Let the tablet frenzy begin: Apple announces event next week
And lo, the mighty gods of Apple came down from their Cuptertion Mountain on Monday with invitations for members of the press to attend an event Jan. 27 in San Francisco. Though no details were revealed, the invitation contained the tantalizing phrase: “come see our latest creation.”
Of course, if that new creation is not the long-rumored, much-hyped tablet/slate thingy, there will likely be riots on the Streets of San Francisco next week.
The Apple event is scheduled for 10 a.m. PT in the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater in San Francisco. No word on whether there will be a livestream from the event for the many, many others out there who are eager to get a glimpse of this mythical gadget.
According to The Wall Street Journal, sources have told them that the device would be a 10- or 11-inch touch-screen tablet offering wireless access and sporting a price tag of $1,000.
I have a hard time betting against Apple. But what I’m waiting to see, and probably can’t really know until we have all the details, is this:
What problem will this solve for me?
It’s not clear to me — yet– why I would want this in my living room rather than my laptop. Clearly, Apple thinks there’s a slot between the iPhone and the MacBook where this thing makes sense, and fills a consumer needs. Others have failed to really spark that market. But if anyone can, it’s Apple. And if they can, it’ll be because there will be services and software offered in connection that give a utility that’s about more than just the form factor of the device.
That said, even with all the hype, I’ll remain dubious untill I get my hands on one.
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Hi Chris,
I think Apple is pulling more inspiration from Xerox PARC. This time it’s Mark Weiser’s “ubiquitous computing” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubiquitous_computing).
iPhones and iPods seem to lie between Weiser’s “tabs” and “pads”, where a tablet would be something between a “pad” and a “board”.
But details aside, I think the point is mindset. Ubiquitous computing puts our devices around us where our computing history to now has put us around our devices.
I noticed a few days ago that I was sitting in front of a computer with two 30″ cinema displays reading email on my iPhone. I had unconsciously started preferring that because it was easier and felt more natural. I think that tablets will feel that way, too.
Tim
Didn’t you have the same grumpy prognostication about the “ill-fated” iPod back in 2001?
Let me confirm by searching the archives…
@patrick I’d be pretty surprised if I was writing about the iPod back in 2001. I was covering the California energy crisis back then. But I will say I personally didn’t expect the iPod to be quite so revolutionary. I owned early MP3 players, including the first RIO. I figured the iPod was another evolutionary step, no the revolution it turned out to be. But that’s why Apple gets the enthusiasm at moments like this for new products like the Slate/Tablet. It’s proved it can get things just right where many others try and fail.