I'm really sick of these dimbass analysts. Appleinsider, engadget, gizmodo, boygenius- these sites are the new analysts. Wall st had nothing on the info an rumors presented here. All jafray did was rehash rumors these sites have posted, making a report out of it.
And it won't be the iPhone is. It will be snowleopard with it's new touch friendly navigation, it will be sociable and it will be possible to connect it to a regular monitor , keyboar and mouse. Minidisplayport, Bluetooth- they will be in the tablet or on the dock.
... Tablets have to be held in one hand while using the other hand for interaction. Or it can be held with two hands and barely operated with both thumbs. Tablets can't be effectively used without holding the screen in a viewable position. The lack of a true keyboard is also key. Tasks involving much user input will be significantly slower and more aggravating on a tablet. This isn't something that can be overcome with technology. ...
I think you're just dead wrong on this. It's also a logical fallacy to assume that because "technology" has been devoted to overcoming these obstacles in the past that all is lost. "Technology" is a moving target. The technology of 1990 is not the same as what's available today.
There are some basic engineering problems that tablets face that have not been overcome, but you're not thinking straight when you imply that everything has been tried and that Apple's purported tablet cannot offer any new solutions in this regard. Multi-touch is new. Apple's patent on infra-red detection of hand positions is new. Materials and manufacturing techniques change all the time.
The chief problem with tablets is the weight and bulk of the devices themselves and the awkward methods of input previously used. Apple's tablet may be complete vapourware, but the recent advances they have made in both these areas can't just be ignored.
I've seen a lot of tablets, and I've never seen one light and small enough for thumb-typing for instance. That alone would solve half of the input problems if it can be done. I've never seen a tablet that can be used in "pen-mode" without actually using a pen either. If Apple has indeed solved that problem, that's another reason for an Apple tablet to succeed where others have failed.
If you can type on the thing without putting it down, and hold it comfortably in one hand for a long period of time, that alone would make a tablet hugely successful and vastly superior to all others before it. If you could also draw or write on it, it would seem to be a home-run IMO. It's all speculation at this point, but the idea that tablets have "been tried" and aren't worth trying again is totally false.
People said they would never pay 100s for a phone again, people said no one would pay that much for an iTouch ... etc., and so on.
Apple will not make a video iPod. Nobody wants to watch video on an iPod.
Apple should not allow third party developers to create native iPhone applications. Nobody cares about native iPhone applications. Web apps are really SWEET.
Apple will not make a 3G iPhone. Nobody cares about 3G.
Apple will not add GPS to the iPhone. Nobody cares about GPS.
Apple will not add copy and paste to the iPhone. Nobody cares about copy and paste.
Apple will not make a multi button mouse. Nobody cares about a multi button mouse.
Apple will never switch to Intel processors. Intel is evil.
...iPhone OS on a tablet is a deal killer for me - you can try and reframe it all you want, but it won't do everything I want it to do with the iPhone OS (and it is a different OS, with different APIs than OSX, no matter what you say.)
If you had a closer look at the api's for the Mac and the iPhone, I don't think you would be making such statements. Apple has done such a good job in its Trojan horse strategy that people have incredibly erroneous impressions about the nature of the iPhone OS. Because so many competitors thought iPods were just forays into the media player device realm, they were caught flat-footed when an innovative, expressive, and probably more advanced OS emerged with the iPhone. While others are clumsily retrofitting "multitouch" elements onto their frameworks, Apple has something built from scratch. It easily benefits from OS X api's (e.g. OpenGL) that are orthogonal to event tracking elements but those will usually be streamlined and improved based on experience acquired during the past decade.
It wouldn't be a compromise or careless to use the new framework on an iTablet rather than a retrofitted WIMP api (window, icon, menu, pointer application programming interface). It would be doing something better which is unavailable to competitors.
I'm a life-long pacifist and I've never hit anyone in anger, but people like this woman just need to be slapped if you ask me.
Starbucks is so lame in this regard because they don't have any actual managers at the store. Usually just some silly 18 year old young thing with the *title* of manager.
What's wrong with people today that someone would even think this was an okay thing to do, and that no one would ever call her on it?
I'm puzzled why you are so agitated. If you are managing a MacDonalds I can see that revenue maximization would require that customers get in, eat, and then clear out so more can be accommodated. But this is a Starbucks which will customarily have many individuals with laptops, buying one coffee after another and enjoying an ambiance that is unmistakably different from MacDonalds. It is certainly more inconvenient for the customer to bring along an iMac but what difference is it to everyone else including the manager?
