Is this the Apple tablet? (update: new images)
By Nilay Patel 
posted January 27th 2010 10:29AM
posted January 27th 2010 10:29AM
On a totally separate note, we also received a tip claiming to have some specs -- we can't verify any of this either, but we're told that the device will have a 10-inch screen and look like a larger iPhone with a MacBook-like aluminum back, and that pricing will run $800 on contract with Verizon and $1000 without when it arrives in March. We're also told that the official name remains a secret and that Apple employees are still calling it by the codename of "K48" -- a name we last heard in May from the same source that pegged the iPhone 3GS exactly. This source also tells us that the iPhone will be coming to Verizon as well and that we'll see iLife '10 tomorrow, but there won't be any MacBook updates. A relatively safe set of predictions -- which is why we sort of believe them.
Just 13 hours to go -- we'll find out if any of this is the real deal soon enough.
Update: Based on some rough measurements, that screen does appear to be between 9- and 10-inches diagonal. Additionally, it looks as though there could be a front-facing camera on the opposite side of the home button (up top in these photos) due to that cutout section, though the images are really too grainy to know for certain.
Update 2: Our source has shared another photograph, this time showing an iPhone resting on the tablet for comparison. Check it out after the break (bigger image for inspection available in the gallery).
Update 3: Gizmodo managed to snag some images of what appears to be the back of the tablet from Chinese forum WeiPhone before they were mysteriously yanked. WeiPhone is the same forum that leaked the K48 name way back when, so who knows -- the image shows what could be RF testing, but one of them feels kind of render-y to us. Check 'em all in the gallery!
if it's just a tablet, then it's a FAIL. I don't see how they're going to blow our mind with yet another device for browsing, reading, viewing pics n vidsz... this has just already been visited by the other companies.
Flash will be the killer app.
ie it might kill it dead without it implemented. If it is, will it be on iphone OS 4.0?
$400 on contract and i'm there.
$800??? i don't think so
@raphymartinez
Remember the first iPod?
399$ for 5 GB
Everybody freaked out and most people didn't thought they buy one...
@ phearme
"this has just already been visited by the other companies."
... so have been MP3-Players and Phones ...
@ MVMNT
"Flash will be the killer app.
ie it might kill it dead without it implemented."
Won't happen. Read Daring Fireball for reasons....
@Kabe
there was no contract with the iPod
Let's just face it: if it's above $600, there's no way that anyone's going to buy it...why buy it when you can buy a decent MacBook for less than half a grand more?
It's dead in my eyes unless they can get their act together and, as always, have the end product be a complete departure from all these rumors.
Some people seem confused that this is a new iphone, it is NOT. This is a whole new product tackling the netbook/e-reader market. It's an extension of an app-style platform currently on the iphone to offer a portable multi-purpose OS. The potential seems vast, you could carry the thing around with you & be readily equipped for work (meetings, diaries, documents/e-book), social (facebook, msn, skype, email accounts), lifestyle (photos, itunes, internet/3G etc).
What are these slots in the frame?
There's one at the lower right (probably a dock connector), and then one on the left... which seems much bigger - or a handle.
Is this whole frame maybe a kind of a rugged case? Looks a bit bulky, yet these screws don't look like they're used to bolt it down to the table.
If it is really an accessory, it maybe would explain the last second leak of the pictures... let's see if this is in the final exhibition then.
Kabe
@Kabe
It's the protective security casing Apple chose. All these shots are lab shots where the product was/is developed. Apple is insanely obsessive about leaks so... it keeps it safe but it also hides the actual form factor we'll see later today.
In the 4th photo, we're probably looking at the new iPhone as well given that it's unregistered (see the iTunes/USB icon?) and that it's got ID stickers on the actual display itself.
iPhone 4GS, anyone? Two massive product introductions in 6 hours and 45 minutes, anyone?
