AppleInsider Staff
A recently uncovered Apple filing for a European design trademark may provide a tantalizing glimpse of the company's long-awaited tablet "handheld computer", according to the Register.
The filing, made in May of this year but only published this week, describes a "handheld computer" and contains sketches of what looks like a smaller iBook screen that has shed the remainder of its body.
The document lists Apple CEO Steve Jobs and the company's industrial design chief, Jonathan Ive. The filing also refers to other key members of Apple's industrial design team such as Daniele De Iuliis, Richard Howarth, Eugene Whang, Matthew Rohrbach, Bart Andre, Calvin Seid and Christopher Stringer.
Apple design trademark sketches of purported Apple handheld.
Artist rendition of purported Apple handheld.
Rumors that Apple was working on a handheld or tablet product emerged in 2003 when a source close to Taiwanese contract manufacturer Quanta claimed that the company had been hired by Apple to build what was dubbed a "wireless display." However, the news was reported by DigiTimes, which has a history of reporting on Apple products that never emerge.
Apple's description of the "handheld computer" in the registration filing sounds more like a PDA than a full sized computer. The filing most likely refers to an Apple PDA product that was ousted earlier in the year.
In June, AppleInsider published an exclusive report on comments made by Jobs during the private Wall Street Journal D: All Things Digital conference. During a question and answer session, Jobs stated that he is proud not only of the products Apple has shipped, but also the products Apple has decided not to ship, specifying an Apple PDA.
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13 Comments
A recent AppleInsider report on the new iMac design did not provide a tantalizing glimpse of the company's long-awaited G5 "consumer machine", according to me.
The report, made in July of this year describes a "purported manufacturing sketch" but fails to contain those sketches of what looks like a "thick display module which hovers above the desk from a single support".
Apple, themselves, are better at posting pictures of upcoming products than a rumour site!
A recent AppleInsider report on the new iMac design did not provide a tantalizing glimpse of the company's long-awaited G5 "consumer machine", according to me.
The report, made in July of this year describes a "purported manufacturing sketch" but fails to contain those sketches of what looks like a "thick display module which hovers above the desk from a single support".
Apple, themselves, are better at posting pictures of upcoming products than a rumour site!
Does it not seem like 20% of AI articles these days just pump "previous reports" from AI?
Does it not seem like 20% of AI articles these days just pump "previous reports" from AI?
Hey, I remember when there were no reports for a looonngggg time. I really dig the constant flow of information. Now its just the forums that have gotten lame...
Did AI get this out before The Register? Who is piggy-backing off of whom? Since it is a European filing, I assumed The Register got this so AI is not taking it from their own history, but from a perhaps more reliable source.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/08...le_tablet_mac/
The tablet-like iMac lite could be a great device and a further refinement of Apple toward innovative appliances that aren't computers in an of themselves.
So regardless, it is nice to have our speculations of 2+ years ago and even those of (close your eyes Matsu!!) Kormac, have some basis in design and trademark fact.
Now if the eMac stays as is....and the iMac gets a makeover...and the PowerMac continues to spin farther into the pro arena, does this leave room for another consumer experience with video media? I have thought so for years, but I've come to the reality of price/performance that many skeptics espouse. So this would be a big change! It would be as big as the iPod. What technology does Apple have that is so unique as to get the jump on the rest of the industry and do so in an exciting way?
Ink? Hard to imagine, but maybe.
Airport Express-like video or at least graphics, like pdf's? That would make an electronic magazine possible, but at what cost?
Paper-like display? doubtful that Apple could be that far ahead of everyone else.
An elegant interface as suggested for a mega-controller for music and such? Expensive if you accidently sit on it!
So I don't know, but as a former proponent of a tablet-like device, I'd love to see something come of it.