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Post by wierdostomps on Jul 14, 2009 13:05:56 GMT
Okay - I know, I know - it's never going to happen. But the rumours won't go away and two separate sources today are predicting a Mac tablet before Christmas, with a 9.7" touch sensitive screen.
I couldn't see the point until last week when I was in a meeting with our local council. The papers for the meeting ran to hundreds of pages (literally). They had been sent out by email and most folk had opted to print them all out. My solution was not to bother and to look over my neighbour's shoulder. Two colleagues though, had brought computers with them. The chap from the fire service had a full laptop which was incredibly conspicuous on the table in front of him and effectively cut him off from others across the table. A colleague from our local mental health trust though had a TabletPC from which she read the papers and was able, inconspicously, to make notes using her stylus.
Now, I could do all of that with my iPhone, but the screen really is too small. By the time you have scrolled to find the relevant place, the conversation has moved on.
So a TabletMac as per the rumours would actually suit me rather well, I think.
Any other takers?
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Post by CyberChimp on Jul 14, 2009 16:35:48 GMT
Have you noticed the way that trackpads on Apple's laptop offers have been getting progressively bigger over the past few years?
I'm quite probably wrong about this, but when I first heard all the initial rumours about the bulk order of 9 inch(ish) touch sensitive screens I wondered if they were actually going to use them as trackpads on their high end MacBook Pros. I still think there's an outside chance, but only time will tell (and almost certainly prove me wrong).
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Post by beerbum on Jul 14, 2009 20:20:50 GMT
So a TabletMac as per the rumours would actually suit me rather well, I think. Any other takers? Oooh I'm there. It would be just right for when I'm travelling and having client meetings, plus when i was finished working...... wishing wishing wishing......BB
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Post by Forum Cat on Jul 15, 2009 11:53:30 GMT
I have never used a tablet PC so I don't really have any concept as to how useful such a gadget would be. They don't seem to have taken the PC world by storm though. I wonder why that is?
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Post by beerbum on Jul 15, 2009 19:44:51 GMT
I have never used a tablet PC so I don't really have any concept as to how useful such a gadget would be. They don't seem to have taken the PC world by storm though. I wonder why that is? Simle answer is of course "because Apple haven't made one yet"
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Post by beerbum on Aug 18, 2009 21:01:14 GMT
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Post by wierdostomps on Aug 19, 2009 16:39:20 GMT
September 9 anyone?
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Post by beerbum on Aug 19, 2009 19:00:02 GMT
Hmmm, not sure. Sep 9th will definitely be iPods, maybe iPod Touch with a camera; this album type thing they're doing (cocktail?); and maybe, just maybe, the smaller of the two iPad devices if there are two. I don't think we'll see the 10" unit till January... and we might see Steve!
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Post by Alan on Aug 19, 2009 19:02:25 GMT
A new iTunes is rumoured too.
Alan.
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Post by Forum Cat on Aug 24, 2009 12:40:41 GMT
I am not expecting much.
New iPod touch with camera and not much else. That said, such a device could be bad news for a lot of camera manufactures. If it does video as well it could kill devices such as the Flip.
Cat
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Post by millstonebarn on Aug 24, 2009 18:29:42 GMT
I have used a Windows Tablet and found, like many, that it's not intuitive and easy enough to use to warrant changing from keyboard and mouse input for general purpose (Windows OS and application) use. It is fine when you have a specific application tailored for pen or touch input - but of course that's going to be for a specific task (and in the windows world it's going to be a boring business task at that).
I see an Apple iTablet as a natural extension for users of the iPhone and iPod Touch, as they are already familiar with a touch interface. We already have applications that are built specifically for this type of interface.
For me, there are two markets for this tablet-like device. The first is against the Kindle ebook reader. Using GPRS/3G to download content wherever you are, and to be able to swipe to turn pages etc. That would be really nice ... and note it's not trying to be a phone too.
The second area, and I've never heard anyone suggest this previously, would be in my living room as a super-cool home control panel/remote-control device. Perhaps controlling the Apple TV, front row and iTunes instead of using an iPhone or IPod touch; but with larger screen real estate. Using Safari it would be a panel for the latest news too, and the weather, and the sky's the limit assuming the app store starts to deliver new applications for the larger screen. I suppose games are going to be a great draw here too.
I have been hesitating for several months over an iPhone (the life-time costs are so high) ... but an iTablet? I can see me getting one straight away, assuming there's no telecoms provider tie-in.
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Post by Forum Cat on Aug 25, 2009 23:47:48 GMT
It could be handy on a starship too. ;D
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Post by petermillard on Sept 3, 2009 20:14:38 GMT
Yep, I'm there, as long as the price isn't truly silly. I'm amazed how much I've used my iPhone for non-phone stuff - occasional emails, sure, but calendar, contacts and notes all the time - but I find the screen (and on-screen keyboard) just too small for my aging eyes and chunky artisan's fingers. Interesting point above about the possibility of two sizes - 6" and 10"; hadn't thought about that, but it could work quite well, with a 6" consumer device running iPhone OS 3 and the 10" 'Pro" full OSX?? If anyone else here hangs out on eBook forums then you'll be aware of the near-biblical debate between backlit screens vs e-ink, 6" screens vs 9.7" etc.. etc.. Bottom line seems to be that there's someone in favour of every variant, and with clunky single-use readers (Sony, Bookeen, Kindle etc...) selling as many as they can make, a slicker, full-colour alternative from Apple would find favour amongst many, I'm sure - and that's before we consider the other possibilities of movies, games, netbook, magazine subs (handbag size, anyone?) and novels, of course. With a 10" version, you could also throw textbooks into the mix - and a digital sketchpad/note-taker/general miniMac... The fundamental problem with Tablets to date has been that they were either for vertical markets (e.g. Research Machines devices for teachers) or all Microsoft-derived, and as someone much smarter than me once wrote, if you make hammers, then everything looks like a nail; Microsoft simply couldn't conceive of a tablet as being anything other than a PC squished into a flat form-factor, with some basic handwriting-recognition and note-taking software built in. It needs Apple to to do it right; if they do, I'll buy. Cheers, Pete
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