They call them slates because that is what they are. That has been a generic term for this type of computer for years.
A slate is a tablet with no keyboard or a detachable keyboard, and Apple sure as hell didn't invent the term.
The point is how blatantly Mobile PC's were referred to as Tablets for years, apple bought a domain iSlate.com and now every PC started using the Slate reference. How obvious is that? Apple certainly did not invent the term, but its obvious everyone is copying Apples every step.
makes me laugh how all the non-apple manufacturers continue to label parts of the device as though its "cool". Here i am referring to the '5.0 megapixel autofocus' under the camera lens.
whats the point? its tacky. reminds me of all the waaaaa's who drive around in their Civics with a big HONDA sticker across the back window and PIONEER, BRIDGESTONE, CASTROL, TURBO, INJECTION, ABS, AIRCON and any other testosterone filled crap they can print on it.
At least it cant have an 'intel inside' sticker !!!
The point is how blatantly Mobile PC's were referred to as Tablets for years, apple bought a domain iSlate.com and now every PC started using the Slate reference. How obvious is that? Apple certainly did not invent the term, but its obvious everyone is copying Apples every step.
No.
There are two main types of tablet PC: slate and convertible. A slate is a tablet with no keyboard or a detachable keyboard, a convertible is a tablet built like a laptop with a screen that swivels and folds flat against the keyboard. Those two terms have been in use for a long time (in technology time) to differentiate the types of tablets, and you're being paranoid if you think there is anything sudden about their usage in describing devices that would have been called slate tablets five years ago.
Only 5" yet they're calling it a slate? Who are they kidding? If it fits in one hand it's no tablet or slate it's just a big handheld.
I already calculated that Apple could go as high as 7" in a handheld if they moved further away from square to the 16:9 ratio found in the iMac and (likely) soon to be found in their MacBook line.
Such a device would be a mega iPhone or touch offering new features and easing the task of reading for those who otherwise have to fumble around for their reading glasses when using their iPhone or touch for web content. It's roughly the maximum size to fit in a majority of purses and at just under 4" wide would even slide into the back pocket of your jeans (of course it would stick out the top quite a bit).
The rumored 10" tablet would have to add even more features like full document editing and a more Mac like OS because it will definitely demand a carry bag and sport a hefty price tag.
"[L]ast night's keynote address by Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer came and went without a mention of a Microsoft tablet. Ballmer had a line up of products that included a tablet PC from HP. He spent less than a minute showing it off.
"This morning, I interviewed Ballmer and asked him about the market for tablet/slate computers. He made the excitement sound like empty chatter. He claimed to believe that there isn't a sizeable market for the tablet.
" 'They're interesting,' he said. 'But it's not like they're big numbers compared to the total number of smart devices in the world.' "
He's such an idiot. Compared to the total number of smart devices, you mean the devices you've failed to provide and that Apple has taken control of as they grow in that market faster than anyone predicted. As they eclipse ALL smart device manufacturers in modern relevancy?
"$500 for a phone!" Remember that nonsense.? Maybe Microsoft should try a new strategy going forward and partner with a company that actually satisfies its customers? Dell, HP, these are bullshit outfits that need to be turned away. What was there to excite anyone about 2010 or beyond? Zero. Here's a crappy HP tablet for 8 seconds that may or may not make it to market before everyone forgets about it and buys the Apple Tablet.
The last thing a company like Dell (or Microsoft, for that matter) should be wasting it's time with is talking about CONCEPT products.
When you've got folks like Apple, Google (via Android) and Amazon (Kindle) shipping REAL products that tip the needle, concept products just feed self-delusion that you are innovating, when in fact, what you are really doing is an exercise in puffery
Besides, the consumer is wise to the practice anyway, seeing how year after year, the auto industry comes out with concept cars that pretty much never translate into real cars. How'd that work out for GM?
Agree with Dr. Millmoss that this article gets at something significant.
As I was reading it I couldn't help but think of the "Courier" concept that seems to have driven a bunch of people insane. I'm not at all surprised that MS would float yet another concept, what seems mysterious to me is how many people seemed convinced that this anything like an actual product, and keep demanding that it be "released", or imagine that not showing up at the CES Keynote was a big letdown, or something.
As the article makes clear, this kind of design proposal has the great advantage of not needing to concern itself with economics or reality. Nobody at MS has to figure out how to make the hinge work, or how to propagate the gesture system throughout the OS and apps in a way that yields meaningful usefulness, instead of highly contrived demo scenarios. No one has to worry about how to make the connections between screens robust and durable, how to keeps costs down, what processor to use, thermal management, noise levels, pricing, ports, case materials, etc., etc., etc.
