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Apple Tablet Rumors Again (Still?)
LSU_ADT_Geek writes "With a conventional netbook clearly out of the question, researchers for Piper Jaffray said Thursday there's mounting evidence to suggest Apple next year will introduce its own take on the market in the form of a tablet-based device that will sell for $700 or less."
no way in hell they will ever sell something that cheap. i predict the next iphone will cost something in that range. then again... maybe the next iphone will be their idea of a "tablet pc"
Sounds like the apple wheel
Rumours are not news. They belong on Digg. Please please /., try to keep the quality of the post high and avoid speculation like this. It makes the site so much more worth reading.
-- Cheers!
I could definitely see something like this heading our way; While I'm not a Mac fan myself, they do seem keen on making "nifty" products (e.g. the iPhone, iMusicPlayers, etc.) If they do make something like this, it will probably have unique features (maybe a camera that lets you interact via hand motions, facial expressions?) Still, this seems fairly realistic.
"Sorrow is better than laughter, for by sadness of face the heart is made glad." [Ecclesiastes 7:3]
Well since they already do sell things that cheap, you comment is idiotic.
If they integrated all of the cool functionality (multi-touch screen, etc.) from the iPhone as well as the full OS X base (iChat w/video, real app support, etc.); I'd be all over it. I don't want an iPhone for this kind of stuff, nor do I want to carry around my MacBook (as I do now out of necessity). A tablet would be the perfect compromise for my needs.
Why you can't read the summary after you click the comments? Is Slashdot trying to discourage people from reading summaries? Not RTFA is bad enough!
Also, why does that firehose keep loading stuff? I will hit "refresh" if I want more stories! Also, my shoes hurt. Waaah!
(-1, Raw and Uncut is the only way to read)
Like I said before, it will be sweet, groundbreaking, worth every penny and several hundred dollars more than a conventional netbook.
So it will not be a netbook competitor at all.
If you don't know what AltaVista is (was), get off my lawn.
I knew I kept my Newton for a reason... now I can be snotty and say "Oh yeah, I had one first" when it becomes popular. Now where did I put it...
Seriously as said above I can't see it selling that cheaply but I really did love the Newton despite its quirks. I still believe it died because it was just a little too far ahead of its time. Palm drove the last nail in its coffin with a smaller, lighter, more practical device. I would be interested to see what Apple could come up with for a tablet now with their focus on touch egonomics and a decade+ of hardware advancement.
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Axiotron Modbook
Note that I am not connected with Axiotron nor do I own a Macbook
I am Slashdot. Are you Slashdot as well?
That evidence being, apparently, the increasing number of analysts who all parrot "Apple may be making a netbook"?
Don't get me wrong - I'd love to see what Apple might come up with - but there are plenty of Mac rumor sites already available.
#DeleteChrome
Apple next year will introduce its own take on the market in the form of a tablet-based device that will sell for $700 or less.
Put simple - Tablets suck except for a very few niche uses... And even for those few uses, netbooks do the job cheaper and more conveniently.
So put simply, I'll consider this a completely bogus rumor, since Apple has better sense than to revive a dying-for-a-good-reason technology. They may have a few failures in trying to predict the next cool toy, but haven't made the mistake of recreating retro hardware since the Lisa.
Now, I mentioned netbooks above - It wouldn't surprise me at all to see Apple try to jump into that market (though they will no doubt ignore the "sub $500" as a defining characteristic of that class of device). Perhaps (though by no means certain) even with a flippable screen, giving users the option of using it in notebook-style or tablet-style mode. But an outright straight-up tablet, not going to happen.
I've seen this rumor floating around from enough sources that I won't be surprised if it happens. That said, even though other rumored apple products have turned out to be true, it seems that the only thing that is off is the price -- apple prices these things for about 20% more than what analysts predict.
If Apple comes out w/ a tablet, I can easily see them pricing it at $999.
the iphone is a hit because it's the same price or cheaper than competing cell phones. few months ago when i bought one for my wife i looked at the BB Storm. the data plan was more expensive and once you figured the cost of the extra storage it was the same price or $200 more than the iphone when adding up the price of the 2 year contract.
$700 for what is a netbook is way too much especially if you'll need to pay for a wireless data plan. you can buy $299 XP, Android or Ubuntu netbooks. WTF kind of magic apple pixie dust is this going to have for $700? or is this going to be another case of apple charging more for the same hardware just because it says apple?
Why is a conventional netbook clearly out of the question? Did I miss another story where they justified that assertion?
if you want cheap (or even IMO normal) hardware don't wait for apple to bring it, they wont!
IranAir Flight 655 never forget!
They DO have a right to selectively license MacOS X to a vendor who agrees to use high quality, consistent hardware. They could easily get a company like Dell or Acer to license it for one particular line of netbooks.
You know what happens if someone buys a Dell NetBook with OS X on it in this economy? When they get $1000-$3000 to blow on a real OS X laptop, they'll be more than happy to head to the Apple Store. Apple is in a licensing position to tell any vendor to kiss their shiny, solid aluminum ass if they want OS X for all laptops or nothing instead of just a netbook. Right now, I think Dell wouldn't even hesitate to agree to those terms.
