More I think about it, the less I want a tablet
First post, but I've been reading the forums for a while now. Wanted to air these thoughts I've been kicking around past couple weeks.
All the tablet hype has been heating up. We all know most reports put the tablet at a release date sometime in Q1 of 2010. I'm actually putting off replacing my white 13" MacBook (from college) until I see what comes out.
The lack of a keyboard is bothering me, though. I guess what I really want is a swivel-screen that turns a MacBook in to a tablet. That doesn't appear to be what Apple is aiming for; however, especially if the reports of sub-$1000 pricing are accurate.
I don't want a giant iPod touch. How is that even functional? Jobs hit the nail on the head when he said he wanted the tablet to go beyond "bathroom web browsing," but that's exactly what I'm seeing with the most recent mock-ups and speculation.
What are the chances we get a "real computer" in this tablet?
All the tablet hype has been heating up. We all know most reports put the tablet at a release date sometime in Q1 of 2010. I'm actually putting off replacing my white 13" MacBook (from college) until I see what comes out.
The lack of a keyboard is bothering me, though. I guess what I really want is a swivel-screen that turns a MacBook in to a tablet. That doesn't appear to be what Apple is aiming for; however, especially if the reports of sub-$1000 pricing are accurate.
I don't want a giant iPod touch. How is that even functional? Jobs hit the nail on the head when he said he wanted the tablet to go beyond "bathroom web browsing," but that's exactly what I'm seeing with the most recent mock-ups and speculation.
What are the chances we get a "real computer" in this tablet?
Comments
First post, but I've been reading the forums for a while now. Wanted to air these thoughts I've been kicking around past couple weeks.
All the tablet hype has been heating up. We all know most reports put the tablet at a release date sometime in Q1 of 2010. I'm actually putting off replacing my white 13" MacBook (from college) until I see what comes out.
The lack of a keyboard is bothering me, though. I guess what I really want is a swivel-screen that turns a MacBook in to a tablet. That doesn't appear to be what Apple is aiming for; however, especially if the reports of sub-$1000 pricing are accurate.
I don't want a giant iPod touch. How is that even functional? Jobs hit the nail on the head when he said he wanted the tablet to go beyond "bathroom web browsing," but that's exactly what I'm seeing with the most recent mock-ups and speculation.
What are the chances we get a "real computer" in this tablet?
Yep, I think you are going to buy the tablet as soon as it comes out.
Yep, I think you are going to buy the tablet as soon as it comes out.
Not if it doesn't do anything my iPhone doesn't already do. I'm not making enough gwap to buy a iPod touch XL if I can't actually do anything with it.
I think we will see something equivalent to a the past gen macbook in tablet form.
C.
What we will *not* see it a device running Mac OS X applications.
C.
Yikes. Not what I'm looking for then. Bummer.
Outside of VNC, or something very similar to it, I can't think of why anyone would buy an iTablet.
Having said that, I won't be buying one, regardless.
What if the killer app is VNC? What if you have full access to all your Files, on OS X Snow Leopard, all your apps, but are seeing them on your tablet?
Outside of VNC, or something very similar to it, I can't think of why anyone would buy an iTablet.
Having said that, I won't be buying one, regardless.
Heh.
I actually used a tablet PC at work once, and it was basically a VNC "remote control" for other computers. Worked great, a lot better than the other solutions we tried (full size laptops, touchscreens on long cords). But a 10" slate tablet was just the right size to comfortably hold for hours at a time.
First post, but I've been reading the forums for a while now. Wanted to air these thoughts I've been kicking around past couple weeks.
Kicking the tires is always nice.
All the tablet hype has been heating up. We all know most reports put the tablet at a release date sometime in Q1 of 2010. I'm actually putting off replacing my white 13" MacBook (from college) until I see what comes out.
If you are looking at a tablet as a MacBook replacement then you are gravely mistaken about the suitability of any tablet for laptop replacement. They are two entirely different machines, as such the use cases are also entirely different.
The lack of a keyboard is bothering me, though. I guess what I really want is a swivel-screen that turns a MacBook in to a tablet. That doesn't appear to be what Apple is aiming for; however, especially if the reports of sub-$1000 pricing are accurate.
The last thing you would want is a swivel screen device. In general I see such machines as unreliable and an attempt to weld together two different use cases. It would be next to impossible to make a swivel based tablet/laptop that is optimized for both cases of usage. Oh one more thing the lack of a keyboard is a bigger issue than you think, these will never be document production machines.
Personally I don't think Apple should be looking at such a device at all. Rather if they are going to be successful they need to develop a machine that is optimized totally for use as a tablet. A tablet with a specific reason for being.
Some think that this will be a platform for publishing which actually might fly if the published materials are cheap enough. My fear is that newspapers will charge the same as their paper based rates and thus kill the idea. Other publications have greater potential but there is still this fear that we will be grossly over charged.
I don't want a giant iPod touch. How is that even functional?
