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Portables (Apple) Businesses Hardware Apple

Speculation About An Apple Tablet 350

Posted by michael 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.)"
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Speculation About An Apple Tablet More

Speculation About An Apple Tablet

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  • Estimated cost? (Score:5, Funny)

    by Trigun ( 685027 ) <evil@evil e m p i r e . a t h .cx> on Friday August 13, 2004 @02:03PM (#9961024)
    $8499 MSRP.

    • Re:Estimated cost? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Aadain2001 ( 684036 ) on Friday August 13, 2004 @02:06PM (#9961073) Journal
      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.

      • Re:Estimated cost? (Score:5, Insightful)

        by Kenja ( 541830 ) on Friday August 13, 2004 @02:14PM (#9961175)
        "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.

        • Re:Estimated cost? (Score:4, Funny)

          by geoffspear ( 692508 ) on Friday August 13, 2004 @02:25PM (#9961319) Homepage
          Yeah, and I'm sick of people complaining about the price of Macs. You can buy one on eBay for $20. Granted it will have a 68040 in it, but it will run OS 7.5 just fine. Therefore, the Mac market isn't a niche market, either.

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

      • Re:Estimated cost? (Score:5, Insightful)

        by shufler ( 262955 ) on Friday August 13, 2004 @02:15PM (#9961203) Homepage
        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.

        • Re:Estimated cost? (Score:4, Interesting)

          by dgatwood ( 11270 ) on Friday August 13, 2004 @08:59PM (#9964717) Homepage Journal
          But until a tablet is -far- less than the cost of a laptop (or until computing becomes so ubiquitous that the tablet becomes nothing more than a portable input device for some device built into your home), tablets will not be more than a niche.

          Why would anyone buy a tablet when they could buy a laptop? Think about it. You're stuck with a clumsy interface that is barely usable. It's fine in places like hospitals, but that's a specialized market with specialized applications---specifically, the need to take notes in an environment where putting a laptop on a desk is not always possible, and the need to be able to guarantee that those notes can be stored centrally so they never get lost. Those aren't common characteristics of general-purpose computing, nor are they needs that most people would care about.

          If they were cheap enough, they could be useful as a replacement for carrying a note pad to class for school students, or for businesspeople to carry to meetings. However, as long as the interface is less efficient for taking notes than typing (and by its very nature, writing is almost an order of magnitude slower than typing), there must be some other significant advantage to outweigh that huge efficiency loss.

          I can think of two possible advantages that could outweigh the loss in efficiency: portability and cost. Portability... well, make it as thick as a pad of paper. No hard drives that thin? Well, there's a problem. Besides, if you can make a tablet that's super-thin, you can make a laptop that is equally thin, so there's no advantage. Cost? Well, it can't be cheaper than a laptop, you say? Okay, no advantage there, either.

          When I can buy a tablet PC for the same cost relative to the price of a computer that a Palm costs now, it will make sense. Until then, it's just a cute toy that costs way too much to be useful. That said, my ideal tablet PC wouldn't be a PowerMac G5 or a Pentium IV. It would be a Palm or a Newton, with the addition of an iPod-size hard drive (say 20 gigs), only wider and not as thick. Limited OS, designed for one main purpose---to serve as a note pad. Synchronize it with your computer using bluetooth or something. Use it to carry files back and forth to class, too, if needed. Maybe even make it so that you can run normal applications (slowly) so you can show your professor your work instead of printing it out. In other words, something that would cost maybe $150-ish and if it broke, it wouldn't be the end of the world.

          That said, as long as tablet computing is a more fragile, more cumbersome, laptop-priced device, it's an eye-roll, IMHO.

      • Re:Estimated cost? (Score:3, Informative)

        by bhtooefr ( 649901 )
        http://jksalesinc.com/catalog/product_info.php?cP a th=26_51_80&products_id=217

        $330, and comes with a crapload of accessories. Heck, many early Slate form-factor tablets were barely more powerful than that thing (400MHz P3). Oh, and the Stylistic and Point lines were some of the first Tablet PCs, coming soon after the Toshiba Dynapad T-100, the FIRST tablet PC, 11 years ago.

        Also, someone got Windows XP Tablet PC Edition running on the old Stylistic 2300, a Pentium MMX 233 box (below the minimum requir

    • Re:Estimated cost? (Score:4, Informative)

      by cristofer8 ( 550610 ) on Friday August 13, 2004 @02:53PM (#9961655) Homepage
      If this is in fact a wireless monitor, for the imac or otherwise, it's isn't a new idea. Microsoft came out with a reference platform to do exactly this, see viewsonic's version [viewsonic.com], but unfortunately they cost a ton. It'll be interesting to see if apple goes down the same route.

