apple tablet

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  • Rumor Mill: Tablet to be large-scale iPhone

    by 
    Erica Sadun
    Erica Sadun
    12.30.2009

    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?

    by 
    Michael Gartenberg
    Michael Gartenberg
    12.28.2009

    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?

    by 
    Steve Sande
    Steve Sande
    12.27.2009

    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

    by 
    Ross Miller
    Ross Miller
    12.26.2009

    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

    by 
    Darren Murph
    Darren Murph
    12.26.2009

    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'

    by 
    Michael Grothaus
    Michael Grothaus
    12.25.2009

    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?

    by 
    Paul Miller
    Paul Miller
    12.23.2009

    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

    by 
    Paul Miller
    Paul Miller
    12.17.2009

    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.

  • Video: another Apple tablet fantasy

    by 
    Michael Grothaus
    Michael Grothaus
    12.12.2009

    French site Nowhereelse.fr has published some very cool video of what appears to be a multitouch tablet device. The user is browsing through an electronic version of an Ikea catalog. The device itself is very slim and seems to incorporate a multitude of Apple technologies: cover flow, shake to shuffle, Pure Coolness. Is this the Apple Tablet? Probably not. It's just a beautiful mockup that should give Apple some concern if their tablet isn't as cool as the device shown in the video. Check out the vid and let us know what you think of the device's authenticity in the comments.

  • Analyst noise: Apple tablet in March for $1k, publishers on-board, Verizon iPhone coming too

    by 
    Joshua Topolsky
    Joshua Topolsky
    12.09.2009

    If you've been following mainstream news today, then it's likely you've seen the story doing the rounds on new Apple tablet rumors, spurred by a note sent to clients from Oppenheimer analyst Yair Reiner. Never heard of him? That's not surprising, since he has no real connection to Apple, and his job mainly consists of telling people how to move their money around -- a Master of the Universe gear-cranker, you might say. Anyhow, Yair is sure that Apple will be releasing its 10.1-inch, multitouch tablet around March or April, with a ramp-up on production sometime in February. He also notes that the device will sell for $1,000 (so far we've heard rumored price points from $699 all the way up to $2,000), but ultimately Reiner seems most concerned with how it will impact Amazon, the Kindle, and book and media publishers. According to the note, Apple has been in talks with publishers concerning a "very attractive proposal" in which the company will split revenue with publishing houses 70 / 30, as they do with iTunes and App Store sales (just as we speculated in our post on the Time Inc. digimag). What's most disconcerting about the report is that it seems more interested in disrupting or dismissing what Amazon is doing (particularly noteworthy as the company is in the midst of its biggest season for Kindle sales ever). When financial analysts start squawking in this manner, we like to approach with caution. As of right now, we have zero solid evidence that Apple is even producing a tablet, let alone ready to drop one for a G come March. We have heard plenty of other rumors that corroborate much of this, but if the above is the plan, you can expect a big reveal from Cupertino around the time of Macworld or CES, so you won't have to wait long to know the truth. For now, keep your BS detectors set to "stun." P.S.: See what we mean? Now a Piper Jaffray analyst is 70 percent certain (70 percent!) that Apple will introduce an iPhone for Verizon in 2010. Hold onto your hats folks, we've only just begun.

  • Time Inc. shows off magazine tablet demo, plans future anger about 70/30 profit split

    by 
    Joshua Topolsky
    Joshua Topolsky
    12.02.2009

    You know that Condé Nast tablet / digital magazine demo we saw recently (non-ironically paging through a copy of Wired)? Well now Time Inc. has gotten in on the same game, showing off its version of a digimag running a touch-friendly issue of Sports Illustrated. The company not only buzzed everyone with the charming walkthough video -- a floating hand paging through SI on a sleek, black tablet (embedded after the break) -- but also had a live, functioning variation of the product up and running on a touchscreen HP laptop. The gist of the project seems to be that the publisher will be able to offer this digitized version of its magazines in some sort of agnostic format, one that would be accessible to PCs and phantom Apple tablets alike. Peter Kafka over at All Things D says that he had a chance to play with the demo and it was, "quite a bit of fun." While it's clear that both Time and Condé Nast are taking parallel routes to online publishing (the former is purely in concept mode, the latter is working with Adobe on digital versions of its titles as we speak), one thing is painfully clear: both companies have shockingly similar ideas about what the future of magazine publishing looks like. We hope Apple has been informed.

  • Apple's original tablet

    by 
    Dave Caolo
    Dave Caolo
    11.23.2009

    In 1979, the Apple II Plus was a badass piece of hardware, and the Apple Graphics Tablet was a flashy accessory. At $650US, it let users sketch with a wired stylus. Measuring 3/4 in x 15 1/2 in x 15 3/4 in, the Graphics Tablet was eventually discontinued when the FCC discovered that it caused radio frequency interference problems. Sure, the wired stylus is a kludge, as is the general design (don't look at the back), but remember that 1979 was 5 years before the first Macintosh was released and computer mice became ubiquitous. Edible Apple has some additional photos and an old ad promoting the tablet and Utopia software. Go and check out an interesting piece of Apple history -- complete with vintage scotch tape!

