“A little birdy tells me that Apple will announce a 12 or 13-inch tablet in the fall of this year. Most likely in the September or October time frame. It will run the full Mac OS X and have a slot loading SuperDrive, an ‘iPhone-type’ GPS chip and an Intel Core Duo processor, presumably Intel’s Atom,” Jason D. O’Grady blogs for ZDNet.
“Whether it’ll be a based on the iPhone or MacBook form-factor remains to be seen. You’ll recall that Intel Germany CEO Hannes Schwaderer spilled the beans that an ‘iPhone’ that will be using Intel’s new Atom processor after which he was quickly corrected by Apple,” O’Grady writes. “Where there’s smoke, there’s fire indeed.”
“This particular birdy has been reliable in the past so I’m optimistic about the rumor, but as always, nothing’s for sure,” O’Grady writes. “Apple’s had tablet Macs in the labs for years but hasn’t decided to make one a real product, until now.”
More in the full article here.
An imaginary but stealthy spy parrot has struck again. Slow hit day, Jason?
I doubt it… 😐
“You’ll recall that Intel Germany CEO Hannes Schwaderer spilled the beans that an ‘iPhone’ that will be using Intel’s new Atom processor after which he was quickly corrected by Apple,” O’Grady writes. “Where there’s smoke, there’s fire indeed.””
Except that he never said any such thing. There were 35-40 reporters in the room when the Intel spokesman made his remarks – in German. Only ONE report interpreted them as saying that the atom would be in a Mac device. Intel came out and flatly denied the rumor. It was a classic case of creating smoke where there was no fire.
Why would a Mac Tablet need a superdrive when a MacBook Air doesn’t?
Exactly M.X.N.T.4.1. (re superdrive)
Likely the stupidest thing I will read today
A little birdy pooped in his, so he wasn’t hearing clearly.
ZDNet – purveyors of made-up fiction when it comes to Apple.
Ulterior motives at work as usual…
Apple will debut a tablet along with a Big Ass Table.
IOW, it ain’t gonna happen. Both are MS-proven failures.
And I agree that the SuperDrive comment completely debunks this rumor. What was the last all-new Apple product that sported a removable-media drive?
Aside from the SuperDrive nonsense, I’d really like this Mac tablet. What would be ideal for me would be a bit smaller though- a 10 or 11 inch flat multi-touch screen, with iSight and all the ports and portability of a MacBook Air. I wouldn’t mind if its processor were a bit weaker. Hopefully a 32 or 64GB flash memory drive will be standard by then.
Its operating system, being all-touchscreen, should resemble the iPhone’s (with a slide-up keyboard if necessary, no tiny icons, etc.)–but, being big enough, should have all the main functionality of standard Mac OS X Leopard.
It would act as one’s secondary, portable computer (like the MacBook Air can), so would include software (via iTunes?) to FULLY sync, over WiFi, with one’s main Mac. (Or, checkboxes: “10 most recent documents”…Check from a list of applications…etc.)
It wouldn’t need GPS, of course, because if the next iPhone’s including GPS we’ll all have it already. No need to pay for the same technology twice. Also, hopefully the next iPhone will be able to display GPS and other info on a wirelessly connected Mac anyway. GPS could be an option, though, for all Mac laptops.
Similarly, I also think the next iPhone should have 3G and the ability to be a wireless modem for connected laptops; and that they should make a built-in 3G modem an option for all Mac laptops, for non-iPhone users.
And last, I’d really like the Mac Tablet–basic, without GPS or 3G, since I have an iPhone, and with 32GB of memory (essentially making it a really big iPod Touch, whose 32GB version perhaps will have come down to $399 by Fall)–to cost around $999.
Okay, done dreaming.
…..And it will be called Asteroid!
If there ever is a tablet, it certainly won’t be the same size as a MacBook (12 or 13″.)
It would need to fill the size gap for users who need something larger than an iPhone but smaller than a laptop..
WTF would a “tablet” be good for?
Wikipedia says the first one was introduced in the early 90′. I have never seen on in the wild. Are the popular? The constant rumors of an Apple tablet sounds like a clamor for an uneeded product.
Am I just ingorant? Enlighten me, anybody . . . .
I still think if there were an Apple tablet, it would be a controller or hub of some sort that would integrate with existing products. The MacBook Air demonstrates this to an extent, as does the iPhone-they allow you to take the functionality of your other components with you without dragging along your main hardware.
Seems to me everything they’ve done these past few years have all been pieces of a larger puzzle. But who knows? I definitely don’t see a Microsoft style tablet PC coming from the though-that is indeed a proven failure.
