Can Apple REALLY do it again? We'll find out Jan. 26th!

[ob81]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_1_2 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7D11 Safari/528.16)

We will see. Reports say that it is trying to be an ebook reader as well. I don't want it to try and do too much.

 

[63dot]

They revolutionized the MP3 market with the iPod/iTunes one two punch.

They transformed the smartphone market (many had doubts!) with the iPhone. How could a computer company make a better phone than all the cell phone companies combined!?

With the pending release of Apple's rendition of the tablet the next decade is going to be off to a great start!

I think Apple can do it.

Here's why:

1) when the amazing Apple IIe was considered the computer that gave Apple a fortune and could not be surpassed, then came the Macintosh

2) when Macintosh seems to be the all time ultimate all in one, then the Blueberry iMac comes out reinvents what an all in one computer is

3) just when you think Apple has done well with computers, they raise the bar higher and finally become a market leader with the the iPod/iTunes/iPhone

There are other reasons why Apple rarely fails to amaze, and by now most should realize they are not just a computer desktop and laptop company. I have a feeling this tablet will be more of a personal object with amazing abilities which will be more part of a person vs. being a computer. Apple's reputation as just only a computer company is over. Apple is one of the top technology companies, if not the top technology company along with Sony. While Apple is not as big as Sony, I wouldn't doubt that if one day Apple could also make great car CD/MP3 players that are standard at car radio joints, have a record company that signs big artists like Sony, or even produces every form of consumer electronics out there (Camera, flash cards, digital media storage, etc).

When asked who was his role model, SJ didn't hesitate and he said Sony. Apple lacks sufficient moolah to be that big right now (their total assets are $39 billion to Sony's $230 billion), but if they continue on their path of innovation and expansion into other markets, Apple can one day be America's answer to Sony.

 

[tritonj]

I think Apple can do it.

Here's why:

1) when the amazing Apple IIe was considered the computer that gave Apple a fortune and could not be surpassed, then came the Macintosh

2) when Macintosh seems to be the all time ultimate all in one, then the Blueberry iMac comes out reinvents what an all in one computer is

3) just when you think Apple has done well with computers, they raise the bar higher and finally become a market leader with the the iPod/iTunes/iPhone

There are other reasons why Apple rarely fails to amaze, and by now most should realize they are not just a computer desktop and laptop company. I have a feeling this tablet will be more of a personal object with amazing abilities which will be more part of a person vs. being a computer. Apple's reputation as just only a computer company is over. Apple is one of the top technology companies, if not the top technology company along with Sony. While Apple is not as big as Sony, I wouldn't doubt that if one day Apple could also make great car CD/MP3 players that are standard at car radio joints, have a record company that signs big artists like Sony, or even every form of consumer electronics out there (Camera, flash cards, digital media storage, etc).

i love the revisionist history, you forget to mention the part where Apple is a complete failure (late'80s-mid '90s) and couldn't find its way out of a paper bag

 

[Small White Car]

http://daringfireball.net/2009/12/the_tablet

I consider that the best guess to date.

Everyone asks why they'd need a tablet if they have an iMac / Macbook / iPhone. I've never seen a good answer to that question. Why a 4th device?

Gruber says it won't be a 4th device for most and guesses that Apple will soon want you to own iMac / Tablet / iPhone instead.

The Macbook will soon go the way of the Mac Pro; useful for some careers and uber-computer users, but no longer a critical item for most people.

This is the first analysis I've seen that really makes sense.

 

[63dot]

i love the revisionist history, you forget to mention the part where Apple is a complete failure (late'80s-mid '90s) and couldn't find its way out of a paper bag

Apple has had its failures and I can make a huge list with these being the most notable among them:

1) SJ towards the end of his first tenure at Apple (he deserved to get fired)
2) LISA
3) Dalmation iMac
4) Cube
5) getting stuck with Motorola too long while the PC side kicked our butts while using Intel

etc.

I am no revisionist. Apple has had some of the highest highs and lowest lows in business. I can't think of a major business person who started off with instincts as bad as SJ, but then turned around his thinking to become a lot more like Bill Gates. Hey if you can't beat them, join them and at some point SJ realized that Apple was a business and not some group of people only to make a creative statement.

 

[ksoze]

People are complaining about the quality of the Droid's keyboard, not that it has one.

I have seen many that complain the added bulk of the keyboard is not worth the physical keys. Probably does not help that the keyboard itself has issues, but the decision to have one does have consequences.

