Tablet - Who Where What Why & How Much

[t0mat0]

Cmd down key to get to the bottom.

I'd like to offer to use this thread to just collate information, links on the above and some other areas. Come bring links, so people can find the knowledge, and be 2nd hand, rather than 3rd hand. Gruber made a post on Daring Fireball? Link it! AppleInsider got the hot insider rumor from an inside source? Link it! You get the picture.

If you don't like the idea of the thread, cool - just don't hate, there's a whole new section for your own threads... This is here to be an insult free non-spam, no hassle, useful on-topic (mostly) posting, without trolling, excess chattiness or bumping

I'll use this post & the 1-2 below to update the posts dynamically with content from the rest of the thread. Then you just need to either read the new posts, or updated front page.

(Image from Crunchgear)

Resources

CrunchGear Slate post page
Gizmodo's Exhaustive Guide to Apple Tablet Rumors


When

27th Jan 2010 - YCBA (Yerba Buena Center for the Arts).
Release likely March 2010 +/- 3 weeks
Note the quarter figures are on the 25th January - the special event could be 27th to give some space to have more press). US first, likely alongside UK & some others. Then they ramp it up, and offer elsewhere. UK might as an alternative have to wait and get it with the others :|

100115 Rumor: iPhone Boot Camp listserv confirms January 27th event?

Our own sources believe that the tablet is well on its way. More as we get it.

100104 WSJ: Apple Tablet shipping in March

091230 Exclusive: Apple's January Announcement Confirmed

Following a Financial Times report that Apple has scheduled a special media event for January 26th in San Francisco, I've spoken to a source inside Apple who confirmed a "big" event for January.

091223 Piper Jaffray's Gene "I'll predict anything" Munster:

We believe there is a 75 per cent likelihood that Apple will have an event in January and a 50 per cent chance that it will be held to launch the Apple Tablet...If Apple announced the Tablet in January, it would likely ship later in the March quarter.

091223 Exclusive: Apple to host event in January

Apple has something big up its sleeve for next month. The company has rented a stage at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco for several days in late January, according to people familiar with the plans. Apple is expected to use the venue to make a major product announcement on Tuesday, January 26th. Both YBCA and Apple declined to comment.

Who
Apple
Disney - KeyChest
DECE
LongBox (digital comics, see Andy Ihnatko's article on comics and a tablet here, and also this)
Potential Medical firms - link to come

Component manufacturers
Screen - Pixel Qi?
SSD/Memory - Likely Samsung at least
Touch interface -
CPU - ARM Dual core of some description (Remember PA Semi?)
GPU - Apple PA Semi mashup?
Chips - Qualcomm **
Flash - Toshiba
Touchscreens - Innolux Wintek (we'll see what their strike brings) and TPK Solutions
Casing - AVY Precision Technology
*Weird* - Innolux for tablet "flat panel connectors" but for Q3 2010?
Screen strengthening - G-Tech Optoelectronics
Optical film - Wah Hong Industrial
Battery - C-Tech (Apparently a new battery supplier for iPhone and iPod cells, could be for tablets too).
Chips - Broadcom et al

Did Apple hoard OLED? Hmmm. I'd more imagine they'd inlay the OLED into the restpad of a MacBook or lid, than necessarily use for a tablet - we'll see.

“We were told that Apple pre-ordered them all– all 10 inch LCDs, and all 10 inch OLEDs too,” says TG Daily’s source. “It’s for the Apple tablet.”

Apple has prepaid LG $500 million LG Display for LCD displays. Wonder if they do 10"...

You can take your pick from the rest of the Apple 10K list of companies they deal(t) with -

AMD
AKM Semiconductor Inc.
Amkor Technology Inc.
Analog Devices Inc.
Aptina Imaging Corp.
ARM Holdings PLC.
Atheros Communications Inc.
Atmel Corp.
AU Optronics Corp.
Avago Technologies Ltd.
Broadcom Corp.
Cirrus Logic Inc.
Corning Inc.*Cypress Semiconductor Corp.**Dover Corp.*Flextronics Inc.*Foxconn Technology Co. Ltd.*Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. Ltd.*Imagination Technologies Group PLC.*Infineon Technologies AG*Intel Corp.*Inventec Appliances Corp.*LG Display Co. Ltd.*Linear Technology Corp.*MagnaChip Semiconductor Corp.*Maxim Integrated Products Inc.*Mitsumi Electric Co. Ltd.*Murata Mfg. Co. Ltd.*National Semiconductor Corp.*Nichia Corp.*NVIDIA Corp.*NXP B.V.*OmniVision Technologies Inc.*Quanta Computer*Inc.*Pegatron Corp.*Philips Lumileds Lighting Co.*Renesas Semiconductor Co. Ltd.*RF Micro Devices Inc.*ROHM Co. Ltd.*Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.*Skyworks Solutions Inc.*STMicroelectronics NV*Sumitomo Chemical Co. Ltd.*Texas Instruments Inc.*Toshiba Corp.*Toyoda Gosei Co. Ltd.*and TriQuint Semiconductor Inc.


How Much
$800 - $999. Do people seriously want to pay for 2 data plans? One for their laptop/Slate, and one for their iPhone? That needs addressing. They're likely to reduce the initial profit margin to get people buying it. People hooked on it = lock in, and a sizeable number using their KeyChest for their media. Whether this slate is subsidised through a data/call contract is a key unknown.

Where
Apple has through the selling of mobile phone enabled iPhones, created dealers. It's likely they may target key countries first, then roll out to the other countries, just like they did with the iPhone (but likely at a faster rate). They could roll out to dozens of countries in one go, but they may hold back, to allow them to gauge interest, and do a slow rollout of a logistically complex addition to the Apple stable.


How

User Interface
OS 4.0 - We have basically no idea. Hence the incorrect mockups on this.

Gestures
100112 Crunchgear talks about more gestures coming through multitouch finger gestures
Text Entry -
MacWorld article. Apple may well update writing in this. This would be a work around for the problem that a slate, if not used for writing, will be a pain in the derriere for creating text. Using a keyboard on a slate will be slow, and inefficient in comparison to even just using a Nuance/DragonSoft dictation service.

-Stylus is possible (seeing as they have them for their modified Touches in-store.
- No physical keyboard
- Virtual keyboard akin to iPhone. Expect changes to this to more accomodate the Tablet dimensions, form factor
- Likely no BT capability for Mouse/Keyboard, unless Apple itself condones a stand for the tablet. They want the tablet to be orthogonal to the user - i.e. looking straight at the screen, not at an angle with it on a desk to allow the user to use a mouse/keyboard.

TechCrunch article on touch - http://www.mobilecrunch.com/2010/01/15/fingerworks-patents-islate/ Good old Fingerworks patents (and subsequent patents from Fingerworks staff now working with Apple)

http://www.crunchgear.com/2010/01/12/everything-you-need-to-know-about-apples-new-gesturing-systems/ - Gestures.

