“I was first tipped on the existence of plans for a previously unknown Apple portable device, somewhat larger than the current iPhone, a few months ago. The device was described as having a touch screen and best suited to be gripped with both hands. A little later, another source provided a key piece of evidence that pointed to Apple working with the German company Balda on securing 5.2″ touch panels ( more than likely pre-production units ) for an unknown device. This tip was crucial in determining the approximate size of the device and where it best fits in the Apple product lineup. Balda is one of a handful of companies that design and manufacture ( in Xiamen, China) high scratch and shatter resistant, multi-touch capable displays for mobile handsets and is thought to have received orders for Apple iPhone,” David Sieger reports for Eye On Apple.
“According to my sources, the new device is more than likely based on Apple’s current portable platform ( ie. iPhone/Touch ) and once the SDK is released, a little digging inside the platform interface should reveal the extent of the platform’s capabilities and Apple’s plans for the portable multi-touch lineup. Moreover, 3G is part of the device specs with WiFi included as well,” Sieger reports.
“The mysterious device resembles less an Ultra Mobile Mac and more an upper model iPhone or a more capable next gen iPod Touch. In other words, the portable’s hardware seem to suggest not a fully capable and portable Mac but a device which depends heavily on wireless connectivity,” Sieger reports.
“Such a device is likely a year from introduction although, due to its 3G capability, may be introduced a full six months before being shipped ( similar to iPhone ) to clear the FCC hurdle,” Sieger reports.
More in the full article here.
Let the rumours roll. I love it.
It doesn’t even matter what it is. The whole rumour mill and all the hype is quite entertaining to follow..
and the market for this sort of device is……??????
Maybe…
IF this is happening… ‘if’ being the biggest word in the English language… I bet Apple is waiting for the low-power 4G chipsets that were announced not long ago.
THEN we might see iPhone 2.0 with the same chipset announced at the same time.
One more thing… ?
…and a bluetooth ice-grinder…
Stop reporting BS… Please!
Portable video player using Wi-Fi
VideoFone
Programmable remote control
Portable music player (speaker out)
Oh yeah, and its called “Tabula Rasa” (clean slate).
I told you it was coming.
Is it time yet to manipulate the price Apple back up??? It’s sure sounding like it’s time.
That’s not a rumor, that’s a fact…of course Apple is having this somewhere in the labs. Any ‘analist’ or illiterate could come to that conclusion.
The big question is: ‘Will it meet the standards of Apple’ (Jobs’ standards to be specific)
These rumors are just plain obvious. Next page…
I can see one of them thar baby Macs inside this beaut.
its not handheld. It goes in your Audi or VW. Its a nav/audio/Internet communicator for the car.
It’s not because Apple is experimenting in the labs, that such a product will be anounced.
Where’s Asteroid?
This will be a Wireless Media + Productivity + Internet mobile device. Lots of things can’t be done with laptop. For instance, during meetings, people take notes on paper… and those people actually happen to have laptops!!! This is just an example.
So it will be:
– A ultra-portable multi-touch device
– Larger display than iPhoe/iPod Touch
– With some kind of openable tripod for it to stand on a table if necessary
It will allow you to do:
– Note taking (Hand writting)
– Document reading/basic editing (iWork document)
– e-Book reading
– Wireless Internet Browsing
– Email
– Video/Movies/Music/Photo
– Sync wirelessly with other devices
– Install other applications
This device will allow you to do 90% of what you do with your laptop on the go. And lot of things you do during meetings, in the bus etc. This is the future of mobile computing. To do the rest, you’ll still have your desktop machine.
Sounds like the Bee Ess to me.
A 5.2″ screen device, roughly an enlarged iPhone, would just about fit in the inside jacket pocket of your typical road warrior. A bit large for my shirt pocket, though. Fit nicely in my jeans … until I sat down.
We’re seeing a form factor designed mainly for a fairly specific market, a market that includes most analysts (!), while ignoring most of the rest of the population. Got Skype? It could be your “iPhone”. As a status-gathering toy it certainly beats the iPhone in providing fodder during presentations … much easier to see the much larger screen at arm’s length.
All that said, I’m sure it’s in Apple’s labs and much less sure it will ever see the light of day. Unless, of course, Apple consigns the MBA to the scrap heap after wringing every drop of free ink out of it.
Maybe Apple can “re-kindle” some interest in eBook use.
iRead anyone?
A Wireless Multi-touch Device?
I think we finally found our WMDs.
