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Why Apple's iTouch Tablet Will Become Its Flagship Product

This is a great article Jason. I think you have made some very good points.

You should give some additional thought to where Apple might be able to go with a tablet, or perhaps a family of tablet computers. A tablet could become one piece of a more robust system.

Start with a 13" MacBook Pro or a MacBook Air to visualize the kind of overall quality I have in mind. Now make the lid detachable. When detached the lid becomes a tablet computer running the iPhone version of OS X with touch Keypad. When attached the computer runs the regular version of OS X with physical keyboard and ability to run all applications such as Photoshop, etc. Both versions of the OS can coexist and run simultaneously using virtualization. In other words, the detached lid works like a giant iPod Touch but morfs into a full-featured computer with the complete OS X when attached to the bottom unit and keyboard.

Connect the base to the lid with Bluetooth. Put some semiconductor storage in the lid and a big hard disk in the base. You'll need one of those non-user changeable long-life Apple batteries in each unit.

When riding in an airplane put the base in overhead storage and use the lid as a tablet on your tray table. Save files to disk wirelessly using Bluetooth.

Incorporate a pull-out bluetooth headset in the design for phone calls via Mi-Fi (or use an iPhone and access the internet with tethering).

So you're in a restaurant making a sales presentation to a client. The base (computer bottom) is in your briefcase alongside your chair. Your presentation is stored there on the hard disk. The presentation is to be displayed on the bright high res LED 1280 X1024 display on your tablet and sent from disk via Bluetooth. You are connected to the internet via tethering to your iPhone or MiFi. You will also use your iPhone as a remote control for the slide presentation.

A product like this could be sold in pieces. Buy the lid as a huge iPod Touch. Buy the base later with keyboard, hard disk, and SuperDrive to convert to a full fledged laptop. Buy an iPhone to get Internet tethering via 3G (or a Mi-Fi modem as your article suggests).

It is important that it be able to run iPhone Apps so it can piggy-back on the amazing App Store. But it wouldn't have to run that version of OS X exclusively thanks to virtualization.

Why Apple's iTouch Tablet Will Become Its Flagship Product

Reply to vloscomp who said, "The key point of this story is the infrastructure that will allow mobile devices (not just APPL devices) to connect to the internet. I am so happy that you chumps had been cheering APPL for the last 24 months, but it is time (by Oct) for me to bid adew to APPL. Device technology have been competitive market (ie US Robotics 56K modems, HP Calculators ...) and the shelf life of a device is probably about 12 months or less. iTouch has no barrier to a competitive "me too", therefore, APPL will see erosion in profit."

You obviously don't get the significance of the app store (50,000 apps and 1.5 Billion downloads in just one year); integration with iTunes including wireless downloads, and the elegance of Apple's user friendly designs. Sure they're going to be copied. Microsoft built their business on copying. But betting against Apple is high risk investing to say the least. Read BurkPhoto's second post (above). He says it very well.

Microsoft and Apple: Follower and Leader

One of the best blog articles I've read in a long time. Thanks for putting it up here. Really puts things into perspective.

Rumors Solidify Around Apple Tablet

Well first of all none of your past experience with cell phone provider dropped calls will mean a thing going forward. Both AT&T and Verizon are rapidly building out their 4th Generation networks. User experiences with older networks won't mean squat. It's a whole new ballgame.

Apple will not launch just one tablet product. If they learned anything from their iPhone & iPod Touch experience it is that they can get double payback on development costs by launching at least two new products.

There will be a subsidized tablet with 4G connectivity and a hefty monthly bill for wide area access. There will also be a WiFi only model with no subsidy and zero monthly billing. That's a given.

Why Apple's iTouch Tablet Will Become Its Flagship Product

You are correct about one thing. You don't get it. You really don't.

We often hear such whining from people who don't own an iPhone and can only imagine what the user experience is really like. Get an iPhone and prepare to have your eyes opened wide. Very wide. The typical reaction of a person who gets an iPhone for the first time is, "Wow! I didn't fully realize what I was missing."

My iPhone can have up to 132 apps installed at one time. I currently have about 100 installed. Out of the 50,000 or so available I suspect you too might be able to find 100 that you'd find useful. But you'll never know, will you?

You remind me of my son. When he was sixteen years old I put a note on the refrigerator door that read, "Why don't you leave home now while you still know everything?"


On Jul 24 04:49 PM vloscomp wrote:

> I don't get the significant of the apps store: there are 50,000 crappy
> apps that i do not want, and as far as 1.5 billions download, how
> many of those are profitable or useful?

New iPhone Set to Continue Apple’s Quest for Dominance

Sadly most corporate IT departments are indeed control freaks. Much more important for them to be in control than for their users to have the really good stuff.

Ominous Drop in Sales Bodes Ill for More than Just Apple - Barron's

I think this is a really bad recession that will hurt almost every business including Apple. However, they are cash rich, debt free, and they have the iPhone so save their bottom line. They may suffer a dip in computer and retail sales while their competitors are getting killed.

I think they'll keep the pedal to the metal inf R&D and will exit this recession with some great new products in the pipeline.

Zune HD: Trying to Compete with Yesterday's iPod Touch

So the advantage Zune is going to have is that they'll be able to offer FM Radio broadcasts with commercials.

How is that an advantage?

Dell Gets Ready for a Comeback - Barron's

I have a much better idea. Buy Apple.

What Good Will the iPhone App Do for Sirius XM?

I won't give Sirius any $$ until they dump Howard Stern.

The Battle Lines Are Drawn in the War for Mobile Developers

This war is already over and done. Game, set, and match to Apple.