 

[Small White Car]

5) getting stuck with Motorola too long while the PC side kicked our butts while using Intel

This one is not so simple.

The Pentium line ended up being a dead-end for Intel, the same as the G5 was becoming for IBM. There was nowhere to go from the Pentium 4. It was the end of the line. In the years leading up to the Mac-to-Intel switch the PC makers were having the same problems as Apple was. To switch at that point wouldn't have helped Apple very much!

It was only by going backwards and using an older architecture that Intel was able to succeed by coming up with their current line of 'core' chips and really surge ahead.

And guess what...that's exactly the model of chip that Apple started with when they switched!

Apple knew what they were doing. Switching to Intel 2 or 3 years before they did would have gained them nothing.

 

[63dot]

This one is not so simple.

No it wasn't simple, darn it.

I had a couple of the last Moto chip computers Apple had and I was stuck in the past.

I had this hatred of both MS Office and Intel, and eventually I had to come around.

 

[thetexan]

Knowing Apple, it will be locked down like the iPhone is. Why buy a mobile computer if you're limited to installing applications that you can get in iTunes? Why be forced to "sync" your music like the iPhone?

Basically if they treat this like a tablet PC where you are free to do what you want then I might be interested if I can get over the Apple tax they'll no doubt charge. However if they design this locked down like the iPhone I won't even consider buying one.

 

[ksoze]

Knowing Apple, it will be locked down like the iPhone is.

Knowing Apple, it will probably bring tablet computer to the masses as they did with MP3 players and and phones.

How they do it will be interesting, but the "locked down" phone seems to have no problem selling and changed the smartphone market in relatively short time. My previous Windows Mobile phone was not "locked down" (aside from the requisite carrier crippling) but the level of customization it offered was useless when the overall experience was crap.

 

[tritonj]

Knowing Apple, it will probably bring tablet computer to the masses as they did with MP3 players and and phones.

apple didn't bring anything to the masses. what they did was offer the largest capacity mp3 player at the time and had a great marketing campaign. there were plenty of mp3 players out there when the iPod came out and all just as easy to use, but they all had small capacities with the exception of the Creative NOMAD Jukebox but that thing was huge and clunky. and i remembered at the time everyone thought the iPod capacity was overkill.

the only thing apple ever brought to the masses was the PC back in the day. and even then Microsoft took over in typical Microsoft fashion and Apple had the niche market.

 

[ksoze]

apple didn't bring anything to the masses.

May I quote you? As much as it pains you, the iPod did bring MP3 players to the masses. That is if you count the number of players sold by Apple and over 70% market share as a definition of reaching the masses.

How may people refer to an MP3 player as an iPod today? Apple may not have invented the MP3 player or smartphone, but they created a new market and demand for them and have or are in the process of dominated those markets. Those market changes came about not because the iPod had a larger hard drive or lower price, but because they created a new market through sustained creative marketing, easing the acquisition of media and innovating incrementally on a regular basis.

 

[DakotaGuy]

People are complaining about the Droid having a keyboard.

You realize you can operate the Droid with never opening the physical keyboard if you don't want to. It just provides another option for input and I find that it comes in handy when I want to input text and see the whole screen or when riding in a car or anything else with motion.

Let's hope that the tablet goes over like the iPod or iPhone did and not like the Newton or Apple TV did. I think it will all come down to price and capability. Can it do things that the iPhone or iPod Touch can't? Will it be fully featured or will you still need a notebook computer? I mean will people really need an iPhone (or another smartphone), a notebook computer AND the tablet from Apple?

Is it going to be something that the masses need or is it an answer to a question no one asked?

 

[Knowlege Bomb]

Is it going to be something that the masses need or is it an answer to a question no one asked?

I'd imagine it's going to be the answer to a question that hasn't been asked yet, just as the iPod and iPhone were.

I mean really, do you think anybody asked "what product should I get if I want to take WAY more music than I could ever listen to in one sitting with me?"? I don't. What about "when is Apple going to let me make phone calls with my iPod?"? I'd imagine not.

I'm excited to see what non-asked question is going to be answered!

 

[ksoze]

You realize you can operate the Droid with never opening the physical keyboard if you don't want to.

Sure do, although I found it's flat surface tricky in my very limited use.

The issue I as referring to was the purported need to HAVE to have a physical keyboard. I simply stated some found the added physical keyboard an unneeded feature on the Droid which obviously effects design and size. I have not missed the pretty good physical keyboard on my old Q9M and have adjusted to the iPhones virtual keyboard. Would an option physical one be nice - I guess, but am not missing one now and would not want the added size.