5-inch (diagonal) widescreen (16:9) Multi-Touch display
Intel Atom processor
OS X Mobile (including Safari, iPod, Maps Mail and other standard mobile widgets)
iLife Mobile
App Store
Built-in stereo speakers
Micro-DVI port
3.5-mm stereo headphone minijack
Stereo earphones with built-in microphone
Bluetooth 2.0+EDR
3.0 megapixels camera with video capability
Improved built-in rechargeable lithium ion battery
64GB solid-state drive
No Superdrive
Touch keyboard only
802.11n
USB 2.0 docking port
Polishing cloth
and . . .
Call me a skeptic here, OK, but WTF is this holy grail of the touch screen? How could a touch screen interface be any easier or quick than the current keyboard / mouse / touchpad interface we have now?
It seems a tablet would require inherenty longer and slower gestures involving the arms.
Then of course, there is M$ surface, the Big Ass Table that only gets the arms, but the shoulders and upper body as well involved in operating the interface. Awkward indeed. I’m skeptical.
It is possible a tablet would just be a “Little Ass Table’?
The only touch screen that makes sense is the small one on the iPhone & touch iPod.
The mac tablet would be great if, for me, it was 6 to 8 inch clscreen with the ability to support a monitor, wireless keyboard and a slot for an iPhone to slide into. That way all the technolgy is not doubled.
But, the iPhone is a tablet computer with a phone. Just when will it be made larger? Only Apple and Intel knows.
It’s called an iPhone, dummy.
Magic Word: ground.
As in, Apple should be aware that the tablet market is unstable ground.
How could a touch screen interface be any easier or quick than the current keyboard / mouse / touchpad interface we have now?
Ever try jotting something down quickly with a touchpad?
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”smile” style=”border:0;” />
All semi-kidding aside, I can see a paper-notebook size device, that combines a touch/stylus UI, writing-recording, and keyboard (touch-keyboard?), as being very useful in medical and hospital applications. Remember that was one of the Newton’s successful markets.
Unfortunately this market is limited, and medicine isn’t one of Apple’s core markets. And of course there was the way Newton got “Steved”.
So although potentially cool, the nays have it on any tablet.
The real question though is whether it will use the capacitive multitouch like iphone…or wacom type touch stuff with stylus use…
The ideal tablet would have the MBA’s guts. Superthin, superlight, no optical drive, just like the MBA for a premium price.
“And of course there was the way Newton got ‘Steved’.”
Just because Sculley blew a billion dollars on its R&D and got Jobs fired as well? Go figure.
O’Grady’s been drinkin’ his bong water again….
Apple (paperback size) Mac Nano maybe! Not a 12/13″ tablet – not without some amazing new take on the form.
The advantage of multitouch for a touch screen is that it removes the need for a mouse. Your finger becomes the pointing device.
Applications are likely to be as the next generation mobile device for those needing to input information on standard templates. Work in hospitals, shops, UPS/FedEx etc. Also be a cool addition to the AppleTV as a neat remote control.
@ampar
Totally off base – no way there’ll be a polishing cloth.
Used a Lenovo (formerly IBM) ThinkPad tablet over the weekend and was surprised at how nice the handwriting was and how nice to capture charts and graphs that I cannot recreate (due to my poor touchpad drawing skills) with an iBook.
Now, the Lenovo form factor was thick and had lots of excessive buttons, but Ives could clean that up post-haste.
along with Apple TV’s
Just because Sculley blew a billion dollars on its R&D;and got Jobs fired as well? Go figure.
Correct. Which is why anything that could be construed as a Newton 2.0 probably isn’t gonna get past Jobs.
UPS/FedEx etc
The current UPS and FedEX devices take an awful beating; it’s gonna take more than an MBA case to survive that kind of environment.
Wouldn’t be a bad market to pursue, if Apple can armor up for it.
KenC has it right. “The ideal tablet would have the MBA’s guts. Superthin, superlight, no optical drive, just like the MBA for a premium price.”
… except it does not need a premium price. And they can activate firewire which was reportedly built-in to the Mac Air motherboard. Especially great for business and home particularly with the right apps.
Who really wants a Mac Tablet ?
What can a tablet do or be good for that existing Apple products cannot? I cannot think of any. I’ve seen Windows tablets in my IT shop. Not worth the special care for the price. Space savings? Power, usability? Not much better than a laptop. Handwriting recognition software? Needing a special pen is a bitch, and who cares when you can type faster than hand writing?
