Tue, 28 Jul 2009 Taiwanese newspaper reports Apple Tablet in September

Gareth Keenan said on Tue, 28 Jul 2009

I'm a Mac and gadget fan, and have been for many years - but even I think this would have niche market appeal at best.

gregorsamsa said on Tue, 28 Jul 2009

If this is the "rumoured" £650 Apple netbook, IMO, it's got niche product written all over it.

gregorsamsa said on Tue, 28 Jul 2009

Gareth,

Seems we've posted "niche" at exactly the same time.

Mmmm...? said on Tue, 28 Jul 2009

You see, this is exactly why journalists should be kept away from photoshop – lol

James Donevan said on Tue, 28 Jul 2009

A new product announced in September and launching pre Christmas makes sense. No chance of a September launch though. Not only doesn't make production sense (it would have to already be made and awaiting shipment to make stores for September), it makes no marketing sense as the 'return to school' market is lost by then.

So yes for a September announcement by Jobs himself (his public return debut). But NO for a tablet. What we'll likely see is some kind of newly designed hybrid netbook and tablet. Apple isn't confident in either niche on its own, but a double barrelled approach would be just Apple's style.

VJ said on Tue, 28 Jul 2009

"niche"? I think that is overselling it!

Xhris2210 said on Tue, 28 Jul 2009

I <i>could</i> be in that niche - although I suspect it's a pretty big one. Something that fulfils the same functions as a netbook/kindle style book reader and digital media player with a decent sized screen - who would want a thing like that?

10" sounds about right made from a solid aluminium unibody. Small enough for a capacious pocket or a big pocket book [watch out for the rise of the man-bag!]

This may coincide with Snow Leopard and its smaller footprint, including touch and perhaps even pressure-pen input. Or perhaps it will be iPhone 3.0 software. I think they'll keep the memory solid state - perhaps 32 & 64Gb options. It would be typical Apple to take on the Netbook/Kindle and actually come up with something useful...

enzos said on Tue, 28 Jul 2009

As per xhris: Schools, universities, hospitals, labs, as well as consumer media hub (+ assorted geek and creative media types)... quite a large niche. Not huge like the iPhone but maybe a few million. If it comes loaded with Snow Leopard (which seems specially designed for a smaller media device) and iLife and iWork... I'll be lining up.

MatthewL said on Tue, 28 Jul 2009

Niche or not, I'm first in line. I want something I can easily take to the office cafe (without having to take my MBP). Similarly, when I train into London for a meeting, unless I'm demoing software, a netbook (tablet) would suffice. I'd buy a netbook if they weren't all plastic runts.

Brian S said on Tue, 28 Jul 2009

I can see Apple making a killing out of replacement screens & locked in batteries.

Kadoogan said on Tue, 28 Jul 2009

If it is running the iPhone/iPod Touch OS, why publish a picture that is photoshopped to show it running the full OSX?

If I were to spring for a 10 inch tablet I'd want it running the full OSX, or at least something more advanced than the iPhone OS.

I'd like a Kindle, or one of the other ebook readers out there, but the reason for that is the special 'e-ink' screens they have which is as close to looking at a printed page as you can get. If I were going to put up with a backlit LCD like an iPhone for reading for long periods, I'd just stick with my iPhone.

I have no doubt that a product as described would look great, and be somewhat desirable but I think for many people it just won't be advanced enough over an iPhone/iPod Touch to justify the cost.

Jovin said on Tue, 28 Jul 2009

Think pico-projection...it would set Apple's device apart and allow the entire screen to be interface.

It doesn't matter that an Apple tablet is a niche product - it matters that it's a profitable product. To criticise Apple for being niche is, as they've always pointed out, like criticising Mercedes for making niche cars.

BLC said on Tue, 28 Jul 2009

This will be the biggest product to ever hit education. This will finally provide a future thinking device that will be good for every child in the USA to both consume and create. It needs to be priced between $450 and $650. though. This is really exciting for a teacher. Netbooks are a step backwards in time but this will move us forward... and all with an OS designed for the device. Very cool!

Jovin said on Tue, 28 Jul 2009

Remember one thing - if the iPad needs MVN access then won't it also need FCC approval the same as the iPhone did?

Remember Apple was forced to reveal the iPhone months ahead of it shipping in order to avoid the FCC revealing it for them? If it does get shown in Sept, it's going to be our first look, but shipping probably won't begin until January...

Alan Smith said on Tue, 28 Jul 2009

Niche market? Come on. It will most likely do everything an iPod touch does; connect via wi-fi, read Amazon books, ship with iLife suite; iWork suite; run Snow Leopard, and PLAY GAMES. It will knock Sony, Nintendo MS/Xbox out of the water. Perhaps, a keyboard can also be connected, making it a traveling netbook-like computer (leave a keyboard at work, at home and use the virtual keyboard on the train/plane, etc. Apple will sell it between 500-,999 US dollars. And they will sell a gillion.

