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Speculation About An Apple Tablet

Posted by michael on from the lifeblood-of-the-apple-world dept.

worm eater writes "The Register reports that Apple has filed for a European design trademark on a tablet computer. El Reg speculates that this could may make Apple Expo Paris more exciting that previously thought. Could this be the tech that finally brings the Mac desktop, iPod, and AirPort Express (and let's not forget the iPhone) together into the media household of The Future? (Of course, we've heard speculation about this before.)"

40 of 350 comments (clear)

  1. Estimated cost? by Trigun · · Score: 5, Funny

    $8499 MSRP.

    1. Re:Estimated cost? by Aadain2001 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      And that, lady and gentlemen, is why tablet PC's will NEVER take off! I know that that price is inflated (or is it?!?!), but tablet PC's are just too damn expensive. Why buy a tablet that is kludgy to use, limited in power/graphics, and costs more than a ultra powerful desktop computer? Until tablets are $500 or so, they will only be a niche market.

      --
      Space for rent, inquire within
    2. Re:Estimated cost? by Kenja · · Score: 4, Insightful
      "Until tablets are $500 or so, they will only be a niche market."

      What are you talking about? You can get a tablet PC for under 50$ off of eBay. Granted it'll have a 386-486 CPU in it.

      What I love are all these people talking about tablet PCs like the're a new thing. I still have my 486-33 tablet around some place, running Windows 3.1 for Pens off of its 40MB hard disk.

      --

      "Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
    3. Re:Estimated cost? by shufler · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Actually, tablets have come down in price. You can get a decent tablet from LG or Toshiba, for around the same price as a laptop. Not to mention that the latest tablets also douple as laptops (ie. The screen flips around).

      The price of a tablet will never be less than the cost of a laptop. The cost of a laptop will not be rediculously low like that any time soon.

    4. Re:Estimated cost? by Twirlip+of+the+Mists · · Score: 4, Insightful

      And don't even get me started about the deals you can get on wrecked Ferraris.

      Bad analogy. A totaled Ferarri is worth a fortune for the spare parts alone.

      --

      I write in my journal
    5. Re:Estimated cost? by crem_d_genes · · Score: 5, Funny

      Granted it will have a 68040 in it, but it will run OS 7.5 just fine.

      Has there been an update? Anybody got a gopher link that describes it?

  2. how much by ack154 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Well the big question would obviously be price. Any Mac fan probably knows it would be a very nice piece of hardware... but really, tablets are expensive enough. How much would something like this be from Apple?

    1. Re:how much by jfengel · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Actually, I think the big question would be "features". Tablets are pricey because they don't have very wide acceptance; people who buy them really, really want them.

      Apple's stock-in-trade has always been innovative, functional, attractive designs that make people feel comfortable. People pay a $50 premium for the iPod because its design just works for them. They like using it.

      Apple has always charged a bit more for its products, though some of that has been staying away from the most bottom level. You can pick up a bottom-of-the-line Dell for half the price of a bottom-of-the-line Mac, but a comparable Dell is usually only slightly less than the equivalent Mac. (Much of that, of course, depends on what you consider "comparable", since the systems use resources in very different ways.)

      The question for me is, does Apple have enough clever ideas to make a tablet computer really work? Can they make a tablet that pushes some laptops out of the market? Perhaps they can make the bridge between the power of a laptop and the convenience of a PDA that it becomes an indispensible item.

      Or they may end up with a cumbersome PDA/underpowered laptop combination that nobody wants. It'll all depend on the features. If they can get them right, they'll probably charge twice as much as a laptop and sell as many as they can make. Either way, I bet it'll be higher than the price you're comfortable paying, like the iPod, which has managed to be a breakout hit despite its high price by being exactly the right combination of features for people.

    2. Re:how much by Twirlip+of+the+Mists · · Score: 4, Interesting

      The question for me is, does Apple have enough clever ideas to make a tablet computer really work?

      AirPort Extreme for wireless networking. Rendezvous for zero-configuration connectivity to stuff like AirPort Express. Bluetooth for use with an optional keyboard. Inkwell for real-time handwriting recognition. A voice-driven interface that surprisingly few people take advantage of. And so forth and so on.

