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You are here: MacNN Forums > Hardware - Troubleshooting and Discussion > iPhone, iPad & iPod > Apple tablet / netbook / large iPhone is coming for real

Apple tablet / netbook / large iPhone is coming for real (Page 2)
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Kerrigan
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Dec 30, 2009, 11:35 PM
 
It will have a 10.1" screen.
The "surprise" will be that you can control it through gestures without actually touching the screen. This will be done through a more advanced proximity sensing OLED display and the use of camera.
It will not have an e-ink display.
The OS will be considerably more advanced than the iPod/iPhone OS, and will obviously allow running more than one app at once.
It will be offered in two designs: aluminum (like the MacBook Pro line) and a black "U2" version.
The keyboard will be on-screen but with tactile feedback (I can't get into what the tactile feedback is).
     
macfantn
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Dec 30, 2009, 11:42 PM
 
where'd you read that?
"I'm sick of following my dreams. I'm just going to ask them where they're goin', and hook up with them later"
     
imitchellg5
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Dec 30, 2009, 11:59 PM
 
A U2 version? Someone is high.
     
dedalus
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Dec 31, 2009, 09:44 AM
 
Apple aren’t interested in competing against netbooks or ebook‑readers, nor are they interested in competing against iPhones and MacBooks. The only Apple tablet that makes sense for the company is one that is so radically different that it creates its own market.

Like one that offered perfect handwriting recognition, multitouch, resolution‑independence, hybrid Mac OS X & iPhone OS, 14h+ battery life, and unlimited data plans. You’d carry it with you like an artist’s palette, write, paint, surf, edit, whatever else you want on it, and when you get home and near your home entertainment system, it will recharge itself as it feeds your HDTV set or projector.

If anyone can do that, it’s Apple. Will they do it in 2010? I doubt it.
( Last edited by dedalus; Jan 1, 2010 at 06:02 AM. Reason: There’s only one ‘l’ in ‘palette’.)
     
Spheric Harlot
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Dec 31, 2009, 09:58 AM
 
Apple will build a media reader to do to the magazine/newspaper/periodical market what they've done to the music industry: Show them a viable future.

It will be able to handle some gaming, might double as a media remote for at home, and will definitely do everything that an iPod touch can do (plus iTunes LP, of course), but its main focus over the iPod touch will be replacing printed media.

$599 (probably $699, but hey).
     
The Final Dakar
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Dec 31, 2009, 10:28 AM
 
Originally Posted by Laminar View Post
Oh, did the Department of Redundancy Department tell you that?
now now now now now now now
I was trying to summarize.

Originally Posted by Eug View Post
That fits in your pocket.
I wonder how much of a big deal that is iPod Touch users who don't use it as an iPod.

Originally Posted by macfantn View Post
where'd you read that?
Originally Posted by imitchellg5 View Post
A U2 version? Someone is high.
*facepalm*
     
Oisín
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Dec 31, 2009, 10:30 AM
 
Originally Posted by The Final Dakar View Post
I was trying to summarize.
Now were you now?
     
The Final Dakar
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Dec 31, 2009, 10:35 AM
 
I will beat you with the iPad when it comes out.
     
Oisín
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Dec 31, 2009, 10:35 AM
 
Originally Posted by The Final Dakar View Post
I will beat you with the iPad when it comes out.
Now now, not so violent now!
     
The Final Dakar
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Dec 31, 2009, 10:36 AM
 
I'm bruising on the inside.

That comes off way more wrong than intended.
     
Spheric Harlot
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Dec 31, 2009, 10:42 AM
 
Right up Oisín's alley, though.

(or up yours)
     
mattyb
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Dec 31, 2009, 10:49 AM
 
10 inch screen sounds good, as long as the tablet itself isn't that much bigger. FFS Apple, learn from the glossy MB and MBPro mistakes though.

iPhone OS or OS X doesn't bother me. $699 (or $599) bothers me, because that means 699 or 599 € which is just ridiculous.
     
angelmb
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Dec 31, 2009, 10:59 AM
 
Originally Posted by imitchellg5 View Post
A U2 version? Someone is high.
Indeed. U2 yells RIM/BlackBerry, if you want a black edition just name it iMoleskine
     
Spheric Harlot
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Dec 31, 2009, 11:14 AM
 
Originally Posted by mattyb View Post
10 inch screen sounds good, as long as the tablet itself isn't that much bigger. FFS Apple, learn from the glossy MB and MBPro mistakes though.
Yeah! And from the iPhone! What a colossal **** up!

