Slash LaneCiting sources at Taiwan memory makers, DigiTimes notes that despite procuring about $1.2 to 1.3 billion worth of NAND flash memory for its products in calendar year 2007, Apple has yet to place any substantial orders this year.
Although the Cupertino-based company recently introduced a solid-state disk (SSD) version of its MacBook Air, suppliers believe the steep retail price of that model will do little to encourage widespread consumption amongst consumers, "which can hardly spur meaningful SSD penetration and NAND flash procurement."
Instead, the memory makers are reportedly anticipating the launch of the company's first ultra-mobile PC (UMPC) as a possible catalyst to improve demand and boost NAND pricing later in the year.
Like the MacBook Air's 64GB SSD, the device is said to employ multi-level cell (MLC) NAND flash, as opposed to single-level cell (SLC), which represents the latest and most dense form of flash memory.
For its processor, the tablet-like device is widely presumed to use Intel's Atom processor, which will eventually include a dual-core 1.87GHz model, according to a leaked Intel roadmap that made its way around the Web on Monday.
AppleInsider Staff
Malcolm Owen
Oliver Haslam
Andrew O'Hara
Wesley Hilliard
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
106 Comments
As much as I love my iPod Touch (and I owned a Newton 130 back in the day), I'm very skeptical. The Touch is great because it's the perfect size and weight for carrying in your pocket balanced against having enough screen real estate to actually browse the web. Too much bigger and you won't carry it everywhere, and any smaller and the screen becomes less useful. I couldn't see adding more than half-an-inch to maybe an inch in either width or height and having it have the same appeal.
And what's the use case for a multi-touch tablet? What large market segment would justify buying one? If Apple actually builds one, I think that's a signal to sell AAPL because Apple's run out of marketable ideas.
This sounds like a truckfull of....wishful thinking.
Does a Newton Pad make any kind of sense? Is there really a large enough market between the Macbook Air and iPhone/iPod Touch? I have the SDK and I can tell you that if I needed anything more than the iPhone can do, I would just get a notebook. I can see them boosting the memory and maybe the processing power on both of their current product lines, but putting something in between them seems like the bad old days of not enough separation between market segments. I do not think Apple would make that mistake with Steve riding herd.
This sounds like a truckfull of....wishful thinking.
Does a Newton Pad make any kind of sense? Is there really a large enough market between the Macbook Air and iPhone/iPod Touch? I have the SDK and I can tell you that if I needed anything more than the iPhone can do, I would just get a notebook. I can see them boosting the memory and maybe the processing power on both of their current product lines, but putting something in between them seems like the bad old days of not enough separation between market segments. I do not think Apple would make that mistake with Steve riding herd.
This is HUGE.
This is all caps.... huge.
It will dwarf the touch market in one month if they bring it out and do it right.
That being said, this is some of the biggest wishful thinking Appleinsider's done for a while.
If this thing is done right, it'll have much more power and need a much bigger battery.
And it will need the more powerful cpu and memory.
The bigger video, and need for real apps running in a multitasking way would take you so far beyond what the touch can do it would be amazing.
Don't think of this as just having a little bigger screen.
Think of it being a real multi-tasking computer......
That does sound like wishful thinking. I'd buy one but I don't see many other people doing the same. It would be even more limiting than Air and people have already criticized Air to lack this and that.
And there's no way it's going to take off if the only option they provide is the flash memory - it's way too expensive.
That does sound like wishful thinking. I'd buy one but I don't see many other people doing the same. It would be even more limiting than Air and people have already criticized Air to lack this and that.
And there's no way it's going to take off if the only option they provide is the flash memory - it's way too expensive.
I wouldn't compare a newton to the air, anymore than comparing the old newton to an old thinkpad.
As thin as the air is, it's a laptop computer.
A newton or tablet should never be confused with a lap computer.
If it is, it wasn't designed or placed in it's market place correctly.....