The Ten Commandments of a Tablet Mac

November 6, 2007 | By anson In Uncategorized | Comments(0)

So Apple’s making a tablet, eh? At least that’s what the tech-obsessives at Cnet say. We’ve suspected as much for a while. But why should they bother? What’s in it for them? And when will we see it? Join T3 in a trip along the tablet trail…

The why:

1. Apple’s invested millions in multi-touch, and it’s clearly destined for more than the iPhone and iPod.

2. Since the 12-inch PowerBook was dropped last year we’ve been itching for a lightweight lappy. Could this be Apple’s replacement?

3. OS X Leopard includes Spaces, a neat way to cram lots onto tiny screens. Perfect for use with a 12-inch or less laptop-cum-tablet.

4. Apple’s Macs all come packing N-standard Wi-Fi. Perfect for browsing on the move, but too pricey for the iPhone. Where else would they put it but a tablet?

5. The iPhone’s good for a spot of surfing on the move, but still too tiny for prolonged browsing. The MacBook’s better, but bulky. Picture an A5-sized iPod, and you’ve got the ultimate surfing device.

The how:

1. Expect any Mac tablet to come packing a slim body but large screen.

2. Multi-touch is perfect for touch typing. It’s fast, intuitive and it’ll let you tap two keys at once, just like a normal keyboard. So using shift won’t be a nightmare like it is on your BlackBerry. You won’t find a pesky stylus here.

3. Working on the move will no longer mean dragging around a massive laptop bag or trying to do three days worth of emails on a screen the size of a stamp. Photo editing, video work or web-based research can be done without squinting, and without bulky equipment. Photographers in the field, journalists, students and media-types will love the tablet, just like they currently love Macs.

4. Finder in Leopard supports Coverflow, but it’s nowhere near as intuitive as on the iPhone. Slap it on a Tablet and we’re in business.

5. The price would sit between the iPhone and the MacBook, so think laptop with no CD drive, smaller screen, less memory, but with stacks of the same features. Perfect, if you ask us.

The when:

It can only be at Macworld, most likely in the keynote on January 15th 2008. Apple needs a killer, iPhone level product to usher in the New Year and surely this is it.