Just a thought...

Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited January 2014
I was thinking about the upcoming 10 inch netpad, possibly coming from Apple in the near future. That led me to this interesting theory I now have about Safari 4 Beta. Two features to be exact ---"Top Sites" and "Coverflow" for history searches. While both of these features are somewhat useful on my traditional Mac, I feel that these were added specifically for this touch screen tablet. Coverflow is ok for visual eye candy on Macs, but is far more useful on the iPhone/iPod Touch. I believe Top Sites will all also be a useful way to go to your favorite sites with ease and speed. Just a thought...
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 54
    mr. memr. me Posts: 3,221member
    1. The NetPad or whatever you want to call it is a rumor.

    2. Coverflow is usable on an Intel-based Mac but its performance won't win any speed awards. On a low power device like the iPhone, it would make the arrival of Christmas seem like an everyday event.

    3. Top Sites makes Coverflow look like a jack rabbit. It is highly dependent on two things that the iPhone does not have. One is a reliably high-speed network to download multiple web pages in an acceptably short time; the other is to render all of those pages without bringing the device to a halt.

  • Reply 2 of 54
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    I like coverflow in iTunes. I don't use it on anything else though, not on my iPhone even. Web browser history works best simply using text. Apple do a lot of things well, but this coverflow is not necessary in most instances.



    It's going to take a heck of a lot more doing than coverflow to make OS X usable with fingers. A complete overhaul and rethink of OS X is needed - which I believe they have did and are doing. One team is working on the core technologies of the OS = the new Leo, and the other team is deep in UI meditation
  • Reply 3 of 54
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Mr. Me View Post
    1. The NetPad or whatever you want to call it is a rumor.

    2. Coverflow is usable on an Intel-based Mac but its performance won't win any speed awards. On a low power device like the iPhone, it would make the arrival of Christmas seem like an everyday event.

    3. Top Sites makes Coverflow look like a jack rabbit. It is highly dependent on two things that the iPhone does not have. One is a reliably high-speed network to download multiple web pages in an acceptably short time; the other is to render all of those pages without bringing the device to a halt.




    1. The "netpad" is coming. I don't think those 10" touch screens Apple ordered were for "netbooks".



    2. I believe the speed and performance will be addressed in Snow Leopard



    3. I'm not talking about an iPhone. I'm talking about a "netpad", which, I envision will run OS X Snow Leapord, but will also be compatible with the app store. Maybe it will run iPhone 3.0 software as an "instant on" feature.
  • Reply 4 of 54
    mr. memr. me Posts: 3,221member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MacWhore View Post


    1. The "netpad" is coming. I don't think those 10" touch screens Apple ordered were for "netbooks".



    I will defer to your superior knowledge on this issue.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MacWhore View Post


    2. I believe the speed and performance will be addressed in Snow Leopard



    Snow Leopard will be faster at these operations because it will offload them to the graphics card. Will the NetPad use Nvidia or ATI?



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MacWhore View Post


    3. I'm not talking about an iPhone. ...



    My bad, I thought you were:



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MacWhore View Post


    ... Coverflow is ok for visual eye candy on Macs, but is far more useful on the iPhone/iPod Touch. ...



    I guess I was mistaken.
  • Reply 5 of 54
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Mr. Me View Post


    I will defer to your superior knowledge on this issue.



    Snow Leopard will be faster at these operations because it will offload them to the graphics card. Will the NetPad use Nvidia or ATI?



    My bad, I thought you were:



    I guess I was mistaken.



