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November 6, 2007

Apple Working on Tablet?

Erick Schonfeld

43 comments »

mactablet2.jpgOne of Apple’s contract manufacturers, Asus, is working on a Mac tablet, according to the Crave blog. It is not clear if this is going to be a major product, when it will be available, or whether this is just a prototype for now.

I love the idea of a tablet computer, but the market has not been going crazy for Windows-based tablet PCs, which are pretty slick. It will remain a niche device, unless touch computing takes off. But touch computing is a compromise. It may work on small devices like iPods and iPhones. It is not clear you need it for larger machines.

God invented the keyboard for a reason. But all the graphic designers who use Macs will probably like it. Call it the iPod Large or the Biggie Touch. Just don’t call it a Newton.

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  1. BeingParents

    November 6th, 2007 at 8:34 am

    The iPod and iPhone as done well based on its portability and size. If Apples aims and delivers a revolutionary PC tablet, then they might be very successful. They have a great track record for changing the ways we do what we do.

    They should be VERY careful about he their pricing. A lot of Apple heads are still recovering from the iPhone pricing blitz.

  2. Amy Wilsch

    November 6th, 2007 at 8:55 am

    Tablet PC makers don’t get it. I want to be able to write on my programs, mock-up stuff and so on, not have it “read” my handwriting and turn it into a word doc. That’s nice too but should be 1 feature. I want software that I can write all over the screen “move that here —–>” “XX” that etc.

  3. Mactacular

    November 6th, 2007 at 8:56 am

    These are already available from Axiotron. http://www.axiotron.com/index.php?id=modbook

    doesn’t the picture look very similar?:

    http://www.appleinsider.com/ar.....hotos.html

  4. j

    November 6th, 2007 at 8:58 am

    look how smeary that screen is

  5. Peter Cooper

    November 6th, 2007 at 8:59 am

    I’d buy one if it’s light, has a bright screen, is thin, and has good battery life. Unfortunately the PC tablets simply don’t measure up to that, whereas Apple has proven itself in all of these areas. The MacBook Pro is scarily thin compared to most notebook PCs, the battery life of the iPod and MacBook outweigh their competitors, the brightness of the LED screen on the MacBook Pro is blinding, and Mac notebooks also tend to be pretty light. With all this experience at Apple, perhaps they can actually develop a good tablet.. something that has never been done before.

    The iPod Touch is pretty good for me for reading RSS feeds and GMail from my couch but way too small. Something tablet sized with a full-sized browser but with a similar form factor (to scale) would be very unique in the market and would totally rock.

  6. James

    November 6th, 2007 at 9:03 am

    God invented the keyboard for a reason.

    That sentiment seems pretty narrow minded for a technology blogger. I’m getting the sense from your post that you aren’t distinguishing the difference between single-touch and multi-touch interfaces. If you think they sound like the same thing, then you need to watch Jeff Han’s demo of multi-touch at TedTalks:

    http://youtube.com/watch?v=QKh1Rv0PlOQ

    Also, keep in mind that Apple purchased FingerWorks a few years back. FingerWorks is one of the pioneers of multi-touch. It’s somewhat obvious that they used FingerWorks technology to build the iPhone and they are probably going to integrate multi-touch into OSX.

    You’ll also notice that many of the “effects” in OS X (which PC users tend to ignorantly scoff at) are engineered to migrate towards a multi-touch interface (icon dock, spring-loaded folders, spaces, expose, resolution independent windows, etc.)

    It’s pretty clear that Apple is putting its multi-touch on OS X toe into the water with iPhone, and is slowly moving towards integrating it into tablets.

    I’d be shocked if you watch this YouTube video and still thought that keyboards are our permanent future. After all, you never did see a keyboard in Star Trek, did you? ;P

    Watch it and see what I mean:
    http://youtube.com/watch?v=QKh1Rv0PlOQ

  7. allan branch

    November 6th, 2007 at 9:08 am

    I am so turned on right now.

  8. Adi Moga

    November 6th, 2007 at 9:08 am

    I had an experience with tablet from acer with windows on it, but it was a nice experience for few days.. after that i use it same as a laptop… i recommend that you take an usual laptop, check this site for few information laptopsarena.com

  9. Blog Opinion

    November 6th, 2007 at 9:09 am

    Apple tablet pc seems to be very easy to handle. It can be very useful for media people who are always looking to write down few points and graphic designers, easy to make good designs. I myself like to make cartoon, nice apple PC tablet . :)

  10. Adi Moga

    November 6th, 2007 at 9:11 am

    i forgot to mention.. i get a second laptop from acer.. because it work for me superb in games and also debugging in win32 with soft ice..

