...The problem is can Apple with today's technology create such a device and sell it at a reasonable price. I think the technology part is possible. The reasonable price seems doubtful.
With a 60GB drive, and an 8"-ish color screen, it could be a very handy multi-function gadget. Especially if Apple ever implements the "Home on iPod" feature that was dropped at the last minute from Panther.
Of course, it's Apple we're talking about here, so they will probably call it something stupid like iPod Extreme, and price it at $799.
That's a good thing to ponder. If Apple comes out with a tablet like those pictures hint..
is it an "iPod extreme"? is it a true tablet? is it a display to operate your desktop remotely? is it a controller for AirTunes? is it an iBook mini? is it a freesbee?
I'd go for "display to operate your desktop remotely"
Okay, well, if anybody thinks that's a good price, then Apple will certainly overshoot it.
Look at it this way: for $799 I could pick up last year's iBook, and have a much more functional (and only slightly less portable) new toy. This iPod Extreme or whatever will almost certainly be dependent upon the buyer owning a Mac or PC already, making it a very pricey peripheral. Even if it has VNC-like capabilities for controlling a Mac over AirPort, that's a damned expensive remote control.
And what will the feature set be when you're out of range? Will it have a web browser? Will it play music, like the iPod? Display your photos? Maybe play video? Very few people have the storage capacity (or the patience) to download full-length movies in any significant quantity, and even fewer would be interested in watching them regularly on an 8" screen.
I've clearly taken this too far... nit-picking a price point for a device we've only seen a sketch of!
And what will the feature set be when you're out of range? Will it have a web browser? Will it play music, like the iPod? Display your photos? Maybe play video? Very few people have the storage capacity (or the patience) to download full-length movies in any significant quantity, and even fewer would be interested in watching them regularly on an 8" screen.
Maybe it's a portable Tivo. You put those small Toshiba 60 GB drives in and it's perfect for storing and displaying Keynote presentations, viewing documents (Office, PDF -- a device to display docs, rather than create them). 8-inch display is good enough for pictures and movies. They sell portable DVD players with smaller screens. I don't have sell figures. Have no idea how good or bad they sell, but it's not that small of a screen.
Actually, this device would be a savior for long car trips. Rip your DVDs on some compressed format to the tablet, or record some Cartoon Network on this device and the kids watch it in the car or whatever. That's the current use for portable DVD players anyway. And that would be Apple stepping into another market they're currently not into, which would seem fine to me, since there's people who think selling Macintoshes won't be Apple's core business in a few years anyway.
iMac/Tablet built into one. But better looking, hopefuly...
I was thinking a little smaller. Maybe a 9 inch display, 640 x 480 or so. Also, the price should be on the order of $200 to $500 dollars. 200MHz G3 processor, very simple graphics chip, WiFi, Bluetooth (or USB). Keep the hardware cheap and simple. Maybe get eight hours of battery life.
An iBook would certainly serve the purpose but it would be overkill. This would be an accessory for a den with TV/DVD/Stereo etc. More like a super remote control. Actually, that is the other function I forgot to mention. With an IR port this could also function as a universal remote. With a nice LCD interface Apple could make it much easier to use than the current URs.
Much like Apple rethought portable music players with the iPod keeping it simple and clean this device could be a simple accessory for your media center. Universal remote control (TV, DVD, Tuner, iTunes) and Safari with internet access for simple web browsing. I wouldn't even put Mail in this. If you really need to check email through this check it through the browser. Keep the designs and functions simple, keep the price reasonable. In future years as hardware gets cheaper they could expand this into something approaching an iBook while keeping the price down.
I checked the specs on the Philips panel but they don't mention battery life. Sony had a similar panel a few years ago. They specified 45 minutes battery life. As they only claimed 45 minutes I guess it really only worked for under 30 minutes with a new battery.
I was thinking a little smaller. Maybe a 9 inch display, 640 x 480 or so. Also, the price should be on the order of $200 to $500 dollars. 200MHz G3 processor, very simple graphics chip, WiFi, Bluetooth (or USB). Keep the hardware cheap and simple. Maybe get eight hours of battery life.
