What's "fake" about the video? In fact it looks a lot like something Apple might do. A public demo also doesn't tell you much except that they've got working prototypes. I don't have any idea whether this product will be any good, or whether it will ship in three or six months, or never. But I think it's silly to criticize RIM for pre-announcing the product with a gee-wiz video, when that's exactly the kind of thing Apple does, and does so well.
It is far from exactly what Apple does:
1) Apple demoed the product, and gave hands-on access on the same day. RIM didn't even show a live movie of the thing in actual use.
2) Apple gave a price.
3) Apple gave battery life.
4) Apple specified shipping in < 3 months; RIM 3 to 8 months, and considering the absence of a demo, the longer time is more likely.
5) When Apple announced the ipad, there were no other similar tablets in the wild. RIM is announcing a me-too product.
Other than that, exactly the same.
(Apple announced the iphone 6 months before it shipped, but they had to apply for operating permits ahead of time, and that would have let the cat out, and again, it had essentially no competition when it was released, and again, a live demo, price, battery life, and shipping month were given on the day of the announcement.)
1) Apple demoed the product, and gave hands-on access on the same day. RIM didn't even show a live movie of the thing in actual use.
2) Apple gave a price.
3) Apple gave battery life.
4) Apple specified shipping in < 3 months; RIM 3 to 8 months, and considering the absence of a demo, the longer time is more likely.
5) When Apple announced the ipad, there were no other similar tablets in the wild. RIM is announcing a me-too product.
Other than that, exactly the same.
(Apple announced the iphone 6 months before it shipped, but they had to apply for operating permits ahead of time, and that would have let the cat out, and again, it had essentially no competition when it was released, and again, a live demo, price, battery life, and shipping month were given on the day of the announcement.)
You don't make many posts, but if this is any indication -- we're missing a lot!
Oh come on. Enough with the double standards. Apple does this kind of thing all the time.
Well, I'm tired and maybe my brain isn't working all that well, but I can't think of a single time in any of SJs presentations where he didn't have a working device there. It may not have been a finished product for sale but afaik he always had a device there. Perhaps you know of a specific time that I have forgotten about?
where did you get these figures? are you experienced in embedded OS design and development?
Not an expert, but have worked on and observed enough software projects to know what's attainable.
Where am I wrong?
Is 10 people to few? To many? How about 50? 100? Or 200 as the OP implied?
What about the time period? We have 33 days until October 31 -- the last day that RIM can ship the "kits" to their "partners" and meet their (supposedly announced) deadline/
That's not a lot of time! If they are going to make it, shouldn't they at least be able to show a simulated (or even story-boarded) illustration of the UI?
At the very least they could take iOS or Android SDKs and use them as a guideline for the UI and APIs.
But, they have nothing to show today! This was their Big day!. Their big chance to make a good impression. They showed a "concept" movie-- they have nothing else!
Selling the sizzle instead of the steak. Apple's ads don't dwell on specifications, or even the functions of their products. If the ads work at all, it's because they make you excited about the concept they are selling. I've got nothing against it; this is just how advertising works. This is what RIM is doing with this ad. Very light on the specifics and long on eye-catching generalities. A lot like an Apple ad, is what I thought when I saw it. That BTW is not a criticism. Apple is the master of this approach.
Nice reply, too bad it had nothing to do with the post you were replying to. If you follow the "trail" you will see he wanted you to elaborate on your statement that Apple,with regards to using fake videos, "do it all the time". Better luck next time.
Then you have to assume that RIM is terminally stupid, and provide evidence of the fact based on their history.
They announce a product and say that they are shipping it to corporate clients in a month.
You claim 6-8 months (how you figure that is a mystery).
If they don't ship by October, early November, they will be crucified and they know that.
So you are saying that RIM is knowingly performing actions that will cause a substantial decline in their share price.
No. that'swhat you are saying.
And, you must not believe them because you are hedging their date for them-- from October to "early November".
As I said in an earlier post, RIM has provided a few hard specs, and left themselves a lot of wiggle room!
We were misquoted, taken out of context, we want to take extra time to get the UX just right... shit happens. All these are available excuses.
Likely, what RIM showed today was the best they could cobble together. The fact that they couldn't show even a powered on device... tells me they don't have one worth showing!