      Yeah, I think Apple does have enough clever ideas. What they don't have is miniaturization technology. They could certainly build a table about the size of a closed PowerBook, but they couldn't put a G5 processor in it. From a marketing point of view, I think it would be hard to sell any new system with a G4 processor, just from the point of view of customer perception.

      That's not to say I wouldn't take one.

      --

      I write in my journal
    3. Re:how much by Graff · · Score: 5, Interesting
      Well the big question would obviously be price. Any Mac fan probably knows it would be a very nice piece of hardware... but really, tablets are expensive enough. How much would something like this be from Apple?

      I honestly don't understand why it would be that much more expensive than a regular laptop. The only things different are a hinge that flips around and an overlay which goes on the screen. The flip-around hinge is really just a redesign, that should be a trivial cost, and the overlay is proven technology that has been in use for years. I can't see the overlay costing much more than an extra hundred bucks. That doesn't add too much to the cost when you are talking about a $1000+ machine.

      I could easily see Apple taking a 12" iBook, changing the hinge and putting on a touch-sensitive overlay. They already have most of the software to use the tablet in place with Inkwell.
      --
      Sapere aude!
    4. Re:how much by Dan+Ost · · Score: 4, Insightful

      From a marketing point of view, I think it would be hard to sell any new system with a G4 processor, just from the point of view of customer perception

      Funny how they sell so many laptops with G4's in them.

      I would expect that processing power is even less of a concern for tablet
      computers than it is for laptops.

      --

      *sigh* back to work...
    5. Re:how much by MyDixieWrecked · · Score: 4, Interesting

      yeah, I recently sat on the train next to a guy coming back from VA. He was so into getting a tablet. I was like "wtf do you want one of them for"

      he explained to me how he's in law school and is given much of his research paperwork and books in PDF form. He wants to be able to mark them up and take notes on them in class, and since he sometimes gets the PDF on a CD when he walks in door, he doesn't have time to print out the 100 pages or so.

      Also, he was bitching about crappy PDF reading software that's a pain to take notes on. Sure the comment feature in acrobat is nice, but it's not really suited for taking notes in real-time.

      --



      ...spike
      Ewwwwww, coconut...
    6. Re:how much by trentblase · · Score: 4, Funny
      Apple loves money

      Who doesn't? Commie.

  3. Are they reading my mind? by cjwl · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I would LOVE to have a wall mounted tablet running iTunes for my home stereo.

    1. Re:Are they reading my mind? by NETHED · · Score: 5, Funny

      Dear sir or madam,
      According to my records, you seem to have "WAY TOO MUCH MONEY" and this needs to be remedied. Please donate all you can to me, a POOR COLLEGE STUDENT.

      Seriously, this would be cool, but I'm sure there are less expensive ways to do this. Hey guys, are there ways?? I wouldnt mind hanging a Flatpanel on my wall, use it as a small TV, or a touchscreen control. Hmmmmm....

      --
      --sig fault--
    2. Re:Are they reading my mind? by rokzy · · Score: 4, Insightful

      tablets will never be done. a tablet is essentially just a very portable laptop with a touchscreen. this is a very good idea and the only problem is getting a good price/performance balance. time will solve this problem.

      consider the evidence:
      electronic organisers evolved to PDAs with touchscreen and handwriting recognition.

      mobile phones evolved to smartphones with touchscreen and handwriting recognition.

      laptops will evolve to tablets with touchscreen and handwriting recognition. to claim otherwise seems foolish.

    3. Re:Are they reading my mind? by rampant+mac · · Score: 5, Funny
      "According to my records, you seem to have "WAY TOO MUCH MONEY" and this needs to be remedied. Please donate all you can to me, a POOR COLLEGE STUDENT."

      What the hell? You don't have enough MONEY?!? Get off your lazy ass! What's happened to America lately?

      When I went off to college I left with no less than 3 ounces of marijuana which I promptly dealt from from my college dorm room! Did I ever have to call my parents up and beg for money? Nope!

      College students today expect handouts! You're destroying the very fabric of our society! Jesus, I'd be nothing without my diploma... Where the HELL did I put that thing? Oh shit, that's right. I smoked it.

      --
      I like big butts and I cannot lie.
  4. Damn. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    First they put apples in tablets...
    next we'll be eating all our food from tubes!

  5. Rumor by lateralus_1024 · · Score: 5, Funny

    This is the resurrection of the Newton, rumor has it.