@bbzGhost I think the most disappointing thing about your conclusion is that not most of us can really tell if it is the next gen iphone ... classic apple
@bbzGhost although it does look like there might be a camera next to the earpiece, then again i've never had an iphone so I'm not sure if its a light sensor or something else.
Everyone just needs to calm down a bit.
No-one really knows what the hell its going to do. Just wait and hope to be surprised. If its underwhelming then carry on with your lives.
For all we know this could be one of the most important gadgets ever, and this is the reason that Engadget cover it day in day out. Also the very fact that people comment on here just to slate it (no pun intended) is the reason why there is so much news on the damn thing!
Don't you see you're fueling the fire!
Well I'm glad that it doesn't appear to have the full fat OSX on it. That's the problem with current tablets and I'm glad to see Apple have realised this.
At the same time though, I don't think it's simply a 'big iPhone'. I'm sure the OS will have multitasking implemented and surely will have additional features.
By the look of image 4 (and with the protective thing around it removed) it looks to be a good size - not too big, not too small.
As far as price goes, I don't think it would be a good idea to drop this under the macbook price, that would upset those sales big time. For that reason I can see why it's rumoured to be $1000. Expensive yes, but it makes sense if you look at the rest of the Apple range.
What's up with the 5:4 aspect ratio of the screen. One would imagine Apple would do 16:9 or 16:10 (widescreen).
This 5:4 is ridiculously narrow.
*Yawn*
I prefer to read real books. And for everything else this thing can do, I'll use my iphone. Next please.
Will we be able to follow this on our mobile? I have an iPhone. Maybe on Twitter. Anywhere! As I won't have access to a PC at the time of the announcement...
It's one of the maybe many prototypes, that's what we can assume.
Apart from that, maybe it's a discarded earlier version? Maybe there will be two sizes? One bigger version for academic/school use and one smaller e-reader style. Who knows.
Like so many others for a device that big costing $1000+ I just can't see a significant market.
Anybody seen this? http://twitter.com/Jason
• HDTV tuner and pvr
• apple tablet is running an iphone os flavor with ability to have multiple apps running at same time (ie pandora, browser)
• battery life is great in ebook reading mode but not great when on wifi or playing games. 2-3hrs
• there are 2cameras: one in front and one in back
• has thumbpads on each side for mouse guestures, reads fingerprint for security. Up to 5 profiles by finerprint for family.
• is oled + back has solar pad for recharging
• apple tablet connects to other tablets over wifi for gaming
Thoughts?
i dont get all the dissapointed "its just a big iphone" comments...
pretty stupid if you ask me...
how else do you expect it to look?
how else are apple going to make a product of this kind (basically a screen with a back and a slim form factor)
did you think it was going to have arms and legs and make toast?
how else could it look?
its all going to be about what it does, and thats yet to be presented...
why would they just make a big phone, if you try using your brains just a wee bit, its a lot easier to work out...
the iphone, is a great device, almost a pocket computer, i, and many others i know, use it far more than their desktops, yet, because of size and capability etc etc etc, the iphone wont replace the desktop/laptop experience, say for example using garageband or any other editing software, what this is going to do is step in there a an alternative...
surely it cant just be me that is excited about being able to edit using their fingers as opposed to a mouse etc...?
apple wont claim to have invented the tablet, just like they didnt claim to have invented the phone etc etc etc etc etc
they just perfect and streamline, and if this device is as responsive as the interface on the iphone, yet brings a bigger experience then how could it not be a winner...
the way i see it, you either get it or you dont, the ones that dont, come accross here like teenagers...
surely, we all read engadget as we have a lust for technology and advancement... something apple achieve everytime, and repeatedly will be a massive influence on every other company...
apple didnt copy lg with the iphone, that's mental, i bought an lg prada to do me until the 3g came out, and even then the prada looked pathetic next to the 1st gen iphone.... look at the market of phones at present... they all look like the iphone! to deny that is weird...
there are tons of tablets coming out now... but you know what? none of them run osx... and thats the bottom line...
a touchscreen tablet on osx, with sublime animation and gui, housed in a form factor such like the iphone (again how else can you dress a thin screen?) is going to be stunning....