Is that difficult to understand?
Then you should ask the logical follow on question-- If the Bride doesn't make an appearance at her wedding, what makes you think she'll make one at the honeymoon?
We were misquoted, taken out of context... shit happens. All these are available excuses.
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Excuses don't mean "shit" to use your terminology. The news is out there, and any decent company has at least a few people monitoring the news that came out.
If they were "misquoted" or "taken out of context" and really have no plans to ship for 6-8 months as you assert, there would have been (or will be be by tomorrow) a statement to that effect.
You do not claim to ship a product in a month to clients when there is no hope or chance that that will happen, which is essentially what you are asserting.
I've challenged people who say this to show me how RIM could be so stupid as to release a video a product that will either never arrive or not look at all like the promotional ad, but I notice nobody has taken me up on it.
And we challenge you to back up your claim that Apple use fake videos all the time. .... still waiting. I'll check in tomorrow and see what you come up with.
Excuses don't mean "shit" to use your terminology. The news is out there, and any decent company has at least a few people monitoring the news that came out.
If they were "misquoted" or "taken out of context" and really have no plans to ship for 6-8 months as you assert, there would have been (or will be be by tomorrow) a statement to that effect.
You do not claim to ship a product in a month to clients when there is no hope or chance that that will happen, which is essentially what you are asserting.
First. I do not know that RIM claimed that they will ship a product in a month... even if they said that, what's a product. A somewhat working device? A buggy SDK and a Simulator with lots of missing documentation and APIs-- it'll be Beta, right? Who Knows?
As others have said, more eloquently, I think that RIM is trying to do whatever it takes to persuade their business customers to wait for a RIM Tablet solution.
Today, RIM placed its marker on the table -- It intends to do this as well and as soon as possible...
But what comprises "it" is not sufficiently defined as to what or when. I think that was what was intended,
Why do it now?
What else could they do?
Excuses do mean "shit" if you are telling loyal followers what they want to hear... Longhorn!
My point is made better by this comparison to the Nokia N97 promo video, not unlike what we have in the PlayBook video except the N97 promo video actually focuses on the device itself, even if it all done by skilled animators. Note, the limitations of the N97 aren’t just the speed of transitions but how they are done. We’ll see when this comes out how accurate this video was to the real OS and UI on the real HW.[INDENT
I'd like to refer back to this. Several people are saying that it's highly unlikely or beyond the pale to think that RIM would wildly misrepresent their new OS-- that they'd have to be stupid or crazy to expose themselves to that kind of grief, and that there's no evidence that they're that stupid.
But Nokia did precisely this, and Nokia isn't generally thought of as "stupid", in that sense (they don't seem to be very good at hanging onto market share, but I never thought of them as duplicitous or erratic, particularly). But they went ahead and made that video. I can imagine the exact argument being made here being made upon viewing the N97 piece. The same admiration for the fluidity and style of the UI, the same dismissal of the idea that Nokia would be so insane as to just make shit up, the same request that someone provide evidence of Nokia's capacity for that level of folly.
I think the thread has confusingly conflated several meanings of "vaporware." I don't doubt that RIM will be shipping something, even if it's somewhat delayed. I also think it's entirely possible that that something won't actually behave much like the video, which plays more like a broad conceptual piece than a demonstration of any product. If that proves to be the case I'm sure RIM could point out that the application of screens to various real world objects made it clear that the video was just dreaming about the future, or something. But I really don't think it's out of the question that this kind of rendered publicity can get pretty far afield from actual shipping product.
What's "fake" about the video? In fact it looks a lot like something Apple might do. A public demo also doesn't tell you much except that they've got working prototypes. I don't have any idea whether this product will be any good, or whether it will ship in three or six months, or never. But I think it's silly to criticize RIM for pre-announcing the product with a gee-wiz video, when that's exactly the kind of thing Apple does, and does so well.
I have used Apple products for quite sometime. I never followed their press conferences, until recently.
I have yet encountered an instance when Apple announced a product without a working prototype (see caveat below)-- not just a "mock-up" of a concept product, like many tech companies do.
