves that purpose excellently, being also a gaming device which the netbooks are not), or an apple netbook, or kids apple netbook -or whatever you mean- and somehow make it apple class yet dirt cheap too (much like sony say with their $1200 netbooks yet at $300 from apple), and how the table will be a failure, and all this nonsensical crap is ringing in you head and getting poured out in these forums, but at least stand by this crap!!!

And because you seem to be patently obtuse or patently misconstruing what others are saying, where the heck did I trash the zune? I made an ironic remark in terms of it being a belated clone, which was my whole case, how apple will again innovate and others will follow.

Two comments relative to this thread. One is that I was at Mobilize last week, a conference focused on mobile computing, and one of the panels was focused on the Netbook/Tablet market.

Of note is that in terms of utilization environments, this is the device that you take with you to Class/School; when you are Traveling; Lying on the Couch; its the Extra Computing Device for your kids. It serves Verticals like Hospitals and Field Workers. In other words, it doesn't replace the notebook but it targets segments where the notebook is less convenient, too bulky, too hot or too expensive.

What remains to be seen is whether such a device cannibalizes or complements that general computing market (notebook or otherwise), but the data suggests that this is a 'dog that will hunt.'

The second point is that I agree wholeheartedly that this is the device that forces the "what's the platform question." Is it MacOS, iPhone OS, a hybrid of the two? App Store, Download Anything Anywhere, Both? My guess is that some unannounced element of Snow Leopard was designed to specifically reconcile these questions.

If interested, here are my notes on the Mobilize event:

iPhone, the 'Personal' Computer, Mobilize, Future of the Mobile Web
http://bit.ly/1rjuF

Here's my analysis on the iPad Tablet Device:

Apple, the Boomer Tablet and the Matrix
http://bit.ly/DwziS

Cheers,

Mark

Teckstud, you troll enough of these forums to know that iPhone OS can multitask if Apple decides to allow it. I don't see why shared printers would be a problem either, the iPhone doesn't have much reason to print anything, hence why you can't print directly from the iPhone.

Was thinking the same thing while using the iphone to type last night, how they would implement this, it's an interesting problem, that I am sure has got a lot of engineering insight having gone into it. One obvious solution is to just put it on a flat surface and just type much like we write and type nowadays. But that of course doesn't answer almost anything. I 'd be interesting to see how this is handle.

My money is on holding it with one hand and typing in portrait with the other but I 've thought this out.

Come on now, that implies that Apple can do no wrong when there is plenty of instance of Apple screwing up a product. As much as I like Apple and it's products we all know better.

This I can agree with though. Syncing is extremely important on portable devices. I do believe though that you need more than just good syncing to be successful.

To support the unit software wise it will need an app store however the apps will need more freedom. Here I mean access to the local file system (read / write) so that e-Mail and Safari can save, and read locally stored files. Especially attachments in e-mail docs and PDFs via Safari.

All of this being said the item being described here is to big in my opinion.


Dave

The iphone was a "loser" phone? What? Is that even a complete thought? and then you contradict yourself in the next paragraph? UGH

First of all the price was not "cut" AT&T subsidized it. Further, the 2 or 3 features missing from the iphone when it first launched (that other "cheapo" phones had) were either poorly implemented or completely overshadowed by all of the other great features no other phone in the world had and to this day no one has implemented as well as Apple has. Please be more specific so that we can actually have a fruitful discussion regarding comparable features vs. cost and usability. .

Also i don't think you can really fault Apple for filling a "niche" since every product inherently fills some niche (large or small) what does it matter how big a market is? It doesn't! The only measure of a successful business is profit and Apple profits more than just about any other company. Your logic is faulty at best.

The speculated price for the tablet is also less than what auto companies charge for those back-of-the-seat video systems people buy for their SUVs to sedate their children. Plenty of parents will buy one or two for that purpose alone.

I don't think it needs syncing but I do think it will be a large companion only PC which limits its potential.


Not everyone wants a Tablet so the laptop market is pretty safe and as far as I see, an Iphone and an Ipod Touch are pocketable companion devices already so this is an odd move by Apple. Almost like they are doing something different for the sake of doing something different. Well we'll see.

