Report: Apple tablet on track for early 2010

The Apple tablet has been rumored for years, but bits of information leaking here and there over the last few months indicate it could be for real. A new report from AppleInsider now says the device is on track to be introduced early next year.

The report on Friday said that the last few important hurdles in bringing the tablet to fruition have been cleared. As the Wall Street Journal reported earlier this year, AppleInsider says CEO Steve Jobs has personally been overseeing the project, and is on schedule for a launch sometime between January and March 2010. AppleInsider says its source is well respected "for their striking accuracy in Apple's internal affairs."

It follows a VentureBeat report last week that PA Semi, the chip company Apple purchased last year, had been working in two teams: one on chips for iPhones and iPods, and the other on a tablet device.

There are now multiple rumors/reports/speculation that an Apple tablet would be essentially an oversize iPod Touch, and will cost somewhere between a $299 iPhone/iPod Touch and the $999 MacBook.

Regarding timing, we've heard the 2010 time frame before--back before the Worldwide Developers Conference when Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster said he'd heard "early next year" from Asian suppliers for the device.

[hypermark]

While I am bummed that this is (supposedly) a Q1-2010 release versus a Q4-2009 release, this is good news, and as I have stated it's a real complex undertaking, as this is no mere iPod with a bigger screen.

Most fundamentally, it forces the company to define its "matrix" thinking between hardware form factors and software forking decisions (e.g., iPhone OS, Mac OS, hybrid OS, download anything anywhere, exclusively limit to App Store), not to mention the service layer and developer tool interconects between same, a topic that I blogged about in:

Apple, the ?Boomer? Tablet and the Matrix
http://bit.ly/DwziS

Check it out, if interested.

Mark

[Apple_Guy]

I believe you mean... Q2-2010 release!

[cvaldes1831]

Just to clarify Apple_Guy's comments, Apple's fiscal year ends in September. Their second fiscal quarter is January-March.

My guess is that Apple needs to complete Snow Leopard and launch the next generation iPods before it can concentrate more resources on this phantom device and any developer tools necessary to support it.

[baconstang]

Place your bets.... I'm guessing $499 to $599 depending on memory.

[cvaldes1831]

Too low. The high-end 32GB iPod touch is $399. Assuming Apple unveils the next generation iPod touches in September, we should see a 64GB iPod touch at $399.

My guess is $699 and $799. Perhaps a $599 model that's subsidized by a cellular carrier for a 3G data plan. Apple's pricing is always a little high when they debut a completely new product (go ahead and check price history for the iPhone).

[Apple_Guy]

Come on guys... this is Apple Inc. were talking about here. $999 !

[cvaldes1831]

Naaah, the white MacBook is still at $999.

However, I could see this at $899...

[shellcodes_coder]

Dude, you are a joker. It's at least gonna cost $2000, because you gotta pay CrApple tax for the soon-to-be--world's most advanced iTablet or iCraplet

[baconstang]

OK.... depends on the memory options. They may squeeze you there since it's unlikely to be upgradable like a laptop. I just hope wireless plans are not required, that would eliminate many sales. Still, the entry model really needs to come in at no more than $600.
Since it's not pocket sized, it's competing with netbooks and laptops, so the price needs to fall in the $300 to $1K slot.

[Seaspray0]

@baconstang. Not fair, you got the best price range guess. I want the bet on the $499-$500 range, too.

[arbulus]

If this really is just an oversized iPod Touch/iPhone then it's going to be a useless.

Further, if it is running OS X then typing on it will be horrendous. Typing in landscape on the iPhone is great because you can get your thumbs all over the keyboard. But with a 9-10 inch device, that won't be possible. You'd have to lay it down to type on it, and that simply will not do.

As for using it as an ebook reader, no thank you. Reading books on a back-lit device is murder to one's eyes. That's why e-ink was developed because you cannot sit for hours reading a book on a back-lit screen.

Otherwise, what would this thing be for? What could it possibly do? It's pointless.

[baconstang]

I think the idea will to be to type with your thumbs while holding it NOT in the landscape mode.

[BlitzBoy1120]

You'll either have to hold it vertically for a full qwert keyboard, or a half-half keyboard will show at both sides of the screen. Like on your right side letters Y,H,N and right, and left T,G,B and left. It might be awkward but it's a safe bet that if Apple has already started to produce the tablet, they have something "innovative" ready. It would be nice if the screen slid up and tilted vertically and a nice qwerty keyboard is underneath, but Steve isn't a fan of buttons xD

[Dalkorian]

No way, they're bringing back the click wheel but in touch screen form! Any file in the tablet can be accessed with just a couple hundred finger taps! LOL.

