“A few months ago, a major publication published a hint that Apple is planning to release a handheld in 2004. Now, what are supposed to be some additional details of this device have surfaced. In December of last year, a writer for eWeek said that he had ‘heard of an Apple prototype making the rounds in Silicon Valley.’ He gave no other details, though,” Ed Hardy reports for BrightHand.
“This week, John Manzione from Mac NET v2 published what he says is a description of Apple’s upcoming handheld… Apparently it will use a clamshell design, with the screen on one side and keyboard on the other… the screen can be rotated around and closed over the keyboard, allowing the device to be used as a tablet… it will use Apple’s Inkwell for handwriting recognition,” Hardy reports. “It will support both QuickTime and MPEG4. With an internal hard drive giving it far more storage capacity that typical handhelds, Apple could be planning to position the device as a portable video player that also functions as a PDA.”
Hardy reports, “Supposedly, Apple’s handheld will have FireWire, USB, and Bluetooth. Of course it will be able to synchronize with iCal, Mail, Address Book etx. on an OS X Mac, but Mr. Manzione reports that iSync with Windows will be available, too.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: The Apple PDA is the rumor that will not die, it seems. Maybe they’ve gotten the year right this year?
The iPod brand is scalable!
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http://homepage.mac.com/johnhood
A PDA or similar device (i.e. HP 4350) may be a handy device for some folks and in some situations. Never used either one myself. Perhaps there is more collaboration between Apple and HP than just the iPod.
Regardless, I would hope that such a device would not be a copycat item, but something a bit more radical and innovative than the usual PDA or Pocket PC�s.
Any clues what this device would be called?
I seem to recall a news item posted in MDN about Apple patenting the title “iWrite.” Perhaps it is connected with this rumored PDA?
I’ve just had a scary thought. What if Apple are returning the HiPod favour by rebranding and selling the iPaq???
I think the traditional response is NNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooo……
I wish it would be 2005 already 🙁
I hate waiting…
Dave H:
I cannot imagine Apple re-branding HP�s iPaq. Apple’s success is in innovation of design and technology, integration of form and function. It would seem incongruous for Apple not to offer the consumer something significantly new and different. However, it is possible that the success of the iPod may convince HP to incorporate other Apple devices for their PC customers IF they also prove to be as great a sensation as the iPod.
Personally I’m not going to get excited over this one, as I don’t value Manzione’s articles very highly, as he (used to be, have avoided his sight for a while now) tends to write articles like “Steve Jobs sucks and should go ‘coz he lacks vision, my vision is Apple should do just like Dell” and has abused Mac related articles for political rantings (the Mac’s like Bush???!!????!!!, please!!!!!!). On top of that we’ve been getting new PDA rumors with clockwork regularity, all with the same sort of “oh look, they’ve got inkwell!” credibility. Of course, if they were to make a PDA it would have to be leagues better than the current crop, it would have to be something people would actually want to use!
yep… this article is just a ploy to get more traffic
Sounds like OS X on the go. If it plays video it might even use a dedicated graphics chip. It certainly could use one if iTunes is to run on it.
Now what’s this business about Palm dropping OS X support due to a conflict of interest? Palm offers flash-memory based PDAs. Apple will introduce the hard-drive to the PDA market, something which Palm has not offered yet. So there is no conflict of interest. Palm can continue to sell flash-memory PDAs while Apple utilises hard drives and FireWire in its portable devices.
Im glad I didnt buy a new Palm recently, I was surprised to hear Palm dropping Mac support. If this is true Im stoked, Im not sure what I would use the video capabilty for though, but I would like a more feature laden isync and ical in conjunction with a new device.
I personally find this very interesting in light of Palm’s recent announcement to drop OS X support.
I can’t help but wonder if Apple (due to some business relationship/agreement) let certain people at Palm know that an Apple PDA was coming and wasn’t going to use the Palm OS.
If this is true it might have been the catalyst for Palm dropping their support of OS X.
I would buy a $500 iPaq running OSX right now
I seen it….
Sounds like another load of crap. A clamshell handheld? Gimme’ a break! They described an ultra-tiny iBook. 6-inch iBook, anyone?
The Return of the eMate! Coming to rumor sites near you!
We all know Apple is planning a new handheld. Palm is in fear of it and is trying to pre-empt the device now. But, Manzione is just looking for traffic. He writes whatever it takes to get people to his site.
fact is, the contacts and calendar were all I ever used on my old pda. Eventually it was more hassle than it was worth. My iPod does that and still holds my entire cd collection. Now THAT is worth something.
stingerman: We all know Apple is planning a new handheld? How do we all know this?
I’m sure Apple is working on some kind of palmtop or handheld or tablet–Inkwell suggests so.
That does NOT guarantee that it will ever see the light. Apple has great R&D, but they don’t always find a market worth releasing a product to.
My vote: I’d buy a handheld if it ran OS X! It would be SO nice to have my apps and files with me all the time in my pocket, even when I don’t feel like lugging a laptop.
