Something that's been brewing in my mind over the weekend. I know there's been a lot of talk regarding alternate versions of the iphone, most specifically the nano. Now, I've never been a proponent of these alternate form factors, as any smaller and the screen becomes very difficult to use and read, and much larger and it's cumbersome to hold and use as a phone.
Now, I don't think I've read anywhere that people are imagining that this iTablet device would be a phone, cause who could imagine holding a 10" screen to the side of your head. BUT! What if an integral part of the iTablet is that it IS a phone, or at least has all the components of a phone, except that the "phone" functionality is accessed through a bluetooth headset. With some enhanced functionality, you'd exclusively use voice commands via the headset to make and receive calls, and if you need to access your contacts you can still look at the tablet, but there's no need for you to raise it to your ear! And as a phone [in function if not in form] it could be sold subsidized just like the iphone is, making it more affordable to more people. And because it IS a phone, more people might trade up to the iTablet, rather than looking at it as a device that falls into a grey area that they don't necessarily need- between their iPhone and Laptop.
Close, but not quite. As someone has already mentioned, this would mean that you'd have to carry the tablet wtih you anytime you wanted your phone. You could never leave the tablet behind.
My alternative, which I suggested awhile back, would be similar but would place all of the phone outside of the tablet. Rather than have the tablet be connected to the cellular network relaying the phone call to an earpiece via Bluetooth, I'd have a small phone be the network link and relay a data connection to the tablet via Bluetooth or wi-fi. That way you still only have a single wireless data subscription with your carrier (vs one for your phone and one for your tablet), and you have the option of leaving the tablet behind and taking the phone with you.
Take this one step further and make the phone also be a mi-fi device, and now it become your network router, similar to an Aiport Extreme (but hopefully runs a little cooler! ). You'll always have your phone with you, and it would also be the wireless network router for you tablet, your laptop, your iPod touch, etc.
Neat, but no visible ports. on something that size and shape, if you wanted to sneak ports in on the side, you'd be restricted to the same level as the Air- just a headphone jack, a USB port, and MagSafe.
The device should be 7.75″ by 4.5″ by 0.4″ with a 7.75″ diagonal 1280 by 720 AOLED screen at 190DPI. I call it the NetPad. Yes, there is already something called the NetPad. But there was also something called the iPhone, remember?
This device could be crammed in a pants pocket or fit nicely in a jacket pocket. It's small enough to be pocketable, yet can show a 720p movie. The very high density is almost print quality and makes an excellent reader. The new chips and graphics engines can move those pixels around. The still thin form factor, like a Star Trek PADD is easily passed around like a paper or clipboard. The OLED screen saves power and is thinner, the volume of the device has plenty of room for a very good battery.
The device is all screen. No keyboard. It supports a Bluetooth keyboard. It also supports multi touch, and a Bluetooth mouse, and... a stylus, which could be a simple conductive stick. The OS is a scaled up iPhone OS, not a scaled down OSX. Apple "Ink" technology is added, so you can draw or handwrite with finger, mouse, or stylus. The big technology breakthrough here? Palm-rejection. No, not them, I mean the ability to reject input from the palm you will rest on the bigger screen when writing or drawing on the device with a stylus.
It is a pad, not a book. If you want a keyboard, use a Bluetooth keyboard. I can see Apple selling a Bluetooth keyboard for this specific device that fits or sort of clips onto the pad, keys facing the screen to protect both. I could see this clip being sort of hinge-able, making it sort of... book-like. There, happy now, netbookers?
It will have a slot, ExpressCard-like, that will accept a third party data card. It will give wireless connectivity though GSM, CDMA, LTE, whatever. These will fit fully inside, connecting to internal antennas. Carriers may sell these in bundles, pad plus card plus data plan on a contract that subsidizes the device, or buy it cardless anywhere. There will be no phone. This is data only, Kindle-like. That way AT&T keeps its exclusive deal on phones, while any carrier can bundle their data card and contract with this thing simultaneously. That's what the Verizon talks were about. This thing will be open to all carriers.
I predicted this and more last December, see this article. They laughed when I predicted the iPhone early on, but I was about 2/3 right. I hope to beat that and be 3/4 right here. Skakiest prediction? 190ppi.
