Katie MarsalCorroborating information relayed by AppleInsider weeks ago, The Wall Street Journal reports that Jobs has been personally involved with the tablet, even prior to his recent sickness. Citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter, the report states that Jobs killed development of the tablet twice in recent years, once due to poor battery life, and another because of a lack of internal memory capacity available.
Jobs reportedly responded via e-mail to the Journal and said that much of what was reported by the anonymous sources was "incorrect," though he declined to elaborate. The company's chief executive has been back at the helm since June.
Apparently employees had become accustomed to the absence of Jobs this year, after he left Apple to obtain a liver transplant. The report states that his return has been "jarring" for employees developing the tablet, as Jobs is very hands-on.
"Those working on the project are under intense scrutiny from Mr. Jobs, particularly with regard to the product's advertising and marketing strategy, said one of these people," the report states. "The people familiar with the matter declined to give details on the tablet or disclose when the device would come out."
While the story does not provide any specific details on the tablet or its availability, it does reiterate information relayed to AppleInsider by sources, namely that Jobs has been heavily involved and extremely demanding with the development of the device. However, AppleInsider sources have maintained that the project was reset, rather than terminated, repeatedly due to Jobs' own dissatisfaction. Sources have said that the portable device, with a 10 inch touchscreen and 3G connectivity, will be available in early 2010.
In various patents for the design of handheld computers, Jobs' name has been included among the creators, confirming how integral of a part he has been in the design of products like the iPhone, and likely also for the upcoming tablet.
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Since his return to Apple in June, company co-founder Steve Jobs has been focused on bringing the hardware maker's yet-to-be announced tablet device successfully to market, a new report claims.
Corroborating information relayed by AppleInsider weeks ago, The Wall Street Journal reports that Jobs has been personally involved with the tablet, even prior to his recent sickness. Citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter, the report states that Jobs killed development of the tablet twice in recent years, once due to poor battery life, and another because of a lack of internal memory capacity available.
Jobs reportedly responded via e-mail to the Journal and said that much of what was reported by the anonymous sources was "incorrect," though he declined to elaborate. The company's chief executive has been back at the helm since June.
Apparently employees had become accustomed to the absence of Jobs this year, after he left Apple to obtain a liver transplant. The report states that his return has been "jarring" for employees developing the tablet, as Jobs is very hands-on.
"Those working on the project are under intense scrutiny from Mr. Jobs, particularly with regard to the product's advertising and marketing strategy, said one of these people," the report states. "The people familiar with the matter declined to give details on the tablet or disclose when the device would come out."
While the story does not provide any specific details on the tablet or its availability, it does reiterate information relayed to AppleInsider by sources, namely that Jobs has been heavily involved and extremely demanding with the development of the device, and that he has canceled or reset its development numerous times due to his own dissatisfaction. Sources have told AppleInsider that the portable device, with a 10 inch touchscreen and 3G connectivity, will be available in early 2010.
In various patents for the design of handheld computers, Jobs' name has been included among the creators, confirming how integral of a part he has been in the design of products like the iPhone, and likely also for the upcoming tablet.
[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]
Now, since Steve Jobs played an important part in the development of the iPhone's aesthetics and designs, making it a booming success, the tablet is going to become the next big thing. ( Although the iPhone is still the biggest success )
The report states that his return has been "jarring" for employees developing the tablet, as Jobs is very hands-on.
Thank god we have Steve to push the creative process at Apple.
And thank god I don't work for him!
Music theme from Kubrick's 2001 space odyssey running in the background ....
http://visionaforethought.files.word..._b_oflife7.jpg
The question is, what does Jobs have in mind. Seems to me that so far what speculation has implied is that Jobs via Apple is working on a jumbo Touch. Not likely. Put a 10-inch screen on such a device and you pretty much wipe out all the advantages of the existing device's form factor. Portability? Not so much. Batttery life? Forget about it. Movies stored in the form of relatively small files? Kiss that good bye. Ease of handling? Not a chance. Low price point? Nope.
Need decent enough screen real estate in a portable device for some serious work? Isn't that what laptops are for? I mean who really believes a 10-inch screen is enough and ARM processors powerful enough for serious work?
I don't doubt that Apple is developing some cool portable technology. Apple, especially under Jobs' watch, has always been about innovation, altering personal computing at a fundamental level. But doesn't there have to be some logic in this discussion? Jobs might well be famous for his reality-distortion-field routine but even he has to yield to the basic laws of physics.
There is no market for a Touch with a really big screen. It's not rational to expect that a device that possesses none of the advantages of laptops, netbooks, and iPods will generate sales. After the initial excitement over a new product, the average consumer would look at this thing and focus more on what it can't do than what it can.