It's on: Apple holding January 27th event to show off its 'latest creation'
By Joshua Topolsky 
posted January 18th 2010 12:06PM
posted January 18th 2010 12:06PM
Update: We're not ones for wild speculation, but the inclusion of splatter paint and the use of the word "creation" could suggest that if we do see the long-rumored Tablet at this event, the focus could be slanted towards art, music, and movie-making. Maybe we'll finally figure out what the point of an Apple tablet is! On the other hand, that might just be a bit of wild speculation. Feel free to generate your own kooky concepts in comments -- we promise not to judge you.
If you'd like to read (or re-read) a slew of Apple Tablet rumor coverage, click here.
@sandwich2
Because they're not releasing an HP Slate, genius.
@sandwich2 I think it's fair to say that Apple's product has a good chance at being genuinely heads and shoulders above other tablet products released so far. The only dud in Apple's recent releases IMO is the Apple TV. They have hit so many home runs over the past 10 years in terms of defining emerging product categories. If the product is popular, it will be because it has a beautiful interface and design, integrates seamlessly with software, and is fun to use. If it is useless, too expensive or doesn't have a market, people will not widely accept it (e.g. Apple TV, G4 Cube, Cinema Display).
hey guys, this is an excellent read on the history of tablets:
http://www.roughlydrafted.com/2010/01/15/the-inside-track-on-apples-tablet-a-history-of-tablet-computing/
Obviously Apple will release their tablet PC. The Splatter of paint represents the new iCanvas app they will release along with the new iTablet. It will be a new creative suite to use your tablet along side your Mac for media creation.
The day the iPaintballGun revolutionizes cyber-warfare... or will it be the iLSD screen that explodes your vision? Speculations, speculations...
@sandwich2 I find it interesting when people say "I have no use for a tablet" -- what you mean to say is, "I have no use for what tablets I've seen in the past" -- however, once magazines and newspapers don't show up on your porch or in the mail, and once the content isn't available on the web, cuz Apple's got it locked up in the iMagazine and iNewspaper store for a $x.xx/month subscription fee, suddenly you will have a use for the tablet. Making your non useful tablet a necessity is the whole point. So yeah, I get that you don't get it. But the day buy your tablet, you'll look back to this post, and go, "ahhh, he was right, I did need this." -- I doubt you'd rather read your magazines in your easy chair with the screen turned sideways and a keyboard jammed into your gut or laptop heat blowing into your crotch, or trying to squint down and read it on your little phone's screen. Even huntched over your computer desk, the screen is still turned sideways and won't do anything when you press your finger on the page. The great thing about all you people who "have no use for a tablet" will be to see your eyes all aglow once you see the light.
I reeeeaaaaalllly hope this will be more like a Wacom Cintiq tablet with a built in computer than anything else. Did anybody else notice that all of those splatters are brushes they downloaded from deviantart? It seems like they would have spent a tad more time in effort for a press release.
If this is awesome, and cheap, I will get one. Of course, I could say that for anything.
I see the outline of the tablet, and the splatter is Apple being artistic, creative and mobile. Also, notice how the splatter is not confined within the "box" therefore you could assume that the tablet will indeed have the motion sensing UI.
[Holding money in hand, jumping up and down screaming] [Pretending to use an invisible TABLET in mid-air] [Pitching a tent in front of the Apple Store, whether I'm there a month or a couple weeks] [Putting on my shirt that says: "I'm ready to buy an Apple Tablet!"]
I'm so darn excited!!!
@tristansq and you just cannot hide it?
Apple Tablet Timeline
January 27th: Announced to much excitement
Febuary: Released for $(10002000)
Next Year: Lowered to 33% of original price and made 10x better
@Garrett
Wait... are you trying to tell me that companies whose products have been on the market for a year tend to reduce their prices? Seriously?
I refuse to believe it. Nobody has ever dropped the price on any product, ever.
Wasn't an iPhone fan (love my iTouch) but no doubt this iTab will be one sexy piece of ass. If it's as functional as it is orgasmic, I may just have to buckle down and pick one up
'latest creation'...what is this, do ye not know anything that bear ye almighty fruity logo be no less than invention...careful, your blasphemy will anger ye faithful!!
I was waiting to buy an i5 macbook pro! Core 2 Duo just aint doin it for me.
Que the sex jokes!!!
@jccorporation
American?
Nice try. You guessed in the middle of two real English words and came up with French/Spanish.
