Filed under: Hardware, Software, Apple
WSJ: Tablet confirmed, Apple to reinvent old media
- Always partial to the education market, one thing this device might be used for is e-textbooks, presumably including the sort of multimedia content that goes beyond the printed page.
- Textbook publishers aren't the only publishers Apple has been talking to. They're chatting up Conde Nast, Harper Collins, The New York Times, and even CBS, Walt Disney Co, and Electronic Arts (for games).
- A "Best of TV" service is possible, with a subscription to a set of on demand programs chosen by the consumer.
- Those same people are also reporting there is a revamp of iTunes coming, which would separate the purchase of iTunes content from the iTunes application.
- The device will have a 10 or 11 inch screen, a virtual keyboard, and "sharing" is mentioned -- two ideas being thrown around are the ability to leave sticky notes on the device or even have the camera recognize faces of those using it.
- Price is expected to be around $1000, and they'll be selling it to people who already have iPhones and laptops as well.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Mike said 2:06AM on 1-21-2010
I don't care what anyone says, I'm excited about this. I do own an Macbook Pro, 27" iMac, an iPhone and several ipods. And you can be sure I will own this, not because I'm an apple fan, but because apple makes the best stuff :)
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ridley182 said 2:44AM on 1-21-2010
You and me bro. I've only been an Apple fan for less than a year (I got my iPhone last April and then my MacBook Pro in July), but I am more than ready to make my next Apple purchase.
-Ex PC drone
Christopher said 9:29AM on 1-21-2010
@ridley - Although, I am also a Mac user and own several Apple products, I think if anyone fits the "drone" description it's the Apple user, not the PC user. I mean look at yours and Mike's comments. You're both foaming at the mouth, ready to buy something that doesn't even "exist" yet just because it'll have an Apple logo on it. Please cut back on the Kool-Aid people, you're giving us a bad name.
Orion said 10:05AM on 1-21-2010
I was excited about the Wii and PS3 before I really knew what they were going to be. Does that make me a fanboy? No. It just means I looked at the rumors, and conducted what in my head would be in the system and was excited about the possibilities.
Jesus.. why is it if you're excited about something new that isn't revealed you're a fanboy now a days. I can be excited about the new generation Prius without them even THINKING of it. Why? Because to imagine the next evolution of the machine excites me.
So no, expect for people to be excited. All people like YOU do is make the stereotype that Apple fans are pricks, even more prominent.
Christopher said 10:39AM on 1-21-2010
@Orion - Your argument is seriously flawed. There is a huge fundamental difference between game systems and a rumored Apple product. Game systems are announced months in advance and in most cases are detailed and build upon existing product lines. The tablet doesn't even formally exist. Apple still denies even making it. You don't know anything about it. It's a brand new product line, if it's made. If a rumor came out tomorrow of a brand new Sony blender coming out next year, that Sony denies, and I instantly said, "Oh, that's awesome! I must have it!", then the situation would be similar and you could call me a "fanboy" (your word, not mine). Even your Prius example is flawed in this regard. Your talking about the next iteration of something, not a new product. Saying you were excited about the next MacBook Pro would fit this example more closely and wouldn't be as drone-like.
So if purchasing Apple products by their technical merits and explaining to others that I use them because of these reasons makes me a "dick", so be it. I'd rather be a sane dick than a insane drone that purchases products by the logo on the box. And it is people like YOU than create the negative stereotype of Apple users that feel their products are superior in every way yet have no actual argument, founded in fact, that it is true. How could you, the damn thing doesn't even exist.
Jordan said 12:41PM on 1-21-2010
+10,000 Christopher
You can be excited about something...but when you know absolutely NOTHING about it, what are you getting all excited about? All the people already planning on buying this when they know NOTHING about it are pathetic. Be excited about the announcement if you wish, but damn calm down a little bit.
CHRiS said 1:25PM on 1-21-2010
Gee, idiots like Christopher, make it seem like excited people have put down a 50% deposit or something. You can be excited about something, based on prior results, e.g. the iPhone, or like the guy said, his Macbook Pro. Also, this announcement may very well be like the iPhone announcement, described in January sold in June. Don't believe the shit spewed from idiots like Christopher, XBOX fans were excited about the XBOX replacement (XBOX 360) before they even knew it was coming out it was rumors even as to what the name is. There is no harm or shame in being excited about something you're interested in - unless of course you put a monetary deposit on something you know nothing of -- like people do for new cars coming out, but that's an entirely different topic.
heathsnow said 2:40PM on 1-21-2010
@Christopher I'd say the iPhone's touchscreen interface is the iteration prior to the tablet. It's pretty well known that this will be similar to a larger iPhone or iPod Touch and with only that knowledge I see no reason not to get excited.