What? No, I thought we were intentionally being silly here. Sorry.

[1812dave]

arbus, you must be a Kindler! I hear that nonsense all the time (reading on a backlit device is murder on the eyes). Nonsense!!! My wife and both spend hours reading on our Touchs--in daylight, dim light, and no ambient light. It causes NO eyestrain whatsoever. And I'm almost 62 years old. I can see the screen very clearly and viewing it for hours at a time is no effort whatsover. I'm sure Bebos put you up to that nonsense about backlit screens being bad for the eyes. sigh.

[doobz94]

Who said it only has a touch screen keyboard? While I wouldn't be surprised if Apple only had a software keyboard on this tablet, we know nothing. The thing could have a physical keyboard. Don't criticize something until it's actually announced (if this rumor is true).

[Seaspray0]

The palm pre used to have an accessory plug in mini keyboard. It's possible something like that could be revived.

[mrcockrell]

@ arbus

have to agree with 1812dave there

reading on a back-lit screen is murder?.. people have doing that for years on PCs before the kindle was even thought of

[Gimpymw]

Useless is an extreme word to use if describing the tablet as an oversized iPod Touch. I would describe it as less functional if it's an oversized iPod touch. The dimensions of the device would preclude it from functioning as an iPod so logically it would need to be able to do something else to make people want to buy one over a regular iPod Touch. Besides, I can't see why PA Semi would be developing seperate processor from the iPhone/iPod touch if this was just an oversized iPod Touch.

[sgirard]

Apple rumors this far out don't usually prove to be accurate.

[baisa]

And just like the phony about-faces on a phone, then on an SDK for the phone, Jobs will confess he was wrong about "people don't read any more" and that the device has been optimized for reading books...

[shellcodes_coder]

Let me guess...they are gonna call it the world's most advanced tablet book or what ever and it's gonna cost $2000 (after adding CrApple tax). As usual they are already too late because Windows 7's gonna knock them out of the game!

[this1!]

thers no way you're actually that daft...

i mean its one thing to be excited about windows 7, which after the failure that is vista, i am.

its an entirely different thing altogether to be delusional.

[baconstang]

Shelly.... what's it to you? Chill out already.

[Dalkorian]

This1, Shelly's credibility is so low it has to stand on it's tippy toes and stretch to reach the gutter. Delusional is what he is when he's on his meds - which are currently backordered.

[Alan4ik]

Why are you comparing a software (Windows) to hardware (Tablet)? Who cares what happens with Win 7? What game are you talking about?

[1812dave]

while win 7 is cool (already have it on a couple of my pcs), that has no bearing on the saleability of a different sized Touch. There's room for more than one OS and device. Don't make us Window users look like idiots, please!

[SolarSaves]

Ya, too late, because of those smokin' Windows UMPCs that have sold millio- no, hundreds of thou- no, well they did sell some of them, didn't someone? Are they still being sold?

They'll cost around $499, $599 & $699. Did anyone notice in Apple's latest financial reporting that Apple said: sales of the iPod touch rose 130 percent year-over-year. and: for the next year, sales of the iPod touch ?will grow significantly.?

You just gotta think that they may have something insanely great in the pipeline....

[SuperReviewer]

I find it to be utterly sad that people identify themselves so strongly with a computer company. No offense but people who own Apple products are kinda dumb. In my opinion there is almost always a cheaper way to do every single thing that company does. Anyways this is another tablet PC and I don't know about you guys but I haven't seen anyone at all ever even in NYC with a tablet PC walking around ever. I know they are out there but the market on these products is small. That being said, this will sell like wild fire, mainly b/c Apple like a rock band has groupies trying to keep this bizarre idea that everything Apple makes is golden. Well for the rest of the sane world out there this is another useless product, if its even real, that Apple will make and over price as usual. I'm just glad im not a moron and I wont ever consider buying this as an apple or PC product.
Also how come Apple fanboys are so intrigued by a curved rectangle and the shades of white and black? And silver... I forgot they use silver too...Apple fashion is light years ahead of the colored square I guess :P

[scott2400]

"Windows 7's gonna knock them out of the game!"

Hahahaha! Like Vista.

What color is the sky in YOUR little world??

