How will an Apple tablet stack up?
More "details" have emerged about the supposed upcoming Apple tablet. iLounge says a trusted source has provided 10 bits of info about the device, including a notably specific announcement date: Tuesday, January 19, with the product shipping in May or June.
This potential product has been discussed ad nauseum. But Apple isn't the only one pondering this market. As more companies start offering their own versions of tablets in anticipation of Apple jumping in later, and as more tidbits leak out about what Apple might be cooking up, it's useful to look at how it would stack up with what's already available to buy.
• First, iLounge's source says Apple has created three different prototypes. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this year that two previous prototypes were killed for battery and memory problems. Though the iLounge source says the first version's 7-inch screen was judged to be too small, it doesn't give the size of the second version. The third prototype apparently has a 10.7-inch screen.
• 10.7, or really 11 inches when you round up, would put it on the small side of the better tablets--according to our expert reviewers here at CNET--currently on the market. 7 inches, which was apparently dismissed, is the same as Toshiba's new JournE Touch tablet, and slightly smaller than the 9-inch Windows 7-based Archos media tablet.
• 10 and 11 inches is judged to be the so-called sweet spot of Netbooks. This is "not supposed to compete with Netbooks," but rather is supposed to be a media player and a "light communication device." That's exactly how Michael Arrington describes the tablet he has partnered with Fusion Garage to develop.
• It's supposed to look like an iPhone, but "with a curved back." Most tablets currently available look like a regular laptop that when the screen is twisted and closed converts to looking like a tablet. A slate-style design with perhaps one physical button, like the iPhone/iPod Touch would make it stand out.
• There will be an option for 3G networking. If it is like an oversized iPhone, that makes sense. Though most of the tablets available now rely on Wi-Fi. As Harry McCracken at Technologizer points out, the more interesting thing here is which wireless carrier will be supplying the service.
• It's not a Netbook, but supposed to be a replacement for full-sized books, magazine pages, and even newspapers. Plus you should be able to play games, view videos and photos, and surf the Web. As a result, the resolution will be "5 to 6 times" that of the iPhone or iPod Touch, putting it at 720p, or high-definition resolution. There are a few tablets, like the smaller Archos 5, that can do HD already.
• Obviously the biggest differentiator with an Apple tablet would be its software. iLounge's source says it would come loaded with iPhone OS. That will open it up to the App Store universe, which is growing exponentially. While other smartphone makers have developed their own online application stores, there aren't any traditional tablets with access to them yet.
• The gating factor here--which we've heard before--is Jobs. He gets the final say and it's been reported that he killed previous versions that didn't meet his standards. iLounge's source reports that there's still a 20 percent chance this latest prototype could be killed before its supposed January release date. Frankly, other tablet makers would probably be wise to be as circumspect about the pitfalls of this market. As my colleague Rafe Needleman pointed out in a column last month, there has never been a tablet that's been commercially successful. If the Apple tablet were a success, it would be the first.
Erica Ogg is a CNET News reporter who covers Apple, HP, Dell, and other PC makers, as well as the consumer electronics industry. She's also one of the hosts of CNET News' Daily Podcast. In her non-work life, she's a history geek, a loyal Dodgers fan, and a mac-and-cheese connoisseur. E-mail Erica. 
The fact they are taking so long to announce this, let alone bring it to market, shows that they don't want to make the same mistakes others have made on tablets.
And by the way, Apple TV is not a failure, it just was way too ahead of its time. You will see, that product will become a standard in TV/computing cross-over.
If its a 'fact' why did you say 'probably'. :S And who cares if its 'iconic' its still a crappy phone.
And that rocka guy never called Apple TV a failure.
"Everyone said Apple was a fool to get into the smart phone business"...so does that everyone include you as well??
"probably the most iconic personal electronic/computing/phone device out there... and that's a fact" ... you are killing me here. First, "most iconic" is a subjective rating (not something objective like "best selling smartphone"), so it can't be a fact for everyone, only people who subjectively view it to be true. Second, you totally undermine it as a "fact" by qualifying it as "probably the most iconic..."
