Apple's mystery "product transition": A tablet, perhaps?

Tue Jul 22, 2008 1:20PM EDT

See Comments (32)

Long-simmering rumors of a Mac tablet get a gulp of oxygen after Apple execs hint at a "future product transition," followed by whispers of a "MacBook Touch" slated for the fall.

Let's start with Exhibit No. 1: Monday's quarterly earnings report from Apple, during which CFO Peter Oppenheimer repeatedly mentioned a "future product transition, which I can't discuss today."

Of course, that touched off a frenzy of speculation, ranging from a revamp of the MacBook and MacBook Pro notebooks (rumors of which were recently fanned by purported spy shots of new casings) to new iPods, or even "a new form factor of devices that are smaller than a laptop but larger than an iPhone," as the New York Times put it.

Then we have Exhibit No. 2: A report from MacDailyNews, in which an anonymous tipster claims to have details on an upcoming Mac tablet:

Think MacBook screen, possibly a bit smaller, in glass with iPhone-like, but fuller-featured Multi-Touch. Gesture library. Full Mac OS X … Slot-loading SuperDrive. Accelermoeter. GPS … By October at the latest.

Of course (as MacDailyNews itself warns), this is just a rumor, and chatter about a tabletized MacBook is nothing new. But combine the MDN report with the hints from Apple's conference call, and suddenly we've got a Mac tablet firestorm on our hands. 

Then again, not everyone's taking the bait; Fortune's Apple 2.0 blog, for example, notes that a Mac tablet "would be a new product, not a product transition," and leans instead toward a new iPod line with touch controls and solid-state drives. 

So, what do you think—do we have a MacBook Touch in our future? Would you buy one, and for how much? What features would you like to see, and what would you use it for?

Related:
An iTease: Something Cool and Cheap From Apple [NYT]
RUMOR: Apple’s secret product is ‘MacBook touch’ [MacDailyNews]

 

Comments on Apple's mystery "product transition": A tablet, perhaps?

Post a Comment

Join in the discussion. Here you'll see the comments in the order they were posted.

  • 7 Posted by hankvaccaro on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:16PM EDT Report Abuse

    Then if it's "cool" it must me a MacBook Air(conditioner)! Wow!!!

  • 9 Posted by kenlipke21 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:49PM EDT Report Abuse

    I hope that it is not a tablet. They are a neat consept but they have many down falls. they are nice in they way taht they can recognise your hand writing but you can type faster than you can hand write. and a tablet you write on and that ruins the screen and you can't get a nice glossy screen on a tablet. I like mac but i don't like ablets what they should do is team up with this program dragon naturally speaking the speach recognition program so you an talk to it and it will type that is better than both hand writing and typeing but as of right now it is onlt for windows users but i don' think they will end up with a tablet by the end of the year too.

  • 10 Posted by jeweledfrogcreations on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:34PM EDT Report Abuse

    That would be great! I love Apple products. I have to have them for my graphics and photography, however, Apple, I believe, is getting greedy. Seems like the very thing that they did not want to become, (need I mention any names.) they are now becoming. With the heavy price load that Iphone carry (not to mention the cost just to fire it up, not including the cost per month extra just to have the privilege. I wonder what this new product will demand. Oh well for those of us who love their products what choice is there but to pay and pay we will for the seamless integration and the ease of the software.

  • 11 Posted by maori_yelir on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:05PM EDT Report Abuse

    Tablets are very gimmicky. They serve very little purpose unless you are using it for photoshop and even then there are USB devices you can buy that don't obstruct your view of the screen and offer more percision. I have no doubt it will sell because Apple has a built in fan base of people who would buy absolutely anything they release but honestly tablets are nothing more than a curiosity. Then again so are most of Apples products so it would probably find a market no porblem.

  • 12 Posted by allularmilo on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:51PM EDT Report Abuse

    First off, if Apple were to release a tablet Mac, it wouldn't be around $1000. It probably will run on a solid-state drive, like the most expensive MacBook Air, which will drive the price through the roof. And also, I think if Apple were to release a tablet Mac, the rumormill would have had this going around seriously for at least a few months now. Kind of like how it was almost immediate with the release of the second generation iPhone, but it took a while. I think this is a good start to the idea of a tablet Mac, but it won't happen for a while, as ronroman stated. Second, If Apple made this transition from hard drives to just flash memory in all their stuff, the iPod wouldn't have 80 GB. Well they probably would, but it would be much more expensive, and I don't even want to think about the 160 GB model. I don't see that this year either.

  • 13 Posted by lilboden03431 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 6:51PM EDT Report Abuse

    apple is a horrible company, they over price everythig....dont like them because they compete against microsoft. Dont hate microsoft because they provide the best products on the market and noone can compete with them.

  • 14 Posted by starzstuff on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:39PM EDT Report Abuse

    I think its going to be the Iphone with Verizon wireless. Hey kenlipke21 maybe a tablet could help your spelling. Know what spell check is?

