Apple iPad or iSlate or or Steve’s Tablet, What will Apple Call its Media Tablet?

(editors note: The Apple iPad Tablet was announced on 1-27-10)
It’s an Apple iPad — no, it’s an iTablet — no, it’s an iSlate. Whatever Apple calls it, here it comes. Tablet computers and tablet computing, which has been revving up in the last few years, is about to get its figurehead. Apple is projected to unveil their new technology Jan. 27th. Steve Jobs may, however, simply step up to announce the new item and show it to the world; it may not be available for sale yet. Even so, once the Apple iSlate/iPad is available you can predict that stores will be emptied of it within days, as happened with the 3G iPhone.
Smartpeople® have been combing through Apple’s considerable stack of patent applications to see if they can anticipate which ideas will be utilized and made real on the new slate or tablet computer, since naturally all the patents must be already filed and safe before they put the product in front of public eyes. Not being one of the Smartpeople®, I have made my own predictions, below.

To help determine which ideas Apple will be using, you might think about what they want to achieve and make the iSlate do. The features they choose to include will be in the context of what devices you likely already have, whether you’re a devoted Apple user or one of the general public. Apple isn’t going to simply make a bigger iPhone, for instance. And they aren’t going to replicate the Tablet PC.

Writing Pad and Stylus

A “tablet” used to be a flat thing — of paper, unless you were Moses — that you wrote on with a pen. Apple’s word, “slate,” is also retro, suggesting a 19th-century student writing with chalk on a black slate. Both of these old items, the tablet and the slate, served us well through the ages. Suppose you took one and made it magic? To carry a slate that contains a computer is a pleasing thought that would make me feel like a sorcerer’s apprentice. Especially if it’s light enough to grab with one hand, tuck under your arm, and go. It’s rumored that Apple has registered the name “Magic Slate.” Excellent, if I may quote Mr. Burns.
For awhile now, computer companies have been trying to make that magic slate/tablet. Microsoft’s Tablet PC has a screen you use a touch-sensitive pen on, which seems cool until you think about how short a lifetime a heavily used screen like that is going to offer, getting scraped on all the time. The Tablet PC carries an adjusted version of their OS — XP Tablet — for the device. You can even load voice dictation software on it; and I’d like to make a note of that feature; that is nice. MacSpeech Dictate, anyone?

Yes, Virginia, There Will Be a iPad Involved

The thing about the iPad/iSlate that I can’t see clearly is how they’ll handle writing and drawing. A slate is meant to be used as such, but the toll that takes on a nice screen — this is difficult to surmount. If you’re sitting with your tablet computer taking a few notes, note-taking might be accomplished by writing on a small area of the screen, preserving the rest, but if you’re writing quite a bit of text you need a lot of room. And drawing certainly needs the entire screen area. Since I believe the Apple tablet will offer the ability to write and draw with a stylus, I’m going to assume they’ve come up with a really, really good screen. And I’ll also assume the writing features will have several alternatives. You may want, for instance, to handwrite notes and then save them. Your longhand notes, taken in a hurry at a work meeting or in a class, are likely to be in cursive and will not conform to a specific alphabet the device recognizes. So you should be able to save the notes simply as a series of images. (Which you could email immediately, etc.) If you happen to write shorthand, then you definitely must save your work as an image.
**Update: Since Wired.com has thoughtfully provided a look at the invitation Apple sent out for the Jan. 27 event, I am now confident their tablet will focus on drawing, writing, and… painting. This invitation is as colorful as ClarisWorks was on the original iMacs.

The Cuneiform Option

If you want to write and have the computer interpret it as text, then you’re asking for a second option. That should of course be included, but I don’t plan to use it much. I write messily and it is the only way I can write longhand. If we have to relearn an alphabet that the software can recognize in order to write on this slate, like we did years ago for the Palm, I’d just as soon have a clay tablet and write cuneiform.

But of course some people (youngsters) would like to have a secret script to use on this, just as they like to use numbers in their words instead of letters, and stuff like that.