    P.S. I started the rumor and I want royalties if i'm right.

    --
    If you think /. comments are bad, check out Digg.
  6. Apple PDA by phalse+phace · · Score: 4, Interesting

    This is probably the design for the scrapped Apple PDA Jobs talked about. Also, take a look at the pictures the Register has.... on one of them it looks like the so-called tablet has a connector similar to the one found on a iPod, which leads me to believe this was the scrapped PDA

    1. Re:Apple PDA by MoonBuggy · · Score: 5, Interesting

      OTOH, they have bought a shitload of 60GB microdrives while stating that a 60GB iPod isn't in the works...

  7. Not the first time Apple's been toying with this.. by wfberg · · Score: 4, Interesting

    One of the early designs for the iBook was a design in which the screen could fold 180 degrees. In that position, the keyboard would be deactivated, and the screen would act as a touchscreen. Which is actually a pretty neat idea.

    --
    SCO employee? Check out the bounty
  8. Just make me a GOOD eBook reader... by TrollBridge · · Score: 4, Interesting

    ...and price it right. Given a large enough selection of eBooks to buy/download, they could take the lead on a very large untapped market.

    Apple has always been good at making high-quality consumer-grade electronics (iMac, iPod, etc.) and I think a quality eBook reader would do more for them than a "tablet".

    --
    There's a Mercedes gap too. I want one and can't afford one, but it's not government's job to do anything about it.
  9. Possibly a remote tablet interface? by neuro.slug · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I don't think this patent is for a tablet or handheld device. As the article states, Apple's iPod already is a great information carrier. However, this patent with, along with Apple's work with a 'wireless monitor' company may be a portable monitor, which connects to your home PC.

    I think it would be cool to be able to carry around a tablet-esque device and pen that allows you to do things with your computer. Maybe there will be universal remote functionality and other new features. Just speculation...

    -- n

  10. Size? by tomee · · Score: 5, Funny

    Will they release a version with the 30'' Apple Cinema display? That would be cool for riding the subway.

  11. What if you drop it? by mveloso · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Are there any tablet users out there with experience? I'd think that dropping any tablet would cause catastrophic damage to it.

    The same could be said with a laptop, I suppose, but laptops seem to have OK survivability.

    1. Re:What if you drop it? by g3000 · · Score: 5, Funny

      About two weeks after I bought my G3 iBook, my brother dropped it down a short flight of stairs, and hit a wall and tile floor before coming to rest. I guess that virtually bullet-proof, white plastic enclosure is up to snuff, because not only does the iBook still work well today, it barely has a scratch. In case you're wondering, it faired better than my brother's "enclosure." He received a wrist fracture and a strained ligament when I dropped *him* down the stairs shortly thereafter.

  12. Its for the new iMac! by rogerborn · · Score: 5, Interesting



    Its not for a tablet Mac or a Videoplayer Mac.

    Its for the new iMac!

    Here is a great article speculating that the new iMac to be released in 19 days in Paris, is to be a miniature iMac, sort of like the old color Classic Macintosh.

    http://www.mymac.com/showarticle.php?id=-750

    Its small screen will conect wirelessly to the Internet, the Ethernet, via the new mini Apple wireless hub. It will also likely have a small keyboard and mouse to go with it.

    Since its supposed to be with an aluminum body, perhaps it will come in mini iPod colors too.

    Roger Born
    writing.borngraphics.com
    Sorry, no refunds.

  13. As Long as We're Talking About Unicorns by Seanasy · · Score: 4, Interesting

    No, not a tablet. I'm imagining an LCD screen for your Mac/iMac that detaches from its stand and can be carried around the house. Wireless video voodoo. Not intended to be a standalone computer but just a portable display with touchscreen. Needs Wifi and a Mac nearby. You can use it as a remote for AirportExpress, as a 'non-portable laptop,' i.e. it doesn't leave the house, usually. Maybe you can take the screen over to a friends house or to work and log into a Mac there with it. Hmmm....

    1. Re:As Long as We're Talking About Unicorns by ericdano · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Now that is an interesting idea. That is probably the ONLY thing that really gets in people's way. Apple already has a wireless mouse and keyboard. A way to make the display wireless would be awesome....

