From: Brian G. (briansnewton_at_gmail.com)
Date: Fri Apr 15 2005 - 17:52:26 PDT
It looks like Microsoft is seriously pursuing the concept of a
"Mini-Tablet" PC form-factor of about 8X6 inches and will
According to the article, the Mini-Tablet PC is Bill Gates's pet
project and he is evangelizing the device for carrying and reading
ebooks.
A photo of a possible prototype were making the rounds today on tech
and gadget sites:
http://www.akihabaranews.com/en/news_9485.html
Could market forces and the technology to make it happen combine to
bring us a Mac version of the Mini-Tablet (or Newton 2)?
1. eBooks are gaining mainstream momentum. Amazon just bought
Booksurge and Mobipocket, publishers of ebooks
http://tinyurl.com/aloer .
2. Demand for portable video content in the form of a "Video iPod" and
increased popularity of convergence portable video players (PVPs).
3. Demand for a Newton 2 ;-).
Could Apple create an "iBook Mini": a mini-tablet/Video iPod/Newton 2
all rolled into one?
Is the market now ready for such a device? Here's what I'd like to see to s=
tart:
- A tablet and pen input-optimized GUI running on top of Tiger
- G4
- 6-8" LCD
- 60GB HDD
- Bluetooth and Airport Extreme
- Inkwell HWR
- Quicktime 7 with H.264 for high quality portable video
- A movie section in iTMS for movie downloads
- An EyeTV breakout box for recording TV shows
- A mini-iSight module for handheld iChat AV and as a DV camera
replacement for recording personal DV (again using H.264) for video
blogging and home movies (can you say Google Video Upload Service?)
- a folding BT keyboard for extended text entry and use as a viable
laptop replacement
- eBook partnership for a download subscription service and access to
books, newspapers, magazines, and academic/technical/medical
publications.
If Apple could cram all of this into a device around the size of a
MP2x00 (bigger screen, thinner bezel) or slightly larger and provide
battery life comparable to an iBook G4 (about 3-4 hours), I think they
would have a Tablet/Mini-Tablet PC, portable video player (PVP) and
PDA killer.
If and when Microsoft brings the Mini-Tablet to market, Apple should
show them once again how to do it right.
--=20
Tapwave Zodiac 2 & Newton MessagePad 2100 Owner
Visit www.tapland.com, the first Zodiac community.
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