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tagged: T3 Magazine – Apple iSlate: 10 things we can expect
1/ Apple iSlate or Apple iPad?
A cluster of names have been bandied around over the past 12 months, but it seems you should put your money on the device being annointed the iSlate, especially after Apple bought up the domain name iSlate.com last year. It saw the company’s shares reach an all-time high over the festive season. Of course, if you don’t agree with us, you can always have a flutter on one of the alternative monikers.
2/ OLED and LED screens
It looks like the Tablet will be packing more efficient screen technology, since Apple was reported to have sucked up all the mid-size OLED screens that were available.
Aaron Vronko, the chief executive of Rapid Repair, a company that specializes in iPhone and iPod service repairs provides good reason why Apple will opt for OLED: “It’s most likely an OLED screen but not a 10-inch, since it’s doubtful any manufacturer would be capable of producing them in quantity.” Don’t challenge Apple, Sir. Not wise. Vronko also believes that the screen’s lower power consumption, which will allow Apple to provide iPhone-esque battery life, will see Apple opt for OLED instead.
But perhaps Apple will not abandon LED alltogether, as the screen tech was also rumoured to be bought up in droves by the company, suggesting that two models of the device might be made – each sporting a different type of screens.
3/ 7-inch touchscreen
It could well be the case that two touchscreen sizes come out of the Apple bag. Many believe that an entry-level 7-inch version will launch first and a premium 10-inch version will appear some time after. An industry insider back in December claimed that it was virtually impossible to buy a 7-inch touchscreen component at the time. One source added, “If you want to buy a 7-inch touchscreen at the moment, you can’t.” The plot thickens…
4/ Sexy OS
Famed for its ability to deliver such gorgeous tech offerings as the iPhone and the sleek iMac, apparently the Tablet’s operating system is going to be one sexy beast. The industry source who had apparently clasped eyes on the device claimed, “The UI has a good bit of new sexy to it.” It supports the claim that the Tablet will offer a distinctly new looking user interface previously not seen on the iPhone and the iPod, and not the MacOS X which some tech circles had pointed to.
5/ E-reader
We are caught under something of an E-reader tidal wave of late, and Apple looks set to join the party. Condé Naste is already rumoured to be preparing a digital edition of Wired specifically for the device, while Harper Collins recently announced that talks were ongoing with Apple to work on content for the Tablet.
6/ Stylus
Apple is likely to follow in its own iPhone and iPod footsteps by offering a multi-touch device, but for those who prefer a change from the usual finger-swiping, a stylus could also accompany the tablet, according to patent filed back in November. Steve Jobs did famously state at the launch of the iPhone that Apple had “invented a new technology called multi-touch. It works like magic, you don’t need a stylus, and it’s far more accurate than any interface ever shipped.”
That said, the inclusion of a stylus makes perfect sense: it would support handwriting recognition, which is handy in a machine designed for a host of business and work-related tasks – not just watching videos.
7/ Games galore
The ebook-reading, internet-surfing, music-playing device also looks set to add a little gaming fun into the mix with reports that EA is the latest company to sign up to the Apple Tablet cause. According to the Wall Street Journal, the games publisher is set to thrust games such as FIFA, Spore and Sims into Apple’s new device.
8/ Apps
It’s Apple’s latest success story, and as such it’s strongly speculated that when the tablet is revealed it will arrive with a selection of apps to accompany it. The Cupertino-based company has apparently asked app developers to prepare full screen resolution demos for an event in January which is likely to refer to the planned press conference.
An anonymous source told Business Insider: “They’ve told select developers that as long as they build their apps to support full screen resolution – rather than a fixed 320X480 – their apps should run just fine.”
9/ Price
So how much are we going to have to pay for this latest piece of essential Apple tech? Way back in July 2009, a figure of around $500 – 800 was mooted, and rumours of acquiring the device via a series of network providers would apparenlty help subsidise a mammoth $800 price tag. On that basis, in the UK we can perhaps look at forking out for the equivalent of a high-end netbook and then pay a contract for the 3G lovin’, but with the tablet expected to pack a whole lot of features it may well be justified.
10/ Tablet launching in the UK
Apple is said to have been in talks with Orange, 02 and Vodafone to stock the Tablet, with the trio of operators set to bundle the device with 3G mobile broadband contracts. A French Orange executive almost managed to give the whole game away having claimed the company would stock Apple’s tablet, before hastily retracting the statement and leaving the subject very much still up for speculation.