I have a MacbookPro and I don't see how it is less obtrusive than my brother's iMac though I wouldn't want to carry his machine around. They both need to be plugged in as a practical matter (check how many laptops are not plugged in) and have about the same footprint. Perhaps your post was meant to be humorous and I just missed the cue. If not there are a lot of public computer users with whom you have a bone to pick. Good luck.
This sounds like it might pave the way for real digital text books in school. We've already seen a few colleges adopt the iPhone as a required accessory for students. As long as the battery life can reach 10 hours or so, imagine every student in high schools and colleges having these things. There would be all kinds of development and collaboration possibilities once the tablet or digital book market reached that size.
It's all speculation at this point, but the idea that tablets have "been tried" and aren't worth trying again is totally false.
That's not what me or anyone else has been saying here.
Rather, I've been pointing out that the form factor has inherent strengths and limitations that are completely unrelated to the technology or interface. No matter the improvements in technology, a tablet still won't fit in your pocket and it still won't be optimal for text input, etc. Tablets have uses, and with a drop in price they will be used for those tasks. But an in-depth study of the human factors involved pretty clearly indicates what the form factor is good for and where it is less desirable than the alternatives.
For instance, there is a reason why paperback books are the size they are. Or any book for that matter. The same is true for computers, especially laptops and pocket computers. They're a particular size for a reason and no matter the changes in technology, they will remain the same size for the rest of eternity. That is, unless humans all of a sudden change size.
Apple will not make a video iPod. Nobody wants to watch video on an iPod.
Apple should not allow third party developers to create native iPhone applications. Nobody cares about native iPhone applications. Web apps are really SWEET.
Apple will not make a 3G iPhone. Nobody cares about 3G.
Apple will not add GPS to the iPhone. Nobody cares about GPS.
Apple will not add copy and paste to the iPhone. Nobody cares about copy and paste.
Apple will not make a multi button mouse. Nobody cares about a multi button mouse.
Apple will never switch to Intel processors. Intel is evil.
LOL! Now we're just waiting for the last one.. the others have all been fulfilled..
$499 - $699 for this? It's just a jumbo iPod Touch with multi-tasking? Well, if that's true, i'd rather have a $399 netbook and be done with it. at least i won't have to prop it up on my lap and deal with a touch keyboard.
+1. I will never want a giant iPod Touch since I already have an iPod Touch and a 3GS. A giant iPod Touch just makes no sense.
Why would it not be a netbook? Because Apple isn't calling it that.
If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck...
If (as the report states) that this new tablet is essentially a jumbo iPod Touch with multi-tasking, then is is NOT a netbook. Obviously you don't know what a netbook is.
Price is the key. Tablets won't be people's primary computer. Instead they will be an auxiliary computer used for specific tasks. With this in mind, price is the key. Tablets will only become popular when they are so cheap that people can buy them on whim. A "why not?" kind of purchase. Otherwise, it will only be the rich that equip themselves with an auxiliary/limited-use computer.
$600 is close but not quite cheap enough in my book. At that price, most people will continue to use their laptop or desktop. With that said, I would love an Apple tablet. I probably can't justify the purchase of one though, even at the $600 price. My 24" iMac already does everything I need so a tablet would fall into the luxury category for me.
Well, it is a luxury device by definition. I honestly believe if they sell these for $600 a piece, they won't make their quota. When Netbooks are selling for $299 - $499 right now, that's the price-point apple should be looking at. Especially since this new tablet is rumored to be just a jumbo ipod Touch. You can do more on a netbook for half the price, it's a pretty easy decision.
Running the iPhone OS on this tablet would be a deal killer for me.
I really am not interested in a larger version of the iPhone - the iPhone works just fine for what I need.
However, a 10 inch machine that I could do some email and light word-processing on that would sync easily with my other desktop and laptop - that would be great.
Hopefully I won't have to create a hackintosh in order to get this.
Dude, you kind of contradicted yourself here. You said you wanted a device that can do email and light word processing that can sync with your home PC...well, the iPhone kind of already does that.
Absolutely right! I was a 1st gen purchaser of the Apple TV and love the little device. I'd love it more if it was able to grab more media assets from the web and play them through my HDTV. And I'm not talking about adding codecs to play the pirated material our in the wild rather allow Hulu, NetFlix, etc. to play back with Apple's UI ease.
yes, i completely agree with you. The Apple TV has to come back to life soon. I've been saying for years now that he aTV needs to have all the capabilities that the iPod Touch does. and Netflix capabilities. But, Netflix and Hulu are direct competitors to the iTunes Store so why would they accommodate that? I think personally I would never watch TV from iTunes since my DVR does it for me and my cable bill is less than what i would be able to watch on Netflix and iTunes combined. Plus Hulu doesn't have EVERYTHING...