 

[sinsin07]

I'd imagine it's going to be the answer to a question that hasn't been asked yet, just as the iPod and iPhone were.

I mean really, do you think anybody asked "what product should I get if I want to take WAY more music than I could ever listen to in one sitting with me?"? I don't. What about "when is Apple going to let me make phone calls with my iPod?"? I'd imagine not.

I'm excited to see what non-asked question is going to be answered!

Yeah, but people were buying mp3 players and phones. The MP3 players sales where not the ipod level, but people were still downloading mp3 from various sources like napster and limewire. People still had cell phones, although most probably did not have PDA capability, at best they had a calendar and the built in contact list. But a nice design phone, with a better MP3 player was a no brainier even for non Apple fans.

We have yet so see what will compel non Mac owners to jump on the tablet band wagon.

 

[JennaLDS]

All I know is, that if something like the iSlate, iTablet or whatever name it may receive, comes out, my husband will jump for joy, and more likely than not, go buy one. I better start saving now.

 

[Shanebenn]

If its from apple and under $2000 sign me up. I don't care what it does really. I do think it will be hugely innovative, BUT not get huge sales. It will only get sales if it takes out the necessity of another object like the macbook. If its good to type on, smaller then a macbook then its gonna be good for school.

 

[greygray]

What's with the backlash against the Tablet? If you don't have a need for it, don't rant about it here. For those discussing about the Tablet, if Apple can make the iPod, iPhone and Mac successful, I see no reason why the Tablet won't succeed, unless it ends up like the Macbook Air which didn't really meet the needs of consumers. If Steve Jobs aims for perfection and the fact that he is VERY happy with the Tablet, I guess people who have been waiting for this for years will throw in the dough to buy one.

 

[redman042]

I have not missed the pretty good physical keyboard on my old Q9M and have adjusted to the iPhones virtual keyboard. Would an option physical one be nice - I guess, but am not missing one now and would not want the added size.

I just happened to pull my old Motorola Q out of my desk drawer today, charge it, and boot it up (because I'm getting ready to donate it finally). After using the iPhone for more than a year, I'm finding that the Q's keyboard, which I used to think was pretty good, is actually horrible next to the iPhone's virtual keyboard. The Q's keys are slippery, too close together, and take too much effort to click, which slows me down and tires my thumbs out after a while.

I realize that a Blackberry's keyboard is much better, but I still feel like once you get used to a great virtual keyboard (and the iPhone's is the only one you can truly call "great"), it's really hard to go back. It's just so slick and effortless.

Just a little revelation I had today.

 

[greygray]

Just a little revelation I had today.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[WeegieMac]

I still don't see where a tablet will fit in with Apple's business model and I can't think of a demographic that would flock to purchase the device outwith the usual Apple diehards.

There's been talk about the tablet replacing the low end Macbook, but that would suggest that the tablet will run the full blown OS X and not the stripped down iPhone OS version.

I know if I was in the market for an Apple computer, and was budgeting for an entry level notebook, I would be disappointed to find out my only option was a tablet computer running iPhone OS.

I just cannot see any feasible market for the tablet, it's got flop written all over it from the limited information and rumours we've got to go on ... which being fair, isn't a lot.

 

[greygray]

There's been talk about the tablet replacing the low end Macbook, but that would suggest that the tablet will run the full blown OS X and not the stripped down iPhone OS version.

I'm guessing that the Tablet will run alongside the Macbook as the budget Macs while for the OS, I'm predicting that Apple will give the Tablet the custom-designed OS X for it rather than a full-blown OS X or the iPhone OS.

 

[gkdidaxi]

Apple likes to "blow the doors" over whatever is out there. Don't forget, that this tablet, iSlate has been in development for years. It is not going to be just another netbook, you can be sure about that. Next year at this time, all the other companies will be copying what Apple introduces. They did it with the original iMac, the iPod, and the iPhone. Apple is a leader and innovator, not a follower.

I must second that.

One way or another, anybody, will second that, either "straight forward" or "deep inside".

There can't be anyone on this earth, who still believes that APPLE has got a really "inspired" rival for crying out loud.

 

[gkdidaxi]

All I know is, that if something like the iSlate, iTablet or whatever name it may receive, comes out, my husband will jump for joy, and more likely than not, go buy one. I better start saving now.

You bet!

Better start saving, instead of starving!

Personally, I have started to plot scenarios to eye wash my wife!

Goodies are yet to come!!!