Apple's Tablet Confirmed in Australia

Although we’d like to see Apple’s tablet emerge by the end of the year that will certainly not happen. Phil Shiller, Apple’s senior vice president has confirmed that the company will not introduce any new product this year. The refreshed Macs we’ve seen last week are supposed to be the last new products to be launched by Apple in 2009

But that doesn’t mean that we won’t have more and more Apple tablet rumors. After we’ve seen the tablet confirmed by the New York Times, now we hear that Australian media companies are talking to Apple about the upcoming tablet. The Sydney Morning Herald confirmed the fact that various Australian media companies have received the specs of Apple’s new toy, but, as you can expect, none of them has been willing to reveal any details about it.

As before we heard that the tablet is “tipped to be a larger version of the iPhone.” The tablet will act both as an eReader but also as a media-centric device and we’re hoping to see it in action as soon as January 2010. 

We’re not done with rumors and suppositions regarding the tablet. In fact, we have spotted the next iPhone 4 generation SIM card tray. What does it have to do with the tablet you ask? The new SIM tray is larger than the usual iPhone tray and could very well be used in a larger GSM device like the tablet. Furthermore the new tray will be available from Foxconn which happens to be the rumored manufacturer of the Apple tablet. Talk about coincidences!

If the SIM card tray is not meant to be used by the tablet then the rumor is still hot. The tray is the second rumor about the iPhone 4th generation to leak out. The previous rumor implied that Apple will launch an LTE iPhone next year from Verizon.

We have ten months to go until Apple launches a new iPhone version so it’s a little too early for iPhone rumors. But the tablet should be launched in about two months so if you happen to stumble upon hot Apple tablet news make sure you drop us a line too.

Will Apple Update Bring a iPlay Announcement?

I've got a pretty good idea that Apple is going to be releasing more iPod touch/iPhone platform devices. Why? Well, for one, they've said so in a job posting at the end of last year.

So, that "growing number of embedded devices" I think will be a ten-inch tablet. The ten inches figure I get from the three different reports out of China that Apple is developing a touch screen in the 9.5-10 inch area for release in Q3 (summer).

I don't think Apple is going to try to compete with the Netbook market directly. Apple has a big lead in touch technology and probably needs to innovate in other ways rather that release a similar type of product to a mature market.

The timing? Well, if this thing has to be put on a device in late Summer, Apple will probably want some software to run on it...probably even an App Store. If so, developers will need at least a few months to get their apps to run on this new little device. That means they should probably start right about now.

Then there has been the persistent "premium app store" rumors. Paying $20 for an iPhone app seems silly to me with so many great $5-$10 apps all around. But if an Apple tablet can handle hi res 3D gaming, it might make more sense. Current App Store apps should also run on it but in a resolution independence type of mode. This type of app would also be able to play on a new AppleTV OS with App store as well.

I think Apple's devices (even if not a tablet) will be based on the ARM Cortex A8 architecture like that of the Palm Pre. The video card will be from Imagination and will hopefully use some of that OpenCL Apple has been touting in its desktop Snow Leopard OS.

If not tomorrow, then soon hopefully.

New Apple Gizmos Coming Exclusively to Verizon?

For those who switched to AT&T from Verizon in anticipation of the iPhone, now may be the time to switch back. According to two anonymous sources speaking to Business Week, Apple and Verizon may release two new Verizon-exclusive iPhone-like products as early as this summer. The rumors go hand-in-hand with recent talk that the iPhone is coming to Verizon, and that Apple has new devices up its sleeve for the summer.

 

One is the “iPlay" that has the same functionality as an iPod Touch -- music, games, photos -- but with HD video and calling ability via a Wi-Fi connection. Sources tell Business Week that the device will be smaller than the Kindle 2, but with a larger touchscreen, paving the way for more speculation about Apple slinking into the eBook market. This might be the Apple Tablet everybody has been talking about.

