Fantasy features of an Apple tablet

Apple seems almost ready to bridge the gap between the iPhone and the MacBook with a new type of mobile computer. What will it look like?

(Credit: Tom Krazit/CNET News)

Apple is rumored to be working on something bigger than an iPod Touch, but smaller than a MacBook. Past patent applications filed by the company and whispers from contract manufacturers point to a midsize gadget with a screen of 7 to 8 inches in the works, perhaps scheduled to debut early next year. It's been variously described as a tablet-like device, a "media pad," and an iPod Touch on steroids.

But the middle ground between handheld device and traditional laptop has historically been a hard sell to mainstream consumers. Apple has some experience reinventing what were thought to be staid or failed product categories, and is known for its stringent product review process, so if anyone has potential to make something compelling for this "tweener" category, it's the company to do so.

For Apple, this could be its answer to the Netbook craze--20 million of those scaled-down PCs will be shipped to retailers this year, doubling last year's output. Apple has been fairly clear in its distaste for them, using descriptors like "junky," and the average selling price of around $400 wouldn't allow Apple to keep its margins as high as it's used to.

But there is clearly a market, particularly given the current state of the economy, for a device in that middle range between a smartphone and a laptop. Interim CEO Tim Cook recently admitted that Apple has "some interesting ideas in this space."

Let's say it does make one. What exactly should a tablet from Apple do and what kind of features does it need to sport to avoid the pitfalls of every other failed tablet PC, ultramobile PC, and mobile Internet device now gathering dust in the basements and desk drawers of early adopters?

Some suggestions:

Reinvent the category: First, Apple has to solve the major problem that has plagued all tablet-like devices until now: lack of interest from consumers, and a clear purpose for the device, which is no small feat. "This must have a very different spin on the tablet phenomena," said Michael Gartenberg, vice president of analysis at Interpret. "What can (a tablet) do that neither (a phone or laptop) can do that causes a consumer to carry one more thing? Consumers maximum want to carry two, maybe three things."

The solution will be to make it as easy to use as possible, in a way no company has yet, and with features, such as those listed below.

Be thin and light: A device thinner and lighter than the 3-pound MacBook Air and slightly heftier than the 1.1-pound Kindle DX would make people more apt to carry it around. Clunky, heavy ultramobile PCs (UMPCs) like the OQO, for example, were portable in theory, but weren't practical for more than a niche business audience. If people don't want to carry it around, they may as well stick with a smartphone and a laptop. This is what happened to tablet PCs, which currently occupy approximately 1 percent of the overall PC market, according to IDC. UMPCs' market share is essentially zero.

Have customized software: No-man's-land devices like tablet PCs and UMPCs/MIDs failed partly because their operating system, Windows XP, wasn't optimized for those devices. Apple has an advantage there with the iPhone OS. It could be tweaked for a midsize device between the iPhone and MacBook.

"Going with the iPhone OS would likely bring advantages in terms of simplicity, battery life, form factor, cost, and stability," noted Ross Rubin, director of industry analysis at The NPD Group. "Mac OS, on the other hand, would provide a more robust Web surfing experience by enabling Adobe Flash."

What's key is to keep the best parts of the iPhone and the best parts of the Mac desktop OS, like the iPhone's version of the Safari browser, and compatibility with the App Store, he said. "One way to accommodate this might be by putting them in a window, similarly to how Canonical is now talking about running Android apps on the desktop."

Built-in wireless 3G: This seems fairly obvious, but while the iPhone has this, the iPod Touch and MacBook don't. The point of a tablet would be to get online quickly, download videos, books, apps, etc., so this seems fairly certain if Apple were to make a tablet.

Incorporate the best parts of the iPod Touch, such as a multitouch screen, an accelerometer for quick switches between landscape and portrait mode, and built-in App Store access. Apple's pinching and zooming multitouch screen is what gets iPhone users all giggly. Imagine those gestures on a much larger surface: swiping through photo galleries and album art, drawing with your fingers, and zooming way in on tiny photo details would all be enhanced on a 7-inch (or so) screen.