[pcheng]

My bet is a 5-6 inch screen, able to double as a tablet or a media player with 32-64GB of storage. My ideal scenario would be to replace AppleTV as well. Connectivity would be: a dock, bluetooth, mini-hdmi, 3.5mm jack, usb2, 3G and wifi. If not flash based, a 100+GB hdd. Flash and Java would have to be supported. Price point would be 600-700, about 400-500 with subsidies. Phone functionality would be secondary to compute and media. Thickness would be about the same as the current Iphone, dimensions are about 20-25 bigger. I tried UMPC, too bulky, N800/10, screen too small. Netbook, nice price but have too many notebooks already and 10 inch screen isn't portable enough.

[Alan4ik]

I bet it will be only SDD; therefore expect a high ($1500?) price for the device.

[baconstang]

I doubt there's a market at that price point. Even if it had Wacom like sensitivity it would only be a niche market. It's got to come in less than a MacBook.

[shellcodes_coder]

@Alan4ik: $1500 for hardware + $500 Apple tax :)

[ckh1272]

@shellcodes_coder--You are always good for a laugh. Being that you are an obvious Microsoft shill, you have the credibility of an Illinois governor though. Thanks for playing the "who cares what shellcodes_coder says" game.

[myles taylor]

If you wanted to put out an oversized iPod Touch they could have done that a year ago. No, this is going to be more than just an oversized iPod Touch and I hope that Apple really surprises everyone. I'm almost avoiding the rumors because I miss the days when I used to be surprised by things.

I'm thinking $599-$799. Anything higher and it's too close to the Macbook and anything lower and it's too close to the iPod Touch.

I kind of anticipate a iPod Touch price drop too. I'm curious to see whether I'm right on that.

[cvaldes1831]

I doubt that there would be any price drop on the iPod touch. If anything it might be fifty dollars, but not much more.

The COGS simply haven't changed that much. Just Google "isuppli iphone 3gs" for the recent breakdown/BOM of the iPhone 3GS. The iPhone is heavily subsidized by cellular carriers. The iPod touch is not, so Apple sets a substantially higher full retail price to create the gross margin it wants.

I could see the next generation top-of-the-line iPod touch drop from $399 to $349, but not much more. Frankly, my guess is that it will stay at $399 and the memory will double to 64GB (along with the addition of other features, including video recording).

[McPlot]

That is actually very sound logic on the pricing. Which is rare in these types of postings as everyone has to say this or that sucks. I do agree that Apple does charge a premium for their hardware. So I am thinking in terms of power and features, this would be a $300 to $400 PDA (no matter the OS) that Apple charges $599-$799 for.

[empirestatebuddy]

is this going to be their entry into the netbook market?

[shellcodes_coder]

nope, remember Newton? They are bringing it back + more apple tax

[websterphreaky]

OMG OMG OMG!!!

Imagine THAT!! A TABLET COMPUTER .... From crApple!! ONLY SEVEN YEARS AFTER PC's HAVE BEEN THERE AND DONE THAT!!!

And of course all the Apple ****** in the Media like Walt Goatberg and Leo LaPhart wll proclaim it as ground breaking and market shaking!! (Caching ... deposit that crApple Pay Check)

That crAPPLE ..... THE Great iNOvator ..... and as you can see, ALL the Dope crAPPLE Kool Aid Drinkers are already fawning over VAPORWARE! What a bunch of ********. Bwah ha ha ha ha ha ha ......

[ckurowic]

Get a life.

[baconstang]

Better yet, it's Friday.... have a beer! Ooops, right maybe in five years.

[J-Hawaii]

"Only seven years after PC's have been there..."

Hmm, webster, you seem to be forgetting that Apple was one of the first in the tablet market. Or have we forgotten the Newton so soon?

[monkeyfun14]

@J-Hawaii

Newton was a failure I doubt Apple wants people remembering it.

[Dalkorian]

Webster here has apparently suffered the same backorder issue on his meds that Shelly is suffering.

[1812dave]

Are you aware how ignorant you appear, writing such nonsense? Grow up I'm not Apple fanboi, but your comments are indeed childish. Are you 12?

[GatesOfHell]

Imagine THAT!! A TABLET COMPUTER .... From crApple!! ONLY SEVEN YEARS AFTER PC's HAVE BEEN THERE AND DONE THAT!!!
:
ALL the Dope crAPPLE Kool Aid Drinkers are already fawning over VAPORWARE!


- Seven years and the PCs still can't get it right either. Everyone knows that even Apple's vaporware works better than PC tablets.

