the official islate / ipad / ipalette / itablet speculation thread - appletalker forum [apple mac discussion and troubleshooting]

madra

(Administrator) 2009-12-27, 11:46 #1

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Subject: islate?

some interesting titbits on the old macrumours rumour mill of late. is seems that apple have [by a circuitous route and using an 'off the shelf' company] registered the domain name. islate.com

http://www.macrumors.com/2009/12/24/apple-purchased-islate…

the same site is also reporting that ~~jesus~~ steve jobs has finally given the nod of approval to apple's latest experiments with a tablet computer and - perhaps more fancifully - is also predicting that it might see the light of day as early as january:

http://www.macrumors.com/2009/12/23/jobs-extremely-happy-w…

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Oisín 2009-12-27, 15:55 #2

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No, it’s only six o’clock, it’s not that late …

madra

(Administrator) 2009-12-28, 00:26 #3

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words like 'islate' almost have me reaching for the shift key, to put a capital letter in there for readability. luckily i managed to stop myself in time!

or maybe not...

islate

hah! :grin:

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madra

(Administrator) 2009-12-31, 10:18 #4

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well, if sheer weight of rumours is anything to go by, then this is starting to look v-e-e-r-y interesting!

apple to host event in january - financial times

apple's tablet computer may be launched in january - sci-tech today

apple's january announcement confirmed - fox news

jobs to unveil apple tablet next month, ex-google exec says - PC world

the most 'concrete' description - if that be the right word, when dealing with rumours - of the new islate seems to come from the ex-google china exec' mentioned by PC world above. apparently he says:

Apple in January plans to launch an Apple Tablet, priced at $ 1000 U.S. dollars below...
...According to informed friend said that this Tablet looks like a large iPhone, there are 10.1-inch multi-touch screen, and amazing user interface, 3D graphics....

however, in a high-tech version of chinese whispers, the entire intarwebs seems to be basing its expectations for the format of the islate on a google translation of the guy's blog, which is in chinese.

maybe our resident polyglot could cast an eye over the original and report back :stick:

<--- @ oisín

i also realise that, in this modern era of lazy journalism, it only takes one site, magazine or newspaper to speculate something, for the entire intarwebs to re-hash it as their own 'exclusive' and that sheer weight of rumours does not equate to accuracy of prediction. you dinnae need to read too closely between the lines of these various articles to realise they all seem to originate from the same source.

but - what the hell! times are quiet around here at the moment. let the speculation [and pre-emptive complaining :grin:

] begin!

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madra

(Administrator) 2009-12-31, 11:26 #5

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well, i might as well go first, seeing as i lit the blue touchpaper :grin:

things that grabbed me from reading the various speculations [in no particular order]

size

well, obviously it's going to be bigger than an iphone, but how much bigger? the chinese whispers mention a 10,1" screen. i'm presuming that's measuring in the traditional TV way of corner to corner. i'd have to do a bit of pythagorean gemoetry to work out what length and breadth this equates to, assuming a 16:9 ratio. but it seems fairly big to me. that would make it only an inch or so smaller all round than the current 13" macbook.

as you know, when i got my ipod touch, it was mainly to investigate its potential as a pocket computer [the islate being nowt but a distant dream, back then]. for that purpose i actually find the ipod a bit small. i tend to wear army trousers and jackets with lots of big pockets and i think i could easily cope with an ipod touch twice the size. a bit bulky maybe, but i think the extra screen real estate would more than compensate for the added size and weight.

if the 10" screen rumours are true, then that would make the islate too big to fit in even the capacious pockets of a pair of army trousers, or a coat and would move it into the arena of 'gadgets that you need to carry about in a bag'. personally i'd prefer it if they kept the thing just an inch or two smaller than that, so it could be a true 'pocket computer'.

it may be something that got lost in the translation, but that chinese blog also mentions '3D graphics' right next to 'amazing user interface'. now, i dinnae see any reason to specifically mention 3D graphics. after all, pretty much any newish device with a graphics card can display 3D graphics, just as it can display 2D graphics. however, taken in context of an 'amazing user interface' it all gets a bit more intriguing.

strangely enough, apple will be seen as copying micro$oft here, as the promo movies i've seen of their crap-o-tron tablet [whatever it was called?] showed a 3D aspect to the GUI, with items seeming to pop up out of and sink down into the tablet. credit where it's due, it actually looked pretty impressive.

well, if micro$oft have done that much, i'd expect apple to have taken it to the next level, with some really interesting 3D stuff going on there; perhaps the virtual keyboard keys will actually depress as you tap them, ample use of the dashboard 'ripple effect' when dragging and dropping, cover flow for file/folder navigating.... etc. etc. in fact, when you think of it, apple have got quite a lot of stuff already in OSX and the iphoneOS which is just waiting to be cleverly weaved together into a pretty spectacular full-scale touchscreen OS.

