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back to article Apple tablet spooks world of PCs

That long-awaited Apple tablet/netbook/media-pad/ebook/whatever has yet to be confirmed let alone offered for sale, and it's already scaring the bejesus out of the competition. And for good reason. As we reported earlier today, an unnamed "veteran analyst" who claims to have had the rare honor of actually laying hands on the …

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  1. whiteafrican

    @uhuznaa

    Point taken on the pixelation issue - I haven't really played with the iPhone SDK.

    However, your comment "If the tablet indeed will come next month, Apple will have a clean headstart here and all the others will eat the dust..." is just plain wrong. Apple will be at least 5 years behind the various Windows OEMs in developing tablets, of which there are loads of convertible tablets and some "slate" (i.e. no keyboard) models on the market.

    Take a look at these, for example:

    http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2009/06/12/archos_9/

    http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2009/06/12/asus_t91_launch/

    http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2009/04/15/review_laptop_toshiba_portege_m750/

    Apple isn't even out of the gate yet and competition is already doing business. And these aren't cut-down OSs - they run full versions of desktop software. That means full support for Photoshop, Dreamweaver, etc. And, given Apple's pricing strategy, it's a fair bet they'll be cheaper than the Apple tablet. Are you seriously suggesting anyone will by an Apple tablet that is more expensive and is running an OS that is essentially designed for a phone, rather than a tablet that runs a full OS, with full software compatibility, that costs less?

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  2. Anonymous Coward
    Grenade

    scary

    there are some comments on here that are very close to the truth.

    you will see, 15th sept 2009.

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  3. Doc Spock
    Happy

    @whiteafrican

    Getting the price right will definitely be the hard part, but it isn't going to be cheap - this is Apple we're talking about after all. Of course, it could still be good value for money.

    As uhuznaa alluded to, many of the drawing primitives in the iPhone API are vector-based, and therefore will scale easily to larger screens. However, issues would still arise with custom UI elements that are bit-map based, as well as any layout code that may not take account of potentially larger screens.

    But you seemed to have missed my main point (whereas uhuznaa gets it). I don't think the tablet will be intended to replace laptops or desktops, and therefore running Photoshop, etc won't be something that people will do on it. The closest analogy I can think of is a scaled up iPod Touch. Which is why I think it *needs* extra functionality, and I see the note-taking/handwriting recognition/document editing/sketching stuff as that extra functionality. This wouldn't requrie a huge leap OS-wise from what is currently running on the iPod Touch and iPhone.

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  4. whiteafrican

    @Doc Spock

    Yeah, I got that. I guess what I was asking was *why* would anyone pick a scaled-up ipod touch over a fully functional tablet?

    For a device in the same size-category, at a similar price, consumers would be facing a choice between one that has full functionality, or one that doesn't. I just don't see the selling point. Especially for students, who mostly can't afford two computers. If you can only afford one and you want a computer that can do everything a computer should do, as well as handwriting recognition, then why, oh why, would you buy anything less than a fully functional tablet?

    As for the vector graphics point, the buttons on the iphone are already big enough for finger usage. If they just scale everything up on a 10in screen, it's going to look kinda silly.

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  5. uhuznaa

    @whiteafrican

    There is no need to scale things up for more resolution. You can just get more room on the screen with more pixels, with same (or slightly larger) sized controls and more room for content. Vector based graphics have nothing to do with that.

    And I think you're totally mistaken if you think that people really want "full functionality tablets". Most people hate the complexity of regular computers, Operating Systems and applications. The want to get things done and have fun, with the technology and software not getting in the way. They certainly don't want to get the "full PC experience" in a mobile device. Even the thought of "getting the full PC experience" while sitting on a train and viewing a movie or reading a book makes most people shudder with disgust.

    I know that many experts and not-so experts will never understand it, but exactly this is the problem. Most people don't like PCs and notebooks, they just use them because they have no choice. Give them something more simple and elegant to do their things and they will happily embrace it. Make it fun and sleek looking and a joy to use and they will love it. Give them an easy to use app-store instead of multi-page installation wizards and registration numbers and they even may start to buy software and games for it.

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  6. Robert E A Harvey
    Linux

    My fear

    I fear that this thing will only allow you to get apps from the on-line gaol that the iphone uses.

    If Apple have the cojones to make it truly 'open',. I'll buy it. And probably buy some of the apps from their store too.

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