The Apple Tablet

Fresh off Apple’s redonkulous Q3 numbers and their war declaration on the PC industry with new (sexy) iMac’s, me thinks it is appropriate to talk some Apple. In particular, the mythical Apple Tablet.

If you asked me a year ago if the fabled device was real, I would have said that it had a 50% chance of truth. Six months ago? I would have told you 95% true. Today? The Apple Tablet is 100% alive, and I’m 95% sure it is going to market, possibly as soon as Q1 2010.

Here’s some background on the long-debated existence of the device:

• When Steve Jobs returned to Apple, he shelved a proposed PDA type of product because he didn’t see a use for it. Despite how popular those were for a few years, he was right in that they quickly faded.
• For at least a few years, Apple has been researching and developing a tablet of sorts. The project has multiple rumored code names like ‘iPad’, ‘MacBook Touch’, iProd’, ‘Tablet’, etc etc. For all I know, they’re all true or all fake, not important. Apple had a device in the early 90′s (Steve Jobs no longer at the helm) called the “Newton MessagePad” that was essentially a touch tablet writer. It is belived that the iPhone’s development superceded the tablet and the project was again put on the backburned in 2007.
• Going even further back, to 2003, Apple apparently had a tablet built but it had poor battery life, poor graphics performance, and the components alone were too expensive to market with proper margins. Notably Steve Jobs asked, “What good is it except for surfing the web in the bathroom?”
• There have been multiple prototypes designed over the course of 4-7 years with varying code names. The first built model that resembles the one we might actually see was built at the end of 2008.

So let’s flash forward to present day. Information, not official, has begun to leak in sorts about a new device Apple is working particularly diligently on, with Steve Jobs himself apparently spearheading the operation.

Here’s what we think we know:

• There have been at least three prototype devices built. The first one was 7″ and judged to be too small. The latest screen size everyone seems to agree that Apple is set to launch is a 10.7″ screen.
• It runs iPhone OS, a derivative of standard Mac OS X, and in very many ways looks like an iPhone with a curved back and possible Home button.
• It isn’t meant to compete with the popular trend of NetBooks. Instead, it is meant to expand iTunes and the the iPod’s entertainment functionality to movies, books, newspapers, television, etc. At least one version will also have communication (internet, email, etc) functionality as well.
• And boy are they taking that books/print idea seriously! Apparently, Apple has been in active talks with many media companies about a new device they’re working on. And they’re not just going after ebooks and magazines. Apple is going to try to revolutionize print as we know it. Notables leaked are the New York Times, McGraw Hill, and Oberline Press which are all working to move their content over to iTunes. Books, movies, newspapers, and even textbooks.
• There will apparently be two versions of the Tablet; one with a webcam (presumably iSight) and one for educational use. The webcam version would just be a personal model for home; movies, internet, reading, etc. The educational idea gives greater volumes of possibilities. Think of it from two angles, a publisher and a student. When a publisher sells a book, they only sell it once. Whereas that book is then resold multiple times independently without them ever getting residual revenues. What if they could license a textbook to students directly (iTunes) for only a year and then sell that content again the next year? They’d increase revenues, decrease prices, cut out the middle man (book stores), and be able to introduce new versions in a revolutionary way. Now for the students; what student wouldn’t want a single device to carry all their textbooks on? Books would be cheaper, the device lighter on the carrying load, and more portable for use.
• Pricing seems like it will fall between the $599-$999 range, less than the new MacBooks but still double a standard Netbook.
• There have been rumors of discussion with both AT&T and Verizon (interesting) about providing support for the device but there is no consensus on that.

Many thought the project would simply never gain traction at Apple because of the lofty ambitions it carries. But apparently over the last six months, everything has fallen into place. Jobs, who’s overseeing the project from his home, office and hospital beds, has finally achieved that much-sought aura of satisfaction. Look for the announcement as soon as January in their annual keynote (not MacWorld anymore though) and then I’d expect an iPhone like hype with the thing finally being available in June/July of next year.

Will it be as successful as the iPod and iPhone?

Bigger question: Would you buy one?