Neat, but no visible ports. on something that size and shape, if you wanted to sneak ports in on the side, you'd be restricted to the same level as the Air- just a headphone jack, a USB port, and MagSafe.
The device should be 7.75″ by 4.5″ by 0.4″ with a 7.75″ diagonal 1280 by 720 AOLED screen at 190DPI. I call it the NetPad. Yes, there is already something called the NetPad. But there was also something called the iPhone, remember?
This device could be crammed in a pants pocket or fit nicely in a jacket pocket. It's small enough to be pocketable, yet can show a 720p movie. The very high density is almost print quality and makes an excellent reader. The new chips and graphics engines can move those pixels around. The still thin form factor, like a Star Trek PADD is easily passed around like a paper or clipboard. The OLED screen saves power and is thinner, the volume of the device has plenty of room for a very good battery.
The device is all screen. No keyboard. It supports a Bluetooth keyboard. It also supports multi touch, and a Bluetooth mouse, and... a stylus, which could be a simple conductive stick. The OS is a scaled up iPhone OS, not a scaled down OSX. Apple "Ink" technology is added, so you can draw or handwrite with finger, mouse, or stylus. The big technology breakthrough here? Palm-rejection. No, not them, I mean the ability to reject input from the palm you will rest on the bigger screen when writing or drawing on the device with a stylus.
It is a pad, not a book. If you want a keyboard, use a Bluetooth keyboard. I can see Apple selling a Bluetooth keyboard for this specific device that fits or sort of clips onto the pad, keys facing the screen to protect both. I could see this clip being sort of hinge-able, making it sort of... book-like. There, happy now, netbookers?
It will have a slot, ExpressCard-like, that will accept a third party data card. It will give wireless connectivity though GSM, CDMA, LTE, whatever. These will fit fully inside, connecting to internal antennas. Carriers may sell these in bundles, pad plus card plus data plan on a contract that subsidizes the device, or buy it cardless anywhere. There will be no phone. This is data only, Kindle-like. That way AT&T keeps its exclusive deal on phones, while any carrier can bundle their data card and contract with this thing simultaneously. That's what the Verizon talks were about. This thing will be open to all carriers.
I predicted this and more last December, see this article. They laughed when I predicted the iPhone early on, but I was about 2/3 right. I hope to beat that and be 3/4 right here. Skakiest prediction? 190ppi.
I could see a lot of this being true, although the large order for 10" screens is hard to ignore. Not sure if you will be right on how the data cards would work. I think they will take sim cards or be programmed at the point of purchase, I just can't see Apple doing Data Cards. I think clipon keyboards that turn the tablet into a netbook would be 3rd party only (I was going to suggest something like this, but you beat me to it ).
Completely agree on the scaled up iPhone OS. Apple wouldn't want to canibalize macbook sales, especially from students (who buy a lot of macbooks, but could also make use of a tablet for notes and etextbooks.) The ideal student (from an Apple perspective) would be typing out work on their macbook, with the tablet sitting off to the side, replacing textbooks, and an iphone in their pocket.
I forgot to mention two things in my last post. WiFi is built in, the third party card adds carrier wireless. And second, what will be the killer app for this form factor? Apple Remote Desktop. No, really.
Imagine having a second screen on your computer, a totally portable one you could bring to the patio or whatever, prop up, and run Front Row by touch on. Or in the office, imagine going around being able to connect to other computers on the floor with screen sharing. Or imagine being in the park and doing this stuff wirelessly? A simple, easy to use screen sharing system would be killer!
I forgot to mention two things in my last post. WiFi is built in, the third party card adds carrier wireless. And second, what will be the killer app for this form factor? Apple Remote Desktop. No, really.
Imagine having a second screen on your computer, a totally portable one you could bring to the patio or whatever, prop up, and run Front Row by touch on. Or in the office, imagine going around being able to connect to other computers on the floor with screen sharing. Or imagine being in the park and doing this stuff wirelessly? A simple, easy to use screen sharing system would be killer!
Quit taking everything I want to write about when I get home.
