New Apple tablet rumor: Larger form factor running Mac OS X

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Comments

  • Reply 21 of 163
    Oh no, AI, not those heavily-mocked mockups again!
  • Reply 22 of 163
    boogabooga Posts: 1,082member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Bageljoey View Post


    I don't agree. OSX has nothing but positive connotations at this point. And it is relatively well known. I don't see Apple moving away from the name any time soon... Besides, I thought the whole point of Snow Leopard was to renovate the insides of OSX (metaphorically speaking) so why move away from it now?





    Yeah, the iPhone has been such a disaster...



    You obviously weren't around for iPhone 1.0. The "development environment" there WAS a disaster. And the sales increased by an order of magnitude once developers were allowed to contribute. If Apple hadn't embraced developers the iPhone wouldn't have much market share right now.



    They're in a worse spot with the tablet. They're coming from behind and competing against companies that have been adding touch capabilities to laptops for years. I don't doubt the product will be awesome and that I'll want one, but they'd better "have an app for that".
  • Reply 23 of 163
    nagrommenagromme Posts: 2,834member
    I don't doubt that many different prototypes exist. What I doubt is that they'll all ever be sold to the public.



    I especially doubt that Apple would release a Mac OS X tablet alongside a Touch OS X tablet. Talk about consumer confusion!



    I expect one or maybe two sizes (to start with), and an OS more like the iPhone than Mac OS X. The iPhone OS is made for touch. Mac OS X is not. Underneath they have much in common, but I expect Apple to pick the right one for the job.



    I'd be delighted to be ABLE to run "real" OS X apps in a pinch, but that wouldn't make sense as the main mode of interaction. Apps MEANT for touch make more sense.
  • Reply 24 of 163
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member
    A tablet as a netbook competitor doesn't make a lot of sense for a consumer device. A bit risky since it has been historically a rather unsuccessful form factor. Maybe it is another Steve hobby project. It will be interesting to see what they come up with.
  • Reply 25 of 163
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Shogun View Post


    My money's on OSX.



    As someone wrote a while back, Snow Leopard has technologies that will make a tablet much nicer to use. Expose in the dock, for example. Smaller size, for example.



    So, if true, what's the tag line? Anyone? Obviosly, this is apples anwser to the netbook so something like, (I'll start), "The rest of the world gives you netbook, we give you...?"





    Also means 10" model might be handicapped, cheap graphics, whereas the 13, and especially 15 has features, that sneakingly, give you just a bit more, for a whole lot more. Need fw, opps, sorry, only on the high end. Or Apple could do the right thing and just make the differences screen space amd faster CPU. When do 8 cores come out? Those cores will be in the mbp line with 16/32 in macpro. Better would be 8 core in mid range, 16/32 in mac pro, 8 or i7 in mac pro jr. Lol.
  • Reply 26 of 163
    mpantonempantone Posts: 2,033member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by dualie View Post


    Why would Apple go to all the trouble of creating a whole new OS for the tablet when it's already got OS X? It doesn't make any sense.



    Myriad reasons.



    There is ample reason for Apple to create an intermediate OS between the iPhone OS and Mac OS X.



    The tablet's hardware resources might be constrained (CPU speed, available RAM, storage space). Perhaps they don't want to give the end user free access to the filesystem. The necessary APIs for a tablet computer might be easier to implement in a stripped-down version of the desktop OS.



    In any case, Apple already has another device that could probably use the intermediate OS: AppleTV. The existence of the intermediate OS could drive introduction of new APIs specifically designed for gaming, Internet video, etc. and perhaps pave the way for other devices like game consoles.
  • Reply 27 of 163
    I hope it's about Kindle sized. That's a nice form factor I think and if Kindle were all screen, as opposed to having a keyboard, it would look lovely.



    I'm sure Apple must be working on something - the amount of money being spent on Netbooks is too large to ignore!
  • Reply 28 of 163
    nizynizy Posts: 24member
    This rumor makes absolutely no sense. A multi-touch, capacitive display at that size would be so expensive that it'd ship for $1000 or more. Even the 10 inch screen would likely be pretty expensive too. My moneys on 7 or 8 inch displays at the low end, 10 maybe at high end.
  • Reply 29 of 163
    I wouldn't be surprised if touch-screen tech showed up in macbooks and iMacs as alternative input method for normal OS X.