AppStore access is a must. It's insanely popular--having passed a billion downloads in April after just nine months open for business. It's bringing in a decent amount of revenue to Apple, and is drawing hordes of developers to Apple's platform. A larger screen presents even more opportunities for things like gaming apps.

Innovative text entry system: Apple's already demonstrated this. And with more screen real estate on a potential tablet, a larger version of the iPhone's virtual keyboard seems like the most obvious direction for Apple to go here. It would vastly increase usability, and depending on the size, could even afford room to touch type with both hands.

iSight inside: An integrated camera could turn such a device into a mobile video-conferencing system. It presents a great application for business use--video conference calls from anywhere--as well as consumers, for example, giving parents face time with their new freshman away at college, even when he or she is away from their laptop.

A built-in mobile video camera could also take advantage of bar-code reading apps to get more information about products, or perform image searches with apps like SnapTell, already featured by Apple in an iPhone TV spot. Take a picture of a book, DVD, or cereal box with the built-in camera, and it brings up information about it from sites like Google, IMDB, eBay, and others.

Be able to watch multiple full-length movies on a single charge: A Mac tablet with a screen around 7 inches, as is rumored, would presumably be primarily for consuming media, so the ability to watch a full-length film on a long airplane ride would be great. "Good power performance will enable that," said Daniell Hebert, CEO of Moto Development Group, a consumer product development lab in San Francisco. That means the screen can't be too big a drain on the battery, and how background applications are handled will matter, too.

Be an e-book reader: E-books are hot right now. Though Steve Jobs memorably said "people don't read anymore," he's been known to bash product categories before jumping into them. Apple has approved plenty of e-book reading apps for the App Store, so the prospect of an even larger screen would be very appealing for reading books or newspaper articles.

The price has to be right: We know Apple doesn't do cheap. It's the same reason the company has repeatedly said it won't do a Netbook. An Apple tablet would likely be priced below the cheapest MacBook at $999. Apple watcher Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray happens to believe it will be tagged between $500 and $700. And if an iPod Touch is $399 for 32GB, the Kindle DX is $489, it shouldn't stray too far above $500.

Though some are hoping for mention of a tablet from Apple at the Worldwide Developers Conference that's taking place in just over a week, it's probably not a good bet. Besides the fact that the focus of WWDC recently has been all iPhone, Munster says his sources in overseas manufacturing believe such a tablet device wouldn't be ready until 2010 at the earliest. In the meantime, let us know what features you'd like to see in a device like this from Apple.

[zhakidd532]

I think if I were to buy something like that I would not want the wireless 3G. I don't want to pay a monthly fee for it unless it's at a good price, which it probably wouldn't be. For me I'm within Wifi a lot of the time, and mostly any time I'd be using it.

[myles taylor]

If the hardware is in there and it's optional, you can choose to not have it. I'd like it to at least be an option.

[David Turner]

It totally has to have wireless 3G. In areas where wi-fi is not available no 3G radically reduces the device's usefulness. Having the hardware does not mean you have to be locked into a control. Apple could easily sell this device without a plan.

[jlt0x]

Apple will most-likely make something like the Sony VAIO P-series notebook. Extremely small, capable, expensive.

[etandrib]

It seems like Erica put a lot of effort into building up the point that Apple needs to create a tablet with clear value and distinguishing features to separate it from the iPod and MacBook - then went on to say it should be JUST like an iPod Touch but with a bigger screen.

Also the rumors have been pointing toward a 10" screen rather than 8"-9".
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/03/11/apple_orders_10_inch_touchscreens_for_mystery_product.html
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/03/11/more_apple_netbook_rumors/

I think one of the reasons Apple hasn't released this product is because they need it to be based on Snow Leopard for performance and features (Exchange). The other reason is technology. They haven't been able to use the processor or the screen they want/need to in order to make this a success. They really do need to differentiate it from the iPod and MacBooks but they aren't going to do that by using the iPhone OS directly. That doesn't make sense for the interface.