      I would be pretty cool to have an imac with a detachable wireless monitor, but the imacs are supposed to be 17" and 20" neither of which is particularly portable.
      • The Viewsonic models are not Wireless Monitors no matter what they try and tell you. I sell them, they are WinCE based (most of them) PDAs. They let you control a Windows XP machine from a Terminal inside of WinCE. Basically, they are Wireless Dumb-Terminals.

    • Sheesh. (Score:5, Funny)

      by JHromadka ( 88188 ) on Friday August 13, 2004 @03:07PM (#9961842) Homepage
      Jobs takes a month off on medical leave and they try to sneak the Newton back in while he's gone. :)

  • how much (Score:5, Insightful)

    by ack154 ( 591432 ) * on Friday August 13, 2004 @02:04PM (#9961046)
    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?

    • Re:how much (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Oculus Habent ( 562837 ) *
      Apple portables are fairly inexpensive these days. Yes, tablets are more expensive than equivalent laptops, but I don't think Apple would be much more - compared to other tablets.

    • Re:how much (Score:5, Insightful)

      by jfengel ( 409917 ) on Friday August 13, 2004 @02:17PM (#9961227) Homepage Journal
      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.

      • Re:how much (Score:5, Interesting)

        by Twirlip of the Mists ( 615030 ) <twirlipofthemists@yahoo.com> on Friday August 13, 2004 @02:34PM (#9961428)
        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.

        • Re:how much (Score:5, Insightful)

          by Dan Ost ( 415913 ) on Friday August 13, 2004 @02:46PM (#9961564)
          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.

      • Re:how much (Score:5, Interesting)

        by MyDixieWrecked ( 548719 ) on Friday August 13, 2004 @03:43PM (#9962278) Homepage Journal
        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.

    • Re:how much (Score:5, Interesting)

      by Graff ( 532189 ) on Friday August 13, 2004 @02:37PM (#9961470)
      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 [apple.com] taking a 12" iBook [apple.com], 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. [apple.com]

    • Are Apple laptops that expensive? (Score:5, Informative)

      by Smeagel ( 682550 ) on Friday August 13, 2004 @02:58PM (#9961711)
      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.

    • Re:how much (Score:3, Interesting)

      by dasmegabyte ( 267018 )
      I don't really thing that is the big question. When the iPod came out, it came into a widely floundering field of less expensive players and beat the pants off them due to innovative design, excellent software, compact size and beautiful looks.

      We have exactly the same situation in the tablet PC field today. We've got a ton of different tablet PCs, but they don't really have a market. For one thing, the resolution usually craps out at 1024x768 on a 14" device, too low density for most non-technophile art

  • Are they reading my mind? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by cjwl ( 776049 ) on Friday August 13, 2004 @02:04PM (#9961049)
    I would LOVE to have a wall mounted tablet running iTunes for my home stereo.

    • Re:Are they reading my mind? (Score:5, Funny)

      by NETHED ( 258016 ) on Friday August 13, 2004 @02:11PM (#9961149) Homepage
      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....
      • I suggest checking out Meedio [meedio.com]

      • Re:Are they reading my mind? (Score:5, Funny)

        by rampant mac ( 561036 ) on Friday August 13, 2004 @04:19PM (#9962707)
        "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.

    • That is a really cool idea. Reall cool. But would be willing to spend two grand for it?

      But the tablet thing is done. It never really took off. Unless Apple has made some huge (and I mean really huge) improvement over what's out there now, I fear they are just throwing their money away.

      • Re:Are they reading my mind? (Score:5, Insightful)

        by rokzy ( 687636 ) on Friday August 13, 2004 @02:45PM (#9961559)
        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.

  • Damn. (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 13, 2004 @02:05PM (#9961059)
    First they put apples in tablets...
    next we'll be eating all our food from tubes!

  • Rumor (Score:5, Funny)

    by lateralus_1024 ( 583730 ) <mattbaha@gmEULERail.com minus math_god> on Friday August 13, 2004 @02:06PM (#9961076)
    This is the resurrection of the Newton, rumor has it.

