Apple Tablet Rumor Wrap Up

Since the Apple event is this afternoon, and the submission bin overflows with Apple Tablet rumor stories, I'm putting up a few of the more choice links here so we can all speculate for the next few hours. A McGraw Hill CEO confirmed the tablet on CNBC last night, basically saying it is a big iPhone that has content agreements with publishers. Another blogger wrote in with a expectation list for the event, and technologizer had a nice history of fail in the world of tablet computing. Feel free to add your own rumor, speculation, and exhausted eye rolling below.

Comments

Apple's strategy

[schmidt349]

Sure it could be the next G4 Cube, but I think Apple's approach to emerging new computing niches gives them a fighting chance. Microsoft just throws Windows on the device complete with all the crappy desktop metaphors and UI widgets that are completely irrelevant to the new form factor -- witness Windows Mobile and all the Windows tablets. Apple at least rethinks usability.

Re:Apple's strategy

[Finallyjoined!!!]

Correction: Apple at least rethinks usability properly.

Microsoft bungs hundreds of millions at "usability" & we end up with the stupid ribbon... Pah!

Re:Apple's strategy

[Wingsy]

"I don't mind Apple trying new things, but I fail to see what this device has going for it that is essentially "New"."

Ya think that may be because you haven't even seen it yet?

Re:Apple's strategy

[Low Ranked Craig]

Depends on what you want. If this device is essentially a big iPod touch, and has a good online store for e-books, this is exactly what I want. A device that will let me read a book, listen to music, watch a movie, and browse the internet. I really wanted a kindle but the thing is a unitasker with an e-ink screen and that doesn't work for me. I don't want this to do coding or write documents. This will be much more convenient to carry than my MacBook.

Re:Apple's strategy

[digitig]

Correction: Apple at least rethinks usability properly. Microsoft bungs hundreds of millions at "usability" & we end up with the stupid ribbon... Pah!

Do you really think the ribbon was anything to do with usability? As far as I can see, it was about having a patentable UI element that OO.o and its ilk couldn't copy.

Re:Apple's strategy

[Tom]

Microsoft just throws Windows on the device complete with all the crappy desktop metaphors and UI widgets that are completely irrelevant to the new form factor -- witness Windows Mobile and all the Windows tablets. Apple at least rethinks usability.

Apple at least thinks about usability. When's the last time that MS did that? I can tell you: Just prior to the launch of Win95, after even the final user testing showed that this "start button" concept is stupid, dumb, user-unfriendly and counterintuitive. They finally put the "Start" label on it (it was just the windos logo before that, yes a straight copy from the Apple logo on the Apple menu bar, except that that's always been on the menu bar where users expect menu things to be) and then added the "click here to start" animation when you first launch the OS, because even the label wasn't enough.

That's how MS thinks about "usability". Explains a lot about the trainwreck that every new windos edition adds to, doesn't it?

Re:Apple's strategy

[Anonymous Coward]

I fail to see what this device has going for it that is essentially "New".

Lock-in. Ten years ago, would anyone have predicted that products like the iPhone or the Kindle could possibly have any success at all? Back then, it looked like there was a trend toward more freedom, and new products would be competing to be more open and usable than one another.

Somehow, in the last decade, the personal computer market has accepted (in the sense of people actually spend money on some of the products) that personal computers don't need to be totally open to developers; that personal computers can use the same development model as video game consoles, and some people (maybe a minority, but a big enough niche to make a profit and get a SHITLOAD of publicity) will actually buy them.

So what's new here? Well, look at the tablets of the past: they were programmable by the Little People. They were personal computers in the old sense, where when you bought one, you totally owned it, and you could even start a software business on one if you wanted to, with no limits to what you could do. Not this time. This time it's going to be closed up, have a centralized app store that only sells approved products, and yet people are considering it newsworthy and even predict some success.

