Apple to unveil tablet in January, ship in March - WSJ

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  • Reply 61 of 89
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Cory Bauer View Post


    The cost of a MacBook would be far too high a pricepoint for a limited-use device. Who in their right mind could justify spending $1k on an oversized iPhone when one could buy a full MacBook for the same cash?



    Maybe somebody who already has a MacBook Pro and doesn't need a MacBook? I figure this will start high and drop in price with component costs. Apple attracts early adopters, so this works for them. Additionally, Apple doesn't compromise on design. They are not going to force a product in a certain price range if it means scaling it back. Unlike the AppleTV, this won't suffer completely from content deal negotiations. Unlike the movies and music, the App Store is a free market (as in trade, not as in speech).
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  • Reply 62 of 89
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Abster2core View Post


    True it would need FCC approval. However, photos were or are not made public as they are trade secrets and not for public knowledge.



    And no, it wasn't the reason the iPhone was announced so early as you stated.



    According to Mr. Jobs during the iPhone keynote, FCC approval was the reason the iPhone was announced six months early.
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  • Reply 63 of 89
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by druble View Post


    I don't think you have to worry about people copying it. Apple is already copying others, except Apples equipment will not stack up to what is currently out there. Don't expect amazing things. I hear it is going to get a giant ipod, and you will be limited to the app store for programs. What a world without walls, try an existing slate such as this one that is just as sexy in appearance as anything apple would make:



    http://www.windowsfordevices.com/c/a...and-Seline-10/



    Are you kidding???? That thing is ugly! Not to mention it runs Windows and has a resistive display. I'm not M$ bashing--it just was not designed for fingers. Windows isn't very power friendly either. Being limited to only 100,000 programs isn't so bad.
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  • Reply 64 of 89
    bageljoeybageljoey Posts: 2,008member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Jerseymac View Post


    According to Mr. Jobs during the iPhone keynote, FCC approval was the reason the iPhone was announced six months early.



    Because "were announcing this 6 months early because we want you to let your current cell phone contract lapse while you are waiting" would sound arrogant from a company that had never sold a phone before...
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  • Reply 65 of 89
    charlitunacharlituna Posts: 7,217member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by rain View Post


    Why all the secrecy on a product... then unveil it and not have it ship for 2 months?

    Is it to test the market reaction before assembling them?

    Get some hype going?

    Give the competition 2 months to copy it, thereby rushing it to market and sucking so that the iSlate stands above?



    be glad it might be only 2 months. would you rather it wasn't until June or July



    the lead time would be for content. if the rumors are true, this will be another iphone OS device so a lot of the apps could be converted to work on the larger form. but that will take time.

    as will the creation of the ereader content.



    and in the end, content will sell this device as much as the Apple brand. especially if it is ready when the device is.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by PapayaSF View Post


    I'd be very surprised if Apple announced a tablet months before it was available, because MacBook sales would plummet in the meantime: the Osborne effect. The early announcement of the iPhone was different, because it didn't compete with any existing Apple products.



    maybe, maybe not. a lot of it depends on the form and specs. those that only have/want the Macbook for the same functions could go for the tablet but those wanting a fully functioning computer may not find the tablet device to be enough for the job and still go Macbook
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  • Reply 66 of 89
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by anantksundaram View Post


    You raise some good points. You are right about the likely stock price dive if nothing happens on Jan 26/27. My guess would be, perhaps back to $190 or so.



    If I see AAPL sink to anywhere near $180 or as low as $160 I would buy every share I could get my hands on. It won't double-dip along with the economy (if such a thing happens again later this year or sometime next year).
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  • Reply 67 of 89
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by crisss1104@aol.com View Post


    Or because if it has 3G is needs to file for FCC filings which are made public (with photos). Thats why they announced the iPhone so early.



