Apple tablet(s) in 2H 2010 with OLED screen and tailored content in tow?
By Vlad Savov 
posted November 19th 2009 9:27AM
posted November 19th 2009 9:27AM
Rumors of the mythical Apple tablet's release were just starting to coalesce around an early 2010 release, so naturally DigiTimes is now reporting that the much ballyhooed device won't show up until the second half of next year. Apple is said to have given itself more time to swap out internals and install a 9.7-inch OLED display from LG, which meshes with earlier rumors about where the relationship between the two companies was heading. Sources expect the opening retail price to be around a hefty $2,000, but for the budget-conscious there will also be a 10.6-inch LCD version that will land somewhere between $800 and $1,000. Or so we're told. Somewhat more concrete is the news that Conde Nast, publisher of Wired Magazine, has openly confirmed that it is developing a digital version of its tech magazine for consumption on the Apple tablet, with the rest of its content catalog to soon follow. Its own estimate of having the paid-for digitized magazines, which will include Vogue and GQ, ready for the middle of 2010 also jibes with the reported delays. Then again, Apple has refused to discuss the unannounced device with anyone, leaving Conde and Adobe developing the necessary software in the dark.
.. I love the new Engadget.
@iFargle
sorry I like this one better
http://web.archive.org/web/20040403233604/www.engadget.com/entry/7044051283984717/
this is too clustered
@iFargle
To those that don't like the new look, I've created a User Script that replaces Times New Roman with Calibri, and upped the font size in the comments. If anyone is interested I will post a link to it. I'm only using it in Chrome...I'm sure its an easy port to Firefox though. I will say it makes the site look a million times better.
@iFargle
I dont even know how I got here?
My eyes....they burn!!!!!
@Daniel
please post, i cannot stand this font
@Josh
You will need the latest build of Chrome that supports extensions for this to work.
http://www.danielgary.net/engadget.user.js
That should install the user script.
@iFargle the new endgadget is cheap ass 1980s design. i mean seriously. font fail. comment system is still a mess. you can't edit posts. and i have to click to expand replies.
i could see having the option to minimize replies, but by default they should be open...
@Daniel thank you thank you, this is definitely better
@iFargle The best part is that no-one can hijack posts anymore
Um... yeah, that's nice.
Anyway, wow do I get the OLD Engadget back? It's as if the old website had a head on collision with a calligraphy pen delivery truck. And the website lost.
The term 'cluster-fuck' also comes to mind.
@Daniel
Thats SO much better! Thanks a lot!
@Satz heh, I love how this http://web.archive.org/web/20040513085528/www.engadget.com/entry/7288621216452618/ was a smartphone back in '04
@iFargle - I am in agreement. This is superior. Epic success Engadget!
@Satz
The reason that seems too clustered is because of the times new roman font
@Daniel
Awesome. I agree, that really is a ton better!
@Satz
I agree! I love the old one andso does my Opera Mobile. The new one doesn't work well with mobile browsers: the main page takes you to a lame mobile version of the site, when you go to the full site and try to read a story it takes you to the mobile site again; not to mention that the full version shows only the first page, pages n+1 don't show in a mobile browser at all.
@Satz Ah yes that word steroid again.. Which has been so popular ever since N1 got out of its cage. What's that again, "On a beautified steroids" ...
Obviously, the Apple tablet should be on steroids.. And its expected to work on a steroids.. If not, then this tablet will be just your ordinary joe slate.
Mark that date 27-28th of Jan. For the official score: http://bit.ly/islate-specs-hoax-and-official-details
I'll beleive it when I see it.
@Fernando
I'm with this guy.
Of course, the only reason I don't believe it is because it's not at least $2000 for the base model.
Agreed. With the rumors of an apple tablet being so old, apple could start developing it right now, launch in 2011, and people would then feel the rumors vindicated.
@Fernando I'm seconding this post. I love how we're all talking about the tablet like it's a real thing, and we're just waiting on Apple. Seriously, It's all just rumors at this point.
@Cam Actually, most of the technology that was imcorporated into the iPhone / iPod Touch were based off a Prototype tablet design Apple had been working on for some odd years before.
At the time of the iPhone there wasn't a processor fast enough to drive a thin tablet but also stay light on battery consumption so it was pushed onto the backburners, fast forward and now we have low power processors that are pushing fast enough speeds to run desktop applications and not the sort of Apps you find in the App Store that aren't quite as full featured as what you find on the Desktop.
Also, building a tablet at that time would have cost around 3K $, which Apple, hard to swallow for some of you, wouldn't be able to justify that cost. Now is the time. It's obvious they are one of the best touch interface designers, as well as hardware designers to tackle this sort of device. Sure you can say "there are already tablets out." and I say, if you are looking to carry around a stone slate sized tablet be my guest, what I am looking for from Apple is something about the size of a notepad maybe a little thicker, and a capacitive stylus to go with the capacitive screen. And full on OS X with some touch interface enhancements, not the iPhone OS stretched to fit it.
hey you never know . . .
http://web.archive.org/web/20040608201849/www.engadget.com/entry/7277518074127264/
I love the new Engadget layout!!!