The animation designers just got to play with ideas, but as the article discusses, playing with ideas is not remotely like shipping products. Shipping products are about balancing constraints, not frictionless doodling. Apple has proven itself very adept at balancing constraints, and very disciplined at making the hard choices to get the real stuff into the market.
I can only assume that the weird obsession with "Courier", as if it were a missed opportunity or a missed deadline or an inexplicably delayed masterstroke instead of the very obviously bit of fantasy that it is, has to do with a real hunger on the part of the MS's customer base for something genuinely innovative. I guess they'll have to make do with running their Xboxes by gesticulating wildly.
He's such an idiot. Compared to the total number of smart devices, you mean the devices you've failed to provide and that Apple has taken control of as they grow in that market faster than anyone predicted. As they eclipse ALL smart device manufacturers in modern relevancy?
"$500 for a phone!" Remember that nonsense.? Maybe Microsoft should try a new strategy going forward and partner with a company that actually satisfies its customers? Dell, HP, these are bullshit outfits that need to be turned away. What was there to excite anyone about 2010 or beyond? Zero. Here's a crappy HP tablet for 8 seconds that may or may not make it to market before everyone forgets about it and buys the Apple Tablet.
All this criticism based on the size, what gives? Dell came out with Netbooks in the 9, 10 and 12 inch format. There's every reason to believe they could turn on a dime and make a bigger tablet if that's what the market demands. Heck, many of the items previewed at CES never make it to market but based on feedback received can be the starting point for something else.
The animation designers just got to play with ideas, but as the article discusses, playing with ideas is not remotely like shipping products. Shipping products are about balancing constraints, not frictionless doodling. Apple has proven itself very adept at balancing constraints, and very disciplined at making the hard choices to get the real stuff into the market.
If we wanted to give it a name, we might even call this the Xerox PARC Phenomenon. It's all well and good to have an R&D playground where designers and big thinkers can imagine themselves silly without real-world constraints, but all of this comes to nothing if the bridge between concepts and reality doesn't exist. This was the fundamental problem at Xerox, a company that could have been a major player, if not the major player, in the computer market if they'd only been able to transfer ideas into products that people would actually want to buy. That's a big "only" of course, because this is perhaps the most difficult step to take. It's the one at which Apple is particularly adept. That's Apple's secret, hidden right in plain sight.
As for Microsoft, they have a history (virtually a corporate policy) of announcing and/or leaking concept and unfinished projects as a way of stalling or stealing attention away from competing products. It's the old vaporware trick. That so many still fall for it after all these years, never fails to amaze.
Agree with Dr. Millmoss that this article gets at something significant.
As I was reading it I couldn't help but think of the "Courier" concept that seems to have driven a bunch of people insane. I'm not at all surprised that MS would float yet another concept, what seems mysterious to me is how many people seemed convinced that this anything like an actual product, and keep demanding that it be "released", or imagine that not showing up at the CES Keynote was a big letdown, or something.
As the article makes clear, this kind of design proposal has the great advantage of not needing to concern itself with economics or reality. Nobody at MS has to figure out how to make the hinge work, or how to propagate the gesture system throughout the OS and apps in a way that yields meaningful usefulness, instead of highly contrived demo scenarios. No one has to worry about how to make the connections between screens robust and durable, how to keeps costs down, what processor to use, thermal management, noise levels, pricing, ports, case materials, etc., etc., etc.
The animation designers just got to play with ideas, but as the article discusses, playing with ideas is not remotely like shipping products. Shipping products are about balancing constraints, not frictionless doodling. Apple has proven itself very adept at balancing constraints, and very disciplined at making the hard choices to get the real stuff into the market.
I can only assume that the weird obsession with "Courier", as if it were a missed opportunity or a missed deadline or an inexplicably delayed masterstroke instead of the very obviously bit of fantasy that it is, has to do with a real hunger on the part of the MS's customer base for something genuinely innovative. I guess they'll have to make do with running their Xboxes by gesticulating wildly.
Oops. Started to type something up and then realized @Dr. Millmoss made the same point. Nothing to see, folks, scurry along. :-)
Actually this is the only announced/concept "Slate" that looks nice, that I would actually consider buying. Only thing is as y'all mentioned, it's the wrong size. Too big to be a phone/portable device and too small to be a tablet/ eReader/ netpad/ etc. Of course the software and what it would do is a big question. But I like the look, honestly.