This isn't some obscure wackjob company that you can safely laugh at by default when they try to commit atrocities against hackers; it's Apple. The atrocities are there, but not the laughter. The mockery will be there, but tinged with a very real feeling of fear and bitterness. This fucking piece of shit just might still be in the news the day after tomorrow. And that's sobering. We're nearing the end of the personal computer revolution that took off about 3 decades ago. We're seeing Apple destroy something that they played such an important part in creating. That's news. First it was the handheld, now it's something bigger. In a few years: the desktop?

Re:Apple's strategy

[lastchance_000]

Why would anyone want to?

Re:Apple's strategy

[digitig]

Lock-in. MS Office is pervasive in schools and in business, and a drastically different interface makes it harder for users to shift. True, for a short term the Ribbon is pushing some users who have the choice away from MS Office, but I think that MS are planning to ride that out and by agressive deals with schools, colleges, governments, etc get people locked in.

Re:Apple's strategy

[ID000001]

I think using a LED / LCD screen for book reading is going to put a little more strain on the eyes then e-ink display. Which might make it not suitable for a good amount of people. If being doubled as e-reader is the major selling point, this is likely to be too expensive to count. Of course, Apple have a few years to let this go. We will see.

Re:Apple's strategy

[andereandre]

can't watch it, it needs silverlight.

Re:Apple's strategy

[lastchance_000]

Great point. See here for an example.

Re:Apple's strategy

[cgenman]

Do you really think the ribbon was anything to do with usability?

Maybe patents had something to do with it, but it is classic Microsoft usability. It takes a cohesive, existing system, and layers on top an additional UI element that they hope will make all of the other UI elements make sense. Microsoft rarely removes elements.

It's like Windows 7 filesharing. Not only did they keep the old Samba based filesharing, but they added an additional type of filesharing on top. Now you have the joys of setting all of the permissions twice, only now you don't really know which goes to which.

Or the godawful and inconsistent side panels. Why you'd want a system-level UI element taking up that much room just to offer to print photos for you is anybody's guess. But the side panels simply replicate functionality that can be achieved by right-clicking, double clicking, going to the menus, option clicking, or sometimes multiples of the above.

Or for that matter, Word: where each separate program module has its own interface elements. This is true whether those interface elements would make sense elsewhere, or replicate other functions / settings within the application. Or are just legacy and don't really matter anymore.

Apple, on the other hand, actually streamlines. They removed the disk drive, removed the com and serial ports. When spotlight became the way to search in OSX, they removed the other ways to search. Instead of just trying to add, so as not to upset old users, they actively redesign the whole system to be usable as a whole. While I have low hopes for the tablet as a piece of hardware, I'm excited to see the interface conventions it comes up with.

Re:Apple's strategy

[Azureflare]

This ties in to exactly what Apple is doing. McGraw Hill releases their textbooks for iPad -> Schools adopt iPad -> Locked in!

It worked for Microsoft, why not Apple?

My toilet

[digitalsushi]

I'm excited, cause this is going to really shrink down the pile of magazines on my toilet tank! I love how Apple can always class up everything I do in life.

I was considering one to replace my macbook

[antifoidulus]

but if the rumors of it running the iPhone OS are true, I will pass. Not being able to easily load whatever software I want on to the thing is a big turnoff. Not to mention the class of programs that can run on the iPhone OS are pretty limited(I doubt Apple will release XCode for the tablet....)

Re:I was considering one to replace my macbook

[antifoidulus]

That and lack of flash support, love it or hate it, a lot of sites have yet to upgrade to html5 for video, so we are stuck with flash. Unless Apple has struck a deal with Adobe to allow flash on the tablet, there are going to be a lot of web sites that aren't accessible from the tablet.

Re:I was considering one to replace my macbook

[egomaniac]

It doesn't "definitely" mean an ARM processor any more than OS X "definitely" meant a PowerPC processor. OS X already runs on three different kinds of CPUs (ARM, PowerPC, and Intel), and it's certainly not impossible to imagine a fourth.