  • Wired shows off an Apple tablet-formatted copy of Wired on a fake Apple tablet

    by 
    Paul Miller
    Paul Miller
    11.21.2009

    It's a wild land of imagination over at Wired and Condé Nast these days. The pair have managed not only to dream up a colorful, animated copy of Wired magazine for the so-far imaginary Apple tablet, but actually whipped up a concept of a Apple tablet to go with it. The Willy Wonka-style pairing are being shown off at the Wired Store in New York, and go along with word the other day that Condé Nast was taking the development of "iTablet" versions of its publications very seriously. Perhaps a bit too seriously? We're not ones to judge. Video of the tablet is after the break.

  • Apple tablet(s) in 2H 2010 with OLED screen and tailored content in tow?

    by 
    Vlad Savov
    Vlad Savov
    11.19.2009

    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.

  • NVIDIA CEO shows off mystery tablet, makes zero statements about mystery tablet

    by 
    Joshua Topolsky
    Joshua Topolsky
    11.09.2009

    You think maybe the cats at NVIDIA are a little hot to trot on the tablet concept? Not only did Mike Rayfield (the company's general manager of its mobile division) spout off on a "3G capable touchpad" a few months ago, but CEO Jen-Hsun Huang has been spotted in Dubai with some seriously radical looking hardware. When we hit a post on Huang and his love for all things Apple earlier today, we somehow missed a pic of the CEO hanging tough with that handsome slab you see up above. We're not going to speculate on what it all means, but from the looks of things, NVIDIA is trying to drum up hype around the concept of a Tegra-powered handheld that's just a bit more sizable than your standard PMP. Of course, if you were hoping for more than a tease (like, you know, a partnership announcement or something), you can just keep on waiting. [Thanks, Ron]

  • Apple tablet rumor roundup: future of media edition

    by 
    Nilay Patel
    Nilay Patel
    11.04.2009

    The sketchy Apple tablet rumors have continued apace in the past few days, and rather than hit you with each bit of fluff as it comes in, we're going to be rounding them up from now on. Today's edition builds on earlier reports that Apple's trying to drag print media kicking and screaming into the future, with whispers that Apple execs recently met with Australian media execs to pitch them on new ways to distribute their content on a device "small enough to carry in a handbag but too big to fit in a pocket." Apparently the deal involves a 70/30 revenue split, just like the iPhone App Store -- and unlike the insane 30/70 split Amazon demands on the Kindle, which Apple executives called an "unattractive industry structure" during an investor event a few days later. Of course, Apple tends to say it's not interested in something right before it enters the market, so read that as you will. And finally, China OnTrade today posted up an "Apple iPhone 4 Generation Midboard," which would be a totally boring piece of plastic with no connection to anything... except these guys managed to score some iPhone 3GS parts way early as well. Is this just junk, or is it is really a new iPhone leaking months and months early? Or maybe just leftovers from a camera-equipped iPod touch that never was? Or... is this also some random part of a new tablet? No one really knows -- which is why we're sticking it all in this post and moving on with our lives. Read - Apple pitches to Australian media Read - Apple execs call online print media "unattractive" Read - China OnTrade iPhone 4 Generation midboard

  • Apple Tablet rumor roundup: NYT speaks of 'impending Apple slate,' new SIM tray leaks (video)

    by 
    Thomas Ricker
    Thomas Ricker
    10.26.2009

    Bear with us as we bring you the latest rumors related to the most important product that never was: the Apple tablet. Today we have a pair of rumors bubbling to the surface of a delicious tattle brew. First, the SIM card tray pictured above said to be procured from Foxconn (the rumored Apple tablet manufacturer) and available for $14.05 starting October 23rd for the 4th generation iPhone / iTablet... whatever the mythical host device might ultimately be named. It's certainly different than the tray found in previous gen iPhones and its chunkier appearance would be suitable for a larger GSM device. Plausible yes, though really, such a SIM tray could be used anywhere. There's also a pretty big fuss being made this morning over remarks made by Bill Keller, executive editor at the New York Times responsible for the NYT's web presence. Speaking at an all-hands meeting with the Times' digital staff, the supposedly off-the-record speech somehow made its way to Vimeo. Here's the quote that has Apple fanatics and old-media revivalists in a tizzy: "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, or whatever comes after that." Now, it's hard to tell if Keller is speaking from insider information or if he's just another member of the media convinced that Apple's tablet will be launched in the New Year. Then again, as Keller himself points out, Apple has always had a special relationship with his paper as routinely demonstrated in Apple's ads that use the New York Times landing page as proof of the "real internet" browsing capabilities of the iPod touch and iPhone. And with Apple supposedly in content delivery talks with the nation's newspaper of record, well, the remarks that begin at about 8:15 are certainly suspicious. Listen for yourself after the break. [Via Gawker, thanks Robert S.] Read -- SIM Tray Read -- NYT 'impending Apple slate'