Hopefully we do see a tablet in the new year so we can put this speculation to rest. Somehow we will all be wrong too.

The iPhone multitasks just fine thank you. Generally I does have multiple apps runnning, the SDK for user apps doesn't support this though. All apple needs to do is flip a bit somewhere and users could have as many apps as the wanted open.

Like wise Apple uses Cups for printing and that can be added to iPhone OS in minutes. Remember iPhone OS is nothing more than Mac OS/X trimed a bit and a different user API. When people say they want iPhone OS on the machine it is them saying they want the interaction and usage to mirror how iPhone is used. That includes Touch, app store and everything else that makes iPhone handy.



Dave

Wow Glad to know we have a board member on the forum. How do you know what they have failed to see? I'm sure there have been may discussions about making headway into "lower end" products. The ipod did very well with making headway into this market and adding expensive features to less expensive products.

Apple doesn't historically make a product with a bad user experience. Perhaps now some of the less expensive tech will allow them to bring an "Apple" experience previously reserved for expensive and bulky hardware. The EDU and MED markets have been after Apple to make things cheap and feature rich for a while not to mention to make a tablet that has both of those attributes.

I truly believe that Apple has been waiting for the tech to catch up so that we all enjoy the products we use. A philosophy in direct contrast with MSFT who rushes things to market and frustrates their clients with a crappy user experience. It may take Apple longer to get there but I think I'd rather wait for something good as well. I don't think I have to mention the old adage, but I do think you have to listen to what our stories and history have told us.

Dude it needs a fullfledged OS - iPhones can only run like 3 particluar apps at once and you certainly know it - stop spinning fanbot nonsense. Not good enough. A crap netbook can even handle that. And not just Apps that Apple approves- it needs to be open. And yes it needs to print and not be synced.

Since when did Microsoft sell netbooks? Stick to the discussion no matter how delusional your hatred is towards MSFT.

How do you know that?

I doubt that very many people have a full-size touch keyboard at their disposal-- especially for a long enough period time to become accustomed to the differences.

Also, the virtual keyboard [driver] software could be written in such a way that it could outperform a physical keyboard in speed in comfort:

1) rest the palms and fingertips on the surface
2) the home row is wherever your hands are
3) type by slightly pressing a finger (or slightly lifting, or wiggling a finger)
4) reach non-home-row keys by lifting and moving finger, slightly, towards the desired key
5) the driver would learn by your hand movements and corrections and customize the keyboard [interpretation] to your hands, fingers and the way you type.

That is only one way that a touch surface could outperform a physical keyboard,

There are specialty physical keyboards such as stenotype, braille, chording, etc. that can outperform their QWERTY equivalents. These could easily be implemented as virtual touch keyboards.

So, if the QWERTY kb is uncomfortable, or holding back your speed, you have choices. If the claims are true, with a little training and practice, you could significantly improve your typing skills.

*

There's an app for that: HP iPrint

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Apple doesn't need to do any marketing with people like you around.

You won't beat a physical keyboard, but the good news is if you really need a physical keyboard you can buy a MacBook, as they will continue to be sold. At least the Pro will anyhow. This tablet will be handy for doing bits and pieces in school and so forth, and great for couch-computing / couch-surfing. It will fit in with a lot of our modern lives very nicely.

Get a grip-you're the one ranting non-sensical crap on here. Where did I ever state the tablet will be a failure? Where?



That's not trashing? So you now think it's a viable product?

How does that work for my Epson printer?

I was replying to your iphone rant

Dude, what are you talking about? The number of apps iPhone OS can ultimately run will be determined by the hardware, and that number will be greater than the number of apps Snow Leopard could run on the same hardware, because the apps and OS would be specifically designed for mobile hardware. Wizard69 already covered the printing argument too.

For the last time: a tablet running iPhoneOS does not mean that the tablet will just be a big iPhone. You take iPhoneOS, enable multitasking, add some desktop elements (ie., expose), create some tablet optimized Apple apps (iLife/iWork, Safari, Mail, etc.) and you have iPhoneOS tablet edition that provides the essential desktop needs, in a touch friendly, no hassle environment while still providing compatibility with 65000+ iPhone OS apps and providing a familar API and proven business model for developers.