Instead, Apple needs to compete with Amazon in the ebook industry for the student ebook market. They just need a screen that is big enough for being mobile and has E-ink and LCD properties. Oh, with a quick Google it just happens there are a couple screens to be released this fall that meet this criteria. Apple is also sitting on there own licencing of ARM processors. For what? iPhone? Sure. But probably more importantly a LED/E-Ink hybrid that is super energy efficient and runs Mac OS X natively (with a modified interface of course). I think we'll see more segmentation in Apple's OS market. You'll have iPhone OS and Mac OS along with a new version for this tablet AND Apple TV.

Oh, and lets stop calling this an Apple tablet and just call it what it is ? iBook.

[zidanetribal21]

E-ink/traditional LCD would be a fascinating technology to see. That's one of the shortfalls that a lot of ebook reader reviews don't seem to understand. It's a strain on the eyes to look at a backlit LCD for any serious length of time. I would really like if my iPhone transitioned to an E-ink display after being idle for so many seconds, minutes, whatever.

[Me_to]

Yes, Etandrib you have knocked the nail on the head, but I also think that this new device with its ten inch screen will include a platform for Apps from the App store and especially games which there are over 6000 at the moment, because I think that it will have an accelerometer just like the iPhone and iPod Touch. On the rumor sites there is talk of the iPhone being able to download movies from iTunes, which would be good but watching a movie on an iPhone and iPod Touch is no fun at the moment, this ability would be more suited to an Apple device with a larger screen, the possibility of chatting with iChat or Skype with an embedded camera in the centre of the screen, which also might be in the pipeline. As you say above a rival to the ebook as well would also be a good move from Apple. With all these attributes i feel it would become the perfect traveling companion.

What Apple needs to do is blow the competition out of the water (netbooks), which makes the industry wish that they had come up with such a device. It needs to be universal and appeal to a wide audience, that will make it the next Apple must have product.

[lkrupp]

Another C|net blogger telling Apple what they need to do to survive and compete, followed by more armchair marketing geniuses pontificating. These are the same "pundits" who predicted the iMac, the iPod, the iPhone, iTunes would fail because they didn't the possess the features they demanded.

These threads are funnier than a Looney-Tunes cartoon.

[ralfthedog]

These threads give Apple good feedback. The engineers and designers at Apple have a vision. Users don't yet understand what that vision is. That is not to say, Apple won't take the requests of users into consideration.

[Seaspray0]

Add me to that list, ikrupp. I complained bitterly about the iphone not being able to synch to corporate email. But did you notice that version 2 had active sync? I complained and apple listened to ME... and all the other people who wanted corporate email, too. Companies do listen to what their customers want.

[wschloss]

Don't forget GPS, accelerometer and compass with turn-by-turn (with shell closed though it's not clear clam shell is best design); and multiple phone options. How about a couple USB ports for flexibility, and please give me high quality wireless syncing. It's 2009, one of the biggest pains in the butt for my iPhone is having to plug it in to sync (unless I want to pay for an app that should be standard OS). The video conferencing is a great idea but it has to be easy enough for the average 5th grader / corporate exec. Also, the ability to FM transmit up to say 10 yards would be super handy both at home and in the car. Finally, this has to be super klutz-proof so flash memory would be way better than standard HDD. This is asking a heck of a lot but with iPhone Apple has proven they could do it if they want. (Yes I am an unabashed HUGE fan).

[XiroMisho]

While Apple is used to reinventing categories, not everywhere they go is success... Apple TV has been an Epic failure, and will continue to be so because the entire HTPC market is crashing and burning. with Cable companies offering DVR's and TiVO being dominent, many people don't want to bother with ANOTHER set-top... Not to mention the Netflix set-top box, which links directly to their service, is a much better device than the Apple TV (I think it's cause it doesn't have an 'i' in front of it...)

[manualfunky]

isnt tivo losing money at the moment? wasnt apple tv always a hobby project anyway?
the ability to link the new tablet wirelessly to your apple tv would be a good idea so you dont need to be infront of the tv all the time if you want to watch something... stream it over the net perhaps?

