Apple Tablet -- Who needs it?

[crutnacker]

I've seen the hype, read the speculation, and I keep asking myself..... who needs this?

I love my iPhone, my new Kindle, my netbook, my laptop, and even my desktop. Each meets a certain need for me. But when I think of what sounds more and more like an iPhone on steroids, I have to ask..... who needs an Apple tablet?

Some problems I see (based on speculation about the product):

1. Too expensive
2. No keyboard
3. Battery life (if my iPhone is any indication)
4. Display (if they intend for this to be an e-reader, it better be pleasing to the eye for long periods of time)
5. Not different enough from what I already own.
6. Portability vs. durability

At its current size, the iPhone does many things well. Blown up to a 10 inch screen, its limitations would seem to be abundantly clear compared to other items of similar size. Additionally, the speculation that publishers will be clamoring to put multimedia books and content on the device seems questionable at best, considering how loathe publishers are to break away from the current physical book model.

I think the tablet will sell well initially, but don't see this as being a must have like the iPhone or iPod have been. For most people, I would think a $300 netbook would fit the bill just as well, and leave money to buy a new iPhone.

[ficbot]

I think it would be a great replacement for my netbook, if the battery life is comparable to my ipod Touch or better. But then again, I pretty much use my netbook solely as a glorified jukebox/YouTube player when I am teaching, so I am not a high-end user. I don't always have access to a plug to plug the netbook in, and it would be great to just be able to whip out a tablet and away I go---all day long. But I suspect the price point will not be within my means if that is all I'm going to use it for, and if it doesn't play Powerpoint shows, it will not be versatile enough as a teaching tool for me the way the netbook, in spite of its annoying need to be plugged in, is.

[Bremen Cole]

I sure don't need it, but many will and they will buy it. All good to me......

[Lemurion]

People deep in the Reality Distortion Field.

If the rumors are correct it will be a great device - however it will cost far too much and be unnecessarily hobbled by Apple's insistence on controlling everything.

[Sweetpea]

I don't want an apple tablet, but I'd love to get a tablet. Why? First because it's something I don't have yet, second for reading on a larger screens, third because it'll be easier to take with me than a laptop. I never wanted a netbook because I don't want the keyboard (I'd bring my laptop if I really wanted to make use of a keyboard and have something portable).

[WillAdams]

I've been using pen computers since the NCR-3125 and when using my current Fujitsu Stylistic have the following issues:

- lack of a Miller column browser view in Windows Explorer
- no Services
- no rich font support in system apps such as WordPad (why bundle Linotype Palatino when _nothing_ from Microsoft can get at that font's features)
- Taskbar nowhere near as nice or configurable or space efficient as the Mac OS X Dock (lessee, I have to have FireFox in my QuickLaunch toolbar to start it, but when it's running, it makes a button the Taskbar, but the button used to launch it is still around)
- pervasive .pdf support
- having to re-start the machine once a week or so 'cause it's gotten sluggish or the video driver has crashed
- no equivalents for utilities which I use frequently: FileWrangler, TeXshop, &c.
- FreeHand will not clear its splash screen when launched, so is unusable
- no pervasive, system-wide, always-able cross-application natural language scripting tool to replace AppleScript
- development tools not bundled w/ the OS, not as nice as Interface Builder and XCode
- need to install 3rd party X-Window support
- &c.

Work-arounds and fixes for the above would be welcome.

I've been using Windows since Windows/286, but it's never been as comfortable to me as NeXTstep --- Mac OS X is an adequate replacement, but I'd give a lot to have a vertical pop-up menu, tear off menus, top-level Print and Services menu, _no_ Carbon apps &c.

William

[stustaff]

Originally Posted by Lemurion

People deep in the Reality Distortion Field.

If the rumors are correct it will be a great device - however it will cost far too much and be unnecessarily hobbled by Apple's insistence on controlling everything.

I see this all the time but what exactly are apple controlling that hobbles their devices for 99.9% of people?

I have both Pc's and Macs and an iphone and especially on the iPhone I can open pretty much any file and do much more than pretty much ANY other phone out there?

an example or two would be good.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by stustaff

I see this all the time but what exactly are apple controlling that hobbles their devices for 99.9% of people?

I have both Pc's and Macs and an iphone and especially on the iPhone I can open pretty much any file and do much more than pretty much ANY other phone out there?

an example or two would be good.

A very simple example - eBook readers on the iPhone are crippled by the fact that you can't simply copy files to the device. Not permitting remote access to the file system is an excellent example of Apple's "over controlling" approach. You have to jump through hoops of going through web servers, etc, merely to load content onto the device - a thing which should be the most straightforward thing in the world to do.

[stustaff]

Originally Posted by HarryT

A very simple example - eBook readers on the iPhone are crippled by the fact that you can't simply copy files to the device. Not permitting remote access to the file system is an excellent example of Apple's "over controlling" approach. You have to jump through hoops of going through web servers, etc, merely to load content onto the device - a thing which should be the most straightforward thing in the world to do.

??

I opend calibre and then opened ny Stanza app and copied 6 epubs over yesterday was very simple and involved no use of web servers etc I can also get my books directly from kindle store, BoB, feedbooks manybooks etc all with a couple of clicks.

in fact its easier on my iPhone than on My sony! I have to actually connect my sony to my Machine to do the same thing.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by stustaff

??

I opend calibre and then opened ny Stanza app and copied 6 epubs over yesterday was very simple and involved no use of web servers etc

You were using a web server. Calibre is running one for you on your PC, for the specific purpose of getting around this silly restriction of not being able to copy files directly to the iPhone. The fact that people have written tools (such as Calibre's web server) to get around the restriction does not change the fundamental point that it's silly for Apple to have put that restriction there in the first place.

[dsvick]

"Need"? I don't really need one no, by the same token though I don't need a lot of things I have

Until Apple releases some official specs I cant even venture a guess as to if I'll want one, I dont see it replacing my laptop as I need something decent sized to do actual work on. Even with a nice screen for reading I cant see it becoming primarily a reading device if for no other reason than price. However, if the price is not too exorbitant and it looks neat then the coolness factor could very well supersede any objections and I'll get one anyway

[Bremen Cole]

Originally Posted by HarryT

You were using a web server. Calibre is running one for you on your PC, for the specific purpose of getting around this silly restriction of not being able to copy files directly to the iPhone. The fact that people have written tools (such as Calibre's web server) to get around the restriction does not change the fundamental point that it's silly for Apple to have put that restriction there in the first place.

I agree with what you are saying, but it is so easy to get around it is a non-issue for me.

BTW, I have an iPhone, but I am not a fan of Apple. I have one simply because for me, it's the best out there.

[drofgnal]

In USA today:

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/20...h_N.htm?csp=hf

If 1000 bucks is the price, I'm out.

[rcuadro]

There was talk a while ago about having a tablet style computer with a dock in the shape/size of the current iMac... where the tablet would slide into the iMac body and be the computer. That would be cool and I would be all over that.
A stand alone tablet, well, not for me

[pking36330]

My wife and kids got me an iPod Touch as a gift and I'm shocked at how much I've read on it over the holidays.

I own PC computers except for my daughters MacBook she wanted for college (which I thought was over-priced). I've owned Macs in the past but crossed over to PCs in the mid-90s when they closed their architecture.

But I can't wait to buy an over-priced, closed-architecture, over-governed Apple Tablet. If it is similar to the iPod Touch in simplicity, refinement, and capability, it will be worth every penny of the money I pay for it. I'm certain the sales numbers will bear out that many more will be like me. It may not be for everyone, but I'm looking forward to it.