Wednesday, November 07, 2007

Apple Tablet: what the heck is it good for?

Daring Fireball thinks the Apple tablet rumor will turn out to be true:
Apple Tablet PC is real, says Asus - Crave at CNET.co.uk:

...So, can Apple turn the Tablet PC into a success when previous attempts have failed? The short answer is 'yes'. Any company that can make a mobile phone with no buttons, no picture messaging, slow Web access and no video capture into the most desirable phone on the planet can easily make tablets popular...
I wasn't paying attention until DF spoke. So now it's at least mildly interesting.

I have no idea what I'd use it for, but I'm not Apple's demographic. They haven't done anything new since the original Nano that's ready for me to buy. (I very much want an iPhone with 1993 Palm Pilot 1.0 capabilities, but that's just another proof point that Apple isn't selling to me.)

What the heck would a slate/tablet be good for besides vertical markets? Did you ever try reading the newspaper on one? (Hint: laptops don't require a stand and they have other value.)

I'll be looking around for a clue ...

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

1) Net boot in limited range with wireless firewire (next year's spec not this current one they're trying for)

2) Mobile homes (portable homes 2) in Leopard Server

- Great millitary / industrial uses with limited signal wireless net boot... tablet would be near worthless if lost / stolen if it was a true wireless thin client.

Anonymous said...

What I would like is to have my desktop computer transmit its video signal wirelessly to an ultralight, touch sensitive, tablet. 8.5 x 11 would be a good size - with a touch keyboard similar to the iPhone's concept. It might even replace books for me.