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

  • Apple PDA (Score:5, Interesting)

    by phalse phace ( 454635 ) on Friday August 13, 2004 @02:06PM (#9961079)
    This is probably the design for the scrapped Apple PDA Jobs talked about. Also, take a look at the pictures [theregister.co.uk] 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

  • Not the first time Apple's been toying with this.. (Score:5, Interesting)

    by wfberg ( 24378 ) on Friday August 13, 2004 @02:07PM (#9961085)
    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.
    • That would actually be more like a 350-degree fold, all the way around. The clamshell iBooks had a hinge that could rotate through about 160 degrees; the screen and keyboard were nearly in the same plane at its widest.

      (It just occurred to me that I'm misinterpreting you, and you mean the screen could rotate around the vertical axis, so it would point out away from the keyboard without having to be bent over backwards...)
    • I also read something about one where the logic was in the screen, and much like many of the newer Slates, the keyboard could be completely removed. It was also supposed to use the G4 processor (this is when the iMac had JUST come out).

  • Just make me a GOOD eBook reader... (Score:4, Interesting)

    by TrollBridge ( 550878 ) on Friday August 13, 2004 @02:07PM (#9961096) Homepage Journal
    ...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".

    • Re:Just make me a GOOD eBook reader... (Score:4, Insightful)

      by jcenters ( 570494 ) on Friday August 13, 2004 @02:59PM (#9961736) Homepage
      12" iBook.

      Download desired book as PDF.

      Open it in Preview.

      View --> Rotate Left

      View --> Fullscreen

      Click mouse button to flip pages.

      Done.
    • It would be lovely, but I don't think that the tech is right yet. LCD screens are heavy, power-hungry, and not very attractive when compared to a paper book. In addition, no matter how cheap you make them, the up-front price will be high compared to a book, unless you plan to subsidize them (which would drive the price of the books up). They've got computers inside of them, even if small ones, so they can only get so cheap.

      Not to mention that e-book readers are more fragile than paper books and more exp
  • 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
    • 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...

      Tha

  • Size? (Score:5, Funny)

    by tomee ( 792877 ) on Friday August 13, 2004 @02:09PM (#9961116)
    Will they release a version with the 30'' Apple Cinema display? That would be cool for riding the subway.

    • Re:Size? (Score:3, Funny)

      by shepmaster ( 319234 )
      Only if you replace "riding" with "being unmercifully mugged and beaten. Then all of your other stuff (iPod, Newton) gets stolen too. Finally you are left lying in a seat, bleeding profusely until a bum pushes you out of his spot. All of this happened on"

  • iPorn (Score:2, Informative)

    by doggiesnot ( 804940 )
    Soon you can have iPorn streamed directly to your bathroom?

  • What if you drop it? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by mveloso ( 325617 ) on Friday August 13, 2004 @02:10PM (#9961130)
    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.
    • As with notebooks, if you are unable to hold onto to it, get a ruggedized [symbol.com] one.

    • Re:What if you drop it? (Score:5, Funny)

      by g3000 ( 799075 ) on Friday August 13, 2004 @02:29PM (#9961368)
      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.

    • I'd think that dropping any tablet would cause catastrophic damage to it.

      Don't drop it. Seriously, if you think you're going to drop the thing while it's outside of its case, then you have no business using one.

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

      The only difference between a laptop and tablet is that in tablet mode the entire computer is in one solid(ish) block - you won't break the screen mounts dropping it as you would if you dropped a l
  • anyone remember the iloo [slashdot.org]?

  • Its for the new iMac! (Score:5, Interesting)

    by rogerborn ( 236155 ) on Friday August 13, 2004 @02:12PM (#9961156)


    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.
    • Something nifty like that seems a bit more apple than the first impression of the new imac given by the latest Think Secret [thinksecret.com] article.

      A quick & dirty apple-ification of the Vaio W series they compare it to in vague terms comes up looking like this little piece [danamania.com]. Certainly looks like it could be made by apple, but with the history of the iMac really being something unique, I suspect it'll be Just That Bit More.

    • Re:Its for the new iMac! (Score:4, Insightful)

      by ericdano ( 113424 ) on Friday August 13, 2004 @02:34PM (#9961435) Homepage
      You might be right about this being the new iMac. However, where is the processor to go? If the new iMac uses a G5, and from what I know of the G5, you need a fairly large cooling system. So.....

      This would seem to be a step back from the original iMac design. Unless it is the LCD that connects to the base unit. But you'd think Apple would have put that in the filing.......

      I'd imagine it's for some sort of new "iPodish" like device. Perhaps a PDA or maybe something that would link up to a Bluetooth enabled Cell phone?

