iJack - 10 November 2009 01:34 AM

michelc - 07 November 2009 04:21 PM

Need a Full blown computer buy a “normal Mac”

Need a portable device for basic computing. (email, web, social networking) use the tablet and get at the same time access to all those small apps that make life easier for iPhone user.

Well, if it doesn’t play WoW and similar games, then Apple would be losing half of it’s potential customer base for a tablet.  Even on a 10” tablet, those role-playing games need some serious computing and graphics power - more power than you describe in what would basically be a large iPhone.

I doubt a tablet computer delivered in 2010 will have the horsepower needed to run modern 3-D graphic games like WoW well. If we assume Apple continues on their current path of processors then the machine would have either an Intel Pinetrail with a Nividia Ion2 GPU or a ARM Cortex A9 with a PowerVR 5xx series GPU.  Both choices would have similar performance, but neither would be good for heavy duty 3-D gaming.  I think Apple will focus on increased battery life with adequate performance.  The first generation tablet will support games via the App store model.  We are looking at a highly portable device with about the performance of a 5 year old desktop so while not earth shattering, it will be very impressive for a small package.

iJack - 10 November 2009 01:34 AM

if it doesn’t play WoW and similar games, then Apple would be losing half of it’s potential customer base

Apple wants a platform which can achieve steady and growing sales for the foreseeable future (20 years), not a one or two year hit gadget tied to a prior era. So playing WoW at launch seems very unlikely to me.

I suspect that any hypothetical tablet interface would be somewhere in between the iPhone platform and the desktop Mac OS X platform in functionality, but leaning more toward the iPhone interface in terms of appearance and layout.

If I were designing an interface for a new tablet device I would aim for something that is easy to use with a touch-centric input, but takes advantage of the extra screen real estate to add more advanced functionality that would be cumbersome or impractical to operate on a display the size of an iPhone.

This might come in the form of an interface that is very similar to the iPhone, but has a wider array of controls, widgets, etc. to accommodate more full-featured, desktop-like apps. For example “iPhoto Touch”, or full-featured word processors, etc. to allow it to take on more of the tasks that you might currently have to do on a regular desktop Mac or PC.

While the iPhone is clearly slower than a desktop Mac, I don’t think its hardware is necessarily what prevents these types of apps from being practical—it’s the screen size. With a device that is just a little faster but a lot bigger, some interesting new possibilities will present themselves…

If anyone wants to play with a hybrid OS that I suspect will be very similar to the OS for the tablet and has Snow Leopard (it has always been available in OS X, but I am only talking about the present incarnation). Do the following:

Create a new user account. System Prefs, Account. click the plus key on the left.

Enable Parental Controls. Click the large button on right.

Select the SYSTEM tab and choose “Use Simple Finder” add some apps to test system with.

Save user.

Use Fast User Switching to switch to the account.

You will have a minimal Dock with three folders, an Apps Folder, A document folder and a shared folder.

Opening the Apps folder produces a window in the center of the device that has the apps arranged in a four by four grid = sixteen apps on the screen at one time with app paging. IE if you have more than 16 apps a second page can be scrolled to by clicking on the right arrow (equivalent of swiping on the iPhone).

Single click launches app.

OK so the background is white instead of Black but you get the idea.

Opening the Documents folder does the same thing with you documents. Single touch to launch.

So I would say that Apple has this pretty much covered - ie Snow Leopard can do this out of the box.

sleepygeek - 10 November 2009 09:59 AM

Apple wants a platform which can achieve steady and growing sales for the foreseeable future (20 years), not a one or two year hit gadget tied to a prior era. So playing WoW at launch seems very unlikely to me.

Gaming on PCs has been around as long as PCs.  By banishing them to a “prior era.” you show a lack of savvy about the gaming market.  When a new Wii, PlayStation, or Xbox hits the stores, the shopping lines are very long - some with overnight campers.  Why would apple turn its back on this now, especially when they’ve been making great strides to capture some of that market?

Who need itablet?

Mace - 10 November 2009 01:05 PM

Who need itablet?

People with iHeadaches?

iMoses

rattyuk - 10 November 2009 11:47 AM

If anyone wants to play with a hybrid OS…

Thank you for the tip. I enjoyed the test drive, when can I get the real thing? Things are starting to come together. I read a somewhat strange story today:

The swiss newspaper tagesanzeiger.ch had an article online about a new eReader which swisscom will start testing beginning next year: Orignal version is here. See the translation in googletranslate.

Switzerland has about 6 million people. Who in his/her right mind could asume that swisscom is doing this on their own. The article cites swisscom’s media spokesman Olaf Schulze:

[...] that Swisscom planned to offer its own e-reader. They currently stand in negotiations with companies…

Now who could this be. Ever since William Tell, the Swiss had a special relation to Apple(s).

iJack - 10 November 2009 12:31 PM

sleepygeek - 10 November 2009 09:59 AM

Apple wants a platform which can achieve steady and growing sales for the foreseeable future (20 years), not a one or two year hit gadget tied to a prior era. So playing WoW at launch seems very unlikely to me.

