More corroboration of tablet device brewing at Apple

Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited January 2014
Apple is indeed working on tablet-like device that may finally surface sometime next year according to a trio of sources who've been in touch with high-tech blog TechCrunch.



The news should come as little surprise to avid followers of the Cupertino-based company. Back in September of 2007, AppleInsider exclusively reported on plans for the larger multi-touch device in its report titled "Up next for Apple: the return of the Newton."



Although it's been more than a year since that initial report with no sign of the product from Apple, AppleInsider has maintained confidence that the company is still actively developing the device and intends to bring it to market only when it meets the stringent demands of chief executive Steve Jobs.



In its own report Tuesday, TechCrunch cited three independent sources close to Apple who say to "expect a large screen iPod touch device to be released in the Fall of ‘09, with a 7 or 9 inch screen."



"Prototypes have been seen and handled by one of our sources, and Apple is talking to OEMs in Asia now about mass production," the publication said. It added that there were some early concerns amongst Apple managers over the potential market for such a device but that those fears have been quelled by the blistering success of the App Store:



"The difference now is the iTunes app store, which has thousands of games and other applications that are perfect for a touch screen device with an accelerometer."



AppleInsider will provide a brief update on the status of Newton tablet following next week's Macworld Expo.
«13

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 60
    If appleinsider knows more then why wait?
  • Reply 2 of 60
    This doesn't entirely make sense. What's the point of a large touchscreen device? It's questionable if it can replace a laptop configuration with a mouse and keyboard, and too big just for games and browsing. It would work as an eBook reader too I guess but does that add up to something people are willing to shell out almost as much as a laptop for? Apple has to show that touchscreen devices are useful for real work, not just games and browsing, to make a successful product, if they're moving away from handheld devices.
  • Reply 3 of 60
    Wait, you are saying a tablet device by the end of the year? So in the next 27 hours? Am I confused?
  • Reply 4 of 60
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by johngettler View Post


    Wait, you are saying a tablet device by the end of the year? So in the next 27 hours? Am I confused?



    heh-heh! You took the words right out of my mouth and beat me to the punch in the comments!



    Indeed, later this year.



    Just the usual hyperactive rumor mill overcoming logic and reason.
  • Reply 5 of 60
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by merdhead View Post


    This doesn't entirely make sense. What's the point of a large touchscreen device?



    Has little to do with the laptop market.



    Newtons were selling well in the corporate environment. There were customized Newtons for medicine as well as for power utility workers in the field. When the Newton went away, other technologies were used to replicate the solution.
  • Reply 6 of 60
    leptonlepton Posts: 111member
    My goodness, I just today published an article about how Apple's next new device will be a NetPad, about the size of three iPhones side by side. I've included a lot of detail about how this would look and work. http://www.myallo.com/blog
  • Reply 7 of 60
    kasperkasper Posts: 941member, administrator
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Ecphorizer View Post


    heh-heh! You took the words right out of my mouth and beat me to the punch in the comments!



    Indeed, later this year.



    Just the usual hyperactive rumor mill overcoming logic and reason.



    Later next year... Sorry. A few days ahead of ourselves here =P



    K
  • Reply 8 of 60
    Being the nerd that I am, I was at microcenter early this morning checking out their netbooks. While I was fiddling with their Samsung Q1U, I was wondering how cool would it be if Apple had such a device with an interface similar to the iPhone's. The computer was nice but a standard UI did not seem to fit.
  • Reply 9 of 60
    As usual, artists are screwed. Unless they are in kindergarden and are into the finger painting thing.



    We heed a hybrid device. Touch and tool. If I can get a Wacom-like device combined with a large iPhone-like device I'd be in heaven. Touch the tools, scroll, etc with my hands, then draw with the tool.
  • Reply 10 of 60
    kasperkasper Posts: 941member, administrator
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mercury7 View Post


    If appleinsider knows more then why wait?



    Because we'll be double checking some things with people we'll be meeting at the conference...
  • Reply 11 of 60
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by John the Geek View Post


    We heed a hybrid device. Touch and tool. If I can get a Wacom-like device combined with a large iPhone-like device I'd be in heaven. Touch the tools, scroll, etc with my hands, then draw with the tool.



    I was thinking along the same lines and how that might be a pretty cool device ...at least it might justify it's size then and if filled to the brim with Flash storage... tasty.
  • Reply 12 of 60
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by lepton View Post


    My goodness, I just today published an article about how Apple's next new device will be a NetPad, about the size of three iPhones side by side. I've included a lot of detail about how this would look and work. http://www.myallo.com/blog



    Lepton, that's a pretty interesting coincidence and seems pretty much what I'd imagine an Apple NetPod to be. Since it would be in the iPod touch/ iPhone family, it seems that the name would need to be a closer fit. NetPod. iPod net? (ugh)



    If it had built-in telephony and plenty of memory, it could be killer!



