Apple Working On Tablet Since 2003

Posted on October 7, 2009 by Eric

New York Times posted a nice story about the rumors surrounding a possible Apple tablet computer. It seems Apple has been working on a tablet since 2003.

According to former Apple developer Joshua A. Strickland, Apple was working on a tablet computer back in 2003 and it is possible they were working on such a device even before that. The problem was that the PowerPC-chip needed to much energy, turning the tablet into a useless device. The graphic power and the fact that the parts to build the tablet costed more than $500 were two other major problems:

“It couldn’t be built. The battery life wasn’t long enough, the graphics performance was not enough to do anything and the components themselves cost more than $500.”

Because of these problems, the tablet computer didn’t reach the market. Another Apple executive claims that the idea had been shelved a number of times at Apple, because Steve Jobs questioned himself:

“What are they good for besides surfing the Web in the bathroom?”

The iPhone and iPod touch are extremely popular and it is likely the mind of Steve is changed and he will give green light to the release of his tablet computer soon. However, Steve Jobs still hasn’t given final approval according to recent reports.

What do you think, will be the killer feature of this device?

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A Touchable Mouse And Multi-Touch Tablet

Posted on October 4, 2009 by Eric

Rumors dating back to 2007 showed Apple is working on a new Mighty Mouse with touch capabilities. New rumors confirm this. In other news, Apple seems to be working on a tablet computer with multi-touch capabilities.

The rumors say the new Mighty Mouse will be introduced this year, together with the new iMac. The mouse will be a new design and have multi-touch capabilities. The scroll ball will be history. Speaking of which, below is a picture that shows the history of the mouse.

mouse100109Click on the picture for a bigger resolution

The new Mighty Mouse is rumored to get a new look. The white mouse is no longer. The new one will have an aluminium casing. The line of the Mighty Mouse dates back 25 years ago when Apple introduced Lisa; one of the first computers with a mouse. The PC got a mouse too, later that year. Since then, the mouse has had several shapes. We all know the spherical shaped mouse that came with the first iMac. Today we have the white Mighty Mouse with the scroll ball that can scroll horizontally and vertically. Apple can do it again and show us a new revolutionary mouse.

About the iTablet. A new patent application revealed Apple is working on a multi-touch tablet computer. Input with a stylus, mouse, voice recognition and keyboard are options that work well with specific circumstances. But the iTablet must be able to do the things the users demand of it. And the needs of users can be fulfilled by making the device a touch-sensitive technology.

“Many attempts have been made to embed pointing devices in a keyboard so the hands do not have to leave typing position to access the pointing device… The limited movement range and resolution of these devices, leads to poorer pointing speed and accuracy than a mouse, and they add mechanical complexity to keyboard construction,” the application reads. “Thus there exists a need in the art for pointing methods with higher resolution, larger movement range, and more degrees of freedom yet which are easily accessible from typing hand positions.”

The patent application describes that the system can individually detect all ten fingers and separate palms on a person’s hand. This gives users the ability to draw, write, type and interact with the device. Activities done with multiple fingers are referred to as “chords”.

patent-091001-2 patent-091001-1

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Tablet Computer Will Cause Revolution

Posted on September 30, 2009 by Eric

New day, new rumors. Yesterday, iLounge posted new information about the upcoming Apple tablet computer. It said the device will have a 10,7″ touchscreen. Today, the newest rumor tells us the purpose of the tablet computer. It will act as a e-book reader and will totally change the market of print media, like newspapers, books and magazines.

Steve Jobs started building a tablet device years ago, but without any goal. The question “why would people need such a device?” was never answered…until today. Apple is busy filling iTunes with content of several sorts of printed media. They want to make a device that is not only another e-book reader, but it is their purpose to redefine the print media market.

500x_apple-tablet-natgeo

Yesterday’s rumor said the tablet will run a version of iPhone OS, but the tablet Apple has been busy with for several years, ran on a adapted version of Mac OS X. After years of testing, Apple is finally ready to release the tablet computer. The latest rumors suggest that the device will be introduced in January next year.

Apple reportedly met with magazine executives to pitch the future of that industry. Apple showed mockups of interactive content, to try and make a deal with the magazine executives. They really want to cause a digital evolution of print media and the tablet computer will be a key element of this revolution.