The only situation where a tablet is a must is if the worker absolutely has no surface to place a laptop or is trained to only check off forms built for stylus in the field. Then the software application must be built to use handwriting input. Tablet software (not just the handwriting recognition technology but the whole UI factor) are pretty crude compared to regular laptops or the iPhone. And we all know the Apple mantra – “It’s the software, stupid.” So until we see the software – perhaps getting perfected later on the iPhone 2, what is the point of a tablet?
The other thing Apple is good at – Focus and fully develop a product. I just don’t see them developing another new product before the iPhone 2 and MBA have matured.
How’s ZDNet’s track record? Not reliable.
Bottom line – I really doubt it.
I agree with AMPAR in all points except: Touch keypad will be scaleable! That is you will with the use of multitouch be able to scale the keyboard to fit your hand size and reach so there will be the ultimate personalization of your keyboard at your fingertips. Moreover you will be able to add multifuctionality by adding keys in a separate area like we can now add buttons to our iphone homescreen(s).
A tablet does not need most of what comes with a laptop. Its function would be as a mobile order entry device. Think roving sales staff (ala Apple Store), waiters/watresses at a restaurant, outside sales staff, etc.
The only thing a tablet really requires is the ability to access programs and send data back to the main office/processing center.
Not seeing the purpose for a tablet today is no surprise. Most people saw no purpose for a self-propelled car about a century ago. I don’t think I’m ready to reject the idea flat out. It is possible that nothing will ever come out of this, but if there ever is anyone to successfully build and sell the tablet to the masses, it is Apple.
Very many people are today getting MacBooks to surf the web on their couch. If the concept of a tablet, which Microsoft has repeatedly botched over the past decade, was delivered as elegantly as has the OS of the iPhone, it just could work. My imagination is failing me at the moment (it’s late night), but Apple sure has plenty of extremely creative people, crazy about every minor detail, and a tablet device built by Apple will undoubtedly be done right this time. We’ll have to wait until October to see…
“. . . no way there’ll be a polishing cloth.”
What was I thinking?
O’Grady needs the hits – he has long become a dull Mac pundit.
Tablet? No Way.
WTF can you do with it that you cant do with your iPhone and your Macbook?
“Most people saw no purpose for a self-propelled car about a century ago.”
Rubbish! Of course they did. Do you think that no-one had any vision before you were born?
Anyway, you’re so smart – tell us why we need a useless tablet when we have all manner of things that do more than a tablet can already.
Next we’ll need the big ass table….NOT.
If it means a seat-back size MacBook or MBP with a built-in iPhone for calls and downloads anywhere — I’m already in the queue.
I don’t understand why the Mac Tablet would have and optical drive when the MacBook Air doesn’t. A tablet would need to be lighter and more power efficient than a laptop, even an ultra-thin one.
Ampar: make the screen 6 inches, and I will take two please. Deliver by Thursday?
Does anybody remember the Apple patent application which shows a tablet or Macbook Air type laptop being inserted in the side of an iMac? It’s own built in docking station.
“Most people saw no purpose for a self-propelled car about a century ago.”
With runaway fuel prices & numerous infrastructure problems, that notion is making a comeback.
As for the idea of an Apple tablet: why do things go full-circle there as well?
Тхе Невтон гот “Стежеd”
Ooops… The Newton got “Steved” because it was over-hyped and released before it was perfected. Had Sculley waited until it was a complete product, it would have succeeded.
The initial negative and comic reaction to the first Newton effectively killed it before it had had a chance to prove what it could do. The Newton never recovered even though later versions had pretty much solved all the problems of version 1.0.
I think Sculley wanted so badly to prove that he was a tech visionary, instead of a sugar water salesman, that he didn’t have the good sense to look at the reality of Newton v1.0, vs. the incomplete product it actually was.
So, Apple and Jobs learned from all this. That’s why most of Apple’s products have been mostly complete right out of the gate. What products have failed since Jobs’ return?
The Cube. Why? It was over-priced by $300 or $400. As a product it was excellent.
The spotted and flowered iMacs. Why? The were dopey and ugly.
Why do you think the iPhone has been so successful? It delivered MORE than was promised. AND everything WORKED.
Under-promised, OVER-deliver.
A Mac tablet? Why? The Newton was too big. We already have the iPod touch and iPhone. Maybe a 6″ – 8″ tabletty thing to interface with TV? Maybe not. Jason O’Grady doesn’t have a very good track record as far as predictions are concerned.
the mac tablet isn’t all that useless.
I think it’s more of an integration tool within the house, to control lights, tv…everything you can think of wirelessly. And unlike a laptop to open and close the lid to wake it from sleep, this device you basically carry next to you.
And unlike an iPhone or iPod touch, the screen is larger to do more multiple apps at the same time.
