Why are so many people opposed to this? Considering how many mac users are involved in art related fields it seems a no-brainer to offer the option of pen input for laptop computers.
Do all laptops have to have this feature? Of course not.
Why are so many people opposed to this? Considering how many mac users are involved in art related fields it seems a no-brainer to offer the option of pen input for laptop computers.
Do all laptops have to have this feature? Of course not.
There are MS tablets that have been out for quite some time now. People aren't buying them. They are expensive for what you get. I don't want to see Apple build something *cool* for the sake of itself and then have it languish on store shelves. The whole novelty of using a tablet wears off rather quick.
I personally am not opposed to them (ok, I'm lying) but people definitely put more hype into them than they deserve.
ps - until the technology is available to make some sort of electronic "paper/notepad" then I will continue to be against tablets.
I think the big deal to people here is that noone wants Apple to slap on a hardware and software UI that is just OK or "good enough." To me, it boils down to a light enough, thin enough tablet and software that takes advantage of a pen-oriented UI. To me, it's more than slapping ink into the system to do that.
I think the big deal to people here is that noone wants Apple to slap on a hardware and software UI that is just OK or "good enough." To me, it boils down to a light enough, thin enough tablet and software that takes advantage of a pen-oriented UI. To me, it's more than slapping ink into the system to do that.
Is the technology for tablets -- pen input -- a propreitary tech owned by Wacom?
I wonder if that has anything to do with the high price?
Regardless, I don't understand how people can complain about having an additional input for computers. It just allows more freedom for computer users.
The question is... when will Apple be able to perfect this technology cheaply enough. Only Apple knows that... and they could share that with us any day now.
The strange thing is that Jobs said he didn't like tablets because he didn't think people wanted to answer all their mails by hand... this doesn't make sense though.
You can still have a pen input and a keyboard in the same unit.
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There are MS tablets that have been out for quite some time now. People aren't buying them. They are expensive for what you get.
MS isn't apple. A lot of people made Mp3 players before apple but none of them were the iPod.
I would like to see Apple do the same thing with this type of device.
Is the technology for tablets -- pen input -- a propreitary tech owned by Wacom?
I wonder if that has anything to do with the high price?
Regardless, I don't understand how people can complain about having an additional input for computers. It just allows more freedom for computer users.
Adding more widgets is never a wholly positive thing from an engineering perspective - there is always a tradeoff. Add a touch tablet, and what else has to change? Well, if it's a laptop form factor, the hinge. What else has to change because of that? Well, the video cabling. Okay, *then* what? And so on, and so on. Have you added weight? Thickness? How about reduced battery life? Is the cost still comparable? Assume you ditch the keyboard, and make it a pure tablet - where will you put the CD slot so that it doesn't interfere with someone's hands while they're holding it? How will you keep it anchored for keyboard use on a desktop? Is the keyboard now optional and plug in like a laptop? Great, then how do you keep it from being top heavy and tipping over? Etc, etc, etc, etc, etc ad nauseum.
It's not just a case of being able to slap some hardware in... even from just a hardware point of view, before you get to the software support.
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The question is... when will Apple be able to perfect this technology cheaply enough. Only Apple knows that... and they could share that with us any day now.
The strange thing is that Jobs said he didn't like tablets because he didn't think people wanted to answer all their mails by hand... this doesn't make sense though.
You can still have a pen input and a keyboard in the same unit.
See above. Pure tablets are a pain with keyboards, right now. Convertible laptop/tablets have their own set of issues.
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MS isn't apple. A lot of people made Mp3 players before apple but none of them were the iPod.
I would like to see Apple do the same thing with this type of device.
So would I, but it has to wait until the tech, design, and market all converge. With the iPod, it took a big leap in tiny hard drives, *and* Apple's singular design, *and* the market being ready for such a device to create the success.
We don't have the right techs for laptops yet, no one's hit on the right design balance, and the market has soured on them, after MS's pretty disastrous *multiple* attempts.
If Apple comes out with anything remotely tablet-like, it won't be a tablet as we know them.
