Why is it that any discussion that involves a tablet has some comment of some sort about the ability to run photoshop or some other graphics program. Enough with the idiocy!!! If the machine doesn't fit your needs please go pound slat someplace else.
In any event Apple really needs to release an advanced iPhone. An iPhone that still goes in the pocket but has a larger screen. The idea here is to provide a more robust platform on which ones PDA requirements can be meet. Ideally any Apple tablet would be based on a scale up of such a device to keep a family persona so to speak.
This is not going to round out the family of iPhones, this wont be a phone. This device will round out the family of Macs, it will be Apple's answer to the ultra-portable computer.
Maybe it depends on how you quantify mostly. Most of the actions I do in 3D software use the mouse. You use it for pushing/pulling vertices, scrubbing the timeline, rotating the viewport. You can detach Maya's menus for easy access with the mouse and you have toolboxes. But anyway, that doesn't change the fact that an external keyboard or touch keyboard would be a suitable replacement for one that is stuck on.
Surely a palette of icons is better to associate functions than obscure letter combinations.
Depending on the machine spec I'd also agree with Splinemodel, it's unlikely you'd run those programs on a tablet. At least not while holding it like a tablet. You'd want to attach it to the main power for the best performance and you'd prop it up on a stand like an iMac and then attach your extended keyboard and mouse.
I wonder if a tablet would use the same spec as a MBP or a MB.
Exactly what I'm saying are you blind? That style of tablet isn't an option. It needs a keyboard. Convertible tablet to the rescue. Best of both worlds.
And all the rest of those accessories are so very Apple like. Yeah right. Sure were apple and we now want to give you a stand and, and a detachable keyboard, and another power supply, and etc. etc. etc.... more clutter for your life. No I don't think so.
Why is it that any discussion that involves a tablet has some comment of some sort about the ability to run photoshop or some other graphics program. Enough with the idiocy!!! If the machine doesn't fit your needs please go pound slat someplace else.
In any event Apple really needs to release an advanced iPhone. An iPhone that still goes in the pocket but has a larger screen. The idea here is to provide a more robust platform on which ones PDA requirements can be meet. Ideally any Apple tablet would be based on a scale up of such a device to keep a family persona so to speak.
Dave
Because it's in the wrong forum if that's what you want dave. It is a Tablet computer. Not a Phone. If you want to start that thread there is an iPhone forum just for you. Go start that other thread over there where it's supposed to be.
If you have not noticed the mockups are all laptop size not phone sized. Open your eyes.
An iPhone that still goes in the pocket but has a larger screen. The idea here is to provide a more robust platform on which ones PDA requirements can be meet.
I think the iphone is as big as it needs to be. Despite having a smaller screen than PDAs, it's a high resolution screen and it's very clear to see what's going on especially with the zoom. IMO, the iphone just needs more apps. The fact they reduced the lineup of iphone configs from 2 to 1 so quickly shows that they want as little redundancy in the lineup as possible. Apple seem to like one model for everyone in their well-defined stereotypes.
There are only two stereotypes that they currently don't target and the tablet is aimed at one of those.
Quote:
Originally Posted by onlooker
Exactly what I'm saying are you blind? That style of tablet isn't an option. It needs a keyboard. Convertible tablet to the rescue. Best of both worlds.
We agree that certain situations need external input devices but we disagree on the fact that a keyboard has to be fixed to the computer. Convertible tablets add unnecessary bulk and having a swivel on such a small/thin display is just asking for breakage. Their hinge design wouldn't allow for a convertible.
The slate has been field tested too in the form of the Modbook.
Quote:
Originally Posted by onlooker
And all the rest of those accessories are so very Apple like. Yeah right. Sure were apple and we now want to give you a stand and, and a detachable keyboard, and another power supply, and etc. etc. etc.... more clutter for your life. No I don't think so.
It's no more clutter than an iMac, which they seem quite happy with. It would come with a power supply so it's not really another one. All that's really being added is a keyboard and mouse, which would be optional.