The super drive is probably there to upload photos to AppleTV or play music wirelessly….
“but Ives could clean that up post-haste.”
Last I checked, there was only ONE of him.
Holding a Mac Tablet in one hand while inputting data with the other will be tiresome after five minutes. I think I’d prefer the laptops which can rest on your lap while you type and prop the screen in front of you.
At a table? Not so good either. If the tablet is laid flat you can’t see it. You’d need an easel to prop it up. If you’re going to write or draw with a stylus you need a very strong easel or drafting table to create the exact angle.
Having said that, if they put one of Samsung’s new 256GB Sold State Drives in it, I’ll take one.
slot loading super drive = NO
AT&T;3G+ = YES
because it was over-hyped and released before it was perfected
(the CEO) wanted so badly to prove that he was a tech visionary, instead of a … salesman, that he didn’t have the good sense to look at the reality … vs. the incomplete product it actually was.
This sums up Microsoft’s entire product history.
shen: “Deliver by Thursday?”
O.K., it will be A Thursday.
This thing exists–it’s just a matter of whether they’ll release it. Steve joked at one of WWDC events about a 10″ iPod with touch screen. The audience laughed. He chuckled. I never thought he was kidding. It’s just a little hard to imagine the utility of such a thing, unless there’s a new application it might be useful for.
The person, aptly signed as “Bollocks” said something to the effect of:
“Most people saw no purpose for a self-propelled car about a century ago.”
Rubbish! Of course they did. Do you think that no-one had any vision before you were born?
Anyway, you’re so smart – tell us why we need a useless tablet when we have all manner of things that do more than a tablet can already.
Our friend, Bollocks, missed my point entirely. Very often, people are unable to identify or articulate their needs. Oftentimes, they don’t even know they have a need for something. Henry ford said “If I’d asked my customers what they wanted, they’d have said a faster horse.” If he, and others in his business, listened to his customers, today, we would be riding in horse-drawn carriages, pulled by steroid-fed mutant horses.
Two years ago, when iPhone didn’t exist even in Apple-related blogosphere, people were tossing around idea of combining a cellphone and an iPod. Many myopic sceptics (such as our fiend Bollocks here) were saying: “A combined phone and iPod would be a colossal flop; why on earth would anyone want to buy a phone that is not such a great phone, and an iPod that is not a great iPod???” The old, ‘Jack of all trades, master of none’ argument. Along the lines of: “If I want my music, i take my iPod; if I need to make calls, I take my cellphone.” We all know how well that argument held water.
I am not sure just yet why we need a tablet; I won’t pretend I’m smarter than I really am. I know I’d probably like to have it. Tablet concept follow by far the most intuitive way of interacting with printed text, or blank pad. When we read a book, we hold it in our hands in front of us. When we write down notes, we do that on a pad, or a sheet of paper. Over the years, we have forced ourselves to get used to the idea of doing something on an artificial construct (the keyboard) and expecting results of that work to appear on another device elsewhere. Touching a surface and seeing it respond to this touch is by far more intuitive.
Let’s allow Jobs/Ive team to give it to us. I wouldn’t be surprised if it becomes an iPhone-scale hit (in terms of sales volume, not physical size, of course).
@ Bollocks:
There’s already a Mac tablet, and I do find it useful. I’ve had it since January 30, 2008. It’s the Axiotron ModBook with a 2.2 GHz Core 2 Duo CPU, 4 GB RAM and 200 GB 7,200 rpm hard drive. It’s running OS X 10.5.2 And it’s my fastest laptop Mac.
I’ve got a first-generation MacBook Pro with 2 GB RAM. Yes, I could buy a current MacBook Pro with 4 GB RAM, for less money than I paid for my ModBook. But I’ve always wanted digitizer pen input for some purposes, such as a note including chemical or math equations, and perhaps a sketched graph or diagram. Neither keyboarding nor touch screen input can do that quickly and easily.
I’ve never liked to use a clamshell notebook like my MacBook Pro in my lap. It’s really awkward to use the keyboard and the screen has to be tilted a bit to be readable. So the term “laptop” isn’t quit apt.
By contrast, the ModBook is really comfortable to use in my lap, resting on my knee. That puts the screen at the right angle for reading, and for pen entry of notes.
I do a lot of reading on the ModBook. I work with large DEVONthink Pro Office document dtabases containing tens of thousands of references and notes. So think of the ModBook as a great ebook reader, with the capacity to accept handwritten notes and drawings.
Of course, I can type faster than I can write. So when I’m doing serious writing the ModBook sits in a bookstand, accepting input from my Apple wireless keyboard and mouse via a Bluetooth USB adapter.