Edit, now that I am at home, here is what I think the tablet will be:
It will run an enhanced version of iPhone OS, it will run iPhone apps, but the App store will add a section for Tablet only Apps. Why not OSX? Apple will want to position this as a device that compliments your computer, not replaces it. With research indicating that most people purchase netbook as a secondary computer, this approach should work fine.
No finder. Apple likes to sync (and finder wouldn't be very touch friendly anyway), if additional features are needed, additional in app libraries will be provided.
It will multitask, think the new snow leopard expose plus an x shown in the upper left hand corner of each window like on mobile safari and the dashboard. Expose would be activated either through a four finger swipe like o the new macbooks or through the activation of a hardware button. Multitasking would serve to differentiate between the tablet and the iPhone, at least until the 4th generation (likely multicore) iPhone comes out.
Built in WiFi and 3G (maybe 4G or whatever is next), possibly with a 3G-free version (similar to the iPod touch/iPhone). Tethering permitted to share the iPhones 3G connection. The 3G version would probably come carrier locked (sadly) with a subsidy.
Despite Apples hate of styli, I think it will come with a pop-out stylus unless they come up with a better way of taking notes/having handwriting recognition. The education market is too big of a market to ignore.
It will have a front facing camera and all the usual goodies, like accelerometers, GPS, ambient light sensor, compass, etc. I'm not sure about a rear facing camera, but it could be there too.
Sync over wifi might come as well, it will be needed if the tablet is as full featured as I want it to be.
Now for some potential "killer" features ranging from the likely to the unlikely (we need to dream don't we?):
Video Player
No need to discuss this. Watching videos would be much more enjoyable than on the iPhone. Should be capable of playing HD content. Maybe Apples second device to come with HDMI out?
ebook reader/ebook store
This is the next logical expansion of itunes sales. Now it would serve a market much smaller than music and videos as lets be honest, no one reads anymore. However, there is a market in desperate need of a revamp. Textbooks. Textbooks are big, heavy and expensive, and you are afraid to write in them as that lowers the resale value. A tablet with an online ebook store could address those issues. The book reader would let you add notes to the books and the store could potentially sell you individual chapters, or allow you to "rent" the textbook for a semester. Now an ebook reader wouldn't be as nice on an LCD screen, but the ambient light sensor automatically adjusting brightness should help a lot, and this tablet would let you do a lot more than read books.
iwork/iwork.com synchronization
iwork'10 could could come with a library. itunes would be able to sync that library (or part of the library) with the tablet. Mobileme would sync with that library and update your tablet and computer libraries as needed. Notes taken on the tablet would be added to your computers library when you sync. You could take notes through typing on the onscreen keyboard (or optional bluetooth keyboard), use handwriting recognition (either keeping the your handwriting or converting it to standard text), and draw free form.
Apple TV enhancement
Act as Apple TV remote. Provide additional details about what you are watching (synopsis, ratings, reviews, similar movies etc). If Apple TV ever included a TV tuner, you could have box scores of the game you are watching show up on the tablet. Allow you to navigate all Apple TV functions without leaving your movie. Provide the option to buy the movie you are currently renting, and copy movies to the tablet (if the tablet and Apple TV are synced to the same mac).
Supplementary multi touch monitor
Programs could include multi touch support to make their use easier with the tablet. Zoom in, rotate, cut/crop images, etc.
Improved VNC/screen sharing
The iPhone has VNC applications that are surprisingly good. A tablet with a larger screen would allow you to navigate your mac quite easily on your tablet. However it could be improved even more. The tablet could have native VNC support (macs already do) and any application could be allowed to access it, and multiple applications could interact with your home computer at the same time. For example, you could have tablet version of photoshop open up photoshop on your computer that would at as a server and allow you to perform processor intensive tasks on your tablet. Unlike traditional VNC programs where you are sent a mirror image of the desktop, the dedicated app would only receive the information it needs from its parent application on computer. If you were working on a photo, the photo changes you made would be streamed to you as they are done. None of the computer UI would be visible from the tablet, instead the tablet app would have its own touch optimized UI which would then transmit the appropriate commands back to its parent application. The finished file could be saved both to the computer and to the tablet (within the application) with the option of sending it to the appropriate library on the tablet as well (i.e., music/video to the iPod library) It would be easily done over a network, or the internet if you had a static IP. This stuff is new to me, so I don't know how easy it would be to connect over the internet if you have an IP that changes, although I understand that it can be done.