Apple vs. Google Rivalry to Heat Up in 2010

Google is really competing with Microsoft's Windows Mobile as a platform that handset makers like Motorola can use as a software platform for their phones. It's something else for the carriers who can't get the iPhone.

Call it a two horse race if you like but it's really Apple pulling away from the Pack with Google looking like a respectable number two. RIM's Blackberry will struggle to maintain pace. Disappearing in the rear view mirror are Nokia and Windows Mobile.

Apple Musings: Disappointing Disappointment

When you talk about September product announcements you're talking about Christmas present purchases. Getting the iPod touch entry price under $200 could be very big in terms of Christmas sales. Loading up the iPod Nano with new features at the $149 price also makes it a probable hit this Xmas (The Nano now comes with a built-in video camera, a microphone, a pedometer, a larger 2.2-inch display and an FM radio tuner. It costs $149 for an eight-gigabyte version). Both of these models provide tremendous functionality for the price.

Hardware features like a camera and an OLED display are nice but none of that compares to the value that the App Store adds to the Touch. It's those Apps that make the Touch an overwhelmingly better choice than the Zune. Microsoft will try to build a software library and copy the App Store but they're way back at the starting line and won't be competitive in this product lifetime.

What an Apple Tablet Has to Be

An oversize iPod Touch would be nice to have but not at a $6-800 price point. It could be a handy 'coffee table' device to be shared by family members, rather than someone's 'personal computer. It would be good for eReading, games, web surfing, email, and maps. Running apps from the iPhone App Store would give it an instant wealth of functionality. I think a price of around $399 or less would be required for this to take off.

There has been a lot of talk about a 3G enabled device to be sold and subsidized by cell phone service providers. This would make it a lot more useful as a mobile web and map reading device. However, I certainly can't afford yet another monthly AT&T payment on top of the already high iPhone contract. A device that would tether to the iPhone for internet access via Bluetooth would be attractive (unless they try to price gouge for the tethering hookup).

I think they could sell a combination two piece tablet that is a giant iPod Touch portable device (running the iPhone version of OS X) but converts to a full-blown computer with a complete version OS X when placed on a charging stand that contains a keyboard and trackpad. Virtualization would enable them to run both versions of OS X simultaneously.

A further extension of this idea would be to make the base charging/keypad/trackpad unit a laptop bottom and the tablet a detachable laptop lid. Connect the base to the lid with Bluetooth. Put some semiconductor storage in the lid and a big hard disk in the base. You'd need one of those non-user changeable long-life Apple batteries in each unit.

When riding in an airplane put the base in overhead storage and use the lid as a tablet on your tray table. Save files to disk wirelessly using Bluetooth.

Make the lid capable of tethering to the (3G) internet via the iPhone. Sell tethering as part of the deal when you offer the computer for sale.

So you're in a restaurant making a sales presentation to a client. The base (computer bottom) is in your briefcase alongside your chair. Your presentation is stored there on the hard disk. The presentation is to be displayed on the bright high res LED 1280 X1024 display on your tablet and sent from disk via Bluetooth. You are connected to the internet via tethering to your iPhone. You will also use your iPhone as a remote control for the slide presentation.

A product like this could be sold in pieces. Buy the lid as a huge iPod Touch. Buy the base later with keyboard, hard disk, and SuperDrive to convert to a full fledged laptop. Buy an iPhone to get Internet tethering via 3G.

Yet another idea would be to make a tablet that is also an iPhone with a slot for a pull-out bluetooth headset. This would be a much bigger form factor than a regular iPhone but would give some users a lot more functionality making the bigger size 'worth it.'

Be interesting to see what they actually do come out with after so much speculation.

Why Apple's iTouch Tablet Will Become Its Flagship Product

On Jul 25 01:31 PM max12345 wrote:

> Could someone please put forward some good arguments for buying Apple
> stock right now that might be able to convince me and also include
> some future expected target prices a couple of years out?

I think we're at a historical turning point where cell phone providers worldwide are transitioning from being "phone companies" to being "Internet Service Providers." The little gadgets we're calling "smart phones" are really small computers with multiple functions one of which is the telephone. Over the next few years these cell phone service providers will be upgrading to 4th Generation networks with much higher speeds and much greater data capacities. This in turn will further drive adoption of smart phones.

Bottom line is that I believe we're entering a period of rapid and wide adoption of smart phones. Almost everyone will be getting rid of their cell phone and replacing it with a smart phone. This is a huge worldwide market. Much bigger than personal computers.

It's easier for a computer company like Apple to enter the cell phone arena than it is for a cell phone company like Motorola or Nokia to enter the computer busoness. Operating systems like Symbian and Windows Mobile were designed with telephones in mind and they've since tried to add-on computer features. Apple has a significant advatage in terms of software architecture. They also have a key advantage in that they control both the hardware and the software. And they're up to speed now with great products and huge momentum in the marketplace. The incredible success of the App Store caught competitors by surprise. It's now Apple's game to lose.

Smartphones will change the public's perception of these devices away from that of a "cell phone." I use my iPhone constantly but very much for phone calls. I'm not a big telephone talker. Took my wife to the airport last week during rush hour and used it to check a realtime traffic map before choosing my route. Checked stock quotes several times. Checked to see that her flight was on time. Checked email several times and answered a few messages. Used the iPhone's iPod feature to play music on my car stereo to and from the airport. Made note of my cars location in the parking lot in iPhone voice notes. Had breakfast with her at the airport coffee shop and read several NY Times articles on my iPhone. Used AOLs AIM chat app on my iPhone to stay in touch with my office. Round trip two hours. Zero outgoing or incoming phone calls.

Unless the stock market craters again, I see Apple's stock going above $200 again within the next year. I think it has the potential for a really big run-up as happened with Google.