      It's interesting regardless.......

  • OS X light? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 13, 2004 @02:14PM (#9961177)
    I was thinking that this device could use a light version OS X--iTunes plus music store, email, web-surfing and maybe some kind of photo management. How difficult would it be for Apple to incorporate the option of streaming video from your cable box with the aid of Airtunes?. This could also take care of that small issue of the PC market share people are always taking about.
  • 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.
  • Is 8 inches on the diagonal a good size?

    Its bigger than you can fit into one hand, and might be heavy at that size.

    Athough it might be a good size for reading text or naturally writing in cursive a few notes.

    And depending on the price, I would be very interested in buying it if it had good PC/Linux connectivity.

  • I haven't read the patents... (Score:3, Informative)

    by ProfessionalCookie ( 673314 ) on Friday August 13, 2004 @02:16PM (#9961218) Journal
    but it seems like patents for a tablet style PC could easily be applied to the next generation iMac. It's likely that it's an all in one design with the components behind the lcd.

    See here: http://www.thinksecret.com/ [thinksecret.com] and here http://www.appleinsider.com/ [appleinsider.com].

  • Not actually happening... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by MacGoldstein ( 619138 ) <jasonmp85NO@SPAMmac.com> on Friday August 13, 2004 @02:19PM (#9961247) Homepage
    I can't see Apple ever releasing a Tablet PC... Here's why:

    1. Cost is too much. Non-Apple users already see Macs as too expensive, so a Tablet (unless it were uncharacteristically inexpensive), would just fuel the fire.
    2. Appeal. Yes, I know it would be sexy as all get out. But really, Macs are a niche market... I use mine to code and write webpages, and love how easy it makes many things, as well as the tinkerability of th OS, but the market for Macs is still (sadly) around 2-3%. Tablet computers would comprise a subset of that, so they wouldn't be economically feasible. Think G4 cube.
    3. Finally. Technical issues. From the drawings, this thing is pretty thin. Apple would have to find a very low heat, low energy processor to use (the G4 qualifies), but also a very small size Mobo, GFX card, etc. With all the logic board problems of recent iBooks, I would seriously doubt whether they're considering releasing something as iffy as a Tablet.

    Then again, they did (without Steve, btw) originally bring us the Newton, iPod and widespread GUI, so perhaps they will revolutionize Tablet PC's as well?

    Just my 0.02$

  • As Long as We're Talking About Unicorns (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Seanasy ( 21730 ) on Friday August 13, 2004 @02:20PM (#9961260)

    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....

    • Re:As Long as We're Talking About Unicorns (Score:5, Interesting)

      by ericdano ( 113424 ) on Friday August 13, 2004 @02:39PM (#9961491) Homepage
      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....
    • Seansy is right.

      I reckon that if the base station has the G5 CPU with the screen detachable then it would be very useful. It'd be an iMac most of the time.

      Then when you move about with it the video streaming screen function kicks in. It'd have it's own cut down OS like the iPod that is optimised to run the video stream and the simple tablet interface. There could be some data storage using iPod type microdrives.

      The video could be streamed using FireWire of UWB as described here [techweb.com].

      Then imagine all the feat

  • They would sell really well... (Score:4, Funny)

    by Steamhead ( 714353 ) on Friday August 13, 2004 @02:20PM (#9961264) Homepage
    If they kept a well organized copy of the WIKIpedia on it and wrote "DON'T PANIC" in large friendly letters on the back...

  • if done right (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Bauguss ( 62171 ) on Friday August 13, 2004 @02:23PM (#9961300)
    Apple proved with the iPod that high price doesn't mean poor sales. They completely proved that if done right, it would be a big hit. How many mp3 players existed before iPod came along?

    I've never used a tablet pc but always liked the idea. If apple came along and did it right, who knows what could happen.

    Of course it could just be a new display for the iPod, or they just want to protect their research on something that they won't actually use.

  • Wonderful! (Score:3, Funny)

    by raider_red ( 156642 ) on Friday August 13, 2004 @02:29PM (#9961377) Journal
    Now Apple can tap the huge market for Tablet PCs. After all, the Windows based tablets are selling so friggin well.

  • Personally it'll never sell... (Score:4, Funny)

    by stienman ( 51024 ) <adavis&ubasics,com> on Friday August 13, 2004 @02:30PM (#9961386) Homepage Journal

    Why would people buy an Apple tablet PC when they could have a P-P-P-Powerbook [slashdot.org] for practically free, and with all the ability of a tablet?