Will there even be a tablet or touch computer anyway? The only thing that seems to keep getting mentioned is an ultra-portable, which would be neither a convertible nor a tablet but simply a small Macbook Pro. There might be too many restrictions on resolution and robustness for a touch tablet just now.
The slate has been field tested too in the form of the Modbook.
Yeah.... And I see Mod-Book fan sites everywhere. I have never seen or heard of anyone with a Mod-book. No one in this forum, or any other I frequent has ever laid claim to owning one.
Does anyone know anyone with a mod book? Field tested by who. The one guy that created it? lol
Yeah.... And I see Mod-Book fan sites everywhere. I have never seen or heard of anyone with a Mod-book. No one in this forum, or any other I frequent has ever laid claim to owning one.
Does anyone know anyone with a mod book? Field tested by who. The one guy that created it? lol
ModBook sold three of them, and two of those were shareholders
And all the rest of those accessories are so very Apple like. Yeah right. Sure were apple and we now want to give you a stand and, and a detachable keyboard, and another power supply, and etc. etc. etc.... more clutter for your life. No I don't think so.
Built-in flip-stand. Press is in and it pops out of the back, then you can rest it on a table, or bar and type away at a 20º angle while looking at the screen
It's an ultra-portable. Taking it everywhere is the key here. If you want to do lots and lots of typing, get a MacBook
Yeah.... And I see Mod-Book fan sites everywhere. I have never seen or heard of anyone with a Mod-book. No one in this forum, or any other I frequent has ever laid claim to owning one.
Does anyone know anyone with a mod book? Field tested by who. The one guy that created it? lol
I don't see many tablet fan sites either except maybe this one:
it's not hard to see why. The Mac with iphone technology would be different and since I don't see iphone users wondering where their built-in keyboard is, I'd say that computer users would be the same.
Obviously if you have got to have a physical keyboard and can't live without one then as Ireland said, buy one with a keyboard stuck to it but don't limit people who want a slate to the extra bulk required to put one there. You wouldn't like it if someone stuck a screen to a desktop and that was the only choice you had would you?
Personally, I'd much rather see a machine running a full copy of Leopard, not some Leopard/iPhone hybrid.
I think a slate is going to be far too cumbersome to use. The beauty of a laptop's design is that it can sit down flat, but the screen still tilts up to a comfortable angle. With a slate tablet, you either have to lay it flat and lean over it, or hold it between your chest and arm like a psychiatrist or inspector holds a notebook. Both options sound incredibly uncomfortable.
And if you use a pop-out stand, as Ireland suggested, it would be at too severe of an angle to be comfortable on the wrist.
Move the power button from lower right to lower bottom center. You hold the outer sides with your hands and this would prevent accidental power off/on. Add an eject button adjacent to the power button--need a hard eject for jammed media on the slot loading drive.
Have OS X Leopard Retail be the Operating System. Hybrid on a device you would want to use for Hospitals, Federal Markets, Education Markets and every other market makes no sense to have the iPhone hybrid version running.
The biggest problem is that on screen keyboard. You can see where the problem lies with that style immediately. NIghtmare product with out a keyboard. Photoshop is going to be real fun with that thing. I can't even imagine the Maya nightmare.
And just who in the hell would buy one of these to run photoshop? Really this excuse gets to be a bit tiresome after awhile. Frankly the same question applies to the ultra mobile rumored to be coming, if it doesn't fit your needs why express such negatives?
[/quote]
Quote:
Because it's in the wrong forum if that's what you want dave. It is a Tablet computer. Not a Phone. If you want to start that thread there is an iPhone forum just for you. Go start that other thread over there where it's supposed to be.
If you have not noticed the mockups are all laptop size not phone sized. Open your eyes.
I see you have trouble getting to the root of the question. Why is it that you dismiss a tablet with wholly unrelated crap about its lack of a keyboard. The talk of an iPhone (cell capability or WiMax for that matter) is very important to the discussion of any tablet device because it is key to understanding how people expect to use the device. You can pervert the concept of a tablet computer all you want but the iPhone is just an example of a really small tablet. I really have trouble understanding why you can't grasp this.