Comments
They call them slates because that is what they are. That has been a generic term for this type of computer for years.
A slate is a tablet with no keyboard or a detachable keyboard, and Apple sure as hell didn't invent the term.
The point is how blatantly Mobile PC's were referred to as Tablets for years, apple bought a domain iSlate.com and now every PC started using the Slate reference. How obvious is that? Apple certainly did not invent the term, but its obvious everyone is copying Apples every step.
whats the point? its tacky. reminds me of all the waaaaa's who drive around in their Civics with a big HONDA sticker across the back window and PIONEER, BRIDGESTONE, CASTROL, TURBO, INJECTION, ABS, AIRCON and any other testosterone filled crap they can print on it.
At least it cant have an 'intel inside' sticker !!!
"How Queer !!! "
Excellent piece, thanks for suggesting it. Required reading, I'd say.
Thanks. Kontra's a pretty crisp thinker/writer.
The point is how blatantly Mobile PC's were referred to as Tablets for years, apple bought a domain iSlate.com and now every PC started using the Slate reference. How obvious is that? Apple certainly did not invent the term, but its obvious everyone is copying Apples every step.
No.
There are two main types of tablet PC: slate and convertible. A slate is a tablet with no keyboard or a detachable keyboard, a convertible is a tablet built like a laptop with a screen that swivels and folds flat against the keyboard. Those two terms have been in use for a long time (in technology time) to differentiate the types of tablets, and you're being paranoid if you think there is anything sudden about their usage in describing devices that would have been called slate tablets five years ago.
Agent Orange, the gift that keeps on giving.
Dude...didn't click till you said it. It didn't even cross my mind. Different generation I guess.
Brilliant post.
{edit} Shoot. I thought I was being original. Seems people have been using iPad for a while when referring to the Apple Tablet.
it cracks me up that all these PC guys at CES are referring to their tablet products as "slates." LOL
I already calculated that Apple could go as high as 7" in a handheld if they moved further away from square to the 16:9 ratio found in the iMac and (likely) soon to be found in their MacBook line.
Such a device would be a mega iPhone or touch offering new features and easing the task of reading for those who otherwise have to fumble around for their reading glasses when using their iPhone or touch for web content. It's roughly the maximum size to fit in a majority of purses and at just under 4" wide would even slide into the back pocket of your jeans (of course it would stick out the top quite a bit).
The rumored 10" tablet would have to add even more features like full document editing and a more Mac like OS because it will definitely demand a carry bag and sport a hefty price tag.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechcons..._tablet_c.html
"[L]ast night's keynote address by Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer came and went without a mention of a Microsoft tablet. Ballmer had a line up of products that included a tablet PC from HP. He spent less than a minute showing it off.
"This morning, I interviewed Ballmer and asked him about the market for tablet/slate computers. He made the excitement sound like empty chatter. He claimed to believe that there isn't a sizeable market for the tablet.
" 'They're interesting,' he said. 'But it's not like they're big numbers compared to the total number of smart devices in the world.' "
He's such an idiot. Compared to the total number of smart devices, you mean the devices you've failed to provide and that Apple has taken control of as they grow in that market faster than anyone predicted. As they eclipse ALL smart device manufacturers in modern relevancy?
"$500 for a phone!" Remember that nonsense.? Maybe Microsoft should try a new strategy going forward and partner with a company that actually satisfies its customers? Dell, HP, these are bullshit outfits that need to be turned away. What was there to excite anyone about 2010 or beyond? Zero. Here's a crappy HP tablet for 8 seconds that may or may not make it to market before everyone forgets about it and buys the Apple Tablet.
The last thing a company like Dell (or Microsoft, for that matter) should be wasting it's time with is talking about CONCEPT products.
When you've got folks like Apple, Google (via Android) and Amazon (Kindle) shipping REAL products that tip the needle, concept products just feed self-delusion that you are innovating, when in fact, what you are really doing is an exercise in puffery
Besides, the consumer is wise to the practice anyway, seeing how year after year, the auto industry comes out with concept cars that pretty much never translate into real cars. How'd that work out for GM?
Btw, the best piece I have read on the topic is Kontra's 'Why Apple doesn’t do “Concept Products”.'
It's definitely worth a read.
Mark
Agree with Dr. Millmoss that this article gets at something significant.
