Hasta La Gadget!

We have been tracking the Apple Tablet for longer than I want to remember. Here’s an update on the probability of it happening at all, and when we think it will launch if it does.

As far as I’m concerned, I’ve wanted a son of Newton since Jobs cancelled it, and I’ve been gagging for it since the iPhone. The latest solid rumor came from the Financial Times, which claimed that the entertainment industry “is hoping that Apple, which revolutionized the markets for music players and phones, can do it again with the new device.” Suggesting it will be more giant iPod touch (good—as the iPod touch could scale up into new form factors) than pure Mac OS X Tablet (bad—as pure Mac OS X will be hard to scale down). A project with the music industry—codenamed Cocktail—will be announced in September, according to this source. The same sources point that “the device could be launched alongside the new content deals.” The new content will also include books, which will put the device in direct competition against Amazon’s Kindle.

The Financial Times article is vague about this, however, mentioning Apple “racing” to have the tablet available for the holiday shopping season. That may mean an announcement in September, followed by availability after Thanksgiving. That’s four months away. Another article—this time from the China Times—points at an October release, which puts the thingamajig only three months away. And yet another Chinese paper claims a September or October release. Apple Insider claims that it will be available in 2010.

I’m personally inclined to trust the Financial Times rumor. Not only because of them being so adamant about their multiple sources, but because the timing makes a lot more sense than the other options. It also makes sense to announce it in this entertainment event, which will most probably include announcements for the updated nano and touch—minor updates for already-established products that only add cameras, confirmed by a myriad of new cases from China.

The big bang, however, could be the newest member of the iPod/iPhone family: The Apple Tablet. Like the iPhone—which was originally announced alongside other products during a MacWorld keynote—the Tablet won’t cannibalize any existing product sales, so it makes sense to drum up the hype like they did with the iPhone, building excitement for the shopping season.

Matt, on the other hand, thinks that the device could be announced on an event on its own. His rationale is that it’s too important to be released alongside other products. To me it makes more sense to tell the public that, while big—literally and metaphorically speaking—this is “another iPod”, and the third model of a new family of iPhone OS-based products—a potential family which, incidentally, has been hinted by Jobs and the rest of the Apple executive team.

Whenever it is actually announced, however, the general consensus is that the tablet exists—even John Gruber is certain about it, and he rarely fails. The question now is when. According to our Apple Tablet Probability Meter, you’re 80% likely to be able to buy one in four months.

This week, Apple announced that iPods are in a nosedive. Meanwhile, we are seeing evidence that the Nano is about to get a camera. My response is “Why?” The old clickwheel iPod isn’t dead yet, but it’s definitely dying.

I have a 160GB Classic, as I thought I needed it. But with a 32GB iPhone, I end up leaving my iPod at home, even when traveling. I once had a fantasy that I’d sync a ton of video to it, to serve up. That fantasy was never realized, though, because these days it easy to just plug your laptop into a TV. I like having an iPod Touch in the house, however, because when my kid wants to watch videos, I’d rather give her that than my own phone. Besides, some apps like Sonos’ controller and Apple’s Remote are better suited to a device that lives in the living room. An iPod Touch with a camera makes sense, getting a step closer to the iPhone; it’s an equally intuitive device for people who want to keep clear of AT&T.

Put a camera in the Nano, and the opposite occurs: It becomes a mystery object, something unlike all other products in the universe, and not in a good way. It would be something to learn, with even more buried mystery functions than it has right now.

Let’s be honest, the Nano is built to play music. Video playback on that tiny screen is a joke, accelerometer or not, and I have never met a soul who actually stores calendars and contacts, or uses any other mini-app or game. Putting still more tech into the Nano is a mistake that companies other than Apple would make—sure, it will be “neat,” but it’s impractical and a waste of development.

The Classic is a different story, one of diminishing demand. Hard drive players are almost nowhere to be found, and there’s discussion of late that the 1.8″ hard drive is headed for extinction, because flash memory is finally cheap. I think Apple will still sell a Classic, at least until they can pop out 64GB flash iPod Touches for under $400, but I don’t think they’ll do anything to modify the current Classic in any meaningful way, and they certainly aren’t going to go all the way to 240GB, even though it’s possible.

If the Classic is justifiable for music library owners like me, but mostly a non-starter, the Nano’s raison d’etre is being a “value” option. It’s cheaper than the iPod Touch, which hovers at the $230 only to distance itself from the 16GB Nano, at $200. If Apple dipped that iTouch to $199, they’d sell fewer Nanos than they are selling now.

Screw the camera—what Apple should do is lower the Nano price even more. Samsung and SanDisk sell 8GB players for less than $100 now, and you can even find a few 16GB players in the $130 range. That’s $50 to $70 lower than what Apple charges, and nowadays, most of those devices will play anything you buy from iTunes—little or no manipulation required. Meanwhile, almost all PMP development from other companies is geared to building a cheap iTouch replacement, not a Nano clone.

As Apple itself declared during their earnings call, “We expect traditional MP3 players to decline over time as we cannibalize ourselves” with iPhone and iPod Touch. They readily admit that iPod Touches sell like hotcakes while demand for clickwheel iPods has slackened. It’s just a puzzle that when these devices should be on life-support, Apple seems to be want to push them further. [iPod/iTunes]

Need more evidence that camera-equipped iPod Touch and iPod Nano units are in production? Cult of Mac’s Leander Kahney has posted images of dozens of iPod cases produced in China, which appear to be designed for the next-generation Touch and Nano devices. Yes, they contain camera holes, corroborating previous rumor reports that the iPod Touch and Nano would gain cameras. Check out Cult of Mac’s gallery and your skepticism will gradually fade into non-existence.

See Also:

• Rumor Repeat: iPod Nano to Gain a Camera
• Rumor: iPods Nano and Touch to Gain Cameras
• Apple Preparing iPod Touch With Camera, Microphone: Source …

Photo: Cult of Mac

According to a “well connected source” in the Wired camp, the iPod mills in China are hard at work as we speak, churning out next-gen iPod Touch models with integrated cameras and microphones. This certainly jibes well with the tips we’ve received regarding both this device and a cam-equipped nano — although we’re still skeptical about the rumored OLED iPods. The article goes on to suggest that once you add a mic to the mix, all you need is a MiFi and the Skype application for “the iPhone experience” on Verizon’s (or Sprint’s) network. Seems like an awful lot to go through just to avoid AT&T, but we suppose that it’s good to have options.

Filed under: Digital Cameras, Handhelds, Portable Audio, Portable Video

Next-gen iPod touch rumored to get camera, microphone, fairy dust coating originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Jul 2009 14:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Although Apple still hasn’t managed to achieve feature parity with any of its competitors by enabling Blu-ray playback in OS X, it looks like Universal’s bringing the mountain to the Mac — or at least the iPhone. At first, the upcoming special edition of Fast and Furious will feature integration with a special iPhone / iPod touch app that’ll allow viewers to control 360-degree models of the cars in the “Virtual Car Garage,” but later Universal releases will feature the ability to control movie playback, read annotations while watching your flick, and even download ancillary video content for later playback on the go. Sounds like pretty nifty stuff — let’s hope El Steve reconsiders his whole “bag of hurt” stance when he gets the demo.

[Via AppleInsider]

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds, Home Entertainment, Software

Universal bringing BD-Live integration to the iPhone, irony to starving children originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Jul 2009 12:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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