AppleTablet
Latest
Next week's Apple event to be iLife / iPhone OS 4.0 / tablet trifecta?
We're realistically no closer to knowing the outcome of next week's Apple event than we were a week, a year, or a decade ago, but rumors are obviously congealing around the mythical tablet that users, fans, and media have all but willed into existence recently -- and our buddy Clayton Morris says that's indeed a part of the story. Morris reports having spoken with a source at Apple this morning -- prior to the company's invites going out, interestingly -- who said that the event would focus on a new version of iLife, iPhone OS 4.0, and naturally, the tablet. Loosely speaking, you can see how these would all tie together pretty nicely: the seemingly "creative" theme of Apple's invite rolls into a new version of iLife, and the announcement of a tablet could have implications for how a suite of artsy tools gets used. Rumblings that the tablet is underpinned by a new version of iPhone OS have gone back months, so that would give Apple impetus to tease it at the same time the tablet's shown off -- sans new iPhone hardware, possibly, which the company has done before. It's also possible that Apple will open source its entire catalog of software and shut down, buy an island nation, or do nothing at all -- but in fairness, there's an awful lot of logic to what Clayton's saying here. We'll know soon enough.
Zaprudering the invite: Obsessive fun with TUAW
As you can see in the image at the top of this post, several features stood out to our TUAW team. Mike Rose was first to notice that the art used spray paint rather than finger paint, as you might expect for a tablet event invite. "Could this be a hint of MacPaint Pro?" asked Steve Sande. "That would harken back to the original Mac (MacPaint) and be very cool." Dave Caolo noticed that the Apple logo front-and-center, along with the thin (tablet-shaped?) border pointed to a Macbook-like presentation. It would be awesome if the tablet really could mimic and/or replace many laptop features, although all early Humint rumors point to an iPhoneOS-only system. So what does the art-styled presentation hint at? To most of the team, this seemed a vote for augmented reality interaction a la Excelitech's Virtual Graffiti app [iTunes link]. Maybe we'll be able to interact in new ways with maps and images through a touch-based interface. Will the target audience differ from the anticipated Kindle crowd? Maybe this touch-based creation will be aimed more at tangible creative media than at simple video and book display? Maybe the rumors about gestures gone wild with a high-powered CPU we've been reading about give a better sense of who Apple is aiming their "latest creation" at. What do you think? Let us know in the comments. Update: Commenters point out that the colors used almost perfectly match the current nano line. Update: TUAW's Megan Lavey adds "I think Apple is announcing the release of its interactive paintball set. It uses the built-in iSight camera. You mad at someone? Click a button on iChat and the paint color of your choice blasts that person in the eye." *hee*
It's on: Apple holding January 27th event to show off its 'latest creation'
Yes folks -- the rumors are true. Apple is holding an event on January 27th to show off something the company is calling their "latest creation." Hair standing on end? Good. The proceedings will take place at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater in San Francisco, and will get underway at 10AM Pacific. We'll be there live -- as usual -- covering every little second of the action... so get ready! 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.
New York Times to begin charging for access... something something, Apple Tablet
Is it a stretch of logic, or purely logical? You be the one to judge. New York Magazine is reporting from what seems to be pretty solid word that the New York Times will start charging online readers for its content. That's all well and interesting for a media hound, but there's additional word that the announcement of this in "a matter of weeks" might coincide with the rumored January 27th Apple launch. You know, the tablet thing. We already know (or are pretty sure) that Apple has shopped around a theoretical device to content providers, including almost assuredly the New York Times, so it makes "sense." Still, we aren't putting solid money down on a single thing until Steve Jobs pulls this device out of a largish pocket of his and shows it to our face.
Apple rumor roundup: iPhone patent 4.0 edition
On today's edition of the never-ending Apple rumor roundup, we take a quick detour into the murky realm of the United States patent database, topped off with a charming unsourced tip and some delightful analyst conjecture. Let's blaze. The rumor: A recent Apple patent application for a capacitive touchscreen-specific stylus may or may not mean The Tablet uses a stylus for input. Our take: We've already promised to eat our hat if Apple puts a removable battery in the iPhone, so what's next? A shoe? We will eat a shoe if Steve Jobs introduces a product that requires the use of a stylus. Besides, this product already exists: it's called the Pogo Stylus, and it's not exactly rocking minds (although we are intrigued by Inklet). Apple likes to file silly broad patent applications and see what it can get away with -- it's never been wise to read too much into them. The rumor: Another Apple patent application hints that portable DVR functionality is coming to the iPod / iPhone -- you'll be able to grab TV and radio content from cable, satellite, OTA, or using "services" with your portable device and then load that into iTunes. Not only will you be able to connect new iPods to a cable box to record shows -- channel changing and everything -- but Apple's going to release an accessory for older iPods to enable this functionality as well. Our take: This would be like a dream come true for the consumer, and a crazy heroin nightmare for Apple to actually implement -- can you imagine an iPod with a freaking CableCARD slot? Neither can we. Besides, it's not like Apple to push content sales from anything other than the iTunes Store, and it's especially not like Apple to extend functionality to older iPods when it can just release a newer one in a slightly different metallic finish. Next!
