apple tablet
Latest
Is Apple working on a multi-touch-based Newton successor?
This one is purely in the realm of rumor, folks, but AppleInsider is now reporting the tantalizing detail that Apple is currently working on a multi-touch-based successor to its Newton handheld. As the story goes, Apple has actually had a "small team of engineers" working on the project for the past 18 months, during which time they were occasionally forced to put the project on hold in order to help get the iPhone out the door on time. Now, with the iPhone out of the way, AppleInsider says it's "full steam ahead" on the "modern day Newton." Delving even further into the rumor mill, AppleInsider says the device will about 1.5 times the size of the iPhone, and sport a 720x480 display that fills nearly the entire surface of the unit (no surprise there). What's more, it seems that the device is intended to compete as much with UMPCs as with PDAs (something the original Newton's already taken a shot at) and, if the rumors are to be believed, it could be released "sometime in the first half of 2008," with a possible announcement as soon as MacWorld in January. [Image courtesy of audiopollution/AppleInsider]
Rumors: Apple Tablet
And now for something completely different, a TUAW rumor post that's not about an upcoming iPhone. Nope, today's rumor concerns an Apple Tablet computer. Over the weekend, Smarthouse reported that Apple had built a tablet PC prototype that was being costed out by several Taiwanese companies. The article went to fairly ridiculous lengths of "accuracy" stating that the tablet was designed for educational and home automation use, worked with a docking station and would use wireless linking to Hi Fi speakers. Today, ZDNet picked up on the story with a much more balanced take. ZDNet points out that "Other than Jobs' mush[sic] publicized disdain for PDAs, an Apple tablet has other hurdles to clear before it can be successful: the touch screen and handwriting recognition will have to be perfect." Thanks, Andrew Burke.
More Apple tablet rumors
Here's the rumor that won't go away. United States Patent Application #20060026536 (which features the signature of Jonathan Ive) concerns "...Methods and systems for processing touch inputs are disclosed. The invention in one respect includes reading data from a multipoint sensing device such as a multipoint touch screen..." Is an Apple tablet in the works (yes, I'm bringing that up again)? Hrmph! even has a very nice round-up of images related to using "gestures" with a touchscreen-based user interface. Note the iPod-like scroll wheel in Fig. 27D. Seriously, though, who would you trust to deliver a tablet PC that's both beautiful and useful? Mr. Ive and Apple, that's who. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for this one. [Via Engadget]
Apple's patented the Tablet Mac (part II)
Well, what do you know? Yet another Apple tablet PC patent's shown up on the USPTO site, this one also with none other than Jonny Ive's Handcock on it (last time around it was both Jobs and Ive on the patent, though). Today's filing mainly pertains to touch-input user interface methods with multiple fingers, gestures, and motions, as well as methods for visually displaying and manipulating aspects of the UI -- exciting stuff, we know. But the point is that ok, we get it already Apple, you're working on a tablet PC. Now how about releasing it so you guys can focus those man-hours on a proper DVR / media Mac for us, eh? [Via Mac Rumors] Read
Hands-on with the Apple tablet?
By this point you're probably getting immune to/annoyed by all the endless Apple tablet rumors, but if you can handle one more round of unverifiable speculation, Rob Bushway relays a report from a source who claims to have actually played with a prototype. His source says that the Apple tablet prototype he handled had instant on, a touch screen, and was running on a stripped down version of OS X. We're not even going to pretend that any of this is even close to confirmed, but Rob's source also says that the report from yesterday about Apple meeting with Intel was (at least in part) about them getting some sort of customized version of Intel's power-saving Sonoma chipset for use in a new Apple tablet.
Apple's patented the Tablet Mac
Looks like US Design Patent No. D504,899 is one for the Apple history books-it's been rumored freaking forever, we last heard about this last August, but it became substantiated today when Apple's secret plans for a tablet PC were not-so-ruefully revealed. We're not sure how Microsoft is going to feel about this, but perhaps the heated competition will spur sales of PC tablet devices from their current, sluggish pace. At least one thing's for sure: once this device comes out, tablet devices are officially in. And yeah, if you live in the greater bay area, that loud noise you're hearing right now is the sound of Steve Jobs chopping people's heads off. [Via slashdot]
Apple's new handheld?
Three months ago Apple filed a European design trademark for some sort of a handheld or tablet-style computer (it's hard to tell how big it is from these sketchs that accompanied the filing). Read into this what you will, but people have been buzzing about a tablet Mac for months and months now and Steve Jobs himself admitted that the company developed a new line of PDAs which they then abandoned at the last second. A new multimedia tablet, or could this possibly even be the design for the new iMac, which could turn out just be an all-in-one flat-panel PC? [Thanks, Tim]