"The media pad category might go to Verizon," a witness told Business Week. "We are talking about a device where people will say, 'Damn, why didn't we do this?' Apple is probably going to define the damn category."

All signs point to a burgeoning deal between Verizon and Apple because, 1) Verizon Wireless CEO Lowell McAdam told Business Week that he has spoken to Steve Jobs within the past six months even though Jobs is on medical leave; 2) Business Week isn't the type of publication to spread rumors; and 3) if Verizon wants Apple products, new products must be developed. Apple isn't about to renege on its iPhone exclusive deal with AT&T, and the current iteration of the iPhone is on a GSM network and won't function on Verizon's CDMA network.

Apple "iPlay" Could Be a Kindle Killer

Is Apple's rumored "iPlay" entertainment device a threat to Amazon's Kindle e-book reader? I think it is, but the only people who may care are current Kindle owners, some of whom may end up wishing they had waited on their purchase.

As I have said before: The Kindle in kindling.

It is always nice when the industry rumor mill starts validating what I have been saying, namely, that rumors of a ready-to-release Apple netbook actually refer to a supersized iPod touch.

Described as having a larger touch-screen than the Kindle's 6-inch display, while being physically smaller than the Amazon device, Apple's baby has been dubbed an "iPlay."

The larger screen would be a more pleasant way to view movies or the Internet than an iPod or iPhone and the device could have decent speakers, too. By using a touch screen, Apple could save space necessary for Kindle's keyboard, resulting in a smaller device.

While not pocket-sized, the Apple iPlay would be easy to carry and offer an entertainment experience a smaller device could not match. Reading a book might be such an experience, right?

Now, I have the Kindle for iPhone app as a curiosity but have no real interest in using it to read a book. The screen is just too tiny.

I do not own a Kindle and have no interest in paying over $350 for what, to me, would be a single-purpose device. An Apple iPlay would doubtless do everything an iPod touch does, only larger. And it could do everything a Kindle does, too, only in color.

Will this bother Amazon? Not in the least. I cannot imagine that Amazon really wants to be a consumer electronics hardware company. Its investment in Kindle was necessary to kick-start the e-book industry. Many companies had tried e-books previously, without much luck.

Amazon has shown that an e-book reader can find customers, provided the content is available. Amazon has the content part nailed and will, presumably, be happy to see Apple create a much larger installed based of e-book-capable hardware than Kindle ever will.

My prediction is that if Apple really does the iPlay, Kindle will go away. But, probably not until Apple can reach a $350 price for its rumored new product. That make take a while, as something makes me think the super iPod touch will cost $500 or more when/if it is released.

In which case, the Apple iPlay and Kindle will coexist for a time, but eventually there will be no need for the Kindle and Amazon will be happy to be out of the hardware business.

This is, of course, based on my interpretation of a rumor about what Apple is planning. I think the rumor makes sense, but if it is wrong, well, never mind.

Rumor – iPlay Could be Apple’s Newest Device Hit

About a week ago, MacFormat posted a partial image of a mysterious Apple device “without comment”, saying it had been submitted anonymously by email.

It was just a tease, though, as MacFormat Illustrator Adam Benton had submitted via email his case for what you see here, a full-fledged Apple iPlay, Cupertino’s answer to the world of netbooks.

In Benton’s conception, “Your entire Home folder – all docs, photos, movies and music – would live ‘in the cloud’ on Apple’s servers. Regularly used files would be cached locally, but the system would enable you to keep files in sync between the tablet and your desktop Macs, whilst getting away with a smaller SSD.”

Benton’s idea calls for a that dock would support USB and FireWire, plus Mini DisplayPort, and Bluetooth to be used for peripherals like headsets and keyboards. The OS would be the iPhone and iPod touch OS, scaled up to support the larger display, with integrated 3G connectivity – proper 7.2Mb/sec HSUPA – to keep users connected to Apple’s servers at all times.