“Some I’ve talked to believe the initial content will be mere translations of text to tablet form. But while the idea of print on the Tablet is enticing, it’s nothing the Kindle or any E-Ink device couldn’t do. The eventual goal is to have publishers create hybridized content that draws from audio, video, interactive graphics in books, magazines and newspapers, where paper layouts would be static. And with release dates for Microsoft’s Courier set to be quite far away and Kindle stuck with relatively static e-ink, it appears that Apple is moving towards a pole position in distribution of this next-generation print content. First, it’ll get its feet wet with more basic repurposing of the stuff found on dead trees today.”

DRM-secured college books, that are only readable for a limited period of time, musty become a huge success on the Apple tablet. The prices can also be lower than normal printed books. And students only have to carry one device, instead of all the heavy books that take up a lot of space. The interactive content will also enhance the experience of reading books.

Steve Jobs says that people are not reading books anymore. It’s time to change that, and the tablet computer can do so. You’ll be able to see videos and pictures and interact with them. It’s clear the main goal of the tablet device is, to change the way we look at reading. Change the way we read. Create a revolution and re-invent the “wheel”. No more old fashion paper, the electronic reader is the future and Apple is the kind of company to do just that, WITH success.

Source: Gizmodo

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New Information About Apple’s Tablet Computer

Posted on September 29, 2009 by Eric

There are rumors who suggest that Apple is experimenting with 10″, 13″ and 15″ touch screens. One of the latest rumors says the tablet computer will have a 9,6″ touch screen. The newest rumor comes from iLounge and says the device will have a 10,7″ touchscreen. Now which rumor is telling the truth?

iLounge’s source is the same as the one who tipped off the site about the fifth-generation iPod nano. The 10,7″ screen will offer a resolution of somewhere near 720p. The source also claims the device will run iPhone OS (don’t know if we must be happy about that) and will probably announced on or before January 19th. The release will be somewhere around May or June of 2010.

Would you like to have 3G on board, so you can have access to the Internet? Well, you’ll have a choice, because according to the source, the device will come in two flavours: one with 3G wireless connectivity and one without. The device will also look like the iPhone, with the curved back design.

You probably know what the iPhone can do. This device will be able to do the same, but with an enhanced experience. The target of the functionality of the device will be to provide book and magazine reading. The report ends with noting that Steve Jobs dedicated his life of the past couple of months to perfect this device. They give the release date a 80% chance to be true.

Source: iLounge

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Let Your Fantasy Go

Posted on September 27, 2009 by Eric

Go to Google, search iTablet or Mac Tablet or Apple Tablet, and you’ll find a lot of concept art of the rumored Apple tablet computer. So I came across a picture that shows a very interesting idea. It requires a new iMac as well. So if you happen to have around two thousand dollars, maybe this can be yours. The thing is, I started wondering about the ideas. The possibilities. What if the below concept becomes real? What if Apple comes with a new iMac and a tablet computer that belongs to it?

Apple Tablet MacBook Touch or Apple iPad Myth or Reality 2

Look at that. Isn’t it a beauty? Although this concept is highly unlikely to become a reality, it still is a very good idea. It looks wonderful. To me at least. So, what if the tablet computer becomes the new hard drive, or the new CD/DVD input? You can burn movies, back-up your system, store all kinds of data and download new music. You take the device from your iMac and carry it with you all the time. The lucky thing is, you can instantly watch those movies, look into all the kinds of data and listen to that downloaded music, because of the multitouch screen.

Thanks to the Wi-Fi connection and the continues standby mode of both the iMac and the iTablet, you can upload and download from or to your iMac while using your iTablet. No need for MobileMe or any other service support. The devices are connected to each other all the time. I think the technology behind it, is not very hard to manufacture. But it’s just not very Apple-ish to change the iMac so drastically so it can fit an entire tablet computer. But Apple could still make a tablet computer that can connect with your iMac (or MacBook or Mac mini etc.) and be able to function as a storage / back-up device.

I think the most important thing about the iTablet, will be its battery. Everybody knows it’s a computer, like a laptop, but this one can run much longer than the current 7+ hours of the MacBook line. This one could have a battery that lasts an entire day. I think if Apple could make such a device with such a battery, everybody would want one.

And that brings me back to the reality. Before you put a product on the market, you must first know if there’s a market for it in the first place. AppleInsider posted the results of a survey of 3,100 people. The survey assumed the device would be priced between $500 and $700. Keep in mind that 9 percent of the people were interested in the original iPhone in April 2007. The results of this survey are much higher. One fifth of the people said they are interested in Apple’s tablet computer, according to a note from RBC Capital Markets.

Leaves me with one question: Are you interested in Apple’s tablet computer?

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