So would I, but it has to wait until the tech, design, and market all converge. With the iPod, it took a big leap in tiny hard drives, *and* Apple's singular design, *and* the market being ready for such a device to create the success.
That could be tomorrow. No one knows what Apple has up their sleeves. I think the time is ripe for an innovative product like this from Apple.
What is left to innovate? Either wearable computers or sometype of tablet. IS ther anything else?
I just wish Apple would do somehting to keep innovating. Even if it is a gamble. Stagnation is death.
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We don't have the right techs for laptops yet,
With all due respect -- how would you know this?
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no one's hit on the right design balance, and the market has soured on them, after MS's pretty disastrous *multiple* attempts.
If people used logic like this for what *should* be done nothing would ever get done.
The reality is that this feature will be widely used at some point in the future. So how do you know that it isn't right around the corner?
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If Apple comes out with anything remotely tablet-like, it won't be a tablet as we know them.
That could be tomorrow. No one knows what Apple has up their sleeves. I think the time is ripe for an innovative product like this from Apple.
What is left to innovate? Either wearable computers or sometype of tablet. IS ther anything else?
That's really all you can think of?
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I just wish Apple would do somehting to keep innovating. Even if it is a gamble. Stagnation is death.
Right, because Apple doesn't do anything innovative anymore... sheesh.
And worse, they're not all iPod-like home runs. Cube anyone? Technical marvel. Failed in the market. Newton? Hell, it *created* the PDA market... only recently have the PDAs started to catch up.
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With all due respect -- how would you know this?
The same way you'd 'know' your opinion - speculation based on facts, with experience and personal bias thrown in. I just trust my conclusions more than yours.
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If people used logic like this for what *should* be done nothing would ever get done.
There's innovation, and there's haphazard epileptic engineering, slapping a bunch of crap together because it's kewl... and utterly useless.
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The reality is that this feature will be widely used at some point in the future. So how do you know that it isn't right around the corner?
How do you know it is?
Recent history would point at quite the opposite - it's been tried, repeatedly, and failed, repeatedly.
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How on earth would you know this?
This statement doesn't even make sense.
In the same way that the iPod was a radical departure from other MP3 players out there, so will an Apple 'tablet-like device' be unlike tablets currently on the market. The market has spoken, and they don't want the current design, form factor, or products. What, you think Apple can just wave a magic wand over the current designs, make them translucent and slap an Apple logo on them, and they'll sell like hotcakes? Hardly. The market has spoken, they don't want the current type of tablet. Which means they won't want one with an Apple logo on it any moreso. A rethinking is in order. Luckily, it's what Apple excels at. If they do enter the market, it'll be to redefine it on their own terms, not play catch-up and second fiddle.
If Apple comes out with anything remotely tablet-like, it won't be a tablet as we know them.
That's why we're asking for an APPLE tablet. Because it won't be a tablet as we know it, and all the stuff people complain about would be elegantly solved. And you don't even have to buy it if you don't want to. Apple would still sell laptops and desktops. Some would get tablets and attach keyboards when needed. Yes, it would have a desk mounting thing, etc.
To market anything it has to easily be defined in a High Concept of sorts. A few sentences should encapsulate what the product does and who it is intended for. Can someone tell me the High Concept for Tablet PCs? I've been skeptical ever since Microsoft started hyping it. Microsoft is a "software" company. They don't know shiza about hardware. Strike #1.
Tablet PC seem ok for certain vertical markets. Package Tracking, Inventory and likely other fields that require little typing. As a mass market product I don't see Tablet PCs as being a huge seller. Now that may be my problem with imagination but others can attest..I generally don't have problems "dreaming" stuff up
Regardless though Apple could easily wait until a Tablet PC markets begins to build an hop in. I've heard the famous "Apple's going to miss the boat" LOL. Apple has all tools to jump in at any moment.