Apple rumor roundup: improbable removable battery edition
Now that CES is officially over, it's apparently time for the vague Apple rumor factory to start churning out sketchy reports about tablets, next-gen iPhones, and "vanishing" domain names. Yeah, it's getting silly out there, but judging by our tip box you all can't get enough, so let's do this thing rapid-fire style. The rumor: The Korea Times, citing unnamed sources at Korea Telecom, says the carrier is planning for a 4G iPhone featuring an OLED display, a front-facing video camera, a fast new dual-core CPU, and a removable battery. General launch is expected in June, but corporate clients will be doing a "litmus test" in April. Our take: We will eat our hats if Apple puts a removable battery in the iPhone. Plus, Apple doesn't do focus group testing, least of all with enterprise customers. This just seems like wishful thinking -- we could have made up a more convincing rumor while eating a hat. The rumor: 10.1 OLED and LCD display panels are no longer available anywhere, because Apple has "pre-ordered them all" to secure volume discounts and keep the tablet's price down. Our take: We certainly saw plenty of new 10.1-inch netbooks and slates at CES, including some multitouch LCD units, and no one was complaining. Also, we saw several larger OLED displays at CES, but they were all too expensive and impractical for shipping products, so that's gotta be one hell of a discount. The rumor: Apple has mysteriously shut down the FingerWorks website, which means something tablet-related because... well, it must mean something, right? Our take: Apple bought FingerWorks years ago -- we're surprised this hadn't happened sooner. We bet the hosting contract just ran out. Alternatively, Steve Jobs is trying to send us a message by yanking an obscure touch-related domain just weeks before a highly-anticipated product launch, because he is the master of extremely minor hints about nothing. All in all, a pretty lame set of rumors -- there's barely anything here for pundits and the mass media to conflate and distort into something bigger. At least give us a poorly-translated French telecom executive speaking off the cuff, you know? Have some dignity.
Orange exec confirms existence of Apple Tablet?
Yes, we hate to start off a fresh week with more talk of the Apple tablet, but this isn't just another rumor. Stéphane Richard, second in command at Orange, was asked on a Europe 1 radio program about the Apple Tablet. When he was asked whether such a tablet will be announced before the end of the month, he responded "Yes," and when asked whether Orange users would get it, he responded "Sure!" This is of course not a formal confirmation by any means, but he doesn't sound like he's talking in theoreticals, either. You can listen to it yourself at the read link below and let us know what you think below. Update: We now have the video below courtesy of SlashGear, who aren't quite so convinced that he's referring to the tablet itself, possibly just confirming that others are reporting the tablet will be released next week. Any native speakers care to help us wade through the intricacies of this, the language of love? Update 2: We've got a full translation after the break of the entire relevant bits, courtesy of bilingual reader Sean Mangar. Update fin: Orange has issued a statement predictably saying these comments are being taken out of context, that Richard was "merely confirming that he is aware of the speculation surrounding a launch." So, the fun is over folks -- or is it? [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Apple Tablet rumors evolve into Zen koans: 'it's a big iPhone, but it's not a big iPhone'
Can you hear it? It's the sound of wishful thinking, of hopeful optimism, of more Apple Tablet rumors. The competition is certainly not holding back in releasing theirs, so what's up with Apple? According to rumor one, from an "industry source" who has seen the OS, the software is "a big iPhone, but it's not just a big iPhone," and it's "pretty." Moving on, rumor two indicates that the device itself will have the internal hardware to work with multiple wireless providers, with Verizon apparently getting priority but there being no single-carrier tie here. Finally, the device is said to be going on sale in March, which sounds reasonable enough if that unveil on 26th comes to fruition. What does Apple have to say about it? "We are not going to comment on rumors and speculation." You can feel free, though -- that's what comments are for.