As I was reading it I couldn't help but think of the "Courier" concept that seems to have driven a bunch of people insane. I'm not at all surprised that MS would float yet another concept, what seems mysterious to me is how many people seemed convinced that this anything like an actual product, and keep demanding that it be "released", or imagine that not showing up at the CES Keynote was a big letdown, or something.
As the article makes clear, this kind of design proposal has the great advantage of not needing to concern itself with economics or reality. Nobody at MS has to figure out how to make the hinge work, or how to propagate the gesture system throughout the OS and apps in a way that yields meaningful usefulness, instead of highly contrived demo scenarios. No one has to worry about how to make the connections between screens robust and durable, how to keeps costs down, what processor to use, thermal management, noise levels, pricing, ports, case materials, etc., etc., etc.
The animation designers just got to play with ideas, but as the article discusses, playing with ideas is not remotely like shipping products. Shipping products are about balancing constraints, not frictionless doodling. Apple has proven itself very adept at balancing constraints, and very disciplined at making the hard choices to get the real stuff into the market.
I can only assume that the weird obsession with "Courier", as if it were a missed opportunity or a missed deadline or an inexplicably delayed masterstroke instead of the very obviously bit of fantasy that it is, has to do with a real hunger on the part of the MS's customer base for something genuinely innovative. I guess they'll have to make do with running their Xboxes by gesticulating wildly.
He's such an idiot. Compared to the total number of smart devices, you mean the devices you've failed to provide and that Apple has taken control of as they grow in that market faster than anyone predicted. As they eclipse ALL smart device manufacturers in modern relevancy?
"$500 for a phone!" Remember that nonsense.? Maybe Microsoft should try a new strategy going forward and partner with a company that actually satisfies its customers? Dell, HP, these are bullshit outfits that need to be turned away. What was there to excite anyone about 2010 or beyond? Zero. Here's a crappy HP tablet for 8 seconds that may or may not make it to market before everyone forgets about it and buys the Apple Tablet.
[CENTER]Sure...
The animation designers just got to play with ideas, but as the article discusses, playing with ideas is not remotely like shipping products. Shipping products are about balancing constraints, not frictionless doodling. Apple has proven itself very adept at balancing constraints, and very disciplined at making the hard choices to get the real stuff into the market.
If we wanted to give it a name, we might even call this the Xerox PARC Phenomenon. It's all well and good to have an R&D playground where designers and big thinkers can imagine themselves silly without real-world constraints, but all of this comes to nothing if the bridge between concepts and reality doesn't exist. This was the fundamental problem at Xerox, a company that could have been a major player, if not the major player, in the computer market if they'd only been able to transfer ideas into products that people would actually want to buy. That's a big "only" of course, because this is perhaps the most difficult step to take. It's the one at which Apple is particularly adept. That's Apple's secret, hidden right in plain sight.
As for Microsoft, they have a history (virtually a corporate policy) of announcing and/or leaking concept and unfinished projects as a way of stalling or stealing attention away from competing products. It's the old vaporware trick. That so many still fall for it after all these years, never fails to amaze.
Agree with Dr. Millmoss that this article gets at something significant.
As I was reading it I couldn't help but think of the "Courier" concept that seems to have driven a bunch of people insane. I'm not at all surprised that MS would float yet another concept, what seems mysterious to me is how many people seemed convinced that this anything like an actual product, and keep demanding that it be "released", or imagine that not showing up at the CES Keynote was a big letdown, or something.
As the article makes clear, this kind of design proposal has the great advantage of not needing to concern itself with economics or reality. Nobody at MS has to figure out how to make the hinge work, or how to propagate the gesture system throughout the OS and apps in a way that yields meaningful usefulness, instead of highly contrived demo scenarios. No one has to worry about how to make the connections between screens robust and durable, how to keeps costs down, what processor to use, thermal management, noise levels, pricing, ports, case materials, etc., etc., etc.
The animation designers just got to play with ideas, but as the article discusses, playing with ideas is not remotely like shipping products. Shipping products are about balancing constraints, not frictionless doodling. Apple has proven itself very adept at balancing constraints, and very disciplined at making the hard choices to get the real stuff into the market.
I can only assume that the weird obsession with "Courier", as if it were a missed opportunity or a missed deadline or an inexplicably delayed masterstroke instead of the very obviously bit of fantasy that it is, has to do with a real hunger on the part of the MS's customer base for something genuinely innovative. I guess they'll have to make do with running their Xboxes by gesticulating wildly.
Oops. Started to type something up and then realized @Dr. Millmoss made the same point. Nothing to see, folks, scurry along. :-)
Ah... Has anyone thought of the name NetPad?