Apple Tablet "confirmed" by Asus?

After a relative dearth of Apple rumors, Crave has resurrected the ol' Apple Tablet fiesta. In fact, they claim to have received a hush-hush confirmation whispered across their meatloaf and pie. The quote from some anonymous "friends at ASUS" over dinner simply states, "Asus is helping Apple build a Tablet PC." Unfortunately, no date was provided. However, we're sure that if we wait around long enough, this rumor like others, will eventually come to fruition.

[Thanks, T.I.]

[Alvaro @ Nov 6th 2007 8:53AM]

Sweet i know when this thing comes out im defintly going to buy it. Hopefully it will be in the 08 year.

[dzhiurgis @ Nov 6th 2007 8:54AM]

How about iPad Touch? http://factoryjoe.com/blog/2007/11/05/apple-tablet-concept-the-ipad-touch/

[josh @ Nov 6th 2007 9:55AM]

a concept like that would work as a competitor to UMPC, as a casual webpad and messaging tablet, but I can't see it being more than a gimmick toy if they make it much more expensive then the iPhone and iPod touch (I would say if they broke the $600 mark it is too expensive). That eats into the market of both of those products, which I can't see Apple wanting to do, but at greater prices people would be more likely to buy a much more functional laptop (which is exactly what is happening in UMPC land).

I don't see an iPad touch concept being a competitor at all for a true Tablet PC, as while a touch interface works ok for interacting with existing screen controls it sucks for entering information. The resolution of a touch interface (not talking about the screen, but how detailed you can get off of a finger press) is horrible, multitouch technology or not, and the only viable input method would be a soft keyboard (similar to the iPhone/iPod touch). The benifit of a Tablet is the Pen based input, which allows not just handwritting in a text field (that is really about the most minimal draw to a tablet possible) but the ability to write text in arbitrary locations, draw figures and pictures, and generally use a pen to do the 8 million things that it excels at over a mouse and keyboard.

That is the big draw of the tablet, though most modern manufacturers have found that most of the users want the pen when it is ideal, and the mouse and keyboard when it is not, hence why most consumer grade tablets these days are convertable. I can see most computer users not looking at an iPad as replacement to their laptop, as tablets are, but rather thinking it would be a great thing to surf the net on from the couch, but that gets us back to the price. Surfing the net from the couch is a luxery and one the bulk of users would balk at if the price was too high. The idea is essentially a toy for casual use, without much justification of productivity. That comes out of people's disposable income, which on average isn't that high.

So I don't think Apple is going to jump into an iPad Touch. They could do something slick where there are two sensor layers, one using multitouch for finger interaction, and one using wacom's stylus technology for true tablet pen interaction, with the multitouch automatically turning off when the stylus is used. I think they would still need to make it convertable to compete against other tablets though, as while there may be some debate that their soft keyboard can compete against other phone text input (it is actually their predictive text that makes a soft keyboard at all plausible, but if any vendor realized that they could put similar predictive text with their hardware keyboard there would simply be no comparison), I think someone would be hard pressed to propose that it was a usable alternitive to a real keyboard (they would either be amazingly crappy at typing or batshit crazy).

However I think if Apple put their design skills to work they could make some really slick tablet hardware. Where I question things is them putting effort into the software. Vista + Office 2k7 really is amazing when it comes to tablet interaction, with the functionality being in the design from day 1. For those that haven't used it, which considering the tablet sales numbers is most of you (though they are the number one seller for toshiba), it really does work damn well. If Apple wanted to compete here they would need to invest a great deal of time to improve the basic tablet support in OS X, as it simply doesn't compare, and make sure all of their flagship apps are tablet friendly (they are still pretty hosed if Office 2k8 isn't), if they wanted to compare favorably to the software side of Tablet PCs. I don't know if that investment is worth while in a fairly small market right now; that would be a great deal more work than the iPod originally was. They would also need to make something that could hold a candle to OneNote, which really is the killer application for Tablet PCs, and remarkably slick. I don't know why all college students don't go buy one just for that application.