It would be highly functional as a tablet. Especially as an E-Book reader. A seven inch screen is about the size of the printed page of a paperback.
Jobs hit the nail on the head when he said he wanted the tablet to go beyond "bathroom web browsing," but that's exactly what I'm seeing with the most recent mock-ups and speculation.
In a sense yes he has a view that has yet to open up to the world. At least form what we know from these reports. If they are indeed going forward with the tablet, then something must have changed his mind. I would suspect that would be a software feature that seems to be compelling. That could be a tablet as an E-Book reader, a movie player/iPod, a reader for monthly and daily publications such as newspapers and magazines or something else.
Frankly just having a 7" device that I could read my E-Mail on and surf the web would fly with me. Give it enough room to support a reasonably sized library of books ad magazines and the device would get lots of use, That is if the content was discounted properly.
What one needs to understand is that tablets will no fly as document creation devices at all. They are instead consumptive devices for the most part. The production of even a modest amount of text becomes very time consuming and fatiguing.
What are the chances we get a "real computer" in this tablet?
A tablet can very much be a real computer, but it is not a laptop or desktop machine and never will be. Running apps for those platforms will never fly on a tablet, it hasn't in the past and there is nothing Apple can do to get it to fly in the future. One has to address the tablet as a new device on its own merits and use cases. Some people will never be able to leverage a tablet, others will find them to be the best thing since sliced bread. It is a real computer but it isn't a laptop.
Now you may ask what good is it. It is plenty good for numerous tasks and in fact could be seen as an optimal solution for some. Of course what it can be used for depends greatly upon what Apple designs into the machine.
For example lets say Apple adds GPS to a 7" class machine. This means that it can be almost instantly turned into a really nice mapping machine with a software install. Considering there are apps optimized for land, sea, air and foot that could lead to millions sold just based on that feature. Note that this is not a maps production platform but rather a consumption platform. A 7 " device attacks one of the problems with iPhone and other GPS systems in that the screen is often to small and of to low a resolution to justify it use.
As an E-Book reader it could easily pack all of O'Rielly's Python books, along with their pocket series into one device no bigger than any one book. Such a device would give you all the advantages of a digital device including setting text size to your preference, color, updates to products and what ever else can be offered up. Yes I believe such a device has value in and of itself in the technical world. If nothing else it provides for cleaner books shelves. Still cost is an issue and as we have seen with Kindle there is much greed in the publishing industry. So hopefully Apple can bring such a feature online without a lot of stupidity from the publishing world. By the way casual reading is a harder sell, paper is very nice for this and it is easy to resell.
Plus you have the world of apps. Since the product hasn't been released yet we don't know what if any limitations will exists. It is safe to say some will be in place, but who knows if they will be objectionable. Apps on iPhone are really nice and improving everyday and the handiness of apps store can not be underestimated.
In the end I don't buy the idea that it won't be a "real compute". It has a very good chance of becoming the ideal portable computer. Given the right features I could see it as a replacement for my laptop, moving me back to desktop machines.
Thanks
Dave
Heh.
I actually used a tablet PC at work once, and it was basically a VNC "remote control" for other computers. Worked great, a lot better than the other solutions we tried (full size laptops, touchscreens on long cords). But a 10" slate tablet was just the right size to comfortably hold for hours at a time.
I'd be interested in hearing about how this was used in finer detail. My thought is that this would work great up until such time that you had to enter in a lot of data.
The feel success stories I've seen with respect to tablets seem to revolve around minimal and simple data entry. Usually they are targeting very specific usage, like electrical service operations or fleet support. Even if successful the big problem is that the hardware is either expensive or not around for long.
Dave
Tho many iPod/iPhone apps should work on the tablet I suspect they'll have a separate app store. So many new apps will be developed for every day life use such as notepads, drawing pads, children's learning such as coloring books, daily planners, essentially anything you need a briefcase for will be replaced by this tablet. A camera that provides scanning functionality of some sort (OCR maybe) built-in. Barcode reading for grocery store (any store) automatic payment and billing.
You could argue that much of the functionality will overlap but the larger screen will really make some apps shine on the tablet where they would just exist on iPhone/iPod
I'd be interested in hearing about how this was used in finer detail. My thought is that this would work great up until such time that you had to enter in a lot of data.
The feel success stories I've seen with respect to tablets seem to revolve around minimal and simple data entry. Usually they are targeting very specific usage, like electrical service operations or fleet support. Even if successful the big problem is that the hardware is either expensive or not around for long.
It was used in the front seat of a car that had several computers controlling test equipment in the back. There wasn't much data entry at all, just monitoring signal strengths, looking for problems, and watching a GPS map scroll by. The tablet we used was the HP TC1000, sometimes with its detachable keyboard, sometimes not.
It was used in the front seat of a car that had several computers controlling test equipment in the back. There wasn't much data entry at all, just monitoring signal strengths, looking for problems, and watching a GPS map scroll by. The tablet we used was the HP TC1000, sometimes with its detachable keyboard, sometimes not.