Give us a matte touch-screen already!

I'm tired of being able to actually READ what's on my smudged screen!

Apple, spare us the media overload! (or I'll have to put on my pitch-black HHGTTG commemorative sunshades)
     
Wiskedjak
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Dec 31, 2009, 11:38 AM
 
Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot View Post
Give us a matte touch-screen already!
Seconded. Glossy has great shelf appeal but horrible usability. First thing I did on mine was stick on a matte screen protector.
     
Spheric Harlot
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Dec 31, 2009, 12:04 PM
 
Good grief, no!

I was joking.
     
Love Calm Quiet
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Jan 1, 2010, 12:37 AM
 
Most insightful analysis I've read on likely nature of iTablet:
Daring Fireball: The Tablet
TOMBSTONE: "He's trashed his last preferences"
     
Eug
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Jan 1, 2010, 12:50 AM
 
Originally Posted by Love Calm Quiet View Post
Most insightful analysis I've read on likely nature of iTablet:
Daring Fireball: The Tablet
Well, he makes the same flawed statement citing early critics of the iPhone saying it would flop. As mentioned before, just about anyone with half-a-brain at the time thought the iPhone would in the very least do OK, and more than likely do quite well.

Anyways, reading through that kept on making me think of the MacBook Wheel.

P.S. Happy new year!
     
slugslugslug
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Jan 1, 2010, 01:46 AM
 
Originally Posted by Love Calm Quiet View Post
Most insightful analysis I've read on likely nature of iTablet:
Daring Fireball: The Tablet
I was glad to see that somebody known for being an astute and non-sensationalist Apple watcher backed up what I said in my earlier post here: if it’s got just the right features, I could see buying it instead of a MacBook.

Eug, Gruber’s post only briefly mentions the early iPhone doomsayers. Yes, he predicts The Tablet will be successful, but I think the main point of the article is how it will be positioned: i.e. a device that you’ll want with you most places you’d bring a laptop, that doesn’t run a desktop OS. Even if it doesn’t do well, if it’s positioned as an alternative portable personal computing platform, that post will turn out to be the best thing written about it before its release.
     
Eug
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Jan 1, 2010, 01:58 AM
 
Well, it's a reasonable summary, but not much earth shattering, as most of it has already been said. ie. It has to be something other than just an run-of-the-mill OS X tablet or a Kindle-killer to be of any real interest to the buying public.

I think the most interesting part of the post was that he claims he knows people who are now mum on the subject.
     
slugslugslug
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Jan 1, 2010, 02:40 AM
 
I don’t know, I think the other really distinctive bit about the piece is that most speculators aren’t even thinking about the interesting Apple-ish questions. There’s been hardly a peep elsewhere about the fact that the text-input problem hasn’t really been solved on this class of device and that the iPhone solution doesn’t scale.
     
Love Calm Quiet
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Jan 1, 2010, 02:53 AM
 
For the text-input, all I'd need is a blue-tooth link to my apple keyboard. I've got one at home; Buying a second one to have at office and I'd be set, making do with screen keyboard when I'm on the run, meeting appts, etc.
TOMBSTONE: "He's trashed his last preferences"
     
andreas_g4
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Jan 1, 2010, 03:41 AM
 
I bet those Kodawadisan guys have their screwdrivers in position already. I wait for the day that they have the teardown photos online before Apple's page is updated…
     
Spheric Harlot
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Jan 1, 2010, 03:50 AM
 
Originally Posted by slugslugslug View Post
I don’t know, I think the other really distinctive bit about the piece is that most speculators aren’t even thinking about the interesting Apple-ish questions. There’s been hardly a peep elsewhere about the fact that the text-input problem hasn’t really been solved on this class of device and that the iPhone solution doesn’t scale.
Yes there has. A most interesting patent has surfaced pertaining to creating "ripples" and tactile feedback on a touchscreen - perfect for a virtual keyboard.
     
