Apple’s iTouch Tablet: the top gadget of 2009
Recently I reported on a rumor that Apple is readying a tablet-sized iTouch for release sometime this year. With Macworld right around the corner, now’s about the time we’d expect leaks of such potential announcements to surface. If Apple really is readying an iTouch tablet device, you better put money on the fact that it will be the hottest gadget of ‘09.
Very little is certain about this new mystery tablet now under lock and key in Cupertino. What we do know (or hope) is that the gadget will probably have a 7- or 9-inch touchscreen, similar to that of the iTouch or iPhone, and will function similar to the iTouch. The memory will be flash-based (I’m thinking 32 or 64 Gb), it will be equipped with Wi-Fi, and will be designed to take advantage of the accelerometer with the games and applications available on Apple’s Apps Store.
I’m also going to suggest that the tablet will have an iSight along with multi-touch capabilities, and will retain a form factor very much like an overgrown iTouch or iPhone. None of my suggestions are too outrageous thus far, but there is one element that will not be shared with the iPhone or the iTouch.
If Apple is to succeed with an iTablet (permit me to coin the phrase for this article’s purposes), the operating system can’t be that of the iPhone or the iTouch…or of the computer-based OSX. The iTablet will need a hybrid graphical user interface that wields multi-touch, with the complexity and power of OSX but simplicity of the handheld version.
I see a nearly full version OSX, simply compressed and scaled down a bit. Such a tablet, if it’s going to appeal to the Apple handheld device crowd and those who enjoy Mac computers, needs to appear fun and easy to pick up, even if it’s a high-powered work horse under the hood.
If Apple really has such a device in the works, you can expect to see another craze like that of the iPod and the iPhone. Imagine the possibilities! Though Apple tried to use the Macbook Air as an ultra-portable, the iTablet would effectively bridge the gap between the iPhone, Ipod and Macs. Aside from going for a jog or hitting the gym, the iTablet would be the ideal size for any Apple app, providing a comfortable amount of space for a qwerty keyboard, while having a small form factor for games and entertainment.
The iTablet would be the “perfect storm” of the computing/entertainment gadget world — a hybrid between iPods and Macs. And with a gaggle of software developers constantly contributing to the Apps Store, Apple now has the ideal market for such a device that it has been waiting for.
If it’s real, it’ll be a phenom.
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January 2nd, 2009
It’s iPod Touch not iTouch and they are not going to release anything like this at this time. Steve Jobs has said on many occasions that the iPhone is their netbook and you could consider the MacBook Air one as well. The picture at the top of this article is totally misleading as well. Even if apple were to release something like this it would not have a disk drive, just as the MacBook Air, it would be able to access disk drives on other computers. Also if they were going to make something like this it would not have only 32GB. With the new releases of 32GB and larger chips, you would expect to see a minimum of 64GB. Also, people are not looking for items like this from Apple. Apple releases products that they know will sell to as many people as possible. People need music players, phones, desktops, and laptops. They are not going to release something like this for quite a few years.
January 2nd, 2009
I have to disagree with Bob, although he’s right about the disk drive. I can’t wait. Going by the feedback on the web a lot of other people can’t either. Why lug a 15″ laptop around when you could carry this around. Imagine, 7 or 9″ with the same operating system as the touch or iphone, you could have about the equivalent of about eight or ten batteries. You could get up to a week or two of battery life.
January 3rd, 2009
way cool! i agree with ken, its something one would wait upon eagerly. this is one of the most anticipated future products ever.
January 4th, 2009
As stated in the piece, there’s absolutely no correlation between the picture in the article and the rumored device. I like the picture only because it demonstrates how an on-screen full qwerty might work. There would be no need for disc drives, I agree.
January 14th, 2009
Sorry Bob, Touch interfaces are a reality, You cant seriously believe that a tablet with a touch interface is that far off, when the “ipod” a gadget one quarter the size works like a champ. All I want is for every computer in my house to work as smoothly as my IPOD touch.
March 2nd, 2009
I WANT ONE AND I WANT IT NOW!!!!
SO COOL
I NEED, I NEED, I WANT, I WANT !!!!
ABSOLUTLY SIMILAR TO STAR TREK TABLETS !!!!
WHEN IT COMES OUT…I WILL OWN IT !!!! THAT I PROMISE.
May 17th, 2009
Um… this is just another stupid rumor. First of all Apple just doesn’t change the iPod Touch’s whole design just like that. Second iPod is famous for being simple not big and clunky. That things a Tablet Mac and for that reason is not qualified as an iPod. Also if you change a design you have to name it differently if it has a really high difference between the one your intending to put it in. Like if I make a touch-screen iPod nano I wouldn’t put it in the nano section I would put it in something different since nano is like an an exclusive little iPod without the touchscreen.
July 12th, 2009
i think is totally cool with disk drive you will not waste money buying movies you already have the apple store should let you put movies on your itouch like the music you put on your itouch from cds . they just want to make money why buy old movies you have for 9.99 when movie stores sell them for 2.00 dlls i mean they just want to make money what about the parents that are struggling and make a sacrifice to buy their kids an itouch the kid can’t buy a movie they already buy so think about that.