Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Portables, Rumors
The history of the mythical iTablet
Stefan Constantinescu of IntoMobile has written a lengthy piece dissecting the long, tortuous history of the Newton II/Apple Tablet/iTablet/Tablet Mac. It's a pretty comprehensive look at seven years worth of speculation, rumor, outlandish analyst claims, more speculation, more rumor, and event after event with no release of what's become Apple's most infamous vaporware product.The article is definitely worth a read (as long as you're not sensitive to its occasionally salty language), but the conclusion Constantinescu reaches at the end of the article is perhaps most interesting of all:
"The Apple Tablet does not exist. What do I believe will happen? [...] I believe what will be announced at the end of this year, or early next year, is a new MacBook with a 10 or 11.6 inch screen. The screen may or may not be touch enabled. This will be the first Mac portable with a 16:9 aspect ratio LCD. Why wide? One reason: foot print. With a wide LCD, a laptop in the open/closed position can house a wider keyboard."
While that certainly sounds plausible, there's one thing I have to wonder: aside from a slightly wider keyboard and a possible touch screen, what distinguishes that theoretical miniature MacBook from the glut of netbooks made by other manufacturers, products that Apple has derided as underpowered machines that provide a dismal user experience?
While Apple does have a history of taking existing products, putting their own spin on them, and gaining industry laurels for innovation as a result (iMac, iPod), the introduction of a product like the one Constantinescu is talking about seems a little bit too much "Me too!" even for Apple. Such a device would also heavily cannibalize sales of the MacBook Air, to the point of making that device largely irrelevant.
After reading this piece, our own Aron Trimble noted, "I don't think it makes any more sense to speculate on what Apple will not do than to speculate on what Apple will do." Despite the fact that I pretty much did just the same thing, I agree with him.
The only thing that's certain about all of this: until Apple releases something like an iTablet, or definitively says "We will never, ever make this product, and we mean it, pinky swear!" the speculation will never end.
What do you think? Do you agree with Constantinescu that the long-rumored Tablet Mac will never see the light of day? Let us know in the comments.
(Picture by Adam Benton for MacFormat magazine)
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Daniel Anderson Jr. said 12:01AM on 8-04-2009
I know the graphic is just a mock-up but that really seems plausible.
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MacGeek said 1:01AM on 8-04-2009
Off-topic, for people who don't remember, this guy once asked for donations for an iMac and when he got it, he turned out to be a douchebag. http://gizmodo.com/166703/give-a-poor-boy-a-break
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Chris Griffin said 2:07AM on 8-04-2009
I believe IF Apple is to release a tablet like product it will have some new innovative way of dealing with delivering a full size keyboard in a less than full size device. Apple is very good a looking at something and turning it all which way and coming up with something that nobody thought of. When everyone sees it they say "Of course! How simple."
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jwfnla said 2:16AM on 8-04-2009
Of course there will be a Mac tablet of some description. First of all, it will make money for Apple. Secondly, they need to keep adding to their product line. The iPhone was two years ago. It's time for 'something', and a tablet seems to be the obvious choice.
I can assure you that Jobs has held a Kindle and thought, 'We'll blow this thing out of the water.'
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Visvamba Nathan said 10:00AM on 8-05-2009
Youf forget that there was a 6-year gap between iPod and iPhone, with nothing pretty ground-breaking in that iPhone kinda way.
penum6ra said 3:45AM on 8-04-2009
From Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary (dated 1984, ironically enough):
"Vaporware - a computer-related product that has been widely advertised but has not and may never become available."
Pretty sure that Apple has never advertised or publicly acknowledged even in the slightest degree that any sort of a tablet existed or was under development. With so many other companies and true vaporware out there, calling this never-announced product vaporware is incorrect.
Not trolling, just think that one shouldn't damn a company for something it hasn't actually done - like announcing and not shipping - a cardinal sin for the tech world if there ever was one!
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punkassjim said 6:22PM on 8-04-2009
THANK you. I mean, I guess I can understand when the unwashed masses spout "vaporware" simply because they confuse rumor with announcement. But high-profile technology bloggers?
Then again, most TUAW bloggers don't even seem to proofread, so it could just be an honest mistake.
Matt Kern said 2:44AM on 8-04-2009
Apple makes money on speculation. Why would they want it to stop?
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eleyp said 3:21AM on 8-04-2009
Purely speculative prediction: the 'new' device will be a tablet design and branded a reborn 'iBook'.
Remember 'iBook', as a brand, has vanished for at least two years(?). A lot of speculation about an Apple tablet device has been focused on competing with netbooks/Amazon Kindle (e-books).
Doesn't seem like Apple would be willing to let a whole iBook brand/line go extinct without a plan...
"that's design!"
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TR said 11:21AM on 8-04-2009
Then, they could have a new Mac line with consumer and prosumer models: iBook and *PowerBook*. ;-)
But personally, for some reason it feels odd that they'd resurrect and old brand...
Andy said 3:42AM on 8-04-2009
What about a device like this at the same price point as the current MB Air, then re-marketing that device at a different price, either lower to compete in netbook market, or higher to compete with other high-end, small size notebooks?
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Janichsan said 3:44AM on 8-04-2009
I don't believe in the iTablet, simply because it would be a one-trick-pony. What else could do you with it but lie on your couch and surf the internet?