Touchme-Feelme Screen

Like the iPhone, excellent touchscreen technology on the islate will be key. It eliminates the need for a mouse, stylus or keyboard. It’s cool. But it’s a delicate technology. Our ipods had to have special screen covers and we have to use sense when carrying them around. And many of us would far rather type, which is not easily done on a flat picture on glass of a keyboard. I need the keys. This is a given, that the slate will have a USB port for keyboard and even mouse.

Of Mice and Men

People should never assume the mouse is dying and about to disappear. To let it disappear would be going backward, not forward! The mouse, after all, is our Homer Simpson remote control: I know people who lie down, their arms at their sides, and holding the mouse in their hand, comfortably and lazily surf the internet, by moving the mouse around on the floor (if that’s what the person is lying on). They lift their eyes a mere few inches to gaze at their big screen display, which is placed perhaps on the nearby coffeetable. Or you can sit in your heated massage chair and run the mouse on the chair arm to surf, the screen upright on the table before you. You don’t have to reach your poor, tired arm out to touch the screen! (There will, of course, be a kickstand or dock to hold the iSlate up.) Let us be comfy, for heaven’s sake, and keep our mouses.

Apple is certain to give us some really neat shortcuts and new things, touch-wise. Drawing small circles or shapes to execute a function, for instance. Drawing your finger diagonally to do something else. They could be geared to make sense for specific applications. And some of the aforementioned Smartpeople® have said that Apple is instituting neat things like a wave of the hand to navigate. You don’t even have to touch the touchscreen. The inbuilt camera will facilitate this, they say.

Speaking of the camera, which is virtually certain to be included, I wish it could be on both the front and back, moveable; not just the back like Microsoft’s PC Tablet has. If not, then I’d like the camera on the front.

Other things we may want to do on the islate/ipad/imedia tablet:
1. download and read ebooks
2. surf internet
3. play movies, TV shows, other media
4. make calls
5. instant message/text
6. take still photos or video
7. edit photo & video
8. carry it around without plugging it in for a full day
9. connect it to a TV and play media
10. sync its media with a computer

Look at #6 in my list. I’m rather interested in that one. One of the uses of the tablet/slate computer has always been that it’s great to carry into a class or meeting and do stuff. Imagine creating a video presentation on your iPad/iSlate — propping it up o your work table, sitting down in front of it and recording an introduction, then taking your slate down to another location, filming (sorry, using the retro word) another bit of it, then going home and finishing it with a series of moving charts, graphs, and so on. Imagine taking your slate to the business conference room and playing it, perhaps hooking it up to a TV for a bigger screen for a group. Selfmade media has been one of the best things the computer industry has given us.

But if you like Kindle types of devices best, you may value most the ability to read books, or record text and notes as you write them, in a very, very portable device still big enough not to give you eyestrain, light enough to hold and tilt like a book. The Kindle’s popularity has surged, of late. Any voracious reader would be grateful for a similar non-glaring, paperlike screen.

Internet Service Providers

One of the biggest iPad/iSlate issues may be the internet connectibility and the question of monthly contracts to an ISP. If you already have an iPhone (or, for that matter, a Blackberry or other phone with broadband) are you very eager to sign up for another expensive carrier contract? Probably not. I look for Apple to have about 3 different connectivity options for the iPad/iSlate.

The first would be the iPhone type monthly contract, made more affordable because Apple grants one carrier all the business. This would be sensible for people intending to use it a great deal.

The second would be an option to plug in a 3G/4G broadband card which may come from any of several carriers, the same 3G broadband card you may have in your laptop.

Third, an option to have no internet contract at all, but Wi-Fi is built in and you can go online if you go somewhere providing connectivity. If you choose you can always go sign up for a contract.

Apple — The Infinite Loop of Quality

This is why we’re all queuing up to buy their stuff, yes? We expect that this will have a great look and feel, have excellent software and OS, long battery life. This device will outstrip the tablet PCs, some of which did very well on a PC format. Panasonic ToughBook had a good battery and great security features, as well as a camera. Pencept had good writing pad aspects. And then Dell, Gateway, and multiple other computer manufacturers came across with tablet computers which usually ran XP Tablet as their operating system but often disappointed, some looking simply like laptops that broke at the hinge. These had only middling popularity, but the fever for tablet computing had risen fast. The Kindle, then, made us crazy for tablets, since it was a unique answer to the same question, and our big brother, Apple, hadn’t even spoken his piece yet… and we were left waiting.

