So for some reason,
eagle-eyed reader Jacob S. was checking out the Apple website's page on educational initiatives, and stumbled upon a
picture of a bunch of smiley dentistry students at the University of Michigan using Apple products to enhance their
studies. In the photo we see a pair of Mac laptops, a trio of iPods, and....a tablet PC? That's right -- the future
dentist at the bottom of the photo is clearly scraping off some virtual tartar or tightening a set of of virtual braces
on what is definitely some sort of pen-based computing device. Our money says that is simply a case of some jokester
slipping a Microsoft-based product onto the set for kicks, because surely Apple wouldn't be so careless as to publicly
reveal a secretive product like the mythical
iTablet in such a way,
would they? Would they?
Update: The consensus among our readers seems to be that this is a
Compaq TC1000 series TabletPC we're seeing here; if so, kudos to Apple for publicizing the sensitive issue of mixed-OS
working environments.
[Thanks, Jacob]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Iamvery @ Mar 23rd 2006 8:43AM
They are using old iPods, therefore this is an old picture. It's a pc...
Thom @ Mar 23rd 2006 8:44AM
Looks like the edge of a Compaq TC1000/TC1100.
Ssco @ Mar 23rd 2006 8:45AM
Surely if this was a tablet the information would have leaked from the university before this?!
DJ @ Mar 23rd 2006 8:45AM
When Steve asked me to create this ad and so to be released commercial, I told him that I only work on projects that have a theme of conspiracy to them. He told me not worry, because he would see to that. I'm still not sure what he meant by that.
Oliver Stone
Yanathin @ Mar 23rd 2006 8:46AM
That's an HP tc1100 Tablet PC. I should know, I have one.. :) The real question is - why the heck do they have a picture of an HP product on Apple's website?!
Chris @ Mar 23rd 2006 8:46AM
Yeah, my guess is TC1100. Looks just like the HP tablet I have here in my office.
elliott @ Mar 23rd 2006 8:49AM
I like the poor sap in the back that has nothing but his hands to play with, and he still has a smile. While the table next to him has 40 apple products just casually laying around.
Gav @ Mar 23rd 2006 8:52AM
The guy in the top right is playing with his iRubik's Cube.
Iamvery @ Mar 23rd 2006 8:53AM
#5: That actually makes perfect sense. HP and Apple have had a deal for some time now. If you visit the ipod websites (where the picture features the ipod along side a computer) you will see that when visiting from a PC there is a picture of an HP and when visiting from a Mac its beside a Powerbook (macbook? imac? dont remember?)
dwtech @ Mar 23rd 2006 8:56AM
I've worked on Apple shoots before and I can tell you that they look at every inch of a piece of film and/or every pixel. I would doubt it greatly that if it's not an apple product they sure as hell wouldn't leave it in there especially since it would be so easy to crop out being on the bottom. And it is a set/styled image, notice how you can see every product and logo easily.
That said, I also know how freaky they are about secrecy of everything that hasn't been released. They don't let new products out of a room until they've been announced so even workers in diff. departments rarely know what other departments are working on unless it's neccessary.
That, that said, it's also interesting that it's that time of year whe apple and other manufactures are starting to announce/launch products for the educational season. So who knows, maybe...
Allan Alfabet @ Mar 23rd 2006 9:01AM
Who cares what that tablet thing is... I wanna know where they found such well-groomed college students. Is my recollection of a 7 day rotation of sweat pants and hoodies not the trend anymore? Are those Diesel shoes??? Those should be shower sandals and there should be a half-eaten bag of fun-yuns in that dude's hands, not an HP tablet or whatever.
Marcos Rivera @ Mar 23rd 2006 9:10AM
Yea I have that same tablet to the TC1100 from HP, however I wonder why they would show this since this model has been discontinued by HP.
skype_fan @ Mar 23rd 2006 9:13AM
And with 45 they all need a hearing aid, Generation IPod, hahaha
jamesbrown @ Mar 23rd 2006 9:21AM
Gav - look, three of them are wearing iGlasses too.
Yazan Malkosh @ Mar 23rd 2006 9:31AM
Well the article was talking about using iTunes and we have to remember iTunes is for Macs and Window based machines, so it would make sense ithat it was an HP or other device. Just didn't get the entire attention, that's all.
