back to article Apple's 'latest creation' debuts January 27

Apple has invited selected members of the press and industry analysts to an event next Wednesday when the company will almost certainly unveil its massively hyped and long-awaited tablet. As reported by The New York Times and elsewhere, the invitation for the January 27 "special event" reads: "Come see our latest creation." …

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  1. Red Dwarf
    Jobs Halo

    Mmm iPod Hi-Fi

    I have an iPod Hi-Fi and I quite like it. It sounds good and can easily fill a large room. I bought it second-hand on eBay so didn't pay full price. :-)

    1. Tom 35
      Jobs Horns

      iPod Hi-Fi

      Well don't buy a new iPod since they didn't follow their own "suggestion" and used 12V charging, it will not charge any of the new iPod/iPhones with 5V only charging. I think quite a few ended up on fleaBay because of that.

      1. bygjohn
        Jobs Halo

        iPod Hi-Fi charging

        Actually, it's fine with the latest Classic - just bought one to replace my old 5G and it charges from the Hi-Fi, though I suspect that you're right about the rest of the current iPod range. It certainly won't charge my iPhone. Though any iPod with a dock connector can play through it even if it's not charging. And it has a combined analog/digital auxiliary input too so you can connect just about any sort of audio source to it with the right cable.

        And I agree with the first poster: the Hi-Fi is much maligned. I did pay full whack for it and haven't regretted it at all. All the hype about "audiophile" quality etc when it was launched was total bollocks, though. Talk of replacing your top-flight system with it was just stupid. But if you can get past that it's a very nice sounding one-box system none the less, can pump out scary levels of volume without audible distortion or damage and is built like a tank (and weighs similarly!). When I got mine the main competition was the Bose SoundDock, and trying them both out at a local store the Hi-Fi was a clear winner to my ears, even managing occasional stereo separation which is always tough for a one-box.

        If you have a Classic or an older iPod which it'll charge, and don't want to cart it about much, I'd seriously consider a second hand one if it's in good nick.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Jobs Horns

      Or could it be a new Mac Pro?

      Gulftown Xeon

  2. Darren Barratt
    Troll

    Psychic

    Well, with the amount of pre-hype this has generated so far, if it doesn't actually read my mind I'm going to be disapointed.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Troll

      I'll be dissapointed ...

      ... if it doesn't say 'bingledy-bingledy-beep' in a cheerful voice.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        ...disappointment

        I'm expecting at least a 'howdy-doodley-doo!'

        and some toast.

      2. Geoffrey W

        I'm already disappointed

        It certainly doesn't live up to my expectations...what were they thinking?

  3. John Savard

    Alternate Disaster

    There could be another disaster for Apple besides this announcement being of some minor product.

    One industry magazine web site speculated that, instead of being a Macintosh computer with the tablet form factor, it would instead be an overgrown iPhone, complete with the need to buy all software through the App Store.

    Maybe some really die-hard Apple loyalists could stomach that, but I know my reaction would be to join the chorus bent on laughing the product - and Apple - out of the industry.

    An intermediate possibility, that while the new product would not be locked down like the iPhone and iPod Touch, it would not be compatible with the Macintosh, would be another matter altogether. This would make it a more significant announcement. While foregoing compatibility would still be highly questionable, and fraught with risk, in that case Apple could, at least conceivably, offer new capabilities which justify the change.

    1. Ted Treen
      FAIL

      Well,,,,

      "One industry magazine web site speculated that, ".....

      Then you go on to slate Apple, and indulge in an orgy of schadenfreude:- except NONE OF IT AIN'T HAPPENED YET!!

      What part of "speculated" don't you understand?

      I "speculate" that you are the unacknowledged love-child of Michael Dell & Steve Ballmer.

      It's surely an "intermediate possibility"

      Jeez. No wonder you aren't an Apple fan....

