The flat panel speaker tech has been around for quite a while, but this is first time I've seen integrated into the LCD panel production process. Very slick.
What can APPLE put more to this kind of product ? \
Think differently.
Sony used to have three models. They dropped the other two due to poor sales. Even this one doesn't sell well. This thing is two inches thick, it weighs five pounds and Sony only claims 1 to 2 hours battery life depending on how high you turn up the backlight. Interesting idea but not well implemented.
Sony used to have three models. They dropped the other two due to poor sales. Even this one doesn't sell well. This thing is two inches thick, it weighs five pounds and Sony only claims 1 to 2 hours battery life depending on how high you turn up the backlight. Interesting idea but not well implemented.
And this is what has killed the tablet time and time again. The idea is sound. The basic form (especially the size being bandied about in this thread) is useful and comfortable. Pens as input devices are precise and flexible and universally familiar. But every attempt sofar has fallen short in terms of implementation. One technology or another has never been quite there, or the price has been wrong, etc.
On the one hand, this is a reason not to enter the market. On the other hand, it means that if (say) Apple happens upon a recipe for a winning implementation at a palatable price, they own the market at least until competitors can respond — and look at how long that took in the case of the iPod. Additionally, the test will probably be to see if it can be done with an absolute minimum of custom parts. The real genius of the iPod is that Apple engineers assembled a market-beating product almost entirely out of off-the-shelf components. I'm assuming that they will attempt a similar exercize for any venture into tablet territory (assuming that they do venture here), since it makes for shorter time to market, easier manufacture, lower costs, etc.
As for Steve and television: For the purposes of Apple products, it's not that Steve hates television so much as he considers it to be purely for consumption, whereas computers are for creation. He doesn't really see any synergy there. In a sense, I agree, except that it would be nice to be easily able to capture TV signals, play with them in iMovie, and assemble collages and the like, or use them in commentary and/or criticism. After all, you create based on material you've consumed. But the obstacle there would probably be the publishers, not Apple. Alas.
it would be nice to be easily able to capture TV signals, play with them in iMovie, and assemble collages and the like, or use them in commentary and/or criticism.
At risk of straying off-topic, this is already doable if your DV camera is able to convert raw video from an AV cable into DV. I've done it...
Back on-topic, I don't think I've yet seen in any of the tablet threads anything about Inkwell: we've got this stuff sitting there in the OS, but how many people are actually getting the benefit of it? Yes, Jobs disparaged it with a "at least we get something back from all the money we spent on Newton" crack, but surely that would end up being pretty much to the fore in a tablet?
There is a lovely mock-up of the 'iTablet' about halfway down the sixth page of the MacRumors thread on this. If the end device has near-iBook functionality and a similar form factor to the mock-up I would happily part with $1,000 for one.
What I've been giving a lot of thought to is the possibility that such an iDevice might contain a tri-band GSM/GPRS radio as well as Bluetooth and 802.11g. Dispense with connecting to a phone when going online away from a WLAN, and simply use the supplied Bluetooth earpiece (which slots into the device next to the stylus) or speakerphone mode when making a voice call.
I've smacked straight into the face of this with, of all things, an essay, that would have been an article but for the fact that a couple of the needed images will **never** be opened to publication again. let me tell you So it might still play, but without the images, it's gonna suck... academe, dog gammit, bloody academe!
There are a few technical hurdles still.
Hardware: size weight storage battery.
These can be overcome.
Software: handwriting and recog. and voice recording and cataloguing and recog.
And
the biggie, Symbiosis.
The problem of getting a web page and other documents to display properly on a small screen while simulataneous tackling the bug-bear of squinty eye syndrome.
The size weight and technical spec are all comming into the realm of feasibility, as is the software side of things, but that basic viewing problem remains, especially considering the current, and seemingly well embedded web paradigm.
We'll see, if Apple could solve that in a convincing way** yeah people claim to have resolved it to various degrees, but basically that's ALL CRAP once you use it... if Apple solves these paradoxical demands of size and space, they will indeed have a huge winner on their hands.
I think we need a bit more time, mebbe Apple should hire me as a consultant for technological philosophy?
you know, funny thing if apple DOES announce a PDA tomorrow, will anyone even believe it???
not sure but if it were an april fools joke, it would be a HUGE wasted opportunity. the stir the rumour alone has made is a good indicator of what the ACTUAL product might enjoy...
"Who would use it?", you hear the naysayers prattle across the web. Here's a lunging stab at The Market:
...
Astronaut
...