    -Adam

  • Explain to me slowly... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Nice2Cats ( 557310 ) on Friday August 13, 2004 @02:30PM (#9961388)
    ...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.

    • I beg to differ...

      A tablet doesn't have a keyboard, and I can't shut it to protect the screen

      I have an Acer C111 sub-3lb (or sub-1.5kg) TabletPC that does include a reversible screen (you can close it with the screen facing down) and a keyboard. If Acer can do it, I'm sure Apple can make a MacTablet (or whatever) with the same form factor.

      As for the "slow explanation" you asked for which, I assume (but correct me if I misunderstood the title of your post) addresses the question of why anyone would wan

    • There are Tablet PCs running Linux [tuxmobil.org] already, as well as Apple Powerbooks and iBooks running Linux [tuxmobil.org]. So there seems to be a fair chance that an Apple Tablet PC might run Linux, too.

  • I just hope... (Score:5, Funny)

    by jbarr ( 2233 ) on Friday August 13, 2004 @02:32PM (#9961413) Homepage
    I jukt h%pe th2 hand3uit&ng re)oGni7iob is Bet7Er thaN oN tfe N0wtan!

    • Re:I just hope... (Score:3, Insightful)

      by rampant mac ( 561036 )
      I know the parent is just making a joke, but the Newton OS (after updates) was incredible.

      Imagine drawing a square, triangle or circle and seeing your PDA recognize the shape. Or scratching out a word and the OS understands you wanted that part deleted. Or circling text you wanted selected. Or using written carets to mark inserts. Plus you didn't have to learn some obscure "written" commands for the OS to understand your writing. The OS, over time, learned your handwriting. I've heard that future versions

  • It is NOT a tablet. (Score:3, Informative)

    by rogerborn ( 236155 ) on Friday August 13, 2004 @02:39PM (#9961501)
    Tablets are dead. Even Micro$oft may be getting out of the tablet business. Laptops outsell tablets a hundred to one.

    http://engadget.com/entry/8312965763231519/

    I think this new screen is for the new iMac.

    It is wireless.

    It may detach from the CPU/hard drive.

    It is aluminum (in colors?).

    It has the full OS X.

    It may be small like the old Macinosh Classics.

    Here are the links:

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

    http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/08/13/apple_tabl et_mac/

    http://www.thinksecret.com/news/imacg5specs.html

    Roger Born
    writing.borngraphics.com

  • Please Yes (Score:3, Interesting)

    by pyrrho ( 167252 ) on Friday August 13, 2004 @02:56PM (#9961687) Journal
    Early this year I would have bought a powerbook except that I wanted a tablet. Why? Because I hand draw diagrams to prepare my work and because I don't like typing notes at meetings.

    Tablets do for handwritten work what word processors did for typing. Yes it's a niche, not everyone uses hand drawn notes, diagrams, etc... but it's also not a niche that's going away. A tablet computer is much preferable to lots and lots of paper notepads.

    As for price... well, I need a notebook too for programming and got a combination tablet/notebook, it cost the same as other good notebooks like IBM T41 and the Powerbook with similar specifications EXCEPT the display, which is more low resolution. That is... the tradeoff was between higher resolution and the ability to write on the display... fair trade. (fwiw, keyboardless tablets seem useless to me... but they might make sense in hospitals, for delivery people, that sort of thing)

    Another reason to get a tablet from Apple besides the fact that this tablet is the only reason I have to run WinXP is I suspect Apple will smooth the edges... the interface in XP Tablet is not really as pen freindly as it could be.

    I hope they do this. But having said all that... Jobs has vowed not to before... he loathes the Newton experience (so I hear anyway)... so I'm not holding my breath.

  • It's iWalk all over again... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Bones3D_mac ( 324952 ) on Friday August 13, 2004 @03:04PM (#9961794)
    Steve has already told us no PDAs are being made. The market for tablets is anything but profitable. How about a more realistic rumor, like a powerbook with a touch sensitive display or somrthing?

    Wake me up when we have an official word from Apple...

  • penmac (Score:3, Informative)

    by gessel ( 310103 ) on Friday August 13, 2004 @03:06PM (#9961829) Homepage
    http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&sa fe=off&q=apple+penmac&btnG=Search

    I was there. It was cool. There were lots of variations and one that went into production and was sold in Japan, briefly, before it was pulled for fear of competing with Newton.

  • No hard drive? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Writer ( 746272 ) on Friday August 13, 2004 @03:08PM (#9961850)

    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 [appleinsider.com]...