The Microsoft Courier is the one Apple will be pressed to beat. It is like an electronic journal plus web browsing. Very good for business meetings, or for solo work, in or out of the office. It has page/image capture, as well as text copy and save. You can share files with other Courier users by using the command “publish.” (This fileshare feature Apple users already have if they subscribe to a .Me account. And there are a host of other ways they can fileshare for free.) The Courier uses capacitive touchscreens, but you can use a stylus too. And there’s a camera on back. The whole thing is very student and/or workplace oriented. You can really get things done. It’s unusual, too, because it folds like a book and uses 2 screens, and you can drag things from one to the other. You can lift an image from a webpage on the right screen, “paperclip” it in the middle, while you bring up the journal page on the left where you want to file the paperclipped item. Then move it over.

The thing is, Microsoft seems to want to build its image as a dull work drone company. Dull but focused on the job; gets the work done! But to rely on this image is a big mistake when your rival has made such an effective spoof on it. John Hodgman and Justin Long are surely waiting to step out on our (Apple)TVs and have their little discussions on whether they are Macs or PCs all over again.

Apple can beat Microsoft easily if it makes its media work efficiently on the iPad/Slate. The iSight camera of the MacBook, the music and video player on the iPod, are already wonderful. We do have to get our work done but those things made it so much more enjoyable. We even made it part of our work. So just include those in the iSlate, please; hand me a stylus, and give me that thing. Sometime this century, Steve.

Apple Event 9/09/09: Apple iPad Computer Launch?

Today, 9/09/09, Apple Computer launched the Apple iPad Computer, or at least it did in a number of predictions floating around the internet.   Rumor has it that on 9/9/09 at 1:00pm EST (10:00am PST) Apple will unveil the much anticipated Apple iPad at the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco.   That being said, we couldn’t resist offering our own dissemination on the Apple iPad specs.
 
1. Steve Jobs 2.0   Steve is BACK, new and improved!!!   After a liver transplant and beating back cancer, Jobs will take the stage looking fit and healthy, and introduce new products as well with a 3D holographic of The Beatles playing “Yellow Submarine” in the background.   The new iPlayer will not only offer 3-D projection, but will also be compatible with the new Apple line as 3-D virtual reality sunglasses.   In addition, he will show off a few well thought out dance moves thought up while in recovery.   Apple’s stock price will rise 5.5% as a result in trading between 3 and 5 pm.

 
2. The Apple iPad will be unveiled.   Instead of introducing a 10″ model as most everyone has predicted thus far, Apple will surprise everyone with a mini tablet model with a 6.5″ widescreen capable of outputting 3-D movies.   Live streaming movies are a definite possibility with the addition of HD output and 3.5 G GSM radios.   Other innovations will include gaming capabilities and optional Bluetooth game controllers.   In addition, the Apple iPad will come standard with a still and video camera with user friendly software used to upload video to popular services.   Going another step further, Apple will offer iMedia, an extension of iTunes, which will be comparable to YouTube.   The 10″ iPad will be introduced in March 2010, and will be nicknamed the Maxi.
 
3. The Full Beatles Catalog will be available, and to kick off the celebrations, Yoko Ono Lennon and son Sean as well as Paul McCartney will broadcast a mini concert live to the Apple fans! Steve Jobs will once again amaze the Apple stockholders with his dance moves and ability to lip-synch.
 
4. 3D Movies. Steve Jobs leapfrogs the competition by offering 3D Movies, as well as a 3D display mode.
 
5. The New iTouch will offer a 2x zoom 3 Megapixel camera with face detection, a non-contact power system, and the dock as well as the new iTouch models will be upgraded to USB 3.0.   The iTouch will come with stereo microphones, and Jobs will demonstrate both the new stereo bluetooth headset, as well as the Bluetooth stereo and surround sound speakers and enhanced dock with HDMI output.
 
6. HD 720p becomes the standard.   The iTunes store will drop standard definition video content and replace it with HD 720p video and movies with 5.1 Dolby surround sound.   New movies and TV shows will be upgraded due to the fact that the sales of the HD 720p shows at $2.99 were extremely weak in comparison to the $1.99 SD version but download costs were the samel, within about two cents.   Expect premium video resolution to become the iPad standard as each generation of iTunes has seen the quality and resolution of video content almost double.   Do not look for Apple to introduce full HD 1920p just yet as the download times would be extremely slow for most surfers.
 
