Apple Tablet – Will you buy one?

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apple tabletI don’t know what it will look like. I don’t know how big the screen will be. I don’t know how long the battery will last and I don’t even know how much it will cost. But, despite not knowing any of those things, I do know that I’ll be buying one. It’s not a question of if, it’s a question of when. The moment it’s officially announced, I’ll be slapping down my Visa to order one. I don’t even have to think about it. Am I too much of an Apple fan girl to know any better? No. I just know that when it comes to Apple products, that they are game changers and I want to get in on the game as soon as possible.

The buzz the last few months has been all bout the Barnes & Noble nook eBook reader. But in my opinion, as soon as the iTablet or whatever it will end up being called comes on the market, my favorite eBook reader will change from my iPhone to the Apple tablet. The same goes for my favorite handheld game system (which also happens to be an iPhone) and maybe even my favorite couch surfing device which is a Macbook Pro. I’m not so sure about the last one as I prefer a real keyboard. But we’ll see…

I’ve been We’ve all been waiting for this device for years and if we believe all the rumors about a special event to be held next month, that wait is almost over. Will you buy one?

37 thoughts on “Apple Tablet – Will you buy one?”




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  2. Fan girl? Yes! I’ve been using tablets for years, and currently have a brilliant Windows 7 device with multi touch, thin as a pencil, and 5 hours battery life.

    Of course, as far as the Apple world is concerned, there isn’t anything else. So it’s no wonder that this will be seen as a revolution for them.

    Well Apple fans, welcome to 2005.

  3. Really depends on the price. But the part that will suck is you know that the first gen will be about a 7″ screen, but the 2nd gen will be a 10″ screen with faster processor and more memory. 🙂 But I am looking forward to what they will do. They tend to come out of left field and offer more than the market is expecting – all with that typical Apple flair in design and simplicity. And yes I will buy one. 🙂

  4. I’m ready to buy. Obviously Wall Street is excited as the Apple stock went up $6.94 per share today to a new high. That gain alone may be enough to pay for one 🙂

  5. I totally would, but I think it’s going to be too big to fit in my coat pocket. And probably a bit too pricey on day 1.

    …but we’ll see.

  6. I’m not sure yet. Those who think Apple will release “a tablet like the rest of the tablets” are similar to Steve Balmer, who, in the spring of 2007, dismissed Apple’s coming entry into the phone market with a “good luck, nubie!” attitude, and has since watched as every Windows phone maker has moved away from that platform and toward the devices trying to catch up with Apple’s game-changer. The iPhone was like nothing ever seen on the mobile phone market before, and still has competitors playing catch-up 2.5 years later. I expect any new form or device to do the same.

    Design innovation is one of the things that powers Apple. The palm rests and central trackpad on every laptop on the market was an Apple innovation. USB was not the only connection port on any computer before the iMac. Floppy drives were de rigour until Apple dropped them a decade ago. Built-in Ethernet ports were on Macs back before Windows 98 had shipped. And Apple still owns the technology behind the Newton handwriting recognition, which, though roundly criticized in version 1.0, morphed into a fantastically accurate learning system by the final version of that software. It’s a part of OS X known as Inkwell, and I think will be an interesting part of any tablet-based unit they release.

    Now, as to whether or not I’ll get one – it will depend on many things. I love my iPhone, and can take notes, surf, email, and do other things in a mobile situation well enough to not feel any “missing” piece. If I need more in the field, I’d have my MacBookPro. I really can’t see myself putting anything into the gulf between those two. I had a Newton when the Palm III came into my life, and it was soon abandoned, not because it wasn’t a useful device, but it was too large to carry. And at that time, I had a courier bag of tools, disks, and such that I carried at work in my role as support tech. The Palm was just handier to use for recording information, because it was in my shirt pocket, not my bag.

    I personally still don’t think they are going to come out with anything in this space. Of course, up until a month before buying an iPhone, I was happy with my SonyEricson phone and my Palm T|C. Looming reality is a much more heady environment than even the rarified atmosphere of pure speculation.