  11. Adam

    November 6th, 2007 at 9:20 am

    I just have one word : fuckingnewton

  12. Corey

    November 6th, 2007 at 9:26 am

    I love tablets. I just hope Mac doesn’t do things half right which is the Apple tendency. Having worked with tablets for years (different ones), I would recommend a thin, light-weight keyboard that is attached (snap-on or wireless ones are not great to have b/c of stability of the “monitor” and simply having to keep up with them). They also don’t need to focus on 17inch models. Tablets are meant to be more portable not luggable (9-12 inch screens). And internal drives aren’t needed either. Most people these days use downloads to install.

    (also, screen protectors minimize fingerprints or the iPod screen effect)

  13. Alex Wilde

    November 6th, 2007 at 9:31 am

    @Peter Cooper
    You might want to check out the Fujitsu Lifebook t2010. I have one and it’s got probably the best display on the market for tablets. Especially its outdoor readability is astonishing. I upgraded for a high capacity battery, so the weight increased a bit, but it’s still light and handy. The battery does it for up to 5h.. little bit disappointing if you consider the 11h promised by the manufacturer.
    Ubuntu seems too work just fine, although I couldn’t find the time yet to get the Wacom display driver working.
    I think Fujitsu was heavily inspired by the X61 when they built this machine. However, I prefer the t2010 cause of it’s brilliant display and I like 12” wide screens

  14. Hollywood Gossips

    November 6th, 2007 at 9:40 am

    i like this concept very much, but i dont think this will be hit into market, as its look is not so good, and its hard to belive it is computer, it will take time to apple to grabe market.

  15. techmine

    November 6th, 2007 at 9:41 am

    Not a surprise after iPhone and iPod touch. Apple can do whatever is possible with touchscreen. Sky is the limit.

  16. www.meetingflex.com

    November 6th, 2007 at 9:45 am

    Sure this is going to be the most coolets tablet.

    Hope apple does not keep it too properitary.

    One thing I definitely want is full Java Support ( which apple has a tendency to drop nowadays….look at the iphone)

    http://www.meetingflex.com
    Social Networking + Video - Crap

  17. Ed

    November 6th, 2007 at 9:54 am

    I want one

  18. Charlie Evett

    November 6th, 2007 at 10:31 am

    Artists could really use a nice tablet to draw and paint on. Wacom makes an combination display/tablet but it is too expensive to be within reach of ordinary folks. I think tablet Macs have been in the labs for many years but have just never got over the high bar set by Steve Jobs, who, I’m guessing, doesn’t want to repeat the Newton.

  19. Thomas

    November 6th, 2007 at 10:44 am

    http://applepulse.blogspot.com.....apple.html

    This article is about the same. Talking about the failings of current tablets, and how Apple could merge an iPhone style UI, yet still maintain the full Leopard experience. Will be great to see what Apple will do though.

  20. dc crowley

    November 6th, 2007 at 10:47 am

    1/. Erick! Come on man, God did not invent the keyboard.
    2/. I only want one if it has multitouch :-). I mean it.

  21. Danny

    November 6th, 2007 at 11:04 am

    >Tablet PC makers don’t get it. I want to be able to write on my programs

    I use a tablet for drawing and mockups and never have the stuff translated into word. It does translate words in the background so it can search the drawings which is actually helpful. It is also the best way for me to browse the web. However, the niche uses I see the tablets working in are much more interesting than my own.

    For instance, my doctor makes everything accessible through his tablet and in that environment it is an incredible device. He signs stuff, flips through old records, makes notes (written and audio) and looks up tests without ever needing a keyboard. If Apple can provide that sort of seamless interaction outside of a niche it would be fantatsic.

  22. anon

    November 6th, 2007 at 11:11 am

    4x the screen size of iPhone. Same depth. Full OSX. Wireless builtin. Heads-up keyboard allowing typing with view of text below keys. iPhone touch commands across full screen. That’s my wife’s dream computer for lounging around the house. I’d use it whenever I need to go to a meeting and do a presentation. Fingers crossed.

  23. Rich White

    November 6th, 2007 at 11:37 am

    This would be awesome with our Edusim work in combo with the interactive whiteboard! - http://edusim3d.com

  24. jive

    November 6th, 2007 at 11:40 am

    Amy, that sounds more like an OS issue than an issue for hardware manufactuers. I’d like to see what Apple would bring to the Tablet PC market. I havent seen Vista Tablet Edition so I dont know what improvements there were from XP Tablet Edition.

  25. Short facebook buy bollywood

    November 6th, 2007 at 12:04 pm

    I would love to use it.

    :-)

  26. Koder

    November 6th, 2007 at 12:29 pm

    I could use one for DJing. It requires external MIDI controllers rather then computer keyboard.

  27. Berlin

    November 6th, 2007 at 12:33 pm

    Apple will always have a market regardless of pricing. Thinkpad X-series tablets run on Vista. Battery life on 8-cell about 6 - 7 hours. Price range is around $2,200. But i’m sure people will pay close $4,000 for a Mac Tablet.

