Last Minute Apple Tablet Predictions
- It will support stylus [pressure sensitive] input as well as multitouch
- It will be OLED all the way, even though rumors have been saying that supply isn’t available
- It will cost a small fortune (see previous point)
- It will support multi-tasking, unlike current iPhone OS 3 (possibly it will be running iPhone OS 4)
- I will spend a significant amount of time this year attempting to develop for whatever the hell this thing is, since I missed the first wave of iPhone development where people made millions selling apps they couldn’t give away on any other platform, and I will stupidly assume that history will repeat itself
- It will be round, and the edges will be sharp enough to cut cheese
- Something about this keynote will make me mad that I only just bought an iPhone 3GS
- This will be Steve Jobs’ final product intro, and fictional agent Jack Bauer will storm the stage to deliver the device into his hands at the last possible moment
- It will be called the Newton, just to fuck with everyone
- But seriously, maybe this will be the first Apple product in ages to have neither an i nor a Mac prefix in the name
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UPDATE: specs are published, and I am sadly underwhelmed (although yet to watch the keynote so maybe Steve can spin it spectacularly well). Why I feel deflated:
- Â It looks exactly like a giant iPod Touch, right down to the home screen, so all the unimaginative mock ups were actually dead accurate.
- 1024 x 768? WTF. That means only 130 DPI, which means you’ll be able to see the damn pixels as your holding it in your hands! How the hell is this going to revolutionize publishing when it can’t come close to the resolution of paper and e-ink displays?
- LCD display (LED backlit woooo), which also means will not compete well with print and e-ink in readability and comfort (OLED would have at least put it in the ballpark)
- 4:3 screen aspect? So the stupid thing isn’t even going to look sexy watching movies, with unwanted bars or cropping.
- No stylus input (I know there are special “pretend finger” stylii out there, but I am talking about a pen)
- No multitasking!
- Dongles? For USB? For freakin’ SD??? You’ve got to be kidding.
- No camera, but who really cares at this point.
*Sigh* at least I don’t have to rush out and buy one, and can focus on iPhone development instead of a fundamentally different platform.
I would say if one thing makes you mad, it will likely be the announcement of the next iPhone coming in June. But really, I have a 3G going on two years and the only thing I really miss was no video. But there is an app now that does video on old iPhones. I have not tested it but the reviews have been good.
I agree with you on price point. If Apple somehow manages to release this thing with a reasonable price point I think it will be huge with more than just Apple cultists.
I am too lazy to attempt to write apps. I thought about it from day one with the iPhone, installed the development software and never messed with it. I might someday when a million other things do not distract me.
I will be pleased if they announce iPhone4 – I’m looking forward to the 5mp camera.
On the Newton 2.0, I’m still wondering how my eyes will cope reading a book on a refreshing screen – I love my ebook because it doesn’t refresh.
I also wonder if I will be able to read any of my 000s of txt, rtf and pdf books that I already have?
it’d be cool if it has an iSight for video calling. I’ll stop trollng your page now Mark !
[updated post]
The only thing that makes sense to me is that they went with iPad, since there is nothing revolutionary here the name reflects a continuity with iPod. I wonder if everyone else will feel as “meh” about this thing as I do.
No GPS…
No front facing camera either (so i still need a laptop for skype).
Die Apple Die!!
stupid name as well
Mark, it’s the “most important thing” Steve Jobs has done.
The iPad is fine. /jediwave
Now go forth and buy it, the power of Steve compels you.
Name makes me think of a sanitary pad.
I thought I could use it for reading books and stuff but a specialised reader would be much better. It would have absolutely zero impact on my life if I were to get one.
dissapointed :(
I love that when it was first revealed to look like a giant iPod Touch the crowd was dead silent… like they were waiting for Steve to say “haha only joking!”. When he sat down in his comfy chair to show it off I swear he’s doing that chin-jut move that is basically daring you to ask what the big deal is.
@William yeah the MaxiPad jokes are already flying thick and fast :)
I was unimpressed, there was no killer feature that was much more than I can do with my iPhone. The move with iBook and the price point is good and I guess if I had been thinking about a Kindle I would opt for the iPad instead. All that said, perhaps I might warm to the device in a year or so with further development being done on it. I certainly have no need for the device at present.
It looks like what my Mum is after – a device for reading & writing e-mails when travelling (i.e. using hotel/cafe wifi). She needs the big screen for her eyes. Being a closed system is an advantage in this case. Matches a post I read elsewhere: this is iPod touch for seniors.
Personally I’m disappointed with the dot pitch and would prefer 1366×768 in a ~7″ screen to match pixel density of iPod touch.
Anyone know if it supports flash/pdfs; later especially is a REQ for me.
The iPad: For electronic women to use during that special time of month.
Earlier this month someone at work made the analysis that iPad will be to books what iPod was to music. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but it sure appears to be the case. Cheapest model pitched at the exact starting price of the large kindle 2.0, at pretty much the exact size.
I was expecting a market defining product (like the wii, or the google chrome devices) not just a safe product in an existing market, but if I was a shareholder I’d be very happy.
I think that might have been me, but with bog standard LCD I can’t see it being so great for this. Try resizing your browser to 768 pixels wide and read some online text to see what I mean… Hard to imagine reading whole books this way, and battery life is crap compared to Kindle.
I think iPad is more web browser than reader (and certainly superior to similar webpads announced recently, eg JooJoo née CrunchPad).
A simple 7″ version of the iPod Touch with 640 x 960 would have been a better fit I think… For something the size of the iPad (dwarfs iPhone and even standard Kindle) I expected more functionality/versatility.
i think this article is spot on:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/feb/01/ipad-therefore-iwant-why-idunno