[ralfthedog]

If you link an iTab or an iPhone to an Apple TV you get a very cool controller for a game system.

[JGowan]

Off topic, but I'll jump on it, too?

While I agree that Apple TV really hasn't hit it's stride, I don't think it's the "Epic failure" you're labeling it. TiVo is probably not doing is good as it should due to the Cable/Satellite people offering their DVRs. They can afford to as you never own their gear and you're probably shelling out close to $2,500 to these businesses over a 2-yr contracted span. TiVO is fighting a major battle and will continue to do so without having anything more to offer than just the box/scheduling. Their "TiVO-to-go" feature is great and allows you to transfer your recordings to your laptop or smaller portables (ipod/PSP/iPhone).

This is where Apple needs to go with the AppleTV to get my money -- TV recording with tight integration with laptops, ipods and iphones. However, they don't want to go p!ssing in their own pool and make their content providers mad. Everyone is making money from iTunes' TV & Movie downloads and Apple isn't going to upset the politically hot topic potato of recording tv -- they won't for the simple fact that commercials could be too easily skipped or edited out altogether.

Netflix -- I think Apple should partner with them as have quite a few other people have and offer the service in the AppleTV -- again, this flies in the face of their iTunes business. What's good for the customer isn't always good business.

[dragonsky1]

The Apple TV hasn't been a huge success, but it hasn't been an "epic failure". In fact, sales of the device have been increasing steadily, posting double digit sales growth in the last two quarters. That's hardly a failure. Plus, Apple doesn't have much of an appetite for money loosing projects since Steve Jobs came back. If the Apple TV was loosing money, it would have been dumped by now.

[montex66]

I think Michael Dell would really like to see his Adamo have the same "epic failure" sales as the AppleTV. In fact, I think Dell would be pretty happy right about to make more than microscopic profits on anything they sell. Did you see Dell posted 12.3 Billion in sales, but less than 250 million in profit? That's way into Why-Bother territory.

[emarr3]

I would like to see the handwriting recognition of the Newton come back. It was unfairly judge--it works and well at that. Apple has always imagined a concept in its pure form and often been ahead of its time. The ability to write electronically as if on paper should be the holy grail and I think that the technology has made it achieveable and practical in the sense that small devices with lots of features are possible and there is CPU horsepower now.
I wouldn't want it to have 3G(it could be sold with the capability for a price). i would want to be free of the jackals called cellular providers if possible.

[JGowan]

Being that the Newton was Apple tech in the 12 years of Jobs' absence, this will never see the light of day as Jobs axed lots of projects on his return. They will probably have the HW recognition back in their products soon enough, but it'll never be associated with the Newton or called the same thing. It'll be called "Inkwell".

[reagan0]

iJot?

[kcotham]

I still use my Message Pad 2100. It runs all day (heck all week) on a set of batteries. It takes PCMCIA cards. I can fax or hook up to an Ethernet port. Some people are running WiFi cards in theirs. If Jobs hadn't killed the Newton, they'd be 10 years ahead of the curve. They were, that's what the problem was. If the StrongArm -110 running at 162MHz was enough back then, then the newest ARM processors should definitely be enough now. And Mac OS has Inkwell in place already.

The Newton Message Pad was treated as a PDA when it was really a handheld computer. The time is ripe for it to come back.

[kelmon]

A nice article. The first point is by far and away the most important - the device needs a purpose. Precisely what we don't want is a Mac with a touchscreen simply because we already have Macs and they are better suited to their purpose with their current design than a touchscreen version. Given that I am almost certainly not going to want to try and type a report on such a touchscreen device, Apple needs to find a function that I can't do on my current laptop or that the touchscreen device will do so much better that I won't want to use the laptop for it. Off the top of my head I cannot think of such a function but I'd be very interested to see the demonstration of it.

[cosuna]

Exactly. They need to create a new paradigm with new apps that really need the extra space.