[Jason @ Nov 6th 2007 10:01AM]

Josh: lay off the coffee.

[NothingsShocking @ Nov 6th 2007 10:41AM]

I bet you would have had a similar rebuttal to the iPod when that was in development, and how other mp3 players were already in place, so it wouldn't really work because they have all tried to break into that market with little success.

We are talking about Apple here, think about their past & what they have introduced to an embracing mainstream that other companies were not successful at doing, or that pundits deemed impossible.
If you go back far enough, you'll find people deriding them for attempting to incorporate a GUI & a mouse on personal computers.
Yeah, that was a stupid thing for them to do!

[Jeff Lewis @ Nov 6th 2007 11:52AM]

@Josh

I have a UMPC (Samsung Q1U-V) and it's essentially replaced my laptop. While it has a thumbboard keyboard, I rarely use it.

In fact, I have an Apple Wireless Keyboard (the new really slim and light one) which I carry in my shoulderbag with a Bluetooth mouse when I go on trips - but most of the time they stay at home.

The handwriting reco in Vista is amasing and can handle 99% of my needs - and when it can't, I drop to the onscreen keyboard.

As for usefulness - just two weeks ago I was on a trip to Florida to demo new software and had to make some emergency changes to the code. It was all done on my UMPC with my keyboard and mouse. These devices have more than enough power to do most things.

Is it a laptop replacement? If you're a heavy user, then no - get a laptop. But for a lot of people, the UMPC is perfectly fine. The problem is that a lot of people get one and then try to use it exactly like a laptop - then get frustrated. Once they let go of the keyboard and mouse, it actually works well.

As for UMPCs being a failure, well, there sure are a lot of companies out there jumping on the bandwagon.

[pscs @ Nov 6th 2007 12:27PM]

If this is going to be a giant iphone i'm definitely going to get one :)

[josh @ Nov 6th 2007 12:27PM]

"I bet you would have had a similar rebuttal to the iPod when that was in development, and how other mp3 players were already in place, so it wouldn't really work because they have all tried to break into that market with little success."

That would have been a bet you lost, though if you actually look at history, the iPod was far from an instant runaway success. They did moderately well and after a few revisions (and adding windows support) it did finally become amazingly successful. However people seem to forget that the Zune hit a million units in less than half time the iPod did (which in this market doesn't say much for zune, but it is a good reminder that the iPod wasn't immediately a huge hit). I thought the form factor was spot on but the software was abysmal, and in a couple revisions they would get it right. That seems a pretty fair assessment with history as a comparison even if I am saying so myself.

@Jeff

My arguement isn't that a UMPC isn't a viable device, but that an expensive mac UMPC that simply used multitouch wouldn't be that successful. In general I think a UMPC could be awsome as a $500 device (incidentally, what MS freaking announced when they went off about origami), but the current crop is certainly not that cheap. At the current price point most people would suggest just buying a laptop or a tablet. I looked at the original OQO and thought it a damn cool device. I would have bought it for $500, but when I could get a Toshiba m200 for the same price as the device there was no damn way. I would buy the new OQO tomorrow if it was that price.

I think a multitouch iPad touch for $500, with a 6~8" screen would be awsome. I don't think Apple would charge that little because it creeps in on iPod Touch / iPhone territory and fractures the market (I suspect very few people buy the iPod touch for it's media capabilities alone, or even primarily for its media capabilities. I think all of the other stuff it does is its primary selling point). I think if they instead produced what is essentially a UMPC at laptop prices it would be too expensive to catch on. Now I could be wrong about how apple could position it's price. Apple could drop the iPod Touch down in price a good deal and rework their whole product layout to accomidate a $500 iPad, but that would be a pretty revolutionary shakedown of their product line.

I was also trying to establish that a more expensive iPad could not be a market equivelant of a Tablet PC. That is not to say that Apple could not produce a real tablet rather than a large ipod touch, and hence the various musings on design issues that would need to be considered. I am a tablet PC user and I love the concept, but most of the hardware could use some real design love, which Apple rocks at. I would be very happy if Apple could deliver in this segment, but for me to want the product it is going to have to be a heck of a lot more than a multitouch slate tablet.