Was it many many years ago when Bill Gates, with all the fanfare, even a prototype to show, announced the coming Microsoft handheld tablet computer, stylus and all? It was supposed to revolutionize mobile computing. I was so ecstatic then when I became more familiar with the ways of Gates, and Microsoft. Until now, some Apple detractors use the Bill Gates demo to suggest that MS was the first to conceive such a tablet device???
It is not exactly the same analogy, but the "boy who cried wolf, or something comes to mind" -- "It's coming! It's coming! It's coming!" -- or some related parables and stories. In this case, the "alarmist" made the proclamation so many times that later on, no one believed him, when the menace really came.
Microsoft and Bill Gates, touted so many "concept" products before, sometimes even with actual "prototypes", only to be proved illusory as actual consumer products. Was in only this year when they shelved the latest iteration of the "clam shell" tablet, after the iPad was announced, and even before it was known to be a success?
What was more in character, was that when Microsoft actually comes out with a consumer product, that was sure to resonate with consumers, the latter seemed to look somewhere else? Zune, and yeah, their iPhone killers (that I cannot even recall now, that had to be abandoned, only after? They still have faith on the Zune though, and the incoming "Windows 7 Phone?" or whatever it may be called in the future.
Announcemens, like this by RIM thought is not just limited to computer/software ccompanies. Remember all those mock up products of mass media companies that were supposed to exploit the potential of the innovative promises of the iPad, or similar table devices? Until now, they remain "video demos". I have yet to see a working magazine App that truly exploits the capabilities of the tablet.
In fact, as many people in the know, even so-called journalists and analysts, may even already subconsciously imbibed:
"There are announcements. And, there are Apple product announcements." The Pew research just confirmed this.
If I have to hazard, even Apple haters, accept this. Otherwise, I feel at a lost to understand why some people spends so much time in forums, like this, to share they thoughts about products they profess to be subpar to, and extolling those from other companies, or those "concept products yet to come. "They're coming! They're coming!" (many times, they do not come at all)
What makes Apple different? Until Apple has a working prototype, in their quarterly press conferences for their financial report, Apple reps never confirm nor deny, about a purported (every analyst is so sure) prduct will be manufactured by Apple. As it turned out, many of those rumors, were untrue.
Even if it were true, Apple would not confirm or deny its existence, until they are ready to announce, that indeed a product is coming. Is it any wonder why "many" get so "excited" to a frenzy sometimes, even Apple and Steve Jobs detractors, schedule an "Announcement"?
By the time, they announce a "working prototype", they already have a good idea what the price would be -- because they already are at manufacturing stage to be able to estimate the cost to manufacture (e.g., the iPad, iPods), and/or have already negotiated with any company that will subsidize the product, AT&T, and respective telcos in other countries with the iPhone), and sorts of costs associated with the sale of a new product.
The "grand announcement" of Apple of a "new product therefore gets much attention, because it allows pundits to claim they made a correct prognostication. Apart from being truly innovative or one that may resonate with the average consumer, everyone knows that the product will indeed come.
Can you say that of Microsoft announcements, or all those demos that come out every year at the CES? Or, those "grand announcements" by many companies?
If there is one caveat to what I stated above, one that I could think of would be the "white iPhone 4". I am not privy to any insider of Apple, including how things are manufactured. However, if I give Apple the benefit of the doubt, and be more "generous", I would surmise that it is just Steve Jobs being picky about the most minute details, like the color of the "white iPhone". After all, except for the manufacture of the outer casing, the black iPhone was not only a working prototype, but was actually a "consumer product" -- much desired, in spite of all the "Antennagate" that seem to just have disappeared in the media.
I wonder sometimes why everyone in the massmedia, and Consumer Report, seem to have had amnesia, considering how they portrayed the problem.
Is it any wonder why Apple gets so much press coverage? Is it any wonder why many people love Apple so much, a devotion they do not seem to bestow to any tech company? Is it any wonder why many people hate Apple and Steve Jobs?
Just curious where you will categorize yourself?
Personally, I would like for other companies to come up with viable competition to any Apple product. However I feel about Android phones, for example, or whatever motivated Google to do so, I am glad that they are making Apple rethink their strategies. More power to companies that can truly comoete with any Apple products. It prods Apple to innovate even further.