They must be thinking out of the box. Way beyond the iTouch with bigger screen, or Touch Screen
MacBook.

BTW. Someone found an iProd tag inside iPhone OS 3.0, could that stand for iProdigy? Would that be
the name for the so called iTablet?

[cnetfollower]

I would like to be able to use the tablet on my LAN as a remote keyboard/display to my desktop iMac or Mac Pro.

All the power, storage, peripherals and connectivity of my desktop in a handheld device.

At even $1000 it would be worth it.

[rafusee2]

that does sounds pretty cool and useful, but 1000$??? you could practically get another computer for that much haha

[Kimsh]

If you were not joined a tthe hip to Apple you could get several for that price.

[cb3431]

Maybe it will be really innovative and run more than one application at a time. I really hope that I have to choose between battery life and having fast connectivity with 3G. If it doesn't cost more than a grand, I'm not buying it. I hope it comes with Safari because I like how it crashes and makes my computer less secure.

[CreativeMalcolm]

I'm progressively doubting more and more if Apple's going to release something like this. The iPod touch and the iPhone ARE Netbooks as far as Apple is concerned. And I can't see touch typing on a touch screen with anything more than my thumbs. Fact is how are you gonna type? With an iPhone you can hold it and type, with this you'd need to find a place to set it down?

[zhakidd532]

Yeah, exactly. You can't type with a laptop while you're walking can you?

[pjhenry1216]

Ehhh... while I'm against the idea of an Apple tablet and wish it'd either just come out or some proof that it won't happen comes out so the countless articles stop, I have to disagree with the notion that you need to set it down to type. I've walked and typed on a laptop (over 6lbs). You just "set it down" on your left (or right if you're lefty) forearm and type with just your right hand. Optimal? No. Comfortable? Not really. Possible? Absolutely. Sometimes necessary? For me at the time it was.

[kcotham]

1997 technology; Newton Message Pad 2100; about 20 ounces. Think what is possible with today's batteries and manufacturing tech!

[skinnysimmons]

It would need removable storage, a usb port or two, and the new oled (the picture lookes amazing), wifi, the ablility to run multiple apps at once (maybe some kind of power consumption system that you can switch it to, to run one app only or multiple), and not too much over $500. I know I'm dreaming but who can blame me the device is still just a dream.

[goosedude]

Alas....the Rainbow Apple was a true innovator.....the Silver Apple no longer pioneers but refines existing ideas.

While I am in favor of an affordable Mac Tablet....methinks their opportunity for dominance in such a device has passed. I for one do not believe they are interested in such a device unless it can reap them huge profits either on hardware or via iTUNES.....let's be honest that's what the company is driven on these days.

The window is shrinking as the netbook craze has taken off (And they run OS X very easily) and the Netvertibles are coming this year.....and Windows 7 is showing that they will incorporate touch/gesture control and SURFACE

[pjhenry1216]

The tweener category is *not* a hard sell. You just stated that sales doubled from last year without the help from Apple. Why do you think the category is dying? It's doing just fine.

[The_happy_switcher]

As someone who knows people at Apple, I can tell you this is highly unlikely.

[Seaspray0]

Why not just admit that you work for them?

[The_happy_switcher]

I don't work for Apple. And don't taunt me, I told the CNET message board police I'd be a good boy.

I don't own any Apple devices so im not really in tune with that world of electronics. But I think historically Apple has felt a great sense of pride in making innovative devices that change the way people think and do things. Natural progression for them would be to make something with a tablet form factor and about a 10" touch screen. For it to succeed it has to replace at least two things people carry and can't otherwise do without and also have robust battery life. I think the battery life issue will unfortunately prevent any device like this from being made any time soon.