[Twitchy @ Nov 6th 2007 6:30PM]

I dunno what you lot are getting all excited for. The picture looks like some dude holding a Tupperware container pointing out what he's having for lunch.

[superfresh @ Nov 6th 2007 8:56AM]

That's a lot of screen real estate. They needed to draw a cleaning cloth in the guy's hand.

[BigD @ Nov 6th 2007 9:12AM]

Something else missing, too:

http://pix.nofrag.com/c/2/5/06c136221a73a216f6cd7a805a0c3.html

They should have it straightened out by the time they make the patent filing, though.

[Michael Barreto @ Nov 6th 2007 9:31PM]

this type of product is essentially a Wacom Cintiq with a processor backing it up, which is something I've personally been waiting patiently(tap, tap, tap) at least 7 years for, if not 14. Seriously, try entering vector data with a keyboard and you find yourself cramping. However, the same cannot be said for drawing on the same surface as you are viewing the artwork upon, which has been available with traditional media for something like thousands of years. Yes, it seems like manipulating multiple onscreen interface sliders in the pursuit of live sound reinforcement is suddenly an attainable goal as well. Does Apple see these groups as marketable entities? This is the key to the puzzle. The right tool for the right job certainly includes a screen you can write and draw on, if that's what your tasks happen to be. Honestly, I can't think of a reason for Apple to NOT put out a product like this: it just seems like they have all the right technology in place; the haptic interface that includes cameras in each pixel (which is a prior Apple patent), the multitouch technology, these allow the sophisticated type of computer experience that many people are all ready for and demand. Once you've selected non-contiguous items in a list with a stylus right onscreen you will never want to use a mouse again, much less a keyboard. I see it as Apple dragging the feet into this type of next-generation-circa-1999 technology. We've seen for years devices that you can touch the screen of to get information into them. It used to be that the car manufacturers would never think of installing telephone communication in each of their units. But now they'll give you a free month just to get you to use it, because it's already built in. That's not the best of analogies; maybe adjustable steering wheels is closer. Anyway, I'm starting to ramble now since I just sparked one up. WE WANT OUR TABLET-TOPS!!! Thank you for your time.

[XMan714 @ Nov 6th 2007 9:26AM]

What's the deal with this Tablet Mac then? http://www.axiotron.com/index.php?id=modbook

[Douglas Brace @ Nov 6th 2007 9:30AM]

The ModBook is an after market modification. An Apple Tablet would be original and directly from Apple. That is the difference.

[bob @ Nov 6th 2007 10:02AM]

the same problem with all the pc tablets, it runs a desktop os, not an os designed to work on a multitouch screen in the hand, this is why apple have the potential to actually make a successful tablet.

[roach @ Nov 6th 2007 10:20AM]

Vista's tablet features is good. I run in slate mode tablet pc (without keyboard) and my experience with Vista was even better than XP. Apple's ink feature is not even in the level as XP. I have to run OS on these guys cuz I run heavy applications such as Photoshop and 3D Maya. By the way multitouch is nothing new, HP and others are already selling them.

[Ireland @ Nov 6th 2007 9:57AM]

People, people, people, let's get the name right first, it's not going to be called the MaxiPad touch, or anything of the sort, it's going to be called:

"Mac touch" :D

[majortom @ Nov 6th 2007 10:26AM]

or the Big Mac touch pad
or the Big Tab
or the glassy touch tab thingy
or not another Apple device
or..... well, you get the picture

oh, the tab pro from Apple. Or touch my pro

[wireless.nemo @ Nov 6th 2007 9:35AM]

haha Apple can't come up with stuff on their own so they have to COPY other people!!!!!!!!!

[Lein @ Nov 6th 2007 9:41AM]

Not really.

But I'm curious to see how far they will pound multitouch into the ground with a device like this. It's good for a cell phone (most of the time anyway,) but will that transfer into a competitive replacement to an active-digitized tablet PC?

Although I guess they could probably integrate both multitouch AND pen-based entry. That would be cool, I think.

