Apple is releasing a tablet pc in october. This is a fact. get ready, y’all.

…immediately followed by JK’s comment:

“Pretty good Photoshop job, if you ask me. I can’t believe it’s real. Here’s hoping, though.”

Dorks: Did you even READ JK’s original posting or the many comments that followed after?

I don’t think anyone is drinking anything on this one. Even for something that is clearly a Photoshop hack-job, the amount of discussion generated based on the hope that Apple may even remotely be designing such a device is worth noting. It’s sending a message to Apple that tablet users are seriously interested in a tablet from them. Surely some of us remember the days when we were little when we’d draw pictures of cars or the like, in hopes of having one for real someday. Although much fancier, the underlying motivation is the same.Reality is born through imagination, and I for one enjoy all the creativity that has surrounded this.

Now, I for one would love to at least tryout a tablet from Apple. Would I buy it? Not necessarily. Am I an Apple Fanboy? Certainly not. Just because it’s from Apple doesn’t mean that their choice of design, features, software, etc. fits in with my specific needs and the way I work. I’d be willing to give it a fair chance, however and it would certainly give existing tablet manufactures some useful competition.

Wow; someone photochops a powerbook, doesn’t even go through the trouble of re-arranging the ports on the thing, and everyone ooh’s and aah’s. This is the worst fake ever, and the headline here appears to gulp the KookAid™ with wreckless abandon.

Not sure why the attacks are necessary on someone’s blog. Anyway, I’ll put in my two cents on the tablet pc market. In addition to applications already mentioned, even a cursory goggle search shows that tablets fit well in education, both for students, as well as for faculty and administrators. I’ve used a tablet extensively as a student and a teacher and, given the choice, would do so again. My entire school is pushing tablet pc integration, in fact. The student case in particular is well-documented on sites like http://studenttabletpc.com.

Granted, the platform has its issues, which the tablet fan community readily and openly admits to and discusses. Simply put, it is a new way of interacting with the computer. Historically, I would wager that a very similar conversation took place (e.g., limited application, small marketshare) when the original laptops were introduced (as J.K. would say, when they weighed 30 lbs.). Today, laptops outsell desktops in most markets. In fact, a very similar conversation DID take place when the TV and the telephone were first introduced.

Geez, what’s the big deal about posting about the ‘Apple Tablet’???

Obviously, it was clearly a fake and JK made it pretty clear that it was…

I’d love to see Apple do a TPC, but not holding my breath…

Unfortunately, everything I’ve seen and read since ol’ Stevo came back to Apple tells me it ain’t happenin’ while he’s around….

Remember it was ‘his Steveness’ that killed off the Newt and he said that as far as he was concerned, “computers had keyboards”…..

So it goes….

In the meantime, enjoying my UX90S…..

Nick,

You need to do more research. There are 3 types of tablet pcs out there:
1. Convertables (the kind you mentioned). They look like regular laptops but can swivel the screen for tablet use.

2. Slates. These are just a screen, no keyboard at all. Or only via usb attachment.

3. Hybrids. These are a slate that has an attachable kb. But what sets them apart from the slates is that the keyboard, when attached, can fit into the form factor of the slate somehow, or acts as a screen protector for traveling, etc.

As for your comment on wanting a small slate tablet, you need to look at Motion Computing’s LS800:

http://www.motioncomputing.com/products/tablet_pc_ls.asp

Thanks BobR. I agree, the sharing of information is what makes this all worth-while to me and I am grateful for Frustrated Consumer’s pointing out the origin of that photo. It’s funny how the photo has just recently been posted to a couple of web sites as news, showing how desperate many people are for Apple to produce a tablet, already.

Just a quick comment on the story. I, like many, are fascinated by the Apple Tablet possibility so much that even rumors are fun. And I’d hate to miss out on the one rumor that ends up being true!

As far as JkOnTheRun, it’s funny that anyone would be jumping on them for journalistic weakness and “questionable” posts. They have established a reputation very quickly from the masses of blogs out there because they are strong in those very areas.