  28. AJF

    November 6th, 2007 at 12:47 pm

    The patent referenced at CNET is for the MultiTouch interface. The tablet pictured is the ModBook:http://www.axiotron.com/index.php?id=modbook

    You can get a ModBook today for under $3K:
    http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/ModBook/

  29. gleuch

    November 6th, 2007 at 1:06 pm

    Axiotron has a modified Macbook tablet called the ModBook, for those who are desperate for one. http://www.axiotron.com/index.php?id=modbook

  30. James

    November 6th, 2007 at 1:13 pm

    God invented the keyboard for a reason.

    That sentiment seems pretty narrow minded for a technology blogger. I’m getting the sense from your post that you aren’t distinguishing the difference between single-touch and multi-touch interfaces. If you think they sound like the same thing, then you need to watch Jeff Han’s demo of multi-touch at TedTalks:

    http://youtube.com/watch?v=QKh1Rv0PlOQ

    Also, keep in mind that Apple purchased FingerWorks a few years back. FingerWorks is one of the pioneers of multi-touch. It’s somewhat obvious that they used FingerWorks technology to build the iPhone and they are probably going to integrate multi-touch into OSX.

    You’ll also notice that many of the “effects” in OS X (which PC users tend to ignorantly scoff at) are engineered to migrate towards a multi-touch interface (icon dock, spring-loaded folders, spaces, expose, resolution independent windows, etc.)

    It’s pretty clear that Apple is putting its multi-touch on OS X toe into the water with iPhone, and is slowly moving towards integrating it into tablets.

    I’d be shocked if you watch the YouTube video and still thought that keyboards are our permanent future. After all, you never did see a keyboard in Star Trek, did you? ;P

  31. Fabian Schonholz

    November 6th, 2007 at 4:59 pm

    Erick … with all due respect, I disagree with you. There is a UI paradigm change going on or at least developing and touch technology will be cornerstone to it. Do not ask me what shape new UIs will have, but the ongoing change is indeed clear.

    http://www.fabianschonholz.com.....velopment/

  32. Amy Wilsch

    November 6th, 2007 at 5:39 pm

    @jive yes although it’s not an OS or a hardware issue (maybe it’s partyly hardware b/c of the pen), it’s also a software issue - really i get better leverage taking crap in a screen shot, dumping it into Paint and writing all over it. :)

  33. jon

    November 7th, 2007 at 1:32 am

    visit this website:

    http://www.interviewghost.com

    I use a tablet for drawing and mockups and never have the stuff translated into word. It does translate words in the background so it can search the drawings which is actually helpful. It is also the best way for me to browse the web. However, the niche uses I see the tablets working in are much more interesting than my own.

    For instance, my doctor makes everything accessible through his tablet and in that environment it is an incredible device. He signs stuff, flips through old records, makes notes (written and audio) and looks up tests without ever needing a keyboard. If Apple can provide that sort of seamless interaction outside of a niche it would be fantatsic.

    http://www.interviewghost.com

  34. Rolando Brown

    November 7th, 2007 at 2:00 am

    @ Allan Branch.

    I hear you. So was my girl when I bought her one yesterday!

    http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/ModBook

  35. Hammer

    November 7th, 2007 at 3:27 am

    That would be a fantastic device for surfing while in bed as I always do every morning. No need to type just browse the web reading news.

    I think I got a boner

  36. Hüseyin

    November 7th, 2007 at 6:27 am

    They will probably “Reinvent the Tablet” like they did before for iPod, iPhone, etc. :)

  37. Sebhelyesfarku

    November 8th, 2007 at 7:07 am

    Dumbass Mactards would buy even a turd with the Apple logo.

  38. jony

    December 1st, 2007 at 9:17 am

    http://www.interviewghost.com

    That sentiment seems pretty narrow minded for a technology blogger. I’m getting the sense from your post that you aren’t distinguishing the difference between single-touch and multi-touch interfaces. If you think they sound like the same thing, then you need to watch Jeff Han’s demo of multi-touch at TedTalks:

    http://youtube.com/watch?v=QKh1Rv0PlOQ

    Also, keep in mind that Apple purchased FingerWorks a few years back. FingerWorks is one of the pioneers of multi-touch. It’s somewhat obvious that they used FingerWorks technology to build the iPhone and they are probably going to integrate multi-touch into OSX.

    You’ll also notice that many of the “effects” in OS X (which PC users tend to ignorantly scoff at) are engineered to migrate towards a multi-touch interface (icon dock, spring-loaded folders, spaces, expose, resolution independent windows, etc.)
    http://www.interviewghost.com
    It’s pretty clear that Apple is putting its multi-touch on OS X toe into the water with iPhone, and is slowly moving towards integrating it into tablets.

    http://www.interviewghost.com

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