    Give me your best educated guess on what Apple will be releasing this year, as it relates to the 10' screen rumors?
  • Reply 6 of 54
    nvidia2008nvidia2008 Posts: 9,262member
    MAC TOUCH TABLET WITH BUILT IN 3g AND WIFI Come On APPLE !!!! PLEASEEEEEEE
  • Reply 7 of 54
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by nvidia2008 View Post


    MAC TOUCH TABLET WITH BUILT IN 3g AND WIFI Come On APPLE !!!! PLEASEEEEEEE



    Wooo!
  • Reply 8 of 54
    amorphamorph Posts: 7,112member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Mr. Me View Post
    1. Coverflow is usable on an Intel-based Mac but its performance won't win any speed awards. On a low power device like the iPhone, it would make the arrival of Christmas seem like an everyday event.




    There's a CoverFlow-like interface on the iPhone right now for the iPod in landscape mode. Works fine.
  • Reply 9 of 54
    mr. memr. me Posts: 3,221member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Amorph View Post


    There's a CoverFlow-like interface on the iPhone right now for the iPod in landscape mode. Works fine.



    CoverFlow-like is not CoverFlow.
  • Reply 10 of 54
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Mr. Me View Post


    CoverFlow-like is not CoverFlow.



    Are you disputing whether or not there is Coverflow on the iPhone/ipod Touch?
  • Reply 11 of 54
    Apple is releasing a NetPad, and it will be the device that brings tablet computing to the mainstream. These things will be everywhere. Consumers WILL want this. Not to mention Hospitals, Restaurants, Schools, product placement out the wazooo (tv, movies). Apple will change the game. It's coming..
  • Reply 12 of 54
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MacWhore View Post


    I was thinking about the upcoming 10 inch netpad, possibly coming from Apple in the near future.



    Personally I wish every body would start thinking about a much smaller device with maybe a 7" screen. Personally I have a hard time seeing a 10" screen being successful. In any event it is to big for what I desire.

    Quote:



    That led me to this interesting theory I now have about Safari 4 Beta. Two features to be exact ---"Top Sites" and "Coverflow" for history searches. While both of these features are somewhat useful on my traditional Mac, I feel that these were added specifically for this touch screen tablet.



    Interesting idea but maybe a bit flawed in that Apple isn't required to have the same user interfaces across product lines. In any event you posted two days early here as the iPhone developer preview is coming in a very short time. What we learn about Mobile OS 3.0 may indicate what this new device might be like.

    Quote:

    Coverflow is ok for visual eye candy on Macs, but is far more useful on the iPhone/iPod Touch. I believe Top Sites will all also be a useful way to go to your favorite sites with ease and speed. Just a thought...



    Let me tell you the Beta is growing on me. At times the Coverflow view is very handy way to get to sites you frequent. However that is on the sceen of a MBP, on a smaller screen such a feature may be a problem.



    In any event I don't think you have fallen off the deep end. I'm just not sure that Apple feels obligated to move all user interface improvements to all platforms.





    Dave
  • Reply 13 of 54
    hobbithobbit Posts: 532member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Mr. Me View Post
    • The NetPad or whatever you want to call it is a rumor.




    Yes and this is a 'Future Hardware' rumor forum. Should be good to discuss this here, no?

    Even if it never happens, we can speculate. Just for the fun of speculation.



    Regarding screen size, I think 10" would be preferable to smaller sizes if this device is supposed to act as an ebook reader / PDF viewer too. You don't want tiny text or blocky pixels due to too low a resolution.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Mr. Me View Post
    • Coverflow is usable on an Intel-based Mac but its performance won't win any speed awards. On a low power device like the iPhone, it would make the arrival of Christmas seem like an everyday event.




    Depends how they implement it. As was said, the current iPhone has Coverflow. And remember, even the previous iPod nano generation (fatty) had Coverflow! They had to switch off anti-aliasing, but it was reasonably fast.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Mr. Me View Post
    • Top Sites makes Coverflow look like a jack rabbit. It is highly dependent on two things that the iPhone does not have. One is a reliably high-speed network to download multiple web pages in an acceptably short time; the other is to render all of those pages without bringing the device to a halt.




    Again, depends how they implement it.

    The could just render a small window size, e.g. 512 x 256 pixel, cache it internally as an image and then display those images rather than actual live HTML screens.