Ballmer reveals some 'slate' PCs, but does not thrill
There was quite a bit of anticipation that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer would upstage Apple with an exciting new tablet design at his CES keynote last night, but it pretty much turned out to be a dud. After more than an hour of bobbing and weaving through several topics, and quickly skipping over Windows Mobile, Ballmer showed a prototype tablet from Hewlett-Packard and two other suppliers. They were running Windows 7 and looked a lot like other touchscreen prototypes we've seen, but none of them seemed to do anything special. You can see the tablet presentation over on YouTube. What we really saw was Ballmer trying a pre-emptive strike against the probable appearance of an Apple tablet later this month. He even referred to 'slate' PCs, a bit of a swipe against the oft-reported Apple-owned iSlate name. I suppose this is better than Ballmer's 2007 interview where he dissed the iPhone when it launched. He's trying to get ahead of the curve, but his keynote got pretty ho-hum reviews and Microsoft really didn't show anything of interest. There was a buzz that Microsoft might show the Courier device it hinted at in September, but it didn't appear yesterday. We don't know if Apple will reveal a tablet, although it seems pretty likely. Do you think Apple can trump Microsoft with a tablet and dominate the market as they have with the iPhone against Windows Mobile phones? Or has Microsoft learned their lessons by trying to be a little more pre-emptive with a tablet release?
'Major' Apple announcement coming January 27th, devs already working with beta SDK (update: shipping in March)
According John Paczkowski over at All Things D, Apple is planning a "major product announcement" for Wednesday, January 27th -- not the 26th as we've heard in previous reports. Additionally, the French site Mac4Ever says developers have been given a beta of the iPhone OS 4 SDK which includes a "simulator" for reformatting / scaling applications to a new, tablet-sized screens. Here at Engadget, we can confirm that sources very familiar with the situation over in Cupertino have been given info about a tablet heading for launch at the end of January, which will -- in fact -- require reformatting and resizing for (we assume)... yep, its new screen size and resolution. As far as details, they're pretty scarce right now, but you can probably begin preliminary salivating and / or player hatin' as it relates to new Apple hardware. We'll have more info as it becomes available, but for now, stay tuned. Update: The Wall Street Journal just added its support for the rumor by saying that Apple will unveil its "new multimedia tablet device later this month" with a "10- to 11-inch touch screen" with plans to ship it in March. The WSJ's sources claim that Apple believes it can "redefine the way consumers interact with a variety of content" as we've been hearing all along. [Thanks, David]
iPhone devsugar: Working with tablet resolutions
Rumors are hitting the ground hard and strong about exactly what to expect in the upcoming (yeah, yeah, possibly mythical) Apple tablet device. And the most important of those rumors, the fact most consistently cited, is the introduction of extra pixels. You might roll your eyes and say, "of course a tablet means more pixels," but what exactly does that extra resolution mean to you as a developer? After all, we don't know what the pixel count will be or whether the (possibly mythical) tablet will offer widget-mode applications using the current iPhone resolution size or full-screen options. So let's look at some of the challenges having extra screen space might offer up developers.
Apple tablet team in a "cone of silence", 10.7 to be previewed
Electronista summarizes John Gruber's report that a "cone of silence" exists surrounding those developing the tablet and virtually no information comes from those directly involved. Many of the tablet team are reportedly the same as those that developed the Calendar, Mail, and Safari iPhone apps – and those people are used to this. They underwent a similar radio-lockdown in late 2006. Gruber also maintains that Steve Jobs has given the tablet his "undivided attention" since returning to Apple in September. Apple's secrecy is legendary and Gruber's assertions seem to be more conjecture than insider knowledge. He does admit "I don't know anyone who works at Apple who doubts these things; nor do I know anyone at Apple who knows a whit more. I don't know anyone who's seen the hardware or the software, nor even anyone who knows someone else who has seen the hardware or software." Gruber does seem more confident that his sources say Mac OS X 10.7 is on track for a developer release at WWDC in June. Unfortunately they haven't mentioned any public-release time frame or a possible name – although I'm hoping for "10.7 Lynx."
Rumor Mill: Tablet to be large-scale iPhone
Gadget Mix's Tommy Lawson writes that Kaifu Lee's Chinese-language post (Google Translate version) suggests that the tablet will provide eBook functionality, a virtual keyboard, and a built-in webcam, with 10 million units to be produced in the first year of distribution. He adds that Lee's ongoing relationship with Taiwan's Foxconn Technology Group lends weight to his reliability as a source on the subject. Although this development adds no new features into the tablet rumor mill, it's comforting to know that the possibly mythical tablet is getting more and more plausible by the day.
Entelligence: iSlate or just uWish?