      --
      It's either on the beat or off the beat, it's that easy.
      I moderate therefore I rule!
      --
  14. Re:It's probably design specs for the new iMac by Joey+Patterson · · Score: 4, Informative

    The new G5 based iMacs are reportedly designed so that the CPU is attached to the monitor - which looks remarkably like a tablet. We'll know in 2 weeks.

    Speaking of the new G5 iMac, ThinkSecret has a report that confirms this, along with supposed specs for new 17" and 20" iMacs.

  15. They would sell really well... by Steamhead · · Score: 4, Funny

    If they kept a well organized copy of the WIKIpedia on it and wrote "DON'T PANIC" in large friendly letters on the back...

  16. Explain to me slowly... by Nice2Cats · · Score: 4, Interesting
    ...using simple words, why I would want to buy a tablet instead of my current 12" iBook. A tablet doesn't have a keyboard, and I can't shut it to protect the screen; and when it is too old to deal with Mac OS X 14.5 or whatever it will be by then, I can't install Linux on it.

    Obviously, Steve Jobs is better at this than I am (or I'd be making one dollar a year plus a few benefits), but this would not seem like a clever move.

  17. I just hope... by jbarr · · Score: 4, Funny

    I jukt h%pe th2 hand3uit&ng re)oGni7iob is Bet7Er thaN oN tfe N0wtan!

    --
    My mom always said, "Jim, you're 1 in a million." Given the current population, there are 7000 of me. God help us all!
  18. Re:What happened, Apple? by callipygian-showsyst · · Score: 5, Informative
    Apple literally invented the PDA market

    Not quite! I'm a big fan of PDAs and portable computing. I've owned many PDAs, including Newton Messagepad 110 (which Apple gave me when I was working at Adobe), but before that I had a Tandy 100 and an HP 100 both of which pre-dated the Newton by quite a bit.

    --
    Best Buy can have you arrested
  19. Are Apple laptops that expensive? by Smeagel · · Score: 5, Informative

    They're slightly more expensive than a Dell, but not by any great amount. When you consider how much faster they run, and their performance, it is hard to recommend a non-apple laptop to anyone who isn't an MS addict. Their desktop hardware is a little insane, but their laptops are well priced IMO.

    This coming from a person who has never owned an apple (aside from my ipod) and who spent last year working tech help for my university and repaired hundreds of laptops from all brands (but apple) for people.

    1. Re:Are Apple laptops that expensive? by mrchaotica · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I agree. I bought a 12" iBook 7 months ago, and chose it because I couldn't find a comparable PC laptop any cheaper (and it was simpler to just get Mac OS than to get Linux working with arbitrary PC laptop hardware).

      --

      "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

  20. Sheesh. by JHromadka · · Score: 5, Funny

    Jobs takes a month off on medical leave and they try to sneak the Newton back in while he's gone. :)

    --
    "The objective of securing the safety of Americans from crime and terror has been achieved." -- John Ashcroft
  21. No hard drive? by Anonymous+Writer · · Score: 5, Interesting

    If this is a tablet computer equipped to do a network boot of OS X through 802.11g, would it be possible to have the unit work as some sort of a thin client without a hard drive? Perhaps rather than a unit working independently of a computer, it would be a thin-client supplement for a desktop or laptop. I've always wondered if this could be done, because I presume that it would lengthen battery life and could be very thin in design. I would love to see a tablet computer that simply looked like a detached screen of a powerbook without all the buttons and extraneous shapes the Tablet PCs have. That may be possible by excluding a hard drive, CD/DVD drive, and keyboard from the unit.

    I recall reading something that may have been a hint about this alleged product. Here's a quote from AppleInsider...

    "When Jobs was demonstrating the new Airport Express, Walt Mossberg said that the biggest problem he saw was that users had to get up and walk to their computers to change play lists. Jobs joked that walking was good, but when pressed, he smiled a wry smile. AppleInsider correspondents took this to mean that Apple is developing in this area, and the Airport Express is just a step along the way."
  22. Re:Common misconception by tb3 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Bingo! Graphics people are the target market for this gizmo, not suits who want to take notes. This is why Windows-based tablets fail, Windows still doesn't really 'get' creative graphics. The killer app for the tablet Mac is Alias Sketchbook Pro which recently became available for the Mac.

    --

    www.lucernesys.comHorizon: Calendar-based personal finance