You could theoretically write on a slate like you write on paper, but without the pen. I wouldn't bet against it, but this is what styluses are about. (Ive's take on styluses. It'd have BT to find it on your iPhone in a sonar like beeping game no doubt. Play your favorite mp3. Or not). Apple has some patents on getting the Mac to work out what you're doing - what your intentions are, which is a big step. Is that finger on the trackpad meant to be part of a pinch gesture, so you want to resize all your desktop icons, rather than move the cursor?


What

A precision glass & aluminium unibody construction for advanced media consumption. Advanced processors, graphics, and OS. EPEAT...

Name

Consensus is iSlate thus far.

Apple Senior Trademark Specialist Regina Porter trademarked the name iGuide (the shell company being iGuide Media). See iGuide as an app forthcoming.

Downloadable electronic publications in the nature of books, magazines, newsletters, journals, and blogs in the fields of entertainment, sports, science, history, culture, celebrities, news, current events, politics, technology, and education

Apple's got multiple trademarks, and will have trademarks ringfencing around the one they go for (e.g. as Gizmodo points out, they've got the TabletMac trademark, Magic Slate registered too).

In all likelihood it'll be iSlate. Apple's got iSlate.com registered (through an intermediary as Mark Gurman found out (Slate Computing))


Software

(Including iTunes, Mail, Safari, Address Book, Quicktime X. Image from 9to5mac.com). We're going to see iLife X or iLife 2010 update their suite, with some new features.

9to5mac.com article - One of the 1st rumours of developers using beta OS 4.0

Apple will likely show a move on HTML5 video and other HTML5 support. I'd love to see them sort out the H.264/ogg video pain at the moment. We might have to see what Google does, since they bought into this area and could provide a free codec to fall back on. This is its chance to blast Adobe's Flash out of the water. (It could well have the Flash setting default within Safari Settings as off. Would they not do Flash at all? Now that would be ballsy hehe).

File support
PDF support
ePub?
.LBX (Longbox?)
(Any file format QuickView does on a Mac)

Kernel
OS 4.0 iPhone variant. I personally think the State of the Union from WWDC 2009 shows how they're heading. (Session 701).

UNIX core, Shared APIs (In a way, iPhone is helping update and bring up to date Mac OS X itself). Apple has a huge foundation of technology

GCD will shine, on ARM cores
OpenCL will shine, on their new GPU
Bonjour (why was Bonjour Sleep Proxy brought in? Tablet connects to home, AE etc, has access to printer, HD files...)

iSync, Spotlight, Quick Look, Mail, iCal, Address Book, iChate, iTunes, QT X... (SLate back up to Time Machine?)
A wager - the Tablet will be fully 64 Bit.


Size & Weight
For a 3,4,5 triangle, with 10" hypotenuse that'd make
Height - 6"ish
Width - 8.5" (10.1" Pixel Qi LED/OLED transreflective screen (see this patent filing). You've then got the (touch sensitive?) bezel surrounding the screen to make the width and height maybe 3/4" bigger.
(BGR goes out on a limb with 7" model

Depth - <1 inch.
Weight - There will be a maximal weight for a tablet, otherwise it won't work as a format.

Connections/Expansion
Magsafe power port (why did Apple patent a MagSafe the was orthogonal connector to the cable eh?)

If it's a large Touch, then we won't see these:
Ethernet port (see MacBook Air)
Firewire?
Mini DisplayPort
USB (2/3?)
SD Card?
Audio line in
Audio line out
Kensington lock slot

Remember for the MBA - we saw Audio out (analogue), Micro-DVI and 1 USB 2.0 port.
(Check out the original patent - which showed 2 USB, and also a Firewire).
We'll see this through the Media Out Interface.

Lack of DVD drive indicates that Apple might open up using a SuperDrive to it through another Mac. It could also indicate a move for the MacBook Pros to offer a SuperDrive-less version -have a HD SSD option instead, with optional DVD if wanted. Maybe they'll just make it possible to DIY swap it out. We'll see.


Communications
3G - SIM card available to use it for a PAYG/Contract? I'd say definitely maybe. They have the option to subsidise through a carrier contract.
Gizmodo: Could be a 3G and non 3G version (akin to iPhone vs Touch - a VERY valid point - they could offer 2 versions, one's a thinner non-phone 3G HSDPA version, and then the other isn't. But I can't see how that'd make it too much bigger - the volume is a smidgen proportionally to the likely total tablet volume.)

Built-in Airport Extreme Wi-Fi wireless 802.11n, 802.11a/b/g compatible
BT 2.1 at least
Built-in 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet?
Other? (I'm thinking millimeter wave technology, RFID technology, and more could be added)

Audio
Built-in Stereo speakers
Built-in omnidirectional microphone
Optical digital audio input (combined?)

Display
10.1 inch LED/(OLED unlikely unless they'd worked pixie magic into it) with oleophobic coating
Resolutions - 1440 x 900 native & below? Maybe tied with iPhone 4G/their new standard size of iFrame (960x540)- (designed by Apple to speed up importing and editing by keeping the content in its native recorded format while editing.)

You'd think it'd take 720p minimum anyhow (1280x720), as they're enough sizes already... iFrame is one quarter the size of HD 1080p. Maybe they want to downscale 1080p rather than stretch 720p? Maybe it's for their Photo frame screen. Hence iFrame. hohoho.

Graphics & video support
Nvidia? Home brand/custom?
Built-in iSight camera?
Mini DisplayPort
LightPeak?

Input
No hardware keyboard.
Multitouch screen. Supporting advanced gesture control (2 finger scrolling, pinch, rotate, swipe, 3 finger gestures, 4 finger gestures. Double tap, Drag capabilities).
Likely mo camera

Sources have sources who have insider information that there’s an internal rumor that there may not be a camera on the Apple tablet

That whole touch sensitive back? Makes more sense to be about pressure sensitive

Note force sensing & mechanical actuators. Vibrate, or haptics?

That cover thing, it's not necessarily about touching the back of a device to control it. Could use near-field comms (i.e. it senses fingers nearby and their movement) or pressure control.

Tablet covers. Making it darn useful.

Writing recognition. Say hello to the Newton, Jobs' style. They're dusting off InkWell.

(It's not like they're too far off now)
http://img64.imageshack.us/img64/2517/6a0120a5580826970c0120an.jpg

Processor & memory
ARM Dual core - BGR has it as Seriously fast multi-core ARM.
RAM?

Storage
HD?
RAM?
SSD?
SuperDrive? (Unlikely - this is the precursor to offering a MBP w/out SuperDrive)

Battery & power
?Watt hour Li-polymer battery
?W MagSage Power adaptor
MagSafe Power Port

What's in the box
Tablet
Cleaning Cloth
SIM card opening pin
MagSafe power adaptor
Install DVD/media (this could be on USB)
Printed/electronic documentation


How Much
Best guesses - links added -your guess, or a link to someone's view. We're talking USD, and base price as a stand alone unit bought in the U.S. (or a figure for what'd it'd be on a plan, with speculation on plan details as an alternative).

