The iTablet: will Apple launch it or not? That’s a question that’s been floating around the web for many years. Yes years, because back in 2001 the first rumours about a so called iPad started to show up. After those first rumours, the buzz around an Apple Tablet device was often quiet as well. And then, suddenly, new rumours showed up. This went on and on for many years, but the year 2009 must have been the most fruitful year when it comes to rumours about this now mythical device. Here’s an overview of the Apple Tablet rumours throughout the years.
On May 24, 2001, Kevin Fox, a user experience designer for Google, posted some interesting information on his blog. He stated that Apple was planning to bring a full-sized tablet-based computer on the market. Apple has tried to do this four times, but the device never saw the light of day. The fifth attempt was called iPad. The device had a 12-inch LCD touch- and stylus-sensitive screen with a resolution of 1024 x 768, weighed 2 to 3 pounds and had a price tag placed just under a thousand dollars. Still Apple didn’t deliver, but iPad could be the real name as we’ve learned not so long ago. (Source: Fury)
The story continues on November 18, 2002, Matthew Rothenberg at eWeek writes that “It’s my strong belief, let’s call it a hunch, that prototype Mac tablets are already making the rounds among select developers” adding “Nota bene: I’ve yet to get my hands on a smoking pen that will verify the Tablet Mac’s existence. Any readers with first-hand experience are welcome to drop me a line (in the strictest confidence, of course).”
Less then two months later, on January 3, 2003, Rothenberg has gotten information about the so called Tablet Mac. It looks like a large iPod, has an 8-inch screen, no keyboard and runs Mac OS X and aims at the multimedia market. The device was set to debut at the MacWorld Expo in San Francisco of that year. We all know how that went. (Source: MacRumors)
On June 4, 2003, Steve Jobs gave his opinion about the iTablet:
“There are no plans to make a tablet… people want keyboards. We look at the tablet and we think it is going to fail. Tablets appeal to rich guys with plenty of other PCs and devices already.”
Apple apperantly changed their plans.
November 27, 2003: Robert Cringely ignores Steve Jobs’ opinion and says the following:
“Quanta, the Taiwanese company that makes many Apple notebooks, has been apparently switching its production to the new tablets…”
The tablets may arrive as early as January (2004 that is), according to Cringely. The users of the device will be able to watch TV in your bathroom, access your audio and video collection from anywhere in the house, route video to the TV screen from your desktop or the Internet, check your mail, surf the web and play games. Kind of like the things we expect te device will have when it is introduced on January 27th. (Source: PBS)
Almost a year later on August 13, 2004, Tony Smith from The Register reports on a European design trademark filing by Apple for a product name “Electronic Device”. Smith says it’s the long-awaited tablet computer. The patent references several PC tablets so it could finally be the real thing. (Source: The Register)
Another year later on August 24, 2005, Apple posts an ad where they ask for a “Handwriting Recognition Engineer”. Apple believes a tablet should be used with a stylus, since that’s the way to interact with computers. Engadget comments:
“Apple did receive a patent for a tablet-style computer earlier this year and so we wouldn’t be surprised if it turns out that one of the reasons they switched to Intel was so they could build an ultralight, ultrathin Tablet Mac.”
Let’s hope the tablet Apple is going to show us the 27th won’t need a stylus. Look at the iPhone and iPod touch. They can easily be controlled by gestures of the user’s hands. (Source: Engadget)