Here's a picture of it
Apple is not a software company that makes hardware. they are a hardware company that makes software because they can not stand the idea of an inferior OS soiling their little slice of hardware perfection.
For some reason my fountain pen doesn't work here.
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Good points, but I think the problem is that they've been there before, and it didn't work out too well for them.
With Apple being Apple, I think if they ever do venture down that road again, it will be because they have come up with a new and different method of licensing the software.
However, it's pretty unlikely IMO, given that Apple likes to maintain a very specific user 'experience', and allowing their OS to be used on potentially sub-standard hardware could undermine that experience and potentially turn some away from the OS.
its like this: http://cs5.org/?p=3#more-3
Apple has been in the tablet market longer than anyone. You can still get a Newton in the sub $150 range from EBay. According to a comparison with the Samsung Q1 UMPC, they still stand up against modern tablets.
Apple's said they don't want to do a netbook, and when people think tablet, they think of a standard tablet-based laptop.
My personal theory is that it would be a Kindle-sized iPhone, though probably without the phone part (so I guess a Kindle-sized ipod touch). With the features of the next version of the os that's publicly known, there's no reason why you couldn't use the iphone interface to do anything you'd do with a netbook. Any apps that you might expect on a netbook would likely be written and sold in the app store pretty darn quick, like a basic word-processing app. If you couldn't stand to use the on-screen keyboard (which presumably would have bigger buttons for the bigger screen), then use a bluetooth keyboard.
That, as far as I can tell, would solve (to me, anyway), both the netbook *and* tablet issue.
If Apple introduces a Tablet it would cost $ 2000+ .
The first to put an eInk screen in addition to the normal screen in a Netbook or tablet form-factor will win all the prizes.
Think about it...all the features of a netbook you love, but the eInk display from a Kindle that allows you to send documents to it. Oh, the humanity!
Yeah, I'll probably get modded down for this.
Come on, Slashdot. This "news" is so old. When you've been scooped by Leo Laporte and John C. Dvorak on This Week In Tech TWO WEEKS AGO, you know you suck. Stay out of the rumor business. You're not any good at it. Stick to the cool tech stories that made you who you are today.
That said, this topic is kind of interesting for Apple fans. If Apple does put out a product like this, its probably going to have some pretty interesting functionality. Usually when Steve Jobs embarks on a product that he's criticized in the past, it'll have a pretty unique spin on it (not just marketing spin). For example, the iPhone was a pretty large departure in terms of user interface philosophy from previous phones and brought some new ideas to the table. So, stories like this are kind of exciting. Maybe they have some good ideas. Then again, Apple's released some real boners too. In the end, if they release a tablet-like thing, it will almost certainly be interesting, and may or may not be useful/good.
I guess my point is I mostly pretend to ignore stories like this because in the end there really isn't much point in speculating over what any company is going to do unless you have a dog in the fight somehow. If it comes out, and its useful, and worth the price, I'll buy it. If not, I won't. No sense in getting all worked up about it now.
Been waiting for Apple to deal with this segment. As a Mac Fanboy, I have been disappointed. I need something between my iPhone and my 17" laptop, and I do not want to spend $1000+. The Dell minis loaded with Ubuntu look pretty sweet right now.
"I don't think it's selfish, to eat defenseless shellfish." -NOFX
http://apple.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=193127&cid=15847027
Okay. That was probably dumb luck.
But if you look at the iPod Touch, and you look at where people are going with these days, you'll notice that the sales of netbooks are absolutely skyrocketing. Apple doesn't have any product that takes advantage of this new market. So, as a company dedicated to profit, they may make one.
My prediction: Macbook Touch. Atom Processor. Bluetooth, Wifi, also available with wireless broadband. $799 with no provider, or for $499 with a contract from AT&T or whomever. Compatible with apps made for the iPhone, running Snow Leopard.
They'll probably fuck it up by including just one USB port and no video out. But hey, that's Apple.
You think Slashdot could get up to date on your logo for these type posts? There hasn't been a G5 since 2005.
I work for a university, and Apple recently sent a guy to talk to our faculty about the future of technology. During question time I referred to the possibility of a Mac tablet so I could try to gauge his immediate expression. No clue from that, all I had to go on was his response that Apple is obviously aware that people are talking about the possibility of a Mac tablet, and they'll come out with one as soon as they can do a good quality one for less than six hundred bucks.
Of course, he also said our computer labs were obsolete, which was bullshit, so who knows what to believe.
Space game using normal deck of cards: http://BattleCards.org
While I don't think it's out of the question that they'd make a tablet, I think people are right that we'll just end up with a next generation iPhone/iTouch.
The tablet market is competitive, but it's not huge. I think they'd have a good shot at the art crowd with a decent digitizer, but nothing they've shown so far (that I'm aware of) seems to be going in that direction. They seem much more focused on finger interaction and multitouch. On top of that, Apple isn't terribly desirable in business, which is the other major draw for tablets.
I don't see a big win for them other than sheer novelty. I will admit, though, that novelty seems to be one of their biggest strengths.
The confidence of ignorance will always overcome the indecision of knowledge.