In any event each size up from an iPhone brings the potential for new capabilities to the tablet computer. None of these capabilities need be limited to the supplied data entry methods. As long as BlueTooth or some sort of interface to alternative data input methods is there you really don't have a problem. In any event a Tablet computer is not a desktop or laptop computer it is a niche in and of itself. As such you do it a big disservice by constantly trying to graft on the requirements of a desktop or laptop. Such hardware should be seen as an entirely different form of computing.
They're too thick except, maybe, for the one by Thomas Palmer which was just a stretched iPhone:
I like the look of this one though:
But too thick. If it is a tablet, it's got to be thin thin thin, and really light.
Mpffff?the bottom picture has the name "MacPad" - am I the only one who finds that funny? The marketing possibilities to the female demographic are huge?at least once a month
And just who in the hell would buy one of these to run photoshop? Really this excuse gets to be a bit tiresome after awhile. Frankly the same question applies to the ultra mobile rumored to be coming, if it doesn't fit your needs why express such negatives?
Who buys a tablet and isn't in the visual arts department? Without that artistic application, it's a fancy, underpowered piece of crap.
On the GUI issue, I think there at the very least needs to be a hrbrid style interface.
To have the retail issue of Leapord on a tablet would surely detract from it's desirability and usablity. In my opinion, one of the reasons that Microsoft's whole tablet PC initiative has failed to garner the succes they would like is because they failed to utilize it's capabilities to a proper extent. They just copied over the standard XP without to big a change to the interface. This will always bring up the problem of user interaction. The tablet is different from the desktop or laptop Windows is usualy seen on. It has different input methods. A touch screen is far less precise than a mouse, and the normal icons and buttons which can be clicked easily with a mouse, may not neccesarily be as accesible for fingers on a smaller screen.
UI optimization is one of the reasons that the iPhoe works so well. It adapts to what it has (a small touchscreen) basing it's features around that, and enabling ways around something that people may otherwise encouter problems with, such as pinching to zoom in on webpages.
Although this tablet would need to be open and have a way of working with many applications for the various markets it may see use in, there'll be no point in having the tablet at all if it's practicaly unusable because Apple fell in the same pithole that Microsoft did of just using the same OS and UI in all of it's products and assuming it'll be fine.
On the GUI issue, I think there at the very least needs to be a hrbrid style interface.
To have the retail issue of Leapord on a tablet would surely detract from it's desirability and usablity. In my opinion, one of the reasons that Microsoft's whole tablet PC initiative has failed to garner the succes they would like is because they failed to utilize it's capabilities to a proper extent. They just copied over the standard XP without to big a change to the interface. This will always bring up the problem of user interaction. The tablet is different from the desktop or laptop Windows is usualy seen on. It has different input methods. A touch screen is far less precise than a mouse, and the normal icons and buttons which can be clicked easily with a mouse, may not neccesarily be as accesible for fingers on a smaller screen.
UI optimization is one of the reasons that the iPhoe works so well. It adapts to what it has (a small touchscreen) basing it's features around that, and enabling ways around something that people may otherwise encouter problems with, such as pinching to zoom in on webpages.
Although this tablet would need to be open and have a way of working with many applications for the various markets it may see use in, there'll be no point in having the tablet at all if it's practicaly unusable because Apple fell in the same pithole that Microsoft did of just using the same OS and UI in all of it's products and assuming it'll be fine.
The iPhone is a phone, a video/audio player and a web services app appliance.
A Tablet is either going to be in its own domain or it is a Touch Screen Portable Laptop without the Keyboard.
I'd be more interested in the latter with the ability to connect a keyboard to it when I need it and to use a stylus attached to it when I need it.
It's not something to replace laptops, but has to be functional enough to be a portable KIOSK that can be locked down and with the standard OS X Development Kit to allow for Mission Critical Custom Applications for any industry that sees a ROI worthy of investing in using it.
Sorry, but I don't know what half the terminology in that last section is. Please enlighten?
MCCA applications are the market space for Enteprise class solutions. Examples range from Telcos Call Center Suites, to Hospital Records systems, to Chip Wafer Control Systems, etc.