Ideally you would be able to use your tablet to turn on your computer (wake from lan) from anywhere in the world and open an application of your choosing and work on files as if you were at your desktop.
And neither iPhone OS X nor Mac OS X will work, so there would have to be a new OS X class made, which would take time.
Why wouldn't iPhone OS work? It has all the required core services and APIs in place. There would probably be significant UI changes but that's only skin deep. Apple has spent a lot of time (3-4 years at least) building iPhone OS and turning it into a mature platform over the last 2 years. I don't see them moving too far away from it. Probably just a different subset of build options to target different device classes with one common code base being shared. When you look at how much of OSX is directly built off NeXt Step it's pretty clear Apple doesn't like reinventing the wheel.
Analyst Shaw Wu expects the new form factor adopted by Apple to help carry the company's stock higher. Kaufman Bros. has set a price target of $184 for AAPL stock and recommends that investors buy.
The firm's prediction jibes with AppleInsider's sources,
To dominate the consumer electronics, Apple needs 3 product categories; Pocket, Couch, Desk. Apple already has sewn up the mid-to-premium markets in Pocket and Desk with the iPhone/iPod Touch and iMac/Macbook/Pro respectively. Therefore a device similar to the CrunchPad ( http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/06/03...nch-prototype/ ) makes sense. The key category differentiator is consumption versus production. I would argue that the Couch device is all about consumption, so I see a scaled iPhone OS, but more akin to the AppleTV experience. This device would have to ship with iPhone OS compatibility, because it then has 65,000 apps from day 1. Game over for the competition. But this still leaves some significant questions. Wifi-enabled? Of course. eBook Reader? Naturally. iTunes Store? You bet. 3G enabled? Perhaps via a tethered iPhone, yes. Storage? 64GB SSD plus cloud. Target market? Home users and classrooms. Docking/wifi station? The AppleTV.
However, what markets get cannabalised here? As an iPhone and MacBook Pro owner, it completes my OS X-round trip, but I am a producer as well as a consumer. iTablet equals Kindle plus Wii plus CrunchPad. iPhone equals Wiimote. The mass market product, for digital media consumers, whether on the couch or in the classroom, is perfectly served by this product. It replaces the existing product it most threatens. Meet the new MacBook.
By this I mean to say that the iProd device is scheduled for next month along with everything else iPod related because it is just another Touch device and not the tablet expected next year. This makes lots of sense to me as the tablet, I imagine, would run an enhanced iPhone OS and not the base OS.
In other words because this unit hangs out in the base iPhone build I don't expect it to be the tablet many are expecting. Most likely this is a larger Touch optimized for games and video. Depending on the exact configuration it might be what I'm looking for. More and more it looks like there will be multiple devices released over the next few months.
Why wouldn't iPhone OS work? It has all the required core services and APIs in place. There would probably be significant UI changes but that's only skin deep. Apple has spent a lot of time (3-4 years at least) building iPhone OS and turning it into a mature platform over the last 2 years. I don't see them moving too far away from it. Probably just a different subset of build options to target different device classes with one common code base being shared. When you look at how much of OSX is directly built off NeXt Step it's pretty clear Apple doesn't like reinventing the wheel.
But we?re talking about a 10? device, not 3.5?, so it?s about 9x the display area. The iPhone apps won?t work if made to take up the entire display, the drivers in the Touch and iPhone will be very different, there are likely many more ports that need to be considered, like SD and ethernet. A whole new SDK that is for optimized touchscreen tablet apps running much faster HW. You don?t even need to use such reduced frameworks if you are using better HW than the iPhone. As I said, it has to be a different OS, incorporating useful aspects from both Mac and iPhone OS X.
...and fold. That way it'll fit in your pocket like an iPhone. It'll also be VGA when unfolded. It will be perfect for all the Standard Def media already in the iTunes Store. It'll be made with all the current components from the iPhone 3GS, but two 3.5" screens and a larger battery. Since it's made with commodity components, the price can be at the top end of the netbook range, about $600. As usual, Apple will skim the cream off the top of the market.