    Might take a few seconds per image/page initially, but the browser could easily pre-prepare and cache these tiny images from time to time during idle so you have an instant Top Sites view if needed.





    While I agree that different devices could have different user interfaces, generally it makes more sense to be consistent.

    Not only do you reduce the learning curve for new users, but it also streamlines development as you can likely re-use parts of code and interface images.

    Which also makes development faster and cheaper.
  • Reply 14 of 54
    vineavinea Posts: 5,585member
    I agree with the other posters that thing a 7" device makes more sense than a 10" device.



    The only reason to go 10" over 7" is for a keyboard that doesn't completely suck. But 7" is better for "carry around" media, ebook, note taker/drawing pad since it can fit in a large pocket.



    A 7" screen can be as small as say 6.6 inches by 4.3 inches...which is DS/PSP sized. And I know those can fit in jacket pockets.



    A 10"display is what? Say 8.8" by 5"?



    I think I'm being a bit too nice on bezel for both sizes (calling it only a 1/10th of an inch) so they'll be a little bigger.
  • Reply 15 of 54
    mr. memr. me Posts: 3,221member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by vinea View Post


    I agree with the other posters that thing a 7" device makes more sense than a 10" device.



    ...



    All of the reports are that Apple has ordered 10" display panels. If this is the case, then discussions of a 7" device are a waste of time. Whatever Apple's new device is, it will have a 10" display.
  • Reply 16 of 54
    vineavinea Posts: 5,585member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Mr. Me View Post


    All of the reports are that Apple has ordered 10" display panels. If this is the case, then discussions of a 7" device are a waste of time. Whatever Apple's new device is, it will have a 10" display.



    The point isn't whether it will be a 7" or a 10" device but that the 10" size sucks for a slate. Too big to be big pocket portable (like a DS or PSP) and too small to be a decent tablet or notebook replacement. I have never wished that one of my slates were smaller...only thinner like a MBA. Apple can manage that with a 12" display.



    10" appears to be a sweet spot for usable keyboard size. So why skip the keyboard? IMHO a 10" slate wont sell as well as a 7" slate because of portability. But a 10" netbook will sell very well.



    So I'm hoping for a 10" netbook and based on the panel size that would be my guess.
  • Reply 17 of 54
    trobertstroberts Posts: 702member
    If Apple is releasing a netbook, what are the chances that it will use an ARM processor? This would be a perfect opportunity for Apple to provide something similar to competitors, while also making it hard for them to copy since Apple would be using customized parts.
  • Reply 18 of 54
    outsideroutsider Posts: 6,008member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by troberts View Post


    If Apple is releasing a netbook, what are the chances that it will use an ARM processor? This would be a perfect opportunity for Apple to provide something similar to competitors, while also making it hard for them to copy since Apple would be using customized parts.



    I would bet Atom before ARM. But what do I know
  • Reply 19 of 54
    olternautolternaut Posts: 1,376member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by troberts View Post


    If Apple is releasing a netbook, what are the chances that it will use an ARM processor? This would be a perfect opportunity for Apple to provide something similar to competitors, while also making it hard for them to copy since Apple would be using customized parts.



    What are the chances?



    There is a 99.99999999999999999999999% chance of the device containing some sort chip based on ARM processors.
  • Reply 20 of 54
    vineavinea Posts: 5,585member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Olternaut View Post


    What are the chances?



    There is a 99.99999999999999999999999% chance of the device containing some sort chip based on ARM processors.



    More like 70-30 in favor of Atom/Ion for a netbook. It depends on whether they would want to cripple their netbook in terms of app availability. It seems unlikely to me that MS would do a ARM port of MS Office even it were just a simple recompile.



    You can argue either way convincingly given that there's no other real information. Like if it even IS a netbook. A slate is more likely ARM (70-30 in it's favor). A netbook more likely Atom.
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