An iBook would certainly serve the purpose but it would be overkill. This would be an accessory for a den with TV/DVD/Stereo etc. More like a super remote control. Actually, that is the other function I forgot to mention. With an IR port this could also function as a universal remote. With a nice LCD interface Apple could make it much easier to use than the current URs.
Much like Apple rethought portable music players with the iPod keeping it simple and clean this device could be a simple accessory for your media center. Universal remote control (TV, DVD, Tuner, iTunes) and Safari with internet access for simple web browsing. I wouldn't even put Mail in this. If you really need to check email through this check it through the browser. Keep the designs and functions simple, keep the price reasonable. In future years as hardware gets cheaper they could expand this into something approaching an iBook while keeping the price down.
I checked the specs on the Philips panel but they don't mention battery life. Sony had a similar panel a few years ago. They specified 45 minutes battery life. As they only claimed 45 minutes I guess it really only worked for under 30 minutes with a new battery.
I could see this working out. Tablets should have a set of features that control stuff in the living room and provide some type of internet access, or some kind of desktop mirroring of your computer. Are G3s still being produced?
Not the point. The point was that you can't price the tablet at $799 and cover the cost of the components: look at how much other products with those components cost.
Given that they don't sell, the lesson is that Apple will have their hands full offering a saleable computer in that form with similar or better components. I'm not going to say they can't, but I can't see how they could. I didn't "see" the iPod either, but if there's a lesson to be taken from that it's that Apple can come up with a much better solution, charge more, and run away with the market. $799 would be an astonishingly low price for a decent tablet PC, so I don't see it happening.
Not the point. The point was that you can't price the tablet at $799 and cover the cost of the components: look at how much other products with those components cost.
Given that they don't sell, the lesson is that Apple will have their hands full offering a saleable computer in that form with similar or better components. I'm not going to say they can't, but I can't see how they could. I didn't "see" the iPod either, but if there's a lesson to be taken from that it's that Apple can come up with a much better solution, charge more, and run away with the market. $799 would be an astonishingly low price for a decent tablet PC, so I don't see it happening.
I think the main problem with tablets is they have no concrete market. Apple has, and continues to, develop software that makes it a viable product for the masses. iLife, Safari, Rendevous, QT, Airport, Ink are all extraordinary pieces of the puzzle. Windows software in these areas is horrible and non-integrated. The beauty of it all is, most of it is developed. I do have one question though, what did happen to Ink (Inkwell) and where do I find it in Panther anymore (10.3.5)?
I seem to remember a rumour about an Apple device that had an 8inch screen , people at the time were thinking this was the fabled Apple PDA but now I think it's this device that will have the 8inch screen.
Who knows, this could be Apples PDA only nothing like any other PDA out there. After all before the iPod no-one would have imagined an mp3 player like it could they?
What if Apple decided to have a sort of mobile and foldable photoframe available for the Mac ? The iPod could be used to transfer data to the device, by having it glide into a sort of extension by within the frame, just like the iPod slides into the existing external speakers ?
Of course, the device would not ony be good for photos, but also for movies. All the storage and intelligence could reside in the iPode.
Maybe such a device would feature a touch sensitive display, allowing to write notes down - but the handwriting recognition and all other "intelligent treatment" would only take place after the result has been synched to a real Mac via the iPod.
The idea behind such an "iFrame" would be rather business model driven than technology driven:
- There are more use cases for music on the move than for video on the move. So it makes perfect sense so offer video not as a seperate device, but as an add-on for a device that has already proven its worth.
- The success of the iPod is NOT a success of a single piece of hardware, but of the synchronized offer of hardware (iPod), software (iTunes) and service (iTunes-store). If the success in the music area could be replicated in the movie area, this could spell a bright future for Apple. So an iFrame could be the hardware cornerstone of a similar concept for the movie/TV-world.
