Let the Apple tablet wars begin
Artist's rendition of an Apple tablet computer, with iPhone (right). Credit: AppleInsider
The battle lines are drawn.
On Friday we had Jason Schwartz, an options strategist long on Apple (AAPL), explaining in Seeking Alpha Why Apple's iTouch Tablet Will Become Its Flagship Product.
On Monday we heard from Michael Scalisi, an IT manager writing in PC World, that the Rumored Apple Tablet Is a Train Wreck.
If the first hurdle of a successful Apple product is to capture the imagination of the chattering classes, this one is half-way there.
Of course, we don't really know what the product is, what it looks like or when, if ever, it will be released. But that hasn't stopped the trade press from weighing in — and quickly taking sides.
In this context, the most useful thing I've read lately is Harry McCracken's PAQ — for Possibly Answered Questions, a kind of pre-emptive FAQ — in Monday's Technologizer.
McCracken sorts through the myriad details that have been bruited about in nearly two years of press speculation (and, reportedly, four years of product development under Steve Jobs' watchful eye) and draws a plausible picture of the rumored device and what it might be good for.
Among the tablet's salient features, as McCracken sees it:
- Size: A 9.7-inch screen with something like 1024-by-600 pixels (the iPhone, by comparison, has a 3.5-inch screen and 480-by-320 pixels.
- Operating System: A version of the iPhone OS that supports a larger screen and special tablet features.
- Interface: Like the iPhone's, it will be optimized for Web surfing, music, movies, very light e-mail, and other applications that don’t involve much data entry.
- Applications: From the 65,000 available on the App Store.
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi for sure. Bluetooth almost certainly. The big unknown: will it have cellular broadband?
- Other features: A front-mounted camera for video chatting. Perhaps GPS for navigation. Maybe an SD slot for importing photos. No Firewire or USB, says McCracken, although we don't see why not.
- Cost: More than a netbook ($500 at the cheapest) and less than a MacBook ($999), unless subsidized by a cellular carrier. (In which case the monthly bills will push cost into the thousands of dollars over the life of a contract.)
- Availability: AppleInsider is pretty sure it's early next year. The Financial Times is even more certain it's September of this year. As McCracken points out, they can't both be right.
See also:
Everybody saying its going to be so great, and what it will have and what it will do…Yet nobody has yet to see it nor do most of these people know it even exists. Sure Apple makes great products but saying its going to be great before it even exists is pretty dumb.
iPhone runs Darwin. MacOS runs Darwin.
Apple would have to be brain-dead stupid to not make the tablet a full 100% Mac OSX client.
I have owned nothing but Macintosh since 1986 and I stand by the above paragraph.
Who says "AppStore" ??? If nothing else, ship it with a superficial (a-la Front Row" iPhone OS, and then an app that opens into your OS X desktop.
I doubt there will be any REAL competition. Really exited to see the kind of games one can develop for the tablet. (((www.mobiliciouz.com)))
I also wonder if it may be the first major product to support Wi-Tricity, i.e. the ability to wirelessly recharge when within range of a spacial base station using a tuned energy transmission.
Apple has on order a large number of 10 inch LCDs. They just brokered a deal for a large amount of flash memory. They have handwriting recognition from the Newton days and on Mac OS X at times… They have voice recognition from quite some time ago as well. The voice recognition of the current iPhone is pretty decent. Stir it all in a blender and I'd say a 1024×600 or maybe 1200×800 or higher. The iPhone is 160 pixels per inch and they likely want similar resolution for product differentiation and compatibility with iPhone perception of sizes of objects.
I'd guess a fixed battery. And lifespan of 20 hours use are goals. Maybe 16 hours on time. Lots more room for the battery and the processor is the same power consumption.
Of course it could be a novel technology display blending e-ink and LCD or OLED to save power.
USB will be there. It is on the iPhone dock connector. Which I would guess will be there too.