Also, can someone shoot this Unicorn?
@kjb434 Don't shoot it, capture it, sell it at Apple stores for 699$
@Andrew Only if you want the lousy cheap plastic unicorn.. The better ones will cost you well beyond $1000..
@kjb434 Looks like it was the other way around. The unicorn was shot at the apple.
@kjb434
Is it sad if it took me until now to realize
"WTF UNICORN ?!?!?"
I'm there.
2k for a tablet, I smell another Apple TV.
@kal326
Or they could appeal to lots of professionals like artists, graphic designers and photographers who wants color accuracy on the go. Just install Photoshop on this and you'll have your own mobile workstation.
@Musouka
It's unlikely that the mythical Apple tablet will be using Intel chips, so there's no photoshop to be had here.
@Musouka: Photoshop on a tablet, now there's a terrible idea. Artists who use Photoshop don't have much of a need for it on a device with only touchscreen input. Now maybe there will be options for other input, I don't know, but touchscreen only is the worst idea ever. Maybe they'll get color accuracy, but professionals need accuracy when it comes to the input, and a touchscreen cannot provide the level they need.
At 2000 dollars, I smell a bigger failure than the AppleTv
@Musouka
For 2K you could buy a REAL mobile workstation like a MBP or Dell Precision laptop or something.
@Musouka also: OLED screens are far from color-accurate. The colors on such a screen pop, but that's about it.
And generally, without taking surrounding light into account it's hard to achieve color-accurateness.
@nicholi
$500 with or without a 2yr contract for that sim card slot? They won't even sell you a regular old iPhone without a contract for $500, what makes you think they would sell a 9.7-10.6" screened iPhone for $500 off contract?
@kal326
Remember, this is all rumor, which is just a nice way of saying "stuff I made up". The device might not exist at all (as has already been said, I believe it when I see it and not before) and predictions on its price and specification seem to change on a week by week basis. Don't worry about it.
@Musouka
The Zune HD has OLED, it is a horrible battery eating tech that is useless in light brighter than a candle.
Windows Tablet was too expensive at $1500 5 years ago, and still too expensive when they give them away at PDC
Using a stylus with a windows device is cumbersome and so passe.
Nobody will ever want to use a tablet like device, who wants to write when they can type, have it lay flat when they can have the screen oriented towards them, and so on, and so on, and so on...
WHAT? An Apple product with that beautiful OLED display, costs only $2000, a really cool stylus for artists to draw freehand while the device lays flat on the desktop?
That is the greatest invention ***EVER***
@kal326
"2k for a tablet, I smell another Apple TV."
I smell another troll who is trying to turn a rumor into an official Apple statement.
@[Highest Ranked]
I down ranked you. He's not trolling. Seems you aren't highest ranked after all.
It better be resistive or at least Wacom digitizer enabled. I can already imagine engadget complaining about it not being capacitive but for crying out loud we should be able to take notes with our tablets!
@Shaka
You can have cpacative with Wacom graphire as well. Resistive is terrible for use with hands and has a habit of developing dead areas rather quickly.
@Shaka You can get a Capacitive stylus.
@Shaka HP Already has a capacitive touchscreen tablet PC that also uses a stylus. When you use the stylus, the screen automatically adjusts so that random touches with your palm or hand won't mess you up. Yet if you distance the stylus from the screen it will, once again, become active to your hands.
The biggest problem with the unit is that it has some serious fan noise. It does have ok horsepower (for a tablet) but the whole horsepower vs. handheld is still a tough battle.
@Brian!
I have already checked out the HP tablets. They are of low build quality and have poor heat dissipation among other things. You get what you pay for. I'm still waiting for the perfect tablet. Let's see if that courier will ever materialize into something tangible. I think pen and paper are soooo yesterday. We should all be walking around with thin sexy 8"-13" tablets that close like a datebook and we can use fingers to navigate with, stylus to write, bluetooth keyboards to type with and print over wifi. Preferably with built in GPS, wireless hdmi and 4G.
I don't think it's Apple's style to sell a device for $2,000 with a "budget-conscious" version at less than half the price. I can maybe see it the other way around, with the device retailing at $899 or so, with a fully loaded version costing a lot more, but don't we all think this is going to end up looking a whole lot more iPhone (effectively one piece of hardware; no customization) than it is a Mac (which can come in a variety of configurations)?
Something seems wrong here.
I'm going to start calling this new Apple product "Mac Gas"
who. cares.
Someone please tell me to whom this targets. It's hard to find a missed market segment between smartphones, netbooks, notebooks, etc.
And this will NOT be reasonably priced, of course. So people (corporately) are REALLY going to have to have a need for this to be a success.
@twoboxen I agree. At 2k, this thing must have some serious Unicorn horsepower - that's as much as a 15" MBP. Ah well, we'll know when we hear the next 'one more thing.'
@twoboxen At $899 for the base model, IT managers will gobble this up as a great way to deal with their networks. The apps will probably be some of the first written. I'm excited about everything but the price, but it'll be a company expense.