[shellcodes_coder]

I agree with you. Great post :)

[ckh1272]

See above statement regarding "shellcodes_coder" and substitute "shellcodes_coder" for "websterphreaky" . You people are just too much!! LOL!

[ckh1272]

"by monkeyfun14 July 24, 2009 4:11 PM PDT
@J-Hawaii

Newton was a failure I doubt Apple wants people remembering it."

Hey monkey, since you like pointing out failures, how did that "origami" thing work out?? I sure plenty of Windows PC makers don't want that remembered either. Get a clue.

[RobertFHarwood]

Remembering my Apple Newtons with fondness, I look forward to seeing the next generation. To think it has taken this long for Apple to double the screen and bring it out in color. The handwritting recognition was good before and their was a third party replacement that was better. I have not seen a replacement for the Newton Assitant, it was neat. The diabetes tracking application DietLog was a literal lifesaver when I was first diagnosed with diabetes.

There were a number of business that were created by people who made add on for the Newton, ever hear of Palm? They started by writing a input add in for the Newton. Or the silver plated replacement stylus from PDA Panaché.

There was some good hardware add ons, like keyboard made from their laptop wrapped in a frame, or a docking station / stylus stand.

Even if it isn't larger it would be handy. I think that would mean a fifty percent increase over the iTouch. The 4G/3G cellular data connecton would be nice but not mandatory. Tethering to an exsisting cell phone was something even the Orginal Newton did. And did well. The first web page I ever made was on a row boat, with a Newton over a Motorola Startac.

[mclaurin10]

Good post, thanks, much better than the dribble thats been making the rounds lately. Interesting, I had no idea about palm until now

[JFerrari427]

Why is apple deciding to get into the tablet market? There has yet to be a successful tablet. Why does the average consumer need something larger than a smartphone but smaller than a laptop which necessitates carrying an extra item? A more affordable MacBook would be a better idea.

[baconstang]

Why do people buy netbooks? It's just an ultra-portable laptop. This thing will probably have the same footprint as a netbook, but half (or less) as thick.

[1812dave]

Let's have this convo again after Apple sells a few million large Touch's.

[Nodack]

Why does the average consumer need something larger than a smartphone but smaller than a laptop which necessitates carrying an extra item? Because working on a screen as small as a smart phonel can be a little annoying and a big laptop can be a pain to carry around. Something that small with enough power to run real apps but still being big enough to type and work comfortable would be something I would be interested in.

[GET_TANKED]

i completely agree with you apple should instead lower the price of the macbook line to make them more affordable instead of making something that practically no one needs. Unfortunately for us apple likes to be the "first" to do things and if they become the "first" to make a successful tablet than that's just one more notch in the belt for them. They don't really care about the consumer. Also this thing isnt going to be in the same class as a netbook because its gunna be much more expensive and touch screen lol. Dont get me wrong i love apple products i just feel as if their a really cocky company for no reason.

[jusben1369]

Oh I think this product is a no brainer. The blackberry made you imagine a world without having to haul your laptop around but the lack of document reader and credible web browsing made it simply a dream. The iPhone gets you 80% of the way there. Give me the joy of a tiny generic phone again to carry for calls and a 2x iPhone so I can just drop having to have an iPhone and laptop with me when I travel and go to a small phone and a tablet. That would be heaven.

Just to get completely carried away imagine if you could have the phone stored in the tablet somehow like a stylus pen and charging but pull it out for calls. Ok Ok I'll stop.

[jgrab1]

I hope Mr. Jobs can design a touch tablet that is smudge free. *That* would be the breakthrough I've been waiting for.

[baconstang]

Don't the new iPhones resist oil?

[cvaldes1831]

Yes, they do, jgrab1's comment is obsolete.

I made a point of trying the oleophobic screen on the 3GS at the local Apple Store. It works quite well. I have the original 1st generation iPod touch, so I occasionally wipe away fingerprints, but it's actually less of a deal than I thought it was going to be and I'm sorta A.R. about that kind of thing.

[Norseman]

As long as it's open season on guessing what this new gizmo will be like, here's my guess:
You know that cute little wireless keyboard Apple makes? It's small, and really, REALLY thin. Now imagine a big iPod touch that's the same size. Put the two together with a hinge, and SHAZAM!!!--Apple's version of a netbook-type thing. It's a tablet, but it has a real, live keyboard that you can use--like a netbook. All the guts would be behind the screen instead of under the keyboard. Of course, you can just use the touch features if you want, with the keyboard stowed behind the "touch" part. But if you need to do serious typing, just fold the keyboard out and type away. Cool, huh?