[Constable Odo @ Nov 6th 2007 9:46AM]

Time Magazine "Invention of the Year" for 2008.
Multitouch keypad? Directional sensors?

[Jon @ Nov 6th 2007 10:37AM]

Directional sensors aka accelerometers invention of the year? What about Sony, Sony Ericsson, Nokia etc. who has accelerometers in their products? I remember a Sony MP3 player from 3 years ago which has a built-in accelerometer which allows the screen to auto rotate.

[phoomp @ Nov 6th 2007 9:55AM]

Apple fans are so obsessed with getting a tablet (possibly for longer than they were obsessed with getting the iPhone), that they fail to notice there is no market for laptop sized tablets and that tablet yield poorer usability than traditional keyboard/mouse/touchpad interfaces.

[Ireland @ Nov 6th 2007 10:19AM]

That's cause they haven't been done right yet, just like mp3 players were crap before iPods. At the moment, given the iPhone, it seems like Apple has a good chance to try to take multi-touch to the tablet. In other words, if you want an Apple notebook it's going to be 13" at the smallest, and if you want their ultra-portable, you can get their Mac touch. We'll see what happens I guess.

I'm personally hoping for the "Mac touch" to be under 3/4" thick, with an 11" screen, and it should be about half the weight of the MacBook or there abouts. We all know it's going to be lighter than the MacBook, so weight wont be a hugely crucial to me. Thinness, around 11" screen size, and multi-touch will be its selling points - IF IT COMES OUT.

[Jon @ Nov 6th 2007 10:37AM]

MP3 players weren't crap before Apple came along.

[tzhuge @ Nov 6th 2007 10:53AM]

You do realize that the reason why 'traditional' input devices for personal computers work better is because the current UIs are designed for cursor and keyboard input?

Touch screens and tablets are used in medical, military applications, HMIs on plant floors, etc. I don't think it's reasonable to claim that a tablet is necessarily inferior usability.

[js @ Nov 6th 2007 11:45AM]

I think you're missing the point. Yes, there's no market for Tablets, but there is (and always be) a market for Apple fanboys.

[josh @ Nov 6th 2007 12:41PM]

I don't think you understand tablets very well. For average multipurpose computing a strict tablet is not ideal, which is true (for special purpose tasks, say hospital use, or field contractors, a slate tablet with only Pen input is actually ideal). However that is the precise reason why convertable tablets exist, which make up the bulk of consumer oriented tablet PCs these days. A keyboard and mouse are not always ideal; taking notes, especially if it is for something like chemistry which requires drawing lots of structures, is a thousand times easier with a pen.

If you spend half an hour with a Vista based tablet in real world use you would find that it has been done right already and that in many ways a convertable tablet is superior to a traditional laptop. Apple could produce something formidable here, but it would have to be a lot more than a large iPod touch, and it would have to be a lot better than the basic ink implementation in OS X.

[Ireland @ Nov 6th 2007 9:20PM]

"I think you're missing the point. Yes, there's no market for Tablets, but there is (and always be) a market for Apple fanboys."
Ha ha.. you fly boys crack me up. Was funny though.

[/dev/urandom @ Nov 6th 2007 10:18AM]

This won't end well. Apple's not good at letting things leak like this, so they might actually cut the contract with Asus, if this thing was actually real. Then start a-new with a different company that can keep it's trap shut.

[Ellianth @ Nov 6th 2007 2:57PM]

Here's a life lesson and an example.

Life leson:
Just because someone says something, doesn't make it true!

Example:
Tell your mother to stop calling me. The sex was bad and I only did it cuz I was REALLY (I mean REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY) drunk.

According to your logic, your mom calls me often and she got me drunk and got me to sleep with her. And with a small stretch of the imagination she's quite ugly.

Please don't be offended, i have nothing against you or your mother. Just making a point.

*hugs and kisses*
-Ellianth

[/dev/urandom @ Nov 6th 2007 4:16PM]

well thanks captain obvious.