    2. Jan 0 Silver badge
      Paris Hilton

      "Bring it on"

      An overgrown iPhone will suit me just fine. At the moment the superb GUI is let down by usability issues. The iPhone shows the way, but it's a long way from the last word in convergence. I'd love to run iPhone apps* on a larger screen and I'd pay for the opportunity. Ultra reliable typing on the move; the full width of webpages; on-line banking without the heart stopping moments and so on, all in a package that could still fit a coat, jacket or cargo trouser pocket! If I could also get a shell in a terminal without jailbreaking it, I'd be ecstatic. If it runs an X Window server, I'll weep with joy. It might even have the space for an efficient WiFi aerial!

      *Star Walk to name just one.

      Paris, because she knows what to do with a large form factor.

      1. hmmm

        I think you have it

        If this is an instant-on device, controlled ecosystem, good Internet access, relatively cheap price it will be hit methinks.

    3. Ty
      Jobs Halo

      lol

      Yeah, just like you laughed the iPhone out of the industry.

      *rolls eyes*

      Prepare for mobile computing to be redefined.

      1. Greg J Preece

        Ahahahahah!

        "Prepare for mobile computing to be redefined."

        I think you mean "repackaged."

        1. Arthur 1

          Redefine mobile computing?

          It'd be the first industry Apple ever redefined. Or really brought anything original to since the '80s. They're pretty conservative in watching an emerging market for a few years before bringing in a product which is essentially a clone of the competition with a shiny case (see: iPod, iPhone). HTC, Samsung and any number of other Asian makers were putting out stuff just like the iPhone before the iPhone, Creative invented the mp3 player industry with the Nomad, Apple put their logo on it and ordered their fans to begin to like it.

          And as for the 'laughing like when the iPhone came out' crowd: While it got excellent marketing, I seem to recall most tech people laughing at it quite heartily. And to this day its market share of the smartphone segment is quite low. RIM models by far dominate new smart phone sales (more than double iPhones, which are currently selling at the same rate as Windows based smartphones), and Symbian based phones represent 50% of the already deployed market (well over double the iPhone share). RIM also has a larger share of the deployed market. These numbers are based on the 2009 end of year surveys that are widely available. So yeah, hardly a flop, but hardly a key player or any sort of innovator.

          1. Ty
            Jobs Halo

            Haha good one!!

            You should do stand up mate, seriously! That was the best imitation of total and utter blinkered ignorance that I have heard for YEARS!! Thank you!!!

          2. Anonymous Coward
            Thumb Down

            Re: Redefine mobile computing?

            "RIM models by far dominate new smart phone sales (more than double iPhones, which are currently selling at the same rate as Windows based smartphones)"

            Riiiiiiiiggggghhhhhhttttttttt

            That's why Windows 'smartphones' equal the number of iPhones on the London Tube!

            How did you get those figures? Read a MicroSoft publication?

            Prat!

            1. Arthur 1

              Re: Anonymous Cowards

              Actually my numbers come from the Apple fanboy publication here: http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/the_truth_about_apples_iphone_market_share/

              But please, continue to live up to your names and my opinion of fanboys in general. :D

              <something uncreative about how you must be idiots here, as you were both so kind to do>

          3. Adam T
            FAIL

            Redefine mobile computing?

            And I suppose you'd prefer to drive a horse and cart over a Porsche? A wheel's a wheel, after all.

            Funnily enough, the iPhone isn't the shiniest case on the market, but it has a level of presentation, support and follow-through that nobody else has been able to come up with.

            Re-invention or reboot, if you can stand there and say that Apple is a failure, you're living in your own weird little fantasy world. For once Apple have got something right: It's about the products, the consumers, the developers, and the relationships between them. They're looking at the big picture.

            I've said it before, I'm not an Apple fan, but Apple have filled a huge gap left by everyone else and they're reaping the rewards. Anyone that claims otherwise is as bad as the Nokias of the world; they have no imagination.