An Apple tablet would be great, but the technology side still needs to be worked out. I think we could see one in the future, and once Apple makes one they will obviously sell like crazy on both sides of the fence, because PC users cant stand that Mac stuff is usually better, and they all feel inadequate. (they are)
If anything Apple should be is gearing towards pro work, along with home, office, and school uses for these which relates back to what I said at the beginning. The technology side needs improvement. (video Performance in a Tablet/ LapTop) Fast screen rendering for painting, and drawing applications, plus excellent quality handwriting recognition, and so forth. I wont get into everything, but Apple almost has all the right tools to integrate such a device as the something for anybody device. The Mac Tablet has the potential to be the next killer app.
We probably wont see one for a while, but I wish we had one. I've always thought this would be without a doubt the ultimate digital lifestyle device.
Oh yeah. Don't believe what that clown at the Apple retail store said. He doesn't know jack. trust us. We don't know jack either, but we can guess as good as he can.
That's why we're asking for an APPLE tablet. Because it won't be a tablet as we know it, and all the stuff people complain about would be elegantly solved. And you don't even have to buy it if you don't want to. Apple would still sell laptops and desktops. Some would get tablets and attach keyboards when needed. Yes, it would have a desk mounting thing, etc.
Yeah, and I could come up with the cure for cancer tomorrow too. :P
Face it, everyone's wanting this mythical 'Apple tablet', but they can't even seem to define what it should be (because they're all locked into the current marketthink regarding tablets), and yet they're going to take Apple to task for not coming out with this fabulous and unknown device like, yesterday.
Does anyone else think this is not only irrational, but more than a little immature??
"I want X!"
"But you don't know what you *want*, you're just calling it X."
"Right! But I don't want it to be like X!"
"Er, then what do you want it to be like?"
"I don't know, but I want an X, that isn't an X! And Apple hasn't released it yet!"
"But..."
"Don't argue with me! I want an X!"
"But you don't *want* an X..."
"Right! I want an X that isn't an X! And I want it now!"
"You don't even know what you *WANT*! How can you expect it to be on the market?!"
"It just should be! Damn Apple! I don't understand why they haven't come out with an X!"
"That isn't an X."
"Now you're getting it!"
"Right. Men with white coats, right this way please..."
What market would best benefit from what a tablet can do?
Is that market already happy with current options?
Tablets are far from new. I used them 10 years ago all the way up to now and to be honest they are not much more impressive now than they were back then. Like all portable machines the screens got nicer and the hardware got faster.
Tablets are fine if you have one sized to fit comfortably cradled in your arm or in your lap perhaps. Input is annoying at best since most people type much faster than they write. The best use for pen input is drawing and button tapping. If you dock it and plug in keyboard/mouse then you have to deal with a small display which was necessary to fit you comfortable walking around so it makes a crappy desktop now. The screen *will* get a hammering and look like crap from smudges and dirt since you will be handling it a lot.
So what do you think the next major innovation will be?
I like how you just dodged that. Ha!
Sure... other products can be refined... but these are the only personal computing form factors that are left to be radically redefined for the foreseeable future.
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In the same way that the iPod was a radical departure from other MP3 players out there, so will an Apple 'tablet-like device' be unlike tablets currently on the market.
The iPod wasn't much different than other Mp3's it was just elegant. And it was very expensive.
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The market has spoken, and they don't want the current design, form factor, or products.
Have they? Where is your data to support this statement?
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What, you think Apple can just wave a magic wand over the current designs, make them translucent and slap an Apple logo on them, and they'll sell like hotcakes? Hardly.
That is way over simplifying. But essentially it is true. People underestimate how important design is. Apple is the best design company in the business. Far and away.
That was the biggest part of the iPods success -- the design. And a very simplified UI. This is excatly what the Tablet needs and this is exactly what Apple can provide.
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The market has spoken, they don't want the current type of tablet. Which means they won't want one with an Apple logo on it any moreso.
It is very easy to say something is impossible without trying. What would ever get done in life with this attitude.
A refined and cheap tablet is hardly impossible.
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A rethinking is in order. Luckily, it's what Apple excels at. If they do enter the market, it'll be to redefine it on their own terms, not play catch-up and second fiddle.
We agree after all. Glad to see you finally come around!
I think the difference between you and I is just that you are a pessimist... and I am an optimist.
Usability. Direct interaction with your computer. Right now you have to interact through a rigid interface.. the keyboard.. or a detached mouse and or touchpad.
