oops - Apple "iPad"

[emmodad]

well, as the entire universe knows by now, Borders slipped up and made public mention of an upcoming Apple "iPad"

 

given totality of public info (+ innuendo, rumor and heresay ) such a product would most probably be focused as e-book and media presentation platform.

 

would make one heck of a couch-surfing remote, too....

 

[audiozorro]

The Apple Wish List is pretty long for this and other products.

 

A device that can offer superior eBook and music capabilities.

 

S/PDIF Digital I/O

Firewire and USB support to external hard drives

1-4 GB Ram

Touchscreen

Streamline OS

Rechargeable battery

Wi-Fi

IR

Bluetooth

 

And speaking of rumors what became of the Mac Brick which I thought was supposed to be something slightly bigger than the Mac Mini but much smaller than the Mac Pro. A size that would permit 1 or 2 internal PCIe cards (actually I would prefer 1 PCI slot and 1 PCIe slot).

 

Obviously this is all speculation and hope, but while I'm at it let me add the suggestion Chris stated:

 

"A relational database, and a little open sourcing, could make iTunes unbeatable."

 

I would be happy is iTunes enabled import/export capabilities to a universal format or program such as CSV, Microsoft Excel or Microsoft Access.

 

 

[Audio_ELF]

Of course the other way to read the option in the survey is "are you holding off buying an Amazon Kindle or Sony eReader (or other device) until the launch of the rumoured Apple tablet device to see what functionality it has."

 

Personally any Apple tablet needs the capability to run OS X applications while have the simple control mechanism of the iPhone / iPod Touch for common tasks (such as browsing). I want to be able to run EOS Utility for example on it, even if I need to use external disk for majority of storage.

 

Eloise.

 

[cfmsp]

 

"are you holding off buying an Amazon Kindle or Sony eReader (or other device) until the launch of the rumoured Apple tablet device to see what functionality it has."

 

 

I've been holding off since the Newton.

 

clay

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Audio_ELF]

I'm still looking for a replacement for a Psion 5

 

Eloise

 

[audiozorro]

but there needs to be major hardware/software updates in order for Apple to participate in the high definition Blu ray market.

 

Actually some of us do care. I am watching and listening to the Chris Botti Live Blu ray disc on a Dell computer and it is fantastic.

 

If Apple had their act together they would lead the Blu ray audio market, which IMO is the next step up from DVD-A and possibly SACD with (please excuse me) video.

 

Fat chance of Apple being a leader in Blu ray audio but they will get dragged along even if their Mac solutions continue to be more expensive than the Windows solutions.

 

[Audio_ELF]

I was reading a rumor earlier that iTunes 9 may be released at a keynote speach next month and may support BluRay. So who knows.

 

Eloise

 

[souptin]

I also love watching music on video. Flashy surround sound movie soundtracks leave me cold, but a good music dvd through a decent system gives me chills of the good kind. Come to think of it, the same goes for movies that make good use of music rather than explosions for their audio impact.

 

As for BluRay, I don't know. It's easy to put your CD collection onto the computer, but with DVD it's a hassle, and I understand that it's even worse with BluRay.

 

As for the reborn Newton, or iPad or whatever... It's one of those rumours that's been going around and around in one form or another for years. Sooner or later it will come true, but whether it will become a ubiquitous device that everyone wants is another thing entirely. Seems like everyone's tried and failed at least once. Maybe anything that's too big for a pocket but too small to be a laptop is destined for obscurity. Unless it's very shiny.