KIOSK is well known and those of course include any Bookstore, Music Store, Mall Directory and more interfaces that allow the general public to access.
Thanks for explaining. I still think, however, that my point about needing to optimize it's GUI for it's resources (touch screen, 4"-9"? in size, most likely multi touch.) Like I said, things that work well for one interface method don't neccasarily work well for another.
For example, say you do just ship this tablet with the retail version of Leapord, with no UI changes, the menu bar at the top is fine for when you have a standard mouse, with a large screen, but is going to be difficult to use when it's on a much smaller screen, and you're using large (when in comparison to a highly precise mouse pointer) finger.
I completly concur with your point about enabling these MCCA and KIOSK applications through the normal OS X develoment kit. I realise I didn't make that at all clear in my first post, but Iagree it's completly neccasary in order for it to flourish.
On a slightly different note, I really would like to see this tablet in an education market, maybe a "every student has one" type scenario. I'm a student myself, and I can't tell you that it would definatly be a massive boost to have these sort of devices available to us, especially if there was a Wi-Fi netwwork. Would certaily save from all the classes fighting for access for the few IT labs we have and being beaten by Year 11s because they need it for GCSE.
Still, not flipping likely. Especialy as our schools a Windows/Microsoft climate. (Grumble
People do not want another device the size of a subnotebook or notebook; they want a pocket size computer yet one that is as large as possible to fit in say a jacket pocket. Not a device too small like a palm size PDA but more like a modern version of the great Psion Revo or 5mx, or HP Jornada type devices in the 90's. UMPC provide full windows in a mobile device but full windows programs need a good input, mainly touch type keyboard. Pen/slate concepts regardless of which OS never have sold well.
A device that is as thin as possible but could be as long as 7.5" and up to about 4" in depth would be ideal. The old Psion was 6.9" x 3.6" and most users could type close to desktop speeds with their unique expanding keyboard. I could type about 80% of desktop which was about 55-60 wpm.
Comments
Why is it that any discussion that involves a tablet has some comment of some sort about the ability to run photoshop or some other graphics program. Enough with the idiocy!!! If the machine doesn't fit your needs please go pound slat someplace else.
In any event Apple really needs to release an advanced iPhone. An iPhone that still goes in the pocket but has a larger screen. The idea here is to provide a more robust platform on which ones PDA requirements can be meet. Ideally any Apple tablet would be based on a scale up of such a device to keep a family persona so to speak.
This is not going to round out the family of iPhones, this wont be a phone. This device will round out the family of Macs, it will be Apple's answer to the ultra-portable computer.
Maybe it depends on how you quantify mostly. Most of the actions I do in 3D software use the mouse. You use it for pushing/pulling vertices, scrubbing the timeline, rotating the viewport. You can detach Maya's menus for easy access with the mouse and you have toolboxes. But anyway, that doesn't change the fact that an external keyboard or touch keyboard would be a suitable replacement for one that is stuck on.
Surely a palette of icons is better to associate functions than obscure letter combinations.
Depending on the machine spec I'd also agree with Splinemodel, it's unlikely you'd run those programs on a tablet. At least not while holding it like a tablet. You'd want to attach it to the main power for the best performance and you'd prop it up on a stand like an iMac and then attach your extended keyboard and mouse.
I wonder if a tablet would use the same spec as a MBP or a MB.
Exactly what I'm saying are you blind? That style of tablet isn't an option. It needs a keyboard. Convertible tablet to the rescue. Best of both worlds.
And all the rest of those accessories are so very Apple like. Yeah right. Sure were apple and we now want to give you a stand and, and a detachable keyboard, and another power supply, and etc. etc. etc.... more clutter for your life. No I don't think so.
Why is it that any discussion that involves a tablet has some comment of some sort about the ability to run photoshop or some other graphics program. Enough with the idiocy!!! If the machine doesn't fit your needs please go pound slat someplace else.
