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Embracing those tablet *RUMORS*... and wondering about whether it needs a slide out keyboard
Posted by jean aw in Netbook PC | Aug. 24, 2009 3:00 PM
Today's post i'm supposed to discuss when i'd want a touch screen netbook/etc with a slide out keyboard... given the timing, let's be realistic here and embrace that rumor thats buzzing about so loudly... about a certain company quite possibly making a big touch screen tablet... like a giant version of a certain phone with no keyboard... and seriously, i wish it had a keyboard!
But first, lets explore some pics of how people are visualizing the rumor...
LOVE the way Jesus Diaz over at Gizmodo see things... and shows them to us...
It's pretty, isn't it? But personally i do like screen/keyboard separation if i'm actually trying to photoshop/work on things... maybe if there were a second one that was my keyboard?
Tommaso Gecchelin takes a nice look how a double touch-screened version may work... and while the flexibility is an interesting idea, there is nothing quite like the tactile feedback of the keys bouncing back...
But the way he's envisioned it as a desktop monitor like tablet on an easel... with an external keyboard, i can get behind!
Also from Gizmodo ~ check out the cute keyboard UI ~ so many options with what type of digital touch UI's are possible... but i still miss/like having a keyboard! it's just faster! and i love the tactile feedback of buttons!
So why not a slide out? Although when thinking through a slide out... would it end up like a giant Sony Xperia?
or more like a G1?
Or would it literally be a magnetic full sized keyboard you could literally pull away from the screen? Or flip out from behind it... or....
Well what do you think? When would you use something that was all tablet? Would you want a physical keyboard?
I have to agree with the poster on this one. I wouldn't buy a touch screen at this moment just because if i wanted the mobility and versatility of a tablet pc i want an attached key bored like a big google G1 just because you can swap between the two and you don't have to carry around another object in your bookbag/briefcase.
I agree with "Notverycomputersavvy". Sometimes when you are working hard (or gaming ;)) it's best to have a keyboard. Personally I would prefer an actual keyboard instead of a touch screen type thing.
As the owner of a tablet pc I enjoy the versatility of the option of using the keyboard. Tablet style notebooks are perfect for taking notes in class,or in a meeting. But some projects are better suited with keyboard use and sometimes you just need the feel of the keyboard
I would like to see on of those projection key boards to use wial you are sitting at a desk but wail on the move the flexiability of an onscreen keyboard would be key. a usb port to add a corded or wireless one at home would be smart as well.
The iphone is a techy romantic's version of a stormy love affair. There are days when you're riding the waves and other days you sink to the low depths. I often like Apple's apps. They've been known to be intuitive but that's also an exercise in contradiction-- because sometimes it gets so frustrating to use that I want to dunk it in a vat of acid. I wouldn't want to elaborate on that. I guess what I'm really getting at is that we seem to be nitpicking on which type of input device would be predominant in this design. I think we learned our lessons from half-baked PDAs trying to pass off as phones and vice versa -- you can't please everybody. I'd love to see the words "customizable options" on one of these. If that were at all possible.
Seems totally un-Apple like to have a keyboard. I'm more than happy with the touchscreen on my iPhone. If they replicate that in a larger touch screen notebook, I'd be all over it :)
I think the rumour (I'm Canadian, don't knock the spelling) is going to stay a rumour. The product doesn't doesn't have a large market.
Even if it was real it wouldn't be a production system, it would have to be a consumer level couch surfer. No one's going to design work on it. Or web work, or motion, video editing, audio production, etc. So it'll have to compete with the $400 PC netbooks. Which will than bugger up the rest of their pricing structure. And no one in their right mind would spend +$1800 on an email + web browser.
Maybe you'll be able to plug it into your laptop as a secondary monitor. And watch your battery life get drained away in 5 minutes.
I'll actually be pretty shocked to see a tablet from Mac anytime soon. I mean they've already given Axiotron their blessing to make their awesome Modbooks (google it). They say the market isn't big enough and I tend to agree... although I'd love them to make one.
Leon - totally agree with you ~ can't wait to see how haptics evolves in the next few years!
Ricky ~ i've used my iPhone for quite some time, and still have it as my secondary phone to my bb ~ i love the keyboard on that thing! Do my quick real work check-ins with that, iphone is more for fun...
Interesting thoughts
However, people said the exact same thing about the iPhone when it came out (and some still are) but anyone who has used the iPhone for more than a week should tell you that the virtual keyboard is more than adequate... and with my fat thumbs it makes typing EASIER than small physical keys on blackberries/palms.
I'd say let's let this thing come out, then solve the problem. I say that because it's Apple and if they release such a risky product, I imagine they'll have an elegant solution. They won't risk their credibility on something that isn't completely thought out.
Also, I wouldn't expect to do Photoshop on this tablet. It's highly unlikely these computers will have that type of power. They'll most likely be stripped down serviceable internet machines.
Like the iPhone, I expect this to not have any physical keyboard - and like the iPhone - it won't need one.
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