@omegamale
Well, like I've said before in other posts, I simply don't see the point of a Gigantic version of something that already exists.
First and foremost, if it's running the same OS, that means it's going to have the same programs (or "apps") able to run on it. One of the main drawpoints of the App Store (and the reason they can - very loudly - claim "100 000 Apps!") is that both devices that run on it (iPhone/Touch) share pretty much the same hardware specifications. The only way for this tablet to do the same thing from day 1 is to either upscale apps (which will make them look hideous), or have the same resolution as the iPhone/Touch. The NDSi XL had to do that, and frankly, it looks horrible - like running 640x480 on a computer monitor.
That means that either you're going to have to wait until developers port their apps to a larger resolution, or end up with a gimped tablet.
If it WERE to run OSX (and I'm talking about actual OSX, not this "Oh, it's OSX LITE!" bullshit that they tried to pull with the iPhone OS), I would be a lot more interested. The (apparent) hardware seems nice, and if they skinned OSX to resemble iPhone OS, that would be great. PROVIDED that anybody could access the vanilla desktop at any point in the process.
You see, when I'm out, I use my iPhone to do quick, nasty stuff like play a game, read a few pages of an e-Book, browse the web, etc. It fits into my pocket and doesn't require the use of both hands, and I can put it away in about a second. If I want to get some real work done, I pull out my Laptop and boot a full OS (in my case, WIndows).
But if this tablet runs iPhone OS, it means I'll be doing the same quick and nasty stuff I do with my iPhone, only without the convenience of pocketability, or one-handedness. Which means I will probably just use my iPhone for when I need to do the quick and nasty stuff, and save myself the trouble of taking off my bag, pulling out my tablet, putting my bag back on, using the tablet, pulling off my bag again, putting the tablet away, and so forth.
That also means that I can't get any real work done on the tablet, because I don't have the tools I need (word processor, what have you). Which means I'm going to have to pull out my Laptop anyway, suddenly, I'm carrying three products instead of two.
I can see HOW the tablet could be used as a large, stationary iPhone for around the home (essentially making the iPhone desk-friendly, especially with the great cooking and handyman apps that are available), but then why make it so thin-and-light? This, I think, was primarily designed to be carried everywhere your day takes you.
Do you sort of understand where I'm coming from with this? This tablet is pretty much sitting in no-mans land: usless to iPhone users, because it's too big to carry around easily, and does the exact same things. And it's useless for laptop users, because it doesn't do ENOUGH things.
@CJ
bit of a long reply to pretty much a no-brainer result...
NOBODY knows what it does!
why would it be a giant version of the iphone os? for all the reasons you list as to why that would be a shite idea... why do i get the feeling that apple will have thought of that? or is that just crazy?
look at the macbook air!
it's nearly two years on, look at the macbook air and think about how they make those macbook tablet mods...
its pretty conceivable that they could be producing a fully functioning os inside that thing... we dont know how thick it is, so i dont understand you attack on my comments about my attitude about what it might be...
basically i am hoping for the best as i enjoy seeing things that push computing forward...
and frankly,i think a smaller version of osx that worked well enough and performed enough tasks would be great on the go, or equally to toss on the couch as i watch a movie with it nearby...
different forms work for different industries etc... and this will also be the first gen model of its type from apple... i do anticipate that i might want to wait a year as its always easy to figure out what its next gen model will do...
if it cant run what you need as an alternative to your laptop, then i doubt it will be demonstrated as such, it will be demonstrated for what it does do and what it could do...
the whole media industry is in deep transition at the moment, and its a pretty safe assumption that this device will be a main protagonist in forms of media, high chance it might not edit your movies or whatever it is you work in, but it will potentially revolutionise, or solidify the medium of media for a good few years...