    FCC filings do take some time but they don?t take 6 months and they are private. Only the results are made public and even those can be held until the company chooses for them to be released. Usually we see this happen on the day Apple announces or releases the product.
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  • Reply 68 of 89
    bageljoeybageljoey Posts: 2,008member
    Quoted wrong poster, sorry...
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  • Reply 69 of 89
    bageljoeybageljoey Posts: 2,008member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by druble View Post


    I don't think you have to worry about people copying it. Apple is already copying others, except Apples equipment will not stack up to what is currently out there. Don't expect amazing things. I hear it is going to get a giant ipod, and you will be limited to the app store for programs. What a world without walls, try an existing slate such as this one that is just as sexy in appearance as anything apple would make:



    http://www.windowsfordevices.com/c/a...and-Seline-10/



    For those who haven't bothered to read the link, here are some of the highlights:



    Quote:

    No information was provided, however, on whether an English-language version currently exists...

    not capable of multi-touch...

    with a netbook-like 1024 x 600 resolution...

    Battery life for the 2.18-pound (990g) device is approximately 3.5 hours...

    Camera -- VGA-resolution webcam...



    Note, a VGA resolution webcam is a fancy way of saying 0.3 Megapixels.



    Yes, you can get all this for about $900.



    I think it is safe to assume that if Apple announces an equivalent product later this month would provoke howls of outrage and torrents of scorn--even if it sported a superior OSX/iPhone interface, access to the iPhone app library and access to iTunes media library.
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  • Reply 70 of 89
    pmcdpmcd Posts: 396member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MacTripper View Post


    And Steve Jobs is wrong, people DO READ, it's just they like to read on computers rather than on books and newspapers.



    People like to be able to set the type size and fonts, auto load their favorite information and so on.



    I agree that they do read. However, I don't think they read seriously on computer screens. Hard on the eyes, etc... It's much nicer on something like a Kindle but that has other problems ( even the DX model).



    It seems to me that people will glance through articles on a computer screen, print them and then read.



    There is room for a device to really advance reading and perhaps this is it. I just wonder about the eye strain, fragility of the device ( drop a paperback and nothing happens), etc... It won't feel like a book so it will take a while for people to adjust. It's definitely the future though, especially with "display postscript" or whatever Apple is calling their display model.



    This could be really big. It has to be done right though and I doubt you can do that for $500, so $800 is probably closer to the price (or even $1000). If they produce a cheap version it will fail. Junk rarely catches on. So I actually want it to cost more rather than less and have it drop in price as more people see the value, if any, of the device. Hopefully, this will be the beginning of the end of the crazy domination of the typewriter (and I am not talking handwriting recognition). One can imagine databases of images, scientific articles, etc... few of which are easily conveyed by text alone). The domination of text has been a boat anchor on so many people.



    philip
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  • Reply 71 of 89
    sockrolidsockrolid Posts: 2,789member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by rain View Post


    Why all the secrecy on a product... then unveil it and not have it ship for 2 months?

    Is it to test the market reaction before assembling them?

    Get some hype going?

    Give the competition 2 months to copy it, thereby rushing it to market and sucking so that the iSlate stands above?



    The secrecy is so all the companies currently designing and building tablets can make all their glaring mistakes, publicly at CES, before Apple shows the world how to do things the right way. Then everyone else will scramble to figure out how to migrate their products' feature sets toward Apple's faster than the competition.



    I think Apple's timing is brilliant: let the rumor mill (ahem) build the Apple tablet hype to such a fever pitch that it might even overshadow actual tablet announcements at CES. Wait for the press to describe all the Kindle-killer-wannabes in excruciating detail as they're released or soft-launched or vaporware-enabled at CES. Then crush them all by announcing the Apple tablet. We'll see many Foleo-ish non-releases after that.



    It took more than a year for the cell phone makers to come up with anything near the iPhone. And by then, Apple had a new, improved iPhone. A year from now, the Apple tablet will be so far ahead in sales, mindshare, and apps, that the competitors won't ever be able to catch up. And it too will be a moving target.



    So, what to do if you're trying to promote your own tablet in early 2010? Announce it now, at CES, before Apple does. At least you'll get some kind of press coverage. Because after the Apple tablet is announced, the crossfire of all the pro-Apple fanatical hype and all the anti-Apple blind hatred will overwhelm any kind of me-too tablet announcements. So announcing before Apple is absolutely critical this year.



    But things could be very different starting in January 2011. If Apple announces new versions of their tablet every January, just after CES, they can torture competitors by forcing them to announce their products first. Competitors won't be able to innovate with confidence because they'll be holding back, waiting for the next Apple tablet's features to be revealed. And yet, they'll feel compelled to announce at CES because, well, everyone else is doing it. Except Apple.



