These rumours make most sense to me if the 10 inch screen is for a tablet looking like a giant iPod Touch and running the iPhone OS.
And the 13 and 15 inch touchscreens are for the next quantum leap for the MacBook Pros, combining the standard keyboard with a touchscreen, and running touch-enabled Snow Leopard.
And the next rumour will be touchscreens for the iMac range. You heard it here first.
Does everyone on here use a desktop and mice or something, because I don't understand why people are going on about a lack of pointing accuracy inherent in fingers and OSX not having a touch interface and OSX apps all having to be rewritten for a touch interface.
I use a MacBook primarily. All the apps on it are already optimised for touch and I already use a touch interface with good accuracy, it's called a track pad. If the track pad surface were as large as the whole screen area, I would have even greater accuracy than I have now, which suffices for everything I do, including Photoshop manipulations...
It might have usb ports if it runs snow leopard, which I don't think it will. If it is marketed as a companion device, it won't have usb ports.
Bening able to use a trackpad does not mean an operating sytem is optimized for touch. Far from it. Whether your input device is a mouse or a track pad, you move something called a cursor. The operating system is optimized for cursor input. You can fine tune cursor position before you make a selection. The cursor design is actually made for small input areas, making it larger would make navigation annoying. Acceleration lets you move the cursor over large distances quickly while maintaining the accuracy needed for more delicate operations. Mice and track pads also have buttons (although Apple hides theirs now). These buttons enable both right and left clicks. Touch screen input has none of those features. A trackpad is a lot closer to a mouse than it is to touch input.
I think the BIG thing that people are missing about the apple tablet device is that it will have a doc-able car accessory, and become the centerpiece of the auto-experience.
Think about it... TomTom app, rumored 7 and 10 inch form factors, comments by apple about media devices syncing from the driveway to the TV....
I almost guarantee that the new Tablet will fit in a double-Din dashboard space, and it would not surprise me if car companies that were early adopters of the iPod input (like BMW) will offer an option, or even integrate the mac tablet into their builds. Think of the failed microsoft/ford experiment... and the fact that BMW has actively been researching a way to evolve the driver-to-auto relationship.
I could see it happening, but it wouldn't be the big thing. It would be something that draws a lot of attention, but that most people don't use.
I still think we are all missing something here. These can't just be tablet Macs. The tablet form factor is inherently non-ergonomic and inelegant. Apple has something else going on here. There has to be a "One more thing" that none of us has thought of or seen.
A plain old tablet Mac is not going to be a money maker. A tablet Mac with that extra special Jobs sauce will. We just don't know what's in the sauce.
Yeah, but then things are just starting to get weird. If you are going to need mice, trackpad, pens and keyboards, why do you not just use a laptop? I always thought the appeal of a tablet is that you can do the work right there on the screen yourself...
To support legacy osx aps until a tablet touch version is released (and in Adobe's case,forever.)
I still think we are all missing something here. These can't just be tablet Macs. The tablet form factor is inherently non-ergonomic and inelegant. Apple has something else going on here. There has to be a "One more thing" that none of us has thought of or seen.
A plain old tablet Mac is not going to be a money maker. A tablet Mac with that extra special Jobs sauce will. We just don't know what's in the sauce.
Yep, you might be onto something here! We could all be surprised when it is actually released!
I still haven't heard a credible suggestion of what is the "secret sauce" that's going to make this tablet (at whatever size) succeed where all past attempts have failed. It's certainly a possibility that the secret will simply be to get all the details "just right", but I am more inclined to believe that the tablet will need a fundamentally new feature or application to make it viable.
My hope is that the tablet has a big surprise hiding in it, and that the rumors and predictions have been as narrow short-sighted as the original predictions of the iPhone were.
We shall see soon, I hope. I'm exhausted from following this rumor for multiple years.
Bundled iLife touch (my guess this is what is causing the delay), with the availability of iWork touch and a Mobile Me revamped (significantly?).
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!
I agree with your observation about a Kindle size device but the comment about Netbooks is contrary to Apple's deeply held position. You can go all the way back to the Apple ][ versus Commodore 64 days. The price of the Commie 64 kept going down and the number being sold was soaring (much larger than Apple's numbers). The Apple ][ continued to develop while Commodore crashed and burned (a lot of less than compelling detail is being swept under the carpet there).
Apple adjusts prices as costs go down but they have a long history of not participating in markets where lowest price is a determining factor. They might create something with the size and weight of a netbook but don't expect them to offer something that is like current netbooks with the Apple name slapped on. If Apple is right expect enough people to decide that the compromises in netbooks to be wrong for them and purchase with a more expensive Apple product with about the same size and weight.