            Anyway, relax. No need to lose sleep over it; it's just another product you won't have to buy if you don't want to.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Thumb Down

        Calm down dears....

        it's only a computer.

        It is not as though it will be capable of preventing any more UN and US dignataries from flying in to the Haiti airport to get that all important PR shot, whilst children die in their hundreds in the local hospital for the lack of an anaesthetic.

        Now if Jobs could do something about that with his new tablet thingy he would get my money.

      3. Anonymous Coward
        FAIL

        "Prepare for mobile computing to be redefined...."

        by more lock in and control.

    4. Doc Spock
      Jobs Halo

      Dual-OS?

      Everyone seems to think that the tablet will not run full OS X or OS X mobile, but a slightly modified version of OS X mobile suited to the tablet form factor.

      However, what if it could run both? For example, when you connect a bluetooth keyboard and mouse, it can run (touch enhanced) regular OS X, but without them it just runs the tablet version of OS X. Ideally, the transition would be seamless.

      Yes / No / Don't be silly ?

    5. Adam T
      Happy

      Or not

      Would that be the same laughter and criticism that followed the announcement of the iPhone?

      Do we all recall the "It'll never work", "they've list the plot" type critiques?

      Sometimes it's smarter to watch and learn. It might be rubbish, but given Apple's rise to success, the odds are in their favour.

  4. Slartybardfast
    Alert

    Well Thank F*** for That

    Whatever happens it'll stem the rumour mill for a little while. It's been a bit like the Japanese water torture for the past few months. Please just announce it so we can all move on to something more important.

  5. ElReg!comments!Pierre

    "Apple [...] at the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco."

    I smell smoke and mirrors...

    Not tobacco, either.

  6. Alan Esworthy
    Grenade

    Name suggestion

    I humble suggest the new device be named the iWank

  7. 46Bit
    Pirate

    Perhaps ...

    I've been growning more and more convinced that they've really made it *due* to the hype, rather than the other way around.

    1. mumm-ra

      Gah, I think you just put your finger on it...

      The more I think about it, the more I agree with you. Thing is, I *want* to be sold a cool new gadget right now- so I am hoping for some shiny tablet thingy.with some as yet unsuspected killer feature. I hope it's not some weaksauce crap like a multitouch IMac. Do not want, I have proper computers already thanks.

      Otherwise, I fear my toy budget might have to go Cupertinowards anyhow, as my old first gen 16GB touch is too small, I get bored of having to delete stuff to fit a fair selection of Stuff I Like on there..

      Damn your black heart, Steve Jobs :(

    2. Paw Bokenfohr

      yup

      Actually, I think you might be right. IIRC, many people were convinced this would be announced six months ago, and nothing like it was, but if they'd have started work on it when the speculation about really ramped up, it'd probably be about ready now, if it's effectively an iPhoneXL (TM me) - ie: an iPhone (or iPod Touch) with a screen 4 or 6 times bigger and a few extras thrown on, like a chip to do voice recognition etc.

  8. Hermes Conran
    Coat

    It's a Tazer app for the iPhone!!!

    The iProd...

  9. Fr. Ted Crilly Silver badge
    Big Brother

    na, ya's need glazzies there Alan E,

    It going to be an i-Shyte this time around......

    bb cos Stevo really wants you to need one, a good shyte that is.

  10. criscros

    Chinese strike

    Unless I heard wrong, there are violent strikes in China involving the company that manufactures touch screens for Apple.

    We'll see if this can affect the product launch.

  11. uhuznaa

    Well...

    Who really thinks this will be a Mac in a tablet is totally mad. It will be an iPod touch or an iPhone with a large screen -- and people will *like* this. Nobody (except some geeks) wants to have a full computer with a desktop OS in a tablet.

    1. whiteafrican
      FAIL

      @uhuznaa

      That's true, and it's probably the reason why the TabletPC market never really took off. But the problem for Apple's rumoured tablet is this: "What will distinguish it from the existing products on the market?"

