Apple's tablet in time for Christmas?
That long rumored Apple tablet may land in time for the holidays.
The Financial Times appears to have confirmed an Apple Insider report fleshing out many of the details of the Mac tablet. The report sparked a lot of comment.
Now the Financial Times reports the following:
Apple is separately racing to offer a portable, full-featured, tablet-sized computer in time for the Christmas shopping season, in what the entertainment industry hopes will be a new revolution.
The Financial Times report is primarily focused on Apple's sometimes tense dealings with the music industry. In a nutshell, Apple is working with the industry to create interactive booklets to spur sales of entire CDs. Good luck with that one. While interactive music features on a tablet would be nice it's not likely to alter consumer behavior, which revolves around buying singles not albums. The Mac tablet's real appeal may be for watching movies.
A few thoughts on the Mac tablet:
- If the device is full featured computer the pricing should be interesting. The Mac tablet will be more than a netbook, but arguably less than a laptop. Guesstimate: $800.
- Will there be a separate App Store area for the tablet? Those iPhone and iPod touch apps won't look so hot on a bigger screen.
- A Mac tablet will shake up the e-book market. I already view this thus far fictional device as a potential Kindle replacement.
- The Mac tablet combined with the launch of Windows 7 is good news for the tech economy. Apple may be trying to blunt the Windows 7 buzz, but in the grand scheme of things this duo could provide a boost for the tech ecosystem.
- Apple needs a name for this device. I nominate Newton.