7. Apple TV 3.0 is introduced.   In addition to being bigger, stronger and faster Apple TV is now a gaming console.   It will wow the masses with USB 3.0, external hard drive support and easy to use DVR function supported by the included tuner.   CPU speed will double, Bluetooth game pads will be included along with an assortment of demos and one full gamel.   The icing on the cake is the fact that with an external look alike multimedia and amplifier module, it will play Blue-Ray, DVD’s and CD’s.   Simply add external speakers and a screen and you have your home theatre system.
 
8. The Micro Air MacBook will be introduced.   Rumor in our back room has it that instead of producing a Apple iTablet or iPad, the mythical 10″ LCD screens are actually destined for a Micro Air Laptop.   It will be as if Steve Jobs simply took the 3.0 Lb 13.3″ Screen MacBook Air, and put it in the dryer to shrink it down to a 10″ display screen and weight of 1.5 lbs. Oh, and added wireless USB.   Smaller, Smaller… that’s it.
 
9. Apple Gaming Division is announced.   To help kick off the celebration, Apple announces that a special Beatles Edition of Rock Band will be made available for both the iTouch, iPad, and Apple TV 3.0 immediately.   In addition to a free copy of the Beatles Rock Band edition, the first 100,000 customers get free wireless Bluetooth game controllers and free Bluetooth stereo headsets.   Steve really is a huge music fan, and this is his master coup.
 
10. Will the Apple iPad Computer Tablet launch today?   We think not.   Rather we predict the 10″ Micro Air and the 6″ Maxi Ipad / iTouch Max.   But if it does launch today, the Apple iPad Computer will be a breakthrough multimedia device, combining the best of the Apple TV, the iTouch, and a Netbook.   It would look like a Max sized iTouch, or a shrunken down MacBook Air.   Specs will include stereo Bluetooth, Gaming, Remote Control of iTunes and Media.   It may be nicknamed the Media Slate, and will come with software to match.   The real reason why the true iPad will not be announced is that both ATT and Verizon have told Jobs that their networks can not yet handle the volume of traffic expected from the media Pad he has developed, which will have either a 3.5G or 4G radio inside.   Jobs is ready to push technology to the next level but has to wait for everyone else to catch up so that live streaming HD video will play directly through the cell companies’ networks.
 
11. iTunes Store offers iMedia and iTunes Virtual Community.   Having seen album sales slide quarter after quarter, Steve Jobs and music industry bosses have formulated a plan to bring back the album.   A new format will be introduced that emulates and improves upon a vinyl album, including 3d album liner, lyrics, photo gallery, audio notes, and more.   iTunes Virtual?   Expect hyper links galore at minimum and even possibly a Wikipedia/Myspace social networking mashup.   Apple wants to make iTunes a community and social destination where you can discuss your favorite music, movies, concerts and tv shows.   We think that only Apple can pull this off by building a easy to navigate yet full featured interactive music community.   Will it be virtual? Will it be 3-D?   At this point, only Apple knows the answers to all we speculate…
 
We will all know the truth only after the curtain rises, and the magic show is over, until next time, that it. Hopefully, Steve will not do “The Robot” dance as planned. Now, did we mention the Apple Robot being introduced? Hmmm.   Either way, today will leave us with new products to use and analyze, and we will have a greater understanding of what the future holds for Apple and it’s rapidly expanding Media empire.

2009 – Year of the Tablet and iPad Computer

What is an iPad Computer?

An iPad computer, or iPad tablet computer, with the “i” meaning “INTERNET”, is a touch sensitive computer designed for surfing the net, media play and portability, made by Sony, HP, Apple (pending), Nokia, Dell, and more.
 
* The iPad Computer should cost somewhere between $400 and $1,000.
 
What makes the iPad different from the first generation tablet computers?   In addition to size and weight, companies like Apple and Sony are introducing advanced communication features such as webcams, bluetooth and 802.11 N WiFi.   However, this is only projected information as Apple has not yet announced the release of an iPad or tablet type computer.
 