It is a no brainer that this more intimate interaction with your computer is much easier for the user to adapt to. As it is now the user must adapt to the computer. You must learn to type or use a mouse. The future of computers is that the computer will adapt to the user.
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What problems will it solve?
It is a superior method of interfacing with your computer. And more personal as well.
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What market would best benefit from what a tablet can do?
Anyone that prefers this method of interacting with their computer.
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Is that market already happy with current options?
Yeah, and I could come up with the cure for cancer tomorrow too. :P
Well hurry up then.
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Originally posted by Kickaha
Face it, everyone's wanting this mythical 'Apple tablet', but they can't even seem to define what it should be (because they're all locked into the current marketthink regarding tablets), and yet they're going to take Apple to task for not coming out with this fabulous and unknown device like, yesterday.
Does anyone else think this is not only irrational, but more than a little immature??
As a student, a tablet would be great if it could replace notebooks and books. Note taking with good res, access to all your notes within single clicks, etc. Apple could get book publishers to release PDF (or some other format) versions of their books. After all, they convinced the major music labels to put their cds in digital format. So you could carry your heavy chemistry book, physics, art and calculus book in a light tablet. Plus your handwritten notes, and you would never have to throw them away or buy new paper notebooks. From a software standpoint, Apple could do a great job making this easy.
This could be big in medical markets. Doctors could go from patient room to the next with a small tablet that displays clinic information of the patient, x-ray scans, clinic history, anything.
Artists would love this. Using Illustrator with a tablet doesn't sound all that bad. I'm no artist and I don't know what advanced software could use a tablet, but I'm sure there are plenty of apps that would work nice.
UPS guys could use tablets. With GPS and all if you wish.
Heck, you could vote on those online polls right from your couch without having to leave the TV room.
I don't know, I'm sure there are many other ways a tablet can be useful. It might not work for everything, but for certain markets it works. It would definitely be better than what's out there already since it would not be MS who's making the software.
Many people complain that tablets will get dirty or scratched from touching the screen... you could simply buy replaceable clear plastic covers that would protect the monitor.
Usability. Direct interaction with your computer. Right now you have to interact through a rigid interface.. the keyboard.. or a detached mouse and or touchpad.
It is a no brainer that this more intimate interaction with your computer is much easier for the user to adapt to. As it is now the user must adapt to the computer. You must learn to type or use a mouse. The future of computers is that the computer will adapt to the user.
It is a superior method of interfacing with your computer. And more personal as well.
Anyone that prefers this method of interacting with their computer.
Ignorance is bliss.
You seem to have all the answers without acutally being specific. That's a bit tough to argue against...
a) inputting text in a tablet is painful ( ive got one on my desk right now ). Even after a couple of months with it I feel like it is a burden, rather than a benefit.
b) nobody wants to pay lots of money for a burden.
My conclusions are:
a) when they become really cheap people will buy them, just like we buy ipods, as a peripheral to our computers.
b) the whole interface needs to be rethought.
In fact, the previous poster got the target market perfectly, people who already write things. What you do is solve the core problem, not try to force an existing technology into the domain.
The key problem for people who work with paper is the cost ( time, effort, human error ) of transcribing written work into a computer.
The ergonomics of a tablet suck compared to ergonomics of notepad. SO what do you do? Make the pen smart, not the notepad. Smart pens are getting better much faster than smart notepads. You write or draw on your notepad, the pen records it all, you get a paper copy to give to people on the spot, and when you home then pen uploads its data to the computer.
But people wont pay a lot for a smart pen, less then $50 I think.
And it doesnt do things like let you browse the net in the toilet.
Or remote control your computer from you couch.
So I see a market for touch operated computers, but in input poor scenarios. Web browsing ( my tablet sucks for this ), fancy remote control.
It is the specialisation of devices that we will continue to see. Apple wont release a general purpose computer in tablet form. But they might release specialised peripherals. Im waiting for the smart pen, that doesnt need special paper ( so I can capture my doodles in meetings
Comments
Why are so many people opposed to this? Considering how many mac users are involved in art related fields it seems a no-brainer to offer the option of pen input for laptop computers.
