My Expectations for the Apple Tablet
Yes, I know it has not been announced officially, but c’mon. If you believe Apple is going to reveal anything less than a tablet today, you’re insane. With the recent spike in rumors from credible sources (like the New York times) and hype surrounding this event, Apple will get bashed on if they don’t announce the tablet or something better. If Apple was not going to announce it, they would have said not to get our hopes up a long time ago.
Anyways, with all of the hype surrounding the mysterious device, I’m going to throw in my own predictions for what they’re worth, and then we can compare them with the actual product after today’s announcement. Sound good? Alright.
Name
iSlate, iPad, we’ve heard a number of possible names registered by dummy corporations held by Apple, but I really hope they give up the “i” naming scheme. I think they should just go with Apple Tablet, like the Apple TV.
Screen
While the rumors have been all over the place, I think most people are putting the tablet down as a 10 inch screen. I hope it will be OLED, since those screens are so nice. That will make it more expensive, of course.
Selling Point/Focus
This is the part that I am most interested in. Steve Jobs obviously has big plans for a device like this, or he wouldn’t be announcing it. It has to either replace a laptop or do something completly new and so useful that everyone will buy one. Everyone already has a computer, and Steve probably doesn’t want to hurt the Macbook line. And no one will really buy it just because it is more portable than a laptop, because that is what iPhones are for. I don’t think it will be as versatile as a Mac, but I believe that is where this will be marketed at.
Keyboard
I think it will have a virtual keyboard, but I am really hoping it allows Bluetooth keyboard input. They could market that pretty well if they made one of those stylish apple keyboards a recommended accesory for the tablet.
Internet
this should have 802.11n wifi, of course. I don’t believe it will have a cellular 3G connection, but I believe it could have a data connection. If they gave us Kindle style free Internet and then paid for it like Amazon does with an extra few cents on every song/movie/book you download over that connection in the iTunes store, that would really male this product amazing. That is what would sell this Tablet. Free 3G. Do it, Apple. You know you want to.
Content
While not directly related to Tablet hardware, Apple is really going to push their iTunes and App stores in everyone’s face. Throw in some nice Ebook deals, and the Internet mentined above, and you have everyone always connected to their store, on a media-rich device. They will make tons of money off that.
Pricing
I think the tablet will be $1000 or less. Any more and you are invading Macbook territory. They may be able to push the price down with subsidies somehow. I don’t know about that. Some people have mentioned multiple versions of the device, but I’m not sold on that. The only reason to do that would be for more storage space, since Apple is not known for giving you too many options.
This is all just speculation, of course. I really hope most of it is true though. We’ll see in a few hours I suppose,