Even most of the iPhone OS itself already runs just fine on Intel chips, as any developer with access to the iPhone Simulator knows. I run iPhone apps on Intel all the time (though admittedly it requires a recompile).

Now, the new tablet will almost certainly run existing iPhone apps without modification, which either means an ARM CPU or a Rosetta-like technology to handle the emulation. I agree that the thing most likely has an ARM chip and will run existing apps natively. But we won't know for sure what chip it uses for a few more hours.

So...

[fuzzyfuzzyfungus]

Was the McGraw-Hill guy one of Apple's planned leaks, or is he going to start waking up, sweating bullets, to 3AM phone calls from Steve Jobs?

"Terry, you have shown all the subtlety and restraint of somebody who sells dead trees for a living. Know that your pain shall be equalled only by my serenity."

At this point the line goes dead. Terry will never know if this is because Steve is fucking with him, or if it is just AT&T's shitty service disconnecting Steve's iPhone.

Best rumor source yet...

[rayharris]

Jason Calacanis got his tablet 10 days ago

http://twitter.com/jason

Highlights:

- $599, $699, $799 depending on size and memory
- iPhone OS with multitasking
- OLED screen (no size given)
- Verizon and ATT for 3G, WiFi
- Front and back cameras for video conferencing
- Thumbpad on each side for mouse gestures
- Fingerprint scanner for login with up to five profiles
- TV/Monitor output and wireless keyboard
- HDTV Tuner with PVR
- Solar panel for recharging (more a gimmick)
- Battery life is "great" in ebook mode, 2-3 hours otherwise
- No word on name

Re:Best rumor source yet...

[Low Ranked Craig]

Bio: "I'm a cereal entrepreneur: Founder of Weblogs, Inc., TechCrunch50, Silicon Alley Reporter, Engadget & Mahalo.com"

Mmmm. cereal.

Rumors? Bah

[darjen]

I just don't care much for all this speculation and rumors. Waste of time in my book. Wait for the device to come out and judge it on its merits.

Major Scoop

[GraZZ]

Apple will today announce a partnership with Taco Bell to deliver tacos wirelessly through the new iTablet. This will prove to be the final nail in OLPC's coffin as the west moves to end world hunger via electronic food distribution.

Also it will wash the dishes.

Re:Major Scoop

[JakeD409]

The folks modding this "Informative" are in for a major disappointment.

Re:Staying with Paper

[genghisjahn]

I love books. I love the old books smell. I love (or loved) going through used books stores and finding good stuff. After having a Kindle, I wish all of my content was on the Kindle. Having it all sync from the Kindle, to the PC, to the iPhone is freakin' great. Yes, I know some of you have DRM concerns. Yes they are valid, but I'm talking about the eReader vs. paper as a medium. I don't care about the medium anymore. There is nothing sacred about the pages of a bound book. It's the story or information that I want and the Kindle environment provides it better. When my Kindle was stolen a few weeks back, I didn't lose all my content. All my notes, highlights and books were available on my iPhone and through the PC. When I replaced the Kindle, everything came right back. It's not a perfect device, but it's a damn good one. I'm eager to see what the arms race in eReaders provides in the future.

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:I'll wait for a clone

[fuzzyfuzzyfungus]

An Apple tablet would certainly be bad news for them; but they might have a future among people who want OSX in tablet form.

Unless Steve Jobs accidentally mind-melds with Richard Stallman in the next hour or so, the tablet is almost certainly going to be a hard-locked app-store only product. Further, the odds that it is x86 are somewhere between slim and none, and slim is bleeding to death.

If most of Axiotron's customers were more or less casual users who just had to have an Apple tablet for some reason, they are completely fucked. If, though, they are substantially people who want to be able to draw directly on the screen in photoshop, or otherwise do full OSX stuff in tablet form, they might survive.

