iTablet? Will Apple finally get it?
How many times have we said this or that wow new product from Apple totally knocks everyone out -- but still just doesn't seem to get it? Will the rumored "iTablet" finally get it?
Robert X. Cringely seems to get it. His recent column declares Apple has a lot to attend to at MacWorld -- and provides ample argument that we might see an Apple tablet computer. Do we finally have something to really look forward to?
There are some good arguments for an Apple iTablet. Not only does Microsoft not have one, but an iTablet would shoot the legs out from under Jeff Bezos' Amazon Kindle.
So rather than more blather about the iPhone, or iTouch products for Macworld WOW -- which still don't seem to hit the mark on coolness -- a tablet might be the one.
A smartly designed would finally begin to forge the bridge between cell phone and computer -- which is what we've needed all along
Robert writes:
Apple is used to setting styles and inventing platforms, but at the risk of undercutting next month's 2008 predictions column, let's first look at where the product line could use some help. If there are obvious gaps (there are) then they probably need filling, and soon.
1) A new form factor for the Mac Pro towers.
2) Better LCD displays. Apple's are big but expensive and the specs are no longer better than the competition -- or even close. Where are the HDMI ports and the built-in iSight cameras?
3) Blu-ray or, for that matter ANY HD optical storage. This was promised years ago.
4) H.264 hardware support.
5) Black or dark gray MacBook Pros.
6) And of course the now-leaked-by-AT&T 3G iPhone.
End Quote
But Robert seems to have a handle on the potential of a tablet.
I really agree.
While more ho-hum iPhones and iPods continue to thrill the proletariat, and more incarnations of OS X regurgitate the same old features covered with yet more pancake make-up, I have to believe no wallet-sized gizmo will be the ultimate toaster.
A durable, unbreakable, solid, functioning bridge between the cell phone and the laptop is the ultimate prize. I just keep thinking back to Apple's Knowledge Navigator, wondering when are they ever going to wake up and realize they had the ultimate idea some ten years ago. The iTablet might just be the one to make it happen.
So, perhaps I really do have something to look forward to from Apple next year.
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