I feel disgusted sometimes with the tendency of both parties to attempt to justify the choices of Apple, as if they as if those specifications are sacrosant -- "Apple can do no mistake", and for the adversary to nit pick or overblow, any "missing" specification, and then extoll products of the competition, even before it was even in their hands.
Where is the spirit to help each other find the best, for us consumers?
When I first came here, or for that matter, related forums, I thought it would be a good way to learn from the expertise and/or experience of others. And, I did post a few inquiries, in the past.
No one ever responded, "Google" to my requests, but to those who respond with "Google it!", or something similar to some posts here: "What were you trying to say?" Do you honestly believe that someone who found a site, like "AppleInsider", never heard of "Google"? Geez, "AppleInsider" must be inherently known to everyone.
Is it really just plain laziness on the part of the poster? Or, they were seeking more elaborations, from people they think may have more technical experties than themselves?
Why is it that the "outrageous" posts, from our perspective, elicit the most response? Do we really think our chosen adversary will change their mind?
What are our priorities here? Just curious: What did we think we really achieved after posting hundreds, sometimes thousands of posts, in this forum?
CGC
N.B.
The emphasis (bold) in the quote above was mine. Not that I considered the quoted post the most bizzare, but something else resonated.
I'd like to refer back to this. Several people are saying that it's highly unlikely or beyond the pale to think that RIM would wildly misrepresent their new OS-- that they'd have to be stupid or crazy to expose themselves to that kind of grief, and that there's no evidence that they're that stupid.
The issue is not that RIM "misrepresented" their OS. there are people like Dick Applebaum who are claiming that RIM flat out lied - not misrepresented, but lied about the OS and their tablet, supposedly to hold their customer base.
This is from Dick
Begin Quote
Originally Posted by Dick Applebaum
Conclusions:
-- they haven't defined the UI
-- there is no OS
-- there is no SDK or Simulator
Apple pulled OS X experts to work on finalizing the first iOs from a running system (demoed).
It took trained experts 3 months to finalize iOS 1.
There is no way in hell that this will be ready for release before 3Q 2011!
End of Quote
So it is not that there is a misrepresentation as you suggest. Dick Applebaum is claiming that RIM got up in front of the press and in effect said:
"we have this OS from QNX that is going to run our tablet that we will ship in a few months at the beginning of 2011",
However, according to Dick, in reality, there is no OS at all, and the tablet will not ship for another year.
That is what people are saying is implausible, because RIM would have to be truly stupid to do something like that.
No, the 1 GB is not storage but system memory, and yes, the iPad only has 512 MB. RIM never mentioned how much storage would be on the devices, but most reports presume 16 and 32 GB.
Comments
As the CNBC article stated, they are shipping it to partners in the next month for testing.
RIM just bought 200 software engineers on the QNX deal.
That's a bunch of crap -- if you can't see that, what's the point...
Just who and how many are these "partners"'? Where do I apply?
What are they 'shipping" -- the only tangible shown was a marketing video?
How long does it take to gather 200 software engineers (or 200 anybodys) for a meeting?
Are these 200 high-paid engineers just sitting around looking for something to to? Or, are they committed to ongoing projects with deadlines?
10 experts might be able to do the OS, frameworks, and APIs in 6 months after the hardware and UI are defined.
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What's "fake" about the video? In fact it looks a lot like something Apple might do. A public demo also doesn't tell you much except that they've got working prototypes. I don't have any idea whether this product will be any good, or whether it will ship in three or six months, or never. But I think it's silly to criticize RIM for pre-announcing the product with a gee-wiz video, when that's exactly the kind of thing Apple does, and does so well.
It is far from exactly what Apple does:
1) Apple demoed the product, and gave hands-on access on the same day. RIM didn't even show a live movie of the thing in actual use.
2) Apple gave a price.
3) Apple gave battery life.
4) Apple specified shipping in < 3 months; RIM 3 to 8 months, and considering the absence of a demo, the longer time is more likely.
5) When Apple announced the ipad, there were no other similar tablets in the wild. RIM is announcing a me-too product.
Other than that, exactly the same.