i'm really just keen to see it moving, apple dont owe me anything!! nor you!
so whats with the attitude about it?
why are you damning something that you know nothing about?
i find my life is a happier place when i dont put such weight on expectations and set myself up for some kind of dissapointment, i watch people do that with every aspect of life and its a bit of a bleak way to be...
i think my point is.... lets just wait and see eh?
nobody is forcing you to buy anything!!
there are probably a million things i could list that apple could potentially dissapoint me with and hold them responsible... but that would be mental...
all i am 'hoping' for is to see a well designed, col device that will do new things and hopefully inspire people, thats what its all about...
devices that inspire other devices, devices that inspire good work and art out of people, and devices we get a lot of pleasure from using...
sounds lie a tall order but i am sure they will manage that much....
take a bit of joy in it...
What attack?
I was simply adressing why/why not I believe this would benefit me.
And if I'm "condemning" the Apple tablet before knowing the facts, what are you doing?
"Take a bit of joy in it"
I take joy in my life, sunsets, driving my car, not some piece of electronic gew-gaw that I can't afford, and have no use for.
But then again, I guess because I didn't say "omg I think dis is gonna be best thing ever apple rullez!!!!!1", I'm some kind of soulless hater.
Enjoy your joy in the Apple tablet, I'll be out living my life.
@CJ
gaylord
etc
People don't you all remember that usually Apple has multiple prototypes made in order to trick employees into leaking it and to find out who leaks and fire them?
It's probably just one of the prototypes created, so don't be so disappointed at it, Apple will not let us down, in fact it never let us down isn't it?
Well, I don't think anyone would introduce a tablet that can't multitak, and looking at the pictures it seems to be running a version of iPhone's Mac OS Mobile. So does this mean Mac OS mobile 4.0 can multitask? Possibly.
@haubey wow ! multi-tasking. what a leap in computer engineering...
margin is two thick!,
Small note about the map on screen: the satellite image appears to be from Google Maps: http://maps.google.com.au/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Charlotte+Amalie,+St.+Thomas,+U.S.+Virgin+Islands&sll=-25.335448,135.745076&sspn=54.614104,114.169922
Rumours were that Apple was about to have Microsoft's Bing replace Google on the iPhone (and presumably also the tablet), but this seems to suggest otherwise.
So aside from the tablet, how bout that iPhone in the newest picture? It looks like it needs to be activated- any chance that it's a new iPhone in a case like the tablet is in a case? Also, there looks there could be a camera (front facing) on the iPhone, as there is a reflection next to the ear speaker- could be wrong though.
You all do realise that it wont be on sale for a long time yet! if it was gonna be today, the apple stores would be offline by now.
Fail. I'm not paying $1000 for something running a mobile OS. I had my credit card all ready if it ran a version of OS X that was like the desktop version, but I'm starting to put it away now and will probably end up getting *gasp* a x86 PC-compatible tablet instead.
@MrPointedHelix
Please don't lose faith yet!
Think of the children!?
Tables are useless unless they use colour eink (coming out later this year), I dont see the point of a tablet without eink, you already have a phone & laptop so why would you want another device, now if it had color eink the power would last for over 5 days & be easy on your eyes.
Roll on 3/4 quarter when colour eink/epaper is released
This is DeJa Vu from the Original iPhone launch where all the focus was on the case instead of the software, whos to say what Apple have cooked up for the OS. I will certainly be interested if they combine Wacom functionality, Colour Magazine/eBook functionality and PMP.
Is it just me, or do you guys see a cam on the front of that iPhone...?
So you just received a tip saying :
"it's a big iPhone with a 10 inches screen and it will cost $1000." ??
Hey wait I know who gave you that tip.
ME ( and about 50% of your readers ) 2 months ago when this MADNESS started !
You can't talk about it as much as you want, the iSlate is already DEAD.