      - If it runs the iPhone OS, then it is no more use to me than an iPhone, since it will run the same apps, just in a bigger form factor, that can't be used as a phone. Which means I get no added functionality, and I have to carry a bag around with me. If I am going to carry a bag, then I want it to do everything that a "full" computer can do. To me, that means Photoshop, Dreamweaver, a *real* browser (that runs Flash natively), etc. but you can insert you own favourite desktop software into the last sentence and the point would remain the same.

      - If it runs OSX, it'll be way above the component price range of the Macbook Air (given the need for a touchscreen, proper processor, etc), which places it well into Macbook territory in terms of what it costs Apple to make. At which point, it's essentially a competitor to the Tablet PC, which will almost certainly cost way less. There are already TabletPCs that offer both multitouch and pressure-sensitive-stylus input in the same package (e.g. the HP TM2) so the appeal of this rumoured Apple tablet is hard to see, if it's going to cost more and do either the same stuff, or less stuff.

      - If Apple take the iPhone OS and add stuff to it (e.g. the ability to multitask), then that will be interesting. The Fanbois will go nuts because there's no technical reason why they can't do that on an iPhone... But at the end of the day, if it doesn't run full desktop apps, then it won't replace anyone's main computer. Which means you'll still need a phone, and a computer, and then you can buy this tablet thingy as well, if you want to... which sort of begs the question, "Why bother?"

      1. TeeCee Gold badge
        Coat

        Oh dear.

        That's a terrible iSlating you've handed out to Mr Jobs' latest and greatest there.

  12. Annihilator
    Coat

    Sub edit

    "Apple has invited selected member of the press and industry analysts to an event next Wednesday"

    "Apple has invited everyone except us to an event next Wednesday"

    There ya go, fixed that for you. :-P

    1. jai

      lol

      yes, i wouldn't be surprised in the small text at the bottom of the invite says "Regtards not welcome"

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Mac Dildo

    Oh? You didn't know?

    Yeah it's a dildo. Sorry to burst your bubble like that.

    1. Hermes Conran
      Coat

      Oh!

      That's why it's called the iProd!

  14. sT0rNG b4R3 duRiD

    Name suggestion

    iWank, heh.. that's given me an idea for 'The Next Great iPod App' given the iPod has an accelerometer.

    Do you think Apple will allow it?

    But regards really to names.. how about iPlank? That sounds lame enough, I suppose, although really I suppose the'll call it iTablet or iSlab or something.

  15. John Sanders
    Pirate

    One thing for sure...

    It will cost at least $500 Jobs said they do not know how to make a computer for less than $500 that it is not rubbish.

  16. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    @Alan Esworthy

    Might be a bit of a misleading name, I think all their products are pr0n-compatible

  17. Big-nosed Pengie

    Gonna be interesting

    Tablets have been around for years, but apart from a few very specialised apps, no-one's been able to think what they're useful for.

    Though Apple is at least as evil as Mickey$haft, unlike the latter at least they do what they do well. The question is what does it do?

    Of course the fanbois will line up to buy them (they'd buy dog turds if Apple sold them), but is that enough?

    1. James Hughes 1

      They would have to be the old style dog turd

      That, after a few weeks in the open, goes a nice shade of white.

  18. Anonymous Coward
    Jobs Halo

    apple device prognostications

    my guesses for the feature list

    * initial hook is that it's an ebook

    * new "book" section for itunes, possibly in cooperation with google

    * cute "cover flow" but for the actual pages

    * plays all the usual music, videos, and games apps from itunes store

    * capacitive touch screen

    * wifi + possible 3G modem with subscription but it will be optional similar to current disjunct between iPhone and iPod touch

    * larger screen allows for more useful "untethered" use of it, i.e. you don't have to download everything into itunes then sync the device, you can just buy stuff and it goes directly to your tablet; safari replacing itunes is a possibility

    * some sort of page flipping input device (possibly just a new multitouch pattern)

    * battery life will be better than you'd expect but nowhere that of e-ink using competitors. no-one will care.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Alien

      or..

      more content control and requirement to keep paying apple every time your limited battery dies.

