Due to the potential impact on the print industry (at least the interest in it by those in print and web), I will enable a LIVE stream of the Apple “Jesus Tablet” announcements here on the site. Please come by and offer your impressions as it rolls out to the industry.
UPDATE: The McGraw Hill CEO accidentally spewed some details on CNBC.
Yeah, Very exciting. Yes, they’ll make their announcement tomorrow on this one. We have worked with Apple for quite a while. And the Tablet is going to be based on the iPhone operating system and so it will be transferable. So what you are going to be able to do now is we have a consortium of e-books. And we have 95% of all our materials that are in e-book format. So now with the tablet you’re going to open up the higher education market, the professional market. The tablet is going to be just really terrific.
Unless it offers a nice drawing tool, I am not interested.
What if they just unveil a hot pink iPod instead of a tablet.
Rumors!
I didn’t even know about this until now.
Any idea when they’ll announce it?
Oh, it’s in the subject line…
Yeah, I should read carefully rather than skimming through…
Thanks Alan! I’ll be watching here.
I’m already amazed about the amount of negative reactions to the “Jesus tablet” that I’m hearing around the office.
One quick prediction, I imagine the actual tablet itself will be pretty under-whelming tomorrow, but just like the Ipod, once we use it…it will become part of our lives.
I heard Moses once used a couple of these tablets to get a point across.
I’m betting it impacts the general market in some really cool ways… but for artist’s needs, my money is still on the Modbook (well, if I had money to put on Modbooks).
I want one… BAD! And I’m excited to see what changes might be made to iTunes to include books.
I remember vast numbers of so-called “analysts” dismissing the iPhone as nothing new, no big deal, a ‘non-event’… “The battery isn’t upgradeable, it has NO keyboard, it’s obscenely expensive, they won’t sell any except to the Apple fanatics, etc., ect.”
They were as wrong as wrong can be.
Further back, I remember vast numbers of techno-pundits “experts” proclaiming similar things about the iPod. And how iTunes had no chance since Windows already had tons of great players… LOL!
I’ve been expecting a truly great tablet for some years now – Steve Jobs says it’s his most important creation ever.
My money’s on Steve.
I’ll bet, oh, this year’s US budget surplus, that they stick with the ‘iP’ meme-thingy and call it the iPad.
“….man in a suit who is heavily invested in its success, or at least was, until he barfed up his NDA all over CNBC’s anchor table.”
Funny!
i’m not generally a fan of religion, but think i might be willing to ask the jesus tablet to come into my heart and be my personal lord and savior.
RE Bearman Cartoons:
Even if it doesn’t have a drawing tool, it’s silly for any cartoonist to ignore the impact this could have on cartooning. Using the iTunes model for magazines and newspaper subscriptions alone could ensure fresh cartoon markets for years. Not to mention the potential for animation.
And if they DO eventually come out w/ a drawing app for it, well, all the better!
I agree Jeff, it’s impact in spreading print media will likely be profound and I’m hoping that works out well for all artists in the sale of their work and products. No doubt the iPad will likely be a super cool and user friendly personal media tool.
I’m very excited about the announcement. But unless the new tablet has a version of Synergy Touch and includes hardware to use a stylus… well, I just don’t think I could get used to “finger painting” my comics on a 7″ screen.
On the other hand, I’m sure it will be awesome for nearly everything else, which is what the vast majority of the market will purchase it for.
Yes, but the real question today is — can all the people logging on to watch the roll-out actually drag down the internet, the way Michael Jackson’s demise did? I know I’ll be doing my part
Don’t know if anyone else has a better link, but good ol’ Leo Laporte is on Ustream right now … http://www.ustream.tv/leolaporte
Another potential option … http://www.livestream.com/crunchgear
I have live streaming video and tweets here: http://tinyurl.com/yhfod9z
iPad … I guess Jobs owes Ted Rall a beer. Or something like that
Maybe two beers after all the first-generation iPods I bought that broke within months. But I must say, what an excellent name…even if I did say so myself.
Well it’s basically what everyone expected, but not at the price everyone expected!