Hp is gonna sell the same hardware with windows7 for half that price...
if this is really a tablet device, they might brand it as iPad :P
@crazydiamond
No no!
The iPad is coming out next year. It's going to be multitouch AND hemoglobin-sensitive.
The oval opening in the holster on the bottom is for the home button. Cannot judge because of the quality, but it seems that the top oval opening is for the frontal camera to stay open. Frontal web cam is indeed something catchy.
WHERE THE FUCK ARE MY MACBOOK PRO UPGRADES!!!!!!!
I need to get a 15 inch now. Christ, C2D's are like 2 years old. Unacceptable in a $1600 + laptop
Nilay,
Doesn't your jaw get tired from sucking on Steve Jobs cock all the time?
Or do the Engadget writers take turns?
I am sure there will be at least 5 posts today BEFORE the fucking event by you all giving it even MORE hype.
And we all know that the next Engadget Show could just be re-named "Engadget Blows Steve Jobs".
and wait a second. In a day dominated by tablet news, they *might* just release a CDMA version of their best selling product by far? Like the thing that will impact their bottom line much more so than the tablet? And they will just allow the headlines to be squarely focused on the tablet? I'm calling bs on this.
I pray that the Iphone OS is just the "quick-boot OS" and that is has the full OS. If not, I don't think I need this.
@Swagger
Can we get this Swagger guy banned yet?
A few things. I think a more interesting game to play than 'why is it so big?' (clearly it's in some sort of case to a] disguise it's looks from testers and/or b] to make i harder to steal) is to wonder why the bits that are covered in the 4th image are covered.
Oh and yeah, it looks to me like that iPhone has a camera. Possibly more importantly though, it also looks like it's plugged into the tablet. And what is presumably the ports section of the tablet is obscured. Why would they obscure that? Interesting if nothing else...
I really hope that it doesn't get on Verizon, and wouldn't we have already heard something if Apple contacted Verizon? I just highly doubt that they would completely cut ties with AT&T.
oh sh!t goodmorning america just showed the tablet in a quick clip, well what looks like the actual thing being used by someone. all screen and aluminum looking bottom. they showed a clip of one being used for like 2 secs and then a pic that looks like the ones on apples wesite for the iphone or ipod or any device, you know, the ones with the device and then arrows pointing at different parts of it with with explanation of what that part is. looks good.... but deff worst kept secret ever :)
Anyone want to give me their iPhone, now that this bigger/better ...thing is out?
Super duper looking forward to this. The event is a 3 AM here in Tokyo time and I don't think I'll sleep a wink until then.
My two cents...
This isn't going to be a tablet like the recently announced HP tablet or any other.
The secret sauce is not even going to be the fact that it's a tablet. Anyone can make a tablet.
It will be content and software. HP and Microsoft are trying to take a desktop OS designed for a keyboard and mouse, and bring it over directly as-is to the tablet. Android is trying to take an OS designed for mobile phones and bring it over as-is to a tablet. Both are lazy solutions and lack creativity.
Apple however, as usual, will introduce a revolutionary way of interacting with existing content that sucks people in, especially non-computer and non-geek people (i.e. NON-ENGADGET TYPES). With software that is well-designed perfectly for a tablet interface. I think we will be surprised in two ways.
The first, is the way you interact with the device. My guess is it will either be, as others here have suggested, through hand-waving gestures in the air (like the Wii, but no hardware required). Or it will be through some sort of innovative and super simple controls on the back of the device while holding it.
The second is, the way you interact with content. I think we will see magazine and textbook demos that will be like any other software interface ever seen for such content. Interactive, simple, super sleek and slick. It will actually make reading a newspaper fun!
All the haters will be left eating crow, just the same as they predicted the failure of the iPhone ("But...it's only EDGE!" "It's only on AT&T!" "It's a closed platform!" "It's too expensive!").
And the competitors will keep on making tablets, all the while missing the secret sauce(s) - content, and a fun non-computery usage experience.