Apple Tablet -- Who needs it?

[DawnFalcon]

Originally Posted by stustaff

It happens to everyone so is pretty much pointless keep going on about it.

Have they stopped gluing their batteries in yet?

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by DawnFalcon

Have they stopped gluing their batteries in yet?

Non-exchangeable batteries and no ethernet port --- fortunately those have not caught on with other computer/phone manufacturers. Though they seem to succeed in taking away our beloved stylus!

[AprilHare]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The problem with a large iPod Touch tablet is that if it's just a bigger screen, then really, it's not going to be all that useful. Let's say the price is $1000. Would you want a tablet for that much that's fairly closed? The iPod Touch is a closed system. Apple is keeping control over it. For a tablet to be of use, it should be open like a computer is. So really, any tablet from Apple should be an OS X based tablet and fully open.

I suspect any Apple tablet computer will use OS X - what else do they have?
I agree such a tablet (still waiting for announcement) would need to be open.
It would need considerable processing power (on foot with a netbook) so the OS X GUI would presumably need to be scaled back to what was in OS X Tiger or earlier. After all, this is Apple: appearance is everything!
I wonder if Apple has been busily porting OS X to ARM processors?

Originally Posted by chainring

Yes, a jerk. You're offering nothing to this thread, but keep denigrating those who have expressed an interest in something that may fit within their lifestyle. That is a jerk and a troll. I suspect you wouldn't say half the things you've written in this thread to someone's face. That, my fellow reader, is an Internet thug.

How's this for incentive: the little icon with an exclamation point. You know the one.

Now I offer an alternative: contribute to this thread in a positive manner, with facts, keeping the belittling comments at bay, and save face.

I challenge you to do better.

[chainring]

Originally Posted by AprilHare

I freely admit my post was off topic, as were yours. Now that that's out of the way, let's continue with the productive comments.

Thank you

[JSWolf]

What I think would maybe sell would be a laptop with a removable screen that doubles as a tablet.

[montsnmags]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

What I think would maybe sell would be a laptop with a removable screen that doubles as a tablet.

Lenovo, I think, showed something like that at CES. It looked quite nifty, though I haven't properly looked at it.

For my mind, my interest in a new Apple Tablet would likely be influenced by the desire that its OS be either the full OS X (even if perhaps slightly "trimmed" for performance?) rather than the iPod Touch's/iPhone's (I want my Firefox, for instance, rather than Safari and purely app-store control. I'm happy with that on my iPhone, but on a tablet I want more freedom). Similar to the idea quoted above, I desire a "dock" for the tablet that allows me to plug in (or bluetooth?) a keyboard and mouse, or some variation thereof, so that I can just use it at a desk similar to a laptop/desktop.

This hypothetical device will replace my small laptop, which almost never leaves the desk, and will function as something I use on the sofa, or in bed, or possibly when travelling/staying overnight somewhere (for pleasure only, as I do not work). I do not need a laptop, I've realised. For most "desktop" work now, I use my iMac upstairs. A more lightweight tablet is likely to see far more use by me than the laptop. I chose the iMac for a few reasons, and one can include, after 20 years in IT, that one was a non-judgemental (against my MS experience) "a change is as good as a holiday" (It's nice, and I've mostly been satisfied with it). If I replace my laptop, inherited from work, my subjective experience is that these Apple products seem to work well together, and some uniformity of OS helps me, and so while a tablet is desirable, the possibility of an Apple tablet adds to that desire.

I am possibly going to be an "early adopter" if the device comes out, even if it doesn't completely match my desires. I don't have "loyalty" to Apple (by which I mean I don't generally retain that kind of strength of emotional attachment to a corporation(*)), but simply see my purchases as serving personal satisfaction of functional, aesthetic and emotional desires. If the rumoured product doesn't satisfy anyone else's, or they consider some of those particular desires irrelevant, I'm certainly okay with that...encourage it. I buy products to satisfy me, not to satisfy others.

Who needs the Apple Tablet? I don't know. I certainly don't "need" it any more than I "need" to buy books or movies or music or photography equipment to live. I might want it though.

Cheers,
Marc
(* Okay, I cried a bit when Porsche lost to VW )

[montsnmags]

Originally Posted by AprilHare

I suspect any Apple tablet computer will use OS X - what else do they have?
...

I (think I?) understand what you are saying, but I think Jon is differentiating between the "OS X iPhone" that is on the iPhone/iPod Touch, and the "Mac OS X" that is on the Macbooks and iMacs, and purporting that the latter is more desirable in the rumoured Tablet (something I agree with).

Cheers,
Marc

[AprilHare]

Originally Posted by montsnmags

I (think I?) understand what you are saying, but I think Jon is differentiating between the "OS X iPhone" that is on the iPhone/iPod Touch, and the "Mac OS X" that is on the Macbooks and iMacs, and purporting that the latter is more desirable in the rumoured Tablet (something I agree with).

Cheers,
Marc

Both are Darwin with a GUI.
They'll tailor a GUI for use on a tablet; more like Mac OS X for desktops depending on marketing requirements.

[DawnFalcon]

Originally Posted by HansTWN

Non-exchangeable batteries and no ethernet port

Yea for me it's a blocker for any device with a reasonably short battery life.

[montsnmags]

Originally Posted by AprilHare

Both are Darwin with a GUI.
They'll tailor a GUI for use on a tablet; more like Mac OS X for desktops depending on marketing requirements.

Yes, and I'm hoping (and quietly suspecting) they'll go more that way, but fearing (merely out of my own personal interest) that they'll go with the "big iPod Touch" GUI instead, which would less satisfactory (to me).

Cheers,
Marc (I like new toys)

[stustaff]

lets talk batteries first, dont care if its non replaceable. I have never purchased a new battery for ANY of my electronic devices.(ps is the sony 300/505 line battery replaceable?)

