“A little birdy tells me that Apple will announce a 12 or 13-inch tablet in the fall of this year. Most likely in the September or October time frame. It will run the full Mac OS X and have a slot loading SuperDrive, an ‘iPhone-type’ GPS chip and an Intel Core Duo processor, presumably Intel’s Atom,” Jason D. O’Grady blogs for ZDNet.
“Whether it’ll be a based on the iPhone or MacBook form-factor remains to be seen. You’ll recall that Intel Germany CEO Hannes Schwaderer spilled the beans that an ‘iPhone’ that will be using Intel’s new Atom processor after which he was quickly corrected by Apple,” O’Grady writes. “Where there’s smoke, there’s fire indeed.”
“This particular birdy has been reliable in the past so I’m optimistic about the rumor, but as always, nothing’s for sure,” O’Grady writes. “Apple’s had tablet Macs in the labs for years but hasn’t decided to make one a real product, until now.”
More in the full article here.
An imaginary but stealthy spy parrot has struck again. Slow hit day, Jason?
I doubt it… 😐
“You’ll recall that Intel Germany CEO Hannes Schwaderer spilled the beans that an ‘iPhone’ that will be using Intel’s new Atom processor after which he was quickly corrected by Apple,” O’Grady writes. “Where there’s smoke, there’s fire indeed.””
Except that he never said any such thing. There were 35-40 reporters in the room when the Intel spokesman made his remarks – in German. Only ONE report interpreted them as saying that the atom would be in a Mac device. Intel came out and flatly denied the rumor. It was a classic case of creating smoke where there was no fire.
Why would a Mac Tablet need a superdrive when a MacBook Air doesn’t?
Exactly M.X.N.T.4.1. (re superdrive)
Likely the stupidest thing I will read today
A little birdy pooped in his, so he wasn’t hearing clearly.
ZDNet – purveyors of made-up fiction when it comes to Apple.
Ulterior motives at work as usual…
Apple will debut a tablet along with a Big Ass Table.
IOW, it ain’t gonna happen. Both are MS-proven failures.
And I agree that the SuperDrive comment completely debunks this rumor. What was the last all-new Apple product that sported a removable-media drive?
Aside from the SuperDrive nonsense, I’d really like this Mac tablet. What would be ideal for me would be a bit smaller though- a 10 or 11 inch flat multi-touch screen, with iSight and all the ports and portability of a MacBook Air. I wouldn’t mind if its processor were a bit weaker. Hopefully a 32 or 64GB flash memory drive will be standard by then.
Its operating system, being all-touchscreen, should resemble the iPhone’s (with a slide-up keyboard if necessary, no tiny icons, etc.)–but, being big enough, should have all the main functionality of standard Mac OS X Leopard.
It would act as one’s secondary, portable computer (like the MacBook Air can), so would include software (via iTunes?) to FULLY sync, over WiFi, with one’s main Mac. (Or, checkboxes: “10 most recent documents”…Check from a list of applications…etc.)
It wouldn’t need GPS, of course, because if the next iPhone’s including GPS we’ll all have it already. No need to pay for the same technology twice. Also, hopefully the next iPhone will be able to display GPS and other info on a wirelessly connected Mac anyway. GPS could be an option, though, for all Mac laptops.
Similarly, I also think the next iPhone should have 3G and the ability to be a wireless modem for connected laptops; and that they should make a built-in 3G modem an option for all Mac laptops, for non-iPhone users.
And last, I’d really like the Mac Tablet–basic, without GPS or 3G, since I have an iPhone, and with 32GB of memory (essentially making it a really big iPod Touch, whose 32GB version perhaps will have come down to $399 by Fall)–to cost around $999.
Okay, done dreaming.
…..And it will be called Asteroid!
If there ever is a tablet, it certainly won’t be the same size as a MacBook (12 or 13″.)
It would need to fill the size gap for users who need something larger than an iPhone but smaller than a laptop..
WTF would a “tablet” be good for?
Wikipedia says the first one was introduced in the early 90′. I have never seen on in the wild. Are the popular? The constant rumors of an Apple tablet sounds like a clamor for an uneeded product.
Am I just ingorant? Enlighten me, anybody . . . .
I still think if there were an Apple tablet, it would be a controller or hub of some sort that would integrate with existing products. The MacBook Air demonstrates this to an extent, as does the iPhone-they allow you to take the functionality of your other components with you without dragging along your main hardware.
Seems to me everything they’ve done these past few years have all been pieces of a larger puzzle. But who knows? I definitely don’t see a Microsoft style tablet PC coming from the though-that is indeed a proven failure.
5-inch (diagonal) widescreen (16:9) Multi-Touch display
Intel Atom processor
OS X Mobile (including Safari, iPod, Maps Mail and other standard mobile widgets)
iLife Mobile
App Store
Built-in stereo speakers
Micro-DVI port
3.5-mm stereo headphone minijack
Stereo earphones with built-in microphone
Bluetooth 2.0+EDR
3.0 megapixels camera with video capability
Improved built-in rechargeable lithium ion battery
64GB solid-state drive
No Superdrive
Touch keyboard only
802.11n
USB 2.0 docking port
Polishing cloth
and . . .
Call me a skeptic here, OK, but WTF is this holy grail of the touch screen? How could a touch screen interface be any easier or quick than the current keyboard / mouse / touchpad interface we have now?
It seems a tablet would require inherenty longer and slower gestures involving the arms.
Then of course, there is M$ surface, the Big Ass Table that only gets the arms, but the shoulders and upper body as well involved in operating the interface. Awkward indeed. I’m skeptical.
It is possible a tablet would just be a “Little Ass Table’?
The only touch screen that makes sense is the small one on the iPhone & touch iPod.
The mac tablet would be great if, for me, it was 6 to 8 inch clscreen with the ability to support a monitor, wireless keyboard and a slot for an iPhone to slide into. That way all the technolgy is not doubled.
But, the iPhone is a tablet computer with a phone. Just when will it be made larger? Only Apple and Intel knows.
It’s called an iPhone, dummy.
Magic Word: ground.
As in, Apple should be aware that the tablet market is unstable ground.
How could a touch screen interface be any easier or quick than the current keyboard / mouse / touchpad interface we have now?
Ever try jotting something down quickly with a touchpad?
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All semi-kidding aside, I can see a paper-notebook size device, that combines a touch/stylus UI, writing-recording, and keyboard (touch-keyboard?), as being very useful in medical and hospital applications. Remember that was one of the Newton’s successful markets.
Unfortunately this market is limited, and medicine isn’t one of Apple’s core markets. And of course there was the way Newton got “Steved”.
So although potentially cool, the nays have it on any tablet.
The real question though is whether it will use the capacitive multitouch like iphone…or wacom type touch stuff with stylus use…
The ideal tablet would have the MBA’s guts. Superthin, superlight, no optical drive, just like the MBA for a premium price.
“And of course there was the way Newton got ‘Steved’.”
Just because Sculley blew a billion dollars on its R&D and got Jobs fired as well? Go figure.
O’Grady’s been drinkin’ his bong water again….
Apple (paperback size) Mac Nano maybe! Not a 12/13″ tablet – not without some amazing new take on the form.
The advantage of multitouch for a touch screen is that it removes the need for a mouse. Your finger becomes the pointing device.
Applications are likely to be as the next generation mobile device for those needing to input information on standard templates. Work in hospitals, shops, UPS/FedEx etc. Also be a cool addition to the AppleTV as a neat remote control.