[prince.siraj]

They could try and make an ultra space-efficient battery like the eight hour one in the seventeen inch MacBook pro. Matter of fact i'm using an iPod touch to type this up now. I'm not an apple fanboy but their products really are innovative. The only reason I don't call myself an apple fanboy is because I still think that in some things windows is more useful than macintosh, although those things are few and far between... Hopefully windows 7 is worth getting because when I get a MacBook I'm getting windows on it

[orbital318]

What I don't understand, when ever this comes up or when ever it is addressed in the PC world is a total neglect of either in talking about the most prolific audience that wants a tablet. Artists. Tablet PCs to this day are still marketed more to medical and business professionals, especially slate PCs, where business really doesn't need it and medical is more limited in use than art. What is really needed is a decent PC/Mac with the artist in mind that uses touch technology as well as Wacom pen-able technology (you can't draw if the machine is reading your wrist as a multi-touch point.

[Seaspray0]

That requires an OS with touch capabiity.

[artistjoh]

@Orbital318

I am an artist. I use an Apple based drawing tablet now. It is called a ModBook. Google it, you may be surprised. You start with a standard MacBook or MacBook Pro and a company called Axiotron removes the screen ands keyboard and attaches a tablet monitor top so that you see the drawing and painting happening directly under the stylus (and no, the hand resting on the screen does not confuse the tablet and make accidental marks on the artwork. I love it.

Wacom has also for several years made Wacom tablet monitors that enable the artwork to become visible under the stylus but unlike the ModBook they are not so portable and are not battery powered.

The Modbook has all the computing power of a standard Apple laptop so cannot be described as lacking in the technology department. The stylus works brilliantly and the 13 inch or 15 inch screen sizes are about perfect for most sketching, although a smaller 7 to 10 inch touch device like a potential Apple Tablet would make a welcome addition to the range of drawing choices available to artists.

These products have been available for several years now but artists have not rushed to buy them in huge numbers although they do seem to enjoy steady sales. It seems most artists seem not to have made the discovery (as digital camera owners have) that once the device is purchased the cost of making the artwork is essentially zero. Artists instead focus on the high entry price of digital painting devices and choose the shorter term lower price of paint and paper etc.

[InklingBooks]

You should probably include Bluetooth capable enough to handle a keyboard. It's long been something they've needed to add to the iPhone/touch. For a lot of text input, particularly when accuracy counts, a touch screen simply isn't up to the job.

[Nantosh]

If the Zune HD gets OLED... why can't this > >
*sad*

[dragonsky1]

Because of the cost of an OLED screen this size. Also, don't forget that OLED is still widely unproven, and there are serious questions about it's reliability, particularly in large sizes. Even Sony and Panasonic are being slow to adopt this.

[sroussey]

OLED would solve several problems, but introduces one big one: timing. Either such a device won't come until 2010/2011 or OLED won't come until v2.

[cosuna]

Is it me, or the author "knows" more than it is supposed to. Is Apple really "chanelling" thru Ericka to see if people respond to such "tweener" notebook.

I myself think that the key would be a dual (or triple) OS system. Apple is well known for its workings with Nvidia on several MacBooks. And Nvidia is very vocal about its new Tegra ARM chip. Could Apple and Nvidia be working on a Atom-Ion-Tegra hybrid with dual OS boot? Or could it be a Tegra-PA Semi hybrid, half ARM, half PowerPC?

Newton's was a hard hitter on Apple's consciousness, so they don't want to make the same mistakes they did earlier.

P.S.: What I mean of Triple OS, would be iPhone OS 3.0, MacOS X Snow Leopard and Windows 7.

[prince.siraj]

Apple would never use a windows OS but if it had an intel chip I sure wouldn't mind buying thisbprodict instead of a macbook and getting windows 7 on it

[kcotham]

ARM chips make more sense here. Low-power consumption is key. And iPhone OS (MacOS X tweaked) already runs on ARM.

[Seaspray0]

If they want something new, I can make a suggestion for atleast the USA arena. There's all those TV stations that are going HD and leaving a huge chunk of bandwidth behind. I don't think anyone had done anything new in that frequency spectrum.

[B-Ri]

They are converting to digital not HD. Also that bandwidth was already auctioned off. I think Verizon or one of those other carriers snagged it up. So not much Apple can use there.