I think the BIG thing that people are missing about the apple tablet device is that it will have a doc-able car accessory, and become the centerpiece of the auto-experience.
Think about it... TomTom app, rumored 7 and 10 inch form factors, comments by apple about media devices syncing from the driveway to the TV. ....
Cool idea about TomTom, I'm sure the bigger map would make if far more useable.
On the other hand, most countries (except USA I guess?), have a law about not having a TV set on the dashboard of a car (and for good reason too). If you could put a 10" screen on the dash, there would always be some that use it as a TV or media player.
All I gotta say is that if Steve doesn't open the Keynote intro of these new tablets with a comprehensive rundown of each and every memorable tablet rumor going back as far as they can, it would be a crying shame.
Could you imagine, all the faked photoshop photos, all of the doctored videos (as I examine the iWalk sitting on my desk) all the 'I'm making the plastics now' references.
Tell me that wouldn't be a great lead in with Steve on the stage...
That would be awesome.
Quote:
Originally Posted by teckstud
I'll say it again: To be unveiled 9/09 by SJ and available 1/10. Announced then released just like the iPhone and AppleTV. Start the hype machine early.
I've always thought that's probable.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mcmlxix
?as far as the product positioning issue goes?If I were in charge.
The iPod Touch should be taken out of the iPod brand family, leaving the Classic, Nano, and Shuffle, and put into the new i[insert new name here] brand family. This new family will debut with the current 3.5? model as well as a 6-7? model and a 9-10? model. These devices will have blue tooth, wifi, 1 USB, port, and 3G data in the first or second generation. OLED will be in the first or second generation. OLED and larger devices will allow for more battery life.
They will run iPhone OS, which will allow the ability to run more apps simultaneously (but not unlimited multitasking yet) and have a simple file manager. These 2 new features will not be given to the iPhone so as to not compromise the batteries in the iPhones and also to differentiate the brand families. This new product family will have ?an app for that? from day 1?even if running on a smaller window on a larger device until the devs step in. By the second generation iLife and iWork will be ported over.
This new family will differentiated from iPhone, iPod, and MacBook/Pro. The only question then is does the MacBook (white book) remain the sole member of its family. For now, yes. Keep it as a decent, but not stellar intro laptop. Knock off $50-100, and bring back the candy colors.
Interesting. Reminds me of how the 13" MacBook was "moved" to the MacBook Pro line. Looks like a pretty good lineup to me.
While the speculation is fun, I feel the next big one is about to shoot out of the pipeline.
As with the iMac, iPod and iPhone, I suspect we might be about to see the next thing that nobody expected. If correct, like the iPhone speculation, there may be bits and pieces that are true, but the product itself is going to be something that truly blows folks away. Given Steve's reported obsession with this product, I can't believe it's just a cool tablet with multi-touch and phone capabilities. I look for something that uses the advances that have preceded it, and then makes a huge leap forward.
The Apple tablet needs a program with the power of ChronoSync but without its complicated and scary setup options.
The tablet needs to automatically hook up to your Mac and volunteer questions such as:
I will now Sync your iPhoto pictures, your Mail, your Documents. Are there any in tis list you do not want to Sync?
Right now a lot of Mac owners do not purchase a second one because the second one will not have the information of the first one. There needs to be a fast Firewire Sync.
I don't see an iTab or iPad device running full-blown Mac OS X either. Given (?) the iPhone/iPod form factor and OS interaction, their OS makes more sense running on a handheld device.
From what I've read here and elsewhere, the iPhone/iPod touch OS IS Scalable to different/higher resolutions. Supposedly many apps can be easily modified to run on higher-res screens without massive reprogramming.
I'd also guess that at some point Mac OS X itself will be able to run iPhone/iPod touch OS apps directly on a Mac, I'd further guess that they'd most likely through iTunes.
Cool idea about TomTom, I'm sure the bigger map would make if far more useable.
On the other hand, most countries (except USA I guess?), have a law about not having a TV set on the dashboard of a car (and for good reason too). If you could put a 10" screen on the dash, there would always be some that use it as a TV or media player.
Geez, but then TV watching would disturb my texting and phone calls while driving.
Me? I still like maps.
My girlfriend said I should never get a GPS, because I'd probably argue with it all the time!
Comments
These rumours make most sense to me if the 10 inch screen is for a tablet looking like a giant iPod Touch and running the iPhone OS.
