APPLE TABLET CONFIRMED! HELLLLL YEAAAAHH - Apple Event Jan 27

[xtop]

According to the Financial Times, Apple is racing to launch the Apple tablet—along with new iPods—as early as September. It seems Apple is working with record labels and book publishers on new iTunes features created for the device:

The talks come as Apple is separately racing to offer a portable, full-featured, tablet-sized computer in time for the Christmas shopping season, in what the entertainment industry hopes will be a new revolution. The device could be launched alongside the new content deals, including those aimed at stimulating sales of CD-length music, according to people briefed on the project.

Apple is working with EMI, SonyMusic, Warner Music and Universal Music Group, on a project the company has codenamed "Cocktail", according to four people familiar with the situation.

The Financial Times' sources point out that the device will have a 10-inch touchscreen and run iPhone OS. The tablet will be able to connect to the Internet using Wi-Fi like the iPod touch, and—according to publishers—it will also have a book marketplace. Yes, that's Jeff Bezos' worst nightmare.

Like always, remember our rule about rumors: Don't trust them—although secretly I hope they are right.

alright..the rumors are getting crazy, so this is sounding more and more likely. and with word of it being announced in september, you know..when apple announces new ipod touches i feel like it might actually happen

i'll try to keep the thread updated with the latest

[Steve]

That's very interesting. I'm a big Apple fan personally, but judging my several of their other products, this will most likely cost a small fortune.

[xtop]

Originally Posted by fireman325

That's very interesting. I'm a big Apple fan personally, but judging my several of their other products, this will most likely cost a small fortune.

word is between the iphone and the low end macbook. so likely 600-900. and depending on the specs, thats not too bad

[cajmoyper]

Also, from the looks of this one, the gui is going to be Apple-like annoyingly simple. Looks even more so than the iPhone, which I still love.
EDIT: Xtop, I just didn't feel right when your avatar didn't have something to do with Bender. The universe's balance has been restored.

[Steve]

Originally Posted by xtop

word is between the iphone and the low end macbook. so likely 600-900. and depending on the specs, thats not too bad

Not nearly as bad as I was expecting.

[brettallica]

Rumor: I will not be buying that!

The price is right, though. It sounds like a nice range for someone who wants to get into an Apple but doesn't want to pay the higher prices.

[mikejet]

Needs a USB port so you can use wireless with it.

[Zvi]

I'm curios to see what will it be.

Especially that in a typical Apple manner, Apple and Steve Jobs trashed Tablet PC as a concept for a while. Just like intel CPUs before switching to them...

Let's see how they can improve it.

Based on their ultraportables I'd guesstimate severe lack of features. I am sure they'll come up with justification for that, no problem After all they seriously reasoned there was no need for dvd drives in apple ultraportables, and as usual lots of Apple fans agreed and argued that very "energetically".

[quexos]

Looks expensive !

[xtop]

Originally Posted by mikejet

Needs a USB port so you can use wireless with it.

why wouldn't it have built in wireless?

this is a netbook competitor here guys, it'll be a full on computer. you just wont be using final cut pro

[mikejet]

Originally Posted by xtop

why wouldn't it have built in wireless?

this is a netbook competitor here guys, it'll be a full on computer. you just wont be using final cut pro

No, so you can use those Sprint/Verizon/AT&T USB modems. I know it will have built in Wi-Fi but I want the ability to connect anywhere.

[xtop]

Originally Posted by mikejet

No, so you can use those Sprint/Verizon/AT&T USB modems. I know it will have built in Wi-Fi but I want the ability to connect anywhere.

ohhh right. well the rumor includes 4g from verizon

[bandit29]

So basically it is a big ipod touch? Hmm if the price is right....

[mikejet]

Originally Posted by xtop

ohhh right. well the rumor includes 4g from verizon

Is that them getting back at AT&T for the whole iPhone thing?

[xtop]

Originally Posted by bandit29

So basically it is a big ipod touch? Hmm if the price is right....

basically.

it'll have more functionality than that, but it won't be a full on mac either

Originally Posted by mikejet

Is that them getting back at AT&T for the whole iPhone thing?

well apparently we should expect to see the next iphone for everyone. i guess with 4g, they won't need to worry about making different phones for different carriers. it'll just work with everyone using 4g

[Steve]

Originally Posted by xtop

well apparently we should expect to see the next iphone for everyone. i guess with 4g, they won't need to worry about making different phones for different carriers. it'll just work with everyone using 4g

That would be nice for a change. I've always hated the idea of having to change wireless carriers in order to get a phone you want. I really want an iphone, but don't want to leave Verizon.

[xtop]

Originally Posted by fireman325

That would be nice for a change. I've always hated the idea of having to change wireless carriers in order to get a phone you want. I really want an iphone, but don't want to leave Verizon.

here's part of that rumor..

Techcrunch's source says that Verizon is "racing" to put up its 4G LTE service in a "bunch of markets" in time for Q1 2010, which is about when both the Verizon iPhone and Apple Tablet are both rumored to hit.

The latest anyone's heard, Verizon's rolling out 20-30 markets by 2H 2010, but TC's saying that the company is rushing a lot of these up into Q1. What makes this LTE-capable iPhone interesting is that both Verizon and AT&T will be moving onto that technology, making Apple's life easier since they only have to make one type of device for both networks. (The fact that they don't need to make a CDMA iPhone just for Verizon and no other service makes this rumor make even more sense.)