(Apple announced the iphone 6 months before it shipped, but they had to apply for operating permits ahead of time, and that would have let the cat out, and again, it had essentially no competition when it was released, and again, a live demo, price, battery life, and shipping month were given on the day of the announcement.)
It is far from exactly what Apple does:
1) Apple demoed the product, and gave hands-on access on the same day. RIM didn't even show a live movie of the thing in actual use.
2) Apple gave a price.
3) Apple gave battery life.
4) Apple specified shipping in < 3 months; RIM 3 to 8 months, and considering the absence of a demo, the longer time is more likely.
5) When Apple announced the ipad, there were no other similar tablets in the wild. RIM is announcing a me-too product.
Other than that, exactly the same.
(Apple announced the iphone 6 months before it shipped, but they had to apply for operating permits ahead of time, and that would have let the cat out, and again, it had essentially no competition when it was released, and again, a live demo, price, battery life, and shipping month were given on the day of the announcement.)
You don't make many posts, but if this is any indication -- we're missing a lot!
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Just who and how many are these "partners"'? Where do I apply?
you'll have to contact RIM for the details. and if you're interested in becoming a partner, this site may prove useful http://www.rim.com/company/contact/index.shtml
What are they 'shipping" -- the only tangible shown was a marketing video?
development kits
How long does it take to gather 200 software engineers (or 200 anybodys) for a meeting?
teleconferencing is a common means to gather people from various geographic locations into a meeting
Are these 200 high-paid engineers just sitting around looking for something to to? Or, are they committed to ongoing projects with deadlines?
QNX Software Systems continues as a business as always. i don't see them being idle. more information about QNX is over at http://www.qnx.com/
10 experts might be able to do the OS, frameworks, and APIs in 6 months after the hardware and UI are defined.
where did you get these figures? are you experienced in embedded OS design and development?
It is far from exactly what Apple does: ...
i agree. and, it should be interesting to see how the PlayBook fares in the marketplace next year and beyond.
Oh come on. Enough with the double standards. Apple does this kind of thing all the time.
Well, I'm tired and maybe my brain isn't working all that well, but I can't think of a single time in any of SJs presentations where he didn't have a working device there. It may not have been a finished product for sale but afaik he always had a device there. Perhaps you know of a specific time that I have forgotten about?
That's a bunch of crap -- if you can't see that, what's the point...
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Then you have to assume that RIM is terminally stupid, and provide evidence of the fact based on their history.
They announce a product and say that they are shipping it to corporate clients in a month.
You claim 6-8 months (how you figure that is a mystery).
If they don't ship by October, early November, they will be crucified and they know that.
So you are saying that RIM is knowingly performing actions that will cause a substantial decline in their share price.
You don't make many posts, but if this is any indication -- we're missing a lot!
I second it.
where did you get these figures? are you experienced in embedded OS design and development?
Not an expert, but have worked on and observed enough software projects to know what's attainable.
Where am I wrong?
Is 10 people to few? To many? How about 50? 100? Or 200 as the OP implied?
What about the time period? We have 33 days until October 31 -- the last day that RIM can ship the "kits" to their "partners" and meet their (supposedly announced) deadline/
That's not a lot of time! If they are going to make it, shouldn't they at least be able to show a simulated (or even story-boarded) illustration of the UI?
At the very least they could take iOS or Android SDKs and use them as a guideline for the UI and APIs.
But, they have nothing to show today! This was their Big day!. Their big chance to make a good impression. They showed a "concept" movie-- they have nothing else!
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Selling the sizzle instead of the steak. Apple's ads don't dwell on specifications, or even the functions of their products. If the ads work at all, it's because they make you excited about the concept they are selling. I've got nothing against it; this is just how advertising works. This is what RIM is doing with this ad. Very light on the specifics and long on eye-catching generalities. A lot like an Apple ad, is what I thought when I saw it. That BTW is not a criticism. Apple is the master of this approach.
Nice reply, too bad it had nothing to do with the post you were replying to. If you follow the "trail" you will see he wanted you to elaborate on your statement that Apple,with regards to using fake videos, "do it all the time". Better luck next time.
Then you have to assume that RIM is terminally stupid, and provide evidence of the fact based on their history.
They announce a product and say that they are shipping it to corporate clients in a month.