Do all laptops have to have this feature? Of course not.
Originally posted by ArticulatedArm
What is the big deal about a tablet?
Why are so many people opposed to this? Considering how many mac users are involved in art related fields it seems a no-brainer to offer the option of pen input for laptop computers.
Do all laptops have to have this feature? Of course not.
There are MS tablets that have been out for quite some time now. People aren't buying them. They are expensive for what you get. I don't want to see Apple build something *cool* for the sake of itself and then have it languish on store shelves. The whole novelty of using a tablet wears off rather quick.
I personally am not opposed to them (ok, I'm lying) but people definitely put more hype into them than they deserve.
ps - until the technology is available to make some sort of electronic "paper/notepad" then I will continue to be against tablets.
missing your posts (now you are under NDA)
I think the big deal to people here is that noone wants Apple to slap on a hardware and software UI that is just OK or "good enough." To me, it boils down to a light enough, thin enough tablet and software that takes advantage of a pen-oriented UI. To me, it's more than slapping ink into the system to do that.
Is the technology for tablets -- pen input -- a propreitary tech owned by Wacom?
I wonder if that has anything to do with the high price?
Regardless, I don't understand how people can complain about having an additional input for computers. It just allows more freedom for computer users.
The question is... when will Apple be able to perfect this technology cheaply enough. Only Apple knows that... and they could share that with us any day now.
The strange thing is that Jobs said he didn't like tablets because he didn't think people wanted to answer all their mails by hand... this doesn't make sense though.
You can still have a pen input and a keyboard in the same unit.
There are MS tablets that have been out for quite some time now. People aren't buying them. They are expensive for what you get.
MS isn't apple. A lot of people made Mp3 players before apple but none of them were the iPod.
I would like to see Apple do the same thing with this type of device.
Originally posted by ArticulatedArm
Is the technology for tablets -- pen input -- a propreitary tech owned by Wacom?
I wonder if that has anything to do with the high price?
Regardless, I don't understand how people can complain about having an additional input for computers. It just allows more freedom for computer users.
Adding more widgets is never a wholly positive thing from an engineering perspective - there is always a tradeoff. Add a touch tablet, and what else has to change? Well, if it's a laptop form factor, the hinge. What else has to change because of that? Well, the video cabling. Okay, *then* what? And so on, and so on. Have you added weight? Thickness? How about reduced battery life? Is the cost still comparable? Assume you ditch the keyboard, and make it a pure tablet - where will you put the CD slot so that it doesn't interfere with someone's hands while they're holding it? How will you keep it anchored for keyboard use on a desktop? Is the keyboard now optional and plug in like a laptop? Great, then how do you keep it from being top heavy and tipping over? Etc, etc, etc, etc, etc ad nauseum.
It's not just a case of being able to slap some hardware in... even from just a hardware point of view, before you get to the software support.
The question is... when will Apple be able to perfect this technology cheaply enough. Only Apple knows that... and they could share that with us any day now.
The strange thing is that Jobs said he didn't like tablets because he didn't think people wanted to answer all their mails by hand... this doesn't make sense though.
You can still have a pen input and a keyboard in the same unit.
See above. Pure tablets are a pain with keyboards, right now. Convertible laptop/tablets have their own set of issues.
MS isn't apple. A lot of people made Mp3 players before apple but none of them were the iPod.
I would like to see Apple do the same thing with this type of device.
So would I, but it has to wait until the tech, design, and market all converge. With the iPod, it took a big leap in tiny hard drives, *and* Apple's singular design, *and* the market being ready for such a device to create the success.
We don't have the right techs for laptops yet, no one's hit on the right design balance, and the market has soured on them, after MS's pretty disastrous *multiple* attempts.
If Apple comes out with anything remotely tablet-like, it won't be a tablet as we know them.
So would I, but it has to wait until the tech, design, and market all converge. With the iPod, it took a big leap in tiny hard drives, *and* Apple's singular design, *and* the market being ready for such a device to create the success.
That could be tomorrow. No one knows what Apple has up their sleeves. I think the time is ripe for an innovative product like this from Apple.