Colin Jones said on Tue, 28 Jul 2009

Price will play a key factor here in how many it sells, even ahead of functions. I have a 9" netbook and the screen is too small to view the web well. 10" will be too small too IMO and fitting a book page on will make the type very small. If you make the type larger for readability, you then have constant up/down and left/right scrolling. I think I'll remain sceptical on this one.

Macca said on Tue, 28 Jul 2009

I don't give a s**t about what market this is aimed it. I am not working for Apple marketing department nor are any of you. All I know is, I WANT ONE!

macmaitre said on Tue, 28 Jul 2009

Well Colin Jones, If Apple has been the only manufacturer to make the internet readable on a small screen thanks to the iPhone, I don't thing you would have to worry about readability on a 9 or 10 inch type screen. Remember the original high resolution monitors of the early Macs were 9 inches across.

Richie said on Tue, 28 Jul 2009

I think Apple would go full OS X and a Finder Touch not the Finder on the MacBook or iMac etc, a Finder made for touch and buy applications for Mac OS X via AppStore as they is no reason why the AppSore just has to be about apps for iPhone or iPod

@Alan Smith said on Tue, 28 Jul 2009

"And they will sell a gillion" - no, they really won't. Not in the current market and not for some time to come.

Sue D Nimh said on Tue, 28 Jul 2009

Handwriting input would make this killer for school. HP used to make a slate-style PC hybrid--I was prepared to buy it at the local used emporium, but it was gone by the time I arrived. Here's hoping the rumors are more than just "I want a pony"...

Lowell Erickson said on Tue, 28 Jul 2009

The previous tablet by Apple was named “Newton,” emphasizing the mathematical/logical side, but the new one will also include much that is creative/artistic, so the name might be the “da Vinci” or even the “Leonardo.”
Some say it will use the iPhone OS, others say Snow Leopard. Some say if it isn’t easy to read for hours, like Amazon’s Kindle, forget about it being an ebook reader. Why do you think it took Apple four years to perfect this product? It could just have it all.
Some say it will have GPS; others say no. Think what a great GPS device it would be, using a ten-inch touchscreen combined with full computer capabilities that would allow customized routing and points-of-interest.
Finally, what if it is a true tablet, with no keyboard, and which relies primarily on a really great voice recognition system? The original Newton had handwriting recognition. Maybe now is the time to completely get rid of that 1880s technology, the QWERTY keyboard.

Constable Odo said on Tue, 28 Jul 2009

Yeah, I really can't wait to carry a man-purse to go fully metrosexual. This tablet rumor is getting totally out of hand. Sort of how a ten-inch tablet would get when trying to balance one while riding on a bus or subway.

Anon said on Tue, 28 Jul 2009

I don´t think it is possible to sell a gillion of anything, although they will sell a hell of a lot... see, the thing about apple is their products are desirable, so desirable that people will consider getting into debt just to own one

@Anon said on Wed, 29 Jul 2009

I agree with previous comments, this will end up another locked-in cash cow and if you are stupid enough to get into debt because of a fad gadget then you deserve to loose it all.

S said on Wed, 29 Jul 2009

Imagine, grid computing on the tablet, daisy chaining them together, an infinite array of them just harmonizing as one over some zeroconfig protocol, a wall to wall setup for touching and scattering e-pages for e-publishers, or for the individual user, buy three of them and have one as the keyboard, another two as monitors but with the combined grunt of all three tablets' cpu. All I want to do is carry about 100s and 1000s pages and never have to print again, yes, the paperless office 4.0. and make it possible to be massively simultaneous for multi-user multi-touch to function as a set that's beautiful despite being dropped or splashed, without a fan, with 7+ hours battery life and ready to fill with all kinds of imaginable goodness.

Reader said on Wed, 29 Jul 2009

Is this an ideal typing position or practical for such a purpose? A tablet is typically more about drawing. But I'm thinking that perhaps this is about video games. An odd one all the same, need to be held to take advantage of motion sensor

scades said on Wed, 29 Jul 2009

Thought experiment: Over the course of a week, what percentage of your time at your computer (or smart phone) do you spend actually using the keyboard? I spend much more time surfing, reading, etc. than typing. And how about kids? What's their keyboard-use precentage?
Granted, many readers on this and other computer-related sites use their computers for productive purposes. Are we the norm? How does our use compare with that of our spouses or kids?

Klupe said on Wed, 29 Jul 2009

I have been holding off from getting an iPhone (I have an iPod Touch) waiting for a tablet. I figure that Apple will have considered the interface / input issues carefully and come up with something that makes Netbooks redundant. It is quite possible that they will deliver something with a lot of surprises. I would expect the emphasis to be on using rather than creating 'content' though. I figure that handwriting technology will be a big feature, enabling people to replace paper notebooks, diaries etc etc all with one device. This could be a big seller in education and research.