An iFrame would need to be introduced together with a Mac/Windows iView-software (doing the same things that iTunes does for music this time for films and pictures) PLUS an extension of the store to an iView-store.
Try to contemplate a bit the consequences: Never miss your favourite show again. Get "album"-prices for a whole season of Friends, Alias etc. Mix commercial videos with your own, so that you can create your own view-lists at your convenience.
Apple was quite lucky to get the success they have with the music offer - if they start out in the movie area, they will try to gear the different components correctly from the start.
In other words: I wouldn't suspect any such hardware out on the market before Apple hasn't signed all necessary agreements with the major motion picture and TV companies. And since this will take some time (even though Steve Jobs is certainly better placed to bring this to a quick and lucky ending than he was for the music industry), this also would leave enough time to write the necessary Windows software, which would be another cornerstone of the strategy.
And just when I think about it: another perfect application for such an iFrame: reading magazines on the go. E.g. incorporating zinio's offer for electronic publishing into Apples stores-concept can't be too difficult. But of course, a simple viewer could also be used to display PDF and DOC-files, without any chance for editing / manipulating them (...with the above-mentioned exception of making hand-written annotations, which would not be saved in the document itself...).
So much my thoughts on a "tablet" - looking forward to any comments.
Yeah, I've always thought that an iViewer or iReader would be an excellent idea. Reading stuff on the go, PDF white papers, pictures, Office Documents, keynote presentations, etc.
Comments
Originally posted by neutrino23
...The problem is can Apple with today's technology create such a device and sell it at a reasonable price. I think the technology part is possible. The reasonable price seems doubtful.
Yes, it's called an iBook.
Of course, it's Apple we're talking about here, so they will probably call it something stupid like iPod Extreme, and price it at $799.
Originally posted by Reid
Of course, it's Apple we're talking about here, so they will probably call it something stupid like iPod Extreme, and price it at $799.
Priced a tablet recently?
$799 would be a great price for this thing. You can spend that and more on a PDA phone...
Originally posted by Amorph
Priced a tablet recently?
$799 would be a great price for this thing. You can spend that and more on a PDA phone...
And how well are those selling?
But $799? Look out mama.
is it an "iPod extreme"? is it a true tablet? is it a display to operate your desktop remotely? is it a controller for AirTunes? is it an iBook mini? is it a freesbee?
I'd go for "display to operate your desktop remotely"
Originally posted by Kickaha
At 3x the price? Not well, obviously.
But $799? Look out mama.
Okay, well, if anybody thinks that's a good price, then Apple will certainly overshoot it.
Look at it this way: for $799 I could pick up last year's iBook, and have a much more functional (and only slightly less portable) new toy. This iPod Extreme or whatever will almost certainly be dependent upon the buyer owning a Mac or PC already, making it a very pricey peripheral. Even if it has VNC-like capabilities for controlling a Mac over AirPort, that's a damned expensive remote control.
And what will the feature set be when you're out of range? Will it have a web browser? Will it play music, like the iPod? Display your photos? Maybe play video? Very few people have the storage capacity (or the patience) to download full-length movies in any significant quantity, and even fewer would be interested in watching them regularly on an 8" screen.
I've clearly taken this too far... nit-picking a price point for a device we've only seen a sketch of!
Originally posted by Reid
And what will the feature set be when you're out of range? Will it have a web browser? Will it play music, like the iPod? Display your photos? Maybe play video? Very few people have the storage capacity (or the patience) to download full-length movies in any significant quantity, and even fewer would be interested in watching them regularly on an 8" screen.
Maybe it's a portable Tivo. You put those small Toshiba 60 GB drives in and it's perfect for storing and displaying Keynote presentations, viewing documents (Office, PDF -- a device to display docs, rather than create them). 8-inch display is good enough for pictures and movies. They sell portable DVD players with smaller screens. I don't have sell figures. Have no idea how good or bad they sell, but it's not that small of a screen.