  7. Yeah, OSX comes with Inkwell – too bad it’s useless to the point of embarassment (not just on standalone wacom tablets, but on a real Modbook.) Axiotron finally shipped QuickScript for the modbook, so using handwriting on the Actual Tablet Mac that Already Ships is finally plausible, no thanks to Apple…

    The modbook makes it pretty clear that a “tablet mac” is a non-starter (except for certain specialized niches, like CAD and drawing, where it’s dreamy – but basically as a “portable Cintiq” and if you haven’t heard of the Cintiq, the modbook isn’t for you either.) What *might* be plausible is a 7″ iPhone, given a few not-yet-revealed innovations (or maybe some not-yet-invented ones, which might suggest why it didn’t come out the last N times this particular fantasy has been revived…)

  8. im just hoping for updated macbook pros at the event in january!

    and yes, i will most likely get one if it is not priced to high.

  9. Apple has a built in fan base that will line up around the corner to purchase whatever they release. It hardly matters if it’s useful or revolutionary…as long as it’s esthetically pleasing.

    But if they can redefine a niche product (tablets) and sell a few to people who otherwise wouldn’t buy an Apple computer, it could be a good thing for them as it would increase their market share in the PC market.

  10. I’m absolutely convinced their tablet will be designed like nothing else on the planet and ease of use will be beyond imagination.
    On the other hand we might have to wait two years before getting copy&paste like in the iphone – and simple facts like this shift the perspective back to normal again.
    Personally, I’m waiting for a really portable all in one tablet with a battery life worth mentioning since ages … wait and see what’s coming up, maybe buy on day 2 …

    1. I don’t want the tablet to be like the modbook. I don’t want a touchscreen Macbook at all. I want an iPod Touch that has a 3x larger display. I want to be able to run all my favorite iPhone / Touch apps on it. Play games, watch videos, surf the web, read books, magazines and comics, etc. Of course I want the battery life to be better than anything we’ve seen so far. While I’m dreaming, I also want it to have an inductive charger, a built in joystick for gaming, a GPS and… hmmmm… I’ll think of more later. 🙂

  11. In line with some earlier comments on this post, I can see Apple fans going out and getting this (those with the cash to spare). I can also see many of the easily influenced friends and associates of those people doing the same. I would not count myself in that number. As a supporter of open source and open standards, i am backing Android and looking forward to quality tablet devices hitting the streets in 2010. It’s about time someone gave Apple a run for their money.

  12. I’m firmly in the PC camp and not a lover of Mr. Job’s sealed universe, but I’d seriously consider buying this, if moderately priced, as a vastly improved ebook reader.

  13. Re: Daniel McNutt

    And by analogy, you would happily buy an Apple branded car, made from shiny plastic. No matter that it only accepts fuel from the Apple Store Gas Station, and can only go on roads approved by Steve Jobs. The hood is welded shut and can only be opened by certified Apple technicians. In a year from now it will be deemed obsolete, since a new model with better blinker fluid will come out.

    But hey, the plastic is soooo shiny!

  14. It all depends on what it does. If it still relies on a closed app store mentality, I’m not interested. In order to get me interested there have to be apps to do everything I do on my laptop now… and that’s never going to happen if it’s a product that requires apps to be developed specifically for it.

  15. Absolutely NOT!!!! I have never owned an Apple and I never will. I wouldn’t own an Apple if you gave it to me, IPhone or any other Mac. I haven’t like them since 1989. I guess you can call me an AntiApple. I’m Dennis and I’m a PC!!!

    1. @Dennis I doubt I’d like an Apple product from 1989 either. You should really try checking out something more current sometime. It might surprise you 🙂

  16. The Barnes and Nobel eReader is based on Android, and they are opening up the whole thing, so any company can create an eReader with support from Barnes and Nobel for it. It is possible that there will be many companies with devices like the Nook. I think these devices will be big competion especially in price, so the whole market for eReaders will not go to Apple, as someone suggested previously.

  17. @Julie I have. Most of my students use the MacBook. I don’t know what it is. Maybe it is the single button or the open apple key. I just have an aversion to it all. Or it might be that I the software that I use won’t run on a Mac. either way I still wouldn’t take one if you gave it to me.