    Price would really be the big determining factor. But, often coolness trumps thriftiness!
  • Reply 13 of 60
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by merdhead View Post


    This doesn't entirely make sense. What's the point of a large touchscreen device? It's questionable if it can replace a laptop configuration with a mouse and keyboard, and too big just for games and browsing.



    If you don't see the opportunity here then I really don't know what to say. Done right Apple could release a whole family of such devices and and rake in millions maybe billions. In any event if you think this is a replacement for a desktop you are not on the right page. Touch represents a new approach to personal communications and computing.

    Quote:

    It would work as an eBook reader too I guess but does that add up to something people are willing to shell out almost as much as a laptop for?



    Who says it will cost as much as a laptop? It doesn't have to but knowing Apple it will likely use state or the art technology which will jack up prices a bit. In any event the underlying hardware doesn't have to cost much more than twice the current price of Touch.

    Quote:

    Apple has to show that touchscreen devices are useful for real work, not just games and browsing, to make a successful product, if they're moving away from handheld devices.



    It is not a move away from handheld devices. At least I can't think of Apple walking away from all the potential that exists for these devices. Finally Apple doesn't have to show anything as the Touch devices demonstrate a strong market for such devices.





    Dave
  • Reply 14 of 60
    Seems Apple has found an incredible brand and integration with

    iTunes

    iPod

    iPhone

    laptop/desktop



    Why not build out something between iPhone, etc. and the laptop line? As someone who travels extensively, I'm finding a stronger desire to leave the weight behind and get something easy to work with on the road. Currently considering the MacBook Air as i get ready to upgrade from PB G4 17".



    I LIKE the idea of a between device that is easy to carry, quick to boot, and could give me a portable keyboard when I need it.



    Deja Newton! Love it.
  • Reply 15 of 60
    Someone should call Ireland and wake him up.
  • Reply 16 of 60
    asciiascii Posts: 5,936member
    As others have said, I can see them being used in a corporate/education environment. A few of them chained to a conference room table lets each participant add their own notes to slides.



    But not sure what private individuals would use them for. Maybe built in to car? The iPod connectors are common now. Maybe it is a car attachment, not a carry around thing.
  • Reply 17 of 60
    So, uhm, Lepton, you mean something like THIS? http://www.maclife.com/article/featu...ign?page=0%2C4



    Seriously, I don't mean to be flippant, but I will be. If this news comes as shock to anyone, you clearly have not been keeping up.

    1) AppleInsider has been letting us know repeatedly that this was still in the works. Their confidence level about this has been higher than almost anything else I've seen on this site.

    2) The iPod Touch was a HUGE hit this holiday season. As soon as that was in the news, on the radio, etc., it was pretty obvious that it was now a matter of time before we saw the larger form factor.

    3) Apple has gone out of it's way to say that a netbook is NOT in the works. Which, as always, means that something IS in the works, but it won't necessarily be what you expect.



    If Apple is smart, they will release the tablet in 7 inches, and actually give us some sort of 700-800 dollar netbook in a ten inch format.



    But odds are, they won't do that.



    They will be as stubborn as good ol' Mr. Steve. Meaning that the MacBook Air will continue to be their answer for an "ultra-portable," and the larger format iPod Touch/Tablet thingie will be intended to shush up those who want something smaller than a laptop. And many of those people will still be upset that the device isn't as capable as a laptop, and it has no keyboard, etc. etc.



    And round and round we go on the apple tree.



    I do hope they provide some sort of e-reader capability and start providing e-books on iTunes. It's time to expand the store to include the written word, and it's time to show Amazon how it's done. Even better, make it wall mountable or at *least* desk, uhm, "standable" so that when it's not with you on the road, you can have it double as a digital photo frame.



    I'm so glad I bought my 12" PowerBook when I did. It may be long in the tooth, but it's still the closest thing to a damn netbook we're likely to see from Cupertino for quite some time.



    Happy New Year to all, and to all, a good byte.
  • Reply 18 of 60
    It'll be the size of a paperback novel. 8 or 9 inches diagonal. Sign me up.
  • Reply 19 of 60
    The timing for iTablet is just perfect. In fact, iNewton3 is just the post-Jobs era device which would thrive if Apple would change its tune for the development/release of this device. It will have no carrier services, so those"evil forces" cannot put an ounce of control on it. Wifi with 802.11n 5Ghz wideband.

    USB and Bluetooth fully profile. Thats it. Let the market develop which it will go.
  • Reply 20 of 60
    mactelmactel Posts: 1,275member
    I would imagine that this could be, if real, the size of half the screen of a MacBook. The health and science community could use such a device. Parcel carriers, police, utility, and so many other fields could use such a device. This would not be a consumer product and it would have to be ruggedized.



    My only issue would be data input. None of Apple's devices use a stylus and there would be many uses for such a pointing device. Checking off check boxes, circling items, precision selecting, etc.



    This does not seem like an Apple product. I would place my money on an AppleTV with PVR before Apple releases a tablet.
Sign In or Register to comment.