iTablet to be Announced in January, Launch in Early Summer, Run iPhone OS?
Apple might be preparing a 10.7″ multi-touch iTablet with 720p resolution, running the iPhone OS, for announcement in January and release in May/June 2010. That’s just one of the rumors dropped by iLounge this morning, from a source they say was accurate about the most recent iPod nano, iPhone, and Chinese iPhone stories.
Like the iPhone and the iPod touch, iLounge’s source claims both a 3G and non-3G version will be available, so users can weigh always-on connectivity vs. another monthly telco bill.
Apple is no stranger to big product announcements in January, but since exiting Macworld, they’re also now free to set their own schedule. Possible delays? Odds of it receiving the official “b’okay” from Steve Jobs in its current form are said to be 80% (after it already being nixed at 7″ for being “too small”). That’s good, but far from certain.
Also far from certain, but certainly interesting is Microsoft’s equal and opposite tablet concept — the Courier, which focuses not on media but on journaling. Gizmodo has another video up. It reminds us of those awesome, future-filled Bill Gates keynotes from CES. Most of what Gates demoed hasn’t made it to market, however. Hopefully the Courier will fare better.
People are used to phones, they’re used to MP3 players, laptops, desktops, even set top boxes. A decade later, there’s no indication of tablets breaking through into the mainstream, so Apple, Microsoft, and everyone else has their work cut out for them.
We’ll see if the iTablet can tell a compelling enough story, and offer a feature set that sells.
September 29th, 2009 at 10:28 am
Just what we need another Apple device with the hoards crushing AT&T’s network. Only hope is it doesn’t have the legs of the iPhone since the masses will hopefully choose to stick with the device that fits in their pocket.
September 29th, 2009 at 10:47 am
After the hype relaxed its iron grip on my mental processes, I started thinking of the reasons to get one.
And I’m thinking that I’ll only get one if I can do what I do on my desktop at home, i.e. surf the net, tweet, read articles, watch vids, chat, etc.
And with the way the rumours are leaning, it looks like I will be.
September 29th, 2009 at 10:50 am
Build the phone functionality in so I can use it to make phone calls and you’ll have a distinct winner, IMO. I’d buy one, and I’m a PC.
September 29th, 2009 at 10:52 am
As. Wifi tablet for home use yeah I can see myself buying one. For out and about I can’t see it being of much use over my iPhone. Sticking point will be the price.
September 29th, 2009 at 10:52 am
Gotta get it
September 29th, 2009 at 11:08 am
No Mac OS X = Major fail
September 29th, 2009 at 11:10 am
@Mike Strock – You would hold a 10″ tablet device up to your ear? Why not just buy the iPhone that is a phone and is a device running iPhone OS.
Also, I still don’t really see a whole lot of value in this tablet. It seems to me like it is going to become another neglected hobby device for Apple soon after launch. If you simply need portability, get an iPhone. If you need more computer power at a slightly less portable scale, get a MacBook or MacBook Air. We don’t need a middle ground device!!
September 29th, 2009 at 11:14 am
@Al:
I never hold my iPhone up to my ear. Please explain.
September 29th, 2009 at 11:15 am
@Sting – Agreed. Let’s hope that either AT&T has bolstered their network (seems to be the case since there haven’t been any catastrophic network meltdowns with MMS launch and my area just was upgraded to 3G last month) or this device will run on another network (I think it will be Verizon).
September 29th, 2009 at 11:17 am
@fastlane – No one is going to replace their cell phone with this tablet, people will still carry a phone whether that is an iPhone or not. Therefore, why would they build in a phone functionality?? Are you going to pay extra to have minutes exclusively to be used with your tablet? Doubt it, you’d probably just want data with a device like this.
September 29th, 2009 at 11:25 am
Just a question – but why does eveyone assume this will just be an AT&T device? You could be right as it’ll probably require a SIM card. But here in Canada, if the release date is true, our 3 major carriers will all be able to offer SIM card devices.