The size and weight of present and projected iPads range anywhere from 5×7, 12 ounces to 8.5×11 and two pounds.   Possible advanced features of the iPad could include a Bluetooth keyboard that “docks,” a stereo Bluetooth headset optimized for audio, voice recognition and 3G/4G capability.
 
For those of us trying to envision what the iPad may look like when it is unveiled, the possibilities are endless.   Imagine the MacBook Air minus the keyboard and the addition of a touch sensitive screen.

 
Decreasing the MacBook screen from the current 13 inches to 10 inches would perhaps make it a 1.5 Ib super iPad. Going one step further and equipping the iPad with USB 3.0 and a high resolution camera with face tracking, would put a power touch on the system.
 
Conversely, Apple may simply take the phenomenally popular iTouch and put it on steroids, thereby increasing the screen size from 3.5 inches to six inches.     This would allow sufficient resolution for both e-book legibility and downloadable and on demand high-definition movies.   Industry rumblings also suggest that Apple may turn the iPad into an iGame machine by adding a higher speed graphic coprocessor.
 
This would be Apple’s first move into the gaming arena and would be significant if the iPad came equipped with Bluetooth wireless controllers, wireless media server and iCamera – preferably one with 3-D capability.   The icing on the cake would be to pair the iPad with the Apple TV, as an ultra remote, drawing table and content controller.
 
Other issues surrounding the iPad include those about operating systems and battery life.   Of great importance is the fact that Apple had previously shrunk the OS X for the iTouch, therefore they would have an insignificant amount of re-writing to do in order to ready an OS for a larger, faster iPad.   Apple has already addressed the battery life issue by installing non-removable batteries, with a promised life of between five to seven years, in the Air portable and new generation 13, 15 and even 17 inch MacBooks.   These non-removable, ultra capacity, long life batteries are exactly what is needed to not cripple processor speeds, while at the same time still pleasing the “must watch a three hour movie” crowd.
 
It is widely expected that Apple will make a move into both the textbook and book publishing market in order to counter [/caption] Amazon’s Kindle, now in its second generation, and Sony’s e-book readers, two of which were just announced with mention of a third model coming.   Sony has teamed up with industry heavyweight Google to offer more than one million e-books at launch.
 
Sony has been in the position to release a tablet for years, as the PSP has always had the processing power and the graphics capability necessary.   Imagine the Sony PSP, now in its 2.5 generation, upgraded with a touch sensitive screen.   Many people who have attempted to watch movies or surf the Web on the PSP have been hoping for a larger version for years.   It is now or never.   If Sony does not make a move soon it will miss the opportunity of a lifetime.
 

  Speculation has arisen that cell phone giant Nokia would make a move into the iPad/iTablet arena as well.   For several years, Nokia has been incrementally improving its Wifi internet browsing mini tablet.   I bet you never heard of it, but I had one three years ago.   By the way, the Nokia has been running at 800×480 resolution for years.
 
And what if Apple joins with Garmin and installs the Garmin GPS Map software and a GPS chip on all systems?   Instant car karma.
 
If you wanted to get fancier, you could have two iPads side by side, and drag content from one to the other.   (Take THAT, Microsoft!)
 
We predict that between Fall 2009 and Spring 2010, the battle will be on, and it will be the year of the iPad tablet Computer.

Apple Is Hard At Work, At Something

The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday on how Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO, has shifted his focus into high gear towards the internet tablet that Apple is rumored to be releasing sometime in the near future.

The article mentioned Mr. Jobs has been on top of his personnel and combing over every detail, much like he reportedly did right before the iPhone’s release in ’07.  It’s interesting that Apple and their representatives refuse to discuss any projects in the works, but clearly something is brewing.  Being hush about any future projects is standard procedure for them.  However, that hasn’t prevented the tech industry from being chatty about the likelihood of Apple releasing a multi media internet tablet.
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If Apple Releases An Apple Ipad Computer, What Might The Specs Be?

Will there be an Apple ipad computer? Legions of tech savvy consumers are waiting to find out if Apple will really be releasing an Apple iPad computer of sorts in September.  If so, what will the specifications be?  No one knows exactly. There is a lot of talk about what features there will or won’t be.  Here is a list of some of the features we might find on their ipad tablet:
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What Would Apple’s Version Of An iPad Look Like?