In any event Apple really needs to release an advanced iPhone. An iPhone that still goes in the pocket but has a larger screen. The idea here is to provide a more robust platform on which ones PDA requirements can be meet. Ideally any Apple tablet would be based on a scale up of such a device to keep a family persona so to speak.
Dave
Because it's in the wrong forum if that's what you want dave. It is a Tablet computer. Not a Phone. If you want to start that thread there is an iPhone forum just for you. Go start that other thread over there where it's supposed to be.
If you have not noticed the mockups are all laptop size not phone sized. Open your eyes.
An iPhone that still goes in the pocket but has a larger screen. The idea here is to provide a more robust platform on which ones PDA requirements can be meet.
I think the iphone is as big as it needs to be. Despite having a smaller screen than PDAs, it's a high resolution screen and it's very clear to see what's going on especially with the zoom. IMO, the iphone just needs more apps. The fact they reduced the lineup of iphone configs from 2 to 1 so quickly shows that they want as little redundancy in the lineup as possible. Apple seem to like one model for everyone in their well-defined stereotypes.
There are only two stereotypes that they currently don't target and the tablet is aimed at one of those.
Exactly what I'm saying are you blind? That style of tablet isn't an option. It needs a keyboard. Convertible tablet to the rescue. Best of both worlds.
We agree that certain situations need external input devices but we disagree on the fact that a keyboard has to be fixed to the computer. Convertible tablets add unnecessary bulk and having a swivel on such a small/thin display is just asking for breakage. Their hinge design wouldn't allow for a convertible.
The slate has been field tested too in the form of the Modbook.
And all the rest of those accessories are so very Apple like. Yeah right. Sure were apple and we now want to give you a stand and, and a detachable keyboard, and another power supply, and etc. etc. etc.... more clutter for your life. No I don't think so.
It's no more clutter than an iMac, which they seem quite happy with. It would come with a power supply so it's not really another one. All that's really being added is a keyboard and mouse, which would be optional.
Will there even be a tablet or touch computer anyway? The only thing that seems to keep getting mentioned is an ultra-portable, which would be neither a convertible nor a tablet but simply a small Macbook Pro. There might be too many restrictions on resolution and robustness for a touch tablet just now.
.........
The slate has been field tested too in the form of the Modbook.
Yeah.... And I see Mod-Book fan sites everywhere. I have never seen or heard of anyone with a Mod-book. No one in this forum, or any other I frequent has ever laid claim to owning one.
Does anyone know anyone with a mod book? Field tested by who. The one guy that created it? lol
Yeah.... And I see Mod-Book fan sites everywhere. I have never seen or heard of anyone with a Mod-book. No one in this forum, or any other I frequent has ever laid claim to owning one.
Does anyone know anyone with a mod book? Field tested by who. The one guy that created it? lol
ModBook sold three of them, and two of those were shareholders
And all the rest of those accessories are so very Apple like. Yeah right. Sure were apple and we now want to give you a stand and, and a detachable keyboard, and another power supply, and etc. etc. etc.... more clutter for your life. No I don't think so.
Built-in flip-stand. Press is in and it pops out of the back, then you can rest it on a table, or bar and type away at a 20º angle while looking at the screen
It's an ultra-portable. Taking it everywhere is the key here. If you want to do lots and lots of typing, get a MacBook
Yeah.... And I see Mod-Book fan sites everywhere. I have never seen or heard of anyone with a Mod-book. No one in this forum, or any other I frequent has ever laid claim to owning one.
Does anyone know anyone with a mod book? Field tested by who. The one guy that created it? lol
I don't see many tablet fan sites either except maybe this one:
http://forum.tabletpcreview.com/index.php
Notice some iphone sales there. The whole touch computer thing at the moment is clearly a niche market and from the video on this site:
http://fabiennemaurer.com/flo/tablet/
it's not hard to see why. The Mac with iphone technology would be different and since I don't see iphone users wondering where their built-in keyboard is, I'd say that computer users would be the same.
Obviously if you have got to have a physical keyboard and can't live without one then as Ireland said, buy one with a keyboard stuck to it but don't limit people who want a slate to the extra bulk required to put one there. You wouldn't like it if someone stuck a screen to a desktop and that was the only choice you had would you?