    I would be terribly surprised if a tablet larger than 13" showed up.

    13" itself is on the edge of plausible, but I doubt they'd do both 10 and 13".



    And I would be shocked and dismayed if a touch-screen stand-alone computer from Apple ran an OS and apps designed for mouse/keyboard.



    Could be they don't want to talk about the OS, because they're actually drawing the 'iphone OS X' branch back in as a generic 'PPC OS X'.
  • Reply 30 of 163
    gazoobeegazoobee Posts: 3,754member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    Citing a "100 percent reliable" source ...



    Gizmodo is an almost 100% *unreliable* source.



    What's the result of an unreliable source quoting a reliable source?

    Don't they cancel each other out?
  • Reply 31 of 163
    robin huberrobin huber Posts: 3,949member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Bageljoey View Post


    Besides, I thought the whole point of Snow Leopard was to renovate the insides of OSX (metaphorically speaking) so why move away from it now?



    And, there has been some recent speculation about the real reason Apple is making such a big deal about Snow Leopard taking up significantly less room on a hard drive. In this era of ginormous and cheap hard drives, why would they make such an effort to do this, and to bruit it about so? Some have suggested that this bolsters the notion of putting it on something small and with an SSD.
  • Reply 32 of 163
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by PaulMJohnson View Post


    I hope it's about Kindle sized. That's a nice form factor I think and if Kindle were all screen, as opposed to having a keyboard, it would look lovely.



    I'm sure Apple must be working on something - the amount of money being spent on Netbooks is too large to ignore!



    The thing that will have to be different on any tablet that is supposed to compete in the netbook space and differentiate itself from an iPhone will be the ability to control it with a greater degree of accuracy than can be achieved with fingers alone. It needs a mouse/pen or something that will enable precision interaction.
  • Reply 33 of 163
    phalanxphalanx Posts: 109member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Shogun View Post


    My money's on OSX. .



    My money is on them loading Windows 7.



    You know it will be running on MacBooks. At least it doesn't default to 32bit.
  • Reply 34 of 163
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    it was stated that Apple purchased large numbers of some screen sizes, suggesting they could have been for more than prototypes, but a more significant small production run.





    They aren't planning to actually sell the device. They are producing only enough to replace those Windows point of sale devices they currently use in Apple Stores. If they catch on maybe they'll make more.
  • Reply 35 of 163
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by dualie View Post


    Why would Apple go to all the trouble of creating a whole new OS for the tablet when it's already got OS X? It doesn't make any sense.



    That wouldn?t. What is meant is that they would make a new flavour based on OS X, like the Mac OS X and iPhone OS X. Neither Mac nor iPhone OS X are right for such a project. It would have to have some things stripped from it like the like iPhone (though not nearly as many) and it would have to have a more touch friendly interface (which Mac OS X doesn?t have). Every tablet I?v seen running Windows sucks big monkey balls because it?s an desktop OS designed primarily for a mouse keyboard and larger display being shoehorned to work with a stylus. Something is going to drastically different for this OS if the tablet is created. I can only imagine that it?s mostly Mac OS X with all the crap removed and a new touch UI similar to the iPhone in that it?s designed for fingers but optimized for a larger interface.
  • Reply 36 of 163
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by nagromme View Post


    i don't doubt that many different prototypes exist. What i doubt is that they'll all ever be sold to the public.



    I especially doubt that apple would release a mac os x tablet alongside a touch os x tablet. Talk about consumer confusion!



    I expect one or maybe two sizes (to start with), and an os more like the iphone than mac os x. The iphone os is made for touch. Mac os x is not. Underneath they have much in common, but i expect apple to pick the right one for the job.



    I'd be delighted to be able to run "real" os x apps in a pinch, but that wouldn't make sense as the main mode of interaction. Apps meant for touch make more sense.