      Skeletor will be happy with your money.

  19. tiye
    Big Brother

    Re: Psychic

    It will. Even more so you will be able to buy your mind back from the apple mindstore for $0,99.

    All minds will go around this price. This after initial testing has shown that all potential iSlate users are quite like-minded. It goes without saying that some, Cupertino based, minds wil come at a premium.

  20. Anonymous Coward
    Jobs Halo

    Finally...

    A new version of iPhoto!!!!!!

    THANK YOU STEVE

  21. Nick Fisher
    Thumb Up

    Alternatively

    Apple are re-entering the inkjet printer business with the introduction of the StyleWriter III.

    ("It's a really beautiful thing. We're really pleased with it. Look at that, two pages per minute in HQ mode, boom. Available July, $399")

  22. Anonymous Coward
    Jobs Halo

    Second comming?

    If the clouds don't part and legions of angels descend from the skies, carrying the new ipple object - I'll be disappointed.

  23. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Down

    No-one will buy long term

    Remember that MUSIC BOX Apple made a couple of years ago? That event went down like a lead balloon and so did the product. Who wants a tablet anyway? Microsoft and HP, etc. has been practically giving them away to schools and still no-one is buying into them.

  24. Ed
    Thumb Up

    If...

    If Apple had reckoned the hype wasn't living up to the reality, they'd have quietly dampened it down either by denying something in some random comment some journalist happened to hear, or by quietly leaking some info.

    You can be fairly sure that the rumours are at least within the right ballpark. It's not in Apple's interest to have people disappointed.

  25. jubtastic1

    Reading my ever reliable tea leaves I can tell you...

    It's designed for students, who are increasingly being tempted from Apple laptops by more portable netbooks, Students of course represent future purchasers and while they may not be able to personally afford Apple kit right now, they're damn good at getting it gifted to them all the same.

    That's the target market, pretty much everyone else is going to be non plussed and start the doomage, but in a years time it'll be clear Apple just made/stole/defined another computing platform.

  26. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    nt

    How about an iDontCare

    1. Marky W
      Thumb Up

      iDontCare

      *claps*

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      nt

      But you care enough to comment on the story, chum.

  27. Torben Mogensen

    Speculations

    A product intended to fill the gap between iPhone/iPod and MacBook could be a tablet but it could also be a small netbook-like clamshell. Or it could be both: A netbook with a detachable screen that can work stand-alone as a tablet, sort of like Always Innovating's Touchbook or Lenovos IdeaPad U1. Regardless of which it is, I think it will be ARM-based and run a variant of the iPhone OS. A netbook compatible with MacBooks would hurt sales of the higher-priced MacBooks too much.

    As for a name, how about iMeMine? It fits the narcissistic Apple crowd and continues the legal dispute with Apple Records. :-)

    More seriously , Apple may reintroduce the iBook name for the new series.

    1. whiteafrican

      @Torben Mogensen

      "to fill the gap between iPhone/iPod and MacBook"...

      That's exactly the point, though, isn't it. What gap? A phone does useful stuff and fits in my pocket. Anything bigger than that needs a bag. If I am going to have to carry a bag or backpack, then I want a device that does *everything* that I expect from technology that a phone can't do. Otherwise, there's way too much overlap between the devices.

      As it stands, I need a phone (to carry around in my pocket, make calls, listen to music, play games, etc) and a comptuter (to do the stuff my phone doesn't do like edit PDFs and build webpages). And then there's this Apple tablet, that doesn't replace the form or functionality of either of my existing devices, and probably costs a lot... so why do I need it?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        "Edit PDFs"?

        So you're the person that uses Acrobat Pro!