Military--Navy or Marine Corps Pilot
...
Pilots
...
Politicians
...
Students
...
Other than Astronaut (because I'm not guaranteed, though it is one of my main goals in life), I will be or am everything that I left on this list. I'd use it.
Other than Astronaut (because I'm not guaranteed, though it is one of my main goals in life), I will be or am everything that I left on this list. I'd use it.
Hey, President Alexis of Michigan, who may well one day be an astronaut, says she'll buy one.
Seems like a certainty to me, and it's already ****TUESDAY**** in Blighty!
As for Steve and television: For the purposes of Apple products, it's not that Steve hates television so much as he considers it to be purely for consumption, whereas computers are for creation. He doesn't really see any synergy there. In a sense, I agree, except that it would be nice to be easily able to capture TV signals, play with them in iMovie, and assemble collages and the like, or use them in commentary and/or criticism. After all, you create based on material you've consumed. But the obstacle there would probably be the publishers, not Apple. Alas.
Yup. I agree completely. I'd really like to see Apple match those HP digital media center computers, but somehow integrate it all with something as easy as iMovie.
I'm hopeful, though, that el Gato (the Eye TV folks) will figure out a way to let the Eye TV capture in formats other than MPEG1. My Eye TV is quickly becoming one of my dearest possessions, especially considering that when combined with my 20-gig iPod and my iBook, I can carry around loads and loads of music and movies with me when I go out of town. Convincing us all to carry around little hard drives is going to be the crucial move in all of this, I think.
Remember this OQO devise that is a bit larger than conventional PDAs but runs a full version of windows XP. Maybe I am wrong, but I think I remember reading that it was created by former Apple employees. It will feature firewire among other things and noticing its dimentions, I came to think that Apple was probably trying to compete with this devise.
Anyway, it is worth looking at its features if you want to know what Apple can achieve.
Why Apple would be foolish NOT to release a tablet type computer...
While there has been some new penetration in certain markets, we all know that the majority of Mac's sold the last few years have been upgrades to loyal Apple customers... Is that market saturated yet?? Perhaps... The hardware improvements just haven't justified upgrades for many a user.. So, Apple NEEDS to offer new types of hardware and services to current Mac users to keep the revenue flowing.. We've seen hints of these (iPod, .mac) with more to come.. Perhaps the music service and tablets...
Putting a tablet together could be a fairly cheap proposition for Apple.. Expect a fast G3, a nice radeon, perhaps a slight variation of the iMac's small motherboard and of course, a touch screen at a sub $700 price... Now why do we need these tablets?? Well, there's a very large installed base of iMac and pMac owners who don't have any type of portability.. Sometimes we just want to play on the net or email while we're on the couch but we can't.. or bring some documents/pics/movies to a friend's house.... I'd venture to assume that Apple's tablet (if it does exist) wouldn't just be a hi-tech notepad.. Here's where I see them going (again, if they choose to)...
Entire interface in Metal... Not even sure if we'd have a full Finder, as the finder is really just an app... The possibilities are endless..
The apps are there - Safari, Mail, iPhoto, iCal, Sherlock, iTunes, iSync, Quicktime, Note pad (Document?)
The technology is there - Inkwell, Bluetooth & Airport, of course...
the market for these would be huge, I'm sure.. These would be great train companions for reading ebooks, newspapers, email, etc.. Portable photo albums, movie viewer, etc etc etc
Perhaps the rumored picture frame was just a tablet style device, standing upright on its charger with a screensaver synced to your mac's pictures (or local ones)...
I guess it just comes down to this... Many users don't really need a full featured portable as a second computer, yet want some sort of portability at the right price point, and that's just home users.. Haven't even gone into the wants of the scientific, creative and edu markets who'd find very interesting uses for such a device.. All with the Apple touch..
well, enough rant... guess we'll just wait and see...
also waiting for an Apple/Philips av receiver.. got a feeling something like that's on the way..
Comments
So, lack of speaker grille means bupkus, really.
Originally posted by Kickaha
Or, they could be thinking different...
LCD Speaker Technology
Wow, more like thinking out of this world.
Originally posted by kormac77
Hi. Matsu. I thought you should br here soon.
What do you think about this one?
http://www.sony.jp/products/Consumer...LF3/index.html
You need read it in japanese.
What can APPLE put more to this kind of product ?
Think differently.
Sony used to have three models. They dropped the other two due to poor sales. Even this one doesn't sell well. This thing is two inches thick, it weighs five pounds and Sony only claims 1 to 2 hours battery life depending on how high you turn up the backlight. Interesting idea but not well implemented.