    Also, announcing each year's version of the tablet in January would add another event to Apple's quarterly "media event" product release scheme, as far as I can make it out. Summer: new iPhone. Fall: new iPods. Winter: new tablet. Maybe new Macs / MacBooks could be announced in the spring, to give educational buyers plenty of time to plan purchases.



    Why quarterly major announcements? To spread things out evenly. Each updated product gets a few months in the spotlight on Apple's home page. It gives the press plenty of time to review and benchmark each of the new products. And it keeps Apple in the news all year around. CES only happens once a year. Fortunately.



    So, back on topic, secrecy keeps your competitors even farther behind you. And, if your products are market leaders, secrecy plus regularly scheduled announcements forces them to wait for your announcements before reacting to your next move. They wait for fear of making a fatal mistake.
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  • Reply 72 of 89
    Quote:

    Nevertheless, the Journal believes the Apple tablet will serve as a "multimedia device that will let people watch movies and television shows, play games, surf the Internet and read electronic books and newspapers."



    That would incredible - I mean, Apple have nothing like that already. It would be a real breakthrough



    Do you think there's even the remotest chance that it may (this is a longshot I know) support the sending and receiving of email too? That would really set the market on its head.
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  • Reply 73 of 89
    Hi



    This is my first post on appleinsider. I have followed your site for years.



    What has tricked my speculation is how the user will interact with the table. All expect it to be a bigger iPod touch and use multitouch. Well this might be one way but I hope it will be a multi use device where the new interaction method will be MultiVision. When you read you like the table to follow your eyes. Imagine using the multi touch gestures with eye motion and tracking.



    Right blink move page forward, left eye move back. Scroll based on focus. Star on a menu and after 1s it will give u the options. Look away and it will disappear. Zoom in/out will be tricky :-)



    This will require 2-4 front facing iSight webcams. I hope that it will be $1000 without contract and $600 with data contract. You will not be able to make phone calls but all IM services will work also video calls. As with all Apple products you will be pressed to decide what you will need and might end up uying more than one.



    Also perhaps it will be $500 if you already have an iPhone contract.



    The table I would love will:



    1. Play film and music

    2. Have multi touch

    3. Have multi vision

    4. Run AppStore apps

    5. Work as a Mac when paired with a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse

    6. Work like a big multi touch table when it is paired with a Mac



    A device like that would be perfect since it will create a new portable computer. I love a MacBook when typing but hate its keyboard when on a plane or watching film or just reading and surfing.



    Apple could make a cool docking stating that looks like a modern Lamp iMac with a Time Machine disk in the base.



    But Apple has so many options for the Mac OS X Mobile 4.0 ... here is how I hope the media event will go:



    1. Status of the iPhone

    2. Multitasking

    We will do it better than all other. Rethink what the user needs and what the AppStore developers can do. How about adding dash board widgets support to the iPhone/iTable? Will have very limited resources. Will enable animated app icon, will popup over active app, will pop up on locked iPhone and a dimmed light will show the info, if unlocked the user are taked directly to that app.



    3. So with Dashboard now moved to the iPhone what will then be used on the Mac? Simple you get the AppStore as the new DashBoard. Developers just need to rebuild their apps and they will work on any SL mac. This is the first step to a full Mac App Store. Also it will open the legion of App developers to the Mac. Why do you think SL has Location services now also? Next MacBooks will add GPS.



    Later in 2010 the iPhone Nano is possible since the circuit can be reduced and use less power. This will add huge pressure on the old guard midrange phones.



    The iPod touch then has to be redesigned and this could well be the 7'' device, but will first happen in september.



    Then we will see the next iteration of Mac OS X and this will again widen the gap to Windows 7.



    Last bit is Apple TV that will also have the App Store and will be a casual gaming platform also with the Wii like remote.



    The iTable/iPhone/iPod touch will have a much better remote for Apple TV and iTunes. I so like to be able to use my iPhone for browsing but have Apple TV show the what is also displayed on it. That will be super when shopping together and looking for holidays and so on.



    That would be a good 2010 Apple year.



    Regards

    Michael
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  • Reply 74 of 89
    cnocbuicnocbui Posts: 3,613member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Dickprinter View Post


    If one types like an idiot and doesn't pay attention to proper English grammar, punctuation and spelling, one's 'intelligent" contribution to this forum loses all credence when it reads like it's coming from an uneducated ignoramus.