It's too big (10") to be a feasible portable music player.
It's useless as a e-book reader: the quality of LCD displays is not good enough to prevent eye-strain (in contrast to e-ink displays in dedicated ebook readers) and they drain too much battery power (also compared to e-ink displays).
It's useless for working: typing on a virtual touchscreen keyboard is even worse than typing on a tiny netbook keyboard.
It *might* work as portable multimedia (read: movie) player, but there's again the size - there's a reason why similarily sized portable DVD players never really took hold.
What's more, such a thing would require yet another version of OS X: MacOS X is unfeasible due to the size of its control elements. On a 10" screen, they would be too small to be usable. iPhoneOS X on the other hand - and all apps running on it - is too much adapted to the iPhone's/iTouch's screen size: there's just no mechanism for changing the resolution.
Whatever that mysterious 10" Apple device will be, I'm sure it won't be a oversized iPod touch aka iTablet.
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Jordan said 9:20AM on 8-04-2009
I completely agree with you. I keep hearing about people talking as if the tablet would be the greatest thing..when they don't know anything about it or if it even exists.
I really don't see the market for something like this. I definitely would never buy one. The main market share that Apple has in the computer arena is artists/pros (or people who think they're pros...) who would never be able to use a tablet for work. Then there are college students, some will buy it to look cool, but I would hope most realize they need a full fledged computer with a real keyboard. After that is home users - and what would they use this for? Sure, some will go out and buy it right away to look cool but beyond that I don't see any market for this. Netbooks are small, full fledged computers that cost a lot less than what a tablet would probably cost. If Apple wants to keep the iphone/pod looking worth it at the price level they have it at they are going to have to price a tablet high, and I don't see them dropping the price of the phone/pod anytime soon.
The Newton failed, and a tablet would/will too.
neil said 4:26AM on 8-04-2009
I'm with 'penum6ra' on this, could TUAW please explain how something that has never been announced och presented from a company be vaporware?
In my book something becomes waporware when it is said to be arriving and never does.
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J.Noe said 9:08AM on 8-04-2009
Agreed. Let's call it rumorware then.
tuaw said 4:40AM on 8-04-2009
An iTablet powered by an Intel processor would indeed be underpowered. A highly integrated 2GHz ARM core, however, would absolutely blow away an Atom solution. The PA Semi acquisition made no sense to me just for iPhone development. You could have paid for contract engineering plus tight NDAs for a lot less money. Add an assault on the netbook space and it makes more sense. The PA Semi guys seem to have added absolutely nothing to the iPhone so far, and it's been more than a year since Apple acquired them. Assuming they aren't sitting around twiddling their thumbs, why not a netbook? I'm sure this is way-crazy speculation.
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oakie said 4:46AM on 8-04-2009
i think everyone has missed what is already happening in Apple's product line.
why do i think there will be a netbook and NOT a tablet from Apple?
look at the MacBook lineup. ONE COMPUTER. they took the 13" MacBook unibody and rebranded it as "Pro", filling out the Pro series lineup with 3 sizes. it also filled the desires of those who latched on hard to their 12" Powerbooks.
but that left one computer in the standard MacBook range, which was born from the iBook, whose whole existence was to serve the downmarket user. and what is the netbook supposed to provide? a computer for the downmarket user (although current iterations do not fill that demand at all). expect a netbook with a little more "oomph" to serve as the new "iBook". the Pro has now filtered downward to become not just a business machine, but a college education machine. expect Apple to make parents of high schoolers feel like they need this device much like they do to parents of college students. they said they couldnt fight in the current netbook market, so they wont... expect the new "MacBook Minis" to be introductory priced between $699 and $899, depending on configuration.
as for the tablet idea... it's just so limited. everyone THINKS they want one until they actually get one. why? because TOUCHSCREEN INPUTS SUCK. you will go nuts watching your *cough* videos purchased on itunes *cough* thru all the smudges you just laid down with your dickbeaters/cuntstabbers. you probably already hate your iphone for that very reason already, hence the new oleophobic screen. touchscreen only works on phones because the device demands maximum screen size in a minimum of space, thus a touchscreen was the most efficient way of providing a quality experience. but enlarge the device out to a 10-13" screen and suddenly, making it thin enough to be a tablet is ludicrous.
the ONLY people who may even slightly be interested in a tablet are visual arts customers IF the screen is accurate enough for proper use in their medium. but to have that kind of capability, the device will end up priced beyond the rumored threshold. if it doesnt have the ability to fill the needs of the graphic artist, then it will be a flop as people complain about "smudges".
it's why the current tablets on the market arent selling like mad... because touchscreens arent what the people want when they've actually got it.
all this tablet talk is just sad as no one can see what is plainly obvious for the first time in Apple's product future based on their current product line. they're coming out with premium priced netbooks... and they will succeed by having watched Sony fail at their own attempt by the use of marketing and establishing the high schooler as the target demographic.
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MJZimmer88 said 2:03PM on 8-04-2009
Maybe... but have you heard the news? They use this thing called an oleophobic screen. No smudges.
Douchebag.
Matt said 7:52AM on 8-04-2009
After the runaway success of the tablet platform on windows remind me again why I need a more expensive apple version???
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Skoalbandit said 8:42AM on 8-04-2009
Apple Netbook yes.
Why make a expensive tablet computer that no one would buy?
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