  18. I’ve had an Apple tablet; it was called “Newton” and it was great, until Jobs killed it.

    A Jobs tablet… now there’s a thing I’ll never ever buy. Or will even accept as a gift.

  19. I own an iphone only because its shiny. I own an ipod because it makes me feel cool. I own an imac because it is also also shiny. I work with Windows because it is so unreliable that for the last 20 years I have been fixing them to earn a living. Thank you Windows for not being shiny. Thank you for your blue screens, your missing dll files, your non hardware compliant specs, and most of all your thank you for your dedicated users who help me put bread on the table day after day. I hope the Apple iSlate will be shiny. I will buy one only if its shiny.

  20. I’d rather they allowed me to use a Bluetooth keyboard with the iPhone. Then I’d buy an iPhone (and keyboard and app) like a shot. Any iTablet is likely to be too big to fit in my pocket.

  21. I might if not too outrageously priced and if it has truly usable HWR. I moved from the Palm Tx to a Ipod touch and though I like it, the killer feature for me would be the ability to take notes in a meeting and have it transfer to text and my other computers. Also, why doesn’t Apple have Ipod Tasks and Notes sync with outlook the way Contacts and Calendar does?

    As above, I might buy one if it is truly the Newton 2010.
    *Needs an SD slot
    *WiFi and Bluetooth
    *Needs a full day battery life
    *needs a port expander
    I hope it can use my existing iPod apps I have purchased

  22. @Justin: Thanks – I thought I was the only one who noticed that the tablet concept isn’t exactly new. Not sure what the fuss is all about.

    @Hercule: Amen. Why Apple won’t let us use a BT keyboard with the iPhone is beyond me. It certainly doesn’t cost them anything to allow the drivers to be added.

    I’ve been thinking on this subject today and blogged about it myself. While I’m convinced that IF Apple decides to build a tablet, it will be shiny and sexy and fanboys will proclaim its awesomeness.

    The flaws and first-gen problems will be largely overlooked by the masses. Not sure why Apple users don’t admit that their hardware crashes and their software isn’t perfect, but that’s just me.

    But whether or not the fabled Apple tablet ends up being a slate Macbook, or a big iTouch/iPhone, the fact remains that Microsoft found a very limited market for the same product. The slate Tablet PC was often frustrating because of it’s input methods and lack of physical keyboard.

    Only one thing has changed in recent years to make the slate form factor more appealing – and that’s touch technology. It’s improvement makes the tablet much more usable, and now that we’ve trained the users with touch-enabled smartphones…

    I suspect we’ll see both MS and Apple see a renewed interest from consumers on Tablet PCs and may everyone win.

  23. Working at a university, I know a lot of Apple users. 1 or 2 out of 10 like Apple because they’re trendy while the rest like Apple because of OSX’s interface, reliability, web-development tools, and/or *NIX underpinnings.

    The image of Apple users as being willing to buy anything shiny is amusing, but it’s only a stereotype (my experience is anecdotal, but the lukewarm response to AppleTV, the Cube, the Newton, etc is not). Likewise, I haven’t met any Apple users that “don’t admit that their hardware crashes and their software isn’t perfect”.

    Also, I’m not aware of anyone claiming that consumer tablets are new, but Apple does get some credit here since they were in the game early with the Newton (released in 1993).

    Anyway, I personally have no plan to buy one, but it’ll be interesting to see what Apple comes up with. So far, medium-to-large tablets have had mediocre interfaces and/or limited features.

  24. No, I won’t buy one but I am waiting for the refresh of the Macbook Pro line to replace my 2008 MBP that was broken when I slipped on the ice a week ago. I’ve been having a few problems with random shutdowns but I suspect it’s due to Vodafone’s crappy mobile software.

    I don’t like the Apple ‘sealed universe’ but it’s not necessary to be bound by it when running on a BSD base. That’s why I don’t have an iPhone and why I won’t be buying one, and why my 5.5G iPod is Rockboxed.

  25. I’ll need to wait for the specs, but I think it’ll likely make a great alternative to a netbook for long weekend breaks where I need something that I can be productive on, but don’t want to lug my laptop with me.

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