Men's Health - $727.29 (GBP £450)

 

[t0mat0]

Post 2 -

Uses

Watching video, using the internet, looking at pictures, reading books, learning, listening to music (as it could transmit via Rogue Amoeba to your iPhone's headphones).

This is the PC that's a Mac, that you can give your parents/Grandparents. That's a big silversurfer market. Think of it - it does VNC, Back to my Tablet, apps, music, video, great picture and video sharing (Think MobileMe gallery/Facebook for Tablet).

Expect embargoed accessories to hit the shelves post announcement/launch. Interesting to see that this is no way near the iPod leaks, which happened by manufacturers (the burn of there being no camera in the Touch, for those accessory making companies who premade cases in advance).

The Tablet is effectively v. likely a 4th generation iPhone/Touch, with extreme decade long optimalisation. eReaders are like 3rd gen/4th gen iPods. Just on the cusp of colour, bamby legs, living in a scrollwheel world. Just look at what Nokia is offering!

To put it visually, The kindle is like this, Nook is this. It's going to be better than this

Fictitious hypothetical example
Professor Snape
Uses the device to keep a local backcatalogue of Nature, BMJ for medical work. New Scientist for his son and some games.
Day to day, he uses it to review medical tomography records - picture files and videos displaying CAT and MRI scans. He uses the tablet to view, note, comment on and email this, and access his hospital's EMRS (electronic medical record system) to follow up.

His private hospital has several internal applications and a few public ones. He is able through VNC/Secure servers/tunnel, able to sort some work from home.

He dictates his notes through the medical version of Nuance, recently launched, allowing the pool secretary to be able to check the voice file, modify, and send him back the draft letter for proof reading, and electronic /printed physical signature.

In his lecturing of medical students, his underlings have created for him some new content for presentations. He is able to hook up via miniDisplayport his tablet, and can use his iPhone to control the presentation (he likes iWork, but predominately uses MSFT Word 2007). He has his weekly podcast created through the external Snowball microphone he has, and is able to incorporate decent videos, along with links to the relevant books his students should be buying from the iTunes Book Store.


Reading
Apple's been talking to Harper Collins recently. Traditional publishing is either getting involved, or getting left behind. This is their chance of an alternative to Amazon's Kindle. By providing the backbone infrastructure for publishers, Apple takes a cut, and the publishers get to release on a superior device.


Media media media (aka Digital Content Provision)

This slate sucker's going to be a beautiful device to slurp down content with. That's one of it's main tenents i'd imagine.

DTV, DVR, ATV going pro am (Ain't no hobby in 2010)

Apple has always worked hard to get media rights (see how long it took for Microsoft and their XBox rights wrt the Zune).

Advanced file sharing
Ability to clip and share (music, video, voicemail, podcasts, other).
The Tablet makes iChat HUGE. It connects more, and might add some momentum to make a critical mass using iPhone and Touch members through a 4G iPhone and all the Macs with inbuilt webcams...

iPhone version of OS 4.0

In the gym
Tablet in the gym. Built in to devices? Bring your own? I can see there being a peacock effect here - you have to pay through the nose to get a tablet, because it's keeping up with the Joneses. If you gym is "good enough" - it'll have tablets for the on floor workers. Your personal trainer can then build a routine, check progress through you and your iPhone interacting with their system

SatNav iPhone/Tablet
Don't for one second think Apple's ceded in-car to Microsoft and Ford's Sync technology. Uhuh.

Placebase
July 2009, Apple bought a map company, PlaceBase (note too, that apparently Jobs thinks that advertising could be improved!)

As Gizmodo says: "Apple doesn't buy companies it's not going to use". So why did Apple buy the mapping company? Charles Arthur has a view form October.

So the verdict? It might be for something that isn't Google Maps. After all, the newest version of iMovie (that's iMovie 09) includes location data, as does iPhoto. Perhaps it's trying to build it into those better, rather than usurp a familiar interface. Apple and Google may not be friends, but their antipathy and rivalry is far less deep than that of many other potential partners.

9to5mac.com (and ComputerWorld) Seth Weintraub props for investigating this. Macrumors thread here

Fred Lalonde 7th July 2009 tweeted Apple had bought Placebase (the company that produced the Maps API Pushpin which openplaces.org was using). Placebase founder & CEO Jaron Waldman could well be seen on stage at an Apple event this year. Seeing as he's part of the "Geo Team" at Apple.
Former CTO is now also an Apple engineer.

From a decent GigaOM feature on Placebase from 2008:

Waldman thought differently. He decided to compete with Google and other free mapping services by doing two things: One, by offering customizations and tons of features that integrated private and public data sets in many diverse ways. (He knew it would be a while before Google would get around to offering customization). His other twist was to offer a way to layer commercial and other data sets (such as demographics and crime data) onto the maps using an easy-to-use application programming interface (API). The product is called PushPin

Google Maps isn't doing corporate the way Apple might want to do. Google's at the position where they're bringing in advertising into their maps. See this Placebase vs Google article.
Imagine the power of those data sets for a company able to leverage them? Likely something for 2011, but we may well get tasters sooner. It could roll into iWork, iLife, (Map apps)... (See PolicyMap - their new product. Aggregation of all sorts of datasets, putting them at the disposal of "at the disposal of researchers, policymakers, real estate developers, investors and just everyday users". (e.g. Census, Postal Services, city crime...) Demo is here

Placebase would be a great bootstrap to get it's own maps, API (Javascript - demo), IP, patents, staff,and POI - that POI could easily roll into an Apple SatNav app or just be used in another app.
Find gas (petrol) stations nearby? Boom. Apple gets more control of the vertical stack.

Placebase offer customised mapping services. It can integrate private, public data sets.
It can do intensive custom geolocation. It could power Location based search. Apple could do its own maps (byebye Google?) and could have renegotiated with NavTeq for maps. Google Maps isn't all that these days - Microsoft has caught up (And Microsoft is bringing their SeaDragon style Panoramio style system in - 3D is coming to navigation, exploration, travelling, search and pictures/photography/video/search).

Say hello to Apple's own Latitude app. Would they be so bold as to open Placebase up to OpenSourceMaps? That'd be an open sourcing dream. Placebase gets the map data, and also through the iPh

Augmented Reality gets a kick up the ass with a Slate. Also, you could do BT/30 pin connector AR goggles with a slate, much much more easily than a MacBook (providing more computational and graphical power than a 3rd gen iPhone could supply).