Excellent point! I hate cables especially USB, clunky and ugly. My next purchase is the wifi sd card for my camera so I can eliminate another USB cable! Little pricey though!
You gotta charge the thing somehow, and if it's got any media playback capability at all you'd almost certainly want to be able to plug in headphones or a headset. Built-In Bluetooth is a given, but the vast majority of headphones out there are wired. This device could get away with no other ports though.
You gotta charge the thing somehow, and if it's got any media playback capability at all you'd almost certainly want to be able to plug in headphones or a headset. Built-In Bluetooth is a given, but the vast majority of headphones out there are wired. This device could get away with no other ports though.
Comments
That's what she said.
Priceless!
For everything else, there's MasterCard.
Something that's been brewing in my mind over the weekend. I know there's been a lot of talk regarding alternate versions of the iphone, most specifically the nano. Now, I've never been a proponent of these alternate form factors, as any smaller and the screen becomes very difficult to use and read, and much larger and it's cumbersome to hold and use as a phone.
Now, I don't think I've read anywhere that people are imagining that this iTablet device would be a phone, cause who could imagine holding a 10" screen to the side of your head. BUT! What if an integral part of the iTablet is that it IS a phone, or at least has all the components of a phone, except that the "phone" functionality is accessed through a bluetooth headset. With some enhanced functionality, you'd exclusively use voice commands via the headset to make and receive calls, and if you need to access your contacts you can still look at the tablet, but there's no need for you to raise it to your ear! And as a phone [in function if not in form] it could be sold subsidized just like the iphone is, making it more affordable to more people. And because it IS a phone, more people might trade up to the iTablet, rather than looking at it as a device that falls into a grey area that they don't necessarily need- between their iPhone and Laptop.
Close, but not quite. As someone has already mentioned, this would mean that you'd have to carry the tablet wtih you anytime you wanted your phone. You could never leave the tablet behind.
My alternative, which I suggested awhile back, would be similar but would place all of the phone outside of the tablet. Rather than have the tablet be connected to the cellular network relaying the phone call to an earpiece via Bluetooth, I'd have a small phone be the network link and relay a data connection to the tablet via Bluetooth or wi-fi. That way you still only have a single wireless data subscription with your carrier (vs one for your phone and one for your tablet), and you have the option of leaving the tablet behind and taking the phone with you.
Take this one step further and make the phone also be a mi-fi device, and now it become your network router, similar to an Aiport Extreme (but hopefully runs a little cooler!
Neat, but no visible ports. on something that size and shape, if you wanted to sneak ports in on the side, you'd be restricted to the same level as the Air- just a headphone jack, a USB port, and MagSafe.
This device could be crammed in a pants pocket or fit nicely in a jacket pocket. It's small enough to be pocketable, yet can show a 720p movie. The very high density is almost print quality and makes an excellent reader. The new chips and graphics engines can move those pixels around. The still thin form factor, like a Star Trek PADD is easily passed around like a paper or clipboard. The OLED screen saves power and is thinner, the volume of the device has plenty of room for a very good battery.
The device is all screen. No keyboard. It supports a Bluetooth keyboard. It also supports multi touch, and a Bluetooth mouse, and... a stylus, which could be a simple conductive stick. The OS is a scaled up iPhone OS, not a scaled down OSX. Apple "Ink" technology is added, so you can draw or handwrite with finger, mouse, or stylus. The big technology breakthrough here? Palm-rejection. No, not them, I mean the ability to reject input from the palm you will rest on the bigger screen when writing or drawing on the device with a stylus.
It is a pad, not a book. If you want a keyboard, use a Bluetooth keyboard. I can see Apple selling a Bluetooth keyboard for this specific device that fits or sort of clips onto the pad, keys facing the screen to protect both. I could see this clip being sort of hinge-able, making it sort of... book-like. There, happy now, netbookers?
It will have a slot, ExpressCard-like, that will accept a third party data card. It will give wireless connectivity though GSM, CDMA, LTE, whatever. These will fit fully inside, connecting to internal antennas. Carriers may sell these in bundles, pad plus card plus data plan on a contract that subsidizes the device, or buy it cardless anywhere. There will be no phone. This is data only, Kindle-like. That way AT&T keeps its exclusive deal on phones, while any carrier can bundle their data card and contract with this thing simultaneously. That's what the Verizon talks were about. This thing will be open to all carriers.