I have had:
Creative
iRiver
HP
Dell
Apple
Sony
Nokia
etc etc

And have Never had to replace a battery in around 15 years, isnt this just something else that for the majority is a non issue? I would suggest that the lack of battery changeability in the one of the worlds most popular phones and MP3 players would lead toward the answer being no.

OS as I said earlier I would be quite happy with a 'closed' OS like the iphone as that would still allow me to do 95% of what I would want to do on a tablet.
It is very hard to come up with something you would like to be able to do with a tablet that you cant do on their closed system, however it would impact on choice and for some of US that is an issue, but for the majority I guess it wont be. Hence why it will be a closed OS.

eg
I want to use firefox to browse the web
Well you cant! however that doesnt stop me browsing the web.

I want to be able to hotmail in thunderbird mail app
Well you cant, but you can get your email in otherways.

etc

There is little to nothing you cant do in the closed OS in terms of end result that you would actually want to do.

[DawnFalcon]

That's nice Stu. However, it is a requirement I have. And for the vast majority of devices, it's perfectly possible. I'm not going to be locked into a single battery, not to mention being subject to charges (and the temporary loss of the device) to repair/replace batteries on top of the actual cost of a new battery.

Apple are deliberately excluding themselves from my consideration. Which is their choice, of course. (It's also ecologically unsound, ofc)

And yes, I prefer open OS's which allow me to be properly productive than someone else's idea of what's optimal for someone else. I *heavily* customise windows. Just because I can do something non-optimally doesn't mean I'm a masochist and wouldn't prefer to do it optimally.

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by stustaff

lets talk batteries first, dont care if its non replaceable. I have never purchased a new battery for ANY of my electronic devices.(ps is the sony 300/505 line battery replaceable?)

I have had:
Creative
iRiver
HP
Dell
Apple
Sony
Nokia
etc etc

And have Never had to replace a battery in around 15 years, isnt this just something else that for the majority is a non issue? I would suggest that the lack of battery changeability in the one of the worlds most popular phones and MP3 players would lead toward the answer being no.

I always buy devices that have user replaceable batteries.

Creative: 1 AAA battery
Laptop (targus): user replaceable battery, already replaced it once
PDA (Fujitsu Siemens): user replaceable battery, already replaced it once
Nokia: user replaceable battery, already replaced it once, it's now my backup phone though
Photo camera: 4 AA batteries

So far my only device without one is my mini.

Originally Posted by stustaff

OS as I said earlier I would be quite happy with a 'closed' OS like the iphone as that would still allow me to do 95% of what I would want to do on a tablet.
It is very hard to come up with something you would like to be able to do with a tablet that you cant do on their closed system, however it would impact on choice and for some of US that is an issue, but for the majority I guess it wont be. Hence why it will be a closed OS.

eg
I want to use firefox to browse the web
Well you cant! however that doesnt stop me browsing the web.

I want to be able to hotmail in thunderbird mail app
Well you cant, but you can get your email in otherways.

etc

There is little to nothing you cant do in the closed OS in terms of end result that you would actually want to do.

I want to run my own .NET applications...

[JSWolf]

Speaking of replaceable batteries. I don't think Apple would be silly enough to make a tablet without a user replaceable battery. It would cut down on sales. I know I for one would not buy anyone tablet if the battery was fixed. Besides, by having a user replaceable battery, we could have spares for when needed.

[montsnmags]

Originally Posted by stustaff

...
OS as I said earlier I would be quite happy with a 'closed' OS like the iphone as that would still allow me to do 95% of what I would want to do on a tablet.
It is very hard to come up with something you would like to be able to do with a tablet that you cant do on their closed system, however it would impact on choice and for some of US that is an issue, but for the majority I guess it wont be. Hence why it will be a closed OS.

You have information of what variety of OS they will be using
on this rumoured device? Will it be OS X iPhone or Mac OS X? Going from the above statement, you know it to be the former?

As previously indicated, I am not interested in what the majority want. I am interested in what I want. If something significant is in that 5%, I will be disappointed and possibly not interested.

Which is to say, I am unsure what you're defending here, and why you think it needs defense.

eg
I want to use firefox to browse the web
Well you cant! however that doesnt stop me browsing the web.

I want to be able to hotmail in thunderbird mail app
Well you cant, but you can get your email in otherways.

Right, that's all well and good, but I want to, for example, use Firefox. I realise there are alternatives (I have an iPhone. I have an iPod Touch. FWIW I have an iMac). The alternatives are satisfactory to me on the iPhone. They would not be so satisfying to me on the rumoured tablet.

I get the feeling you are defending Apple against my wants. You also appear to be diminishing my wants. I don't know why. I don't know how you could determine their degree of importance to me. They are not criticisms. They are what I desire in the product. If Apple don't meet my desires, my desires are as none to blame as Apple are for not meeting them.

There is little to nothing you cant do in the closed OS in terms of end result that you would actually want to do.

...but that "little" may be enough. I am, as mentioned, aware from experience of the possibly subjective limitations of the iPhone OS compared to the Mac OS. I want the latter. I hope Apple provide it to me. If they don't, they don't. I do not and have not and will not criticise them for it. My desires simply do not coincide with their assumed market.

Can you accept this personal desire without feeling any need to diminish it or defend Apple?

As I said, I buy products to satisfy me. To lightly, but I think empathetically, take dawnfalcon out of context, "it is a requirement I have".

I like the Apple products I have (and The Loved One also likes his Macbook and iPhone). I will likely buy more Apple products. I will likely buy the rumoured tablet if it appears. I don't like Apple...I don't feel anything for them (or any company) at all. For me, it's just products against my wants, which was the OP thread question I was trying to answer, for myself alone.

Cheers,
Marc