Also note, that the location based social apps have failed due to not getting to the critical mass. It in effect, needs to be an option provided by either the Software, or hardware manufacturer. In Apple's case, they're both. Apple could easily use an updated apps system to display where contacts are. It's one of things that just doesn't work as well on an iPhone for the moment (See this picture- it takes 2x 2.5" screens worth to display all the info). Showing location of places, people, has much more potential with larger screens. 10 inches is great.
Large Marker Sets? County labels & Boundaries? Area Shading? heat Maps? All possible.

Seems placebase.com has become a little more sparse on it's website... Something else of theirs is Rendermap
"Creates draggable tilesets from any mapping data, ready to serve to any ordinary Web browser, without requiring plug-ins... Push your maps beyond pins, popups, and lines"
(go away Flash).

With Rendermap, you could very easily use the touch/stylus control of a tablet, to visually surf the data. It will (according to this picture) accept any Geographic Information System (GIS) data. Maps were able to be designed to order by their in-house cartographers/accepting designs from any GIS experts in ESRI ArcMap (.mxd file) format (Q: Is this a standard, and is it the best/useful?).


OS 4.0
Safari will likely have >8 tabs. And they may even have dealt with the nasty bug whereby if you have 8 pages and create a new one from a hyperlink that requests a new tab/page, it'll delete a tab at random, then put the new page in it's place (and the hunt in the history is a pita).
Save As functionality. PDFs, mp3s, mp4/m4as into the local iTunes. (There are apps out there that can do this - it'd be nice to have MobileMe/native functionality for this though).
Home Sharing - In the US you can already share music videos, videos and music. I'd see that (legalities aside) this should broaden out. Apple's likely moves for having media at your fingertips, whatever your Apple products to be progressive. I'd imagine KeyChest could not only cover movies, but also books - KeyChest is file-type agnostic.

Boy Genius - 13 Jan

One of our close Apple connects who hasn’t steered us wrong dropped a little bit of information on us. Here’s what we know:
The tablet’s multi-touch gestures are “out of control.”
It’s powered by an incredibly fast ARM CPU
It runs on the iPhone kernel.
The internal model number is K48AP.
There hasn’t been an updated iPhone OS build because there’s too much tablet-related code/references in the OS and Apple obviously didn’t want that to leak. Oops.
The tablet is basically an “iPhone on steroids.”

Links -
Accessories
Would you buy one? Poll Interest in one - Poll
Point of a Tablet
Tablet name
Rivals - HP Slate


Guesses


spinnerlys 68040
January 27th or another time (Announcement or Release spinnerlys?). Because they can/money.
jessica. - Tablet $500, Apple, 7". It doesn't exist ... who the heck knows?!

TantalizedMind $600
Webers $899

 

[t0mat0]

Post 3

Potentially relevant patents

Jack Purcher over at Patently Apple has tagged articles from Apple patents (and there's an article/2 from him too). Patentlyapple.com is used either with reference or sometimes is the "secret source" articles use!

MEDIA
TV Broadcast Services
(MediaFLO from Qualcomm, who joined with Mophie?)
http://www.patentlyapple.com/patent...t-services-coming-to-the-ipodiphone.html#more



Disney KeyChest
Link - WSJ "Disney Touts a Way to Ditch the DVD", Disney offers KeyChest, but where is the KeyMaster?, Engadget

Basically, KeyChest participants share (though KeyChest's online rights locker) the data they collect about what their customers have paid for, using a standard format that removes any personally identifiable information.

The easiest way to explain it is with an example and the most obvious to us is iTunes and Comcast. Both companies offer video on demand and use their own DRM to prevent copying. If both participated in KeyChest -- this isn't studio based -- and we bought a movie on iTunes, the next time we hit up Comcast VOD we'd be able to watch the same movie without paying again. The genius of the idea is how simple it is, basically the participants report your purchases to the KeyChest and query it to see what else you bought. It is a simple transaction, but Disney didn't tell us what strings were attached to join up, but did say that the the product wasn't meant to be profitable, but of course would not operate at a loss either. The other obvious thing mentioned was that Disney realizes that the entire system is useless if it doesn't reach critical mass.

See it as fair use. Allowing permanent access to content (movie, TV show, (book potentially)) across multiple digital platforms & devices. "Could facilitate other services such as online movie subscriptions". It's like the Verisign for each persons keys? A keychain stored at a website for each piece of DRM'd media.
"KeyChest could enable mobile phones and set-tops to gain instant access to movie files copied (legally) from a newly purchased DVD onto a PC -- without resorting to a home network."

This is the download disc-less future we've talked about. (You buy the BR/DVD/rental download, it gives you the key, that key's put in your keychain, that keychain syncs over your iPhone, Tablet, Mac, anywhere with internet and a PC/Mac/similar). This links ownership. You sell the disc, the ability to look at it gets passed on. The 2nd hand buyer needs the code shifted over to their keychest as well or instead of the disc media.

Our vision for the future is that consumers won't have to think about where they bought [a movie], how they bought it, or when they bought it

President of Home Entertainment, Disney Studios

It's a smart move - DVD sales are going down, people are moving to rentals, downloads. Movie rental already outpaces movie purchase. Disney, Apple's best bet is to get it out there first. Consider the Tablet/iPhone 4th Gen that attempt.

LATimes -

The main difference is that Disney decided to put the KeyChest system together first and look for partners later. That's why its technology is fully baked, while the DECE consortium is still trying to nail down key details... KeyChest offers a graceful work-around that lets retailers and service providers stick with whatever flavor of DRM they happen to use today.

KeyChest relies on open & widely used standards (so says Disney).
DECE - It's the old view - the media corps who're trying to drag feet and hold onto their once golden DVD Sales, by pushing Purchased movies, rather than rentals and movies.

KeyChest will NOT operate KeyChest - a 3rd party will.
KeyChest will work with any file format. (COULD link to eBooks!!)

Why will KeyChest likely win? DECE only just settled on a common file format. Settled on 5 DRM technologies. It has everyone ready first, rather than the technology and infrastructure potentially. DECE hasn't finalised specifications (which will take several months) - by the time DECE has finalised, KeyChest could be out through an Apple tablet.

Tablet design patent

Interface
http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2010/01/apple-flirts-with-a-3d-interface-for-mobile-devices.ars
http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2010/01/apple-flirts-with-a-3d-interface-for-mobile-devices.ars

Key Ink Engine Patent
Supports Apple's Inkwell Technology, and could support future handwirting techonlogy
(i'd imagine we'll see some handwriting recognition patents beyond the Newton soon).

Chords

Adding controls to a slate

When the Macbook gets a bigger Touchpad, it gets it too

Position, Orientation, Movement gestures


Gestures
Multi-Touch gesture language dictionary
http://www.patentlyapple.com/patent...phisticated-iphone-gesturing-patent.html#more
We're talking chords here ("a chord can include a set of fingers from either or both hands that initially contact a multi-touch surface prior to motion on the multi-touch surface. In many multi-touch systems the chord may uniquely specify a set of gestures that belong to the combination of fingers and orientations making up the chord.")