  • 15 Posted by kupriaa1 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:54PM EDT Report Abuse

    maori_yelir - your comment is way off base for tablet use- go check out http://www.motioncomputing.com and read some of the case studies they have. Tablet usage is way beyond what you are describing- most of the hospitals in the Mid Atlantic region are supplying doctors with tablets. Field service technicians are using them more and more. Educators are using them. The NJ DMV is supplying their reprentatives with them. Students are using them. Gimmicky? I certainly think not. The mouse is disappearing faster than you think. The tablet device makes sense for so many field reps it is incredible.

  • 16 Posted by davidsds.316mad on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:38PM EDT Report Abuse

    i believe that a apple tablet will come eventually but i don't think it'll come anytime soon

  • 17 Posted by ramfisher65 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:27PM EDT Report Abuse

    Who cares...another life changing tech gadget? Personaly, i am tired apple this and apple that..lets have some real innovation by people like you and me..for people like you and me and not some satus symbol.

  • 18 Posted by armanhammer.asingh on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:57PM EDT Report Abuse

    behold http://www.techfresh.net/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/ipad-touch-03.jpg http://www.techfresh.net/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/ipad-touch-cover.jpg http://images.techtree.com/ttimages/story/apple_ipad_full_2.jpg

  • 19 Posted by richierichness on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:40PM EDT Report Abuse

    "Transition" is the operative word IMO I think the flash drive is a safe bet or possibly a blue ray recorder (prrrricey though the Movie companies are lobbying hard against these burners BIG TIME). A tablet would be a stunning development making me giddy with joy and could be a transition from the Touch & iPhone. WAIT! that Macbook Air with the hideous external burner/drive now that could sure use some "transitional" improvements right? Yeah okay they will likely scrub the MacBook Air for the tablet with Flash Drive keeping the weight down and dimensions on a diet. When do I go CEO then? LOL!

  • 20 Posted by coolkiddtm on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:29PM EDT Report Abuse

    bdjohn06, what you saw in mac life was the ModBook, and it's already for sale. You can buy one for either $2,279 or $2,479, depending upon which model you choose. It is basically a touch screen Mac, only not made by Apple.

  • 21 Posted by haneesh_mech on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:16PM EDT Report Abuse

    it'd probably be at least 2,500 dollars for the lowest end. By lowest end I mean something that has an 80 gig hard drive, no optical drive, and 512 megabytes of memory. Remind you of anything?

  • 23 Posted by rudym69 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:55PM EDT Report Abuse

    I would love to see a tablet with the strength of a Tough Book. Being in the disaster medical field it would need to be weather proof, the features of a 15 inch MacBook Pro but a little smaller. Just large enough for a standard 8.5" X 11" sheet. It should have a removable cover that can snap in the rear and can withstand drop of 6' on concrete. It should cost under $2000. It should be dual platform able to downgrade to Windows for medical programs that only run on XP or Vista. It should also have a dual layer super drive. It should weigh a little more than a standard MacBook Pro 15". There are a lot of us out there in the disaster field either with Red Cross or NDMS that are Mac Users and would love to keep using it.

  • 24 Posted by btedrogers on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:14PM EDT Report Abuse

    Great argument lilboden03431!?? are you enjoying your Vista/Zune connection? sorry, not convinced. ramfisher65, what do you perceive as real innovation? what do people like you and "me" want to see? working with computers since 1984 all I have seen from Apple is innovation, mouse, GUI, all in one, plug and play, stable OS, Ipod, Iphone, I assume that you will not drive a Lexus, Caddilac or any other type of a working status symbol based on your comment? What innovation are you looking for?

  • 25 Posted by kupriaa1 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:54PM EDT Report Abuse

    Do we need to discuss Microsoft's innovations? You see the consumer may not be aware of the innovations that Microsoft does but they do a lot. And truthfully MAC does a few too that the consumer does not know about. These innovations mean more to the world of computers then the silly innovations you have listed btedrogers.

More Posts: First Prev 1 2 3 Next Last

Post a Comment

Sign In to Post a Comment

My Tech

Please enable your browser's cookies to activate the My Tech column.

Also on Yahoo! Tech

Computers Home Office Wi-Fi & Networking Phones & PDAs Cameras & Camcorders TV & Home Theater Portable Audio
 

Site Map | Tour | Subscribe to Yahoo! Tech

Question and Answer content at Yahoo! Tech is written by Yahoo! users at Yahoo! Answers. Yahoo! does not evaluate or guarantee the accuracy of any Yahoo! Answers content. For more information, read the Full Disclaimer.

Opinions expressed by the Advisors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Yahoo! Inc. Yahoo! receives no compensation from any manufacturer or distributor nor does it compensate any Advisor for the coverage of any product or service in any Advisor's content.