Actually, this device would be a savior for long car trips. Rip your DVDs on some compressed format to the tablet, or record some Cartoon Network on this device and the kids watch it in the car or whatever. That's the current use for portable DVD players anyway. And that would be Apple stepping into another market they're currently not into, which would seem fine to me, since there's people who think selling Macintoshes won't be Apple's core business in a few years anyway.
http://www.philips.com/desxcape/
iMac/Tablet built into one. But better looking, hopefuly...
Originally posted by Patrik_L
Something like this?
http://www.philips.com/desxcape/
iMac/Tablet built into one. But better looking, hopefuly...
I was thinking a little smaller. Maybe a 9 inch display, 640 x 480 or so. Also, the price should be on the order of $200 to $500 dollars. 200MHz G3 processor, very simple graphics chip, WiFi, Bluetooth (or USB). Keep the hardware cheap and simple. Maybe get eight hours of battery life.
An iBook would certainly serve the purpose but it would be overkill. This would be an accessory for a den with TV/DVD/Stereo etc. More like a super remote control. Actually, that is the other function I forgot to mention. With an IR port this could also function as a universal remote. With a nice LCD interface Apple could make it much easier to use than the current URs.
Much like Apple rethought portable music players with the iPod keeping it simple and clean this device could be a simple accessory for your media center. Universal remote control (TV, DVD, Tuner, iTunes) and Safari with internet access for simple web browsing. I wouldn't even put Mail in this. If you really need to check email through this check it through the browser. Keep the designs and functions simple, keep the price reasonable. In future years as hardware gets cheaper they could expand this into something approaching an iBook while keeping the price down.
I checked the specs on the Philips panel but they don't mention battery life. Sony had a similar panel a few years ago. They specified 45 minutes battery life. As they only claimed 45 minutes I guess it really only worked for under 30 minutes with a new battery.
Originally posted by neutrino23
I was thinking a little smaller. Maybe a 9 inch display, 640 x 480 or so. Also, the price should be on the order of $200 to $500 dollars. 200MHz G3 processor, very simple graphics chip, WiFi, Bluetooth (or USB). Keep the hardware cheap and simple. Maybe get eight hours of battery life.
An iBook would certainly serve the purpose but it would be overkill. This would be an accessory for a den with TV/DVD/Stereo etc. More like a super remote control. Actually, that is the other function I forgot to mention. With an IR port this could also function as a universal remote. With a nice LCD interface Apple could make it much easier to use than the current URs.
Much like Apple rethought portable music players with the iPod keeping it simple and clean this device could be a simple accessory for your media center. Universal remote control (TV, DVD, Tuner, iTunes) and Safari with internet access for simple web browsing. I wouldn't even put Mail in this. If you really need to check email through this check it through the browser. Keep the designs and functions simple, keep the price reasonable. In future years as hardware gets cheaper they could expand this into something approaching an iBook while keeping the price down.
I checked the specs on the Philips panel but they don't mention battery life. Sony had a similar panel a few years ago. They specified 45 minutes battery life. As they only claimed 45 minutes I guess it really only worked for under 30 minutes with a new battery.
I could see this working out. Tablets should have a set of features that control stuff in the living room and provide some type of internet access, or some kind of desktop mirroring of your computer. Are G3s still being produced?
Originally posted by Reid
And how well are those selling?
Not the point. The point was that you can't price the tablet at $799 and cover the cost of the components: look at how much other products with those components cost.
Given that they don't sell, the lesson is that Apple will have their hands full offering a saleable computer in that form with similar or better components. I'm not going to say they can't, but I can't see how they could. I didn't "see" the iPod either, but if there's a lesson to be taken from that it's that Apple can come up with a much better solution, charge more, and run away with the market. $799 would be an astonishingly low price for a decent tablet PC, so I don't see it happening.
Originally posted by Amorph
Not the point. The point was that you can't price the tablet at $799 and cover the cost of the components: look at how much other products with those components cost.