This was written with a digitizer pen, while sitting in an easy chair.
I doubt that Apple plans release of a tablet that has the all-purpose power of my ModBook, at least not in the near future. But one of these days!
Seriously, how many times is this rumor going to resurface?
I’m ready for Steve to walk out on stage and just stare intently at the audience for a full two minutes before saying “Seriously? Tablets are poo poo.”
Let me bring up another small form factor device thats selling like hot cakes – the Amazon Kindle. Apple might be able to bridge the gap between applications and content (iTunes) with a device like this. The Kindle has very limited abilities and suffers from poor design, but its been a money maker. Just some random thinking.
Hasn’t Bill Gates already proved that nobody really wants to buy a tablet?
The iPhone and iPod Touch IS the Mac tablet, folks. I would instead like an 10″ rugged eMate style Airbook, minus the strongarm processor and green screen and instead a core2 duo and an iSight and a 10″ LED. No optical, just a 64 gig flash drive.
“shen: “Deliver by Thursday?”
O.K., it will be A Thursday.”
oh you are a big help……
“Let me bring up another small form factor device thats selling like hot cakes – the Amazon Kindle.”
any proof (aside from amazon saying they sold out) that they are selling well? the only information i have seen so far is that they are not selling all that well, and only to people over 55. i am willing to believe other wise, but i haven’t seen any information yet.
The Mac tablet could be the ultimate Trojan horse. If for example, you could connect it to even your Windows machine and run OS X off of it.
I can’t imagine it would be too hard to do that…
gimme a 16″ tablet with iCal and the ability to sync my wife’s and my calendars…
airport express the ability to create categorys. Then have the stylus do the medial tasks…
have it display photos in the meantime.
$400 – I’d buy it.
Follow up…
It would hang by our fridge.
perfect for two working parents with 3 kids who each have to be different places after school.
re: The spotted and flowered iMacs. Why? The were dopey and ugly.
—
For your information these mac have been the most successful macs to date.
They introduced Apple to mass markets in schools and homes.
They are a design classic and a revolutionary piece of design that won countless international design awards.
So dont write off the mac that saved Apple and was the 1st mac out of the gates when Jobs returned to Apple.
It’s not that there is no use for a tablet, or that MS has proven nobody wants a table – Gates only proved that nobody wants a Windows tablet. It’s just that the ENTIRE PACKAGE has not been put together or will be for a while because the software aren’t there yet. Apple may have some prototypes, but exactly what software applications do you put on a generic big Newton to make it perfectly functional for what it’s mean to do, at the perfect size and UI, with a price point in between a laptop and the iPhone? When the business model is ready – akin to the App Store/iTunes – you’ll see the device.
Acb “It would hang by our fridge.” Why not use a Post-it note?
Google has a picture of someone using a ModBook propped up with a rag. It seems a laptop is more ergonomic.
Still, it would be cool to have a super-thin Mac Tablet Media Center, controller iTunes, Photos, and Videos on your home entertainment center…
“The new Apple tablet would also mark the return of handwriting recognition to the Mac for the first time since the Newton was killed on February 27, 1998 after Jobs returned to Apple.”
Unless you count Inkwell.
Oops, my bad, he mentions it in an Update.
FatMac – if you had kids (3 under 12) – you’d understand the beauty of this product.
ha – my magic word is even “children”
@ FatMac:
Often I read a book while eating at my breakfast table. Gee, if I open the book and lay it flat on the table, it’s hard to read — poor ergonomics. I hadn’t thought of propping it up with a rag — sounds stupid.
Instead, I put the book on a bookstand. They’ve been around for quite some years and are pretty cheap. That’s good ergonomics for reading at my breakfast table.
The same bookstands work great with my ModBook when I’m sitting at a table or desk. It holds tens of thousands of notes, articles and books in my DEVONthink Pro databases. Or I can comfortably browse the Web and download new material while chewing on a sausage-egg-cheese biscuit. Much more ergonomic than a clamshell laptop in that setting, and there’s not a keyboard to get greasy and be in the way; this is a time when the pen is mightier than the keyboard.
Anytime I need to type, my Apple wireless keyboard and mouse are at hand. But I don’t like to type while I’m eating or drinking coffee; it takes two hands to type. I don’t like to type when I’m sitting in an easy chair in front of the fireplace, either — it’s much more ergonomic to write on my ModBook’s screen to answer email.
But I guess soft lint-free rags are OK for polishing a car, although there are better tools.
The same domain holding company that Apple uses for locking in domain names has purchased recently the name “islate”.