Entelligence is a column by technology strategist and author Michael Gartenberg, a man whose desire for a delicious cup of coffee and a quality New York bagel is dwarfed only by his passion for tech. In these articles, he'll explore where our industry is and where it's going -- on both micro and macro levels -- with the unique wit and insight only he can provide. Harry McCracken has a great post on Technologizer reviewing the tremendous buzz around the iPhone right before it launched -- it was about three years ago at this time that rumors were swirling around Apple getting into the phone market. All sorts of predictions had been made for years, dating back to a 2002 New York Times piece in which John Markoff said "Mr. Jobs means to take Apple back to the land of the handhelds, but this time with a device that would combine elements of a cellphone and a Palm -like personal digital assistant." Of course, it took until 2007 for Apple to announce the iPhone and nearly six months longer for Apple to actually ship it. The rumors of Apple doing a phone back then were at about the same fever pitch of the recent Apple tablet rumors. Like the iPhone, the tablet rumors aren't at all new -- in this case we can go back to 2003 for some of the earliest stories about this mythical device. Will Apple introduce a tablet in 2010, as some predict? Will there be in an introduction in January? What features might it have, and how could it be sold and positioned? I'm not going to speculate on those things for two reasons: first, if I don't know, my guess is as good as yours -- and second, if I do know, I probably couldn't tell you anything, could I? Having said that, I find it remarkable that the latest tablet buzz so closely echoes the run-up to the iPhone. Call it déjà vu all over again.
Could Apple be moving to a spectrum of operating systems?
I was eating a late post-Christmas breakfast this morning and perusing my email when I came upon a note from my friend and fellow Apple Consultants Network member Michael Kimble. Mike's been involved with Apple products since before the Mac arrived, so he has seen product trends come and go for decades. In his email, he mused that: "I've been wondering if Apple, on their Jan. 26th product announcement, won't start to differentiate OS X to include OS X Mobile, OS X Touch, OS X Desktop & OS X Server. But rather than discreet versions of the OS, it is a spectrum where features of one version can slide up and down the scale depending on the functionality of the hardware platform it's running on. It seems to be moving in that direction whether a formal acknowledgment is made or not." It's not that far a stretch to see Apple adding another variety of OS X to the family tree. As a result of yesterday's post about the as-yet-unannounced Apple tablet, TUAW reader Dillon made a similar observation to Mike's: "Just a thought, but if the new Apple tablet ran straight iPhone OS, then it would probably be released in June with annual iPhone update... meaning that the Mac tablet will probably run a cross between Mac OSX 10.6 and iPhone OS or just Mac OSX 10.6. Apple really won't release something unless it is speedy enough. They don't even let you run a background app or multitask on the iPhone due to speed issues. If they wanted to make a speedier tablet it would make sense that they would [deliver] a hybrid of the two operating systems, allowing better speed, battery, and more functionality than the iPhone, yet something not as relatively bulky as Snow Leopard." Three of the four operating systems already exist (and there's always the family member they keep locked in the closet -- the Apple TV -- with its odd edition of Mac OS 10.4 Tiger). All it would take is for Apple to add a new version of the OS that would, as Dillon points out, allow background processing and true multi-tasking, yet pull out a lot of the more weighty components of OS X. What do you think? Is a new, formal acknowledgment of a new Apple OS on the way, or will the tablet run a beefier version of the iPhone OS? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below. Illustration from Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tigerpixel/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Apple's 'iSlate' and other rumors that have given its stock a holiday boost
The Apple tablet rumors are at a fever pitch, yet again. Depending on what you've read, it's all but confirmed that the company's got a January 26th event scheduled at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA) in San Francisco, CA. All this, of course, with nary a word or comment from Cupertino HQ, and without the context that this trend has come and gone ad nauseam, both with the tablet and before with the years of lead-up to the iPhone. Here's the latest bit: MacRumors has dug up information about a Delaware-based company, Slate Computing, LLC, that was founded in November 2006 and owns the trademark "iSlate," the signatory of said trademark being Apple's Senior Trademark Specialist Regina Porter. Given that Apple owns "iSlate" trademark in Europe and that it's allegedly pulled similar stunts with a "fake" company and the iPhone trademark, sure, we could buy into this being just a dummy corporation... but does it really confirm an impending tablet that'll be called the "iSlate?" Not at all. We wouldn't be surprised if Apple has done this for numerous other trademarks, either to give itself more options or to prevent others from trying to manufacture products under those names. (Slate Computing, LLC also happens to own the "Magic Slate" trademark, just so you know.) Also bought up in 2006? The domain iSlate.com, which again according to MacRumors (with help form Mark Gurman of AppleRejectedMe.com) was apparently and briefly shown to be owned by Apple at some point during 2007. Food for thought, but trust us, you don't want to confuse hearsay for concrete fact. Which brings us to December 24th, where we see a statistically significant uptick in Apple's stock value. Seeing as the fiscals were released back in late October along with the last refresh of hardware (Mac Pro specs notwithstanding), it seems everyone decided to spend their holiday bonuses on some Apple shares. Now, we're not claiming to be professionals here by any stretch of the imagination, but it seems a lot of the activity here can be attributed to the recent flux of rumors. Jason Schwarz of The Street has an interesting take on it, which if you've got 15 minutes to kill should be worth your time to browse through.
