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Tablet Theories |
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 The rumors are flying fast and furious. Will Apple debut a tablet-like device? SpyMac and MacWhispers seem to think so. However, if you're a doubting Thomas, why not play along for the sake of argument and pretend like a new cool device is in the works at 1 Infinite Loop.
Now, we know the size and the basic functionality - or at least we know what the Wintel versions of tablets do. You point and click with a stylus to navigate the OS, and the computer will recognize your handwriting and convert it to text (ASCII or otherwise). We've seen it in the Newton and other PDA's as well, pretty simple stuff.
But Apple doesn't do something just to be like the other guys. Apple CREATED the PDA market with the Newton, and we can expect that they'll create a whole new market when they launch the iTablet or whatever it'll be called.
So what features and functionality will this new device have? Well, thanks to MacWhispers we know the dimensions (click here for a nice mock-up) and thanks to SpyMac we know that it will have an "8.4" backlit TFT-display and built-in Airport Extreme". It will be marketed towards the home user who doesn't necessarily need the power of a laptop. That's about all we know just from scouring the rumor sites.
What else would this thing have? Ok, well here are the gimme's: USB, FireWire and Bluetooth. Duh.
Inkwell will be built right in, of course, but the big question here is "Will it run a full version of OS X"? I think so - it would pretty much have to in order to use Inkwell, Rendezvous and all the great iApps that will help sell this thing.
Will it have cell-phone functionality, perhaps including some features from the long-rumored iPhone? I doubt it - consider the clunky interface of having to hold a tablet up to your ear, not to mention the cost of integrating cell phone parts. Of course...you could always just use a headset with it. And imagine being able to dial people right from your Address Book, or send pics via phone to other iTablet users!
Might it have digital photo capability? The Apple iShot (a rumored digital camera that was dispelled as a myth) always seemed to me to be the next Digital Hub appliance that Apple would come out with. Almost everyone has the need to take, organize, and share pictures, and Apple has taken advantage of this with iPhoto. There are cell phones out there that can take photos and videos, so it stands to reason that Apple could fairly cheaply integrate a low-end digital camera into the iTablet.
Now this thing starts to come into focus. Imagine a tablet that lets you walk into a new building with a foreign network and automatically recognize all the printers, iChat users and other Rendezvous services, let's you actually WRITE up an email to a friend and send a picture of where you're at as well. Also, if you're not near a wireless network, you can make a call (albeit an expensive one) and connect via satellite to send your email/browse the web.
I may be way off the mark here, but it's always difficult to guess what such an innovative company like Apple will come out with. I won't even venture a guess at what the price of this thing will be ($666 anyone?). However, I hope I've fueled some imaginations about this Tablet because I'd really like to know what other Mac users think this thing is going to be!
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April 7 2003, 8:07 PM EDT, by
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Comments:
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| Guy |
4/8/03, 10:42 AM EDT |
What if it had a built in, autorecharging, Blue tooth headset? Makes the phone ergonomics much more attractive.
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| matthew |
4/8/03, 12:06 PM EDT |
I hope it's more like a smart display... that would make it not standalone (except with certain apps, like a Nevo type remote) but an enhancement of a desktop.
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| madbard |
4/8/03, 1:45 PM EDT |
put a compact Flash/SD/MMC slot instead of some webcam and you'd have a lot of possibilities....
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| AshBean.com |
4/8/03, 4:19 PM EDT |
Madbard has a basic point. Assuming that such a product will ever see the light of day (and if it did I would sell my dear wife and pets to medical research to get enough funds to buy one), open extensibility is going to be key to rapid acceptance and market growth. This is how Handspring with its Springboard technology was able to achieve market success.
As for market acceptance, I own, still use and covet my Newton 2100 because it fits into my lifestyle and needs. I type incredibly fast (due to Dvorak), but I would rather have a portable I can write/jot/scribble/scrawl/browse/click on in the crook of my arm than something with a keyboard in my lap.
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| Wasabe |
4/8/03, 9:49 PM EDT |
Well, you all probably have good points. But I have NO idea what this article or ne of you guys r talking about. =)
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| Jonahan |
4/9/03, 9:18 AM EDT |
Fantastic thoughts...hopefully some of them get implemented. I think the Flash RAM idea would be needed - as you can't really put a CD/DVD drive in a little tablet (well, you COULD, but it would take up a lot of room).
Also, I came across this article about new Palm PDA's....One has 802.11b wireless in it and the other has a built-in camera.
Wasabe: Check SpyMac's article about the rumored Apple tablet. If you haven't seen a Wintel-type tablet, ch eck here.
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| Brian |
4/12/03, 10:28 AM EDT |
I think the form factor is too big. Microsoft's tablets are ridiculously huge, but Apple is still too large by a factor of 2.
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This article is archived, so you may not comment on it.
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