The garage I took it to could not fix it even with all their instrumentation. By the way sounds like you have an interesting job.
In any event it highlights what I suspect most sucess stories about tablets revolve around. That is consumption of media and/or data or apps that require sparse data entry.
Dav
First post, but I've been reading the forums for a while now. Wanted to air these thoughts I've been kicking around past couple weeks.
All the tablet hype has been heating up. We all know most reports put the tablet at a release date sometime in Q1 of 2010. I'm actually putting off replacing my white 13" MacBook (from college) until I see what comes out.
The lack of a keyboard is bothering me, though. I guess what I really want is a swivel-screen that turns a MacBook in to a tablet. That doesn't appear to be what Apple is aiming for; however, especially if the reports of sub-$1000 pricing are accurate.
I don't want a giant iPod touch. How is that even functional? Jobs hit the nail on the head when he said he wanted the tablet to go beyond "bathroom web browsing," but that's exactly what I'm seeing with the most recent mock-ups and speculation.
What are the chances we get a "real computer" in this tablet?
Well, a tablet with a physical keyboard is a freakin laptop.
Apple is not going to do some flippy swivel crap. Was done in Windows land and not to a lot of success I might add. Adds cost as well.
Oh, and it will just add to the thickness and weight of the device too. Sounds like a real winner.
how embarrassing
Well, a tablet with a physical keyboard is a freakin laptop.
Apple is not going to do some flippy swivel crap. Was done in Windows land and not to a lot of success I might add. Adds cost as well.
Oh, and it will just add to the thickness and weight of the device too. Sounds like a real winner.
Show me a MBA convertible tablet in windows land and I might agree. The X200 is close but not quite. It just isn't all that sleek and isn't all that comfortable to hold. Neither would the MBA with the current edges I think but slightly more rounded it would work nicely and the X200 shows the weight can be kept down.
Use an internal battery, remove the extra ports and slots and use a monobody for rigidity and the X200 would be much better...especially since Lenovo doesn't have something against docks.
IMHO the most useful iTablet would be an ARM Cortex A9/PowerVR based 7" slate with HDMI out and iLife, iWork and PowerPoint presenter with a dock that provided a base with another ARM Cortex A9, extended battery, a HDD, ethernet and USB.
Why all that crap in a dock? So I can store my photos on the HDD when I travel, watch movies on a long plane ride and use it with a nice and small BT keyboard and mouse on the go if I need to edit my Keynote presentation.
Not a netbook but a heck of a nice mobile solution. But I need it to do iLife and iWork at a minimum and the dock is key.
I see really @ least 2 arguments here:
What are the advantages of either AIO or desktop tower and what is best for Apple.
AIO
advantages
-easier initial setup
-footprint
disadvantages
-only user friendly updrade is ram (kind of)
-any upgrades for hard/optical drives = cable clutter
-uses expensive laptop parts
-monitor choice is limited to what comes on the computer
-if any part fails the option of adding card to take up this function not an option
xMac
advantages
-uses less expensive desktop parts
-choice of monitor from inexpensive to outragously expensive
-upgrades available for internal hard/optical drives
both for swapping drives or adding drives internally
-upgrades to video cards
-instant ability for Apple to provide upgrade path for models sold @ the time of the sale
-footprint (kind of) if computer is under desk or inside cabinet of desk
-cable clutter (kind of) if upgrades are internal
-if something fails there is chance card can be added to take up functionality
-as standards change (wifi, communication:USB/Firewire/SATA, etc) add a card
disadvantages
-a couple more cables to plug in during initial set up
Maybe it is time to ask, what is best for the consumer?
To those who argue, who needs slots, I ask who cares. The cost for having slots is negligable and for those consumers that don't use them, they don't care nor may even know they are inside the computer. Ask yourself, has anyone in the history of computing refused to buy a computer because it contained the dreaded slots, but there are consumers that refuse to buy AIO without them.
As for what is best for Apple, most consumers don't care, stockholders yes. Apple now, or was, the 3rd largest computer seller in the US and still refuses to sell a consumer desktop tower computer which is the most popular configuration.
Yes Apple dominates the consumer market in the >$1000 computer desktop market. To bad that is no longer the mid - high end consumer desktop market range. While the % of laptops sold increases, that does not nullify the fact that the consumer desktop market is still huge and will continue to be huge.
Didn't I read somewhere that most Mac users have multiple compters in their home, many of the them desktops and shudder many of those are Windows machines (re: I wonder why? I don't know and there are probably a plethora of reasons - but makes you thnk)
WTF?
A freaking xMac post in a tablet thread. Brilliant.
Get over it. Consumer towers are dead to Apple. This is like trying to skate to where the puck was 2 periods ago.
WTF?
A freaking xMac post in a tablet thread. Brilliant.
Get over it. Consumer towers are dead to Apple. This is like trying to skate to where the puck was 2 periods ago.
Sorry for my mistake, but glad I could amuse you.