I predicted this and more last December, see this article. They laughed when I predicted the iPhone early on, but I was about 2/3 right. I hope to beat that and be 3/4 right here. Skakiest prediction? 190ppi.
Neat, but no visible ports. on something that size and shape, if you wanted to sneak ports in on the side, you'd be restricted to the same level as the Air- just a headphone jack, a USB port, and MagSafe.
Interesting that you'd expect it to have ports...
The device should be 7.75″ by 4.5″ by 0.4″ with a 7.75″ diagonal 1280 by 720 AOLED screen at 190DPI. I call it the NetPad. Yes, there is already something called the NetPad. But there was also something called the iPhone, remember?
This device could be crammed in a pants pocket or fit nicely in a jacket pocket. It's small enough to be pocketable, yet can show a 720p movie. The very high density is almost print quality and makes an excellent reader. The new chips and graphics engines can move those pixels around. The still thin form factor, like a Star Trek PADD is easily passed around like a paper or clipboard. The OLED screen saves power and is thinner, the volume of the device has plenty of room for a very good battery.
The device is all screen. No keyboard. It supports a Bluetooth keyboard. It also supports multi touch, and a Bluetooth mouse, and... a stylus, which could be a simple conductive stick. The OS is a scaled up iPhone OS, not a scaled down OSX. Apple "Ink" technology is added, so you can draw or handwrite with finger, mouse, or stylus. The big technology breakthrough here? Palm-rejection. No, not them, I mean the ability to reject input from the palm you will rest on the bigger screen when writing or drawing on the device with a stylus.
It is a pad, not a book. If you want a keyboard, use a Bluetooth keyboard. I can see Apple selling a Bluetooth keyboard for this specific device that fits or sort of clips onto the pad, keys facing the screen to protect both. I could see this clip being sort of hinge-able, making it sort of... book-like. There, happy now, netbookers?
It will have a slot, ExpressCard-like, that will accept a third party data card. It will give wireless connectivity though GSM, CDMA, LTE, whatever. These will fit fully inside, connecting to internal antennas. Carriers may sell these in bundles, pad plus card plus data plan on a contract that subsidizes the device, or buy it cardless anywhere. There will be no phone. This is data only, Kindle-like. That way AT&T keeps its exclusive deal on phones, while any carrier can bundle their data card and contract with this thing simultaneously. That's what the Verizon talks were about. This thing will be open to all carriers.
I predicted this and more last December, see this article. They laughed when I predicted the iPhone early on, but I was about 2/3 right. I hope to beat that and be 3/4 right here. Skakiest prediction? 190ppi.
I could see a lot of this being true, although the large order for 10" screens is hard to ignore. Not sure if you will be right on how the data cards would work. I think they will take sim cards or be programmed at the point of purchase, I just can't see Apple doing Data Cards. I think clipon keyboards that turn the tablet into a netbook would be 3rd party only (I was going to suggest something like this, but you beat me to it
Completely agree on the scaled up iPhone OS. Apple wouldn't want to canibalize macbook sales, especially from students (who buy a lot of macbooks, but could also make use of a tablet for notes and etextbooks.) The ideal student (from an Apple perspective) would be typing out work on their macbook, with the tablet sitting off to the side, replacing textbooks, and an iphone in their pocket.
Imagine having a second screen on your computer, a totally portable one you could bring to the patio or whatever, prop up, and run Front Row by touch on. Or in the office, imagine going around being able to connect to other computers on the floor with screen sharing. Or imagine being in the park and doing this stuff wirelessly? A simple, easy to use screen sharing system would be killer!
I forgot to mention two things in my last post. WiFi is built in, the third party card adds carrier wireless. And second, what will be the killer app for this form factor? Apple Remote Desktop. No, really.
Imagine having a second screen on your computer, a totally portable one you could bring to the patio or whatever, prop up, and run Front Row by touch on. Or in the office, imagine going around being able to connect to other computers on the floor with screen sharing. Or imagine being in the park and doing this stuff wirelessly? A simple, easy to use screen sharing system would be killer!