And the 13 and 15 inch touchscreens are for the next quantum leap for the MacBook Pros, combining the standard keyboard with a touchscreen, and running touch-enabled Snow Leopard.
And the next rumour will be touchscreens for the iMac range. You heard it here first.
Bet you are wrong.
Does everyone on here use a desktop and mice or something, because I don't understand why people are going on about a lack of pointing accuracy inherent in fingers and OSX not having a touch interface and OSX apps all having to be rewritten for a touch interface.
I use a MacBook primarily. All the apps on it are already optimised for touch and I already use a touch interface with good accuracy, it's called a track pad. If the track pad surface were as large as the whole screen area, I would have even greater accuracy than I have now, which suffices for everything I do, including Photoshop manipulations...
It might have usb ports if it runs snow leopard, which I don't think it will. If it is marketed as a companion device, it won't have usb ports.
Bening able to use a trackpad does not mean an operating sytem is optimized for touch. Far from it. Whether your input device is a mouse or a track pad, you move something called a cursor. The operating system is optimized for cursor input. You can fine tune cursor position before you make a selection. The cursor design is actually made for small input areas, making it larger would make navigation annoying. Acceleration lets you move the cursor over large distances quickly while maintaining the accuracy needed for more delicate operations. Mice and track pads also have buttons (although Apple hides theirs now). These buttons enable both right and left clicks. Touch screen input has none of those features. A trackpad is a lot closer to a mouse than it is to touch input.
I think the BIG thing that people are missing about the apple tablet device is that it will have a doc-able car accessory, and become the centerpiece of the auto-experience.
Think about it... TomTom app, rumored 7 and 10 inch form factors, comments by apple about media devices syncing from the driveway to the TV....
I almost guarantee that the new Tablet will fit in a double-Din dashboard space, and it would not surprise me if car companies that were early adopters of the iPod input (like BMW) will offer an option, or even integrate the mac tablet into their builds. Think of the failed microsoft/ford experiment... and the fact that BMW has actively been researching a way to evolve the driver-to-auto relationship.
I could see it happening, but it wouldn't be the big thing. It would be something that draws a lot of attention, but that most people don't use.
A plain old tablet Mac is not going to be a money maker. A tablet Mac with that extra special Jobs sauce will. We just don't know what's in the sauce.
Yeah, but then things are just starting to get weird. If you are going to need mice, trackpad, pens and keyboards, why do you not just use a laptop? I always thought the appeal of a tablet is that you can do the work right there on the screen yourself...
To support legacy osx aps until a tablet touch version is released (and in Adobe's case,forever.)
More importantly the other half have gazoombas!
I still think we are all missing something here. These can't just be tablet Macs. The tablet form factor is inherently non-ergonomic and inelegant. Apple has something else going on here. There has to be a "One more thing" that none of us has thought of or seen.
A plain old tablet Mac is not going to be a money maker. A tablet Mac with that extra special Jobs sauce will. We just don't know what's in the sauce.
Yep, you might be onto something here! We could all be surprised when it is actually released!
I still haven't heard a credible suggestion of what is the "secret sauce" that's going to make this tablet (at whatever size) succeed where all past attempts have failed. It's certainly a possibility that the secret will simply be to get all the details "just right", but I am more inclined to believe that the tablet will need a fundamentally new feature or application to make it viable.
My hope is that the tablet has a big surprise hiding in it, and that the rumors and predictions have been as narrow short-sighted as the original predictions of the iPhone were.
We shall see soon, I hope. I'm exhausted from following this rumor for multiple years.
Bundled iLife touch (my guess this is what is causing the delay), with the availability of iWork touch and a Mobile Me revamped (significantly?).
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!
I agree with your observation about a Kindle size device but the comment about Netbooks is contrary to Apple's deeply held position. You can go all the way back to the Apple ][ versus Commodore 64 days. The price of the Commie 64 kept going down and the number being sold was soaring (much larger than Apple's numbers). The Apple ][ continued to develop while Commodore crashed and burned (a lot of less than compelling detail is being swept under the carpet there).
Apple adjusts prices as costs go down but they have a long history of not participating in markets where lowest price is a determining factor. They might create something with the size and weight of a netbook but don't expect them to offer something that is like current netbooks with the Apple name slapped on. If Apple is right expect enough people to decide that the compromises in netbooks to be wrong for them and purchase with a more expensive Apple product with about the same size and weight.
I think the BIG thing that people are missing about the apple tablet device is that it will have a doc-able car accessory, and become the centerpiece of the auto-experience.