Originally posted by neutrino23
Sony used to have three models. They dropped the other two due to poor sales. Even this one doesn't sell well. This thing is two inches thick, it weighs five pounds and Sony only claims 1 to 2 hours battery life depending on how high you turn up the backlight. Interesting idea but not well implemented.
And this is what has killed the tablet time and time again. The idea is sound. The basic form (especially the size being bandied about in this thread) is useful and comfortable. Pens as input devices are precise and flexible and universally familiar. But every attempt sofar has fallen short in terms of implementation. One technology or another has never been quite there, or the price has been wrong, etc.
On the one hand, this is a reason not to enter the market. On the other hand, it means that if (say) Apple happens upon a recipe for a winning implementation at a palatable price, they own the market at least until competitors can respond — and look at how long that took in the case of the iPod. Additionally, the test will probably be to see if it can be done with an absolute minimum of custom parts. The real genius of the iPod is that Apple engineers assembled a market-beating product almost entirely out of off-the-shelf components. I'm assuming that they will attempt a similar exercize for any venture into tablet territory (assuming that they do venture here), since it makes for shorter time to market, easier manufacture, lower costs, etc.
As for Steve and television: For the purposes of Apple products, it's not that Steve hates television so much as he considers it to be purely for consumption, whereas computers are for creation. He doesn't really see any synergy there. In a sense, I agree, except that it would be nice to be easily able to capture TV signals, play with them in iMovie, and assemble collages and the like, or use them in commentary and/or criticism. After all, you create based on material you've consumed. But the obstacle there would probably be the publishers, not Apple. Alas.
[insert rant about derivative works law here]
Originally posted by Amorph
it would be nice to be easily able to capture TV signals, play with them in iMovie, and assemble collages and the like, or use them in commentary and/or criticism.
At risk of straying off-topic, this is already doable if your DV camera is able to convert raw video from an AV cable into DV. I've done it...
Back on-topic, I don't think I've yet seen in any of the tablet threads anything about Inkwell: we've got this stuff sitting there in the OS, but how many people are actually getting the benefit of it? Yes, Jobs disparaged it with a "at least we get something back from all the money we spent on Newton" crack, but surely that would end up being pretty much to the fore in a tablet?
What I've been giving a lot of thought to is the possibility that such an iDevice might contain a tri-band GSM/GPRS radio as well as Bluetooth and 802.11g. Dispense with connecting to a phone when going online away from a WLAN, and simply use the supplied Bluetooth earpiece (which slots into the device next to the stylus) or speakerphone mode when making a voice call.
Originally posted by Amorph
[insert rant about derivative works law here]
I've smacked straight into the face of this with, of all things, an essay, that would have been an article but for the fact that a couple of the needed images will **never** be opened to publication again.
There are a few technical hurdles still.
Hardware: size weight storage battery.
These can be overcome.
Software: handwriting and recog. and voice recording and cataloguing and recog.
And
the biggie, Symbiosis.
The problem of getting a web page and other documents to display properly on a small screen while simulataneous tackling the bug-bear of squinty eye syndrome.
The size weight and technical spec are all comming into the realm of feasibility, as is the software side of things, but that basic viewing problem remains, especially considering the current, and seemingly well embedded web paradigm.
We'll see, if Apple could solve that in a convincing way** yeah people claim to have resolved it to various degrees, but basically that's ALL CRAP once you use it... if Apple solves these paradoxical demands of size and space, they will indeed have a huge winner on their hands.
I think we need a bit more time, mebbe Apple should hire me as a consultant for technological philosophy?
apple usually debuts new products on tuesdays.
it's been a while since the beginning-of-the-year once-a-week announcements.
tomorrow is tuesday.
tomorrow is also april 1st.
you know, funny thing if apple DOES announce a PDA tomorrow, will anyone even believe it???
Originally posted by rok
you know, funny thing if apple DOES announce a PDA tomorrow, will anyone even believe it???
not sure but if it were an april fools joke, it would be a HUGE wasted opportunity. the stir the rumour alone has made is a good indicator of what the ACTUAL product might enjoy...
Originally posted by Aries 1B
"Who would use it?", you hear the naysayers prattle across the web. Here's a lunging stab at The Market:
...
Astronaut
...
Military--Navy or Marine Corps Pilot
...
Pilots
...
Politicians
...
Students
...
Other than Astronaut (because I'm not guaranteed, though it is one of my main goals in life), I will be or am everything that I left on this list. I'd use it.
