Apple's Tablet Will Be a Super-Sized iPhone or iPod touch

Ed Hardy · 09-30-2009, 09:09 AM

One of the most significant open questions about Apple's much-rumored tablet may have been settled -- which operating system it will run. According to a new report, this device will be based on the iPhone OS, not Mac OS X.

Citing one of its most reliable sources, iLounge is reporting that this will not be a scaled down laptop. Instead, it will be a scaled up smartphone or handheld. It will let users browse the Web, check their email, and play music, video, and games.

Apple has reportedly been talking to publishers of magazines and college textbooks about bringing their content to iTunes. This company could be planning on using its tablet to compete with the Amazon Kindle e-book reader.

Not Pocket-Size
Previously, there were reports of Apple testing a variety of sizes for this model. According to this latest source, the company is currently considering giving it a 10.7-inch screen, which would give it a display about 7 times the area of an iPhone.

This device will supposedly come in two versions, one with 3G mobile broadband, and one without. Both will likely have Wi-Fi.

Coming Next Year?
This source says Apple CEO Steve Jobs has yet to sign off on this tablet. If he approves it, his company will reportedly announce it in January but not release it until close to mid-2010.

Previous unconfirmed reports have said this device will be offered by either AT&T or Verizon, and will cost between $800 and $1,000.

A Voice from the Past
Michael Tchao was re-hired by Apple on Monday to be the company's new vice president of product marketing.

He was one of the developers for the Newton, the first PDA, and Apple is apparently going to call on this experience for its tablet project.

Source: iLounge, Gizmodo, NYTimes

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r0k · 09-30-2009, 09:37 AM

Apple has found a way to out Foleo the Foleo. A heavier, bigger and more expensive ipod? When the competition offers a real computer for less money? So I'll be walking around with something that's almost as big as a Macbook Air but it needs a desktop to sync with and can't run iWork, iLife, photoshop, etc? Apple TV is an answer to a question nobody asked and so is this thing. Let's hope Steve Jobs isn't still overwhelmed by the transplant drugs because without a "real OS" this idea strikes me as something that needs a quick immune response: rejection.

Radon222 · 09-30-2009, 09:44 AM

Why do I have a mental image of people walking down the street holding this thing up to there heads while talking to their new BFF??

questionfear · 09-30-2009, 09:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by r0k

Apple has found a way to out Foleo the Foleo. A heavier, bigger and more expensive ipod? When the competition offers a real computer for less money? So I'll be walking around with something that's almost as big as a Macbook Air but it needs a desktop to sync with and can't run iWork, iLife, photoshop, etc? Apple TV is an answer to a question nobody asked and so is this thing. Let's hope Steve Jobs isn't still overwhelmed by the transplant drugs because without a "real OS" this idea strikes me as something that needs a quick immune response: rejection.

Exactly.

And what really scares me is that it pushes a device that's almost a laptop, but with all the big brother/Apple "enhancements". So fall in line or be a hax0r, there's no in between anymore.

And the day Apple starts regulating what I can install on a macbook is the day I give up on them entirely...and we're getting awfully close with this Apple Tablet concept.

brickman65 · 09-30-2009, 10:01 AM

IF iLounge is correct, then all I have to say is...Meh! I mean why? Why make a bigger version of the same product? I don't get it.

I guess we will see.

Ed Hardy · 09-30-2009, 10:17 AM

I've updated this article with what may be the answer to r0k's question. Apple has reportedly been talking to publishers about bringing magazines and books -- especially textbooks -- to iTunes. Apple could be planning on positioning the iTablet as an e-book reader that can also surf the web and play music.

When I think about the size and cost of college textbooks, this starts to make sense. A tablet computer would be much smaller and lighter than a backpack full of books, and because e-texts would be cheaper, would eventually pay for itself.
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Radon222 · 09-30-2009, 10:24 AM

Yea but think about all the beer money that students are going miss out on at the end of the semester when they can't sell back their books?

Or in this electronic age....how do you buy used books at the beginning of the semester that already have the important parts hi-lighted by a previous owner??

r0k · 09-30-2009, 10:37 AM

Let's see. I have Kindle on my iPod touch. Through it I have access to 300,000+ titles, many of which are current best sellers. Sure I'd love to have a larger screen for reading but why would I pay $800 when for $400 I can have a large screen Kindle with free whispersync on Sprint's network? Well, there's color. I'd love to have color. Then there's games. So an ebook reader that could play iPod games has some appeal. But I keep stubbing my toe on that $800 price.

Perhaps I'm somewhat blinded by my own desire for an OS X tablet. I had to shell out $2K for a tablet pc for my daughter to take to high school. It was mandatory. For half that, I gave my son a Macbook Pro to take off to college. I would much rather have given her a Macbook Pro like my son but I couldn't. She wanted the MBP and she really doesn't like the tablet. But she likes being able to take handwritten notes. I thought she would hate writing because she types so well, but holding a tablet in class is easier than a notebook screen sticking up. So how about it Apple? Are you gonna give us a touchscreen computer or are we stuck with games ebooks and multimedia for touchscreen devices and if we want to do real work, we've gotta be sitting in front of a Macbook Air or larger device?

I've got mixed feelings. If Apple tries this and it flops, it could kill their interest in large format touchscreens forever. If Apple tries this and it succeeds, it could further delay any possibility of a real computer with a touchscreen as they focus on a new profitable "ebook/movie/gaming" platform. I guess I'm just out in the cold when it comes to Apple's plans for the future. If I want a touchscreen computer, I'll have to suppress my gag reflex and get an HP.

RobbM · 09-30-2009, 11:09 AM

I couldn't be more disappointed if iLounge's description is true!

Apple had/has us all chomping at the bit for this fabulous new product that could redefine what a netbook is and how we use it. And what do we get?! A stinkin' Kindle! (Not to disparage the Kindle, because I understand its quite nice. But at least Amazon told us it would be an eBook reader....)

Does an eBook reader and media pad deserve Uncle Steve's undivided attention and iPhone-like rollout? No! How revolutionary can it be?! Moreover, if that's all it can do, how many people will buy it for what I can only assume will be an outlandish price? Not me. I've been on the fence about getting a Kindle acct and using the iPhone for that purpose (r0K is swaying me, though), but there's no way I'll drop $1K for something that I already have, only bigger. Maybe I just don't read enough with my iPhone or do enough web surfing....

No. If the iTablet or iPad or whatever is simply an "uber"Kindle, it will flop hard, methinks. And I've got the Kool Aid hooked to my veins!

Ed Hardy · 09-30-2009, 11:13 AM

My hope for this device is that it will include a USB port so a keyboard can be plugged it. It would be great to have a tablet that can be easily carried around, but converted into something that will allow real word processing when used at a desk.

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