    +++ qft
  • Reply 37 of 163
    gazoobeegazoobee Posts: 3,754member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Hattig View Post


    ... I can understand a 6 - 10 inch tablet, it's holdable, transportable, and usable. Any bigger and it starts to be a bit unwieldy, it needs to be rested in a stand, or placed flat on a surface. It's turned into a different class of device.



    Exactly. This rumour describes a device that is the exact opposite of what would be a "good tablet computer."



    The reason the form factor has failed in the past is that it has very limited utility. To type on the screen you have to lay it down on something, you can hold it in the crook of your arm and poke at it with your other hand like a clipboard, which is why they are somewhat useful for doctors, but it's not a "mobile" computer if you have to put it down all the time, or sit down yourself, just to use it. Most tablets are also heavy enough that they are tiring on the arms and a drag to carry around.



    Problems with tablet OS's run to the fact that with a desktop OS, you need precise positioning but all you have is a jerky handheld pen instead of a mouse on a desktop, and the fact that everything needs to be magnified for it to be visible at all. Also, most creative software like word processors and image drawing/editing programs are designed for the *opposite* end of the spectrum, i.e. - those with huge monitors at very high resolutions.



    If you look at it that way, the successful tablet computer would be:
    • small (the size of a steno pad or clipboard)

    • hold-able in one hand for long periods of time (lightweight)

    • easy text entry possible without putting it down (thumb typing)

    • custom low-res interface software (not a desktop metaphor)

    • custom creative apps (word processor at least)

    If you then look at Apple's patents this is pretty much exactly what they describe. Imagine a 6x9 device (proportions of a Steno pad), but it looks like an iPhone. Held in portrait mode, with the software keyboard, the average person could type on this thing at 60 WPM. It's bigger than an iPhone, but thinner in respect to width and height and about the same weight. You could easily hold it in one hand all day long. You could easily type on it, cruise the web, etc. while walking, without needing to lay it down or sit down yourself, and it could wirelessly sync to your home or desktop computer. It's not a *full* computer really, more of an adjunct to your desktop.



    Now *that* is a (possibly) successful tablet device, whereas a 13" tablet running regular desktop OS like Snow Leopard is pretty much exactly what has been tried a hundred times already and known to be a failure.



    Who knows if they are even making a tablet, but if they are, it will be more like an iPhone than it will be like a laptop. Apple does some crazy stuff sometimes, but coming out with a standard 13" tablet running desktop software (but used with your fingers!), is asking them to make a product that will not sell and never has sold. I just don't think they are that dumb.
  • Reply 38 of 163
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by iCarbon View Post


    What if El Jobso himself told you?



    Love it.
  • Reply 39 of 163
    I love this, did anybody else's dick move when they saw this photo? Cause mine did!



    I'm holding off on buying a new iPhone and a new MBA till I see this.



    I could see getting a cheapo verizon phone and the Tablet and telling ATT to stick it up their nose!



    I could pair down and end up with just a 30" iMac and a tablet...plus a cheapo phone. (one that updates contacts though!)



  • Reply 40 of 163
    bageljoeybageljoey Posts: 2,004member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Booga View Post


    You obviously weren't around for iPhone 1.0. The "development environment" there WAS a disaster. And the sales increased by an order of magnitude once developers were allowed to contribute. If Apple hadn't embraced developers the iPhone wouldn't have much market share right now.



    They're in a worse spot with the tablet. They're coming from behind and competing against companies that have been adding touch capabilities to laptops for years. I don't doubt the product will be awesome and that I'll want one, but they'd better "have an app for that".



    Yeah, the iPhone/disaster comment was just a toss in.

    The iPhone survived the development mess at the beginning because it was mostly being compared to other phones and its beautifully integrated phone/iPod/web combination was a revelation. Apps for phones were not a priority for the vast majority of buyers two years ago. That being said, the healthy development environment and the existence of the App store has now become a top selling point for the iPhone. We have no argument there!



    Certainly then, if this rumored device isn't running standard OSX or iPhone OS programs, it would be completely useless without a long run up for developers. Assuming it is going to go on sale this fall, my money is on it running one or the other of these well developed OSs for that exact reason.
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