Apple tablet rumored to be 'shockingly' inexpensive

Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited January 2014
Internet and television personality Alex Albrecht claimed to have insight on the price of Apple's rumored tablet during the latest episode of Diggnation, which also featured actor John Hodgman from Apple's "Get a Mac" commercials.



During the course of episode 231 of the Internet-based show, co-host and Web entrepreneur Kevin Rose asked Hodgman, who plays the bumbling "PC" in Apple's commercials, if he has any inside information on the tablet.



"I don't know anything about it," Hodgman said. "You think they'd tell me?"



Rose then turned his attention to Albrecht, and insinuated that the co-host had privately revealed supposed information on Apple's long-rumored touchscreen device. After pestering from Rose, Albrecht eventually conceded: "I was shocked at how cheap the price point is going to be." He declined to reveal anything further.



While Hodgman did not have any insight on the tablet or future Apple products, the author did reveal that he was given an iPod and a MacBook Pro "on the first round" of commercials he did for Apple. He used his own MacBook Air for the duration of the episode.



"I would support them any old day," said Hodgman, a self-professed Mac fan.



Typically it is Rose who reveals Apple-related rumors on Diggnation, with varying degrees of accuracy. In 2008, Rose revealed a leaked photo of the fourth-generation iPod nano in advance, though his iPhone-related leaks have been hit or miss.



The episode featuring Hodgman, queued to the segment discussing the tablet, is included, courtesy of Revision3 (language potentially not safe for work):







Price predictions for the tablet have been all over the map. Some feel it will be priced low, around $500, to compete with the low-cost netbook market. Others have predicted its price would be comparable to a MacBook at around $1,000. Another recent rumor placed a supposed OLED screen equipped version of the hardware at $2,000 retail.



In other tablet news, a new survey of booksellers released Wednesday has found that industry officials expect Apple's tablet to boost the electronic book market significantly. In fact, most said they expect the still-unseen device to be the top-selling e-reader.



As part of its digital conference held Wednesday in London, The Bookseller revealed the results of its survey of more than 1,000 trade book professionals. Among them, 52 percent said they believe that Apple will emerge victorious with its tablet, with Amazon's Kindle coming in second, and Sony a "distant" third.



In addition, 42 percent of industry members said they believe "most" people will read e-books on a dedicated device in the future. More than 88 percent of respondents said they believe bookshops will lose out as digital sales grow.



In recent months, rumors have persisted that Apple will portray the multifunction device as a high-quality e-reader. Anonymous industry officials have claimed that the Cupertino, Calif., company has contacted numerous print publications about the forthcoming device.



Sources have told AppleInsider that the tablet will be introduced in the first quarter of 2010. It is expected to have a 10-inch touchscreen and 3G connectivity.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 107
    In other words: nobody knows anything about anything.
  • Reply 2 of 107
    teckstudteckstud Posts: 6,476member
    And that depends on whose defintion of "'shockingly' inexpensive" is being used?

    Hopefully not Apple's.

    The Cupertino California Company thinks the white MacBook is inexpensive.

    They think a $5 discount off a $70 mouse is a great Black Friday deal.
  • Reply 3 of 107
    Everyone knows the nook is gonna beat out Sony in a month anyway. This totally destroys the credibility of this article!!!
  • Reply 4 of 107
    Clearly it isn't "Apple's definition", any half-brain wit can see that the guy sitting there isn't "Apple", ffs.
  • Reply 5 of 107
    gustavgustav Posts: 828member
    Did they seriously think Hodgman would have any inside information? Wow.



    I used to work for an Apple dealer and customers would ask me all the time if I knew about the new Macs coming out. Yeah sure, the press has no idea, but employees of a third party Apple retailer have all the inside information.
  • Reply 6 of 107
    Hooray! More tablet rumors!!!



    Hmmm... Shockingly inexpensive? Anything that looks more "inexpensive" than I expect, or especially "shockingly" so, makes me wonder, "What's wrong with it?" or, "What are they not telling me?". Ex.: the "Laptop Hunter" ad campaign, where "Lauren" found a 17" laptop for under $1000. Need I point out all the things that were wrong with that laptop (not to mention the inanity [NOT "insanity"?well, perhaps insanity too] of the whole ad campaign)?
  • Reply 7 of 107
    vinney57vinney57 Posts: 1,162member
    I'll be shocked it is not shockingly expensive. It'll be a game-changer - huge demand. constrained supply - we've been down this road a few times now.
  • Reply 8 of 107
    "It's ONLY $999 ladies and gentlemen! What a price! BOOM! How awesome is that! We got this 10 inch device to sell for UNDER 1000 DOLLARS!. How shockingly inexpensive! Every one and the dog will be able to afford one now!---ships in 6 months!"