Almost every bit of information they have is second or third hand (a guy heard from a guy who heard from a guy). They are barely one step above a rumor site. Most of them don't have the expertise to separate the wheat from the chaff.
Industry Analysts who look at industry trends and give advice to executives can be useful but analysts for financial institutions (e.g. Gene Munster for Piper Jaffray) that are making specific predictions about product introductions have a (not so) hidden agenda. Get people to buy now on optimistic news and dump later when it proves to be bogus. Remember, they make money in both directions.
You are polluting the internet with your whining. Please stop. You're hurting the internet.
If you mod me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine.
That's why I've kept my 12.1" Powerbook, but it's EOL. Fan bearings are rumbling, audio jack doesn't work unless you get the connection just right, same with the powercord, and the backlight is extremely dim, and I'm starting to see enough Intel only stuff. Although once they went back to a dedicated video card in the new MacBook Aluminum, I've been tempted to get one this fall when 10.6 is released.
I've found that anything less than 12" is hard to use if you're coding. Especially these 9/10" widescreens that are on the acer aspire ones and other netbooks. Fortunately I'm not doing as much coding and more management and meetings. I suspect, though, that I'm still going to need a full laptop. Hell, I didn't like the air (I mean why pay $500 more for a machine with no optical drive and no ability to replace batteries. I used to travel with 3 laptop batteries).
If they release a 10" tablet or iPod Touch - Mega Screen Edition, I'll consider it. I set up a new production server the other day from my iPhone while on a friend's boat thanks to SSH, VNC, and Safari Mobile. It was less than ideal for the task but worked...plus the fact I was on a boat made up for the inconvenience.
"The problem with socialism is eventually you run out of other people's money" - Thatcher.
Trusted sources say that Apple is buying Amazon Kindle and renaming it to iKindle, industry experts say it will be the biggest merge in this century.
Citation not required. iBelieve InsideAppleHole website.
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Just don't click on something you don't want to see, don't click on it, don't respond to it, stick your fingers in your ears and go 'La La La' if it helps you. Geez
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When the eMate came out it was educationally priced at $700. It was way too expensive at that time for me to even think about getting one. I finally got one second hand a few years ago and loved the form factor. Even though functionally it was rough around the edges. As Wikipedia shows, it was the direct forerunner to the first iBooks. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EMate_300 Could it be Apple actually knew what they were doing and released the iPhone/iTouch be test arenas for an iPad? Of course, this time they succeeded beyond their wildest imaginings. Unlike the poor eMate which is gone but not forgotten. Still, you have to wonderâ¦
Care killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back.
How about a Next-gen Newton? Target a few niches, where large amounts of user input is not a big factor and use the same strategies as the iPhone to minimize the need to input lots of information. Just make sure the form-factor is very lightweight (A clipboard or a news magazine) and aesthetically pleasing. The form-factor will be key. People should be able to relax when they lounge about in their living rooms with this thing.
A lot of this could be done as a Remote Access to their Macintosh computer! This fits in nicely with the "Digital Hub" strategy.
Put in a digital camera, and you can use it to inventory and organize household possessions and also use it as a videophone. Think of it as less an independent computer and more of a new kind of interface for the living room.
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Anyone ever wonder if maybe Apple might see all these rumors, and interpret them as a large demand for a product, then create said product?
I wouldn't rule out the possibility that inital rumors were false, but got the heads talking in Cupertino.
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As seen on ST:TNG. Now, with more restrictions!
* Space - it had a lot of it. (Competitors had more, though)
And no wireless. Lame.
Breakfast served all day!
http://www.theonion.com/content/video/apple_introduces_revolutionary
will be interesting to touch. i believe apple always do revolutionary products!
better small than poor sybs.ru
"Of course, he also said our computer labs were obsolete"
I never bought into this idea either. :)
I'm a laptop owner who still likes using the campus labs
Sure, an average laptop isn't an obscene cost relative to college in general, but a top-of-the-line desktop is gonna beat that laptop in performance. Having such souped-up laptops rather changes the cost metrics, eh?
Some of the horsepower is really useful, for heavy-duty scientific-data analysis or something. In that case, the desktops are needed. Even if those desktops are being used for less-demanding tasks at any particular time, the performance boost is still appreciated, to be honest.
Large WiFi networks seem to run into random connection issues even if the network is built decently (not to mention issues on the laptop end)
Having several students per lab computer has got to help with costs, as well as standardization/economies of scale
Also, I simply prefer the desktop form factor (no trackpads, better keyboard & monitor distance & angle)
Finally, not having to carry the laptop around is useful, especially if you have a normal or over-sized one and/or need to be carrying a lot of other stuff
I listen to both RIAA and non-RIAA stuff if I like the music, tangential business/politics nonwithstanding.
They DO have a right to selectively license MacOS X to a vendor who agrees to use high quality, consistent hardware. They could easily get a company like Dell or Acer to license it for one particular line of netbooks.
Contradict yourself much? Since when has Dell or Acer made high quality hardware?
... and then they built the supercollider.
Would he be a troll if he didn't compliment them?
Tanto nomini nullum par elogium.