"The fact they are taking so long to announce this, let alone bring it to market, shows that they don't want to make the same mistakes others have made on tablets."
I think this goes to show that the tablet market has been an extremely difficult market to produce a compelling or even profitable product in. A lot of people would say tablets are niche products searching for a market (unlike the broader markets for notebooks/desktops, pmps, and cell phones), so bringing a successful product to market in this category will be amazing considering the past 20 years of failures/underperformers (look up Apple's earlier failure with the Newton as a reference). Not saying Apple can't work a miracle here, because they have created markets for their products before, but it will take a whole lot of magic for that to happen.
"And by the way, Apple TV is not a failure, it just was way too ahead of its time. You will see, that product will become a standard in TV/computing cross-over."
Hmm...even Apple still calls Apple TV a "hobby." Only time will tell with this bold prediction you have made.
Why do you say the iPhone is a crappy phone? It's the best phone out there.
If you say that it's slow, then blame AT&T....
Apple needs to rework the content to favor subscriptions with the various networks and movie studios including ones that they're missing (HBO for one, I think). I wish they could do something about the major sports networks and leagues, but that's another can of worms.
Concerning the hardware, Apple TV is built from components that are poor price-performance values (too many chips, standard Intel CPU, hardware support for 720p h.264 only).
Perhaps if P.A. Semi is working on a tablet processor, the same part could be used in the next gen Apple TV (ARM-based SoC "system-on-a-chip").
The next gen Apple TV should change operating systems. It should be iPhone OS or maybe a hybrid OS placed between iPhone OS and OS X with an SDK for third-party development.
Look at this way - the succeeded with the Mac, the iPod and the iPhone and failed with the Newton, Pippin and Apple TV so there's a 50/50 chance of them buggering it up based on past history. :)
Check the newest video posted today by Gizmodo:
http://gizmodo.com/5369493/leaked-courier-video-shows-how-well-actually-use-it?skyline=true&s=i
Apparently Microsoft is looking at a mid 2010 release date.
Good point. The Apple Tablet I played with at the Apple Store today does not fold in half.
We do not know what an Apple tablet will look like, if they are even coming out with one. If they are I would give the advantage to the iTablet because it would be running OSX and not Windows, Lindows, or some other clunky OS
As for me, any device that is basically just trying to look and act like a book is a non starter out of the gate. That is what really intrigues me about the alleged Apple tablet. If it runs iPhone applications that would make it something I would look into. I have a very nice library of books in my house and these devices will never replace them for me.
Perry Clease. "We do not know what an Apple tablet will look like..." From the article... First, iLounge's source says Apple has created three different prototypes. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this year that two previous prototypes were killed for battery and memory problems. Though the iLounge source says the first version's 7-inch screen was judged to be too small, it doesn't give the size of the second version. The third prototype apparently has a 10.7-inch screen.
For smaller devices, I don't see an unprotected display damaged compared to the larger displays on laptops where I have seen a significant percentage of damage (even though they are more protected). 10.7 in size would be one of my concerns, and one I am sure would be noticed by a 3rd party willing to make an accessory cover (for $$$ no doubt). Anyone willing to bet me on an accessory cover?
Of course you know that an iPhone is just a small PC, well a Mac which is much better than "just a PC."
Gimmicks? That would be a Pre or a Zune
Macintosh TV. Newton. PowerMac Cube. Apple QuickTake.
There are probably others. Just saying, Apple has had its share of products that did not sell. Some were arguably ahead of their time, but that's the price you sometimes pay for trying to do something innovative.
I beg to differ with you. The PoewrMac sold quite well. So much so that its successor, the MacPro, is still being manufactured today. I am typing this reply to you on a 6 year old PowerMac which runs the last version of Leopard very nicely. And this computer has been running pretty much 24x7 for all that time doing distributed processing. That aside, PowerMacs were a good seller for Apple. You have to remember the PowerMac and MacPro were never designed to be sold to the average home computer user, but rather to the more professional user.
c4s2k3 is talking about the Cube, which was a commercial failure. Apple killed the Cube within a year of its introduction.