price

the rumours seem to suggest sub $1000 [£617, €693]. that puts it pretty much bang in between the top model iphones and bottom model macbooks, which is kind of where it seems to slot in from a hardware point of view as well. the question is, will it fill a hitherto un-noticed gap in the market there?... or will it fall between two stools?

from my point of view, i could see myself hankering after one, if it did allow me to do anything i could do on a macbook on it. while i love my ipod touch, it's strictly an 'emergency use only' gadget, when it comes to typing. the islate would need to be a gadget which it was possible to type on as easily as on a laptop.

software & 'hackability'

given this hypothetical slot, 'twixt iphone and macbook, into which the itablet will seemingly drop. i'm wondering what apple's plans will be as regards allowing the user free access to the OS and software. will the itablet run 'regular' OSX apps, which we can freely install and remove? or will it run iphoneOS apps, which need to be approved by apple and bought over the intarwebs? also, what about access to the system itself? are we going to get a closed box system like the iphoneOS?... or are we going to be allowed to fire up a terminal, su root and feck the whole thing up, if we want? :grin:

i really hope and expect that apple would go down the OSX route and let us do what we want with the software and hardware, but i cannae help worry slightly that the sound of the tills, continually ringing in the itunes store, as we all download apps for our ipods and iphones might sway them towards using that business model instead.

well, that's enough idle speculation and uninformed guesswork from me. just one final thought:

it occurs to me that the itablet is going to mark the dawn of a new era in computing; that of the demise of the keyboard. i reckon in about five years time it will be almost impossible to find a computer with an actual keyboard - even desktop models will have some kind of tablet-based 'virtual keyboard'. when you think about it, it makes perfect sense; anyone who's ever killed a keyboard, or taken one apart will know what a fragile, overly-complicated piece of engineering they are. add to that the fact that companies must produce different layouts for different countries and also squeeze multiple functions onto each key.

in the future it'll all be so much easier. manufactureres will only need to make a single tablet type keyboard. changing what appears on the keys for different countries will be done in software and alternate characters and symbols will be able to be displayed directly on the keys themselves, when we tap the [virtual] alt or shift keys. it willnae be long after that til software applications include their own keyboard description code, which will allow them to change your keyboard to display keys appropriate to the app in question - no more buying fancy keyboard overlays, consulting keyboard shortcut charts, or painstakingly attaching sticky labels beside function keys and the like.

hmmm... all this prognostication across the nation reminds me it's time for another fine appletalker tradition.

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Oisín 2009-12-31, 12:54 #6

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In reply to post #4

Quote by madra:
however, in a high-tech version of chinese whispers, the entire intarwebs seems to be basing its expectations for the format of the islate on a google translation of the guy's blog, which is in chinese.

Ah, there it is:

苹果一月即将推出新的Apple Tablet，定价在$1000美元以下。据知情朋友说这个Tablet长得像个较大的iPhone，有10.1吋multi-touch屏幕，让人惊讶的用户界面、3D图像、虚拟键盘、视频会议、电子书、上网本等功能。Steve Jobs将在1月推出这个产品。最惊人的：苹果预估第一年产量接近一千万！

“Apple will be releasing their new Apple Tablet in January, with a retail price of under US$1,000. According to a friend ‘in the know’, this tablet looks like a bigger version of an iPhone and sports among other things a 10.1" multi-touch screen, an amazing user interface, 3D graphics, a virtual keyboard, video conferencing and e-book capabilities, and it can function like a Netbook, too. Steve Jobs will reveal this product in January. And the most astounding thing of all? Apple estimate that approximately ten million units will be sold in the first year alone!”

And a couple of follow-up posts:

确实有人猜测会和美国运营商合作，降低买价。但是这个和Droid不是一类的产品。Tablet更像Netbook+Kindle+.... //@王韡:价格有点高…… 既然有上网本功能，应该可以和运营商签订协议，这样会划算一点。协议价如果够有冲击力的话，也许真能把Driod甩到一边去~

“True, some people have speculated that there might be a cooperation with American telecommunication providers, in order to drive the price down. But this is a different sort of product from the Droid. The Tablet is more like a Netbook + Kindle + lots more combination.

@Wang Wei: The price is a bit high … as the Tablet has Netbook capabilities, it should be possible to work out contracts with the telecom providers and make it a bit more cost-efficient. If the contract-tied price [can’t remember the actual term for this?] is competitive enough, perhaps it really could swipe the Droid off to the sides.”

输入不会有问题，一定是有multi-touch的自动纠错虚拟键盘输入。携带一定方便，相信只是Macbook Air一半以下的重量，超薄的 //@张延鹏:不便携而且贵，没有键盘不便输入，我还是固守我的智能手机+Thinkpad。不过也有点受不了appler的显摆，apple是流行元素，不玩会落伍，这也很关键

“Text input shouldn’t be a problem, it’s doubtless an auto-corrective, multi-touch virtual keyboard. Taking it along with you will absolutely be convenient—consider that it’s only about half the weight of a MacBook Air, and super-thin.