Where’s my AppleTV update?
re: and the market for this sort of device is……??????
—
Me!
In other words people who run their own business who cant be bothered to plugin and turn on their laptops who need instant on mobile Mac tablet.
this is just a cheap rip off of AppleInsider’s report on the device from many months ago.
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/07/09/26/up_next_for_apple_the_return_of_the_newton.html
long live the Newton II…!!
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I still want my iBarrow. I telling you, every lawn man and hobby gardener on the planet will buy on in less than a month. Apple stock price will go to $1000.
“I still want my iBarrow.”
O.K., but people won’t see them clearly without their iGrasses. And you’ll need something to manage them. Just an iDeere.
@DLMeyer:
Why would Apple have to scrap the MacBook Air just to have another, smaller device? This device would fit many other needs, particularly if it uses Apple’s Inkwell handwriting technology (which has languished on OS X). This could be a much better option for people to carry with them rather than a laptop, but would not take the place of a laptop because the data entry via keyboard would not be available.
It’s amazing that this analyst said this product would be “more than likely” based on Apple’s current mobile platform. Uhhh, why would Apple develop a new OS when it has the best one already in OS X?
The whole power behind Apple’s products is OS X, which was significantly revamped for Leopard, and no other manufacturer can compete with the power and flexibility of OS X in a mobile environment. Sheesh.
A 5.2 inch screen would be slightly larger than the iphone, which is about as big as you want a pocket device to get. If this is just the screen, then the device would be larger than that. There’s no way this a “pocket” device. unless you have really big pockets.
It’s Apple’s answer to Microsoft’s Sync.
The only difference is that Apple’s device will work as advertised.
It will be called a ‘Communcator’
I saw it on star Trek. It will have GPS, two-way video and info on the proper way to make a Betelgeuse gin and tonic (replacing the olive with a lizard eyeball from Planet Zorks in the Neutral zone).
I doubt this “product” is anything more than a rumor. It just doesn’t make sense from any real practical standpoint. It doesn’t fit into Apple’s lineup, and goes against much of what Apple and Steve Jobs stands for.
One of Apple’s core philosophies is simplicity. In terms of product lines, ease of use, design, etc. They keep things pretty clearly delineated. This product wouldn’t fit that strategy.
A fatter iPhone/Touch? Jobs has said on numerous occasions that he thinks for much of what we do, the small form factor of the iPhone is perfect. Watch the D Life discussion with him, Bill Gates, and Walt Mossberg. He doesn’t see this type of product as making sense, he doesn’t think tablets make sense either. He also doesn’t seem to see much market for a TRUE subnotebook. If he did, the Air would probably not have a full size screen and keyboard.
However, as jdiz says up above, a touch-based in-car system might make sense. Think of Microsoft/Ford’s Sync system. Now imagine it as done by Apple. Touch-based GPS, Media, Climate, etc. control. Again, this idea doesn’t quite fit with Apple’s current strategy, but I could see this as making a lot more sense than a 5.2″ portable. We’ll see!
whoops….that would be ‘Communicator’
…and I forgot, it will also have automatic spellcheck.
Newton 3G – don’t ya just love it !!
MadMac asks, “and the market for this sort of device is……??????”
How about for use by dispatched workers – package deliveries (UPS, FedEx), computer techs, etc. Or your physician to update your records, order tests and prescriptions. Or the folks in a warehouse doing inventories. The coming SDK will make custom apps a reality.
Two versions might be available: think of them as iPhone and Touch on steroids. The millions in service would take Apple well past the tipping point.
LONG LIVE THE NEWTON!
(I still have two Messagepad 110s in my closet)
it occurs to me that if they make this, the “touch” line up has 3 variations, the desktop has 3, and the laptop has 3, and the happy product grid is back…..
“and the market for this sort of device is……??????”
me. also, my wife. hell my kids would love to have these instead of ehitr nintendo DS’s. also my brother and sister. oh and my other sister….
maybe my dad.
oh, and a lot of students.
oh, and all the people who asked that same question about the iPod and the iPhone.
…can’t wait till the MBA sells off the shelves so i can include those buyers too.
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“and the market for this sort of device is . . . ?”
The same market that Palm once dominated.
If it has 3g and is bigger than the iPhone then it won’t exist.
what I do want though is the wi-fi enabled iPad. a macbook air thin datapad with touch screen input only with a 6-7″ screen. Battery life with wifi should be between 9-12 hours.
That is one of two real problems with current tablets battery life is useless and weight. The air is pushing down one of those easily.
