Monday, July 27, 2009

Apple's Tablet Due Out In September?

Boy Genius Report:

Flying straight in the face of recent claims from various Apple blogs, The Financial Times is reporting that Apple is aiming for a September launch of its internet tablet. The Cupertino-based company has also apparently found itself some rather unusual partners for its rumored device — EMI, Sony Music, Warner Music and Universal Music Group. The partnership, supposedly codenamed Cocktail, is an effort to combat slumping music sales by creating albums that include such things as liner notes and video clips. One thing that isn’t new however, is the claim Apple is preparing for a Christmas-time blitz against both the Amazon and Barnes & Noble’s e-book stores and readers. As for the possibility of a cellular radio, FT is reporting that it’s slim to none which really makes us wonder what’s up with all of those Verizon/Apple tablet rumors. Separate device? Complete BS? With September just over a month away, information should start flowing pretty soon if the FT rumor has any credence.

Read

This information is contrary to that being reported by AppleInsider which claims a launch date of 1Q 2010 and that the tablet will include a 3G connection. What would potentially make more sense from a sales standpoint than having a 3 G connection in the iTablet would be to make it so it could sync up to an iPhone to access the Internet through the iPhone's connection.

Here are some thoughts of why a tablet may become Apple's flagship product.

If Apple is indeed making a tablet and executes it right, Apple may become the dominant eBook seller and continue building on the success of their App Store (1.5 billion(!) downloads in the first year) in a major way.

Stay tuned. If these reports are slightly accurate, some exciting things may be in the works.

2 comments:

Shawn said...

Interested to see how they handle on-screen reading if it's not done w/ e-ink, as e-ink is LOADS easier on the eyes than a lappy screen.

If it's going to be done, and done well, I'll plan on the A doing it. :)

In other news, as I've lost my fellowship, I'll be doing some freelance design work...and am currently shopping for a Mac Pro and a Wacom write-on screen. MMMMMM....

Brian Hollar said...

Shawn,

I agree with you on the e-ink vs. lcd screens. I can read for hours on my Kindle with no problem, but not so easily on my laptop or smartphone.

Very sorry to hear about your funding. Let me know if you're up for hitting the Apple Store and Baja Fresh in Clarendon sometime to check out the latest Mac Pros. I'm still thinking about getting one of the new MacBook Pros...