I guess you are one of the people posting car analogies on slashdot

[ajfarson @ Nov 6th 2007 10:28AM]

IF this is true then apple might actually win me over! I am not an Apple fan (except ipods), but will say that the things they do they do very well... I think the tablet concept will finally be done justice once Apple devs an product... It seems better suited for the left brainers of the world, and like the iphone I think Apple just "gets it" when it comes to mobile devices. I just wish they weren't so closed sourced on the whole thing!

[roach @ Nov 6th 2007 10:23AM]

This thing looks like my HP TC1100. I wouldn't want multi touch. Freakin get greasy fingers on my screen. Pressure sensitive pens is good enough. HP's tablets has multi touch.

[Big Fat Eric is Yelling @ Nov 6th 2007 10:41AM]

omg... someone literally wrote an essay here.

[Paul @ Nov 6th 2007 10:49AM]

It will do everything that previous products have already done but since it runs osx and doesn't let you run any applications that didn't already come with it and that don't run in a web browser it will be called revolutionary. [hows THAT for a run on sentence]

[derek @ Nov 6th 2007 5:44PM]

My Mac is running Mac OS X right now and I am using 3rd party applications.

[Ralph @ Nov 6th 2007 10:58AM]

After using the iPhone for a little bit here, I can easily accept this rumor now. Sooner or later, a "big" iPhone is coming.

[Alan @ Nov 6th 2007 11:03AM]

To me, a tablet would only be useful if it had pressure sensitive pen based input.

Multi touch on a full laptop would just be a nicetie. I've seen some tablet manufacturers ship tabletpcs with two types of sensors though - active and passive - that dynamically shifts between modes if it detects the pen
personally, this would be the best solution for any tablet based
computer IMO.

[cenetti @ Nov 6th 2007 11:23AM]

I think It's time to get a touch screen "macbook" type of device. Apple knows people like the iphone, touch interface. I am almost certain that they'll implement it with the new line of notebooks...

[Xzavier @ Nov 6th 2007 11:31AM]

"We checked back with our source at Asus on a different day and they confirmed that the Apple Tablet will not be based on existing Asus designs such as the R1."

Either the story is BS because Apple is know for designing *their* hardware without anybody's permission or those guys at that civilised dinner had one too many drinks!

[redspear @ Nov 6th 2007 2:20PM]

Apple does not design their own hardware. they do contract out design work(Frog) and they do not manufacture their own hardware companies like Asus and Foxconn do that

[snazz @ Nov 6th 2007 12:12PM]

Portable Jeff Han display = Win.

[Deuz Augustine @ Nov 6th 2007 12:12PM]

Anyone who thinks this doesn't have a market are kidding themselves; this thing would be a killer with art students. I know a bunch of students, particularly at AIS, who would kill for this.

[design.mlm @ Nov 6th 2007 12:21PM]

What do you think about this idea:

http://web.mac.com/design.mlm/www._Que_Haces_Hoy_.com/Blog_Tecno/Entradas/2007/10/12_iTouch%3A_%C2%BFY_porque_no.html

www.quehaceshoy.com

[CUBSWILLWIN @ Nov 6th 2007 12:26PM]

I highly doubt apple would want help from a company like ASUS...

[josh @ Nov 6th 2007 12:35PM]

Asus has produced several of Apple's laptops in the past, so it isn't unreasonable.

[vdogg89 @ Nov 6th 2007 6:05PM]

asus is a very dependable product.

[John @ Nov 6th 2007 12:42PM]

Help from Asus? But what about all those people who state as fact that Apple does all their own hardware???

[redspear @ Nov 6th 2007 1:52PM]

Those people are just misinformed. They exists on both sides of the debate. Apple has had a lot of other companies design stuff for them like Frog for their case designs. The Acer 5570 had a model with the same motherboard in it. Foxconn maufactures a lot of stuff for apple as well. The coverflow was designed by a company in Texas that Apple purchased. These aren't bad things it is just business. Something fanboys always forget that Apple, MS, Sony, Nintnedo, Chevy, Toyaota, or whatever company you are blindly defending pumping up with ludicrous claims are in fact businesses.