What is left to innovate? Either wearable computers or sometype of tablet. IS ther anything else?
I just wish Apple would do somehting to keep innovating. Even if it is a gamble. Stagnation is death.
We don't have the right techs for laptops yet,
With all due respect -- how would you know this?
no one's hit on the right design balance, and the market has soured on them, after MS's pretty disastrous *multiple* attempts.
If people used logic like this for what *should* be done nothing would ever get done.
The reality is that this feature will be widely used at some point in the future. So how do you know that it isn't right around the corner?
If Apple comes out with anything remotely tablet-like, it won't be a tablet as we know them.
How on earth would you know this?
This statement doesn't even make sense.
Originally posted by ArticulatedArm
That could be tomorrow. No one knows what Apple has up their sleeves. I think the time is ripe for an innovative product like this from Apple.
What is left to innovate? Either wearable computers or sometype of tablet. IS ther anything else?
That's really all you can think of?
I just wish Apple would do somehting to keep innovating. Even if it is a gamble. Stagnation is death.
Right, because Apple doesn't do anything innovative anymore... sheesh.
And worse, they're not all iPod-like home runs. Cube anyone? Technical marvel. Failed in the market. Newton? Hell, it *created* the PDA market... only recently have the PDAs started to catch up.
With all due respect -- how would you know this?
The same way you'd 'know' your opinion - speculation based on facts, with experience and personal bias thrown in. I just trust my conclusions more than yours.
If people used logic like this for what *should* be done nothing would ever get done.
There's innovation, and there's haphazard epileptic engineering, slapping a bunch of crap together because it's kewl... and utterly useless.
The reality is that this feature will be widely used at some point in the future. So how do you know that it isn't right around the corner?
How do you know it is?
Recent history would point at quite the opposite - it's been tried, repeatedly, and failed, repeatedly.
How on earth would you know this?
This statement doesn't even make sense.
In the same way that the iPod was a radical departure from other MP3 players out there, so will an Apple 'tablet-like device' be unlike tablets currently on the market. The market has spoken, and they don't want the current design, form factor, or products. What, you think Apple can just wave a magic wand over the current designs, make them translucent and slap an Apple logo on them, and they'll sell like hotcakes? Hardly. The market has spoken, they don't want the current type of tablet. Which means they won't want one with an Apple logo on it any moreso. A rethinking is in order. Luckily, it's what Apple excels at. If they do enter the market, it'll be to redefine it on their own terms, not play catch-up and second fiddle.
Originally posted by Kickaha
If Apple comes out with anything remotely tablet-like, it won't be a tablet as we know them.
That's why we're asking for an APPLE tablet. Because it won't be a tablet as we know it, and all the stuff people complain about would be elegantly solved. And you don't even have to buy it if you don't want to. Apple would still sell laptops and desktops. Some would get tablets and attach keyboards when needed. Yes, it would have a desk mounting thing, etc.
To market anything it has to easily be defined in a High Concept of sorts. A few sentences should encapsulate what the product does and who it is intended for. Can someone tell me the High Concept for Tablet PCs? I've been skeptical ever since Microsoft started hyping it. Microsoft is a "software" company. They don't know shiza about hardware. Strike #1.
Tablet PC seem ok for certain vertical markets. Package Tracking, Inventory and likely other fields that require little typing. As a mass market product I don't see Tablet PCs as being a huge seller. Now that may be my problem with imagination but others can attest..I generally don't have problems "dreaming" stuff up
Regardless though Apple could easily wait until a Tablet PC markets begins to build an hop in. I've heard the famous "Apple's going to miss the boat" LOL. Apple has all tools to jump in at any moment.
If anything Apple should be is gearing towards pro work, along with home, office, and school uses for these which relates back to what I said at the beginning. The technology side needs improvement. (video Performance in a Tablet/ LapTop) Fast screen rendering for painting, and drawing applications, plus excellent quality handwriting recognition, and so forth. I wont get into everything, but Apple almost has all the right tools to integrate such a device as the something for anybody device. The Mac Tablet has the potential to be the next killer app.