WiFi will be there. And maybe if Apple wants to yank harder on AT&Ts slacking chain (no MMS or tethering plan yet!!!! booed at the developers conference) then they will make the device have a build to order GSM radio or CDMA radio (and related technologies of course GPRS, Edge, and other 3G technologies) so that the tablet will appeal to other carriers, as well as those who don't need yet another phone company contract.
Expect it to be ARM based. Prediction of running iPhone Apps bounded to iPhone sizes or unbounded. Apple warns developers not to depend on display resolution!
Maybe the phone connection will be an external Add-On. And there will be a USB 2.0 OTG port or ports in addition to the docking port. Maybe there will be optical out and in for audio. And since it is likely thicker (just so the curved back feels right) it may sport a rearward 8 megapixel camera, maybe with optical zoom, and likely a 1 megapixel front facing one. Don't expect picture quality as high as a dedicated camera.
Expect HD movie playback to be flawless (which means a 1920×1200 display is possible! That is not far off the pixels per inch of the iPhone for a 10 inch display). Expect HD movie recording.
Look for a tie in to bundled services by AT&T and maybe Verizon that reduce the cost in half. Wish list is AT&T offer a combined plan for iPhone and this advent product as you can't be on unlimited data on both at the same time (easily, unless a pedantic like myself). Maybe an optional extension to AT&T's tethering plan … Oh wait AT&T hasn't been able to execute on that yet. For iPhone. Or MMS. Come to think of it Wish list item should be for Verizon or Sprint to support this device and it have a combined GSM/GPRS and CDMA/TDMA modem set. So it can be used internationally in ALL markets. There will be room in it! Just $50 more in retail cost for that option.
I see the tablet having a hinge in the middle (for portability), so the screen can fold in half – a little like the Nintendo DS. But the inside is all screen, with no gap or line across the screen. This would take some clever engineering, which can be patented, to keep the competitors out of the same space.
The bloggers have really outdone themselves on this tablet rumor. I really wonder if this device exists at all. This device is so vague that mostly nothing is known about it except it's close to 10-inch size. I can't believe that the security would be so tight that nobody has a clue what OS it runs or what processor it is using. And it's supposedly on track to be announced a couple of months from now OR not.
I'd say a few bloggers are putting a big one over on Apple fanatics. One huge unsubstantiated rumor. It's so sad. That folding keyboard thingie was a hoot. I'm waiting for it to sprout wings. How come no stylus as of yet or voice entry? Just hook up the headset mic and start talking for perfect voice dictation. Talk about absurdities.
As much as I wish the tablet were true, the overall rumor just doesn't feel right in my opinion.
If you think about it, a device similar to an Iphone/touch but with a bigger screen sounds very nice. Us road warriors will be able to watch streaming video ( you-tube, slingbox, streaming TV networks like Hulu), or downloaded DVD movies.
But if you think about it again, you'll remember that Apple does not permit its Operating System to display ANY video source that does not come from within Itunes. So you will be trapped into only being able to buy movies and TV from Apple. and we alll know how ATT, their partner doesn't allow high bandwidth video streaming (Slingbox as an example) on their 3G networks. Until Apple opens up on all this, it will be the competitive advantage to similar windows devices which are more open with video output/display.
A few ideas:
The previous tablet by Apple was named “Newton,” emphasizing the mathematical/logical side, but the new one will also include much that is creative/artistic, so the name might be the “da Vinci” or even the “Leonardo.”
Some say it will use the iPhone OS, others say Snow Leopard. Some say if it isn’t easy to read for hours, like Amazon’s Kindle, forget about it being an ebook reader. Why do you think it took Apple four years to perfect this product? It could just have it all.
Some say it will have GPS; others say no. Think what a great GPS device it would be, using a ten-inch touchscreen combined with full computer capabilities that would allow you to customize routing and points-of-interest.