Quit taking everything I want to write about when I get home.
Edit, now that I am at home, here is what I think the tablet will be:
It will run an enhanced version of iPhone OS, it will run iPhone apps, but the App store will add a section for Tablet only Apps. Why not OSX? Apple will want to position this as a device that compliments your computer, not replaces it. With research indicating that most people purchase netbook as a secondary computer, this approach should work fine.
No finder. Apple likes to sync (and finder wouldn't be very touch friendly anyway), if additional features are needed, additional in app libraries will be provided.
It will multitask, think the new snow leopard expose plus an x shown in the upper left hand corner of each window like on mobile safari and the dashboard. Expose would be activated either through a four finger swipe like o the new macbooks or through the activation of a hardware button. Multitasking would serve to differentiate between the tablet and the iPhone, at least until the 4th generation (likely multicore) iPhone comes out.
Built in WiFi and 3G (maybe 4G or whatever is next), possibly with a 3G-free version (similar to the iPod touch/iPhone). Tethering permitted to share the iPhones 3G connection. The 3G version would probably come carrier locked (sadly) with a subsidy.
Despite Apples hate of styli, I think it will come with a pop-out stylus unless they come up with a better way of taking notes/having handwriting recognition. The education market is too big of a market to ignore.
It will have a front facing camera and all the usual goodies, like accelerometers, GPS, ambient light sensor, compass, etc. I'm not sure about a rear facing camera, but it could be there too.
Sync over wifi might come as well, it will be needed if the tablet is as full featured as I want it to be.
Now for some potential "killer" features ranging from the likely to the unlikely (we need to dream don't we?):
Video Player
No need to discuss this. Watching videos would be much more enjoyable than on the iPhone. Should be capable of playing HD content. Maybe Apples second device to come with HDMI out?
ebook reader/ebook store
This is the next logical expansion of itunes sales. Now it would serve a market much smaller than music and videos as lets be honest, no one reads anymore. However, there is a market in desperate need of a revamp. Textbooks. Textbooks are big, heavy and expensive, and you are afraid to write in them as that lowers the resale value. A tablet with an online ebook store could address those issues. The book reader would let you add notes to the books and the store could potentially sell you individual chapters, or allow you to "rent" the textbook for a semester. Now an ebook reader wouldn't be as nice on an LCD screen, but the ambient light sensor automatically adjusting brightness should help a lot, and this tablet would let you do a lot more than read books.
iwork/iwork.com synchronization
iwork'10 could could come with a library. itunes would be able to sync that library (or part of the library) with the tablet. Mobileme would sync with that library and update your tablet and computer libraries as needed. Notes taken on the tablet would be added to your computers library when you sync. You could take notes through typing on the onscreen keyboard (or optional bluetooth keyboard), use handwriting recognition (either keeping the your handwriting or converting it to standard text), and draw free form.
Apple TV enhancement
Act as Apple TV remote. Provide additional details about what you are watching (synopsis, ratings, reviews, similar movies etc). If Apple TV ever included a TV tuner, you could have box scores of the game you are watching show up on the tablet. Allow you to navigate all Apple TV functions without leaving your movie. Provide the option to buy the movie you are currently renting, and copy movies to the tablet (if the tablet and Apple TV are synced to the same mac).
Supplementary multi touch monitor
Programs could include multi touch support to make their use easier with the tablet. Zoom in, rotate, cut/crop images, etc.
Improved VNC/screen sharing
The iPhone has VNC applications that are surprisingly good. A tablet with a larger screen would allow you to navigate your mac quite easily on your tablet. However it could be improved even more. The tablet could have native VNC support (macs already do) and any application could be allowed to access it, and multiple applications could interact with your home computer at the same time. For example, you could have tablet version of photoshop open up photoshop on your computer that would at as a server and allow you to perform processor intensive tasks on your tablet. Unlike traditional VNC programs where you are sent a mirror image of the desktop, the dedicated app would only receive the information it needs from its parent application on computer. If you were working on a photo, the photo changes you made would be streamed to you as they are done. None of the computer UI would be visible from the tablet, instead the tablet app would have its own touch optimized UI which would then transmit the appropriate commands back to its parent application. The finished file could be saved both to the computer and to the tablet (within the application) with the option of sending it to the appropriate library on the tablet as well (i.e., music/video to the iPod library) It would be easily done over a network, or the internet if you had a static IP. This stuff is new to me, so I don't know how easy it would be to connect over the internet if you have an IP that changes, although I understand that it can be done.