Yazan
Justin @ Mar 23rd 2006 9:34AM
See the guy in the back? He seems to be holding a ball of some sort.. perhaps the Apple iBall? Hmm.. interesting..
I bet he is playing virtual basketball with it.
djphatjive @ Mar 23rd 2006 9:34AM
Maybe its back when HP and Apple were all Hugged up on one another. Maybe they were going to somehow rebrand a HP tablet to a Apple. Kind of how they rebranded a ipod with HP on it.
Bad Boy @ Mar 23rd 2006 9:35AM
hahahhaha Apple using PC
start crying mac fanboys
MonkeyMan360 @ Mar 23rd 2006 9:39AM
Yeh, I agree looks like a TC1100 or 1000. Got one in the office
RobERT @ Mar 23rd 2006 9:43AM
Work directly on screen
Wacom's Cintiq 21UX interactive pen display
OddManOut @ Mar 23rd 2006 9:46AM
To: "Allan Alfabet "
Hilarious post! But of course the image has been sanitized. They want you to think that trendy clothes , fit bodies, and good times simply go along with their products. No one would sell anything (outside of food clothing and shelter) if they acurately depicted life in their ads.
Just be glad they didn't fix the ads color saturation, and I ain't talkin' about the grayscale.
But then what with the recent UMPC ads, I think were covered as far as 'tokens' go...
Calleja @ Mar 23rd 2006 9:46AM
Hey, how are you all so sure that's a tablet PC and the dude's not just using a Sharpie on his Laptop?
t.p. @ Mar 23rd 2006 9:53AM
dental students are trendy.
my dental school required us to buy an apple laptop and pay for a dvd of books every year at 1500 dollars a year to enhance learning. i looked at the dvds once or twice a year and bought hard copies of books. my mac was used for email and instant messaging in class. ooops. there goes productivity.
Terralance @ Mar 23rd 2006 9:55AM
#8: What's more exciting is that iNotepad the girl on the top left is writing on!
Torontoguy @ Mar 23rd 2006 9:57AM
Oh My! Could it be the iNewton???
cuby @ Mar 23rd 2006 10:01AM
guy in back is thinking to himself, "aww, i'm just happy being around all these apple products, pretty boys and handsome women. maybe one day, if i save up enough, i too can own an- ... no, nonono, it wouldn't be right, for i am not pretty enough. i shall content myself simply to exist in the proximity of those wonderful, white products and people ..."
skoobydoo @ Mar 23rd 2006 10:09AM
4 out of 5 dentistry students perfer Apple...
Hmmmm....
Kyle @ Mar 23rd 2006 10:11AM
Guys, actually read the title.
Dental Students Launch iTunes U Initiative
ITUNES! So, they're playing iPods and listening to iTunes.
Its not about using Powerbooks or Apple only products, it's about using iTunes.
kartman @ Mar 23rd 2006 10:25AM
The ad is quite clever - the "cool kids" are the ones near both the ipods and the laptops. the others are in varying degrees of apple purgatory -- the dude with a tablet pc, the girl with a pen and paper, and the guy in the way back who does not have any apple product to launch him into the inner circle...
Gary @ Mar 23rd 2006 10:36AM
Did you notice that the Mac people know how to sit in their chairs properly. Only the Windows guy has his feet on the table, like he owns the place. What you dont see is that he is actually playing games on his tablet, not studying. After he flunks out of college, he gets a job as head of IT at a major company and buys everyone in the company discontinued tablets, "because the price was right".
fdisk @ Mar 23rd 2006 10:45AM
kartman - The girl with the pen and paper is still listening to an iPod. Since she can't have an iPod in Apple purgatory, she must be writing on an Apple branded spiral notebook with an Apple branded pen.
Atanas Boev @ Mar 23rd 2006 10:58AM
For what I could see on the photo, the guy is holding 1/4 of a tablet PC. The rest is just your imagination.
Brandon Hopkins @ Mar 23rd 2006 11:13AM
Since when can college students afford PowerBook's and iPods?