The greatest disagreement is over the input method. Floppy, hard, or virtual keyboard? I can envision a device with a touchscreen segment connected to a keyboard segment, by two side struts, hinged at the back of the keyboard, and midway on the side of the touch screen. This would allow three setups. (1) the bottom of the touchscreen at the back of the keyboard, just like a notebook; (2) the touchscreen moved forward so the keyboard acts as a stand for using the touchscreen without it; and (3) the keyboard swung around, so the top of it is nestled in behind the touchscreen for the whole device to be used as a tablet. It could be used with either the regular keyboard or with a virtual onscreen one.
Finally, what if it is a true tablet, with no keyboard, and which relies primarily on a really great voice recognition system? The original Newton had handwriting recognition. Maybe now is the time to completely get rid of that 1880s technology, the QWERTY keyboard,.
Ooooooo great Scalisi, thou art so wonderous and so wise. Apple just has NO clue. And we are all soooooooooo grateful to know this product is no good – just like those silly iPods and iPhones.
Guys, you have it ALL WRONG. I have it on inside information that this is NOT the iTablet. It's iTABLETS, a new drug by Apple that will, when taken by prescription only (see your physician or hairdresser) that will restore your childlike sense of wonder.
Why do I know this? Because I've been beta testing these little puppies, and I gotta tell ya, it's a game-changer. I can't stop taking 'em. Never felt better. The best way I can describe how it feels is the rush of getting the latest Mac or iPhone, but doing it twice a day.
You thought the iPod or iPhone were big? Nope. Pending FDA approval, this will be the biggest thing since Viagra. Yep, Apple's reinventing a new market all over again. Is there anything these guys can't do?
ex ped: heh
Anyone tried to imagine how you will use a touch screen tablet (without keyboard)?
1) will you put it on a Table and use it (that's no fun)
2) how to you hold it and use virtual keyboard if it is 10 inch size?
ex ped: Good questions. I've seen two answers put forward: a) you don't do much typing on it (like the iPhone) or b) you buy a keyboard accessory, either wireless (via Bluetooth) or wired (via USB)
If this thing comes out it will be begging to be dropped and smashed (with glass touch screen and smooth edges). Can't imagine apple making it with plastic screen and plastic/rubber casing.
You know, from the title of this piece I thought maybe some competitive products were also on the horizon.
That puts me in mind that there still isn't an alternative to the iPod Touch out on the market. Talk about a blind spot! Apparantly, the phone companies won't compete against it because they don't want to look foolish trying to build a computer, and the computer companies won't compete against it because they'd be starting so far behind that catching up seems an impossible task.
And now the rumors of a Tablet, which is a natural extension of the Touch if there ever was one – and Apple is once again literally trailblazing into unknown territory.
Amazing.
"On Friday we had Jason Schwartz, a options strategist long on Apple"
*Very first sentence should be "AN options strategist…"
ex ped: thanks. fixed.
Why not run snow leopard? They have made the footprint smaller, and made several touch-friendly enhancements to it. Did you see the new click-and-hold method to open expose? It makes perfect sense for a touch interface.
All I could think of is having one of these things in a small fold-over portfolio. The "folding' part has a horizontal keyboard made of fabric (like the USB ones you can buy in any tech-geek store) that you plug into the thing as needed. Under vertical use the thing is just a giant iPhone, but in horizontal use it can be used as a netbook-like device. Uses? As a road warrior I'm already watching movies on a crappy 4×6" screen in the back of my seat (infinitely better than the uber-crappy tube TVs in the aisles but still). This would allow me to make calls on Skype, do some light emailing, gather information, and have access to a light, portable computer around the house. The e-reader concept is solid as is this being a new way to expand the readership of magazines and top-tier papers (imagine the NYT or Washington Post refusing to print outside of their geographic footprint and forcing people online–they'll go).