We probably wont see one for a while, but I wish we had one. I've always thought this would be without a doubt the ultimate digital lifestyle device.
Oh yeah. Don't believe what that clown at the Apple retail store said. He doesn't know jack. trust us. We don't know jack either, but we can guess as good as he can.
Originally posted by monkeyastronaut
That's why we're asking for an APPLE tablet. Because it won't be a tablet as we know it, and all the stuff people complain about would be elegantly solved. And you don't even have to buy it if you don't want to. Apple would still sell laptops and desktops. Some would get tablets and attach keyboards when needed. Yes, it would have a desk mounting thing, etc.
Yeah, and I could come up with the cure for cancer tomorrow too. :P
Face it, everyone's wanting this mythical 'Apple tablet', but they can't even seem to define what it should be (because they're all locked into the current marketthink regarding tablets), and yet they're going to take Apple to task for not coming out with this fabulous and unknown device like, yesterday.
Does anyone else think this is not only irrational, but more than a little immature??
"I want X!"
"But you don't know what you *want*, you're just calling it X."
"Right! But I don't want it to be like X!"
"Er, then what do you want it to be like?"
"I don't know, but I want an X, that isn't an X! And Apple hasn't released it yet!"
"But..."
"Don't argue with me! I want an X!"
"But you don't *want* an X..."
"Right! I want an X that isn't an X! And I want it now!"
"You don't even know what you *WANT*! How can you expect it to be on the market?!"
"It just should be! Damn Apple! I don't understand why they haven't come out with an X!"
"That isn't an X."
"Now you're getting it!"
"Right. Men with white coats, right this way please..."
What problems will it solve?
What market would best benefit from what a tablet can do?
Is that market already happy with current options?
Tablets are far from new. I used them 10 years ago all the way up to now and to be honest they are not much more impressive now than they were back then. Like all portable machines the screens got nicer and the hardware got faster.
Tablets are fine if you have one sized to fit comfortably cradled in your arm or in your lap perhaps. Input is annoying at best since most people type much faster than they write. The best use for pen input is drawing and button tapping. If you dock it and plug in keyboard/mouse then you have to deal with a small display which was necessary to fit you comfortable walking around so it makes a crappy desktop now. The screen *will* get a hammering and look like crap from smudges and dirt since you will be handling it a lot.
That's really all you can think of?
So what do you think the next major innovation will be?
I like how you just dodged that. Ha!
Sure... other products can be refined... but these are the only personal computing form factors that are left to be radically redefined for the foreseeable future.
In the same way that the iPod was a radical departure from other MP3 players out there, so will an Apple 'tablet-like device' be unlike tablets currently on the market.
The iPod wasn't much different than other Mp3's it was just elegant. And it was very expensive.
The market has spoken, and they don't want the current design, form factor, or products.
Have they? Where is your data to support this statement?
What, you think Apple can just wave a magic wand over the current designs, make them translucent and slap an Apple logo on them, and they'll sell like hotcakes? Hardly.
That is way over simplifying. But essentially it is true. People underestimate how important design is. Apple is the best design company in the business. Far and away.
That was the biggest part of the iPods success -- the design. And a very simplified UI. This is excatly what the Tablet needs and this is exactly what Apple can provide.
The market has spoken, they don't want the current type of tablet. Which means they won't want one with an Apple logo on it any moreso.
It is very easy to say something is impossible without trying. What would ever get done in life with this attitude.
A refined and cheap tablet is hardly impossible.
A rethinking is in order. Luckily, it's what Apple excels at. If they do enter the market, it'll be to redefine it on their own terms, not play catch-up and second fiddle.
We agree after all. Glad to see you finally come around!
I think the difference between you and I is just that you are a pessimist... and I am an optimist.
What makes a tablet compelling?
Usability. Direct interaction with your computer. Right now you have to interact through a rigid interface.. the keyboard.. or a detached mouse and or touchpad.
It is a no brainer that this more intimate interaction with your computer is much easier for the user to adapt to. As it is now the user must adapt to the computer. You must learn to type or use a mouse. The future of computers is that the computer will adapt to the user.