Tomery @ Mar 23rd 2006 11:21AM
"kudos to Apple for publicizing the sensitive issue of mixed-OS working environments"
I really hope this is a sarcastic comment.
o rly @ Mar 23rd 2006 12:03PM
@ 32 / Tomery : " "kudos to Apple for publicizing the sensitive issue of mixed-OS working environments"
I really hope this is a sarcastic comment."
no Tomery, that's Steve Job's iDick in Engadget's iMouth while they deliver iFellatio awaiting the Apple iCum.
You guys don't need to kiss Apple's ass at every turn, especially when you go looking for something that doesn't exist. I'm actually surprised you guys didn't notice that those were older models.
Chris @ Mar 23rd 2006 12:24PM
Maybe Apple is smart enough to realize in this sort of public environment, not everyone is going to have an Apple laptop or iPod. I've got an iBook, iPod, and a Sony Notebook all of which I'll take to a cafe with me, depending on what I need.
Anonymous @ Mar 23rd 2006 12:33PM
Jan Alberts, no one cares about your stupid blog. Stop linking to it at the end of your posts. If you are so concerned about getting visitors to your lame blog, go advertise it somewhere else, and not spam engadget's comments section.
play free games @ Mar 23rd 2006 12:35PM
Where's the iBooks? I thought that was the Mac of choice for the poor, struggling college student. No, it's professional PowerBooks and iPods for everyone! Oh, and secret tablets.
Joe - Executive VP of Pointless Drivel @ Mar 23rd 2006 12:41PM
This is not worth replying to, as I can't think of any reason whatsoever to care about this, but it's a TC1100. Perhaps one of those iSneakers he is wearing is really a new Apple cell phone in disguise too. Yes, I think I can see one of those stealth shoestring antennas dangling about his new iSock (you know, the socks that generate power from static electricity between the iSneakers and the iSocks).
BEFore @ Mar 23rd 2006 12:54PM
Ahh. Look at all the people completely isolated from each other by their gadgets. ;)
Even the guy who is supposedly talking about whatever is on the laptop has his ears plugged with ipod headphones.
What a bizarre ad photo.
Matthew Baggett @ Mar 23rd 2006 2:39PM
Oh come on! I love my ibook as much as the next person, but you're getting all hot and bothered over a corner of a laptop which may or may not be a HP/Compaq. Jesus.
Get ahold of yourself. As if apple would let something slide. Ever.
Tim Marman @ Mar 23rd 2006 2:39PM
I mentioned this on Tues (http://slashstar.com/blogs/tim/archive/2006/03/21/Another_Apple_tablet_sighting_on_apple_site.aspx) and the consensus there, too, was that it's a tc1100. Still, interesting decision to feature it either way.
Andrew Logan @ Mar 23rd 2006 3:44PM
maybe he's just taking notes on his powerbook's screen...
BeDammit @ Mar 23rd 2006 5:07PM
Notice he is the only one that isnt smiling.
Maybe his experience isnt as good.
BeDammit
Mischa Lockton @ Mar 23rd 2006 7:53PM
Listen to #27 people,
they are pushing the fact that iTunes works on PC too.
andrew k from AZ @ Mar 23rd 2006 10:57PM
41, I thought your comments were highly insightful. Who actually studies apparently in a group and sits and listens to their iPods? This is a great example of how iPods allow students to have almost unlimited control over their environments. Is this a good thing? I guess it is if you're Steve Jobs...
Terrie @ Mar 24th 2006 12:50AM
I have no opinion on the photo but there is, in fact, a Mac tablet. Unfortunately, Apple doesn't make it. (They make the guts, but not the finished product.)
http://www.itablet.theplaceforitall.com/
Production seems to be a tad slow...
eikon @ Mar 24th 2006 1:45AM
i just wonder what that thing in his nose is, are they about to announce the iSent??
Kamalot @ Mar 24th 2006 9:11AM
The Compaq TC1100 is the best damn tablet ever made.
Ben @ Mar 24th 2006 10:18AM
I'm 99% sure it isn't an Apple product. Apple's color scheme is silver (polished aluminum) and white. They wouldn't have a black band around the outside of the screen like that. Just my $0.02.