News tagged ‘iTablet’

Analyst Ashok Kumar of Northeast Securities shared his ideas about the future Apple Tablet device. Kumar said the tablet processor will be manufactured by Samsung and will be based on the Cortex-A8 ARM architecture with a speed of about 1GHz. There are also rumors that the tablet, along with the next generation iPhone, would be based on ARM's new Cortex-A9 architecture with two or four cores.

Also this week, Jeffrey Fidacaro of Susquehanna Financial provided a projection of how much the internal components of Apple's tablet might cost without even knowing for sure what they are. The analyst assumes the device will run on an Intel Atom processor, would include 2GB of DRAM, and sport a 3.2 megapixel camera. If Apple went with an ARM-based processor, Fidacaro said, the tablet's cost could be reduced by as much as $50. If Apple will use a 128GB SSD, the price will be increased by several hundred dollars. Here is a quick list:

The Wall Street Journal reports, that Apple will begin shipping its rumored tablet in March for about $1000.

While the shipping time hasn't been finalized and could change, people briefed on the matter said the new tablet device will come with a 10- to 11-inch touch screen. One of the people briefed on the matter added that Apple was working on two different material finishes for the tablet, though it was unclear whether the Cupertino, Calif., company was just testing them or planning to come out with multiple versions of the device at different prices.

Analysts say thatthis price might include a subscription to a nationwide Wi-Fi wireless service.

Taiwan's Economic Daily paper claims that Cheng Uei Precision Industry has received an order for "connectors" for Apple's new Tablet PCs. Meanwhile Digitimes reports that Innolux, a panel-making subsidiary of Foxconn, will be the will be the initial supplier of touch panels for Apple's tablet PC. The screen size is said to be 10-inches.

Apple has been seeking solutions to strengthen the glass of the 10-inch panel for the device and was forced to delay the launch until first-quarter 2010, the sources noted. Apple is expected to announce the tablet PC in January of 2010 with mass shipments to start in March or April, based on analysis of the shipping schedules of Apple's upstream component partners.

Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai Precision Industry) will be the manufacturer of the tablet, the sources added.

These reports add to the increasing number of rumors about Apple's upcoming Tablet. Just last week, Apple was said to be planning a late January media event to launch the device which would ship later in 2010. Even more recently have been discoveries that Apple has trademarked the "iSlate" name presumably as a possible name for the device.

Rumors of the Apple tablet reaching new highs. MacRumors has found evidence that Apple acquired the domain name iSlate.com presumably in preparation for the new device. Remember how Bill Keller, executive editor of the New York Times, referenced an Apple slate two months ago?

MacRumors discovered that the domain was originally registered in October 2004 by Eurobox Ltd. In 2006 it changed hands to Data Docket, Inc. In 2007 it was transferred to registrar MarkMonitor.com, a site which handles registrations and trademark protections for Apple among other companies.

However Apple’s name was temporarily exposed as the actual owner of “iSlate.com” for several weeks in late 2007. It was quickly back, but MacRumors has found the historic record proving Apple ownership of the iSlate.com domain:

What do think? Is iSlate the name of Apple's Tablet? Is it a good one?

iTablet rumors continue today, with the New York Times blogging that, according to an some Apple employee:

“I can’t really say anything, but, let’s just say Steve [Jobs] is extremely happy with the new tablet.”

Apple has had a tablet in the labs for years, but Steve Jobs and others didn’t see a mainstream market for the device or were not "extremely happy". It looks like now the situation is different.

Moreover, the NYT post adds that former Apple employee has told them:

“You will be very surprised how you interact with the new tablet.”

Anyway we have to wait for another month. Remember? Rumors say iTablet will be announced on January 26th.

The Financial Times reports that it has received information that Apple has scheduled a special media event for Tuesday, January 26th in San Francisco. A stage at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco was rented for several days in late January. Apple is expected to make a major product announcement. The topic is unknown. However, everyone is sure that it will be an iTablet!

Want more proof? Recently Apple asked app developers to prepare for a demo scheduled for next month. Notably, Apple has requested that the developers prepare their applications to run in "full screen" mode rather than limiting display to the iPhone and iPod touch's 320 x 480 pixels.

Exact specs of the tablet remain unknown. There are long-standing rumors of a 10" display and recent claims of a 7" display. Apple might make multiple models of the new device.

French site Nowhereelse.fr has published a very cool video of what appears to be a multitouch tablet device. The user is browsing through an electronic version of an Ikea catalog. The device itself is very slim and has several Apple technologies: cover flow, shake to shuffle, etc.

Is this the Apple iTablet? That's how I imagine the interaction with the Apple Tablet. However the video is fake, a clever fake over a blue screen (as you can notice on the hands' edges and shadows).

Anyway, a good concept video. Let's watch it:

MarketWatch reports that Apple will begin mass production of its much-rumored iTablet in February ahead of a launch in late March or April.

The report claims that the device will include a 10.1" multi-touch LCD screen. There were rumors that iTablet will have OLED screen and therefore delayed till the second half of 2010.

Current rumors also say that Apple has begun contacting book publishers about distributing their books through Apple for consumption on the new device. Apple is reportedly proposing a similar business model to its App Store, where Apple would retain 30% of each download's sale price with 70% going to the publishers. Amazon, for example, uses 50/50 model.

