Apple iSlate is upon us?

[Flavius]

If you are reading any technological or computer oriented news sites these days you most likely have read about it already.

http://macrumors.com for example knows all about it. And Apple itself, it seems, is not shying away from stirring up some interest just in time for an announcement in the last week of January next year.

Personally, I'm in the 7" camp, a smaller device, basically running the iPhone OS, that you can still pocket and use for gaming.

In order to beat the Kindle - which is a one-trick-pony - you don't have to do a better job at what the Kindle does, you just have to do it well enough and add enough value otherwise which would not be difficult, and if the price is right which seems possible with a 7"..

Remember those pads the TNG crew would carry around all the time?

 

[Marc]

If Apple is stirring some interest then it's a break from their usual pattern which is pretty much to deny anything until they have the big release and if some-one leaks they're hunted down and threatened with lawsuits etc.

 

[Flavius]

I would agree with that, however, don't forget about all the coverage they'd like to and will get for free - that's worth many millions. And I might get beaten up for the following, but when somebody's being published by the NYT and claims to have a source inside AAPL, I'm inclined to think most likely there actually was such a source.

 

[Data Holmes]

It's also kinda hard to hide some things these days... Though it looks like apple has been working on this for some time. They apparently reg'd iSlate.com and other iSlate related trademarks since late 2006 through a Delaware dummy company called Slate Computing, LLC.

 

[Snaploud]

It sounds as if Apple wants to cram a bunch of functions into one device and hope nobody notices the lower performance of its components. I guess you don't mess with a winning strategy...

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Why does Apple have to use a dummy company to register the iSlate name?

 

[Talosian]

It sounds as if Apple wants to cram a bunch of functions into one device and hope nobody notices the lower performance of its components. I guess you don't mess with a winning strategy...

That's what it sounds like. Personally, I can't fathom why this should replace e-readers already on the market, considering it's apparently an over-sized smartphone or small tablet PC.

You can imagine people trying to read on the iSlate... then quickly getting tired of staring at the backlit screen, and switching to watching Youtube and Hulu clips and downloading frivolous iPhone-style apps. Yeah, there'll be a market for this, but it won't be the first choice of serious readers.

 

[Data Holmes]

I think the entire "iSlate to replace Kindle" line is BS being hyped by the media.


The kindle is such a one trick pony that it makes no sense for apple to target it directly with such a device... But pitting apple against amazon makes for good talking head material for the financial news media...

 

[Talosian]

I think the entire "iSlate to replace Kindle" line is BS being hyped by the media.


The kindle is such a one trick pony that it makes no sense for apple to target it directly with such a device... But pitting apple against amazon makes for good talking head material for the financial news media...

I agree about the media hype angle. But, it seems to me that the Kindle and similar devices by Sony and B&N will face competition from more advanced e-readers with more features like: color e-ink, faster and cleaner screen refreshes, and possibly flexible screens.

In the meantime, though, the current generation of e-readers are already extremely usable. Sure, a Kindle is a one-trick pony, but that trick is being able to convert an entire library of books and periodicals into a medium sized device that provides a reasonable facsimile of the traditional reading experience.

 

[drasche]

Ars take on the subject: http://arstechnica.com/staff/fatbits/2010/01/antacid-tablet.ars

They do speak about books but they suggest the tablet will aim at the whole print publishing industry: newspapers, comics, etc. And Apple already proved a lot in the field of digital media publishing with iTunes.

 

[Mr. B]

Meh... this apple tablet rumor is old. Personally, I don't think there's a great void waiting to be filled by that sort of form factor.

 

[drasche]

As old as the Newton, but it's going to be very lively in 22 days.

 

[Flavius]

Hm, the NYT has a number of stories today. And there was one particularly worrisome detail in the story in the WSJ today: the alleged price of this thing: ~$1000? Excuse me?

However, come to think of it - when the iPhone came out my wife and I spent more than $1800 on two phones, early termination fees and accessories, but that was then. The iPhone was a revolutionary device, and today it is one of the great icons of industrial design. There's got to be a 'more' to justify such a price point.

 

[Snaploud]

Hm, the NYT has a number of stories today. And there was one particularly worrisome detail in the story in the WSJ today: the alleged price of this thing: ~$1000? Excuse me?

I believe the guesses have ranged from $600 to $1200. It's all just rumors at this point (including its name, its functions, etc.).

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I hope that the iSlate would be able to connect to my existing wireless network and that I wouldn't have to get a separate subscription for it, contrary to what this article implies.

 

[Data Holmes]

I wonder if there is going to be more to this deal than just the announcement of the iSlate. There have been some sporadic rumbles of apple bailing on at&t and switching over to another carrier, with a lot of mention about sprint and their ever expanding 4G network being an enticing factor. Sprint has been the most aggressive adopter of 4g out of all the networks, already up in a number of cities with New York planned to go online in the next few months.

Perhaps this will have a factor in this announcment.

 

[Flavius]

Recently Apple has been able to quite successfully manage expectations. I have not the shred of a doubt that at this moment they are trying to do the very same.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Carrier? Is that all the iSlate is, just an oversized iPhone? I have no use for the iPhone, certainly not a bigger one. If the iSlate requires a "plan", then leave me out of it. If, OTOH, the Slate can simply hook into my wireless network like a laptop or desktop computer, then I'm interested.

 

[Data Holmes]

Carrier? Is that all the iSlate is, just an oversized iPhone? I have no use for the iPhone, certainly not a bigger one. If the iSlate requires a "plan", then leave me out of it. If, OTOH, the Slate can simply hook into my wireless network like a laptop or desktop computer, then I'm interested.

I was primarily talking about for the iPhone, but also perhaps as an internal modem option for the Islate and other mac products such as the macbook air.

 

[Flavius]

Carrier? Is that all the iSlate is, just an oversized iPhone? I have no use for the iPhone, certainly not a bigger one. If the iSlate requires a "plan", then leave me out of it. If, OTOH, the Slate can simply hook into my wireless network like a laptop or desktop computer, then I'm interested.

Maybe, there will be two models. One for each. Don't we expect a Kindle and a Netbook competitor?