You claim 6-8 months (how you figure that is a mystery).
If they don't ship by October, early November, they will be crucified and they know that.
So you are saying that RIM is knowingly performing actions that will cause a substantial decline in their share price.
No. that'swhat you are saying.
And, you must not believe them because you are hedging their date for them-- from October to "early November".
As I said in an earlier post, RIM has provided a few hard specs, and left themselves a lot of wiggle room!
We were misquoted, taken out of context, we want to take extra time to get the UX just right... shit happens. All these are available excuses.
Likely, what RIM showed today was the best they could cobble together. The fact that they couldn't show even a powered on device... tells me they don't have one worth showing!
Is that difficult to understand?
Then you should ask the logical follow on question-- If the Bride doesn't make an appearance at her wedding, what makes you think she'll make one at the honeymoon?
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We were misquoted, taken out of context... shit happens. All these are available excuses.
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Excuses don't mean "shit" to use your terminology. The news is out there, and any decent company has at least a few people monitoring the news that came out.
If they were "misquoted" or "taken out of context" and really have no plans to ship for 6-8 months as you assert, there would have been (or will be be by tomorrow) a statement to that effect.
You do not claim to ship a product in a month to clients when there is no hope or chance that that will happen, which is essentially what you are asserting.
I've challenged people who say this to show me how RIM could be so stupid as to release a video a product that will either never arrive or not look at all like the promotional ad, but I notice nobody has taken me up on it.
And we challenge you to back up your claim that Apple use fake videos all the time. .... still waiting. I'll check in tomorrow and see what you come up with.
Excuses don't mean "shit" to use your terminology. The news is out there, and any decent company has at least a few people monitoring the news that came out.
If they were "misquoted" or "taken out of context" and really have no plans to ship for 6-8 months as you assert, there would have been (or will be be by tomorrow) a statement to that effect.
You do not claim to ship a product in a month to clients when there is no hope or chance that that will happen, which is essentially what you are asserting.
First. I do not know that RIM claimed that they will ship a product in a month... even if they said that, what's a product. A somewhat working device? A buggy SDK and a Simulator with lots of missing documentation and APIs-- it'll be Beta, right? Who Knows?
As others have said, more eloquently, I think that RIM is trying to do whatever it takes to persuade their business customers to wait for a RIM Tablet solution.
Today, RIM placed its marker on the table -- It intends to do this as well and as soon as possible...
But what comprises "it" is not sufficiently defined as to what or when. I think that was what was intended,
Why do it now?
What else could they do?
Excuses do mean "shit" if you are telling loyal followers what they want to hear... Longhorn!
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My point is made better by this comparison to the Nokia N97 promo video, not unlike what we have in the PlayBook video except the N97 promo video actually focuses on the device itself, even if it all done by skilled animators. Note, the limitations of the N97 aren’t just the speed of transitions but how they are done. We’ll see when this comes out how accurate this video was to the real OS and UI on the real HW.[INDENT
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJpEuMidcSU[/INDENT]
I'd like to refer back to this. Several people are saying that it's highly unlikely or beyond the pale to think that RIM would wildly misrepresent their new OS-- that they'd have to be stupid or crazy to expose themselves to that kind of grief, and that there's no evidence that they're that stupid.
But Nokia did precisely this, and Nokia isn't generally thought of as "stupid", in that sense (they don't seem to be very good at hanging onto market share, but I never thought of them as duplicitous or erratic, particularly). But they went ahead and made that video. I can imagine the exact argument being made here being made upon viewing the N97 piece. The same admiration for the fluidity and style of the UI, the same dismissal of the idea that Nokia would be so insane as to just make shit up, the same request that someone provide evidence of Nokia's capacity for that level of folly.
I think the thread has confusingly conflated several meanings of "vaporware." I don't doubt that RIM will be shipping something, even if it's somewhat delayed. I also think it's entirely possible that that something won't actually behave much like the video, which plays more like a broad conceptual piece than a demonstration of any product. If that proves to be the case I'm sure RIM could point out that the application of screens to various real world objects made it clear that the video was just dreaming about the future, or something. But I really don't think it's out of the question that this kind of rendered publicity can get pretty far afield from actual shipping product.