I've been waiting for this device hoping that it fulfills the e-reader role well.
I use my iPhone more than my Macbook now and would love a device that interacts like my iPhone with a bigger screen, yet smaller than my Macbook.
Tripp said 2:15AM on 1-21-2010
Apple creates the best rumor mill advertising evar!
These tibits drove me mad with the first gen iPhone, the 3g and the 3gs.
Now it's tablet... I can't get enough.
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sinX said 7:17AM on 1-21-2010
I thought that too but really it's a side effect of their marketing model, not the goal. Giz just had a really cool article on the topic.
http://m.gizmodo.com/site?t=4RYgh9OhIWsLWuTr7Eq3YQ&sid=gizmodoip
applejuice said 2:19AM on 1-21-2010
if they are planning on selling the new device to iphone customers then does this mean that it will have AT&T internet service that is shared with existing iPhone data plans? That would make sense, but it also says there will be no verizon in this picture unless another iphone model is sold to verizon customers as well.
Any thoughts?
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Todd Sieling said 2:42AM on 1-21-2010
I think we'd be looking at bundled 3g access, like with the Kindle. No extra monthly fees, access is built into the cost of purchase.
Todd Sieling said 2:43AM on 1-21-2010
That said, the bandwidth that a media tablet could demand could be several orders of magnitude greater than what the Kindle pulls from the network, so I'm very curious about how much content will be stored on the device and how much will be streamed.
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Logan said 2:51AM on 1-21-2010
As a MacBook Pro and iPhone-owning college student who enjoys gadgets and technology (i.e. Apple's intended customer), I just cannot see myself spending $1000 for a 10" tablet. It's at the non-pocket-friendly size where I'd rather just carry my 13" laptop, which provides much greater functionality. Typing on a virtual keyboard is a pain (and as a college student, I do a great deal of typing).
I can read my RSS feeds just fine on the iPhone. And while I do have some digital textbooks, almost everyone I know despises them. People just prefer a paper version.
I know it seems silly to make this declaration before the product is out, but I simply cannot fathom being convinced into paying $1000 for a "tweener" product. There is literally no function a tablet could perform that my MacBook and/or iPhone can't. Mr. Jobs will do his best sales pitch to convince me otherwise next Wednesday, but he will fail. It's not that he's a bad salesman, it's that there is no form of media that can be reinvented (despite what the title says). Everything mentioned can be accessed from my MacBook and iPhone.
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sinX said 7:41AM on 1-21-2010
I prefer digital textbooks to paper. It's way easier to search for answers plus it's always with me with no extra weight.
Drifter71 said 8:23AM on 1-21-2010
Great Points. I haven't been in college in quite a while, but can you imagine cramming at Denny's or wherever, and spilling coffee on your "digital Textbook" Trust me it happens. And when it does, you now have a $1000 tablet stuck in permanent paperweight mode.
basscadet said 9:40AM on 1-21-2010
That would be reasonable thinking and prioritizing that does not fuel lifestyle gadget sales!
Please leave your fan badge at the entrance and good bye.
Sean Robbins said 11:49AM on 1-21-2010
I agree. $1000? Apple will put it's low end laptop or it's new creation at risk. I think there will either be a price change or they will remove the low end laptop from the equation. Or maybe they will have a price range with different options (OLED, SSD size, Screen size, I think the process speed will be the same on all levels, maybe a more ram option or battery life option).
Brian said 12:14PM on 1-21-2010
I hated having so many books to carry around in High School and Uni. Even in grad school, we had fewer of them, but they were still heavy, and didn't enable me to perform a very quick keyword search. ;)
For me, this device will replace my MacBook Pro, and I'll use a desktop at home instead. Perhaps an iMac or even a Mac mini connected to my television. The MBP I have today, rarely goes anywhere with me because my iPhone does almost everything I need it to do. In some situations however, a more able functioning device would fill the gap. Obviously all of this will depend on the in-built functionality of this magical tablet, but I have confidence that Apple will unveil something that'll have a reasonable amount of utility to meet my technology needs.
Logan said 12:32PM on 1-21-2010
@Brian
While I would agree that digital textbooks have advantages over paper versions, you don't need a tablet to view them. I would still be looking at a PDF on a TFT LCD screen. I read tons of articles on my laptop daily, but reading a book is an entirely different experience. Can you really imagine yourself scrolling through chapter after chapter of a textbook on your laptop/tablet screen? Do you enjoy reading novels in this way?
I enjoy having PDF copies of my textbooks or articles for the benefits stated in this thread, but unless I'm viewing them on an e-ink screen I could not stand reading and scrolling through them for hours upon end (the paper versions are hard enough to make myself read).
Besides the type of screen, screen size is also an important issue. Having to scroll or do a virtual page flip frequently is inconvenient.