What problems will it solve?
It is a superior method of interfacing with your computer. And more personal as well.
What market would best benefit from what a tablet can do?
Anyone that prefers this method of interacting with their computer.
Is that market already happy with current options?
Ignorance is bliss.
Originally posted by Kickaha
Yeah, and I could come up with the cure for cancer tomorrow too. :P
Well hurry up then.
Originally posted by Kickaha
Face it, everyone's wanting this mythical 'Apple tablet', but they can't even seem to define what it should be (because they're all locked into the current marketthink regarding tablets), and yet they're going to take Apple to task for not coming out with this fabulous and unknown device like, yesterday.
Does anyone else think this is not only irrational, but more than a little immature??
As a student, a tablet would be great if it could replace notebooks and books. Note taking with good res, access to all your notes within single clicks, etc. Apple could get book publishers to release PDF (or some other format) versions of their books. After all, they convinced the major music labels to put their cds in digital format. So you could carry your heavy chemistry book, physics, art and calculus book in a light tablet. Plus your handwritten notes, and you would never have to throw them away or buy new paper notebooks. From a software standpoint, Apple could do a great job making this easy.
This could be big in medical markets. Doctors could go from patient room to the next with a small tablet that displays clinic information of the patient, x-ray scans, clinic history, anything.
Artists would love this. Using Illustrator with a tablet doesn't sound all that bad.
UPS guys could use tablets. With GPS and all if you wish.
Heck, you could vote on those online polls right from your couch without having to leave the TV room.
I don't know, I'm sure there are many other ways a tablet can be useful. It might not work for everything, but for certain markets it works. It would definitely be better than what's out there already since it would not be MS who's making the software.
Originally posted by ArticulatedArm
Usability. Direct interaction with your computer. Right now you have to interact through a rigid interface.. the keyboard.. or a detached mouse and or touchpad.
It is a no brainer that this more intimate interaction with your computer is much easier for the user to adapt to. As it is now the user must adapt to the computer. You must learn to type or use a mouse. The future of computers is that the computer will adapt to the user.
It is a superior method of interfacing with your computer. And more personal as well.
Anyone that prefers this method of interacting with their computer.
Ignorance is bliss.
You seem to have all the answers without acutally being specific. That's a bit tough to argue against...
Originally posted by Bancho
You seem to have all the answers without acutally being specific. That's a bit tough to argue against...
Do you disagree that a pen input is a more intuitive means of interfacing with your computer?
It is a no-brainer imo.
Sure... if you are typing some long document then the keyboard is superior.
But for just about anything else a pen input or touchscreen seems superior to me.
But the reality is that different means of input might be superior for different tasks.
How can anyone say that this isn't something that at least needs to be explored for a long long time?
a) inputting text in a tablet is painful ( ive got one on my desk right now ). Even after a couple of months with it I feel like it is a burden, rather than a benefit.
b) nobody wants to pay lots of money for a burden.
My conclusions are:
a) when they become really cheap people will buy them, just like we buy ipods, as a peripheral to our computers.
b) the whole interface needs to be rethought.
In fact, the previous poster got the target market perfectly, people who already write things. What you do is solve the core problem, not try to force an existing technology into the domain.
The key problem for people who work with paper is the cost ( time, effort, human error ) of transcribing written work into a computer.
The ergonomics of a tablet suck compared to ergonomics of notepad. SO what do you do? Make the pen smart, not the notepad. Smart pens are getting better much faster than smart notepads. You write or draw on your notepad, the pen records it all, you get a paper copy to give to people on the spot, and when you home then pen uploads its data to the computer.
But people wont pay a lot for a smart pen, less then $50 I think.
And it doesnt do things like let you browse the net in the toilet.
Or remote control your computer from you couch.
So I see a market for touch operated computers, but in input poor scenarios. Web browsing ( my tablet sucks for this ), fancy remote control.
It is the specialisation of devices that we will continue to see. Apple wont release a general purpose computer in tablet form. But they might release specialised peripherals. Im waiting for the smart pen, that doesnt need special paper ( so I can capture my doodles in meetings