      2. Andrew James

        @whiteafrican

        I think your problem there is that you said "I" and "my" a total of eight times (bit bored in work today, so i counted). it doesn't fit with your own needs, so you assume it wont fit with anyones needs.

        1. whiteafrican

          @ Andrew James, Simon Banyard

          @ Andrew James – That's a fair point, but the trouble is, it's the same for most people. We mostly already have laptops and phones. We have them because there are identifiable needs met by those devices.

          This rumoured Apple tablet running the iPhone OS combines the drawback of the laptop (size) with the drawback of a phone OS (limited functionality). It can't repalce either device, and it will likely cost more than either a top-end smartphone or a notebook PC. Therefore, my question remains, why do I need it?

          @ Simon Banyard – yeah… one of the drawbacks of working for large multinationals is that other countries (particularly the Middle East, Russia and Central Asia) tend to have odd formats for stuff, so they send docs as PDFs. These are a pain to mark up manually, so Acrobat Pro lets you make changes to the PDF directly. In my defence, it's not just me. There's a copy of Acrobat Pro on every PC in this building. Even though most of the people here can't use it…

          1. Jolyon

            I think I'd use it

            "my question remains, why do I need it?"

            Well 'need' is a stretch, of course.

            But I do find myself using my iPod Touch around the house a lot for email, non pub-based social networking, web browsing, pulling music from a little NAS etc to the point where I haven't actually switched on the laptop for more than a week.

            A touch screen handheld is proving more useable than a portable PC with keyboard or a remote control media box / web browser.

            And a larger version of the same basic device with an expanded on-screen keyboard (I now type faster on my iPod Touch than on my Nokia E71) would be something I'd like.

            A bigger screen would also make the iPlayer / 4OD and news apps like the various broadsheets provide more attractive.

            I can see one of these becoming the default device for the living room / bedroom.

            But it would have to hit a pretty good price point before I'd pick it over a netbook type product (the iPod Touch having proved to be the first thing good enough to have taken over from my Psion Netbook in fact).

          2. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            re: @ Andrew James

            I think your (very reasonable) question about why do you need a tablet, would be better asked when it's been unveiled.

            You mention about the size, but although most rumours suggest it's going to be around 10.1 inches, this is disputed with some claiming that they 'know'' it's going to be a smaller, but respectable (after all it's not the size that counts, but what you do with it) six to seven inches. If it is on the smaller side, then it isn't going to have the drawback you mention.

            As for the 'limited functionality' of the iPhone OS, well it's a version of OS X so I'm quietly confident adding new features etc shouldn't be a problem. But again, until we see what the device actually is, it's a bit early to decide whether the iPhone OS won't come up to snuff.

            Of course, the tablet - assuming it exists - just could be a cool bit of consumer kit... if which case, people might buy it because they want it, not becaue they need it.

            1. whiteafrican

              @AC 15:54

              To be fair to Mr James, I suspect you are referring to my post.

              As for the iPhone OS being a version of OSX, it depends on how far you stretch the term "version". The kernel is mostly the same, but the GUI and interface elements are totally different and the iPhone obviously has its own SDK. The bottom line is that software developed for a Mac will not run on an iPhone unless the iPhone OS is completely overhauled, something I don't see Apple doing any time soon... So if the tablet runs the iPhone OS, that means it won't support Flash, Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Word, Excel, [insert your software of choice here], etc.

              Your point that people might buy one because they want (rather than need) it is a good one, but the trouble is, who looks at their options and thinks, "I already have a laptop and a phone... what I really need is a device that provides some of the functionality of each device, but can't relace either, and basically gives me one more thing to carry around with me."? The answer, I suspect, is "Some people, but not many." Oddly enough, this is the same answer to the question, "Who bought an Apple TV?"

              1. Jolyon

                I already have a laptop and a phone...

                Well of course not everyone does have both those thing - amazing as such a claim might seem.