I really don’t think Apple will make a handheld; at least not in the traditional sense. OS X is great, but a handheld running OS X would not be received well enough to justify the expense of developing it. It’s a similar situation to corporate boxes: WinDell has it locked up. Corporations have too much invested in those boxes, and they have a lot invested in their Palms, too. And consumers don’t buy handhelds.
That’s not to say that Apple doesn’t have an idea. I’m just saying that I haven’t heard a good idea concerning handhelds. I haven’t come up with my own, either. Seems hopeless.
The source of the handheld rumors probably stem from leaks about iPod-related stuff that is mistaken for handheld-related stuff.
Is it a palm style devise, or a tablet style devise?
Well, what I’m after is something with a hi-res colour screen about A4 in size, capable of displaying animations, quicktime, supports Inkwell so I can take lecture notes and draw as well as doing some lightweight data processing (spreadsheet, database, file conversion). It also needs to double as eBook so instead of having a thousand kilograms of texts, I have a thousand meg of texts in one light package. It needs to be durable and sturdy like the iBook and capable of being roughed up a bit without becoming flaky. I also want it to be able to do away with physical newspapers and magazines, and books as I mentioned before.
It doesn’t need to be a speed demon or a portable games console (that’s what my Powerbook is for).
It does need to have Firewire, USB, Bluetooth, and Airport/AExtreme, an inbuilt mic, headphone and external mic jacks and a Kensington lock.
The applications it needs to support include iSync, iCal, Address Book, Safari, iChat, Mail, Sherlock and Preview, and stripped down versions of iPhoto and Appleworks or Java based productivity App. And it needs to run on some lean variant of OS X.
I’d also like to see a speech system which can actually understand my accent (Australian English) – the dictation side of things can be performed later when I sync with my PB.
Would that be killer product? I’m pretty certain it would.
I will laugh out loud if –
a, this is an accurate rumor, and –
b, it is named the “iBook mini”
And then I will go to my nearest Apple store and buy one!
it would be simple – take an 12inch ibook but put a touchscreen in place of the keypad – VOILA the MacPad
Congruent: That would be funny, wouldn’t it? The little iBooks seem so “mini” already. But, then again, so did the iPods.
Scott: That would be cool, but it would still cost $1000. Do PDAs get that expensive?
I’ve never had a corporate ball-and-chain, living and dying by the PDA. I don’t know what those guys want from their PDAs, or what they dream about. I suppose I would like one that I can talk to, rather than write on. That wouldn’t be any good in a staff meeting, though. Everyone would be talking to their PDAs at the same time.
Anyone out there actually chained to one? What do you yearn for?
We need the iSlate now
New Apple mini-tablet �> PMA (portable media appliance)
Designed not to be a creative device like a desktop or laptop, but rather a sophisticated display device that communicates seamlessly with other devices via Rendezvous & 802.11, BT, GPRS, FireWire, etc.
Device Size:
8� x 5.0� x .65� (�15oz)
� 1/2 size of a 17� PowerBook
� 2x size of a Palm T3 or an iPod
� size of a DVD movie case
small enough to hold with one hand by the bezel (.5� bezel on the sides)
Screen:
�8� LCD (16:9 ratio) -> 800 x 480 pixels minimum (1024 x 600 ideally)
� 1/2 size of 17� PowerBook screen
� 2x size of a Palm T3 screen
able to display �640 x 480 material� & DVD (720×480) quality video natively
Battery:
6-9 hr. Li-Ion battery (or some new battery technology)
Storage:
1.8� 20GB or 40GB Toshiba hard drive (additional capacity can come from external devices)
128MB or 256MB RAM – fixed
CF slot (w/ adapter for SD, xD, Smart Media, Memory stick)
Processor & OS ?:
Motorola 800 MHz G4 mobile w/ Mac OS X lite or
Intel 400 MHz XScale PXA263 w/ Palm OS 6 or Mac OS Mobile?
Connectivity:
802.11 �> Desktop or Laptop, Stereo, Internet via Wi-Fi hotspots
Bluetooth �> Keyboard, Mouse, PDA, Wireless Headphones, Internet via GSM Phone
FireWire �> iPod, Computer, Hard Drive, DVD/CD writer, Video Camera, iSight
USB 2.0 �> Printer, PDA, Digital Still Camera
mini-DVI w/adapter for:
-> ADC & VGA for larger monitor
-> DVI for video projector or HDTV
-> S-Video for video projector or TV
-> Composite for video projector or TV
Stereo mini out
Stereo mini in
Rendezvous for seamless connectivity to other devices
Input:
Inkwell via touch screen &/or stylus
Keyboard & mouse via Bluetooth or USB
Microphone
Remote control via Bluetooth
Applications:
inkwell, iPhoto, iTunes, iMovie, Safari, QuickTime, iSync, Rendezvous
Preview or Acrobat Reader, Mail, iCal, Address Book, Sherlock, iChat AV
Keynote, FileMaker, Quicken,
A/V Formats:
Pixlet, MPEG-4, MPEG-2, MPEG-1, AAC, MP3, WAV, AIFF, Audible, JPEG, TIFF, GIF
Accessories:
Charger, External Battery, Stand, clip for iSight, Portable folding BT keyboard, BT mouse
Headphone w/Microphone boom, quality stereo headphones
Price ??:
$699 to $899
More on the iSlate
The technology is available to provide consumers with a product like “iSlate”. Of course only Apple could really do it right, although several other companies are attempting to create some variation of this device. Unfortunately many are too focused on video playback only, & not creating a true multi-function device that could be used at home, at the office, or on the road. This product would integrate well into the “Digital Lifestyle” philosophy & compliment existing Apple products.