What's "fake" about the video? In fact it looks a lot like something Apple might do. A public demo also doesn't tell you much except that they've got working prototypes. I don't have any idea whether this product will be any good, or whether it will ship in three or six months, or never. But I think it's silly to criticize RIM for pre-announcing the product with a gee-wiz video, when that's exactly the kind of thing Apple does, and does so well.
I have used Apple products for quite sometime. I never followed their press conferences, until recently.
I have yet encountered an instance when Apple announced a product without a working prototype (see caveat below)-- not just a "mock-up" of a concept product, like many tech companies do.
Was it many many years ago when Bill Gates, with all the fanfare, even a prototype to show, announced the coming Microsoft handheld tablet computer, stylus and all? It was supposed to revolutionize mobile computing. I was so ecstatic then when I became more familiar with the ways of Gates, and Microsoft. Until now, some Apple detractors use the Bill Gates demo to suggest that MS was the first to conceive such a tablet device???
It is not exactly the same analogy, but the "boy who cried wolf, or something comes to mind" -- "It's coming! It's coming! It's coming!" -- or some related parables and stories. In this case, the "alarmist" made the proclamation so many times that later on, no one believed him, when the menace really came.
Microsoft and Bill Gates, touted so many "concept" products before, sometimes even with actual "prototypes", only to be proved illusory as actual consumer products. Was in only this year when they shelved the latest iteration of the "clam shell" tablet, after the iPad was announced, and even before it was known to be a success?
What was more in character, was that when Microsoft actually comes out with a consumer product, that was sure to resonate with consumers, the latter seemed to look somewhere else? Zune, and yeah, their iPhone killers (that I cannot even recall now, that had to be abandoned, only after? They still have faith on the Zune though, and the incoming "Windows 7 Phone?" or whatever it may be called in the future.
Announcemens, like this by RIM thought is not just limited to computer/software ccompanies. Remember all those mock up products of mass media companies that were supposed to exploit the potential of the innovative promises of the iPad, or similar table devices? Until now, they remain "video demos". I have yet to see a working magazine App that truly exploits the capabilities of the tablet.
In fact, as many people in the know, even so-called journalists and analysts, may even already subconsciously imbibed:
"There are announcements. And, there are Apple product announcements." The Pew research just confirmed this.
If I have to hazard, even Apple haters, accept this. Otherwise, I feel at a lost to understand why some people spends so much time in forums, like this, to share they thoughts about products they profess to be subpar to, and extolling those from other companies, or those "concept products yet to come. "They're coming! They're coming!" (many times, they do not come at all)
What makes Apple different? Until Apple has a working prototype, in their quarterly press conferences for their financial report, Apple reps never confirm nor deny, about a purported (every analyst is so sure) prduct will be manufactured by Apple. As it turned out, many of those rumors, were untrue.
Even if it were true, Apple would not confirm or deny its existence, until they are ready to announce, that indeed a product is coming. Is it any wonder why "many" get so "excited" to a frenzy sometimes, even Apple and Steve Jobs detractors, schedule an "Announcement"?
By the time, they announce a "working prototype", they already have a good idea what the price would be -- because they already are at manufacturing stage to be able to estimate the cost to manufacture (e.g., the iPad, iPods), and/or have already negotiated with any company that will subsidize the product, AT&T, and respective telcos in other countries with the iPhone), and sorts of costs associated with the sale of a new product.
The "grand announcement" of Apple of a "new product therefore gets much attention, because it allows pundits to claim they made a correct prognostication. Apart from being truly innovative or one that may resonate with the average consumer, everyone knows that the product will indeed come.
Can you say that of Microsoft announcements, or all those demos that come out every year at the CES? Or, those "grand announcements" by many companies?
If there is one caveat to what I stated above, one that I could think of would be the "white iPhone 4". I am not privy to any insider of Apple, including how things are manufactured. However, if I give Apple the benefit of the doubt, and be more "generous", I would surmise that it is just Steve Jobs being picky about the most minute details, like the color of the "white iPhone". After all, except for the manufacture of the outer casing, the black iPhone was not only a working prototype, but was actually a "consumer product" -- much desired, in spite of all the "Antennagate" that seem to just have disappeared in the media.