@Zhang Yanpeng: Unwieldy and expensive, and text input is bothersome without a keyboard—I think I’ll stick to my old mobile phone and ThinkPad combo. Then again, I’m not much for Apple’s showoff attitude. Apple things are popularity trinkets: if you don’t have them, you’re behind the times. That’s a key factor, as well.”

That’s all he’s posted about it so far. I don’t have access to the comments, since I’m not registered (and I wouldn’t read through the 500+ comments for this, anyway). Not much info, apart from what the Google Translate translation said …

madra

(Administrator) 2009-12-31, 12:57 #7

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Quote by Oisín:
...Not much info, apart from what the Google Translate translation said …

well, your version is a bit easier on the eye than the google translate compu-english

cheers :grin:

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i5m 2009-12-31, 17:06 #8

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Had this been pre iPhone days I wouldn't have believed in an Apple tablet. But now I think it's almost a certainity. I'm intrigued as to how it will fit in with their product line; I wonder if Apple will have cooked up some unique functionality: I.e usable as an input device for other macs. And I'm still not sure how it will work; the iPhone works well with a touch screen as you can hold it easily in you hands. Could you do the same with the iSlate? I wouldn't have thought you'd want to use in flat on a desk all the time.

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madra

(Administrator) 2009-12-31, 17:18 #9

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Quote by i5m:
.....the iPhone works well with a touch screen as you can hold it easily in you hands. Could you do the same with the iSlate? I wouldn't have thought you'd want to use in flat on a desk all the time...

good point.

either it must prop up somehow, with some kind of stand [which would compromise the design, i'd think], or they must be expecting it to be held in the hand.

...or possibly we're just going to have to get used to the idea of working on and reading from something which lies flat on the desk in front of us again - after all, that's the way we did it for hundreds of years, back in the oul' pen & paper days.

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madra

(Administrator) 2009-12-31, 18:48 #10

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revisiting a few of those itablet speculation links, i note quite a few allusions to the fact that the cost of the itablet might be partially offset by 'subsidies from carriers'. that smells a lot like the iphone business model, rather than the macbook one, to me. i really hope not. i'd hate to see apple release a shit-hot tablet computer, but have it tied to a contract and with controlled software provision. they may get away with that in a phone [albeit with a lot of grumbling], but would anyone buy a tablet under those conditions? it would certainly dampen my enthusiasm. :hmm:

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i5m 2009-12-31, 20:54 #11

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Gruber has a good post on this. I think that he's right in that the iSlate will eventually replace the Macbook (years off yet though). Hardware keyboards are old technology.

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madra

(Administrator) 2009-12-31, 21:06 #12

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Quote by i5m:
....I think that he's right in that the iSlate will eventually replace the Macbook (years off yet though). Hardware keyboards are old technology...

hey! - i said it first! :grin:

interesting article though. i like old gruber. he disnae get too over-excited about things and he's usually not far off the mark.

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euphras 2010-01-06, 00:13 #13

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Thanks for all of your efforts so far. Why did i completely miss this one?!? I´m curiously awaiting what´s coming up!

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Gamoe 2010-01-07, 05:00 #14

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Quote by i5m on 2009-12-31, 20:54:
Hardware keyboards are old technology.

And cups and chairs are at least thousands of years old, without even going to the trouble of looking it up.

That is not to say that the keyboard is here to stay that long. Only that if the keyboard goes something better or at least as good, must replace it. I have *no trouble* doing without a keyboard on a tablet. But give me accurate handwriting recognition like the Newton tried and actually did fairly well at after a while, or bring me a simple Palm Graffiti-like handwriting recognition. Don't stick me with a virtual recreation of an obsolete character input system. The iSlate needs a Stylus!!

But I doubt ~~Jobs~~ Apple will come to its senses. This thing will be focused on three things:

- Reading (eBooks)
- Entertainment (games, music, video)
- Connectivity (Internet access, Cell phone network access)

It will not be a "creator's pad", nor will it actually easily allow the things a lowly netbook offers easily: A decent character input system (a keyboard), infinite customizability (Winblows 7 or Linux, or hacked Mac OS X, etc.) and software options (download from wherever you want or copy it from your flash drive), as it will have no physical keyboard or stylus, will be limited to the "app store" and will be locked down tight, so no other OS/custom choices except for the adventurous. Oh, and it will also be close to the bottom-end MacBook's price but offer nowhere near the potential and will have an expensive cellular radio built-in.

Let's see. Don't get me wrong. I've decided to buy a netbook this year, but I am waiting on the CES announcement and on the remote possibility that that the iSlate will somehow fit my bill.

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i5m 2010-01-07, 07:29 #15

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Quote by Gamoe:
And cups and chairs are at least thousands of years old, without even going to the trouble of looking it up.

You STILL use cups and chairs?!!! :eek:

(

Good point)

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