September 29th, 2009 at 11:27 am
@Al:
I certainly agree with you that replacing an iPhone with this is ridiculous. I won’t go near this if it’s not a Mac. But for those who do buy one, they should at least have the option to use phone with Bluetooth. Otherwise, it’s just a giant iPod, which is even more pathetic than a giant iPhone.
September 29th, 2009 at 11:29 am
@Al, yea I also do not see why you would hold a 10″ table up to your head. Everyone is saying they want it to do all these things, the iPhone already does all of those and fits in your pocket people.
@Kris, Apple and AT&T are like Legos stuck together, they are in this **** together. The only option here is Tmobile, a much smaller carrier.
September 29th, 2009 at 11:32 am
It need to have Mac OsX and autodesk product for architecure please , cause having just an big Iphone doesn´t mean to much for me
September 29th, 2009 at 11:40 am
iPhone OS is absolutely the correct choice of operating system. iPhone apps are optimized for touchscreen, mobile use, and use a virtual keyboard. There are tens of millions of people who are acquainted with iPhone OS but will not go near a Mac. What about schools?
September 29th, 2009 at 11:49 am
It’s not going to be an iPhone os… Period. It just won’t be.
If it is, Apps won’t work on it.
If Apps DO work on it, they will be shrunk down to the original iPhone size.
Why have a 10″ tablet running some iPhone apps in the MIDDLE of the screen? that’s just dumb.
September 29th, 2009 at 11:50 am
I don’t think the people that want phone minutes with this understand that you will have to pay a carrier for minutes AND data in that case, exactly like a phone that uses data. Why wouldn’t you use the phone you have and just get data with your tablet?? No one would use that feature so that is why there will be no phone calling with this device! Also, that would not make it a giant iPod, it would still have a SIM card but would use cell data only, no phone calling.
September 29th, 2009 at 11:55 am
Name me a few good reasons this device isnt pointles, or inferior to a laptop.
September 29th, 2009 at 11:55 am
Honestly I don’t see this replacing a notebook or smartphone. Where does it fit in exactly?
September 29th, 2009 at 12:03 pm
Not coming anytime soon. Every other day its a different iTablet rumor for the past year. This will not be produced anytime within the foreseeable future.
September 29th, 2009 at 12:06 pm
If this thing is half as cool as the Microsoft one looks, I’m going to want it badly. But I don’t see Apple using a stylus, so that’s one less thing I’d be able to use it for. I could seriously see myself using the microsoft one in meetings and for work. It would be great.
September 29th, 2009 at 12:11 pm
@Al:
Just to be clear, I don’t believe this device would have a phone included anymore than you do. I just didn’t understand the “10″ tablet device up to your ear” remark. The later points you made are much more valid.
But the sad reality is… 10″ iPhone OS with phone or without phone (in my opinion) = pointless
September 29th, 2009 at 12:17 pm
This table will be about as useless as an iPhone without the phone.
Remember when the iPod Touch was announced? Everyone said “Who would pay that much for an iPhone without the phone?” Little did we know. The applications that people will use the tablet for probably haven’t really been invented yet.
Healthcare – Ever seen a nurse or doctor haul around a $10K PC on a cart? What a joke!
Schools – You really can’t give an 6 year old a laptop but they can certainly master the iPhone OS on an iPod Touch, especially if it has compelling multimedia.
September 29th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
@iPhoneMilk
I totally agree. If it has iPhone OS it will become a disaster. Who wants an enlarged iPhone without the phone-part? It makes no sense to me.
September 29th, 2009 at 12:45 pm
Mac OS X means people (like me!) are going to want to run Photoshop, which means it will need MacBook Air-like internals, which means a MacBook Air like price point, and not many people would spring for a $1.5K tablet.
So, if they go with iPhone OS, they have a much lighter system and a bigger potential mainstream market.