It's a solid idea. Tie it in to Apple TV so that I can transfer files to and from the tablet (or replacing the set-top box altogether and you've got it). Also, remember that just because AT&T's 3G network is terrible that doesn't mean that all other carriers are terrible. I got awesome speeds on Sprint's EVDO network and 4G is coming. The need for wireless broadband is there, but a 3G/4G network from a decent carrier will do much, if not all, of what someone would need.
oh yeah, I luv apple products and this one will be great.
time to break into the kids' college fund…
Small netbooks, like the Dell Mini 9, can be coaxed to run Mac OS X pretty easily, and run it better than Vista! There's no reason why a lower-powered iTablet couldn't run the full version of Mac OS X, although the 56,000 apps on the Apps Store are quite appealing…
People will call it a netbook or try to compare it to a netbook, but it will be far beyond any netbook out there, it will be it's own product, like the iphone. Whatever and whenever, I'm in.
The rumor continues and none of the people predicting this know any more than you or me. I have seen similar specs predicted as well as those of a more powerful computer running OS X, which seems more likely on a 10" tablet than the "launcher" interface of the iPhone.
The bottom line is that they don't know, and often get some or all of their information from fans posting speculation or wish lists to Mac rumor sites.
Schwartz has good points, but I'm a little worried that he's flogging his portfolio. Scalisi is a fool; he sets up straw men based on no facts, then knocks them down. McCracken is getting close, but there are still some holes. So what the heck, I'll weigh in with some additional observations.
– Fair to assume that Apple has been chewing on this product for a long time, and one reason we haven't seen it yet is that they've been working their way, one by one, past all the obvious objections.
– If past experience holds true, they will go beyond tweaking existing products to define a new class of experience.
– Repeat after me: iPhone OS >IS< OS X. This is not an either/or choice. They are a continuum, which would be made abundantly clear with a tablet.
– That said, I'm pretty sure that great-big-Touch is a good way to start thinking about this thing. Extremely slim and light, much more screen real estate, out-of-the-box software base. But it should be able to handle more robust software. And it had better multitask, or all bets are off.
– Comparing with the previous Windows tablet/laptop hybrids is just plain silly.
– Re pricing: Forget $500. How many times does Apple have to declare that they can't make a quality product to compete in the $399 / $499 arena? $800 is probably a good guess.
– Sure, it would work in certain verticals (medicine, retail), but that's not what Apple cares about. They want to hit a consumer home run. The niche markets can fend for themselves.
– Expect a good virtual keyboard. Apple has bee accumulating patents for same for some time. (http://news.cnet.com/Virtual%20keyboard%20tops%20Apple%20patent%20requests/2100-1041_3-6066425.html) But Bluetooth makes sense for text-heavy applications.
– USB? Can't have something at this scale without that, at least a mini-jack.
– Battery life is still probably a challenge, if you've got 4 times the screen area of a Touch to light up.
– Beyond that, it wouldn't be an Apple if it didn't have surprises that the rest of us poor schlubs haven't imagined yet.
Wrong, wrong, wrong.
The pictures, the specifications, the connectivity are all wrong. What AAPL will come out with will be entirely different.
This is the "Jeff Goldblum is Dead" syndrome. Someone posts a story with pictures and everybody copies it.
Journalism or nonsense, time will tell.
ex ped: What's your source, David?
I predict that if Apple doesn't release a tablet PC this September, it will cause such profound disappointment, people will begin abandoning them in droves. The company will start to come apart.
Based upon what is written about the "tablet" it is really nothing more than an Itouch on steroids. It is more of a Netbook than a tablet computer. This product, as outlined, is aimed at the consumer market and not a real threat to the tablets utilized in business that have true computer capabilities. But all said it could very easily compete against the other netbooks.
It's unlikely the resolution will be 1024×600. Apple will probably use a multiple integer of current iPhone/iPod resolution to make current applications forward compatible
The tablet will be a gaming platform, ebook reader and will leverage the app store. The developers will make amazing apps for this. Apple will revolutionize computing, again.
Actually, they CAN both be right. Apple can introduce a "tablet" in September AND Verizon (and/or other carriers) could introduce a "cellular" version early next year. This has been done with other computers as well.
hope you all have it wrong because by the looks of it, this think will be highly unusable. Too big to handle the keyboard like an iphone, how are you supposed to use this thing? Cradle it with one arm type with the other? cant set it down because no kb.