Only HP printers? I'm now curious, but I don't touch HP printers.

You seem to be basing this off of what the iPhone presently does. Not what it COULD do. Do you honestly think the iPhone is incapable of printing, just because Apple doesn't do it natively now? Same for multi-tasking. It is limited to native apps only because Apple insists on that. Remember, the iPhone OS is a subset of Mac OS. There's no reason to believe that the iPhone OS couldn't be extended to include printing and full multi-tasking any time Apple decides it is time to do it. (i.e. for a tablet device)

Yes Apple refuses to do so? Yeah- right. Fanbot nonsense. It just doesn't exist now and that's fine - muti- apping on iPhone that small is not a big need (for me at least). But if I'm getting a laptop, netbook, tablet, or whatever it certainly better muti-task. Fully.

A subset of an OS is not the same OS. It's a mobile version of the OS. The Tablet need a better subset version. That's all I'm saying.

That's not the same OS. Period.

One of the advantages of a touch surface virtual keyboard is that you can have as many different configurations as make sense.

Laid flat landscape: QWERTY, Dvorak.

Held portrait with 1 hand on each side: Split 2-Thumb kb, Phone Keypad (texter kb)

Held with 1 hand resting on arm landscape or portrait: chording

Any or all of the above-- what meets your need at the time.

Or, Apple could provide an app that allows you to customize a kb configuration by moving the keys around (in the same way you move app icons on the iPhone).

Of course, there is always hand printing, hand writing and drawing.

Try any of the above with a physical QWERTY kb or a traditional laptop.

*

And instead you spun into your regular diatribe angainst Microsoft which is so boring to be listening to especially when we're discussing a device.

Operating systems evolve, get used to it. Lets say the tablet doesn't come out early next year and iPhoneOS 4.0 enables multitasking, does that somehow change your argument? What I expect to see is a tablet OS to preview features that may come to the iPhone as mobile technology improves.

And how different was my description anyway? The only real change was the multitasking, which will come to the iPhone at some point. Expose, iLife, iWork, Safari, etc could be bundled apps with the OS on a tablet, not core changes.

Simple: you pay me and I will write an app for that

Of course a subset is not the same as the whole. Just like an iPhone is not the same as a MacBook Pro or iMac. No one knows what this tablet device will be or what it will run.

But I for one would be extremely surprised if Apple is working on a brand new OS or even a brand new subset of OS X for yet another class of device. I would expect them to either a) use full-blown OS X or b) extend and reuse the iPhone OS.


You seem to be disregarding the iPhone OS in whole because you don't think it can be enhanced or extended for a more powerful device. Am I wrong?

Search the app store for "print" there are dozens of apps (some may not be iphone to printer, though).

Taking information from the article and assuming the tablet is tied to AT&T I would think that it wouldn't be a voice device and would only have a "3G" modem and we'd add "tethering/ extra bandwidth" to our existing iphone plans. I can think of a couple of ways this makes sense to Apple and AT&T (or whatever carrier)

For one the tablet isn't supposed to replace phones or computers and secondly, It's a way to get us to pay more for our data plans. I was wondering how they might drive us to pay more for "tethering.".

My only concern is the price. I don't know the specifics but AT&T's 3G data plan has got to be close to $60/ month. I'm pretty sure Verizon's is as well. Like Someone else on the board said "hopefully it'll be much cheaper". There are few people that would want to pay that much extra for data on yet another device. If it were just like adding another iphone to you family plan then it would be relatively cheap, but not everyone has a family plan either.

I'm voting for the possibility of a 3G modem (in the tablet) for an extra $20/ month. It should be $10 but I'm sure ATT will say $10 for the extra device $10 for the extra data. (hopefully not that much more)

Totally wrong. I love the OS for my iPhone. I just wouldn't want it for a laptop replacement- the tablet. I think a snow leopard version should be the tablet's OS on it not iPhone's.
I would defintely want multiple windows (OMG did I say that?) on it- just like our Macs have.

Well for $800 or more I think I'll just take one of these.

I'm sorry, but at the $800 price point I'll take a real computer. A tablet begins to get appealing to me at a lower price, as in $500 or less.

They better have some sekrit features that haven't been thought of yet here or this looks like cube 2.0 to me.