September 29th, 2009 at 12:57 pm
Apple always finds a way to give us what we want! With the iTablet we will finaly be able to enjoy those websites requiring Flash…..or will we?
Bob
September 29th, 2009 at 1:13 pm
Microsoft’s Courier looks more usable. Why would I want a big *** Iphone?
There’s an app for that….but one at a time.
September 29th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
@Rene:
What’s wrong with a $1,500 10″ MacPad? I know far more people who would be interested in that, than would be interested in a musical glass coloring book for kids.
September 29th, 2009 at 1:24 pm
The ONLY reason I want a tablet is to run Audio applications on it using multi-touch faders, midi-controllers, etc. I can’t see Apple going through all the trouble of building a beautiful piece of hardware, just to have it not be able to run Ableton, Logic, GarageBand, and/or full scale photoshop with multi-touch etc….otherwise, there’d be NO reason to buy one over an iPhone, which fits in your pocket and already has all the apps that would be useful to an iPhone OS device. The only mitigation to this epic fail would if Apple were working with software developers to PORT their DAW and Drawing/photoshop apps TO the iPhone OS. I’m so confused by this rumor… 6 years of hope for an iTablet…and no OSX??? wtf!
September 29th, 2009 at 1:55 pm
@everyone
Keep two things in mind.
1 The App Store already has and does offer device specific apps. (iPhone only or iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
2 Regardless of what OS it runs, anyone can discount its function and call it a “larger” iPhone or iPod Touch.
Has anyone thought about the screen size as a focus on convenience? The screen size alone will give it purpose.
I would buy it because I want a device like the iPod Touch with a larger screen.
Thats like arguing: Why do they sell monitors greater than 17 inches?
September 29th, 2009 at 2:12 pm
It’s crazy how many of you think that this is supposed to be like a big phone. I seriosly doubt you will even be able to hold it up to your ear and phone someone. If this is sold with a carrier, it will most likely be a data device only like the netbooks carriers are selling. And I doubt this will be sold by carriers on subsidy. It will probably be sold standalone like MacBook air or the like.
September 29th, 2009 at 2:22 pm
@UntidyGuy: it’s the same OS that is on the iPod touch and most people don’t claim it’s a problem they don’t have iPhone parts. A lot of people I know use their new iPod touches like tiny computer tablets anyways. They browse on it, chat with friends, use RDM to remote control a home or work PC, edit office documents, make art. People even use it as a quick and portable device to ssh into work servers and get statistics on the servers they are managing. Webmaster can even run SQL queries and commands while other professionals use the Citrix client to do their work. How would any of this not benefit from a larger display?
Personally I use my iPhone for web browsing and other productivity stuff. I love the intuitiveness of multitouch and the OS just feels better with fingers than something like windows. I would love the same OS on a 10.7″ display. And I think a lot of people would too.
September 29th, 2009 at 2:39 pm
I think it sounds like a great idea. Without phone built in I’m sure you could do skype. With phone built in you could do Bluetooth or speaker phone and share minutes with your basic or not so basic cell phone. Watching video or creating different media would be a lot easier than on an iPhone. Wireless controllers and keyboards would be fun and easy when needed. As an artist I could use it as a portfolio for my work to show more than one person. Rather than leaning in as they do with my iPhone.
September 29th, 2009 at 2:43 pm
My point was that when the iPod Touch was announced nobody really had any idea what purpose of an iPhone minus the phone would serve. It turns out that because it shares the iPhone OS it became this great little multimedia/gaming/PDA device and, I believe, sold even more than the iPhone.
Right now a lot of people are using the iPhone and iPod touch with smaller screens than are ideal for their tasks. The lack of a keyboard is mitigated by more user-friendly software design. How about that voice search on the Google app? What about a front-facing camera?
The iPhone OS is rapidly being enhanced to duplicate Mac OS functions on a tablet. Mac OS would have to be dumbed down in order to duplicate the iPhone user experience on a tablet. Which is the better software roadmap? Making iPhone OS more capable or making Mac OS more mobile?