Comments
And it won't be the iPhone is. It will be snowleopard with it's new touch friendly navigation, it will be sociable and it will be possible to connect it to a regular monitor , keyboar and mouse. Minidisplayport, Bluetooth- they will be in the tablet or on the dock.
... Tablets have to be held in one hand while using the other hand for interaction. Or it can be held with two hands and barely operated with both thumbs. Tablets can't be effectively used without holding the screen in a viewable position. The lack of a true keyboard is also key. Tasks involving much user input will be significantly slower and more aggravating on a tablet. This isn't something that can be overcome with technology. ...
I think you're just dead wrong on this. It's also a logical fallacy to assume that because "technology" has been devoted to overcoming these obstacles in the past that all is lost. "Technology" is a moving target. The technology of 1990 is not the same as what's available today.
There are some basic engineering problems that tablets face that have not been overcome, but you're not thinking straight when you imply that everything has been tried and that Apple's purported tablet cannot offer any new solutions in this regard. Multi-touch is new. Apple's patent on infra-red detection of hand positions is new. Materials and manufacturing techniques change all the time.
The chief problem with tablets is the weight and bulk of the devices themselves and the awkward methods of input previously used. Apple's tablet may be complete vapourware, but the recent advances they have made in both these areas can't just be ignored.
I've seen a lot of tablets, and I've never seen one light and small enough for thumb-typing for instance. That alone would solve half of the input problems if it can be done. I've never seen a tablet that can be used in "pen-mode" without actually using a pen either. If Apple has indeed solved that problem, that's another reason for an Apple tablet to succeed where others have failed.
If you can type on the thing without putting it down, and hold it comfortably in one hand for a long period of time, that alone would make a tablet hugely successful and vastly superior to all others before it. If you could also draw or write on it, it would seem to be a home-run IMO. It's all speculation at this point, but the idea that tablets have "been tried" and aren't worth trying again is totally false.
People said they would never pay 100s for a phone again, people said no one would pay that much for an iTouch ... etc., and so on.
Apple will not make a video iPod. Nobody wants to watch video on an iPod.
Apple should not allow third party developers to create native iPhone applications. Nobody cares about native iPhone applications. Web apps are really SWEET.
Apple will not make a 3G iPhone. Nobody cares about 3G.
Apple will not add GPS to the iPhone. Nobody cares about GPS.
Apple will not add copy and paste to the iPhone. Nobody cares about copy and paste.
Apple will not make a multi button mouse. Nobody cares about a multi button mouse.
Apple will never switch to Intel processors. Intel is evil.
...iPhone OS on a tablet is a deal killer for me - you can try and reframe it all you want, but it won't do everything I want it to do with the iPhone OS (and it is a different OS, with different APIs than OSX, no matter what you say.)
If you had a closer look at the api's for the Mac and the iPhone, I don't think you would be making such statements. Apple has done such a good job in its Trojan horse strategy that people have incredibly erroneous impressions about the nature of the iPhone OS. Because so many competitors thought iPods were just forays into the media player device realm, they were caught flat-footed when an innovative, expressive, and probably more advanced OS emerged with the iPhone. While others are clumsily retrofitting "multitouch" elements onto their frameworks, Apple has something built from scratch. It easily benefits from OS X api's (e.g. OpenGL) that are orthogonal to event tracking elements but those will usually be streamlined and improved based on experience acquired during the past decade.
It wouldn't be a compromise or careless to use the new framework on an iTablet rather than a retrofitted WIMP api (window, icon, menu, pointer application programming interface). It would be doing something better which is unavailable to competitors.
I'm a life-long pacifist and I've never hit anyone in anger, but people like this woman just need to be slapped if you ask me.
Starbucks is so lame in this regard because they don't have any actual managers at the store. Usually just some silly 18 year old young thing with the *title* of manager.
What's wrong with people today that someone would even think this was an okay thing to do, and that no one would ever call her on it?
I'm puzzled why you are so agitated. If you are managing a MacDonalds I can see that revenue maximization would require that customers get in, eat, and then clear out so more can be accommodated. But this is a Starbucks which will customarily have many individuals with laptops, buying one coffee after another and enjoying an ambiance that is unmistakably different from MacDonalds. It is certainly more inconvenient for the customer to bring along an iMac but what difference is it to everyone else including the manager?
I have a MacbookPro and I don't see how it is less obtrusive than my brother's iMac though I wouldn't want to carry his machine around. They both need to be plugged in as a practical matter (check how many laptops are not plugged in) and have about the same footprint. Perhaps your post was meant to be humorous and I just missed the cue. If not there are a lot of public computer users with whom you have a bone to pick. Good luck.
Agreed. I'm hoping for Snow Leopard running on these devices too, but with a custom touch UI.