There's also talk of data-only plans for this supposed Verizon/Apple tablet, which would fall outside of whatever exclusivity AT&T has with the iPhone.

http://gizmodo.com/5322475/rumor-say...r-apple-device

[xtop]

http://gizmodo.com/5324557/apple-tab...-4-months-away

We have been tracking the Apple Tablet for longer than I want to remember. Here's an update on the probability of it happening at all, and when we think it will launch if it does.

As far as I'm concerned, I've wanted a son of Newton since Jobs cancelled it, and I've been gagging for it since the iPhone. The latest solid rumor came from the Financial Times, which claimed that the entertainment industry "is hoping that Apple, which revolutionized the markets for music players and phones, can do it again with the new device." Suggesting it will be more giant iPod touch (good—as the iPod touch could scale up into new form factors) than pure Mac OS X Tablet (bad—as pure Mac OS X will be hard to scale down). A project with the music industry—codenamed Cocktail—will be announced in September, according to this source. The same sources point that "the device could be launched alongside the new content deals." The new content will also include books, which will put the device in direct competition against Amazon's Kindle.

The Financial Times article is vague about this, however, mentioning Apple "racing" to have the tablet available for the holiday shopping season. That may mean an announcement in September, followed by availability after Thanksgiving. That's four months away. Another article—this time from the China Times—points at an October release, which puts the thingamajig only three months away. And yet another Chinese paper claims a September or October release. Apple Insider claims that it will be available in 2010.

I'm personally inclined to trust the Financial Times rumor. Not only because of them being so adamant about their multiple sources, but because the timing makes a lot more sense than the other options. It also makes sense to announce it in this entertainment event, which will most probably include announcements for the updated nano and touch—minor updates for already-established products that only add cameras, confirmed by a myriad of new cases from China.

The big bang, however, could be the newest member of the iPod/iPhone family: The Apple Tablet. Like the iPhone—which was originally announced alongside other products during a MacWorld keynote—the Tablet won't cannibalize any existing product sales, so it makes sense to drum up the hype like they did with the iPhone, building excitement for the shopping season.

Matt, on the other hand, thinks that the device could be announced on an event on its own. His rationale is that it's too important to be released alongside other products. To me it makes more sense to tell the public that, while big—literally and metaphorically speaking—this is "another iPod", and the third model of a new family of iPhone OS-based products—a potential family which, incidentally, has been hinted by Jobs and the rest of the Apple executive team.

Whenever it is actually announced, however, the general consensus is that the tablet exists—even John Gruber is certain about it, and he rarely fails. The question now is when. According to our Apple Tablet Probability Meter, you're 80% likely to be able to buy one in four months.

[xtop]

Taiwanese paper Apple Daily reports than Hon Hai Precision Industry—aka Foxconn—is building the Apple tablet using previously rumored 10-inchish screens from WinTek and a battery from Dynapack, for launch in September or October.

AppleInsider says that Dow Jones carried the report as well, though it comes from a paper less well-known than say, DigiTimes. The September or October launch date Apple Daily reports is slightly more aggressive and definite in its time table than the Financial Times report that came out this weekend, which simply said that Apple "racing to offer a portable, full-featured, tablet-sized computer in time for the Christmas shopping season."

A morbid thought, but if Foxconn is building the tablet, what if the tablet was the prototype Sun Danyong lost before he was driven to suicide? They wouldn't say he lost the mythical Apple tablet, after all.

AppleInsider still thinks it's coming in 2010, for what it's worth. We still think never trust rumors.

rumors piling up

[xtop]

http://www.9to5mac.com/apple-tablet-september-barrons

Barron's is reporting that an un-named analyst has seen Apple's forthcoming tablet and expects it to be announced in September with a ship date around November. They mention that Apple is such a bellwether for the industry that all other manufacturing in this area has stopped until Apple releases this product. They expect the product to retail for $700-$800 and fulfill a variety of multimedia functions including AppleTV and Gaming.

One veteran analyst who has seen first-hand a prototype slate-style computer from Apple says the device could be announced in September for release in November.

Whatever the exact dates, the computer industry is so anxious to see what Apple introduces that it has held off on competing designs until Apple CEO Steve Jobs gives the device his final blessing. "It's close enough now to a final design that in Asia, there's no other product in the waiting room or in the bullpen," said the analyst. "There are dozens of ODMs [original device makers] making products for Lenovo and other PC makers that are all waiting to see what the Apple product is."

The new device, which may retail for $699 to $799, could fulfill a variety of multimedia functions currently taken up by a gaggle of individual consumer electronics devices. It could be a home media center, somewhat like the current Apple TV, and it could be a gaming machine, opines Jon Peddie, head of Jon Peddie Research in Tiburon, Calif. "Gaming will be a big part of what this is about," he adds.

The machine impresses with its display of hi-def video content, says the veteran analyst, who asked not to be identified. "It's better than the average movie experience, when you hold this thing in your hands."

...

A second source confirmed to me that news of the new device "is all over the supply chain in Asia." The biggest question at this point, and the least understood by anyone outside Apple, is whether the company's App Store will be the exclusive distribution point for software for this device.

As Steve Jobs says, it's the software that defines these things.

Is anyone excited about this thing yet?