    ...



    when you are visiting an international forum, kick it up a notch and use the education you were taught.



    You 'receive' an education, it is not something you are taught. Taught would be applicable to a component of an education like a particular subject, or group thereof.
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  • Reply 75 of 89
    cnocbuicnocbui Posts: 3,613member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by steviet02 View Post


    I hope they are wrong about the $1000 price point.



    Why? Would you rather it was more than $1000 instead of "less than."







    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Abster2core View Post


    And no, it wasn't the reason the iPhone was announced so early as you stated.



    Correct. The real reason the iPhone was announced so early was to give people time to save up for the ludicrously expensive thing.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MacTripper View Post


    And Steve Jobs is wrong, people DO READ, it's just they like to read on computers rather than on books and newspapers.



    You are extrapolating your preferences to everyone else. A logical jump that is logically invalid.



    I don't know anyone who prefers reading from a screen in preference to paper, apart from yourself of course. The ephemeral and brief nature of the content of newspapers and magazines means most pieces can be read in a short space of time, and having no archival value, there is little need to keep them.



    When my wife receives a pdf of a thesis or paper to review, she prints it out and reads the hard copy. I have seen anecdotal evidence that many others do the same.
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  • Reply 76 of 89
    I READ A LOT-books, printouts, et al... I've tried and tried to read lengthy things via my Mac Pro & iPhone and well IT SUCKS! I can't read as long as I can when using paper. If I fall asleep while reading my iPhone-should I drool (personally not a drooler-hypetheical here) I could lose my warranty (moisture detection on iPhone could turn red). Roll around in my sleep I could knock it off onto the bed. The Mac Pro - and laptops for that matter aren't cozy for curling up with like a book. I can go on and on about this - but one last thing the dot com bust which I recall a huge digital push failed and print services (catalogs, brochures, flyers, etc.) after decline resurged.



    I PLAY A LOT OF GAMES-tons of them on my iPhone, a bunch on my PS3, and a couple on my Mac Pro. Touch games are ideal for the size of the iPhone-actual fantastic because of the size and the great games created by the developers (thanks for helping kill so much time and making it fun!). The PS3 is wonderful for HD adventure and complex games that need a larger view and I LOVE the PS3 controller. Games on the Mac or even PC (gamers love them) are no fun for me as I have never been able to do the keyboard thing and controllers that emulate the functionality of game consoles don't often translate to the PC - from comparing several games offered on PC and PS3. So-I don't see the tablet being able to improve something in my experience that doesn't need improvement.



    Movies-I watch them on my Mac output to my HDTV - digital audio out to surround sound - I am set. I LOVE movies-watching anything on a tablet - well it smells of de-evolution of technology.



    Speculation-perhaps it will have a web cam on the front-for visual communication - but wait it isn't a phone. Oh and I have that on my Mac-to use for chat-skype.



    OK-I have more but I hope my point can be seen...



    I LOVE APPLE - I hope they REALLY enlighten me and show me something futuristic-like a replicator or a manipulatable hologram desktops, or attachments to make it my sex partner-or make the world peaceful or transport us to a world where we might say please and thank you just a little bit more and perhaps be a little nicer to those we don't see eye to eye with.



    SOMEONE ENLIGHTEN ME-WHAT IS THE HYPE HERE?



    Maybe laptop users desire these. Do they? I just thought laptops were made to be stolen.



    Hopefully there will be some great intelligent responses to this or maybe I'm just getting old.



    thanks.

    DAVID M. CARSWELL

    student-ASTROPHYSICS
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  • Reply 77 of 89
    They guy at TechCrunch seems to think that the WSJ may be unwilling (or willing?) pawns of Apple in playing head games to lower expectations as indicated in this article:



    http://www.alltabletnews.com/2010/01...may-cost-1000/
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  • Reply 78 of 89
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by esummers View Post


    Additionally, Apple doesn't compromise on design.



    I would disagree with that statement. Most Apple products have compromised designs in order to meet Steve Jobs' need for smaller and thinner products (even when those factors have already been rendered moot such as with the iMac). Form over function is a compromise in design in my book.



