Rumor Mill: An Apple Tablet Coming This September?

We've heard it all before, but here we go again with the onslaught of Apple Tablet rumors for the new year. Fueled recent confirmations by the Financial Times, Apple is apparently working on a new way for customers to interact with media purchased via the iTunes store. Hopefuls claim this will be delivered in the form of an oversized 10-inch iPod iTouch. Calling this a stretch probably wouldn't be too far from the truth, but hey... one can always dream, right?

The article claims that Apple is also having talks with book publishers, which could mean heavy competition for Amazon.com's Kindle, which has done a far-exceeding job of dominating the eBook market thus far.

If the product is to be truly released, it'd be interesting to see how the tablet could possible be applied to other technologies out there. Aside from putting popular tablet maker Wacom in the cross hairs as well, we imagine a number of versatile options will explode an untouched market of portable touch-screen applications. From being able to convert into a universal keyboard to having the ability to remotely control an entire home from a single interface/device. The possibilities are there and developers will monetize on them.

There remains, however, two hurdles Apple must clear. First and foremost, battery life must be accounted for. We've seen the built-in batteries to be an excellent move for Apple's Macbook Pro line recently, but the iPhone's battery life has been seen to be pretty much the opposite. Secondly, the device must be priced in a competitive market. We all saw what happen to the Macbook Air. A similar mistake will be unacceptable in this kind of turbulent market.

(Via Wired)

The Air is doing just fine in its market segment. Apple has a perception problem in that people will pooh-pooh one of their products due to its perceived shortcomings, then buy a different model such as a Macbook Pro. Because of this, the maligned product is then seen as a failure. If one checks the sales records of the Air, they'll see that it's selling in decent numbers. The Air is not targeted at the casual notebook market; rather, the machine was made for the executive or pro on the go who doesn't want to lug a 5-7 lb machine around. And the Air is definitely not a form over function machine like the Cube was in 2000.

With regards to the "iTablet", I just don't see it happening unless it's a new paradigm in tablets. Tablet computers have been a sales disappointment over the years, and unless Apple has come up with a redefinition of the tablet, they won't release one. The rumors and hype could be Apple's doing as well; they're notorious for perpetuating rumors of new products with no intention of ever releasing them. We'll see...

posted by CygnusX1 on August 15th 2009 at 5:29am
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