Brian GarnerKaifu Lee, former president of Google China, someone with supposed close ties to Apple, has revealed several details about Apple's tablet on his microblog (translation from Gadget Mix):
"The Apple Tablet looks like a bigger iPhone that sports an awesome UI packed in a beautiful 10.1-inch screen. The tablet combines the functions of both netbook and kindle, an ebook reader. It has virtual keyboard for text entry and a webcam for video conferencing."
This falls in line with recently reported details on the tablet. Earlier in December analyst Yair Reiner of Oppenheimer predicted that the device would have a 10.1-inch multi-touch display using the same technology as the iPhone. He also stated that Apple has been reaching out to book publishers in order to strengthen the position of the tablet as an ebook platform.
AppleInsider reported earlier last week that Apple had plans for a virtual keyboard with a dynamic surface that would give users tactile feedback when typing in order to identify individual keys. Supporting the idea of a "bigger iPhone," iPhone developers were reportedly asked to prepare their apps for a demo next month by making them support full-screen resolutions rather than the fixed 320x480 resolutions of the iPhone and iPod touch.
All signs point to Apple holding an event focusing on the "mobility space" on January 26 at Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco, where it is believed that the company will finally unveil the tablet to the world.
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226 Comments
And we can all rely on a long-lasting, integrated battery, thanks to their R&D in that department. Really going to blow the competition out of the water!
Well, well, well.
So the beans are spilled.
Webcam is good, virtual keyboard?
Like the virtual keyboard on the iPhone?
Or something else? If it gives feedback, it's real, not virtual. Or what the screen taps or something, like making clicky clack sounds when one types?
Perhaps this time the iPhone apps will be allowed on OS X. But somehow I don't think so, Apple looks like it's slowly introducing a new UI on us, one that will replace OS X UI as we know it.
Will we be able to use other browsers? Ad block software? Privacy and security software? Third party apps? Or be stuck forever in what the App Store approves?
The iSlate will cannibalize MacBook sales, that's a given, probably not much MacBook Pro sales.
The threat from Linux, VM software, the cloners and common Intel/like processors, Apple is headed for closed UI machines, mark my words. The App Store is proof of it.I would like to add this from a article:
http://www.informationweek.com/news/...leID=222100232
Remember how good the Apps looked projected on the big screen at the keynotes.... so at 10", they'll be great.
The device does seem to run Mac OS X, which Ireland really wanted, but he’s been claiming a 10.1” tablet for such a long time and has had pretty really nice mockups (sans the Mac OS X UI) that I think he deserves some accolades if his longtime vision is even half right.
A webcam. Hmm. A webcam works really well with a laptop because the screen is roughly perpendicular to the keyboard. With a tablet, there's an obvious difference. I don't think holding the tablet up in your hand is an elegant solution. This appears to be an opportunity for Apple to create an innovative stand for the tablet. Something that will allow for ichat functionality and at the same time not topple over or slide across a park bench when objects on the screen are manually manipulated (touched).