Here’s the thimbleful of information I have heard regarding The Tablet (none of which has changed in six months): The Tablet project is real, it has you-know-who’s considerable undivided attention, and everyone working on it has dropped off the map. I don’t know anyone who works at Apple who doubts these things; nor do I know anyone at Apple who knows a whit more....The situation is uncannily similar to the run-up preceding the debut of the original iPhone in January 2007, including many of the same engineers and software teams at Apple — such as those who built the iPhone Mail, Calendar, and Safari apps — disappearing into a black hole. The iPhone remained a secret until Steve Jobs took it out of his jeans pocket on stage at Macworld Expo.
Just because it's real doesn't mean it's going to ship soon. According to reports I've seen over the past year, Apple has prototyped several tablets in the past decade, but Jobs has spiked every one of them, because he decided they just weren't good enough. He may do the same with the current generation of tablet--assuming it exists.
I think it probably does exist, and it will probably come out Jan. 26, when Apple has reportedly scheduled a big announcement. However, that's just my spidey-sense talking, and my reading of the Apple rumor blogs. I don't really know for sure, and I don't have any inside information.
[T]here’s one question at the top of the list, the answer to which is the key to answering every other question. That question is this: If you already have an iPhone and a MacBook; why would you want this?....“I’d use it on the couch and lying in bed” is not a good answer. You can already use your iPhone or MacBook on the couch and in bed.
That is my answer, actually. I already use the iPhone for hours at a time, every day, as an Internet access device. I read articles on the iPhone using Instapaper, I look things up with the Internet Movie Database app, I use the iPhone to keep track of to-dos using Things, I track calories and exercise with Lose Itand of course I use it for e-mail, and Twitter and Facebook with Tweetie and the free Facebook app.
I spend as much time on my iPhone as I do on my Mac--maybe more. And I hardly ever use the iPhone to make phone calls, I'm using it as a pocket computer.
So of course I want a bigger iPhone to do exactly the same things I'm currently using the iPhone for. The desire for a bigger iPhone is exactly the same as my desire for a bigger display on my desktop computer; it'll be easier and more enjoyable to use.
However, I'm not saying Gruber is wrong here. I understand that people-like-me might not be a big enough market to make a super-iPhone Tablet a viable product.
Gruber goes on to say:
And so in answer to my central question, regarding why buy The Tablet if you already have an iPhone and a MacBook, my best guess is that ultimately, The Tablet is something you’ll buy instead of a MacBook.I say they’re swinging big — redefining the experience of personal computing.
He adds that Apple won't pitch it that way, they'll define the device around three or four built-in apps. This is the same way the iPhone was introduced. The iPhone is a general-purpose computer that fits in your pocket, but Apple didn't pitch it that way. They pitched it as a cell phone that can browse the Web and run iTunes.
Reports are widespread that Apple has a big product announcement coming Jan. 26. I'm looking forward to seeing what comes of it.
By the way, Apple is making my computer decision-making awkward. Now that I'm self-employed, I need a notebook computer. I bought an iMac around the summertime, and it's a great machine--but it's not a notebook. I decided on an iMac then, rather than a notebook, because I had an employer-supplied notebook that was adequate to my needs, and I wanted more power and the bigger display on the desktop.
But now I'm self-employed, and I think I'm going to need to get a MacBook Pro in the first quarter of 2010. One of the main reasons I'll need it is to do demos for my fledgling Internet marketing business--show people, in their own workplace, what I can do for them. A low-powered device, like the hypothetical Tablet, won't do the job.
However, I also want a Tablet. And I'm expecting we'll see a new iPhone this summer, simply because Apple has introduced a new iPhone every summer for the past three, and I'll want one of those too.
Apple's going to be getting a lot of my money in 2010--and I'm looking forward to it.
However, I'm postponing the first of those purchases as long as I can, because Apple is due to upgrade the MacBook Pro soon, and I'll want either the new and shiny model (or at least enjoy discounts on the current model when Apple upgrades).
That was an inspiring post,
I dont know why they are treating the tablet like some super secret mission... everybody knows about it, why dont they just realease some more information,
Thanks for writing about it
Posted by: Web developers | January 25, 2010 at 07:56 AM
Apple like sto keep things secret until they're announced. It doesn't seem to do any harm and makes following Apple more fun.
Posted by: Mitch Wagner | January 25, 2010 at 12:40 PM