I don;t need a full OS (at least I don't think I do!)
If I could
And fit the device in my purse without straining my shoulder I would buy one in a heartbeat!
It's all speculation at this point, but the idea that tablets have "been tried" and aren't worth trying again is totally false.
That's not what me or anyone else has been saying here.
Rather, I've been pointing out that the form factor has inherent strengths and limitations that are completely unrelated to the technology or interface. No matter the improvements in technology, a tablet still won't fit in your pocket and it still won't be optimal for text input, etc. Tablets have uses, and with a drop in price they will be used for those tasks. But an in-depth study of the human factors involved pretty clearly indicates what the form factor is good for and where it is less desirable than the alternatives.
For instance, there is a reason why paperback books are the size they are. Or any book for that matter. The same is true for computers, especially laptops and pocket computers. They're a particular size for a reason and no matter the changes in technology, they will remain the same size for the rest of eternity. That is, unless humans all of a sudden change size.
No, THIS is a dorky tablet...
Yuck.
If it looked this dorky no one would buy it.
This design is perfect on the iPhone/iPod Touch but so much more bland for a tablet IMO.
Why would anyone think that Apple will not create something beyond expectations (they've done it over and over again)
+1. We'll see what they can produce very very soon.
Apple will not make a video iPod. Nobody wants to watch video on an iPod.
Apple should not allow third party developers to create native iPhone applications. Nobody cares about native iPhone applications. Web apps are really SWEET.
Apple will not make a 3G iPhone. Nobody cares about 3G.
Apple will not add GPS to the iPhone. Nobody cares about GPS.
Apple will not add copy and paste to the iPhone. Nobody cares about copy and paste.
Apple will not make a multi button mouse. Nobody cares about a multi button mouse.
Apple will never switch to Intel processors. Intel is evil.
LOL! Now we're just waiting for the last one.. the others have all been fulfilled..
I don't see it under $899.
I guess it will be $799 IMO.
My Initial thought would be this:
$499 - $699 for this? It's just a jumbo iPod Touch with multi-tasking? Well, if that's true, i'd rather have a $399 netbook and be done with it. at least i won't have to prop it up on my lap and deal with a touch keyboard.
+1. I will never want a giant iPod Touch since I already have an iPod Touch and a 3GS. A giant iPod Touch just makes no sense.
Why would it not be a netbook? Because Apple isn't calling it that.
If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck...
If (as the report states) that this new tablet is essentially a jumbo iPod Touch with multi-tasking, then is is NOT a netbook. Obviously you don't know what a netbook is.
Price is the key. Tablets won't be people's primary computer. Instead they will be an auxiliary computer used for specific tasks. With this in mind, price is the key. Tablets will only become popular when they are so cheap that people can buy them on whim. A "why not?" kind of purchase. Otherwise, it will only be the rich that equip themselves with an auxiliary/limited-use computer.
$600 is close but not quite cheap enough in my book. At that price, most people will continue to use their laptop or desktop. With that said, I would love an Apple tablet. I probably can't justify the purchase of one though, even at the $600 price. My 24" iMac already does everything I need so a tablet would fall into the luxury category for me.
Well, it is a luxury device by definition. I honestly believe if they sell these for $600 a piece, they won't make their quota. When Netbooks are selling for $299 - $499 right now, that's the price-point apple should be looking at. Especially since this new tablet is rumored to be just a jumbo ipod Touch. You can do more on a netbook for half the price, it's a pretty easy decision.
Running the iPhone OS on this tablet would be a deal killer for me.
I really am not interested in a larger version of the iPhone - the iPhone works just fine for what I need.
However, a 10 inch machine that I could do some email and light word-processing on that would sync easily with my other desktop and laptop - that would be great.
Hopefully I won't have to create a hackintosh in order to get this.
Dude, you kind of contradicted yourself here. You said you wanted a device that can do email and light word processing that can sync with your home PC...well, the iPhone kind of already does that.
Absolutely right! I was a 1st gen purchaser of the Apple TV and love the little device. I'd love it more if it was able to grab more media assets from the web and play them through my HDTV. And I'm not talking about adding codecs to play the pirated material our in the wild rather allow Hulu, NetFlix, etc. to play back with Apple's UI ease.
yes, i completely agree with you. The Apple TV has to come back to life soon. I've been saying for years now that he aTV needs to have all the capabilities that the iPod Touch does. and Netflix capabilities. But, Netflix and Hulu are direct competitors to the iTunes Store so why would they accommodate that? I think personally I would never watch TV from iTunes since my DVR does it for me and my cable bill is less than what i would be able to watch on Netflix and iTunes combined. Plus Hulu doesn't have EVERYTHING...