Queue is a lineup.
Cue is for stage cues, etc. Hence the joke, "Cue the..."
I'll laugh if they unveil a piece of software aimed at taking down Adobe's Photoshop. After all, most of the media editing programs are starting to fall under their Corporate banner. They got music and video, why not art?
Tablets have been around for some time, but technology has finally caught up in the past few months to be able to make some decent products. Many other companyes have tried but it is only lately that the original concept that has existed for years can finally be materialize. If that's what Apple is doing, it's a matter of excellent timing business-wise and not necessarily revolution in thinking.
Also, I saw a few articles that also speculate that Apple is meeting with publishers to create something that may compete with Amazon's Kindle. Then again, you can read Kindle books on Apple iPhone anyway, so I don't know if that's a big deal to Amazon.
Speaking of Amazon, I recently came across an interesting table that details the discounts on Amazon.
It is at http://www.uberi.com
Maybe someone will find it useful too. While you are there, I would suggest checking out the "Amazon Filler Item" among other things there when you get a chance. It's quite amusing.
Can't wait to see what happens!
I'm more interested about them announcing i5/i7 Macbook Pros
@Luffy
pretty damn boring. besides, Intel already let the cat out of the bag, didn't you hear?
This could be it....
Just over a week until Apple redefines yet ANOTHER decade!
Anyone notice that the Apple logo is sitting in the color orange which is AT&T's color??
Why do I get the sinking feeling that this tablet is going to be tied to an AT&T data plan???
ugh
January 27 - Apple and James Cameron announce their new creation, the iVatar. Starting in late March, you will be able to link into your own personal enhanced iVatar so that you can do... stuff.
And one more thing... it also includes an IMAX 3D interface to the iTunes store while in your iVatar body.
A new version of Aperture would be nice...
Apple is becoming like Nike.
They make good products at the beginning. But as I buy more of their products they make me feel dumb.
Apple products don't make me a better person. They just make me a better geek.
@Pork
It's a 30 year old company. When was the beginning? 2007? When the iPhone came out?
And the first Nikes were made with a waffle iron.
Thanks Pork.
Overreacted?
It's gonna be like Christmas. Except I won't actually be getting the present...
I'm still kinda giddy.
Since when are Apple keynotes on wednesdays?
@Mack Stone : We romanians speak the second most spoken language in Microsoft. I, myself have apple products, but, please, don't dismiss our software skills :)
Its all about Design! Apple is now going to Sell Wallpapers on iTunes!! Or maybe its serious.. maybe.. their finally gonna let colors go all out for the "i" Lines :)
If Apple brings out a tablet I hope they use a touchscreen that allows input from both fingers and pens. Anyone remember Atmel? http://www.atmel.com/products/touchscreens/default.asp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2lXa0NEYJ4
Looks pretty sweet.
I work for a company involved in content provision for this so called tablet, firstly this will disappoint if you are expecting a macbook tablet, it is not a
mac.
It is new , lets call it imag and leave it at that.
@doomlordis Hmmmmm yes, and I'm Steve Jobs...
So I'm thinking that this is going to be pretty amazing... I'm hoping that it's a cross between an iPod touch and a MacBook Pro, faster than Atom custom processor, decent graphics, and 64GB storage... Everything else is stored in your "Library", you can borrow the books, magazines, newspapers, TV shows, Movies, Games etc that you've bought over the air, then return them to the library to free up space for new content... Then access the same stuff later if you want to borrow it again... Hopefully it'll have 3G, maybe that hybrid HSDPA/CDMA chip that everyone went wild over for the next iPhone, making it a true global device, and making it possible for it to go onto Verizon... I'm not sure Apple will want something with so much dependence on the "cloud" to be unreliable or slow... And you won't need to have to option to be on the phone and check and email at the same time on a tablet...
I hope it's will be a Snapdragon/cortex ARM/Tegra 2 platform with some kind of PixelQI/Liquidvista screen.
Even if ends up being an overpriced and closed platform , we need somebody to push the market forward like Apple did for the smartphone market.
@Leind I'd like to think that apple would rise above Snapdragon territory for such a device... Tegra would be nice, especially if they could partner it with a custom chip from ARM at around 1.6GHz... As for the screen, more likely it'll be an lcd knowing apple...
I agree that this is a section of the market that needs to be kicked along a bit... Smart phones were for the business guys before the iPhone came along, look what's happened now... Perhaps it's going to be the same story for the currently non existent tablet segment...
