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.
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Kordan said 11:12AM on 11-27-2006
As a student I often find myself sitting in class taking notes wish that I could file them electronically but still hand write them. This being much easier than trying to manipulate typed text. (Arrows and all that) but as much as I would love a tablet PC I would never buy a Windows one. Apple would have my money on this.
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Erica Sadun said 11:15AM on 11-27-2006
I totally understand. I'm a Newton lover myself.
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MySchizoBuddy said 11:46AM on 11-27-2006
Tablets never took off.
why does apple want to enter a totally useless market
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Cameron Campbell said 11:52AM on 11-27-2006
I'm with MySchizoBuddy on this (presuming that they are actually going to go into this market), where are the clients for this?
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Jon said 11:56AM on 11-27-2006
"Tablets never took off.
why does apple want to enter a totally useless market"
MP3 players never took off before the iPod came along.
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mrluo said 12:29PM on 11-27-2006
Apple entered the digital music player market that didn't quite take off then. Apple entered the personal computer market in 1984 that didn't quite take off then too.
The point is that Apple do not seem to enter markets that already took off. They have, most of the the time, entered market that didn't take off, bringing the solutions that work, and make it grow beyond epic proportion. The ipod is a great example.
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Kwispel said 12:03PM on 11-27-2006
Something like Nokia 770? I would buy one (would prefer screen size of about 10-12 inches) for reading ebooks, GPS navigation and brainless surfing while waiting for a train or being stuck in the traffic jam.
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Steve Philips said 2:22PM on 11-27-2006
I think there are many places where a tablet form factor would be great. Thinking primarily of doctors, but pollsters, some types of students, much of the same crowd that the Newton was unsuccessfully aimed at.
To be able to click boxes with a stylus as well as write in text fields, rather than sitting down and typing on a lap top could be very functional.
However, I think finding the right form factor (size etc.) will be difficult. The device for these uses would need a lot of very functional templates from the very beginning in order to be truly useful. The users would need to be able to immediately make use of them. Software that would allow easy creation of applications within these "templates" would be what could make the device successful. (All other physical usage factors presumably well implemented. "Ink" etc.)
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Dave said 12:13PM on 11-27-2006
I'm with Jon here. Tablets may not have taken off in the past, but then Apple didn't make one. Nothing may come of this, but I know *I'd* like a nice shiny new MacSlate, and Apple do have a patent for just such a machine...
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Callum said 12:14PM on 11-27-2006
this will be my next mac, i almost shelled out on a MacBook this weekend to replace my ailing 12" iBook, but too wide and too glossy... what's the deal with that screen. as someone who'd really like to use a computer 'on the go' for notes and sketches etc. a tablet is just what i want. i really culd be persuaded back to windows on this issue... if apple don't get a move on; 12" MacBooks or the Tablet Mac thanks!
-- as someone who recently spent a long train journey sitting next to a tablet user (in the end asking her whether i could have a go and hogging it from Dundee to Edinburgh) i've got to say i don't care whether this takes off or not. the nasty HP thing she had did the job... Photoshop was a breeze, just clicking around the screen was fun, who knows what'd happen if i had tablet functionality when i needed to b productive - just thinking about my poor trackpad or Apple Pro mouse being used on a bus, in the back of a taxi etc. - madness. a pen... :D
anyone use a 'tablet' input device with OS X's current support... how is it? i'd love to try it out.
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Matt said 12:53PM on 11-27-2006
"anyone use a 'tablet' input device with OS X's current support... how is it? i'd love to try it out."
AFAIK, there is no built-in support for tablets in OSX. I use a Wacom Intuos 3 9x10 tablet and it works great using the Wacom drivers (didn't even try to see if it was PnP in any way), and handwriting recognition takes a few days to "learn" your writing style, but after that it's spot on 95% of the time.
stories like this make me wish Apple and Wacom would get together to incorporate a Cintiq-like screen into a MacBook Pro or even a Cinema Display
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Allen said 2:10PM on 11-27-2006
Speaking as an illustrator and designer, I want a Mac tablet in the worst way. I've had the pleasure of owning a Wacom Cintiq (draw directly on the screen) and my current setup is a PowerBook + IntuosII drawing tablet - so I use a pen stylus for pretty much everything. The ultimate for me would be to be able to draw directly on my PowerBook screen (with similar functionality as the Cintiq - pressure sensitivity, specifically) and move the keyboard out of the way. A Mac slate would be the perfect expression of this for me, and I know a lot of other artist-types who feel the same way. Tablets have been the ONLY source of Windows envy for me, and I would definitely spend the money if Apple delivered one.
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PlanitaryGear said 1:14PM on 11-27-2006
I think he means the text entry stuff that is built in, you might still need a low lever driver for the tablet itself, but once you have that you can use "ink"
I've played with it, it's VERY similar to the newton character recognition. If you train it a little bit it can get very good. As far as I know it was ported to the Mac a long time ago, but not improved or added to at all. If they put a little development effort into it I'm betting it can be WAY better than what I"ve played with on windows tablets.
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Joseph Crawford said 1:33PM on 11-27-2006
I really do hope apple comes out with a tablet. I have the Toshiba Tecra M4 and absolutely hate it. I have had to return it 4 times now for several different reasons. Mainly overheating, screen distortion. However the most recent is the speakers crackling and the cdrom sounding like a jet when you put in a CD.
I have lost all faith in Toshiba products and will never buy another one. Since the purchase of this tablet i have been debating getting a MBP but would LOVE to see a tablet, i would buy one as long as the price was reasonable.
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Matt said 3:01PM on 11-27-2006
Allen, I think you hit the nail on the head there. I don't think there would be a better seller of Apple hardware than a Cintiq-like screen (whether as a separate display or integrated into a tablet) geared towards us designers. I've had the pleasure of using a Cintiq, but don't have the pocketbook to buy one (yet), and I think Apple, with their experience and dominance in the graphics and design areas, could really 'hit a grand slam' if the went for a pressure-sensitive designers' tablet.
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Jamie Phelps said 9:54AM on 11-28-2006
All this hubbub about an Apple tablet and the iPhone is quite peculiar to me. Has it not occurred to people that they might be pretty much one and the same? All that the iTablet would be is the "touch screen" interface of the iPod applied to a larger form factor. I think that larger form factor is just as likely a smartphone (think Moto Q). All this stuff about the iTablet (including all those patent reports [http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=patent+tablet+site:thinksecret.com&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8]) seems consistent with Apple's continued efforts to throw off all us rumor mongers.
I think Apple has wanted to "reinvent" the Newton (pure speculation on my part) but they recognize that the future of PDA's is in the smartphone. So, can anyone envision a Moto Q size iPhone that plays music and runs OS X Mobile (mobile versions of iCal, Adddress Book, and Mail)?
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Les D said 9:10AM on 11-30-2006
I've Been waiting for this for years. Being a pc user and tech, and an artist, I've been waiting for the technology for tablets to improve. And If any company was going to do that, I knew it would be Apple. Anyone who feels there's no market for this has really no use for an art pad. Macs were at one point mainly a graphics tool. Now everyone and their Aunt Fanny is using macs even if they're doing nothing but checking email with them.
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