Bites from the Apple: Invisible iTouch, Becoming More Visible

August 9, 2009 · Posted in Apple

Last week we noted the resurfacing of the long-gestating rumor of the Apple tablet-ized touchscreen-enabled Mac (dubbed by many as the iTablet or iTouch) via a news report from The China Times that said the device could be announced in the fall of this year. Well, the march from rumor to reality is advanced again this week as AppleInsider posted an exclusive story that seems to definitively place the iTablet–or, as AppleInsider refers to it, the “reincarnation of its beloved-but-defunct Newton MessagePad”–in Apple’s product release roadmap for 2010:

(T)he past six months have reportedly seen the critical pieces fall into place. Jobs, who’s been overseeing the project from his home, office and hospital beds, has finally achieved that much-sought aura of satisfaction. He’s since cemented the device in the company’s 2010 roadmap, where it’s being positioned for a first quarter launch, according to people well-respected by AppleInsider for their striking accuracy in Apple’s internal affairs.

That means that the device, which is expected to retail for somewhere between the cost of a high-end iPhone and Apple’s most affordable Mac notebook, is bound to turn up any time between January and March…

Naturally, this pronouncement has produced many a ripple through the gadgetosphere, including Gizmodo believing that the new iTablet will take over the MacBook moniker (as the 13-inch unibody MacBook just recently went Pro), the Mac Observer pondering whether the iTablet is really Apple’s next stab at the Apple TV, and Jason Schwarz Seeking Alpha going so far as to declare the “iTouch Tablet is about to change society as we know it” based on its ability to take full advantage of affordable, download-on-the-fly mobile apps among others.

I don’t know about wholesale societal change, but I can certainly see that light, nimble, wirelessly connected (Wi-Fi and cellularly) touchscreen PCs are the next step in personal computing. All I have to do is look at my own toddler and some of his compatriots who constantly clamor for the iPhones that their parents sport. At just 2-1/2, they’ve already mastered the basics of the touch user interface, and they get frustrated when other devices with LCD screens don’t offer the same easy touch controls. Apple has a long view of where computing is going and it looks like they’re ready to make a bold technological statement. The question remains, though, whether the public is truly ready for this device and willing to fork over the dough so that the iTablet doesn’t suffer the same fate as the Newton. But for now, onto the Apple-y goodness from the week that was…

In other rumor mongering, it’s looking more and more likely that the new iPods that get announced at Apple’s traditional September iPod redux rollout will be getting cameras based on leaks of cases for the new iPod nano and iPod touch. Interestingly, there doesn’t seem to be any camera-enhanced iPod classic coming down the pike, and CNet’s Fully Equipped blog surmises that the iPod classic is being put out to pasture.
Apple reported strong financials for its third quarter (which ended June 27), with an acceleration of MacBook sales, a 134 percent year-over-year increase in iPod touch sales, and a profit of $1.23 billion. The new MacBook lineup–with lower priced entry-level model and improved battery life in the Pros–seems to be quite popular, as HardMac reports that MacBook sales in June were up 25% in year-over-year comparisons.
Navigon announced the availability of its turn-by-turn navigation iPhone app for North America (as well as for Europe) this week, and iLounge has a detailed review of it (giving it a disappointing C grade). Other recently released GPS navigation apps include the one-time-fee-based XRoad G-Map apps (introduced at Consumer Reports) and AT&T’s subscription-based AT&T Navigator app (video review at Insanely Great Mac). And the 9to5Mac blog reminds us that TomTom’s iPhone software should be released by the end of summer.
Sascha Segan wonders whatever happened to the Apple TV over at PCMag.com. As an owner/user of an Apple TV, I wonder, too.
Remember Apple’s first iTunes-enabled mobile phone? It wasn’t the iPhone, but the Motorola ROKR, which debuted five years ago this weekend (via 9to5Mac).
Professional videographers can rejoice now that Final Cut 7 got released this week–now with the ability (for the first time) to burn a Blu-ray disc.
And Palm Pre owners can rejoice as Palm has re-enabled iTunes compatibility with the release of the WebOS software update 1.1… at least until Apple issues a new updated to iTunes that kills it.
A couple of Apple-related items of note from Etsy, an online storefront for hand-crafted goods: a wall clock made from the side panel of a Power Mac G3 (via Macworld) and a felt iPhone case (via Cult of Mac) in the guise of a happy Mac Classic computer.
I’ve recently ditched my old Timex clock radio and replaced it with the Touch Flip Clock app running on my iPhone (which is plugged into an Apple dock). Thanks to my early rising toddler, I don’t need an alarm clock, but if I did I’d check out some of the more robust alarm clock apps (as Touch Flip Clock is a bit limited) enumerated over at Wired’s Gadget Lab.
Nicole Martinelli at Cult of Mac suggests five Apple Store locations diehard Apple fans should visit before they die. I’m looking forward to the possibility of visiting the two currently under-construction Paris locations (via HardMac)–including one at Le Louvre–next spring as my wife and I gear up for a long-overdue trip back to the City of Lights.
I’m a bit of a public radio junkie, and so I was thrilled to see that the Public Radio Player app got updated to 2.0 with the ability to listen to on-demand shows as well as live streams of public radio stations from across the country (NPR as well as smaller local public stations, such as the excellent KBCS from Bellevue Community College here in Washington). Many of the NPR on-demand shows are already available as podcasts, but the Public Radio Player provides instant gratification via streaming (instead of having to wait to download podcasts and then subsequently sync your iPhone or iPod touch).
And finally… The Daily Show covers the battle of two iPhone fart applications (with potential civil rights implications???):
The Daily Show With Jon StewartMon – Thurs 11p / 10ciFeud www.thedailyshow.com Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Joke of the Day