David M Williams
Wednesday, 27 January 2010 07:23
Opinion and Analysis
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Hype and rumour abound as to the nature, price and design of the highly-expected Apple tablet - or iPad or iSlate. I won't add to the false predictions but I'll certainly tell you what I hope it isn't.
I hope it isn't a full-sized tablet. This is likely to be a safe bet. All the rumour sites tip the iPad as 10" or similar. My local Apple reseller believes Apple will pitch the unit as complementary to your existing desktop or laptop and not as a replacement.
Just as well, because I've used tablets in the past. In fact, the first one I ever used, an early-model Compaq, pretty much turned me off the entire genre with its woefully slow Transmeta processor.
This isn't to mention the lack of tactile keyboard. As a writer I pound out words on my desktop, my laptop and even my BlackBerry. I touch type on all three but composing even the briefest of messages on tablets, PDAs or the ubiquitous iPhone is an arduous process riddled with typos.
While iPhone OS 3.0 had among its most requested features copy and paste it is perhaps a telling sign that the masses aren’t clamouring for a word processor for the tiny handheld.
That’s not purely related to size; Pocket Word is a staple feature on Windows Mobile units. No, it’s also due to the means of input being fundamentally touch and gestures and not a keyboard.
Lest you think I am a Luddite I certainly appreciate that the humble keyboard isn’t the end-all of input devices. The iPod and iPhone are wonderful devices and have a superb interface for managing media and other tasks. Microsoft’s Surface has no keyboard and has remarkable applications in retail and entertainment.
However, nobody wants to write a letter to their Aunt using Microsoft Surface. That’s ok, it’s not your regular day-to-day computer. Nobody plans to heft it around with them.
Similarly, I find it hard to believe a tablet device could ultimately be the regular carry-it-everywhere, do-everything computing device for the ordinary person in the street.
Now, in a classic case of you can’t please everyone, not only don’t I want it to be a full-size tablet I also don’t want it to be too small. I especially don’t want DRM.
