Last week the topic of the iTablet ranged into dream territory as we TUAWians discussed this speculative post over at Technologizer. Although some team members expressed reservations about the iTablet and its possible limitations, others of us let our hopes range free. With apologies to Robert Browning, at least I think it is Robert Browning, if our dreams do not exceed Apple's grasp, then what is the imagination for? So keeping that expansive philosophy in mind, here are the TUAW wishlists for the
While I'm still hoping for a dockable, one that works as a Snow Leopard desktop when docked and runs iPhone OS on the go, I'm not holding my breath either. Today's MacBook storage and battery options prove that with a dockable tablet, I could bring my entire world with me and use that world for reasonable periods of time -- but it would take a significant engineering effort to merge iPhone's ubiquitous touch screen technology with standard Mac OS X interaction models.
So, will the tablet really run Snow Leopard? Er, probably not. But could you imagine a MacBook shell, where you could slide the tablet into a frame where the screen normally sits? That would be freaking awesome.
Even as an iPhone-OS-only solution, an iTablet would provide wealth of on-the go applications through App Store. Assuming no great leaps forward beyond what we're already seeing in the iPhone OS 3.x SDK, an iTablet would be ready to provide existing iPhone capabilities with a beautiful big screen to work with.
If I had to pick two features that I'd want to see added, though, they would be wireless support for external keyboards and ubiquitous TV-out. Although the on-screen keyboard is fine for tip-tapping data into fields, there will be times that a tablet user might want to unfold a portable Bluetooth keyboard and use that for data entry.
TV-out support is currently limited to movie playback. Extending that to general application output would help position an iTablet better into the business presentation world. It would also be nice if an Apple Remote of some kind could be used with an iTablet.
Even without these features, an iTablet limited to the current iPhone OS will be a major technology leap forward just due to the increased screen real estate. I can't wait to start playing with big-screen iPhone applications!
If Apple produces a tablet that is even lighter than a MacBook Air, has video-out capabilities, and features built-in wireless broadband for Internet connectivity "everywhere,". If that tablet also has 10 hour battery life, some compelling killer touch apps, and can also replace my Apple TV,
Why do We want Mac OS X on a tablet like this? We'd like to be able to run my existing Mac applications on it. Of course, the very fact that such a device could cannibalize sales of the three MacBook product lines is a compelling reason for Apple to make it an iPhone OS device. As long as the iPhone development community can use the extra real estate on an 8.9" or 10" screen to give me Mac OS X-like functionality in a thin tablet, I can live with iPhone OS.
One more thing -- it would be cool if handwriting recognition through Inkwell or some other method was enabled for making quick handwritten notes and drawings, and of course building in the 2009 version of Newton Intelligent Assistance capability would be awesome, too!
In the spirit of the iPhone, first touted as "An iPod, a phone and an Internet communicator," We'd like to see the gap-filling device aimed squarely at the average consumer. An Apple tablet form factor device would serve as a photo frame, family calendar, internet communicator, and everything else folks have mentioned. Whether it runs Snow Leopard or iPhone OS is largely immaterial to me (although I see cases for both).
Outside of the Duo-esque form factor Erica describes, I doubt I'd use a tablet as a work machine -- not even with screen sharing. But as a centralized home media manager and internet communicator? That intrigues me. The ability to create a family calendar on any Mac and have it displayed on your wall (along with photos) can't be underestimated when talking about the home user. The latest functions of the iPhone 3GS, like video editing, would be great, and I think could be expanded upon. iChat, for example, and with video this time.
While I love the idea of a cell radio in the tablet, I'm leery of adding yet another monthly bill just to have a simple stay-at-home jumbo iPod touch.
CloudPad. We're moving past the App Store and back to the always-on, demand-and-receive application capabilities of online suites. Take the MobileMe and iWork.com experience, sprinkle in the JavaScript speed of the latest Webkit builds, and get ready to rumble with Google and Microsoft's browser-based productivity tools.
Final Cut Touch. It may seem contrary to think about power video editing on a device with less than 100 GB of storage, but imagine the sheer grace and effectiveness of a drag, stretch, drop and sweep-based UI for video editing work. Offer a model with a hard drive and a USB or Firewire port, and suddenly you can take your motion work with you wherever you go.
So, will the tablet really run Snow Leopard? Er, probably not. But could you imagine a MacBook shell, where you could slide the tablet into a frame where the screen normally sits? That would be freaking awesome.
Even as an iPhone-OS-only solution, an iTablet would provide wealth of on-the go applications through App Store. Assuming no great leaps forward beyond what we're already seeing in the iPhone OS 3.x SDK, an iTablet would be ready to provide existing iPhone capabilities with a beautiful big screen to work with.
If I had to pick two features that I'd want to see added, though, they would be wireless support for external keyboards and ubiquitous TV-out. Although the on-screen keyboard is fine for tip-tapping data into fields, there will be times that a tablet user might want to unfold a portable Bluetooth keyboard and use that for data entry.
TV-out support is currently limited to movie playback. Extending that to general application output would help position an iTablet better into the business presentation world. It would also be nice if an Apple Remote of some kind could be used with an iTablet.
Even without these features, an iTablet limited to the current iPhone OS will be a major technology leap forward just due to the increased screen real estate. I can't wait to start playing with big-screen iPhone applications!
If Apple produces a tablet that is even lighter than a MacBook Air, has video-out capabilities, and features built-in wireless broadband for Internet connectivity "everywhere,". If that tablet also has 10 hour battery life, some compelling killer touch apps, and can also replace my Apple TV,
Why do We want Mac OS X on a tablet like this? We'd like to be able to run my existing Mac applications on it. Of course, the very fact that such a device could cannibalize sales of the three MacBook product lines is a compelling reason for Apple to make it an iPhone OS device. As long as the iPhone development community can use the extra real estate on an 8.9" or 10" screen to give me Mac OS X-like functionality in a thin tablet, I can live with iPhone OS.
One more thing -- it would be cool if handwriting recognition through Inkwell or some other method was enabled for making quick handwritten notes and drawings, and of course building in the 2009 version of Newton Intelligent Assistance capability would be awesome, too!
In the spirit of the iPhone, first touted as "An iPod, a phone and an Internet communicator," We'd like to see the gap-filling device aimed squarely at the average consumer. An Apple tablet form factor device would serve as a photo frame, family calendar, internet communicator, and everything else folks have mentioned. Whether it runs Snow Leopard or iPhone OS is largely immaterial to me (although I see cases for both).
Outside of the Duo-esque form factor Erica describes, I doubt I'd use a tablet as a work machine -- not even with screen sharing. But as a centralized home media manager and internet communicator? That intrigues me. The ability to create a family calendar on any Mac and have it displayed on your wall (along with photos) can't be underestimated when talking about the home user. The latest functions of the iPhone 3GS, like video editing, would be great, and I think could be expanded upon. iChat, for example, and with video this time.
While I love the idea of a cell radio in the tablet, I'm leery of adding yet another monthly bill just to have a simple stay-at-home jumbo iPod touch.
CloudPad. We're moving past the App Store and back to the always-on, demand-and-receive application capabilities of online suites. Take the MobileMe and iWork.com experience, sprinkle in the JavaScript speed of the latest Webkit builds, and get ready to rumble with Google and Microsoft's browser-based productivity tools.
Final Cut Touch. It may seem contrary to think about power video editing on a device with less than 100 GB of storage, but imagine the sheer grace and effectiveness of a drag, stretch, drop and sweep-based UI for video editing work. Offer a model with a hard drive and a USB or Firewire port, and suddenly you can take your motion work with you wherever you go.
No comments:
Post a Comment