Given that they don't sell, the lesson is that Apple will have their hands full offering a saleable computer in that form with similar or better components. I'm not going to say they can't, but I can't see how they could. I didn't "see" the iPod either, but if there's a lesson to be taken from that it's that Apple can come up with a much better solution, charge more, and run away with the market. $799 would be an astonishingly low price for a decent tablet PC, so I don't see it happening.
I think the main problem with tablets is they have no concrete market. Apple has, and continues to, develop software that makes it a viable product for the masses. iLife, Safari, Rendevous, QT, Airport, Ink are all extraordinary pieces of the puzzle. Windows software in these areas is horrible and non-integrated. The beauty of it all is, most of it is developed. I do have one question though, what did happen to Ink (Inkwell) and where do I find it in Panther anymore (10.3.5)?
Originally posted by tonton
Inkwell is only accessible if you have a compatible tablet plugged in.
Thank you. That had been bothering me since I upgraded to Panther. It used to be accessible even if you didn't have a tablet, in System Preferences.
Who knows, this could be Apples PDA only nothing like any other PDA out there. After all before the iPod no-one would have imagined an mp3 player like it could they?
Originally posted by Rhumgod
Thank you. That had been bothering me since I upgraded to Panther. It used to be accessible even if you didn't have a tablet, in System Preferences.
No! Perhaps if you had tablet drivers installed, but Ink has never showed up on any of our Macs besides the two that have tablets.
I really wish this did happen. Just looks so pretty damn cool.
But I like this even more.
An updated version of this would be sweet.
I just saw pictures of the new Altec Lansing inMotion iM3 Speakers for the iPod (URL: http://www.alteclansing.com/product_details.asp?pID=IM3) and the following occured to me:
What if Apple decided to have a sort of mobile and foldable photoframe available for the Mac ? The iPod could be used to transfer data to the device, by having it glide into a sort of extension by within the frame, just like the iPod slides into the existing external speakers ?
Of course, the device would not ony be good for photos, but also for movies. All the storage and intelligence could reside in the iPode.
Maybe such a device would feature a touch sensitive display, allowing to write notes down - but the handwriting recognition and all other "intelligent treatment" would only take place after the result has been synched to a real Mac via the iPod.
The idea behind such an "iFrame" would be rather business model driven than technology driven:
- There are more use cases for music on the move than for video on the move. So it makes perfect sense so offer video not as a seperate device, but as an add-on for a device that has already proven its worth.
- The success of the iPod is NOT a success of a single piece of hardware, but of the synchronized offer of hardware (iPod), software (iTunes) and service (iTunes-store). If the success in the music area could be replicated in the movie area, this could spell a bright future for Apple. So an iFrame could be the hardware cornerstone of a similar concept for the movie/TV-world.
An iFrame would need to be introduced together with a Mac/Windows iView-software (doing the same things that iTunes does for music this time for films and pictures) PLUS an extension of the store to an iView-store.
Try to contemplate a bit the consequences: Never miss your favourite show again. Get "album"-prices for a whole season of Friends, Alias etc. Mix commercial videos with your own, so that you can create your own view-lists at your convenience.
Apple was quite lucky to get the success they have with the music offer - if they start out in the movie area, they will try to gear the different components correctly from the start.
In other words: I wouldn't suspect any such hardware out on the market before Apple hasn't signed all necessary agreements with the major motion picture and TV companies. And since this will take some time (even though Steve Jobs is certainly better placed to bring this to a quick and lucky ending than he was for the music industry), this also would leave enough time to write the necessary Windows software, which would be another cornerstone of the strategy.
And just when I think about it: another perfect application for such an iFrame: reading magazines on the go. E.g. incorporating zinio's offer for electronic publishing into Apples stores-concept can't be too difficult. But of course, a simple viewer could also be used to display PDF and DOC-files, without any chance for editing / manipulating them (...with the above-mentioned exception of making hand-written annotations, which would not be saved in the document itself...).
So much my thoughts on a "tablet" - looking forward to any comments.