Eug
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Jan 1, 2010, 03:53 AM
 
Originally Posted by Love Calm Quiet View Post
For the text-input, all I'd need is a blue-tooth link to my apple keyboard. I've got one at home; Buying a second one to have at office and I'd be set, making do with screen keyboard when I'm on the run, meeting appts, etc.
Meh. That's getting rather annoyingly complicated.

I'd much rather just have BT or USB keyboard support for my iPhone. I had a Stowaway folding fullsize keyboard for my Handspring Visor a bazillion years ago. It was great.



I'd rather carry that around in my briefcase than a tablet AND have to worry about a keyboard. Otherwise, I'd just carry my MBP.
     
mattyb
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Jan 1, 2010, 06:55 AM
 
^I had something like that for my Palm. POS as far as I'm concerned.
     
Spheric Harlot
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Jan 1, 2010, 09:04 AM
 
     
osiris
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Jan 1, 2010, 09:29 AM
 
There ya go. Now I know it's for real.
"Faster, faster! 'Till the thrill of speed overcomes the fear of death." - HST
     
slugslugslug
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Jan 1, 2010, 02:28 PM
 
While I’m speculating, I’d also really like to see a Pixel Qi screen in there. That company combines an LCD and e Ink layer so that your screen can be like a laptop or Kindle depending on lighting and usage.

I don’t think it’s actually going to happen though. Seems like the kind of thing where if Apple was going to use such a novel tech, they’d buy the company and make it exclusive.
     
Spheric Harlot
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Jan 1, 2010, 02:42 PM
 
They certainly didn't buy out Balda AG, the German company that makes the iPhone's multi-touch panel and glass screen.
     
slugslugslug
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Jan 1, 2010, 03:20 PM
 
Oh yeah, I guess multitouch was pretty novel when it showed up on the iPhone. Maybe I should just shut up on this thread for a while
     
wobbly
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Jan 1, 2010, 04:06 PM
 
Originally Posted by Wiskedjak View Post
Which begs the question: what is the point of a tablet?

If it's just an oversized iPod Touch, I suspect it'll have a limited market due to it's size but comparable functionality. A 10" screen isn't going to fit in the pocket very easily.

If it's just an oversized iPod Touch targeting the Netbook market with the iPhone OS at a price point higher than $600, I suspect it'll have a limited market until the price drops.

At the +$600 price point, I'd expect full MacOSX and a USB port (or 2). Or, I'd expect something completely unexpected.

Two areas that are lacking in current lineup:

Gaming: I predict this will have an OS and graphics card for gaming and a Wii-type control interface
Kindle killer: E-books
     
imitchellg5
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Jan 1, 2010, 04:32 PM
 
Originally Posted by wobbly View Post
Two areas that are lacking in current lineup:

Gaming: I predict this will have an OS and graphics card for gaming and a Wii-type control interface
Kindle killer: E-books
But Apple's been pushing the 3G iPod touch as a gaming device.

I don't really see Apple getting into a market filled with devices made for a single use, like ebook readers. That's not really their style. I'm sure the tablet will include something like an ebook reader, but it will have to be so much more.
     
Wiskedjak
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Jan 1, 2010, 04:44 PM
 
Originally Posted by imitchellg5 View Post
But Apple's been pushing the 3G iPod touch as a gaming device.

I don't really see Apple getting into a market filled with devices made for a single use, like ebook readers. That's not really their style. I'm sure the tablet will include something like an ebook reader, but it will have to be so much more.
Well, the original iPod was considered to be a single use iPod and Jobs specifically said that was part of it's elegance.
     
Wiskedjak
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Jan 1, 2010, 04:46 PM
 
Originally Posted by slugslugslug View Post
Oh yeah, I guess multitouch was pretty novel when it showed up on the iPhone. Maybe I should just shut up on this thread for a while
Only in the consumer space. Multi-touch has been around for a *long* time.
     
Uncle Skeleton
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Jan 2, 2010, 04:44 PM
 
Originally Posted by Eug View Post
Meh. That's getting rather annoyingly complicated.

I'd much rather just have BT or USB keyboard support for my iPhone. I had a Stowaway folding fullsize keyboard for my Handspring Visor a bazillion years ago. It was great.