    Quote:

    Unlike the AppleTV, this won't suffer completely from content deal negotiations.



    Content deals were the least of the Apple TV's issues. First, it was obsolete before it was even released by only supporting 720p content when 1080i/p was already fast becoming a standard feature. Apple slit its own throat on content by not including an expensive optical drive to at least support DVD's and thereby cutting off a large portion of preexisting content; this also relegated the ATV to being "another" box to deal with instead of replacing an existing product. Plus a lot of the appeal of such a device was already fulfilled by the Xbox 360 or PS3 either of which included many more features than the Apple TV and at a comparable price (and those devices had large overlapping demographics).



    Quote:

    Unlike the movies and music, the App Store is a free market (as in trade, not as in speech).



    Do people really want to buy a device that is that close to being a computer only to have what they can and can't do with it dictated by Apple? Likewise, on that note, I imagine video format playback will be just as limited as on an the AppleTV in an attempt to make iTunes the only viable method of obtaining content. Neither of those situations really appeals to me. I don't want Apple to have that much control of my digital life by controlling the hardware, software and media content that I can use.
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  • Reply 79 of 89
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by solipsism

    It can be a good strategy to intimidate your opponents. Though we uSually we it in vapourware claims that never come to pass. Perhaps the advance notice is more for publishers to see which ones haw signe on and or them to guage reaction.



    I'd say the 6 months advanced notice was to get people from getting another contract, which is typical of cell users in the US.



    With other vendors releasing more compelling options Apple may not be able to wait until March to demo iPhone OS v4.0 and it's SDK. We may even see ttr 4th iPhone before June.



    I think this is a fair post.



    It's standard Apple practice to intimidate the opposition with good products. They beat their own drum.



    They've made people buy 'free music'...I can see them doing the same with publishing.



    Why? Because they've cracked digital delivery and micro payments. Have google? Have M$



    iSlate looks like it's coming at 10 inches. It may well get people to re-engage with reading. If people don't read anymore...then why is the internet at 200 million people and counting? And burgeoning with content?



    If anything, people are reading more than ever...that doesn't necessarily mean 'reading a book' before bedtime. But people are reading, are communicating. And I think that is where the iPhone comes in...and the more expansive 'iPhone', the 'iSlate.'



    It's a shrewd move by Apple. We've yet to have to the true 'killer' internet piece of hardware. And the iSlate looks like being it.



    The swiss army knife of multimedia.



    Lemon Bon Bon.
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  • Reply 80 of 89
    abster2coreabster2core Posts: 2,501member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Jerseymac View Post


    According to Mr. Jobs during the iPhone keynote, FCC approval was the reason the iPhone was announced six months early.



    Let me make it clear that I was responding to the statement made, i.e., "Or because if it has 3G is needs to file for FCC filings which are made public (with photos)"



    Which is not true.



    Firstly all communication devices must have FCC approval and secondly, trade secrets or commercial information are not disclosed.



    As published by the FCC,

    "Although most FCC documents, records, and publications are accessible through FOIA, some types of FCC records are not available. Section 552(b) of the FOIA contains nine types of records which are routinely exempt from disclosure under the FOIA?for example,



    4. Trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person and privileged or confidential, 5 U.S.C § 552(b)(4)?"



    Apple applied for Federal Communications Commission approval on March 8, some 2 months after Jobs announced the iPhone in his Macworld 2007 keynote, i.e., "We're announcing it today because with products like this we've got to go ahead and get FCC approval which takes a few months, and we thought it would be better if we introduced this rather than ask the FCC to introduce it for us."



    The iPhone was cleared for sale by the FCC on May 17, some 70 days later; Apple, in turn, began selling the handset on June 29.



    In the filing, Apple like most new product filings, also requested a 45-day confidentiality for some iPhone documents, including photographs and the user manual. Additionally, it asked the FCC to restrict the following documents from public viewing: block diagram, operational description, schematic, bill of material, tune-up procedure and exhibit notes.



    Keep in mind that Apple has had a number of products filed to the FCC previously and was quite familiar with the process. To suggest that Apple was worried that the FCC would trump his introduction by automatically and unilaterally publicly disclosing photos of the product is not true.



    The iPhone announcement at the conference was well orchestrated by Jobs for maximum impact. And he did a fantastic job as usual.
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