Re:overgrown iPhone / iPod Touch

[TheRaven64]

Apple is earning too much from the App Store

I take it you missed yesterday where Apple disclosed in their financials that they don't make a profit from the app store directly, only through increased hardware sales?

Ribbon might be a bad example

[tepples]

Microsoft bungs hundreds of millions at "usability" & we end up with the stupid ribbon

I'm not convinced that "the stupid ribbon" is the best example of your thesis. Perhaps it is easier for novices to learn a program's tabbed toolbar than a program's menu bar. For one thing, recasting a pull-down menu as a toolbar keeps a class of actions on the screen where the user can see them rather than overlapping the document and disappearing once the user chooses an action. As I understand it, most of the whining about Ribbon came from 1. people who rely on muscle memory from previous versions of the product, the same sort of people who would get confused between Microsoft Office and OpenOffice.org anyway, and 2. people concerned about the legal fees of putting up prior art from 2002 to invalidate the patents that Microsoft engineers were applying for over tabbed toolbars. Sure, Ribbon has room for improvement, but it took a couple iterations for Apple to get pull-down menus right too.

Re:Ribbon might be a bad example

[oji-sama]

It definitely is not stupid. I've used the old version too much and can't really say I like it, but my mother (very much non-tech) got a new(ish) laptop and was very happy that 'the new Windows had this toolbar that makes things easy'. Took a while to understand that she was talking about the ribbon in Office...

iJust

[Jhon]

iWish iCould iFford iOne.

My prediction

[ScottForbes]

It'll have a stylus and handwriting recognition, and they're calling it the "Newton."

Re:Touch screen apps has come of age

[0100010001010011]

But Im not willing to pay $800-$1500 or whatever the tablet costs for the privilege of casual couch surfing.

Then don't. This product isn't for you. Why is it when ever Apple does *anything* Slashdot takes it as a personal affront? The iPod (lame), the iPhone (better Smartphones exist), the newest MacBook Pros (No Express Card slot), The built in batteries, etc. Apple, or any other company, isn't forcing you to do anything.

When McLaren or Maybach come out with new cars do you all complain that they're over priced and don't appeal to you? Why do you do it with computers?

Sort of reminds me of this xkcd. Fine, the Apple tablet doesn't appeal to you, why even bother making a comment?

Re:Touch screen apps has come of age

[Rockoon]

Translation:

Apple fanboy sees all negative observations as complaints, and ends his post with a question where he is wondering why anyone would ever publicly make negative observations about Apple or Apple Products.

Confirmed!

[LeonPierre]

I have it on the authority of no less than 5 people closely related to the project that the new device will do no less than end world hunger, rebuild 3rd world nations, fix the energy crisis and the economy, and help those poor drowning polar bears whose homes have melted away....

But this next piece of information you will not hear from any reputable website, as they are too afraid to publish it:

It will do no less than make unicorns shit rainbows

You can quote me on that.

Re:Touch screen apps has come of age

[Anonymous Coward]

you two should have a blind date, considering you won't even pay for a spellchecker.

Re:Touch screen apps has come of age

[Lodragandraoidh]

You forget their trump card - the Apple Newton's handwriting recognition software; Newton lovers for years have been calling for Apple to release the Newton OS (including the handwriting recognition embedded in it) into the wild to keep their beloved Newtons running on new hardware as the old machines expire. Apple continued to refuse on this issue.

Enter the new tablet. As a result I am hoping and praying that the handwriting recognition on the thing will be a juiced up version of the auto-learning handwriting recognition software from the ancient Newton. Processing power and memory availability would make that work even better than it did ~20 years ago (when even given the limits of available processing power/memory it did an amazing job to learn/decode MOST people's scrawls).

If that were the case, then it could very well serve as a writing instrument that could decode my scribbles. Add Iphone capability (accessed through a bluetooth headset), and I would pay for that - and use the hell out of it.