It's a first attempt at the form factor, and a possible UI that could be used in relation to Leopard and OSX Mobile (iPhone/iPod touch) by Apple.
I didn't have the icons in a big enough size infortunatley so I had to improvise with the styling of the icons. ¬_¬
MAIN UI DESIGN
UI (FILE MENU)
Let me know what you think.
R-Fly
I think a slate is going to be far too cumbersome to use. The beauty of a laptop's design is that it can sit down flat, but the screen still tilts up to a comfortable angle. With a slate tablet, you either have to lay it flat and lean over it, or hold it between your chest and arm like a psychiatrist or inspector holds a notebook. Both options sound incredibly uncomfortable.
And if you use a pop-out stand, as Ireland suggested, it would be at too severe of an angle to be comfortable on the wrist.
Here are my mockups of the 'iTablet/Macbook touch device.
It's a first attempt at the form factor, and a possible UI that could be used in relation to Leopard and OSX Mobile (iPhone/iPod touch) by Apple.
I didn't have the icons in a big enough size infortunatley so I had to improvise with the styling of the icons. ¬_¬
MAIN UI DESIGN
UI (FILE MENU)
Let me know what you think.
R-Fly
Move the power button from lower right to lower bottom center. You hold the outer sides with your hands and this would prevent accidental power off/on. Add an eject button adjacent to the power button--need a hard eject for jammed media on the slot loading drive.
Have OS X Leopard Retail be the Operating System. Hybrid on a device you would want to use for Hospitals, Federal Markets, Education Markets and every other market makes no sense to have the iPhone hybrid version running.
The biggest problem is that on screen keyboard. You can see where the problem lies with that style immediately. NIghtmare product with out a keyboard. Photoshop is going to be real fun with that thing. I can't even imagine the Maya nightmare.
And just who in the hell would buy one of these to run photoshop? Really this excuse gets to be a bit tiresome after awhile. Frankly the same question applies to the ultra mobile rumored to be coming, if it doesn't fit your needs why express such negatives?
[/quote]
Because it's in the wrong forum if that's what you want dave. It is a Tablet computer. Not a Phone. If you want to start that thread there is an iPhone forum just for you. Go start that other thread over there where it's supposed to be.
If you have not noticed the mockups are all laptop size not phone sized. Open your eyes.
I see you have trouble getting to the root of the question. Why is it that you dismiss a tablet with wholly unrelated crap about its lack of a keyboard. The talk of an iPhone (cell capability or WiMax for that matter) is very important to the discussion of any tablet device because it is key to understanding how people expect to use the device. You can pervert the concept of a tablet computer all you want but the iPhone is just an example of a really small tablet. I really have trouble understanding why you can't grasp this.
In any event each size up from an iPhone brings the potential for new capabilities to the tablet computer. None of these capabilities need be limited to the supplied data entry methods. As long as BlueTooth or some sort of interface to alternative data input methods is there you really don't have a problem. In any event a Tablet computer is not a desktop or laptop computer it is a niche in and of itself. As such you do it a big disservice by constantly trying to graft on the requirements of a desktop or laptop. Such hardware should be seen as an entirely different form of computing.
.
Dave
They're too thick except, maybe, for the one by Thomas Palmer which was just a stretched iPhone:
I like the look of this one though:
But too thick. If it is a tablet, it's got to be thin thin thin, and really light.
Mpffff?the bottom picture has the name "MacPad" - am I the only one who finds that funny? The marketing possibilities to the female demographic are huge?at least once a month
And just who in the hell would buy one of these to run photoshop? Really this excuse gets to be a bit tiresome after awhile. Frankly the same question applies to the ultra mobile rumored to be coming, if it doesn't fit your needs why express such negatives?
Who buys a tablet and isn't in the visual arts department? Without that artistic application, it's a fancy, underpowered piece of crap.