                My parents for example have a wall-mounted telephone and an old desktop that my dad uses and that's it.

                My mum would welcome and easy-to-use more or less foolproof way of getting on the internet that she could use from the sofa. She doesn't want a laptop, she hasn't used a physical keyboard since she was typing up house details on an electric typewriter in the 80s so she wouldn't be put out by an on-screen one.

                The same would go for my sister whose phone is no smarter than it needs to be to do text messages and who has a Mac desktop already but might like something smaller that can be passed around the family (individual logins and all that palaver being less relevant now everything her lot want is stored in the cloud).

                Personally I might buy one instead of a new laptop - certainly I will consider one instead of the netbook I had been thinking of getting and there's no way an e-book is making it onto my shopping list while this product is in the offing.

                It's a (yet to be confirmed!) consumer device and probably won't be marketed at the tech savvy - although I suspect many will still buy one.

                There are plenty of people for whom this is not an obvious falls-between-two-stools product.

                1. whiteafrican

                  @Jolyon

                  "There are plenty of people for whom this is not an obvious falls-between-two-stools product."

                  Indeed. However, the categories of people you identify have very little in common with the category "people who spend lots of money on the latest technology, rather than buying a more affordable alternative".

                  In the case of older people who don't want laptops, they are unlikely to spend their cash on something which is designed appeal to the same market as the iPod or iPhone, but which will cost more than the laptop would have cost. Teaching your mum to type on a touchscreen should be interesting though... It'll probably give you lots of anecdotes for later life.

                  In addition, the iSlate won't work with any standard software (whether PC of Mac flavours) so it can't do half the stuff that the laptop could. That's fine if you just want to surf the web, or watch videos (except with Flash, of course), and play some basic games, but not for much else. And the unfortunate truth is that people do want other things from their technology. If that wasn't the case, then Linux would dominate the netbook market... the reason it doesn't is that it doesn't meet people's expectations of a device that's too big for their pockets. Devices that are small have drawbacks in their functionality - people get that. But devices that have 10" screens will be expected to do at least as much as a netbook can do.

                  I don't doubt that there are some people who will buy the iSlate. I just think its sales will follow the AppleTV's sales a lot more closely than, say, the iPhone's sales.

                  1. Anonymous Coward
                    Happy

                    Wait and see...

                    @whiteafrican. Your points are entirely fair, however they are based on conjecture at the moment. Until we know exactly what it is and how it does it, there is no point in dismissing the device out of hand. It could be game changing, then again it could, as you are predicting, be nothing more than an oversized iPhone. One thing is certain, some will like it and some won't.

          3. Andrew James

            @whiteafrican

            I've just noticed the A5 size notepad on my desk & measured it with a ruler. Its a 10inch diagonal. If someone, Apple or otherwise, were able to make a multi-touch device that was dead easy to use and performed a number of functions effectively with minimal fuss, perhaps along the lines of an iphone/touch for ease of use but with a bigger screen for userfriendly surfing, and it was the size of an A5 notepad... and say, up to 14mm thick, not too heavy... I'd take one. I would find space for it in my life.

            I think as the consumer electronics market has matured over the last decade its become more want-driven than need-driven. I dont need a 15mp digital camera. But i want one. I dont need a 22"monitor but i want one. I dont need playstation3 or xbox360 but i want both. etc.

            Just because there are phones for some stuff, netbooks for something else and pc's/laptops for everything else, that doesnt mean people wont choose this (unconfirmed) ithingy.

            Hell... when my little girl stops throwing things when she has finished playing with them, i might even let her use a touch screen thingy like this to do some finger painting rather than colouring in the furniture.

        2. richard 69
          Stop

          nope

          he was right. this will be a pointless product unless it has a killer feature that no-ones thought of.

          magazines on a tablet? how is this better/different to a pdf or a website? what extra function can this give? if it looks and works like the tablets that ballmer the gorilla introduced last week, then they're fucked.

          after using an ipod touch for a few months now, it provides all the quick and dirty functions that i don't need the main mac for. i see no benefit to using a tablet....