[1812dave]

baconstang, you are referring to the oleophobic coating, which, incidently, prematurely wears off.

[krosafcheg]

if it has anything else but OS X on it no thanks.
i dont need want an over sized ipod touch.
i hope they dont blow this one like the newton.

[ecotopian--2008]

Apple haters in this thread can jeer all they want. Steve Jobs is making me money every day. But I guess losers can't afford to buy AAPL any more than they can afford the world's finest computers. Remember, when PC tablets were introduced, nobody wanted them. The Apple tablet won't have that problem.

[shellcodes_coder]

Remember Newton? LOL, history will repeat :)

[cvaldes1831]

Or maybe it won't.

Apple's first attempt at a notebook computer was laughable. Based on their recently announced sales figures, I think they have done quite well. So does Wall Street.

Apple has also hit two homers out of the ballpark: the iPod and the iPhone. Can they hit another one with a tablet computer? Maybe, maybe not. But without a doubt, their recent slugging percentage is quite impressive.

Go ahead. Buy some AAPL and MSFT today. Come back in five years and tell us how you did. (I own both, purchased 5 and 6 years ago respectively, and AAPL blows doors on MSFT in terms of ROI and shareholder value.)

[McPlot]

So, if I understand you right. Apple Inc products are only for the rich?
That is why PC's stil dominate the market. Most people are not rich. That gives PC's 90% market share, right there!

[baconstang]

If anyone's going to make tablets a viable product, it's going to be Apple. It's been 16 years since they released the Newton and I think they've learned a bit in the meantime. They have that usability thing down pretty good these days.

[grinningevild]

My question is will they include a SD card slot or USB and allow it to act as a computer or go the ipod/iphone route and leave it completely unexpandable?

[cvaldes1831]

Steve doesn't like expandability. He wants you to buy the new hardware in a couple of years.

USB would certainly be present for data transfer and syncing (just like iPods/iPhones).

[McPlot]

No, do to Apple's greed. They would rather you speed $100 per, say 8gb to 16gb of memory. Which you can buy from Microcenter for $10-$30 (depending on the size)r So if you want one with more memory, you have to pay Apple for it (see the Apple tax comments). Not just pop in a SD or MicroSD card.

[baconstang]

I'll bet it does have a card reader, like the new MBPs. But since it probably won't be expandable, you'll have to buy the memory you need up front.

[b_baggins]

@McPlot

And, of course, your desire to NOT spend $100 is due to what? Altruism?

[yodaxl7]

I think the apple tablet net book would have on screen mult-touch keyboard. Plus, I think Verizon would have the 3g or 4g data plan. The tablet would have ssd hard drive and it may be 128 gig. It may have or work with the iphone in exchanging data via bluetooth. There may be a pen to write on it. This pen may be mult-functional. The itab may recognize voice to text using google technology. I hope it has a2dp also. I hope it can read blu-ray and write. It would be nice that you can play games on it, too.

[cvaldes1831]

Not sure if the Verizon 3G data plan makes sense. That's CDMA technology, zero value in most of the world. It would have to be 4G LTE.

SSD hard drives make no sense. Added expense for nothing. More likely NAND flash memory soldered directly onto the motherboard.

It would probably have Bluetooth, but data transfers would be far faster and have better range over WiFi which it would most certainly have (the recent Broadcom chips have WiFi, Bluetooth, FM radio bundled).

The pen/stylus is the antithesis of Steve Jobs' aesthetic. Plus, the pen does not provide multi-touch since it has just one point.

The chances of it having Blu-ray are practically nil. As Steve mentioned Blu-ray licensing is a "big bag of pain" plus a Blu-ray drive would suck the battery die lickety-split.

Yes, it would be nice that you can play games on it though.

[baconstang]

Yeah, like chess.

[shellcodes_coder]

Blue-ray and games LOL
You must be lost in the world of crapple tax and their vendor locked os and machine
Go for a tablet pc and fulfill your dreams right now because that dream will never come true as long you use iCrap and continue to pay for crap os x

[jpg27]

hahahaha @ shellcodes_coder 'dreams will never come true like iCrap and continue to pay for crap osx'? GET REAL!!!! im sure you say the same things when comparing M$'s greatest innovation the ZUNE to the iPod. Im guessing you call it the craPOD? LOL!