All Articles Tagged itablet

Apple Insider picks up a Sierra Sun story about Apple filming a top secret commercial for a new product at a restaurant called Jax at the Tracks in Truckee, California. Said owner Bud Haley:

“Apple found us, they’re trying to show us as a hip and cool spot for the 20-something crowd.”

Indeed? So what was it for, folks? The upcoming third generation iPod touch? The mythical iTablet? Steve Jobs’ revolutionary iVeggie Smoothy cup? Sound off in the comments and let us know what you expect!

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Join Dieter, Chris, and Rene for iPhone 3.0.1, iProd 1,1 speculation, more App Store craziness, top 5 jailbreak apps, and a dramatic reading! Listen in!

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Ars Technica has once again found references to an iProd 1,1 in Apple firmware, this time iPhone 3.1 Beta 3. iProd was last seen back in May in the iPhone 3.0 betas under the prototype designation iProd 0,1.

For those unfamiliar with Apple versioning, 0,1 is thought to be used for pre-release prototype hardware. 1,1 was used for both the first iPhone (original 2G) and iPod touch. iPhone 3G was 1,2 (minor revision) while the second gen iPod touch was 2,1 (major revision). iPhone 3GS is 2,1 as well, and it’s widely expected that Apple will introduce an iPod touch 3,1 in September.

Says Ars about the new, as yet unnamed iProd(uct):

While it’s easy to speculate that this may be the rumored Apple tablet we keep hearing so much about lately, we have yet to find any evidence that iPhone OS 3.1 is capable of running on a device with a tablet-sized screen. It’s just as possible it may refer to the camera-equipped iPod nano, though we doubt such a device would run iPhone OS. Hell, it might even be an iPhone nano.

To the list of iTablet and iPhone nano, we add iNetbook. Let the speculation increase!

Barrons (via MacRumors) claims an unnamed analyst has seen the near-legendary Apple iTablet and thinks:

The machine impresses with its display of hi-def video content, says the veteran analyst, who asked not to be identified. “It’s better than the average movie experience, when you hold this thing in your hands.”

And what’s more, competitors know that we know that they know that it’s coming soon:

“It’s close enough now to a final design that in Asia, there’s no other product in the waiting room or in the bullpen,” said the analyst. “There are dozens of ODMs [original device makers] making products for Lenovo and other PC makers that are all waiting to see what the Apple product is.”

So does this mean just as the iCloned iPhones are waning, the iReplicated iTablets are just waiting to launch? We’ll know come September. Or October. Or… January to March 2010!

(And yes, we still have polls open on both when it will ship, and what OS is will run, and whether or not it will succeed – get voting!)

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Join Dieter, Chad, and Rene for iPhone 3.1 Beta 3, Google Voice rejection, iTablet and Verizon rumors, Palm/iTunes escalation, SMS exploits, and all the news and how-tos. Listen in!

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Rumors about the iTablet, the still mythical Apple media/web pad, are just growing stronger and yes, it does remind us of the heady days before the iPhone announcement. But just like the iPhone wasn’t a click wheel iPod with a phone dialer bolted on, the iTablet — if and when it ever ships — may not just be an iPod touch on hulk serum.

TiPb takes a look, and runs some polls, after the break!

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Techcrunch reports sources claiming Verizon is racing to get 20-40 markets up and running on their 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) network by Q1 2010 to coincide with an iPhone and iTablet launch.

Verizon is getting 60Mbps in 4G tests which is admittedly ZOMG fast, and since they’re going with LTE, this network will be theoretically compatible with AT&T and other GSM carriers also moving to the same technology.

And yes, it does sound too good to be true, but we won’t go all Leo Laporte on them just yet…

We know you want your iPhone on Verizon. But what about your iTablet. And are you willing to wait for LTE to get it? Let us know in our poll!

[Thanks Icebike for the tip!]

Where there’s this many iTablet rumors, there just has to be an actual product Steve Jobs is finally happy with and will be unveiling to the world at a special Apple event in early 2010, right?

That’s what Apple Insider is reporting. The gist is as follows:

• 10″, 3G networked device similar to “a jumbo iPod touch”
• Guided by Steve Jobs from hospital, home, and work
• Culmination of at least 6 previous prototypes Jobs vetoed
• Will launch in first quarter of 2010
• Verizon may be the carrier
• Delays caused by lack of satisfaction over Intel Atom power consumption
• Hence Apple bought PA Semi to build in-house, custom chipset based on ARM

Check out the full article, linked above, for more.

Still and all, even if this is real, Bill Gates has been trying to push the tablet concept for almost a decade with little or no mass market acceptance. Can Apple work another product category miracle, doing for the tablet and e-book form factor what they’ve done for the MP3 player and smartphone?

Can Apple take the tablet from geek niche to consumer necessity? Or is this doomed to Apple TV “hobby” status from the get go?

Check out our fancy new blog poll, below, and let us know!

The Street (via MacRumors) is rumoring about the iTablet on Verizon:

An initial version of the long-anticipated Apple tablet will be subsidized by Verizon (VZ Quote), but Apple and Verizon “won’t be as tightly integrated” as Apple’s iPhone exclusivity deal with AT&T (T Quote), says one source familiar with the companies, who asked not to be named.

iTablet, or MediaPad, rumors for Verizon are nothing new of course. The Verizon subsidy would help reduce the initial sticker price of an $800 iTablet down to something more competitive with low cost netbooks, though with only a data plan and no voice, the subsidy wouldn’t be a large as the one AT&T provides to iPhone customers who promptly return ~$100 a month in service fees.

Since Verizon is CDMA and Apple is an international company, it’s hard to believe a GSM version of the iTablet — if such a beatie is really near release — isn’t in the works, or wasn’t completed first. So, hopefully, those not on Verizon, not eager for a CDMA data plan, or not in the US will have iTablet options as well.

Following up on rumors of a $800 Apple netbook, MacBook, iTablet, etc. VentureBeat reports that Apple might also use the new platform to introduce their long-rumored custom system-on-a-chip.

This would be the result of Apple purchasing fabless chip design firm Palo Alto Semiconductor (PA Semi) and hiring Papermaster from IBM and graphics processor (GPU) gurus x2 from AMD/ATI (though whether or not it includes the ARM and PowerVR licenses for cores found in the iPhone and iPod touch, or beefier Intel chips found in the Mac line is uncertain).

While Steve Jobs said PA Semi was going to be used for iPods and iPhones, VentureBeat claims the team was actually split in two, half for iPod/iPhone and half for the tablet.

TUAW speculates that, given recent news of problems between Apple and Nvidia, who currently makes the Mac integrated chipsets, perhaps Apple will push the custom work into that line as well.

Either way, we’ve seen the huge benefit shared software technology has provided for the iPhone and Mac (Spotlight, QuickTime X to name but two), Apple going in-house with the chipsets could be just as beneficial…