It's pretty difficult to use a book for "web surfing, email and word processing" as CDaleB wants to do, isn't it?
I would
"Obviously the biggest differentiator with an Apple tablet would be its software. iLounge's source says it would come loaded with iPhone OS. That will open it up to the App Store universe, which is growing exponentially. "
So in other words, this tablet would also have an accelerometer... and it would have to run programs formatted for a much smaller screen.
The tablet would likely have an accelerometer, but it's not required for every single app in the App Store.
Some apps might require to be modified or rewritten to take advantage of the iTablet's larger screen. Others might be fine as is. Depending on the CPU performance, you might be able to run several iPhone apps side-by-side (true multi-tasking).
Sarcasm? Or am I missing something here?
We are all speculating on this device.
Well it depends on how many FREEBEES and Payoffs (as made famous by the likes of Mega Apple ****** Walt Moseberg and Leo Laporte) the well known Media Hacks (like Ms Ogg, amoung others at CNut) get from the crApple PR Department.
For a company that ONLY HAS 6% of the computer market and 3% of the cell phone sector, don't you think crAPPLE get 100 times more press than they deserve?? Wonder why???
PAYOFFS!!
Take a deep breath, no one cares what you think. In internet, no one cares if you scream.
MS won't send your family a condolence card if you died tomorrow.
Just concern yourself with your own well-being, MS dont need you help. In fact people like you do more harm to MS than help.
Apple's market share is very tiny compared to Windows. So maybe a lot of CNET readers are Mac users, but in the real world, the numbers speak for themselves.
So you would expect to see 19 Windows related articles for ever 1 Apple one. The ratio here is a bit higher than that because they know that every time someone like this posts, they'll get Apple zealots to reply, which generates them revenue.
I'd be more concerned that CNET is trying to goad you into an emotional response in order to increase their profitability, but then to each his own.
Once again an example of an instantaneous reaction to a flawed view of how somebody thinks the world should work, created with the least amount of thought possible.
To correct your flawed logic I would expect to see 19 Windows related article for every 1 _Mac_OS_X_ article - don't forget Apple also sell other stuff such as iPods too. Anyway there are much better metrics to consider rather than the number of product units shifted else we would be inundated with McDonalds hamburger and disposable razor articles. Here a few of alternatives:
* the market cap of each company - so about 3 to 2 articles in Microsoft's favor
* political influence on cnet in the form of advertising revenue threats etc - they are ALL at it so we'll call this one even
* potential for drawing a large number of eyeballs to the cnet website due to polarized opinions and general fascination - once upon a time I would have given this one to Microsoft, but I think Apple just about edges it
But it would be a short lived "news" organisation that built it's journalism solely on units sold.
I know, some days I just can't believe the irony either. Sometimes there just aren't enough ? characters to point it out to them ;)
The Courier is gonna kill any iTablet Apple can dream up. Check out this post.
http://www.metawedgie.com/journal/2009/9/29/courier-would-beat-apple-tablet-revolutionize-mancomputer-re.html
"an Apple product would put up no contest: the market is saturated with Apple devices that seamlessly integrate a user's multimedia entertainment life. The Courier would be the practical, thoughtful companion to the smarmy, fun-loving iPod Touch"
In other words the Courier would integrate with the touch better than the iTablet. However even with imaginary products ;) I can't see this happening.
"iLounge's source reports that there's still a 20 percent chance this latest prototype could be killed before its supposed January release date."
I thought they said the announcement was in January and the release was in the spring. Oh and where are they getting these random percentages?
At the end of the day, it's hard to talk about a product that hasn't seen the light of day, and one that is almost undoubtedly going to bring a host of innovation to the space. Apple is in a position again to redefine the tablet/ultraportable space in the same way that they have redefined music and phones.
- by shellcodes_coder September 29, 2009 7:58 PM PDT
- It will go down like newton did
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