It would provide a screen large enough to actually watch video & view photos, while still being small enough to be portable. It needs to be smaller than a notebook computer, but larger than a PDA. Granted, you can not put a device the size of a DVD case in your pocket, but something doesn’t have to fit in a pocket to be portable. This device could be used in so many different situations that it would have broad appeal in the market. I only pray that Apple is working on such a device & will release it in 2004. They have an opportunity to impact the industry with the iSlate & iVideo media Store as much as the iPod & iTMS will.
Create a device that is bigger that the largest PDA or Archos type device, yet smaller than the average notebook or tablet computer. Imagine if you will, holding a device (about the size of a DVD case) away from you anywhere from 12″ to 18″. Obviously a 4″ screen would be inadequate, but a 7″ to 9″ diagonal widescreen would be more than acceptable. It could still be small enough to fit in a stack of books, a briefcase, a large purse, of any number of other carrying cases. It would be something that could be viewed in an office, at home, in a coffee shop, on an airplane or train, or even in the backseat of a car.
The idea is not to see how much visual information one can cram into a small space (3″ to 4″ screens) or replace existing devices like the TV or Video Projector. The idea is to create a device that is a reasonable compromise between portability & “acceptable or pleasurable” viewing for multiple applications & that also complements existing devices.
Final thought on iSlate
Although a 4 lb, 12″ notebook computer displays video beautifully (I use one everyday), it is too big for the situations I have described. Beyond the innumerable business applications it could fulfill, it could display video & photos on a screen that is much bigger than an Archos type device or PDA, & yet smaller than a notebook computer. It doesn�t need to carry everything all the time, so it doesn�t require a massive hard drive. The internal HD needs only to be large enough for the OS, applications & enough storage to carry material while you away from any connectivity to other devices or the internet.
From a strictly �video perspective�, a large part of its success would hinge upon Apple’s ability to distribute video clips through an online store much like iTMS. This store could provide educational content, business content, news content, & entertainment content beyond just movies. To be truly successful, it must integrate into Apple’s “Digital Lifestyle” strategy, & be truly portable (ubiquitous wireless connectivity & good battery life).
iDraw…
I want to eliminate all of my notepads so I can find all of my brainstorming scribble notes, doodles drawings and notations – like the Newton could but in full color. Certain notes could be converted to text when necessary using inkwell.
An artistic color drawing pad would be awesome with Photoshop and Painter. How about reTOUCHing photos directly. Come on Apple – how many artisits are Mac users – 90%? Apple’s user base is with the creative field not the bean counters – give us the 21st century drawing pad PLEASE!
How about the iPad?
I think the only way Apple will go in the PDA direction was if it had something to do with iChat. Something that seemed not at all like a PDA, but had those functions too. Something that would be like a mac (and maybe could even be sold as a computer). Steve Jobs once said ‘Imagine if the iPod was considered a computer. The mac market share would be way different.’ It is an interesting Idea. What if something had one main function, but was also a mini mac computer. Kind of like this thing, but for macs and geared more in the iChat direction…. http://www.oqo.com/hardware/video/
I’d buy this: 6″ PowerBook:
http://www.spymac.com/gallery/show_photo.php?picid=56906
I wouldn’t buy it. Tell you why. It looks like another class action suit. The hinge on the bottom left image that you created is offset from the rest of the frame of the hardware and I think that is going to create problems with the video screen not to mention closing it.
If the unit appears as described, it would cost as much as a laptop. What I would like Apple to make is a LIGHTER laptop, something in line with the Sonys or the Fujitsus. There are many who need to carry their laptops along with books, and even the 15 inch Powerbook is a backbreaker, even though it is relatively light for a full-featured laptop.
When Apple will sell such a product it wold be high-priced (1,000 � minimum). The risk to flop is high at such a price !
I am waiting for a small, smart device for pre-storing photos, record DVB-T videos, taking my keynote-presentations with me, storing hand-made sketches on the go, serving as sketch pad for my stationary Mac, with 10 hours minimum continuus battery power, sporting Mac-OS X including connections for video and HiFi In/Out, bluetooth, USB, Firewire. With such features I would buy it nevertheless the high price.
Zucht. En ik heb al zo’n last van frequent lozen van flatus en RSI. http://download-games.b0x.com/