  • The future of television is really the present

    by 
    TUAW Blogger
    TUAW Blogger
    10.13.2009

    Editor's Note: There has been a lot of speculation around the future of Apple TV, even though Apple has called it a "hobby" for now. There has also been an extraordinary amount of speculation around an Apple-branded tablet device. Josh Doody has a background in technology, with undergraduate degrees in Computer and Electrical Engineering, experience in engineering, product management and development, and is currently an MBA candidate at the University of Florida. Here are his thoughts surrounding the Apple TV and a possible Apple tablet computer. The future of television is really the present By Josh Doody In David Foster Wallace's "Infinite Jest," he frequently refers to a device called a "Teleputer" (television-computer) or "TP" for short. The TP is high-def, fancy, online and pretty much ubiquitous. Wallace's vision of a TP was probably influenced by that wonky invention called "WebTV," which supremely sucked and mostly served to frustrate people and make them wonder what good the Internet was anyway. Wallace was essentially spot-on regarding the Teleputer, and several signs point to Apple gearing up for another foray into mainstream must-have technology that will flip the script on television as we know it. Many publications, bloggers and users continue to speculate about Apple's plans for the future. But Apple's foray into two technologies that have been languishing in technological purgatory is more than just coincidence. Taken individually, these technologies will build on the Apple empire, but together they will change the way people consume TV shows, movies and video games. The Teleputer's older sibling -– Apple TV -– is starting to disappear without much explanation from Apple. However, Steve Jobs and company might be reinventing a new Apple TV (NATV) that is awesome and game-changing, even though it appears to be recycling decade-old ideas and assimilating other ideas old and new. The iPod re-imagined how we consume music. The iPhone re-imagined how we communicate and what it means to be "Online." The New Apple TV will re-imagine how we consume all media.

  • Secret source gives iLounge some Apple tablet rumor love

    by 
    Steve Sande
    Steve Sande
    09.29.2009

    Those of us in the Mac rumor and news business (is there a difference?) love it when we get a good tip, especially when that tip is from someone who has given us good, solid info in the past. iLounge featured a post last night called "Ten New Details on the Apple Tablet" that passed along some rumors that they've received from one of those solid sources.While I won't parrot back the bullet list of ten details that are in the iLounge post, here's the gist of the article: Apple has created at least three prototypes of what editor-in-chief Jeremy Horwitz calls the iPad. The prototype that is still in the running has a 10.7" diagonal display, runs iPhone OS, and looks like a large iPhone 3G. The device will have two variations, one with 3G networking built-in (think of it as an über-iPhone 3GS) and another without it (a mongo iPod touch). The larger display is expected to have about 7 times the surface area of the iPhone, and about 6 times the resolution, allowing easy reading of books, magazines, and cropped newspapers. With the extra screen space, the new devices are designed to bring ebook functionality to the iPhone platform as well as make a more compelling platform for games, media, app, and the web. Apple doesn't expect this device to compete with netbooks, hence their continued denial that the company will come out with a netbook killer. Instead, this will be an extension of the iPhone platform.Horwitz finishes his list by noting that the device is still awaiting a green light from Steve Jobs, and that it has about an 80% chance of making it to market. If it's given the go-ahead, the source is stating that the device would be announced on or before January 19, 2010 and would go on sale in May or June. While this is still a rumor, the information is from the same source that gave iLounge the scoop on the iPod nano 5G, the iPhone 3GS, and the Chinese iPhone 3G. It appears we'll still have to wait until 2010 before the fabled tablet appears in our local Apple Stores.

  • Apple tablet rumors redux: 10.7-inch display, iPhone OS underneath

    by 
    Darren Murph
    Darren Murph
    09.29.2009

    At this point, it's difficult to say exactly what we believe. Just a fortnight ago, we heard that the so-called Apple tablet would ship with a 9.6-inch display and a P.A. Semi processor, and now iLounge is hearing from "trusted sources" that something other than that is true. The latest round of maybe-sorta-probably-not-true whispers is that the current prototype of the device boasts a 10.7-inch display and a resolution near 720p. Of course, we've no idea where Apple would source a capacitive touchscreen of that size, but we wouldn't put anything past El Jobso. Moving on, we're told that iPhone OS will be used, signifying that this will be more of an advanced media player / light communication device than a full-on netbook competitor. Finally, we're told that a 3G and non-3G version will be offered, and if Mr. Boss signs off on it, it could be announced as early as January with a June / July ship date. Oh, and it'll come pre-loaded with Unicorn-approved applications and a vial of fairy dust -- huzzah!