Latest Apple patent app details multitouch tactile keyboard
We're not going so far as to suggest that this here patent application foreshadows the kind of keyboard that'll be on a certain Apple tablet that may or may not be real, but if the suits in Cupertino do actually have such a device in the works, they'd be silly to not apply this technology to it. Dug up by Apple Insider, the latest app details a multitouch tactile keyboard that would boast a dynamic surface for helping typists keep track of where they're at on the board. Essentially, the surface would utilize an "articulating frame" in order to raise and retract bumps to make typing without physical keys a wee bit easier, and while we're certain that it would take some getting used to, it's bound to be simpler than banging on a static surface that requires your eyes to be on it. Don't go getting your hopes up, though -- wouldn't want to get them crushed when late January brings you an iPod touch with a camera, now would you?
iSlate.com and the 'impending Apple slate'
As we mentioned earlier, MacRumors reported the discovery from Mark Gurman that Apple apparently bought the islate.com domain name a few years back. This name isn't so shocking when you remember the quote from New York Times executive editor Bill Keller at a meeting on October 26th about the future of digital content in the newspaper business: "I'm hoping we can get the newsroom more actively involved in the challenge of delivering our best journalism in the form of Times Reader, iPhone apps, WAP, or the impending Apple slate..." At the time, Apple had been busy meeting with the heads of newspapers and magazines all over the world. Would Steve drop the name to the heads of the publishing industry? I think so. At the very least this will get people to stop calling the Apple tablet the 'iPad'. Let me say this clearly: Apple would never name the tablet the 'iPad'. It's too similar to 'iPod'. So, everyone, please stop calling it the iPad. If you want to listen to an interesting talk about the future of digital publishing and distribution, check out the video of Keller's speech below. If you want to jump to the 'impending Apple slate' mention, skip to 8:30. IMHO, 'iSlate' is a great name, but I want to know what you would call it. Tell us in the comments!
Apple planning event for January, with high-res iPhone or small-sized tablet in tow? Maybe just hanging out?
Breaking news, everybody: Apple's working on some stuff. The rumors are flying in all directions today, starting out fairly innocently with word from the oft-innacurate DigiTimes of an iPhone-destined 5 megapixel camera sensor. Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster piled on with an investor note saying they're giving an Apple January event a 75% chance of happening, and the tablet is squarely at 50 / 50. The most interesting word, however, comes out of the Silicon Alley Insider, who is quoting a "plugged-in source in the mobile industry" who says that Apple is working with some select app makers on prepping high-res apps to demo on a "new, larger mobile device." The device would be shown in January but not available at that time -- presumably in wait for these redesigned apps to mature (at WWDC, perhaps?). While that rumor is being piled in with the ever-present tablet hubbub, if we were to read between the lines we'd say it sounds more like a higher-resolution iPhone in the style of Google's Nexus one or Motorola's Droid -- both of which are making the iPhone's 320 x 480 screen look a tad archaic. Certainly more likely than Apple releasing "several tablets" to match up with all the disparate rumors we've seen of the 7-inch / 9-inch / 10-inch unicorn device. Update: Just so you know, The New York Times has it on good authority that Steve Jobs is apparently "extremely happy" with the current tablet design. The assumption here -- if true, of course -- is that he won't be killing this project like he did all the previous iterations.
Sony staying conservative with Reader device, aware of current tablet mania
Sony's Sir Howard Stringer played the tease at today's Reader content partnership presser, stating that while Sony could make the device into a multimedia tablet, it would rather wait and see if consumers warm up to current devices. Stringer's watching if people find the form factor "comfortable and helpful" before Sony starts "plowing on a thousand apps" or building a "Vaio Reader." We don't really know how much e-reader acceptance points to the demand for color multimedia tablets, but in regards to the (non-existant, ever-present) Apple Tablet, Stringer says "we're all working on variations of the same thing." Hopefully we'll figure out what exactly he means by that before we grow old and start reading books or something horrible like that.