They're >25 per hand. 5 fingers can have different combos. Then you have movement of those fingers, position, rotation expansion or contraction...

E.g. Thumb & 1 finger chords - http://patentlyapple.typepad.com/.a/6a0120a5580826970c0120a566a78a970c-pi
Thumb & 2 finger chords, thumb & 3 finger chords...
A chord dictionary (think like the System Preferences info but much bigger video section).

I wouldnt' rule out styluses for the Tablet (you can't anyway, as you can buy capacitive ones, and the new Receipt machines Apple stores use will have a stylus).
A funky concept, is to have Tablet "overlays" - something the size of the screen, that's dropped on top. You create your custom buttons, switches, faders etc (like a DJ console for example)
Joystick overlay. Numberpad overlay. Classic iPod scrollwheel overlay. Button overlay...

You could use this to replace the keyboard. Think MacBook Air, but the keyboard is not the multitouch surface. Throw down a piano keyboard overlay.
http://www.patentlyapple.com/patent...or-macbook-tablet-pcs-and-handhelds.html#more

Virtual controls
Touch sensitivity on back side of iPhone, iPod, Tablet
Touch sensitive housings?
(Doesn't have to be touch, this could be pressure sensitivity, which the patent covers)
Speech recognition


Multi-Dimensional GUI
http://www.patentlyapple.com/patent...e-reveals-new-multi-dimensional-gui.html#more

Docking

Slate dock?

Say goodbye to the MacBook Air as we know it

Automotive Slates
http://www.patentlyapple.com/patent...s-a-new-patent-points-to-whats-next.html#more
A 7" Slate, that'd be tasty in a car. 3.5" does ok and is SatNav size. 7" gives more, could do more.

A 7" version
http://img684.imageshack.us/img684/5877/6a0120a5580826970c0120a.jpg
What a 7" screen could show
http://img684.imageshack.us/img684/2825/6a0120a5580826970c0120ay.jpg

Note the "Vehicle Interface" - The car manufacturer could show all sorts of this. Telemetry - data about the car, it's speed, average, show fuel consumption...

Music extraction, car

SatNav features

Geolocation aware feature sets
Get specific information on a city in one place (local weather, time, maps, contacts, setttings) (OS 4.0)

iTunes Tagging


Voice commands

A Notebook Tablet concept
Likely what the MacBook Air will become

The screen slides over the keyboard (there are railings above the keyboard either side).
Video conferencing
http://www.patentlyapple.com/patent...tents-for-video-conferencing-iphone.html#more

Don't foget the iMac Like DOcking Station - made no sense a while back, but does now!
iMac-Like Docking Station
http://www.patentlyapple.com/patent...ntroduces-imac-like-docking-station.html#more

MainStage -
The tablet could be powerful enough to use as an input manager for a band? Get the USB guitar, USB Mics in etc. Or use on a stand to do GarageBand lessons


Rock the Gym
http://www.apple.com/ipod/nike/workout.html


Sports monitoring

"motion and/or directional sensors could be used to determine the direction of the user's gaze"

HR monitor patent
Think both sports, but also medical

Wide multi-touch trackpad
For the MacBooks - they'll get this once the tablet does.
THis links in to using a IR /normal webcam to be an extra sensor, hand position recognition. https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/847873/

Avatars, head tracking, head orientation
(seems like they're patenting around other patents (they're not tracking eyeballs for example, which would give indication of exact position on screen users is looking at). iSight visual tracking.
3D avatars.
http://h

File sharing
"Apple reveals that rich two way communications will be included in a future iteration of the iPhone that will allow users to finally transmit and/or share a selected tune, a video of your own or perhaps one from YouTube, a voicemail, podcast, photo and/or document to each other, all in real-time"
http://www.patentlyapple.com/patent...nferencing-advanced-content-sharing.html#more

Apple media (iTunes) kiosks for Apple stores/more
These would be awesome. Think crazy speeds, when you want to buy media and download it in store. But it doesn't need to be just at an Apple Store
Virtual Physical Connector - This might be what future iPhones/Tablets use to sync.
" Apple's kiosk will utilize a limited RF range connection to ensure security. The kiosks will also allow users the ability to access one or more of their own existing libraries of media content at a different location. The new kiosks may also include a web browser using a touch screen display much like the new HP tourist kiosks. The kiosks will work with Apple handhelds such as the iPod touch, iPhone and notebooks and allow burning content such as music and/or movies to CD, DVD's or Blu-ray Disk. Apple also introduces us to a new security feature called a presence sensor. This will assist users make secure and private wireless purchases. "

Think Touch screen Tablet on a kiosk, that handshakes with your device, then shows iTunes preview web version. Then passes on the file to your sevice when bought.

Millimeter wave tech is 10x 802.11n.
http://www.patentlyapple.com/patent...ter-wave-communication-applications.html#more
DVD in seconds. 25GB BluRay? A minute.

Now pair this with KeyChest, and BLOODY HELL awesomeness. Apple would have to have bandwidth to stream, but they could soon get the price of shifting GBs of purchased files to be lowe enough, to actually make a profit. Then it's in their interest to stream, push and shove as many purchases as they can, with DRM management through KeyChest.

MacBook, Mac Pro, ATV, tablet detection of user presence

 

[thegoldenmackid]

You created a thread, to stop the creation of more threads?

Oh, your sig needs updating...me thinks.

 

[miles01110]

My god...make it stop...

 

[rdowns]

When did we get a Mac Tablet sub forum?

 

[spinnerlys]

Last edited by thegoldenmackid : Today at 01:23 AM. Reason: Moved Post Down to accommodate "post 3"

One can move posts in the hierarchy of a thread?


As to
when: January 27th or another time
how much: 600-2000USD
where: everywhere except that one or more county/ies
who: steve jobs and apple, or apple and steve jobs
why: because they can, and the want our money

 

[thegoldenmackid]

When did we get a Mac Tablet sub forum?

I asked myself that the other day.

 

[ethical]

I asked that the other day.

I had to do a double look to make sure I wasn't seeing things.

 

[Creative One]

I would LOL so hard if Jan 27th came around and we had nothing. Has anyone realized how crazy we are? All we have is rumours! Every 6 - 12 months there is a sudden burst in tablet rumours, and everyone goes nuts. I understand that this time we are close, and almost know it is coming out, but what happens when there is no event, and the 27th passes on like any other tuesday?

"Oh.. I guess .... They ment 2011"

 

[GoCubsGo]

When did we get a Mac Tablet sub forum?

I asked that the other day.

So if you asked then why not give the answer or would that go against your personal forum policies?


Tablet $500, Apple, 7". It doesn't exist ... who the heck knows?!