For a bunch of tech enthusiasts, it's pretty shocking to see how many posts are basically "I can't see the need for this".
Apple may have a POTENTIALLY very easy to use consumption (and possible creation) device. I don't know about you, but I can very easily imagine the industry moving towards simplified, intuitive devices specifically designed to access the internet and media. That's where the money's at. That's what people use on a daily basis.
How many people out there have laptops and desktops with full blown, bloated, unnecessarily complicated OS's, only to use a web browser for 90% of the time they use their computer? In my experience, quite a few. Heck, I have a multi-monitor, liquid cooled, overclocked Windows 7 and Ubuntu desktop and still the web browser is by far my most commonly used program outside of those used for work.
Now, when using that web browser on that laptop or desktop, can you honestly state that is absolutely the best, most comfortable, and easiest way to access the web that will ever be designed? Can you say that sitting at a desk clicking a mouse, rolling a scroll wheel with your finger is the be-all, end-all of interfaces? I certainly hope it isn't.
Whether the Apple tablet will be successful, or a game changer, is irrelevant. The real shock to me is the reluctance of the tech-savvy crowd to explore new form factors and interfaces.
@ebgolfin Totally agree... If Apple can take a netbook and turn that into an enjoyable experience that brings together internet, email and some other exciting things with an amazing interface then I'm totally sold to the idea...
@jambles sold is the key word.
Apple doesn't know the meaning of "value price" and that is really why netbooks have succeeded where they have.
If Apple releases a Netbook it can not undercut their lowest priced Apple computer and still offer that staple Apple "prettiness" and "amazing interface" we have come to expect. It doesn't make any business sense to me though I may be completely ignorant about some game changing factor or component.
Don't get me wrong, I would love it. But I don't think it is likely which is possibly what is happening with the other naysayers here on Engadget.
$399 for an Apple Internet tablet with Wi-Fi and gasp...SIM card support? Count me in.
Are we taking bets? Count me out.
@Steve B
Yes because only Apple fanboys buy everything Apple, that's why the Macbook Air and AppleTV sold so well, because all the fanboys ran out and bought it.
Theory 1:
I think the use of the same colors Apple likes to use for iPod options is not coincidental.
Though it is not time for new iPods...perhaps the new colors are for the iPhone. Finally entering the age of technicolor.
Theory 2:
The tablet. Unlike everyone else I DON'T think there will be a tablet. Ok, perhaps I'm just playing devil's advocate here but you can't blame me for not trying to play the odds. Everyone seems to expect it. Honestly though a tablet doesn't seem like a smart idea to me. Apple equipment gets dirty quickly and a tablet is equivalent to walking around with an open laptop that you never close. It doesn't seem handy or suited for a mass audience. How many people really can take advantage of that? Unless it is a 2 screen closing touch device? ;)
Theory 3:
Macbook Pro and Mac Pro updates. The pseudo industrial oriented theme of the announcement makes it seem more work related.
Theory 4:
Minor iPhone update if any. Maybe just a 3Gs size increase with a 3.5 OS. 4.0 would be too early I think. The major problems consumers want them need to resolve are restriction based and not really user interface issues.
Theory 5:
iLife 2010 with Paint? The Apple Palette? iPalette?
These are all uninformed guesses made just for fun. Please don't be rude about them. :)
I can just imagine Eric Cartman out the front of the Apple Store a month before release of any iTablet
"Cmon.....cmooooooonnnnnnnn!!! I know, I will go into the future so I can get my iTablet before everyone else!"
Okay everyone forget that its Apple or whatever your favorite company may be and answer these simple questions. Who actually wants a tablet?? And why would you want a tablet over a netbook or laptop??
Personally idc if Apple makes a tablet with a 7in oled screen, 200 gb, an i5, and it looks amazing for less than 1000 becuause i cant think of more than 3 reasons to buy this over a nice netbook or small laptop.
Honeslty....a tablet...wth
This graphic is obviously a visual metaphor for the new product's functional profile, which translated into a name - which I now predict to be "iPalette".
As far as the "stealing" of other people's ideas argument goes, that's what innovation is all about. The obliquitous icon, mouse and cursor that Apple popularized was really a Xerox creation. Microsoft didn't pick up on the visual end of computing until Apple asked them to make the first "office"-like applications.
SLATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS!!!
Check out Apple's iPad web site it was up BEFORE the meeting: www.apple.com/ipad