Mac Tablet Rumors

[Mr. Mayor]

The rumors are surfacing again... Read more about them here:
Mac Tablet Rumors Surfacing Yet Again | Mactropolis.com - Your Friendly Global Mac Community

What do you think? Would probably be a 'cool' system, but I doubt I'd be picking one up for myself.

[Jack]

I want one.... just throw in a bluetooth keyboard and mouse and an iMac like stand for desk usage .

[Mr. Mayor]

I'm not so convinced... yet. Need to see the actual thing before I make any purchasing decisions

Rumor rumor rumor... lets see if and when it actually happens. Probably will!

[Nightfall4]

While a tablet would be useful, I don't think it would happen. I read an article the other day, where I don't recall, but it made some sense. The tablet is a very limited, small, tiny, perhaps-not-profitable-niche. Where a typical consumer may need a computer, phone, and ipod, they may not necessarily need a tablet. A tablet would only serve a niche for a limited number of people. However it could help in the business arena. A tablet would be useful for many applications. I myself would love to have one as I could certainly use it for invoices, reports and other things with my business. We will see. In the mean time there is the Modbook.

[Mr. Mayor]

Good points Nightfall.

I think for Apple to release it they will have to 'reinvent' the tablet. Build some features into it that we've never seen before that will make it appealing to a larger market.

[soundstripe]

If Apple does reinvent the tablet, it will not have many things that those of us in the IT world would want. We want raw computing power always at our fingertips, and right now thats not what Apple wants to give the world. They are fond of giving us what they think we need instead of what we ask for. Of course they always do a great job, and I'll probably buy one, but here's my guess:

Apple doesn't need to just make a bigger iPhone--it would be too expensive, too clunky. It would be hard to separate the features of one from the other. Instead, they'll make a large touch-screen _interface_ for the iPhone which will be usable when your iPhone is in range of its wireless transmitter (bluetooth? wifi?). When your iPhone is gone it will have very limited functionality, but when it is in-range it'll use the processing of your (3rd/4th-gen iPhone) to be a full-fledged touch-screen computer (with 3G internet access). Flip-out keyboard, built in stand, touch-screen. Saw something like this for a Windows Mobile phone recently, but I can't remember what it was called.

All of this is speculation, of course.

[Mr. Mayor]

I love to speculate.

That does sound interesting... But yeah, that would probably be some time away.

[ipodtoucher]

If Apple released a tablet, I would be so far in debt.... I need an Apple tablet in my life! Finger and pen recognition would be amazing. But who's to say they aren't developing one right now as we speak. I would assume that it would take a lot of develpment, seeing that they would have to add gestures to all the apps and such. But I am an optomistic person!

[Mr. Mayor]

A Mac Tablet would be an ideal tool for artists for sure... anything that requires sketching/hand work... would be two thumbs up.

They are probably working on it... but who knows. Lets speculate some more :P

[ipodtoucher]

Let's get back to our roots..... Finger Painting!!!!!!!!! Hahahaha But i would assume pen use for writing and finger tracking for multi-touch like on the new trackpads for the MBP and MBA.

Let's speculate...

I would say a 13" and 15" on launch and then later on a 17".