I'd rather carry that around in my briefcase than a tablet AND have to worry about a keyboard. Otherwise, I'd just carry my MBP.
Here's my guess:

     
Judge_Fire
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Jan 2, 2010, 07:18 PM
 
Electrotactile feedback is also quite promising. It stimulates a sensation of touch through the surface without
any actual mechanical movement. Here's a nice pdf from a Finnish Tech Fund/Nokia workshop on all kinds of haptics from just last November.

[Imagine fake papercuts, ouch.]
( Last edited by Judge_Fire; Jan 2, 2010 at 07:30 PM. )
     
imitchellg5
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Jan 3, 2010, 12:59 PM
 
     
Uncle Skeleton
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Jan 3, 2010, 05:41 PM
 
why?
     
ajprice
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Jan 3, 2010, 06:07 PM
 
Originally Posted by imitchellg5 View Post
Originally Posted by Uncle Skeleton View Post
why?
A news story of complete guesswork and a guy talking out of his arse? Things on the news are generally facts.

It'll be much easier if you just comply.
     
Spheric Harlot
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Jan 3, 2010, 06:08 PM
 
Originally Posted by ajprice View Post
A news story of complete guesswork and a guy talking out of his arse? Things on the news are generally facts.
You and your silly European standards.
     
Sealobo
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Jan 3, 2010, 06:12 PM
 
Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot View Post
You and your silly European standards.
But UK is never part of Europe. Ha!
     
Spheric Harlot
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Jan 3, 2010, 06:18 PM
 
It is every time there is something to be gained from it.
     
mattyb
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Jan 3, 2010, 06:48 PM
 
Which, for the UK, was when exactly?
     
Salty
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Jan 3, 2010, 10:41 PM
 
Honestly if they just use sensors at the side of the screen to let you type with your thumbs ala the iPhone type and just lay out two keyboards I think that'd be a great solution. Nobody needs to type much faster than they can on an iPhone if they can't set it down.

Also, the problem I see is that people have had portable music players for a long time, people have had cell phones for a long time, people have had laptops for a long time. This isn't entering an existing market, or redefining a new market, this is creating a new market. Thus I'm a bit more worried this will be another Apple TV, a great answer to a question not enough people were asking.
     
Spheric Harlot
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Jan 4, 2010, 07:14 AM
 
Originally Posted by mattyb View Post
Which, for the UK, was when exactly?
Well, it was a light-hearted quip, but have you noticed that the UK is actually a member of the European Union?

Also, while it didn't sign the Schengen Agreement, it was perfectly happy to adopt the provisions on judicial and police cooperation.

I'm not too well-versed in European politics, I admit, but I'm sure there's hundreds of examples.

And even if not, allow for some baseless continental prejudice against the ex-Imperials! It's a privilege of every nation to have unfounded prejudices against friendly foreigners!

     
ajprice
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Jan 4, 2010, 11:19 AM
 
Just had a thought about the tablet. What are the chances of it having a mini Displayport, so that it could be used as a secondary monitor in the same way as an iMac screen. It would be quite useful if the thing comes with a dock that stands it upright, maybe with DP built into the connector like an AV connection on an iPhone. Isn't the iMac's DP video in and out?

It'll be much easier if you just comply.
     
downinflames68
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Jan 4, 2010, 01:21 PM
 
K, I have not read or partcipated in this thread before, but I had a DREAM of the apple tablet last night. The aesthetics were similar to an iPhone, first gen, but it was the size of a macbook air. No keyboard, all onscreen stuff. I was keeping it in a leather slip case, and I remember I purchased it for $999. It was my 'business' computer, for traveling. The whole thing operated on gesture interfaces.

Again. I've not read of them, other than the title of this thread. Very weird.
     
ajprice
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Jan 4, 2010, 05:23 PM
 
Originally Posted by Salty View Post
Honestly if they just use sensors at the side of the screen to let you type with your thumbs ala the iPhone type and just lay out two keyboards I think that'd be a great solution.
Like this? Its a Samsung Q1 Windows UMPC.


It'll be much easier if you just comply.
     
dedalus
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Jan 4, 2010, 06:13 PM
 
I really think we ought to get past the typing obsession. The future is about gestures, moving on towards ocular tracking and, ultimately, telepathy. Seriously, typing? WTF?
     
 
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