Thoughts on Apple’s Tablet
27th Jan 10
All the Apple Tablet rumours have me intrigued. I know we’re talking about a product whose existence hasn’t even been confirmed or denied by Apple yet… but regardless, if these rumours were true, what would it mean for the masses? Should we have our pockets primed and our tents ready for the massive wait in the queues to buy “the next big thing”? Maybe.
From what I can tell the Tablet will offer multi-touch support much like iPhone & iPod Touch, and have a screen size somewhere in the range of 7 to 13 inch (anything greater or smaller would seem impractical). Assuming this is correct, the Tablet would be competing with the Netbook form factor. Netbooks have exploded in popularity because of the aggressive price points and their small, easily portable size (1.5Kg or less). They’re the perfect companion PC for light tasks such as browsing the web, receiving emails, and creating word docs on the go, all without the pain of lugging around heavy laptops. They don’t replace the need for a desktop/laptop, or Smartphone, but rather they happily co-exist along-side them. I’d imagine Apple’s Tablet to be much the same, one of those complimentary devices.
I can’t see Apple cannibalising their Macbook and iMac sales with an inexpensive tablet that does everything a Macbook does. It’s no secret that Apple targets the higher-end of any market they enter, promoting their superior platform, product and support. So I would expect the Tablet to retail at a higher price point than other comparative products (namely Windows based Tablet-Netbooks) which sell for AUD $700 upwards. The question I’d love answered is “will the masses buy theTablet”? At an estimated AUD $1000+ it’s a steep price to ask for a device which isn’t as portable as the iPhone or as powerful and flexible as your standard laptops/desktops.
Rumours generally agree that the Tablet will run a form of the iPhone OS, and that it will have access to the App Store and other Apple related goodies (iTunes, and its movie rentals etc). This is important as it instantly means the tablet will be less suited for actual work, and more geared for casual use and entertainment. Just imagine it as being a device you’d have around your home, something that you could use to read the news, watch YouTube videos, and stream movies to. Who knows, Apple may even surprise us all with Infra-Red support, turning the Tablet into the ultimate lounge room remote control. Or maybe they’ll include Augmented Reality, where an embedded camera can identify real world objects and bring up helpful information about it (eg. Show it a TV channel and it would tell you what’s on next, or offer you ways to download the show for later viewing).
This still brings us back to the question… is it worth the estimated $1000 price tag? It leaves me feeing squeamish at the thought of forking out a grand for a device that is less useful than a computer, and will probably just end up sitting around the house all day (unlike the highly portable iPhone which you’d carry everywhere with you). It’s a strange new territory that Apple will be stepping into. Until the 27th of January when it will be officially released in San Francisco, it’s anyone’s guess how things will turn out. Either way, the iSheep will be out in full force throwing their support behind any new Apple product come rain or shine.
27th Jan 10 at 1:45 pm
Great article! I personally think it’ll cost about $1,000. The iPhone is about $880, and the MacBook Pro ranges starts at roughly $1,299, so it’d make sense for it to slot between.
But it may be quite good for doing some work. Since the release of the App Store and OS 3.0, the iPhone has become really good for business. Multitouch makes word processing a lot easier than using say, a Windows Mobile phone.