iPhone: Maybe I should wait for the iTablet
The rumor mill is churning out the speculation on a Mac Tablet again, and the expectations are higher than ever.
First, Apple has let it be known they are planning a "product transition" (http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/21/an-itease-something-cool-and-cheap-from-apple/) and have a lot of new stuff in the pipeline. By "new" it is generally assumed they mean tablets because that would be the next logical step for them.
Second, Mike Arrington (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/07/21/we-want-a-dead-simple-web-tablet-help-us-build-it/) announces that he wants a web tablet, which stirs up excitement over the form factor. Rob Bushway (http://www.gottabemobile.com/Is+TechCrunch+For+Real+About+The+Web+Tablet+I+Dont+Think+So+And+Heres+Why.aspx), however, is skeptical, pondering if this might be Arrington's way of spilling the secret of an Apple tablet without actually saying it.
Third, check out this quote from a previously accurate informant for MacDailyNews (http://www.macdailynews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/rumor_apples_secret_product_is_macbook_touch/):
[Think MacBook screen, possibly a bit smaller, in glass with iPhone-like, but fuller-featured Multi-Touch. Gesture library. Full Mac OS X. This is why they bought P.A. Semi. Possibly with Immersion's haptic tech. Slot-loading SuperDrive. Accelerometer. GPS. Pretty expensive to produce initially, but sold at "low" price that will reduce margins. Apple wants to move these babies. And move they will. This is some sick shit. App Store-compatible, able to run Mac apps, too. By October at the latest]
All that sounds extremely exciting. but as cool as a Macbook touch would be, does Apple have a compelling reason to launch such a product? Absolutely - iPhone apps.
Aside from the obvious cool factor of running iPhone apps on a full slate computer, the ability to build and test these apps on one machine would be tremendously useful for app developers. Seems like too small a market segment to bother targeting, except, as Windows has shown, the operating system with the most applications wins.
As Loren Heiny states directly (good luck to him (http://www.lorenheiny.com/2008/07/20/more-cancer-challenges-ahead/), BTW), The iPhone is the most interesting platform (http://www.lorenheiny.com/2008/07/20/the-iphone-is-the-most-interesting-platform/), and I agree: the device itself is incentive enough to attract developers. Add to that a dedicated venture capital fund and a distribution system built into one of the world's biggest media retailers. If Apple topped that off with a machine developers could use to build apps and test their interaction with multi-touch, GPs and accelerometer, they could dominate the mobile market through sheer volume of developers. Furthermore, having all those developers working in Mac OS X building apps for iPhone OS X should help to bring more apps to Mac, a persistent weak point for them.
This is, of course, all speculation, but the pieces are in place for Apple to cement their position in the mobile app market by releasing a product no one else can match. Those who can match the hardware, like Dell, don't have the software. Those who must fight Apple in the mobile app market, like Nokia, don't build computers. If Apple launches a tablet that hits those rumored features, it will give them a subtle but serious advantage.
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Labels: mobile tech
iPhone: Maybe I should wait for the iTablet
posted by Sumocat at 7/22/2008 05:53:00 PM
2 Comments:
A bigger screened iPod Touch like device that's a great browser, great reader, and great remote control AND uses the same dev platform as the current Touch/iPhone and I think you have close to a knock out punch when it comes to total market influence.
It's not just about the desktop-style OS anymore. It's about the collective numbers of devices. If Apple continues along this path, it's not going to be too much longer before Dell and HP with their "limited" product focus is going to get overwhelmed in numbers by Apple's suite. This in turn will attract more developers and interesting products in a growing ecosystem. Even if Microsoft maintains its lopsided leaded in total desktop OS numbers, it'll be a shock to the OEMs/industry if Apple becomes number one in total device influence.
By
Anonymous, at 7/23/2008 03:55:00 PM
"Total market/device influence"... Hmmm... Yes, I think I like that term. And definitely, a tablet with iPhone capabilities will be a major step toward getting that.
BTW, I think I did HP a disservice by not mentioning them. I think they recognize the threat and are taking countermeasures. If they increase their handheld market and keep up the natural input, they could be a player, but it's not the strongest effort.
By
Sumocat, at 7/23/2008 04:26:00 PM
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