 

[t0mat0]

Tablet brings pseudo 3D? O

Funny to see that Apple with the Tablet might own with ARM, what Intel was waxing lyrical about - Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs). Hot off the back of the iPhone, which is a small MID itself.
]
Have a laugh at this - http://9to5mac.com/transform_tech

a) It would require less movement
b) It'd be easier to be much more sensitive, and be capable of being done using your hand on a mighty mouse. To be honest, bar Project Natal 3D tracking, the best I could wager is the floating haptic hand control consoles
c)




EDIT - Sorting patent pictures. THESE are from Patently Apple. Go visit! Give feedback, say hi to the site owner, and say you're from MacRumors.

If anyone has a good site or two to trawl through for relevant ones, please say. Adding pictures in-line later, when I can process some. You look back and see more and more potential patents relating to a tablet.

e.g. http://www.macnn.com/blogs/2008/04/...afe-docking-stations-text-to-speech-more.html
This was on macnn April 1st 2008 (what timing).

Apple wouldn't ship that sort of dock design though i'd imagine. Would Apple seriously want VESA mounts on the back of their product? iMac yes, but Tablet? Nope. They could create a front/side loading dock frame, where you use touch to lock/unlock and release and eject the tablet (think like the netbook that opens through touch - run your finger over the dock's top frame, it senses (it's powered afterall), and unlocks, and you ust get the tablet and skidoodle.

 

[designgeek]

Yay t0mat0! The SL thread was awesome, no one better to round up the useful info. It's good to hear informed speculation instead of the "It cures cancer" that seems to be floating around the forums of late. I'm really intrigued as to its purposed function, and I'll probably want one too.

Well, here's to a week and a half of insanity, worse than a four year old waiting for christmas.

 

[wildcardd]

Yay t0mat0! The SL thread was awesome, no one better to round up the useful info.

Not to mention the iPhone 3G thread. I can't remember if he did a 3GS thread as well.

And you are right...it is going to be insanity over the next week and a half.

 

[MinorBidoh]

Outstanding work t0mat0, seriously outstanding. Cheers.

 

[camboy1999]

you sure spent a whole lot of time onj that!!!!!!!!!! good job

 

[camboy1999]

Disappointment

I have a very big feeling that the tablet is not going to be what we expected and its going to be lots of $$$ and with bearly an features we wanted!!!! same thing happened with the macbook air 2g!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i cant see the difference beetween the 1g and the 2g!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! it gonna be like $500 and have like a 6 inch touch screen!!!!!!!!!!! iphone with a b igger screen !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! rip off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[iSimx]

For all we know, it could be a new iPhone coming out in June...

Anyway, looking forward to whatever it is...

 

[MinorBidoh]

Certainly going to be expensive thats for sure. If the iPhone 3GS PAYG is £450, then considering spec of the Tablet £600-£800 is my prediction depending on the two possible screen sizes.

It best be spectacular to compensate the price and the image of me being in public with it. Although I'm very intrigued by the suggestion of ATV capabilities.

Anticipation on of the product is obviously huge, hats off to Apple. There was even a double page spread on the Sunday Times (UK) a couple of weeks ago detailing all rumors, mockups and speculation.

 

[bobob]

Will the tablet have retractable legs like it's greatgrandaddy the PowerBook Duo?

 

[t0mat0]

KEY QUESTIONS
Now we basically know it's on, we're going to see a tablet etc - some questions remain

- Would Apple have it 3G capable, but not come with contracts? See The subscription war - You're bleeding to death
- Having both a contract for data for iPhone, and a contract for Slate is STUPID & expensive. I could see people using mifi or other to get data via that.

It'd be huge if it didn't have a SIM card, or 3G hehe.

• Will it have I/O like USB (hinting a more Mac OS X OS) or none (hinting Core OS X).
• Will it be subsidised in all models, then do a PAYG unlocked version?
• Will it have a Touch equivalent i.e. one without any SIM card reader/HSDPA gubbins?
• OLED is a likely no no. But will it have a touch sensitive bezel?
• Will it come with a pressure sensitive bezel, allowing Apple to have a measure of pressure used on the tablet?
• It's not too far out to see at some point (if the design was ever allowed) two joining points on the bottom long edge of the tablet, that allows for it to dock to a MacBook Air style bottom, to allow it to work as a screen for a MacBook?
• We finally get to see the Diner advert - did they have a working version/finalised shell that early?
• Will the screen be a multiple/ratio of previous resolutions, or Apple's recent new format size? Or a ratio of the current iPhone screen size? Will the iPhone just get bumped to a ratio of the new tablet resolution increasing it from its current state?
• Kick stands/mounts/accessories. Kickstands make sense, but blackballed by the design team for ugly aesthetics i'd imagine.
• Who will be signed on, and who will sign up by launch day ?

Bona fide Apple event. Go get your countdown widget!

LaLa cloud iTunes seems like we'll have to wait. But there's more to come hopefully. If not - hell! It's only January!

Some out there guesses - Apple will talk more about Core OS X. If the speed of the tablet and OS 4.0 4th gen iPhones are much quicker than the 3GS - will we see a OS divide with only new devices getting OS 4.0? You'd hope they'd bring it to current devices, but would that hinder them?
e.g. Background apps - A tablet with a dual core ARM processor, and grpahics, shoud be able to do background apps. So you'd think the ability to do background apps will be in OS 4.0. BUT - The 3GS may well be seen by Apple as not up to doing background apps.


As an interesting aside- have you seen NVidia's GF100? Imagine that doing OpenCL - 512 CUDA cores arrayed in 4 graphics processing clusters. Late March - check HardOCP's article for more.


ESPN is owned by Disney. Hello sport, and AMAZING Baseball, American Football, Football tablet apps with lots o multimedia video...


AGGGGH! I hope Safari gets undo tab close with text save...


Publishing

A media publishing revolution? Look at Yellow Pages etc. An example of how e-publishing, and the internet have replaced it in some ways.

Newspapers, Books, Journals, Magazines are the big areas.

Newspapers - UK

News International (Rupert Murdoch) - Sun, Times, Sunday Times, News of the World, Financial Times, Wall Street Journal London paper

Alexander Lebedev - Russian billionarie owning Evening Standard (London paper)

Trinity Mirror Plc -Mirror, Sunday Mirror, People, Daily Record
Northern & Shell (Richard Desmond) -Express, Express on Sunday, Star
Associated News (DMGT) - Mail, Mail on Sunday, London Lite, Metro
Telegraph Group (Barclay brothers) Daily Telegraph, Sunday Telegraph
Guardian Media Group (Scott Trust) Guardian, Observer

So the Guardian is likely to get an app asap (They get a lot of overseas internet attention for their website, and they have a pay for app on the App Store).

News Corp - HarperCollins has had conversations with Apple - i'll take that to mean publishing, but they could also have talked multimedia with the parent company.

I'm sure the DTI has more info, but there's a 2002 review on e-commerce if you want to knock yourself out.