September 29th, 2009 at 2:53 pm
@truth
you do realize that this “itablet” is pure speculation right? If or when apple puts it out then we can make judgements….word is that jobs has dedicated all of his time to this thing….. I don’t thunk any of us really know what we’re in for….
September 29th, 2009 at 3:07 pm
@UntidyGuy:
I doubt anyone who wants a MacTablet wants a mobile Mac OS. We want Snow Leopard, a touch screen keyboard, and no mouse. Anything else is a non-starter when we ready have iPhones in our pockets. Simple as that.
September 29th, 2009 at 4:28 pm
The thing about OS X is that it’s not optimized for a touch interface. Can you imagine trying to touch the little apple logo in the corner to shut down or trying to raise your auto-hidden dock without a mouse. It’s just not possible. Now, I agree that the Courier device seems much more compelling than what we know about the Apple tablet but trying to run OS X, Photoshop, etc. with an interface not optimized for touch (which has been tried and failed with Windows many times) will not work as Apple would want it to. A pared down and finger friendly interface is required.
September 29th, 2009 at 4:29 pm
Goodluck competing with the courier. That thing looks bad, i don’t like the fact that the tablet is running iPhone OS.. Should be running snow leopard with tablet software.
September 29th, 2009 at 4:30 pm
I bet its out in the Apple store for a week and a half before Truth, Therealtruth, and all of other Nom de plumes admit its existence.
By that time, some one will have hacked Ubuntu onto it and it will be a usable machine, even if it won’t run Photoshop.
September 29th, 2009 at 4:35 pm
@Al:
Really, is OSX THAT un-configurable? (Just askin, I’ve never really seen it).
All of the sizes of various icons, menus, fonts, controls are configurable in modern operating systems. Every desktop from Windows 95 and Gnome 1.0, and KDE 1.5 forward to current versions have had this capability. can’t believe OSX would be that far behind. .
September 29th, 2009 at 5:05 pm
Personally I’m after a mac to start programming iPhone apps. So if this is running iPhone OS then it won’t be of interest to me. Just heard that apple are running down their stock levels of mini.
I’ll be patient and buy the best I can afford when the time comes.
September 29th, 2009 at 5:32 pm
@icebike
the second its announced i will admit its existence. its only then that any of us will know for certain what its about……thats my only point
September 29th, 2009 at 5:58 pm
NO TO IPHONE OS YES TO OSX
September 29th, 2009 at 6:07 pm
It’s not that OSX can’t be configured for mobile/touchscreen use. It certainly can be (see iPhone OS). It’s all that 3rd party software designed for OSX with a keyboard, mouse.
The main reason why the Apple tablet will almost certainly run iPhone OS? The App Store. Apple has just proven that it can launch a completely new platform – a game changer – using a closed system of 3rd party software delivery and make it wildly successful in less than a year. Why would they consider any other model?
Will the developers buy into another closed system? Why not? Everyone and their brother seems to be an iPhone OS developer right now. Apple already has the infrastructure to do it all using the existing iTunes/iTunes Connect/Developer Portal. And, just in case they get off to kind of a slow start, they already have 70K apps that will run just fine on a mobile tablet without a keyboard or any external media in a little rectangular window. They might as well even multitask the iPhone OS on the tablet.
September 29th, 2009 at 6:51 pm
Cool a 10.7 inch Iphone just what we all need !!!
September 29th, 2009 at 7:17 pm
Certainly. Take your boxing gloves off, Al. And the dock doesn’t need to be hidden.
Absolute nonsense.
September 29th, 2009 at 8:01 pm
there is an app for that but please snow leopard in it
September 29th, 2009 at 8:48 pm
They could technically do a card type system with a dock below. If that makes any sense. Kind of like tabs in the mobile safari browser. Just slide back and forth and then enlarge the one you want by touching it. Then have dock apps that are most neccesary. Idk. Just a hodge podge idea.