    --Steve Jobs, circa 2010
  • Reply 9 of 107
    teckstudteckstud Posts: 6,476member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by LouisTheXIV View Post


    "It's ONLY $999 ladies and gentlemen! What a price! BOOM! How awesome is that! We got this 10 inch device to sell for UNDER 1000 DOLLARS!. How shockingly inexpensive! Every one and the dog will be able to afford one now!---ships in 6 months!"



    --Steve Jobs, circa 2010



    Perfect BS- as if directly from the master's lips.
  • Reply 10 of 107
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by teckstud View Post


    And that depends on whose defintion of "'shockingly' inexpensive" is being used?

    Hopefully not Apple's.

    The Cupertino California Company thinks the white MacBook is inexpensive.

    They think a $5 discount off a $70 mouse is a great Black Friday deal.



    No joke!!!!! Black Friday Sale!!!!!!!!!!!!! Save 3%. Big deal. Mac Mall I get 15% plus free software.
  • Reply 11 of 107
    If it is $500 and there is some game changing feature I may get it but, with an iPhone, Netbook and iMac, I dont see where it fits in.
  • Reply 12 of 107
    If you watched the rest of the video they were making fun of his "rumor" the entire time, including hodg saying something about "i know the date of your death" and it was "shocking" pretty funny.
  • Reply 13 of 107
    filburtfilburt Posts: 398member
    I just wish it won't require data plan from a wireless carrier. If it is $999 or less without the data plan, and it's at least half as good as I hope it would be, it's an automatic buy for me. If it's $499 or less with $60/month data plan, I would have to pass.
  • Reply 14 of 107
    takeotakeo Posts: 447member
    So to sum up... the tablet will cost somewhere between "shockingly inexpensive" and $2000. Good to know.
  • Reply 15 of 107
    desarcdesarc Posts: 642member
    when you're being fed $2,000 price point rumors, the actual price at introduction will be shockingly inexpensive.



    once again, WHEN will apple change the name of their "iTunes" software to something more relevant?

    the software is a storefront for music, movies, tv shows, podcasts, audiobooks, apps, and soon books and magazines.
  • Reply 16 of 107
    teckstudteckstud Posts: 6,476member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by desarc View Post


    once again, WHEN will apple change the name of their "iTunes" software to something more relevant?

    the software is a storefront for music, movies, tv shows, podcasts, audiobooks, apps, and soon books and magazines.



    How about iStore or iWhore? You decide.
  • Reply 17 of 107
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    I wonder if $800 for the device but $500 if you get through AT&T (or T-Mo) with a broadband contract is not more likely.



    I can see this device have two distinct user groups: people that want cellular coverage and people that don’t want it or are happy with just WiFi.



    If they make the card removable, like the first AirPort Cards, they may be able to have a GSM/3GSM card and a CDMA/CDMA2000 card for different networks.
  • Reply 18 of 107
    dluxdlux Posts: 666member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by LouisTheXIV View Post


    "It's ONLY $999 ladies and gentlemen! What a price! BOOM! How awesome is that! We got this 10 inch device to sell for UNDER 1000 DOLLARS!. How shockingly inexpensive! Every one and the dog will be able to afford one now!---ships in 6 months!"



    --Steve Jobs, circa 2010



    Only the other Steve can pull something like that off:



    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGvHNNOLnCk
  • Reply 19 of 107
    One thing is for sure though, I'M 95% sure that the reason this thing hasn't been release it's cause it will run a all new iPhone OS, a iPhone OS with Multitasking.
  • Reply 20 of 107
    eehdeehd Posts: 137member
    I don't know how shockingly cheap it is going to be, but I am willing to shell out as mush as $600 on one (depending on the functionality). I have a iPhone 3G, 13" and 15" macbook pro, so I hope it doesn't have the same functionality as the iPhone because it would be pointless to get that. I just bought a netbook as a christmas gift for someone and it took an hour and a half to set up. I don't know what the hoopla is about these things. I know people mention size and weight, but my 13" macbook pro is about twice as heavy as the netbook and has much better hardware.
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