    "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."

    • Re:No hard drive? (Score:3, Interesting)

      by mikeee ( 137160 )
      Yeah, there was some speculation back about 3 years ago Apple was going to introduce a thin-client-wireless-tablet and a headless desktop.

      Obviously there's also a docking station with, eg, tablet stand and keyboard...

      Would be nifty. Not sure it's wouldn't cost a jillion $.

    • Re:No hard drive? (Score:3, Interesting)

      by LionMage ( 318500 )
      This has been mentioned in another sub-thread, but Toshiba recently announced 60 GB 1.8 inch hard drives, and said that Apple had already placed an order for them. But Apple denied they were releasing a 60 GB iPod. At the time, the only device Apple had that we knew of which used the 1.8 inch hard drives was the iPod...

      So, if Apple is ordering a ton of 60 GB drives from Toshiba, and if they're not used in iPods, where are those drives going? With judicious power management, and a stripped down kernel an

  • Have you actually USED a tablet???? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by micron ( 164661 ) on Friday August 13, 2004 @04:15PM (#9962656)
    This is not intended to start a flame war.

    My question is, have you actually USED a tablet? Not picked it up in the store, picked it up from a friends desk, but actually carried one around for a couple of weeks as your only computer?

    I have been using a Compaq (yeah, it is HP, but this one is labeled a Compaq) T1000 with the transmeta chip in it.

    It does have its quirks, and it is slow on the boot. Other then that, you will have to pry it out of my cold, dead hands. The utility of these things makes them more than worth it. You have to really need the writing functionality though.

    With my job, I do a lot of "green pad" work. I have diagrams all over the place. No more with the tablet, they are all stored on the computer and easy to search. It is also great for reading all of those Intel and Motorola PDF manuals. Given, this is not a game machine, but for what I do, it is really handy.

    I have run into two types of tablet users out there, and they are at the extremes. Group A are the folks that have them, hate them, and can't wait to get rid of them. This group largely uses the tablet as a laptop, and does not seem to use any of the writing functionality. Group B are the ones that use the heck out of them.

    The software is still catching up. There are a couple of applications out there now that make the thing well worth it, if you need those applications.

    I would not be so quick to dismiss these things outright.

  • One possibility (Score:3, Interesting)

    by kalidasa ( 577403 ) * on Friday August 13, 2004 @04:46PM (#9963017) Journal

    Take an iBook.

    Remove the keyboard and mouse, and add integrated bluetooth.

    Leave in the Airport Extreme card.

    Change the screen to a touch screen. Rotate it around and place it flat against the spot where the keyboard was.

    Take out the FireWire, one of the two USB ports, the VGA connector, the modem, the ethernet card, and the optical drive, and replace them all with a dock connector.

    Shrink the hard drive by replacing it with the new Toshiba 60 GB drive. Shrink the motherboard about the same amount.

    Add a little metal stand that has the same freedom of movement that the iMac monitor arm has, but with a base that's just big enough to hold the two USBs, a FireWire port, a modem, ethernet, an integrated Airport Express, the optical drive, the power transformer, and a weight, and has an easy-to-release connector to hold the computer and a Dock connector.

    Throw in a stylus, a bluetooth mouse, and a bluetooth keyboard (you can set them up using the stylus on the touchscreen).

    What do you have? Maybe a 10-in iBook that's also an iMac?

  • I don't see this happening (Score:3, Interesting)

    by curtlewis ( 662976 ) on Friday August 13, 2004 @07:29PM (#9964242)
    There have been two waves of tablet PCs in the industry: The original with Go, etc back in the early to mid 90s and the recent wave that fell flat on it's face.

    This history makes it a rather risky move for anyone to enter that market. I just don't see Apple making this move. I see them sticking with their excellent laptops.

    Now I do see them considering more integration between computers and the iPod. Apple may well license iPod technology to other vendors than Motorola (for their upcoming iTunes compatible phone). Before too long 4gb of memory in a cell phone is going to be commonplace and that's what the iPod mini has now. I think Apple's deal with Motorola shows that Apple knows they won't be able to sell the hardware forever, so they've taken steps to move the technology beyond that.

    I think an iPodPhone is a great idea. One less gadget to forget to grab on my way out the door in the morning. I don't see Apple making the phone, though, so count out your dreams of an iPhone. An iPod-white SonyEricsson T630 with 8gb of memory sounds great to me, though! Talk about a big selection of MP3 ringtones!

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