To have the retail issue of Leapord on a tablet would surely detract from it's desirability and usablity. In my opinion, one of the reasons that Microsoft's whole tablet PC initiative has failed to garner the succes they would like is because they failed to utilize it's capabilities to a proper extent. They just copied over the standard XP without to big a change to the interface. This will always bring up the problem of user interaction. The tablet is different from the desktop or laptop Windows is usualy seen on. It has different input methods. A touch screen is far less precise than a mouse, and the normal icons and buttons which can be clicked easily with a mouse, may not neccesarily be as accesible for fingers on a smaller screen.
UI optimization is one of the reasons that the iPhoe works so well. It adapts to what it has (a small touchscreen) basing it's features around that, and enabling ways around something that people may otherwise encouter problems with, such as pinching to zoom in on webpages.
Although this tablet would need to be open and have a way of working with many applications for the various markets it may see use in, there'll be no point in having the tablet at all if it's practicaly unusable because Apple fell in the same pithole that Microsoft did of just using the same OS and UI in all of it's products and assuming it'll be fine.
On the GUI issue, I think there at the very least needs to be a hrbrid style interface.
To have the retail issue of Leapord on a tablet would surely detract from it's desirability and usablity. In my opinion, one of the reasons that Microsoft's whole tablet PC initiative has failed to garner the succes they would like is because they failed to utilize it's capabilities to a proper extent. They just copied over the standard XP without to big a change to the interface. This will always bring up the problem of user interaction. The tablet is different from the desktop or laptop Windows is usualy seen on. It has different input methods. A touch screen is far less precise than a mouse, and the normal icons and buttons which can be clicked easily with a mouse, may not neccesarily be as accesible for fingers on a smaller screen.
UI optimization is one of the reasons that the iPhoe works so well. It adapts to what it has (a small touchscreen) basing it's features around that, and enabling ways around something that people may otherwise encouter problems with, such as pinching to zoom in on webpages.
Although this tablet would need to be open and have a way of working with many applications for the various markets it may see use in, there'll be no point in having the tablet at all if it's practicaly unusable because Apple fell in the same pithole that Microsoft did of just using the same OS and UI in all of it's products and assuming it'll be fine.
The iPhone is a phone, a video/audio player and a web services app appliance.
A Tablet is either going to be in its own domain or it is a Touch Screen Portable Laptop without the Keyboard.
I'd be more interested in the latter with the ability to connect a keyboard to it when I need it and to use a stylus attached to it when I need it.
It's not something to replace laptops, but has to be functional enough to be a portable KIOSK that can be locked down and with the standard OS X Development Kit to allow for Mission Critical Custom Applications for any industry that sees a ROI worthy of investing in using it.
Sorry, but I don't know what half the terminology in that last section is. Please enlighten?
MCCA applications are the market space for Enteprise class solutions. Examples range from Telcos Call Center Suites, to Hospital Records systems, to Chip Wafer Control Systems, etc.
KIOSK is well known and those of course include any Bookstore, Music Store, Mall Directory and more interfaces that allow the general public to access.
For example, say you do just ship this tablet with the retail version of Leapord, with no UI changes, the menu bar at the top is fine for when you have a standard mouse, with a large screen, but is going to be difficult to use when it's on a much smaller screen, and you're using large (when in comparison to a highly precise mouse pointer) finger.
I completly concur with your point about enabling these MCCA and KIOSK applications through the normal OS X develoment kit. I realise I didn't make that at all clear in my first post, but Iagree it's completly neccasary in order for it to flourish.
On a slightly different note, I really would like to see this tablet in an education market, maybe a "every student has one" type scenario. I'm a student myself, and I can't tell you that it would definatly be a massive boost to have these sort of devices available to us, especially if there was a Wi-Fi netwwork. Would certaily save from all the classes fighting for access for the few IT labs we have and being beaten by Year 11s because they need it for GCSE.
Still, not flipping likely. Especialy as our schools a Windows/Microsoft climate. (Grumble
A device that is as thin as possible but could be as long as 7.5" and up to about 4" in depth would be ideal. The old Psion was 6.9" x 3.6" and most users could type close to desktop speeds with their unique expanding keyboard. I could type about 80% of desktop which was about 55-60 wpm.