AppleInsider, which originally broke the story in 2007 about Apple researching the design of a successor to Newton, has hung its hat on a prediction that Apple will release a 10 inch tablet in Q1 of 2010.Just about everyone covering this story considers Appleinsider to be an extremely reliable source. In addition this aligns with Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster prediction that Apple would release a tablet but not until sometime in 2010. I'm going to go out on a wide, thick, and sturdy limb an agree that Apple will release a 10 inch tablet in Q1 of 2010.
I think Apple will announce this fall its intention to ship the tablet early next year. They will release some details about the device, perhaps a cool demo, and may even provide some direction to developers. I suspect the two development platforms for the Apple tablet will be, at least initially, the iPhone SDK with some tablet specific features and the Safari browser with its built multi-touch JavaScript support (see "JavaScript Multi-Touch API for Safari iPhone Browser").
As I outlined in my April 09' post, "What Industry Will Apple Try To Dominate Next? Video", the tablet is a multimedia play focused on video games, movie and TV video, and web browsing. The Apple tablet is not intended for productivity applications like word processing although you will be able to dock it on a stand to which you can connect a USB mouse and keyboard. The tablet will be capable of running most of the more than 50 thousand applications in the AppStore (see "Video Games, iPhone and Apple Tablet"), but developers will be encouraged to develop new applications specifically for the device.
Like the iPhone you'll be able to download music and, more importantly movie and TV videos, directly to the device from iTunes via Wi-Fi or third-generation mobile data network. The introduction of direct video downloads in iPhone OS 3.0 is further evidence, in my opinion, that Apple is gearing up to take on the TV and Movie industries with this device. Watching videos on an iPhone works well but downloading and watching TV and Movies on a 10 inch tablet is a game changer.
Download and watch any movie or TV show on iTunes directly to the tablet. Play any of the 10 thousand video games already available for the iPhone, use most of the 40 thousand other iPhone applications, or just surf the web. That's what the tablet is good for and its going to change the way we interact with video (games and movies) as well as the Web.
So, as multi-touch developers how should we prepare for the introduction of the Apple Tablet? I recommend getting up to speed on Objective-C and the iPhone SDK. This is going to be a large gadget not a small computer. The Tablet will sport an operating system that has more in common with the iPod Touch and iPhone than the Macs (although they share a common foundation). Also, start thinking about what industries will benefit the most from this device. Creating applications for the general consumer is all well and good, but the real money for developers will be creating applications for Health, Medical, and other industries that have been slowly adopting hand held devices for the past 10 years.
3 comments:
Apple Tablet may be launched this Christmas or possibly as early as September. I hope this will be another great rally for apple earnings. I will buy one of this for sure. The iphone started to be too little to stay all the day looking things. I am a great fan of apple product so started collecting all the information (more than 200 sites) about Apple Tablet(News, Videos, Pics, Pre reviews, Rumors etc.,). If you are interested take a look at the below link
http://markthispage.blogspot.com/2009/07/apple-tablet-large-iphone-or-ipod-touch.html
Is anyone else concerned about the potential proprietary land grab from Apple? The iPhone is a nifty gadget. But what happens when the medical industry is dependent on Apple's ecosystem rather than an open playing field? I don't fault Apple for vigorously protecting and developing their own business - that's their role. But isn't it at least a little curious that so many of the technorati online are rallying to the same cry? For a world in which open source is supposedly so "hip," most of the clamoring I hear is for more stuff with Apple logos, with little consideration for what deeper, long-term implications might be (or even whether that's in that party's best interests). That's not to say open source is a panacea - indeed, when you get into the details of any technological solution, there are plenty of pitfalls. But it seems like we're increasingly doing this blind.
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