Due to the Apple Mobile Platform (AMP) SDK coming out late February, and based on current rumors, it is likely that:
a) Several pre-made apps will emerge. Games are almost certain and likely to come from EA and Nintendo.
b) Whether from Apple or from SDK development by Microsoft, it is likely that either Mail compatibility with MS Exchange, or an Entourage iPhone/iPod version will be announced
c) The mighty iChat itself released for AMP
d) Larger (5.2″? 7″?) multi-touch device
e) Keynote player app added
f) 3G announcement
g) WiMax announcement
h) iPhone Canada announcement based on Rogers rumors of lowering data plans
i) Integration of Intel Ultra-Mobile Platform into mobile devices
j) New phones/devices requiring FCC approval won’t ship for 6 months but would be announced 6 months before shipping
I am sure I am missing a bunch but at the end of the day, this points to a possible hardware announcement at the end of February to correspond with the release of the SDK.
Danno
The market could also be for kids (games), any commuters/travelers (video/music), and business people, and anyone who wants a portable organizer and data carrier.
@ Back2Mac,
You seem to be convinced by the fact that:
“Jobs has said on numerous occasions that he thinks for much of what we do, the small form factor of the iPhone is perfect.”
“He doesn’t see this type of product as making sense, he doesn’t think tablets make sense either.”
So why do think of the releases of iPhone and Video iPod by Apple when the same Steve Jobs didn’t believe in those, or didn’t see those coming from Apple, etc.
Steve Jobs is a big liar, and he’s playing with media in order to create some buzz and save costs on Marketing/Advertising. Never take for Gospel what he said.
“According to my sources, the new device is more than likely based on Apple’s current portable platform ( ie. iPhone/Touch ) and once the SDK is released, a little digging inside the platform interface should reveal the extent of the platform’s capabilities and Apple’s plans for the portable multi-touch lineup.”
This is probably why the SDK for the iPhone has taken so long to release…
Are we this desperate to drink the Kool-aid? It sounds like the play acting of little kids. Who gets to be the John Lovitz character, 30 years old and never kissed? Go outside and get some fresh air and work, be a functioning part of society.
I’m still hoping for Apple to cool it with iTunes & YouTube on the Apple TV and just give me the desktop. Then I can access iT & yT if I want, and anything else on my computer I want. I imagine it’s wrong of me, but frankly I’m a bit resentful they’d piss around with the iT/yT limitation for so long. I had been imagining the iPhone/iPod Touch as devices which could/would run Leopard and stream it to a monitor of our choice, but became doubtful either of these devices would have the processing power. I will hope & not expect the new device will run a full Leopard & will stream our entire computing experience to the Apple TV. Again, here’s hoping!
The device will fit into Apple’s new “3 Screens” philosophy (a mobile screen – iPod/iPhone, a personal screen – Mac, a family screen – AppleTV). This device comfortably complements the first Screen (mobile), with more complete computing offering than the iPhone/iPod version, without crossing over into the full-blown personal computing. Keep in mind folks, Apple’s core strategy has gently shifted towards delivering entertainment solutions. This means continuing their build-up around iTunes. The point is to engineer their entire product line into a seamless arc, from iPod Shuffle, all the way to AppleTV. Strategically, that would mean slowly converging user interface paradigm for these disparate devices into more and more consistent system that is transparent, regardless of the device. Ultimate result would be completely intuitive devices that work in the same way and give you your music, pictures and movies everywhere. In addition to that, you’ll have the rest of your (i)life on the devices where appropriate (E-mail, web, Pages/Numbers/Keynote, and the rest). You start with your music only (shuffle), add movies, photos and people (Nano), then the web and e-mail (Touch), then phone (iPhone), then more elaborate applications (Mac); AppleTV gives you the Nano (or Touch) for the whole family.
The point of this entire process is as it has been from the beginning of the iPod – building the whole widget. The little new portable device would, if it ever is released, fit neatly between the iPhone and the Mac, adding room for more powerful apps than iPhone, and more portable computing than MacBook/Pro/Air.
At this point, it is unlikely anything Apple builds would bomb. They’ve been having a hard time creating a thoroughly unsuccessful product lately (say, five years).
Sounds like Microsoft’s incredible Surface.
Already been done, Apple.
Your potential. Our passion.™
I was watching an episode of Stargate:Atlantis the other night and they all had what looked like laptop screens without the keyboard/computer part. I know it’s fiction but i remember thinking how cool they were. If you like to work standing up and walking around that is.