It allows outsourcing of news articles, news pictures... Less cost for printing equipment and distribution.

Books

Trade publishing - consumer publishing, professional, academic, educational, ELT.

All could work for an iSlate Apple Tablet. Onl the entry to a distribution channel is the main cost for people currently. Being an App developer could change that - Authors cutting out the Publishers all together and making their own apps. At the very least - this means that contracts for authors need updating for this potential. They could also cut down on returns, or over-publishing (Mills & Boon oh so helpfully pulping books for the M6 toll road springs to mind!)

There is no pressure on retail shelf space. Less wastage. No problems about out of print books.

Macmillan Distribution - one of the largest publishers in the UK. Owned by Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck GmbH (Let's call then GvHPG).
They have Macmillan Education, Nature Publishing Group (NGP which contains the Nature publications, Connotea) and own German social networking platform StudiVZ (which has its own iPhone app) (which is a partner store to Apple).

There are lots of subsidiaries, imprints etc. But I can see publishers have been waiting for decent hardware and software. It's going to be here, and i'd imagine they'd want deals and apps and content in place asap.

MacMillan Group's seen previous increases in revenue from electronic publishing development and sales apparently.

To sum up their experience of e commerce: ‘There is no aspect where we would say “We wish we hadn’t done it”.’

E-commerce has sharpened up their service, but not saved much in costs except in the re-keying of orders. But they know they would have lost sales and distribution opportunities with other publishers if they hadn’t sharpened up their service.
To sum up their experience of e commerce: ‘There is no aspect where we would say “We wish we hadn’t done it”.’

There's a shift and change in the value chain -

e-publishing cuts physical distribution costs. Opens up geographic markets, and creates new areas to make money. It's going to basically shake things up. Maybe

Apple brings it -
From a publisher that only had a website for info
It can now turn it into
A web-presence (via iTunes/Apple software) 0 for customer order, electronic payment, and content delivery. The whole 9 yards. There's feeling it'll optimise sales and marketing.
Apple's way of content management through a KeyChest like 3rd party might well break down a few walls. Rights, permissions - if they can be dealt with easily - like iTunes - it'll help reduce piracy, and increase sales.
Ability to link this to print on demand. (Like their print a calendar function for iPhoto).
We as users know some books RRP is bl00min rediculous. Especially when you can see that they can cut the price by 70% a month or so down the line...
Ability to bundle, customise, expand...


So it'd improve Promotion, ordering, supply chain, customer data capture/analysis, business processes, product innovation, process innovation, and efficiency.


Obstacles -
Infrastructure - No problem. Maybe the AT&T network/general 3G networks. Wifi can handle this.
Regulatory factors - If content, IP is secure, DRM is used, it's not an issue.
Internal factors - In-house tech needs to learn how to make apps, for Android and Core OS.
Strategic factors - Not going into it puts the publisher at risk. If Apple can get the critical mass, then like the App Store, they'll yomp and romp away.

Publishers understand that they need to invest in technology for delivery of content if they are to compete with other providers, although that does not necessarily mean they are prepared to make this investment. What they perhaps do not recognise so well is that they will need more information about their readers, not less. A clear implication for even the smallest publisher is to analyse all the customer data they can and insist on as much information as possible from their wholesalers, distributors and retailers.

Journals

Have been at the forefront of e-commecre.
Hmm, another day to fill this bit.

Primary vehicle for peer-reviewed research. If you have journal access,


Magazines

Hmm. To fill in.


Maybe Apple has basically done the back-end work for the Publishing store, or iGuide - remember how boring the App Store announcement was? And how valuable an asset it is for Apple? Maybe we'll see this again. Apple having done the technological logistics, will show it off, with some content, but it'll fill soon enough.

If you've listened to MacBreak Weekly - you'll have heard of Audible - bought by Amazon.com in 2008. It has the near monopoly on the market for audiobooks.
In 2003 it made a deal with Apple to provide their catalogue of books on iTunes -
the .m4b which was AAC audio and FairPlay DRM.
It has >60,000 titles, and audio versions of periodicals for NYT, WSJ etc.

Once a customer has purchased a title on Audible, it remains in that customer's library and can be downloaded at any time, or the customer may listen to the file directly from the website, regardless of whether it has been downloaded before.

This is what Apple wants. For books. For audiobooks. For music. For video. To work on any Apple device. I could see Apple using LaLa for this and also me.com -

Me.com then becomes your digital vault - your email, your contacts, your calendar, your stash of files. This would greatly improve iDisk. A kind of iVault or iKeyChest.



What do newspapers, magazines have in common? They rely on advertising to publish. If they could get the cost more via a subscription - then that might be a useful thing. By making publishable material more available - it opens it up to more critical analysis of worth. Why should a magazine be full of adverts? Why should I pay for my news if I can get it free?

The cover price of a magazine is split roughly as follows between the chain participants:
● Publisher – 50%
● Distributor – 10%
● Wholesaler – 15%
● Retailer – 25%

Imagine if you could buy an ad-free newspaper, or magazine.

Yes - this could all be way off into the future. Or "pie in the sky" thinking. But would you bet against it, now having seen what's happened with the App Store? Apple needs to do with their video, and books what they've done with their apps.

 

[t0mat0]

Publishing
Guess they're still at those meetings -
http://9to5mac.com/apple_meetings_tablet_32111
- Leading US publishers are meeting Apple about the iSlate.
Charkin Executive director of Bloomsbury Publishing is eager to get the new device.

The fact that Apple is coming in is terrific. E-books are already happening with the Kindle – we have been pleasantly surprised by the volume of e-book sales – but this will accelerate it.

http://www.thebookseller.com/news/110213-us-publishers-seek-new-digital-model-with-apple.html.rss
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/12/08/digital_storfront/ - Several publishers getting together to thrash out a solution

Patently Apple- patently tablet

definitely worth checking out
http://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-apple/2010/01/apple-the-tablet-prophecies.html
and the second part -
http://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-apple/2010/01/apple-the-tablet-prophecies-part-2.html

It isn't just HarperCollins.

Time Inc. Doesn't seem to know much - http://mediamemo.allthingsd.com/20100120/no-time-inc-for-the-tablet-next-week/

Guardian

The Guardian seems to have hit on a succesful revenue stream with its new iPhone app, selling 70,000 editions at £2.39 each since the launch in December. The app received a four and a half out of five rating on the Apple site, taking it straight to the top of the paid app chart. Rusbridger admitted that it had exceeded all expectations and highlighted that people are willing to pay for content on a mobile platform.

http://www.journalism.co.uk/2/articles/537204.php

NYT - Plans for a metered model for NYT in 2011
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/21/business/media/21times.html?partner=rss&emc=rss\

publishers fear that income from digital subscriptions would not compensate for the resulting loss of audience and advertising revenue.