Presently, no one quite knows what Apple’s rumored internet tablet will look like exactly.  We won’t really know until they are ready to be released.  That hasn’t stopped many of the gadget industry’s bloggers and journalists from coming up with their own ideas of how their ipad might look.  From everything that is being said about the device, such as how it will be a larger version of the iPod Touch, I can’t see their ideas being too far off from reality, but you can judge that for yourself after seeing some of the mock ups that have been created in the blogosphere thus far.  Take a look!

Chris Messina over at FactoryJoe.com created some interesting mock ups of what he thinks the iPad will look like.  The first one is just demonstrating what it will look like with the touch screen.

This next one Messina came up with shows an example of what the software interface might look like.

Messina also speculated the menu might look like this instead:

Another blogger, Sam Johnston from samj.net had a few ideas of his own.

Thanks to the creativity of these bloggers, we’re given a possible depiction of what’s to come.  Now look at some of the ipads that are on the market already and have been for some time now.  Here is one of the more popular ones named the Nokia N810.

It’s hard to tell from the picture, but here are the actual dimensions of the device: 9.4 x 7.5 x 3.1 inches.  It weight 1.6 lbs.  Here’s another picture of it, but this time with the QWERTY keyboard that slides out and a mini stand.

Here’s another model of an ipad currently on the market.  It is an Archos 5 250 GB

Again, it’s hard to tell the size, but here are the dimensions of this model: 5 x 0.8 x 3.1 inches and it weighs 1.4 pounds.  By looking at these, you can tell the bloggers aren’t that far off.

Apple iPad vs. The Kindle

There is much debate amongst techies on whether the rumored impending release of an Apple internet tablet/pad will virtually stop the Kindle in its tracks.  Some think that if they do release an ipad people will just download the Kindle application available already on other devices, such as iPhones, to supplement the vast array of uses it might come with, making it the ultimate multi-media, must have gadget of our time.
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iPad Computer Competition

We’ve discussed what Apple’s version of an ipad might look like and what it might be able to do once released.  Let’s see how this stacks up against the competition.  There are a whole slew of people out there in the tech industry who believe Apple’s rendition of an itablet could be one of the best creations ever.  If they were to release an ipad of their own, what would they have to do to make this true?  The answer is in the competition – netbooks, e-readers and other itablets.  They obviously need to surpass what’s already out there. (more…)

What Is An iPad Computer?

An ipad computer is an internet tablet.  Often times they are referred to as smaller versions of netbooks since you get internet access along with a vast array of PC functions on a smaller scale.  Generally, internet tablets have no keyboards and are small enough to fit into one’s pocket.  Huge convenience in a little package!

Currently there is much speculation on what will transpire when the release of Apple’s internet tablet – or whatever they are going to call it – happens.  Some say this multi-media giant will crush such competition like the Kindle with its large touch screen, multi media functions and applications – including a Kindle app.

Very little precise information is known about the product – including the name.  Its release is being kept very hush-hush.  In fact, much of what is said is purely based on speculation, rumors and media leaks that have slipped out.  While several of the theories vary, they don’t vary by much.  For instance, some suggest the touch screen will be 6 inches while others suggest it’s going to be as large as 10 inches.  Some individuals project it will cost $600 or so and others suggest it will be priced at upwards of $800.

One thing most agree on is that it will give many other products such as the Kindle, many net books and other ipads currently on the market, a run for their money.  It is believed that Apple is creating something that will be capable of everything an iPod touch is, only on a larger scale, yet still conveniently small enough that it doesn’t feel as bulky as a laptop does at times.  Like the iPhone, supposedly their ipad will be able to play movies, and music.  Interestingly enough, there are talks that it will have the Kindle application, so it will be able to tap into the “e-readers” market as well.

It’s easy to see what all the buzz is about.  You wouldn’t need your laptop anymore as it will have internet capabilities with a touch screen keyboard – in several languages no less.  You could store and play all the music, movies and books you purchase.  It would basically be a traveling mini-computer of its own.  Let’s see if this becomes the newest device we can’t live without.