The estimated cost of the future device is $1000. Apple may sell 1-1.5 million tablets per quarter. The name of the future device is still unknown. Rumors say different vartiants: iTablet, TabletMac, MacTablet or just Apple Tablet.

Magazine publishers seem to already be getting on board with the concept of a media tablet even based on just the possibility that Apple will enter the market in the near future. The latest concept design comes from Time Inc who developed this design prototype to show off their plans. They think that digital magazines will replicate the print version, including advertising, and will include add-ons like multimedia and links to the Web. The publisher imagines that it will port all its titles into the new format, which it says will be ready for primetime by the middle of next year or sooner.

The ultimate design is planned to run on "whatever tablet Apple or any[one] else has up their sleeves" according to All Things Digital:

A couple of years ago, a company called Axiotron announced an aftermarket modification for the MacBook that converted the Apple laptop into a tablet. The modification remains for sale at $699 and takes a stock MacBook, removes the keyboard and screen, and adds a Wacom pen-based screen to give the device a tablet form factor.

Axiotron originally began marketing the devices as a "TabletMac" and filed a trademark for the term. Sometime in the past year, however, the trademark was transferred from Axiotron to Apple, and Apple is now listed as the owner of the trademark:

Now Apple could potentially release a product called the TabletMac. So what name? iTablet, MacTablet, TabletMac or maybe MacBook Tablet?

Bell Keller, Executive Editor of the NY Times, let slip on the still unconfirmed Apple tablet in a speech last week.

The New York Times speech comes from an internal "all hands" meeting at TheTimesCenter, which was intended to be off the record. However, the video was also provided to the Nieman Journalism Lab at Harvard University. Skip to about 8:20, and you'll hear:

We need to figure out the right journalistic product to deliver to mobile platforms and devices. I'm hoping we can get the newsroom more actively involved in the challenge of delivering our best journalism in the form of Times Reader, iPhone apps, WAP, or the impending Apple slate, or whatever comes after that.

Given the matter-of-fact way Keller refers to the slate, it sounds like a done deal versus a hypothetical.

via gizmodo, niemanlab

DigiTimes reports that Foxconn Electronics has been named as Apple's manufacturing partner for its much-anticipated tablet.

The device is expected to hit the market in the first quarter of 2010, with initial shipments from Foxconn being in the 300,000-400,000 range. The device will have a 10.6-inch display.

Want to know some more about Apple’s upcoming iTablet device? There are many rumor names (iTablet, iPad, MacBook Touch, etc), but not much details. Site ilounge claim to receive some new rumors from a reliable source:

1. Apple has created at least three separate prototypes of its tablet computer.
2. Version 1 was designed with a 7” screen, which was judged to be too small. The latest version has a 10.7” screen.
3. It runs iPhone OS.
4. There have been reports that it looks like an iPhone. They’re sort of true. It looks like an iPhone 3G, complete with a curved back.
5. It will come in two different variations: one with 3G networking capabilities, and one without 3G networking capabilities. Think of the 3G version as a bigscreen iPhone 3GS, and the non-3G version as a bigscreen iPod touch.
6. Screen resolutions will obviously jump considerably from the iPhone and iPod touch 480x320-pixel displays, enabling easy reading of full-sized book and magazine pages, plus cropped newspaper pages. Expect something like 5-6 times the resolution of an iPod touch or iPhone screen (720p or thereabouts) and 7 times the touchable surface area.
7. It is designed to expand the iPhone and iPod touch media concept to its next potential level: as a slate-like replacement for books and magazines, plus all of the media, gaming, app, and web functionality of the iPhone and iPod touch.
8. It is not meant to compete with netbooks. It’s an iPhone OS media player and light communication device.
9. Apple is currently planning to announce it on or before January 19, 2010, and to use an iPhone-like hype buildup period to start selling it in May or June.
10. It is apparently awaiting a final green light from Steve Jobs; chances of it appearing in the market are believed to be 80% at this point.

Not bad. But still this is unofficial..

Taiwan Economic News reports new rumors about Apple iTablet (MacBook Touch).

The tablet PC features a 9.6-inch screen, finger-touch function and built-in HSPDA (high speed download packet access) module, built-in 3G wireless connectivity, adopts a P.A. SEMI processor chip and long lasting battery pack. The expected price is between US$799 and US$999.

The report claims that DynaPack International Technology Corp. will make up to 300,000 'long lasting' battery for the Tablet per month. Wanshih Electronic Co., Ltd. will be supplying the mini coaxial cables. Layers Scientific-Technics Co., Ltd. and Wintek Corp. will be supplying the Power Chokes and the lovely 9.7 incher Touch Panel.

iTablet will probably appear some time in February 2010.

The site 9 to 5 Mac found a new virtual keyboard in the new recently released Mac OS - Snow Leopard. The new keyboard is much bigger (finger sized) and is located in an input method (keyboard) system pref. You can resize it as well to stretch all the way across the screen. This might be the first steps towards touchscreen hardware such as Apple's much-rumored tablet computer (also known as iTablet and MacBook Touch).

For comparison, here’s the old soft keyboard in Leopard. This is not a touchscreen keyboard.