  28. David Edwards

    IT Industry

    You may have noticed that the "IT Insustry" is no that important when it comes to consumer devices. Consumers dont (in fact shouldnt) care about Specs, OS, and functions they will never use. They say will it look nice on my table and will it do things I like.

    Anyone who thinks the AP store model for selling software is "crap" is an idiot. Apple and a number of thier developers are laughing all the way to the bank. Consumers like it becuse they dont have to read the small print about which sodding graphics card and processor speed etc etc it runs with and dont have to put in DVDS, work out why its stopped thier email from working and then try to find out where all their data has gone.

    Remember the Home computer? (Vic, Acorn, Beeb, Speccy) thats what an Iphone feels like

  29. stu 4
    Jobs Horns

    El Reg Invite

    Can we assume that El Reg has not been invited to the party ?

    My I be the first to suggest a cunning disguise.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iq2fiCgq6_U

    p.s. my cash is ready to buy if it lets me edit videos and pictures on a device smaller than my 17" MBP...

  30. Ascylto
    Jobs Halo

    Angels AND Archangels

    "If the clouds don't part and legions of angels descend from the skies ..."

    They will, MobiFan, they will!

    ALSO, there'll be Powers and Dominations so don't miss it!

  31. Anonymous Coward
    Grenade

    Wow, but you guys are dumb

    The "I hate Apple" boys are out in force again. Why you all profess to loathe Apple so is beyond me. After all, you know that your next PeeCee, craptop or cell phone is going to be a second-rate rip-off of Cupertino's latest masterpiece.

    Oh, except your M$ piece of junk will be running Windows 7, or Mac OS 10.1 as us "fanbois" know it.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      FAIL

      Please stop

      I use and own a couple of Macs, amonsgt my other machines, and they're pretty good. I do not need or want such a facepalm-inducing clue vacuum as you acting as a self-appointed spokesmen for any demographic which I might inhabit- any more than I want (say) Chrissie Hinde speaking for me as a veggie (she also needs to STFU).

      I assume that by "dumb", you mean "stupid", as if your equally tedious interlocutors were dumb, they'd have problems making their points out loud to start with.

  32. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Other products?

    It's also rumoured that iPhone OS 4.0 and a new iWork will be launched. Just rumours, of course, but it's not often that Apple will have a media event for just one product without mentioning anything else.

    It's been reported that the new version of iWork will have muti-touch capabilties, whilst it's been reported (e.g. Boy Genius) that the delay in releasing the updated iPhone OS was to do with the amount of tablet-related code - so this might have been worth a mention.

  33. ShaggyDoggy

    My bets is on

    iRabbit

    At last Apple have introduced an innovative product aimed specifically at the ladies. And what pleasure it will give them. Runs on a battery just the same as the more traditional device, but has of course many additional features that only Apple can bring you.

    The inbuilt movement sensor adjusts the activity rate accordingly, and the device knows whether it is upside down or "on top" thus bringing a new dimension to private pleasure.

    (continued p94)

  34. Desk Chewer
    WTF?

    M$ Junk (@ AC 11:44)

    I'm no M$ fanboi (or fangrrl, for that matter) but you're just not comparing like with like.

    When did Microsoft start producing and marketing mobile phones and personal computers?

  35. Anonymous Coward
    Badgers

    OS choices?

    If it is a tablet, hopefully they will put a version of OSX on it.

    what we do not need is a bloated Iphone OS with all the tables stuff on it

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      re: OS choices?

      Probably going to be iPhone OS - version 4.0 has been reportedly delayed until the tablet is unveiled, due to coding which is specifically is to do with the tablet.

      That said, the iPhone OS is a version of OS X....

  36. BeefStirFry
    Megaphone

    I predict...

    It'll have solar powered panels under the screen....

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