The History of the Apple Tablet Rumor

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The History of the Apple Tablet Rumor

Posted 07/30/2009 at 8:52:39pm | by Michelle Delio

tablet

Mermaids, fairies, unicorns, Nessie, swamp apes, goat-sucking chupacabras, Apple’s Tablet computer -- all of these fabulous creatures have attained near mythical status, sporadically become the topic of widespread interest, and are occasionally spotted in the wild by a favored few. Some of us simply don’t believe -- "Real computers have keyboards," Steve Jobs has said on more than one occasion -- the rest of us keep hoping.

Below is the wondrous tale of Apple’s legendary Tablet computer, documenting nearly a decade of openly whispered secrets, extraordinary rumors, astonishing apparitions and intrepid souls who pore through patent databases, ask hard questions, and dare to speculate about the magic being conjured up behind closed doors in Cupertino.

tablet 1

May 24, 2001: Kevin Fox, a user experience designer for Google, blogs "At least five times in the past 10 years engineers at Apple have worked on initiatives to bring a full-sized tablet-based computer to market. Though the previous four attempts never saw the light of day, Apple has saved the best for last. This July: Meet iPad." Fox figured that the iPad would be 11.5" x 9" x 0.7" with a 12-inch 1024×768 LCD touch- and stylus-sensitive screen, 2-3 pounds, priced just under a thousand bucks. His "predictive analysis based on past Apple research, Apple’s current market strategies, and recent product and technology positioning" appears flawless, but Apple didn’t deliver.

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November 18, 2002: Matthew Rothenberg at eWeek writes that "It's my strong belief, let's call it a hunch, that prototype Mac tablets are already making the rounds among select developers" adding "Nota bene: I've yet to get my hands on a smoking pen that will verify the Tablet Mac's existence. Any readers with first-hand experience are welcome to drop me a line (in the strictest confidence, of course)."

tablet

January 5, 2003: Rothenberg’s request for insider information seems to have been granted. He now writes "My sources sketch the following picture: A device that superficially resembles a large iPod with an 8-inch diagonal screen, lacks a keyboard, packs USB and FireWire ports, and runs Mac OS X along with a variety of multimedia goodies." Rothenberg predicts that the device will debut at the upcoming Macworld Expo in San Francisco. (According to Mac Rumors, since eWeek’s links to old stories are broken)

messena
Source: Chris Messina

June 4, 2003: Steve Jobs tells Walter Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal that "There are no plans to make a tablet… people want keyboards. We look at the tablet and we think it is going to fail. Tablets appeal to rich guys with plenty of other PCs and devices already." According to a Google cache of a MacObserver story, Jobs and Mossberg had this chat at the D: All Things Digital conference.

COMMENTS: 30

TAGS: Apple Inc., Patents, Rumors, Tablet, Apple Tablet, MacBook Tablet

COMMENTS

carrying it around
Submitted by J Keirn-Swanson on Fri, 2009-07-31 07:22

I've seen tons of cracked iPhone faces online, so if you had a tablet like this, wouldn't you buy it a nice big case to cover the nice big face and wouldn't you ultimately end up with something very much like a laptop in terms of portability? I know I wouldn't just be tossing a giant touch screen willy nilly into my messenger bag without some kind of major protection for it. Still, had I the dough, you bet your ass I'd buy one of these puppies if it's anything like the last few pictures. And I'd buy a gigantoid case to keep it from harm, like the zCover on my iPhone (brilliant protection, by the way).
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Tablet
Submitted by LuizC on Mon, 2009-08-03 01:53

It looks like an oversized Itouch, I'm not too crazy the touchscreen... fingerprints all over....

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My physio and I have been looking...
Submitted by homeward on Tue, 2009-08-04 03:55

...for something like this for years; and I nearly went over to the Dark Side's tablet PCs on a couple of occasions.... Why? Various disabilities that have led me to do a large portion of my text input by Graffiti on various iterations of Palm handhelds (and the occasional stab at talking to my various Macs -- which is hard to do when you share a house/study/office, etc.). Couple this with some sort of articulated VESA mount, for desk work; and let Belkin, etc. come up with something clever for ergonomic lap-top use... -- and I'd be in heaven! (Protecting that screen is going to be a real challenge, though, without adding any bulk... :-) I'm presuming, of course, that it will make use of Apple's Ink technology, etc..... It would seem stupid to produce something this Wacom-like, and not include a stylus of some sort in the box....

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The iHopeitfitsinmypocket
Submitted by newmac on Fri, 2009-08-07 22:41

Perhaps there is no need for a keyboard if it can handle voice dictation. The one drawback is that it can't fit into your pocket like a smaller iPhone. So small can be good. Are you going to carry the thing around all day? Maybe its better to make a slightly larger iphone. Lets see what Apple does...

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I have never seen something
Submitted by bballboy1794 on Tue, 2009-08-11 07:19

I have never seen something so ingenus in my life. If this product was to come out i feel very strong about what and where it could go. I know this tablet would deffinatly be on my Chrismas list is it was to come out before Christmas!

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I know I wouldn't just be
Submitted by trentonwilmore on Thu, 2009-11-05 03:48

I know I wouldn't just be tossing a giant touch screen willy nilly into my messenger bag without some kind of major protection for it. Still, had I the dough, you bet your ass I'd buy one of these puppies if it's anything like the last few pictures. And I'd buy a gigantoid case to keep it from harm, like the zCover on my iPhone (brilliant protection, by the way).

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I'm presuming, of course,
Submitted by trentonwilmore on Thu, 2009-11-05 04:08

I'm presuming, of course, that it will make use of Apple's Ink technology, etc..... It would seem stupid to produce something this Wacom-like, and not include a stylus of some sort in the box....

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I like how my iPhone’s
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i wish they would push this
Submitted by jimb12345 on Tue, 2009-12-15 11:06

i wish they would push this more. this is going to be the coolest gadget ever. i will love it. orlando cosmetic dentists

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i would like to have one
Submitted by beastie on Mon, 2010-01-11 12:11

i would like to have one definitely...
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It's all part of the plan
Submitted by vfx2k4 on Fri, 2010-01-15 08:20

This sort of buildup is what really makes Apple's products more anticipated than anyone else's. Well that and they're actually good. Here's my take: http://tastyslate.com/2010/01/15/its-the-value-added-content/ TastySlate - The Apple Tablet Blog

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The History of the Apple Tablet Rumor
Submitted by Hndsm Smth on Fri, 2010-01-22 22:28

According to rumors, Tablet is going to be revolutionize the tablet ,ereader and net book industry as iPhone did with smartphone.

So its definitely worth the wait. I think in January, it will be announced and by mid Junes it will hit the market. As per rumors it going to have two cameras.

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Cool. Looking forward to
Submitted by beastie on Sun, 2010-01-24 06:14

Cool. Looking forward to have one

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Extraordinary
Submitted by waseem on Wed, 2010-02-03 22:51

This gadget is off the hook.. Great job MAC people.. Got one question though, is it a user friendly device?

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Thanks!
Submitted by dionise on Thu, 2010-02-04 02:57

Great! I do love Mac...

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