Apple Tablet rumour

You've read the story that Apple is working on a Tablet PC, but what sort of things do you want from an Apple Tablet?

It has to be chewable, and give me a warm glow in my tummy.

As long as they give it some form of a dock, this is my only ask of them for future powerbooks also.

Having been a tablet user for as long as they have been around, I finally got sick of MS and reluctantly gave it up for a MacbookPro.

I was torn about this but love everything about the Mac except no tablet. To hear that they may be releasing one brings me hope.

As a consultant and project manager the Tablet and especially OneNotes integration to all thing MS made my life a joy (mixed with a living hell). Everything was available at my fingertips.

To think that Apple will release a tablet with Spotlight as the core search engine and the iWorks product as its main toolset will reinvigorate this market.

I am at a loss why more tablets are not used as everyone commented upon how productive I was and could see a real benefit.

Tools, Well everything that iWorks offers, a cool Notetaking tool along the lines of Zoho but LOCAL would be a great start. Inking capability in the applications to mark them up would also be a godsend.

My Mac experience is only two weeks old and I love it but do miss my tablet in meetings as it was a lot more subtle and unobtrusive than plonking my Mac on the desk.

Go Apple, you have a beta customer here and will commit my small company of 10 to the product

It's time for Apple to introduce a dock connector for their portables. I'd love to see them take the existing MagSafe connector and put a fiber optic cable in the middle of it. Then they could put ports on the power brick for everything that the Mac has (and lacks) currently. The fiber optic medium has [virtually] unlimited bandwidth potential, especially over short distances. In September of 2006 a test demonstrated transmission rates of 14 terabit over a distance of 160 kilometers. There is no need to keep adding conductors and concocting huge docking station ports like other PC manufactures do. Apple could achieve total port replication and never have to change their connector again. I'd love to see the Mac Tablet introduce "one connector to rule them all".

This could make me finally take the Mac plunge. Here's my wants:

1. Pressure sensitive stylus
2. Light weight device
3. Long battery life
4. Visible outdoors
5. Bluetooth built in
6. WiMax, UMTS or some other 3G wireless built in
7. Multitouch would be nice, but only when I want it. The rest of the time I want my stylus detected but not the part of my hand resting on the screen.

I like timothytripp's ideas. I have these to add to them:

In addition to the "Visible outdoors" item, I would say, a "night time" mode -- for a bus or train or plane. I have a Palm LifeDrive, and the even in the "dimmest" mode, the screen is way too bright for night-time use, and it drains the battery unnecessarily. The current Mac laptops have a built-in light sensor that automatically dims the screen at night. Bring that to the tablet as well.

I also would like to see something like what's on my Wacom tablet: a transparent protective overlay that's removable and replaceable. I would hate for the display/surface to get all scratched up from regular use over time.

In terms of the "stylus vs. multitouch" issue, why not have both? In the current Mac laptops, you have the option to have it ignore trackpad input when a mouse is present. Apple could do something similar in the tablet: ignore "multitouch" when the stylus is detected. That way it wouldn't get all confused if you rest your hand on the screen while writing with the stylus. The stylus should have an eraser too.

I would like it to be completely solid state: no mechanical parts whatsoever (no HD, no DVD, etc.). This could make it extremely durable, and help to prolong the battery life. Because of BlueTooth and Airport, they could even eliminate any ports, except MagSafe, for power. This would make it easier to seal it up against dust & humidity/moisture.

Virtual keyboard: Take advantage of multitouch and allow for a "pop-up" virtual keyboard, so that we can "type" directly to the screen if we want to do that instead of "write" with the stylus. Some people prefer to write, some prefer to type. Let us have the option of both -- without having to use an external keyboard (of course, that could always be an option via bluetooth).

I hope Apple's advanced projects division has been working on refining their handwriting recognition technology, otherwise the appeal of a tablet will more or less remain where it has been the last few years.

Hello everyone, All great ideas. I have a 13" MacBook. I would love to have the touch screen ADDED. You know, just keep the traditional exterial shape and have the features all work together. I like the privacy that a standing up screen gives me. Typing on a touch screen (with a virtual keyboard) would not be my choice if I am looking to buy a new laptop. I think, the only way a tablet will work is to integrate the functionality in the laptop as we currently know it. A "tablet" just doesn't sound appealing. I think most people love their keyboard.

If you ADD the touch screen to the current laptop, make shure that for example the red yellow and green buttons are on the right side of the windows in stead of the top left, because most people are right handed. I'm sure Apple will use a lot of functionalities from the iphone.
How ever in the case of a laptop, the screen is bigger and so a logical result would be to overthink the jobs that differtent fingers of the hand have on specific locations in the screen. For example;
Using your right thumb to scroll the screen up and down, would be more logical than using middle and index finger and move them up and down the screen like we do on the touch pad nowadays.

Hey Steve, iText is your next Killer App!

While patiently awaiting a replacement for my 12" PB G4, I keep running across rumors of a Mac Tablet. Why would anyone want a tablet, unless they were a UPS delivery guy or some sales representative who had to gather signatures? Then when hefting my son's textbook laden 30 pound backpack out of the back of my car, it dawned on me. Apple needs to create the iText.

Imagine using Apple's content negotiating savvy with text book publishers like they currently work with the music and video content industries. In this case, working out mega deals with school districts and universities worldwide for textbooks with live links to constantly updated content. Textbook publishers would have an outlet for copyright protected content while no longer having to go through the expense of hardback publishing and distribution. The revenue sharing possibilities would inject Apple with cash just like the iPod universe has done.

E-books have been done (see Amazon's Kindle), but they're lame because they don't offer any advantage over purchasing a $1.99 paperback that can fit in your back pocket. But with text books, this opens a whole new world of possibilities. I was just joking with my daughter that it was too bad she couldn't Google her American History text book to find out what significant event occurred in the middle colonies in the mid 1600's. Imagine using a touch interface to zoom in on graphs and multimedia content, or to pull up an instant reference, Google search, or dictionary citation. Flipping through pages would be a natural application for a touch interface and notepad (iText).

Swapping 30 pounds of hardback texts for a sleek 1 pound tablet would be a no-brainer. Built-in WiFi and bluetooth would enable teachers to send e-mail homework assignments, checklists, and (Apple iBoard) notes, while also enabling students to submit classroom assignments and tests wirelessly. In addition to the touch interface, they could use bluetooth keyboards, or have keyboards built into their school desks that the iText would dock into to charge.

The market for this would be huge. Unlike most notepads, which target a very small sales force/delivery market, this could mean a iText for every single public school student in the country. Can you imagine the power of having your product in the hands of all those kids? Let's get Apple back into the education market big time.

I'm hoping Steve Jobs and the folks at Apple are way ahead of me on this one. If not, they had better get busting before Bill figures this one out.