Ideally you would be able to use your tablet to turn on your computer (wake from lan) from anywhere in the world and open an application of your choosing and work on files as if you were at your desktop.
Just my thoughts.
And neither iPhone OS X nor Mac OS X will work, so there would have to be a new OS X class made, which would take time.
Why wouldn't iPhone OS work? It has all the required core services and APIs in place. There would probably be significant UI changes but that's only skin deep. Apple has spent a lot of time (3-4 years at least) building iPhone OS and turning it into a mature platform over the last 2 years. I don't see them moving too far away from it. Probably just a different subset of build options to target different device classes with one common code base being shared. When you look at how much of OSX is directly built off NeXt Step it's pretty clear Apple doesn't like reinventing the wheel.
Analyst Shaw Wu expects the new form factor adopted by Apple to help carry the company's stock higher. Kaufman Bros. has set a price target of $184 for AAPL stock and recommends that investors buy.
The firm's prediction jibes with AppleInsider's sources,
[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]
Appleinsider and Kaufman Bros. must have a large quantity of Apple stocks in their underwears.
However, what markets get cannabalised here? As an iPhone and MacBook Pro owner, it completes my OS X-round trip, but I am a producer as well as a consumer. iTablet equals Kindle plus Wii plus CrunchPad. iPhone equals Wiimote. The mass market product, for digital media consumers, whether on the couch or in the classroom, is perfectly served by this product. It replaces the existing product it most threatens. Meet the new MacBook.
In other words because this unit hangs out in the base iPhone build I don't expect it to be the tablet many are expecting. Most likely this is a larger Touch optimized for games and video. Depending on the exact configuration it might be what I'm looking for. More and more it looks like there will be multiple devices released over the next few months.
Dave
Why wouldn't iPhone OS work? It has all the required core services and APIs in place. There would probably be significant UI changes but that's only skin deep. Apple has spent a lot of time (3-4 years at least) building iPhone OS and turning it into a mature platform over the last 2 years. I don't see them moving too far away from it. Probably just a different subset of build options to target different device classes with one common code base being shared. When you look at how much of OSX is directly built off NeXt Step it's pretty clear Apple doesn't like reinventing the wheel.
But we?re talking about a 10? device, not 3.5?, so it?s about 9x the display area. The iPhone apps won?t work if made to take up the entire display, the drivers in the Touch and iPhone will be very different, there are likely many more ports that need to be considered, like SD and ethernet. A whole new SDK that is for optimized touchscreen tablet apps running much faster HW. You don?t even need to use such reduced frameworks if you are using better HW than the iPhone. As I said, it has to be a different OS, incorporating useful aspects from both Mac and iPhone OS X.
very well done! Thanks for sharing....I just sent this to my daughter...Medical doctors are going to love this!
Regards
Interesting that you'd expect it to have ports...
Excellent point! I hate cables especially USB, clunky and ugly. My next purchase is the wifi sd card for my camera so I can eliminate another USB cable! Little pricey though!
Interesting that you'd expect it to have ports...
You gotta charge the thing somehow, and if it's got any media playback capability at all you'd almost certainly want to be able to plug in headphones or a headset. Built-In Bluetooth is a given, but the vast majority of headphones out there are wired. This device could get away with no other ports though.
You gotta charge the thing somehow, and if it's got any media playback capability at all you'd almost certainly want to be able to plug in headphones or a headset. Built-In Bluetooth is a given, but the vast majority of headphones out there are wired. This device could get away with no other ports though.
-13 pin port
- Headphone jack
- On/Off/restart switch
- Super thin profile
That's all I'm saying....
I fully expect Apple to buy such m Instead it is a pocketable Touch device / gaming machine.
Dave
BINGO
i am thinking the same
Touch device / gaming machine. <book reading.>
maybe an apple tv set will coime too