Sweet Idea!!! (Apple tablet computer)

[TSE]

Wouldn't it be awesome to have Apple make sort of a tablet portable computer.

It would be a 2 inch thick, with a 13' screen, and at the end of the screen there would be a little keyboard that you slide out, and than you can pull the keyboard because the keyboard is hooked by a wire. Or the keyboard can be wireless, and the keyboard can click back in the computer when you are on the go. This would be pretty slick and would have comparable specs of a MacBook.

BTW, I did not steal the modbooks design!!!

What do you guys think?

 

[siurpeeman]

two inches is a little too thick, and i wouldn't want a slide out keyboard. i'd want it to have a virtual on-screen keyboard and stylus support. the problem is, who would you market such a tablet to? sure, it'd be great to market to the medical field, but that's a small market as it is. a consumer tablet? i just have my doubts.

 

[TSE]

Yeah, maybe 2 inches is a little too thick, but what if you made it so when you fold out the keyboard, you can also have the monitor stand up by itself, and it had stylus support, so you can use either keyboard or stylus.

It would be nifty for medical use, agreed, and it would be pretty neat just to bring to school, meh... nevermind it was a crappy idea lol.

 

[joebells]

lots of people have been clamoring for this for a while. There is a company making a product that is a macbook into a tablet I believe they call it the modbook. I could be wrong about the name but theres definately a company making a tablet out of an apple laptop. I won't be purchasing one myself but will continue to wait for apple to come out with one.

 

[zap2]

lots of people have been clamoring for this for a while. There is a company making a product that is a macbook into a tablet I believe they call it the modbook. I could be wrong about the name but theres definately a company making a tablet out of an apple laptop. I won't be purchasing one myself but will continue to wait for apple to come out with one.

yup, and the name is Modbook

 

[iPhil]

There's a problem with Tablet sized computers the same problem with laptop computers.... Heat !! .. aka burned forearms e.g. burned legs by placing the computer on the 'lap' ....

 

[7on]

I'm definitely getting a modbook once I get $2500 :-D It's the one feature that it has over my macbook that I want. I "should" be able to afford one by the end of the year (selling macbook for $1100 or so should help)

 

[MacTCP]

I think the wireless keyboard idea sounds great.

 

[doublebullout]

sure, it'd be great to market to the medical field, but that's a small market as it is.

It's a bigger market than you'd think. (Especially because there are government mandates pushing every physician towards electronic medical records.) The problem isn't hardware, though, it's software. Most -- if not all -- of the commercial electronic medical record packages available are Windows-based. And even then EMR programs still rely too heavily on checkboxes and buttons, not handwriting recognition. Until someone writes an EMR program that allows a doctor to document a visit in real time in the exam room in the same amount of time he/she can do it with a paper chart, tablets won't really be that attractive.

 

[meagain]

My tablet vision is simply a giant iPhone. Period. Same form factor, multi-touch with touch keyboard only when needed, etc. etc. Boom!

 

[dcv]

im posting this from a nokia 770 internet tablet,sitting at the airport. its a great size for travelling with instead of my mbp but the on screen keyboard makes it slow. if apple made something similar with better handwriting recognition or a keypad that'd be interesting! i certainly wouldnt want a macbook sized thick tablet though.

 

[SwiftLives]

A tablet could work - one of the many possibilities for a niche would be as a news/media aggregator.

Print is dying. Everything from the newspaper to advertising. But I'm going to focus on the newspaper.

The newspaper is printed once a day. It's always been obsolete by the time it's delivered to your door, but with the internet, it's amplified that perception.

Now, if we want the most up to date news, we haul out our laptop or head over to the computer room and load up our news site of choice. It used to be that the internet was good for national news and the newspaper was better for local news. Again, with the internet's evolution, that's line has pretty much been blurred.

The tablet would have WiFi and a near instant-boot. Input would be similar to the iPhone with a keyboard that would appear on the bottom, as well as other multi-touch features.

Someone would be able to prop it up and read any article he wanted. The front page could either be a PDF of the printed piece or tthe newspaper's website. Or any website, for that matter.

One could concievably take the tablet on the bus or subway and surf the net /get the news that way.

Granted, it's a tad early for that to catch on the the US, since this country isn't quite balnketed with WiFi yet. But once WiFi infiltrates buses, subway cars, streets, and other public spaces, this product could be very succesful.

Just a thought.

 

[dpaanlka]

Every time I see someone in the Library on campus trying to look cool using their tablet flat on the desk like a piece of paper I want to punch them.

 

[neven]

One could concievably take the tablet on the bus or subway and surf the net /get the news that way.

Granted, it's a tad early for that to catch on the the US, since this country isn't quite balnketed with WiFi yet. But once WiFi infiltrates buses, subway cars, streets, and other public spaces, this product could be very succesful.

I don't think this would be a very popular product, or a very popular use of said product.

If you're going on the bus, why not bring an iPhone? Would you want to be lugging around an expensive 12" device (and a case for it) everywhere you go?

If size is not an issue because you're going down to the coffee shop just to read the paper, why not bring a much cheaper and easier to type on notebook computer?

I don't really see much advantage to having a tablet instead. It has the Goldilocks problem of wanting to be big (so you could comfortably type and read off the screen) and portable (so you could carry it effortlessly). iPhone attempts to solve that problem by being so small you can fit it in any pocket, and using smart zoom and scroll functions. It's also a device you'll probably have on you at all times anyway (it's your phone!) so you'll be more likely to use it. With a tablet, would you really carry it everywhere on the off chance that you might want to read it?

 

[The Stig]

Sorry, I don't think it is a very good idea. I don't think you'll see one coming from Apple anytime soon.

The Stig

 

[SwiftLives]

The only real advantage would be that it's lighter and more portable than an actual laptop.

I used to work at a newspaper for just under 5 years. So my ideas are a tad skewed....

 

[yellow]

two inches is a little too thick, and i wouldn't want a slide out

LOL.. wow I'm feeling sophomoric today!