Gaming on PCs has been around as long as PCs.  By banishing them to a “prior era.” you show a lack of savvy about the gaming market.  When a new Wii, PlayStation, or Xbox hits the stores, the shopping lines are very long - some with overnight campers.  Why would apple turn its back on this now, especially when they’ve been making great strides to capture some of that market?

I admit to lack of savvy about the gaming market.  But does the world need yet another platform for the WOW genre?  Does the genre not fit best with power hungry hardware?  Does it benefit from a multi-touch interface?

Today’s games, especially the wildly successful, are not the games of tomorrow.  A tablet that is ill-suited to Warcraft is not necessarily “turning its back” on anything; rather it might be showing the way to the next line-creating game genre.

Aside from any of that, SJ is out to change the world.  A portable Warcraft box is not going to do that.

??? - 08 November 2009 09:33 AM

I think Iphone OS needs to provide support for files.  For the tablet to be successful in business folks need to edit files received via email and then attach them to new emails and such.  If Apple cannot implement a security model which allows editing of files, I think it will limit some of the utility of the tablet at least for creation of content.

I think we may see the tablet introduced with the next generation of a cloud-based iWork (and maybe iLife) suite, which will handle files in the browser.

My point about WoW being not right for the tablet at launch was that Apple knows it’s better to launch a product with forward-looking positioning and deal with backward looking omissions later. Apple will use initial production to redefine the market, making response hard for competitors and leaving them complacent in their niches. Apple won’t use initial production to sweep up an existing gaming or e-reader market, forcing immediate competitor response with pricing pressure followed within months by feature pressur. Apple isn’t turning its back on gaming - iPhone has shown that by simply creating a more functional marketplace, gaming will flood to its devices. Apple will pick up the WoW market a few months later without wasting a product launch on it.

sleepygeek - 11 November 2009 09:48 AM

My point about WoW being not right for the tablet at launch was that Apple knows it’s better to launch a product with forward-looking positioning and deal with backward looking omissions later. Apple will use initial production to redefine the market, making response hard for competitors and leaving them complacent in their niches. Apple won’t use initial production to sweep up an existing gaming or e-reader market, forcing immediate competitor response with pricing pressure followed within months by feature pressur. Apple isn’t turning its back on gaming - iPhone has shown that by simply creating a more functional marketplace, gaming will flood to its devices. Apple will pick up the WoW market a few months later without wasting a product launch on it.

Wow on a tablet? Not going to happen. No room for controls. Not a long enough battery life. Not sure how you would play wow if you are effectively holding the screen. Not gonna work for dungeons, certainly not gonna work for raids. Might be usable for some auction house action but that would be about it.

The way i see it the bigger the platform the more software creators will adapt to it rather than the (itablet) platform adapting to games or a particular game (WoW). So as SG suggests the games will come along after. What I envisage (being a dreamer) is Apple attacks a big project from many angles to converge on the release of this new device. We have heard, and I believe, the Apple has been in talks with the NY Times and various other publishing enterprises. So imagining SJ and company have these guys lined up for the upcoming release of the Tablet. iTunes has 100 million accounts. A section of the iTunes store has 3 new categories; BOOKS, MAGAZINES AND PERIODICALS and NEWSPAPERS. Subscription checklist. purchase by issue, by week or monthly (maybe by story)
Newspapers and magazines have been headed for history’s trash heap for several years because of the internet. Now these industries can cast off their shackles of Unions, printing presses,transportation etc. and concentrate on the talent side; mainly writers, reporters, artists and editors. A richer experience for the user in that News now means News as it happens. the subscriber gets the news of a Hurricane in Florida with comprehensive reporting along with VIDEO of the event and interviews with locals. This is what TV news tries to do but you have it on your portable device that alerts (push) you!!!. Furthermore it should be inexpensive. You like TIME style of reporting? Good, then shell out 2 bucks a month (whatever) and this is the promise of the rich experience that Apple and the iTablet can offer. Keep in mind the glue that holds this premise together: ONE STOP SHOPPING ON THE ITUNES STORE. CONVENIENCE Publications is only one area that the iTablet will touch and give a Lazarus treatment to newspapers and magazines… Geez talk about changing the world….

eniac - 11 November 2009 03:45 AM

I think we may see the tablet introduced with the next generation of a cloud-based iWork (and maybe iLife) suite, which will handle files in the browser.

I think so too. Apple is tracking right along with my ‘predictions’ from October. Well, they didn’t have a special event for AppleTV 3.0 and iPod Touch with camera. There are rumours still about a CamTouch prior to December, but the days are waning.  I’d be very happy if the cloud/tablet initiative was announced in Jan instead of CES in Feb.