If you think about it, they are always cautious about claims, this article included. They present info in an informative manner with value added, and they consistently find topics that are interesting to a broad audience. And, in fact, despite the hard work to prepare the flow of news, it costs you nothing to read. Sounds like a great deal to me!

It was, however, neat to see Frustrated Consumer find a source for the picture. It’s a good thing when comments can sometimes be the best part of a blog entry!

Tablet PC User- research what? I posted what I was provided, I stated I didn’t believe it was real. What more do you want?

“I don’t follow stuff like engadget’s Photoshop contest because they don’t interest me. I was emailed the link and photo by a reader just today and made it clear in my post that I didn’t believe it. I (like many others) would love to see Apple make a Tablet though.”

Doesn’t sound like good blogging / journalism to just post things without researching it. You can lead many people astray with that kind of thinking!

As for an apple tablet, meh! I would love to see gas prices below $1.00 a gallon!

In my view the reason that tablets have such a small market share is because they all get the form factor wrong. What I want is something like the Sony Reader, or maybe a big PDA, with an optional separate keyboard that attaches when you need it using a cable (or maybe Bluetooth) in the office for desktop-like use. Devices like CD/DVD drives etc could also connect using firewire or USB for when you need them, but the device should have a built-in SD card slot for quickly moving documents to it if you don’t want to use WiFi or ethernet.

All the tablets I’ve seen so far are really just notebooks that you can switch into a pseudo-tablet form factor, but still with all the weight and bulk of a notebook. No good at all for me, and not in the slightest bit appealing.

I want something that’s as close to a pad of paper as possible that I can take into meetings with all my documents and take some simple notes on when I need to – maybe annotating the documents as the meeting progresses. The documents should be displayed as close as possible to full-size on the screen to make them readable without scrolling.

If Apple can produce one of these then they’ve absolutely definitely got a purchaser in me. Even if it was a Windows device I’d be tempted, even though Windows is a total disaster area. UMPC is just too small for me – it reminds me of the Newton which was a failure IMHO because it also got the form-factor wrong.

I like my UMPC, which certainly counts as a slate-form TabletPC. I can use the slate in situations where it’d be impossible to use a traditional clam-shell design. The slate form allows for a much smaller handful than a convertable tablet, and when on the move I don’t miss a keyboard at all. And when I am stationary, adding a keyboard is simple via USB or Bluetooth or docking port.

Still, the form-factor is not for everyone… none of them is. That’s why having a bunch of forms is GOOD, not bad, so everyone can choose the best fit for themselves from the smartphone -> PPC -> UMPC -> slate -> convertable -> clamshell -> desktop spectrum.

As to having Apple joining the tablet market, well, Apple as a company and as a product line leaves me cold (I think they’ve grown a bit complacent about their hardware quality and a bit too reliant on their marketing and case design to move product) but I do hope they release some sort of tablet computer eventually. If for no other reason, Jobs presenting an iPad at MacWorld would draw a lot of iFans to the form and that’d create some real press attention.

(And then hopefully Microsoft and OEMs would take notes on how to properly push the form. Apple does a good job on promotion, too.)

— Steve

Tablet PCs are perfect for Medical and Military situations. Also, with WiFi we are eventually going to have NetBoot and NetRestore via wireless. Imagine taking your tablet of a corporate campus and not being able to take your Home directory with you — its all on the server — but then being able to VPN in from home. Security is important.

Woof I guess Tablet PC’s cant spell check handwriting.. LOL..

James do you know what the TabletPC marketshare is? So quite honestly the TabletPC has become more of a niche market for enteprise/vertical apps only..

I have had two TabletPC’s and quite honestly they are more work than they are worth.. My 2 cents..

That’s great Fabian. Maybe next you could work on your spelling and grammar…..

I am a Tablet PC user, and I won’t ever in my life go back to something not-tablet. Final. I use it in school, and not only has it gotten me way better grades, but I have finished things a lot earlier, was able to study a whole lot more effectively, and I have had it a lot easier and actually something like FUN learning. Anyone that tries a tablet can see fo themselves how valuable the extra finctionality is.

//F2theD