I wonder sometimes why everyone in the massmedia, and Consumer Report, seem to have had amnesia, considering how they portrayed the problem.
Is it any wonder why Apple gets so much press coverage? Is it any wonder why many people love Apple so much, a devotion they do not seem to bestow to any tech company? Is it any wonder why many people hate Apple and Steve Jobs?
Just curious where you will categorize yourself?
Personally, I would like for other companies to come up with viable competition to any Apple product. However I feel about Android phones, for example, or whatever motivated Google to do so, I am glad that they are making Apple rethink their strategies. More power to companies that can truly comoete with any Apple products. It prods Apple to innovate even further.
I feel disgusted sometimes with the tendency of both parties to attempt to justify the choices of Apple, as if they as if those specifications are sacrosant -- "Apple can do no mistake", and for the adversary to nit pick or overblow, any "missing" specification, and then extoll products of the competition, even before it was even in their hands.
Where is the spirit to help each other find the best, for us consumers?
When I first came here, or for that matter, related forums, I thought it would be a good way to learn from the expertise and/or experience of others. And, I did post a few inquiries, in the past.
No one ever responded, "Google" to my requests, but to those who respond with "Google it!", or something similar to some posts here: "What were you trying to say?" Do you honestly believe that someone who found a site, like "AppleInsider", never heard of "Google"? Geez, "AppleInsider" must be inherently known to everyone.
Is it really just plain laziness on the part of the poster? Or, they were seeking more elaborations, from people they think may have more technical experties than themselves?
Why is it that the "outrageous" posts, from our perspective, elicit the most response? Do we really think our chosen adversary will change their mind?
What are our priorities here? Just curious: What did we think we really achieved after posting hundreds, sometimes thousands of posts, in this forum?
CGC
N.B.
The emphasis (bold) in the quote above was mine. Not that I considered the quoted post the most bizzare, but something else resonated.
Cisco announced their 7" tablet on June 29.
In many ways, it is similar to the PlayBook.
Except, it has an available and proven OS (Android) and a proven CPU (Atom).
Their original video showed the device, but it was not turned on or demoed.
Their latest video is a mock up of what it will look like when running -- a better, more targeted presentation than the PlayBook video.
It was announced almost 3 months before the PlayBook.
I cannot find any reliable price and availability information.
Of the PlayBook and Cius, which do you think will ship first?
Have a look:
http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/29/c...-capabilities/
.
The iPhone 4 has 512 MB, it's quite possible that the iPad 2 will have a gig as well and launch in a similar timeframe.
The iPhone 4 has 16Gb or 32Gb of RAM NOT 512MB.
The PlayBook only has 1GB or on board storage.
I'd like to refer back to this. Several people are saying that it's highly unlikely or beyond the pale to think that RIM would wildly misrepresent their new OS-- that they'd have to be stupid or crazy to expose themselves to that kind of grief, and that there's no evidence that they're that stupid.
The issue is not that RIM "misrepresented" their OS. there are people like Dick Applebaum who are claiming that RIM flat out lied - not misrepresented, but lied about the OS and their tablet, supposedly to hold their customer base.
This is from Dick
Begin Quote
Originally Posted by Dick Applebaum
Conclusions:
-- they haven't defined the UI
-- there is no OS
-- there is no SDK or Simulator
Apple pulled OS X experts to work on finalizing the first iOs from a running system (demoed).
It took trained experts 3 months to finalize iOS 1.
There is no way in hell that this will be ready for release before 3Q 2011!
End of Quote
So it is not that there is a misrepresentation as you suggest. Dick Applebaum is claiming that RIM got up in front of the press and in effect said:
"we have this OS from QNX that is going to run our tablet that we will ship in a few months at the beginning of 2011",
However, according to Dick, in reality, there is no OS at all, and the tablet will not ship for another year.
That is what people are saying is implausible, because RIM would have to be truly stupid to do something like that.
The iPhone 4 has 16Gb or 32Gb of RAM NOT 512MB.
The PlayBook only has 1GB or on board storage.
No, the 1 GB is not storage but system memory, and yes, the iPad only has 512 MB. RIM never mentioned how much storage would be on the devices, but most reports presume 16 and 32 GB.