--Alexis
Originally posted by Alexis
Other than Astronaut (because I'm not guaranteed, though it is one of my main goals in life), I will be or am everything that I left on this list. I'd use it.
Hey, President Alexis of Michigan, who may well one day be an astronaut, says she'll buy one.
Seems like a certainty to me, and it's already ****TUESDAY**** in Blighty!
Originally posted by Amorph
As for Steve and television: For the purposes of Apple products, it's not that Steve hates television so much as he considers it to be purely for consumption, whereas computers are for creation. He doesn't really see any synergy there. In a sense, I agree, except that it would be nice to be easily able to capture TV signals, play with them in iMovie, and assemble collages and the like, or use them in commentary and/or criticism. After all, you create based on material you've consumed. But the obstacle there would probably be the publishers, not Apple. Alas.
Yup. I agree completely. I'd really like to see Apple match those HP digital media center computers, but somehow integrate it all with something as easy as iMovie.
I'm hopeful, though, that el Gato (the Eye TV folks) will figure out a way to let the Eye TV capture in formats other than MPEG1. My Eye TV is quickly becoming one of my dearest possessions, especially considering that when combined with my 20-gig iPod and my iBook, I can carry around loads and loads of music and movies with me when I go out of town. Convincing us all to carry around little hard drives is going to be the crucial move in all of this, I think.
Cheers
Scott
Originally posted by Clive
Hey, President Alexis of Michigan, who may well one day be an astronaut, says she'll buy one.
Seems like a certainty to me, and it's already ****TUESDAY**** in Blighty!
He. You left out Naval Officer and Pilot as well.
--Alexis
Remember this OQO devise that is a bit larger than conventional PDAs but runs a full version of windows XP. Maybe I am wrong, but I think I remember reading that it was created by former Apple employees. It will feature firewire among other things and noticing its dimentions, I came to think that Apple was probably trying to compete with this devise.
Anyway, it is worth looking at its features if you want to know what Apple can achieve.
While there has been some new penetration in certain markets, we all know that the majority of Mac's sold the last few years have been upgrades to loyal Apple customers... Is that market saturated yet?? Perhaps... The hardware improvements just haven't justified upgrades for many a user.. So, Apple NEEDS to offer new types of hardware and services to current Mac users to keep the revenue flowing.. We've seen hints of these (iPod, .mac) with more to come.. Perhaps the music service and tablets...
Putting a tablet together could be a fairly cheap proposition for Apple.. Expect a fast G3, a nice radeon, perhaps a slight variation of the iMac's small motherboard and of course, a touch screen at a sub $700 price... Now why do we need these tablets?? Well, there's a very large installed base of iMac and pMac owners who don't have any type of portability.. Sometimes we just want to play on the net or email while we're on the couch but we can't.. or bring some documents/pics/movies to a friend's house.... I'd venture to assume that Apple's tablet (if it does exist) wouldn't just be a hi-tech notepad.. Here's where I see them going (again, if they choose to)...
Entire interface in Metal... Not even sure if we'd have a full Finder, as the finder is really just an app... The possibilities are endless..
The apps are there - Safari, Mail, iPhoto, iCal, Sherlock, iTunes, iSync, Quicktime, Note pad (Document?)
The technology is there - Inkwell, Bluetooth & Airport, of course...
the market for these would be huge, I'm sure.. These would be great train companions for reading ebooks, newspapers, email, etc.. Portable photo albums, movie viewer, etc etc etc
Perhaps the rumored picture frame was just a tablet style device, standing upright on its charger with a screensaver synced to your mac's pictures (or local ones)...
I guess it just comes down to this... Many users don't really need a full featured portable as a second computer, yet want some sort of portability at the right price point, and that's just home users.. Haven't even gone into the wants of the scientific, creative and edu markets who'd find very interesting uses for such a device.. All with the Apple touch..
well, enough rant... guess we'll just wait and see...
also waiting for an Apple/Philips av receiver.. got a feeling something like that's on the way..
I found this yesterday in my mailbox. Yes that's the truth!
Wasn't sure I should post it though. But here it is.
Bye Patrick
Originally posted by Badpat
Hi there.
I found this yesterday in my mailbox. Yes that's the truth!
Wasn't sure I should post it though. But here it is.
Bye Patrick
hehe... is that your lunchbox?
Originally posted by Badpat
Hi there.
I found this yesterday in my mailbox. Yes that's the truth!
Wasn't sure I should post it though. But here it is.
Bye Patrick
ok... hmmm... so what is THIS then?