Two specialized papers charge already: The Wall Street Journal, which makes certain articles accessible only to subscribers, and The Financial Times, which allows non-paying readers to see up to 10 articles a month, a system close to what is planned by The Times.

The approach of having 1 3rd party company to deal with effectively DOI for all media, seems useful. Whether it be music or newspaper subscriptions or other.
Gaming
Apple has apparently sent invitations for the Tablet (plus more) event to gaming publications. Sega is likely to be there next week - They've created an official emulator. I could sure see them showing off new games.

A couple of years ago, pre-Kindle, Mr. Jobs expressed his doubts that e-readers were ready for prime time. So today, I asked if his opinions have changed.

“I’m sure there will always be dedicated devices, and they may have a few advantages in doing just one thing,” he said. “But I think the general-purpose devices will win the day. Because I think people just probably aren’t willing to pay for a dedicated device.”

He said that Apple doesn’t see e-books as a big market at this point, and pointed out that Amazon.com, for example, doesn’t ever say how many Kindles it sells. “Usually, if they sell a lot of something, you want to tell everybody.”

general-purpose devices will win the day

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/09/in-qa-steve-jobs-snipes-at-amazon-and-praises-ice-cream/


http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/12/08/digital_storfront/


Bits
http://www.appleinsider.com/article...he_dark_pa_semi_chip_secret_negotiations.html
- P.A. staff and IP input to a new processor (built by Samsung, who has a licence for ARM chips). SoC.
Hon Hai Preceision Company as tablet manufacturer?
LG Displays for the screens (AUO as 2y choice)?
Batteries - Simplo & Dynapack?
Broadcom - Combo EVDO, GSM chip?

http://gigaom.com/2010/01/20/guess-what-e-reader-owners-buy-more-books/
http://www.thestreet.com/_yahoo/sto...rizon.html?cm_ven=YAHOO&cm_cat=FREE&cm_ite=NA


Kindle Amazon

As Motoko Rich and I report in Wednesday’s New York Times, Amazon.com is finally opening up the Kindle to developers. This has the potential to turn a popular single-purpose device into a more interesting and versatile gadget, limited only by the imagination of third-party programmers — and by what they can do with its monochrome e-ink screen.

 

[bossxii]

Thank God for accelerated scrolling on the Magic Mouse!! damn that's a long post!

Some good stuff though Just got lost in it all lol.

 

[gkarris]

Thanks for your time and all the cool info...

for a new Apple device I can't afford anyways...

 

[t0mat0]

Thank God for accelerated scrolling on the Magic Mouse!! damn that's a long post!

Some good stuff though Just got lost in it all lol.

Point taken
After it hits 2 pages, I can just use 1 post to point to good articles. We're so close, and the journalists have finally upped their game (Mac rumors becoming more talked about in mainstream journalism for one). See Ars Technica, Engadget, Gizmodo, 9to5mac.... All pumping out the information.

Since Apple's doing deals right down to the wire, there's a lot going on.
Anyhow - Should be a good event. i'd imagine it'll be one of those "we gave the game company 3 tablets, and 72 hours..." demos.

For the developers - those with iPhones - fingers crossed we can have OS 4 and SDK asap! Will be darn happy to be running the beta asap on my handset.


FOr those waiting - worth watching the great timing, joke, word play and rehearsal involved with this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASkis57blsc
You can literally hear the dawning on the audience. They, we genuinely didn't know exactly what was coming. I hope we can see some of that in a week.

Publishing
It's an interesting concept -http://www.tuaw.com/2010/01/21/publishing-different-what-the-tablet-brings-to-the-table/
Sproutcore/WebKit based books, wrapped in Fairplay DRM, then bundled with a content key that is linked to you via KeyChest - Would be a cool thing.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/22/apple-tablet-rumor-roundup-publishers-and-carriers-edition/
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jan2010/tc20100121_991806.htm - Seems the big publishers are in talks.

iProd
Isn't it worth guessing that the Tablet =iProd? (as someone predicted in the comments)
http://www.9to5mac.com/iProd-iFPGA-new-iphones
Would explain why it was showing up with OS 3.0

Worthwhile article to read from Seth - http://9to5mac.com/apple-tablet-500449#comments

tell me if you know there's a standard width for content for the Apple store - but is it me or is Apple updating their website to be of tablet friendly dimensions -
e.g. http://www.apple.com/trailers/sony_pictures/karatekid/

http://www.behance.net/Gallery/MacView_-The-personal-library/394639
http://www.crunchgear.com/2010/01/24/the-killer-app-for-apples-tablet-gaming/


Docking Stations = Win for Apple = WIn for family/couple/user
One of the puzzling things is that Apple is apparently pitching this as a multi-user device (rather than 1 device per person) - why would they do that? And what for?

Looking at this patent - http://www.patentlyapple.com/patent...ent-introduces-imac-like-docking-station.html

That hub - surely hub = tablet on charge in it's dock? Reminds me a bit of O2's Joggler -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcanHgEG4CY
http://yourfamily.o2.co.uk/o2familyjoggler

Send messages to the rest of the family
Get traffic updates before you go, along with weather
Use it to stream photos/music whilst its in the dock.
Keep track of your family's plans. Look at photos. Stay up-to-date with the news. All from your kitchen.
See your O2 Calendar, and add events and appointments. The O2 Joggler will then text reminders to everyone on O2.
Keep up-to-date with news and sports headlines.
Watch videos, look at family photos and listen to internet radio.

Didn't the rumors say there'd be changes to calendars and contacts? ... The only problem i'd see is that you'd need 2-3 as people would be using them on couches/in their rooms for movies etc. No....wait - that'd mean Apple sells 2-3 tablets....

I'd always thought of the picture of the docking station as like an empty iMac shell - but if it was a charger, for the device to be open for people to use whilst it's charging - that's different! Most docks, it's darn hard to actually use the product whilst charging - e.g. the iPhone 3G/3GS's dock. It's pernickety, you have to angle it just so. A slot load, you just load it in - you can still use, and it's charging. Whilst some would want just a 30 pin connector - this way would mean that it's neat, tidy, and on display.

The key to understanding the picture's patent is perhaps that you've got to think of the iMac like docking station angled upwards so the user is in direct line of sight of it - orthogonal. THEN - Video iChat becomes sensible - Why are people hating on video chat - because it doesn't work on an iPhone that well - you have to have your hand out and up so they don't see your nostril hair/lightbulbs above you...
But for a Tablet in a home? This is instant iChat video. This is sell to your grandparents and parents, and forget about woes with Skype.
http://yourfamily.o2.co.uk/o2familyjoggler
Having a focal point for families, couples to coordinate calendars, have contacts makes sense. Maybe Apple has this in mind?

O2 already sells the Joggler for £99.
This would explain the 7 inch screen rumours if Apple was to come out with a MessagePad for a kitchen in a slate style.