Think about it... TomTom app, rumored 7 and 10 inch form factors, comments by apple about media devices syncing from the driveway to the TV. ....
Cool idea about TomTom, I'm sure the bigger map would make if far more useable.
On the other hand, most countries (except USA I guess?), have a law about not having a TV set on the dashboard of a car (and for good reason too). If you could put a 10" screen on the dash, there would always be some that use it as a TV or media player.
just by a miracle...
those 13" and 15" models are for macbooks?
am i crazy for saying this?
All I gotta say is that if Steve doesn't open the Keynote intro of these new tablets with a comprehensive rundown of each and every memorable tablet rumor going back as far as they can, it would be a crying shame.
Could you imagine, all the faked photoshop photos, all of the doctored videos (as I examine the iWalk sitting on my desk) all the 'I'm making the plastics now' references.
Tell me that wouldn't be a great lead in with Steve on the stage...
That would be awesome.
I'll say it again: To be unveiled 9/09 by SJ and available 1/10. Announced then released just like the iPhone and AppleTV. Start the hype machine early.
I've always thought that's probable.
?as far as the product positioning issue goes?If I were in charge.
The iPod Touch should be taken out of the iPod brand family, leaving the Classic, Nano, and Shuffle, and put into the new i[insert new name here] brand family. This new family will debut with the current 3.5? model as well as a 6-7? model and a 9-10? model. These devices will have blue tooth, wifi, 1 USB, port, and 3G data in the first or second generation. OLED will be in the first or second generation. OLED and larger devices will allow for more battery life.
They will run iPhone OS, which will allow the ability to run more apps simultaneously (but not unlimited multitasking yet) and have a simple file manager. These 2 new features will not be given to the iPhone so as to not compromise the batteries in the iPhones and also to differentiate the brand families. This new product family will have ?an app for that? from day 1?even if running on a smaller window on a larger device until the devs step in. By the second generation iLife and iWork will be ported over.
This new family will differentiated from iPhone, iPod, and MacBook/Pro. The only question then is does the MacBook (white book) remain the sole member of its family. For now, yes. Keep it as a decent, but not stellar intro laptop. Knock off $50-100, and bring back the candy colors.
Interesting. Reminds me of how the 13" MacBook was "moved" to the MacBook Pro line. Looks like a pretty good lineup to me.
What if...
just by a miracle...
those 13" and 15" models are for macbooks?
am i crazy for saying this?
Crazy? You're not even original.
I agree with Ireland.
These rumours make most sense to me if the 10 inch screen is for a tablet looking like a giant iPod Touch and running the iPhone OS.
I never mentioned iPhone OS. Mac OS X touch all the way.
What if El Jobso himself told you?
hahaha, good one, I laughed so hard with this.
As with the iMac, iPod and iPhone, I suspect we might be about to see the next thing that nobody expected. If correct, like the iPhone speculation, there may be bits and pieces that are true, but the product itself is going to be something that truly blows folks away. Given Steve's reported obsession with this product, I can't believe it's just a cool tablet with multi-touch and phone capabilities. I look for something that uses the advances that have preceded it, and then makes a huge leap forward.
The tablet needs to automatically hook up to your Mac and volunteer questions such as:
I will now Sync your iPhoto pictures, your Mail, your Documents. Are there any in tis list you do not want to Sync?
Right now a lot of Mac owners do not purchase a second one because the second one will not have the information of the first one. There needs to be a fast Firewire Sync.
Exactly.
Excellent analysis!
I don't see an iTab or iPad device running full-blown Mac OS X either. Given (?) the iPhone/iPod form factor and OS interaction, their OS makes more sense running on a handheld device.
From what I've read here and elsewhere, the iPhone/iPod touch OS IS Scalable to different/higher resolutions. Supposedly many apps can be easily modified to run on higher-res screens without massive reprogramming.
I'd also guess that at some point Mac OS X itself will be able to run iPhone/iPod touch OS apps directly on a Mac, I'd further guess that they'd most likely through iTunes.
Cool idea about TomTom, I'm sure the bigger map would make if far more useable.
On the other hand, most countries (except USA I guess?), have a law about not having a TV set on the dashboard of a car (and for good reason too). If you could put a 10" screen on the dash, there would always be some that use it as a TV or media player.
Geez, but then TV watching would disturb my texting and phone calls while driving.
Me? I still like maps.
My girlfriend said I should never get a GPS, because I'd probably argue with it all the time!