Apple did not disappoint. I may have to scrub my long standing rule against buying first generation tech on this one.
Four beers, if you also got the U2 iPod edition.
@Shawn Its actually NOT what I expected or wanted. To be honest, I am a bit dissapointed. One thing I really want to use it for is drawing but I dont see any ability to do that. Who knows. Maybe it can. I dont know
it’s definitely a kindle killer.
Who’s gonna pay $260 or $489 for a ebook only device now?
the $499 price point is the most interesting thing about it
it’s also interesting that they decided to go with iphone os instead of full on os x.
you can’t quite use it for full on stylus drawing unless they release an accessory, but it looks like you can finger paint…
I don’t think it was ever intended to be a production machine, it’s all about delivery and consumption of content.
If this were an automobile repair site, people would complain that it doesn’t have a socket wrench app.
Who cares that you can’t draw on it? This isn’t a mini-Cintiq.
You can certainly draw/paint/create on it just like you currently can on an iPhone using your finger. Hey, if you are any good, you might get your creation published on the cover of the New Yorker…
You want to use a stylus to draw/paint/etc.? Well, there are iPhone styli with rubbery-fingery kinda points and I guess those work pretty good. But if you want pro-level Cintiq or Wacom technology, this iPad isn’t made for that at all, sorry.
The battery life alone makes it worth a look for anyone considering a tablet pc to kick around with. The iPad seems to be a natural progression after the iphone and ipod touch has cultivated it’s own class of apps and users.
One of the biggest errors Apple made during the early years of Macintosh (quick aside — whatever you think about the iPad, its screen is bigger than the first Macs, which I find amazing)… one of their biggest errors was to fight the idea of the Mac as a game platform, when that should have been a no-brainer.
Now they’ve embraced games, but seem to be fighting using the iPad as, well, a MAC — as a tool used to create content and not just consume it. Sure they got burned on the Newton, so I can see them vigorously avoiding the handwriting component, but I really believe they are making another mistake by not going after artists and making this as much a wacom pad with full support for Painter and Adobe products as going after the book market.
â??â?¦ a magical and revolutionary product at an unbelievable price.â?
Canâ??t wait to demo this to my beginning drawing class tomorrow morning. That being a pencil + blank sheet of paper.
Wow, coolâ?¦
Soon as I install the eraser app…
Have any of you watched Caprica? The prequel to Battle Star Galactica on SyFy? That cool sheet of paper that’s a computer, that’s what we need here and now! LOL
I will be buying one. I own an iMac, Macbook Pro 13 inch and an iPhone. Wifi only for me is perfect. A large-screen and powerful iPhone with NO $100 a month commitment? HALLELUJAH!
Thank you Steve Jobs for thinking of all the vast number of folks worldwide who will NEVER be power users and just want their media delivered conveniently and simply. And what about the power users? Hey, there’s plenty to choose in 140,000 apps and always more to come, not to mention those folks already have a capable computer anyway. It’s not for everyone and it can’t do everything which is why the OS is limited and super-simple, perfect for the non tech-savvy folks. It won’t replace my Macbook Pro with Photoshop and Dreamweaver and about 200 apps I’ve accumulated over the last decade – why would it? But will it be more comfortable on my couch in front of my TV? Of course. Will it be perfect for my mom who will really only surfs and emails and never got the hang of downloading and installing files and apps? Definitely!
Remember the last gigantic change in media delivery? The iPod. At first, it was useable only with a Macintosh and sold very well to that audience. It was an immediate “hit” in that community but the PC world ignored it until their platform was supported and then it took off like gangbusters. In those days, the Macintosh was 2-3 percent of the USA – now, Macintosh is more like 10%, so the ‘halo’ effect will be much more pronounced from the iPad. Also, PC folks have no problem using the iPhone, they’ll have no problem using the iPad which is very similar (same OS but more capable hardware = a bunch of new OS abilities).
Ipods are ubiquitous but mostly invisible, however the iPad will be ubiquitous and VISIBLE and it’s as thin and wall-mountable as can be AND can hook up with huge monitors… I predict an infinite stream of iPads on walls of infinite homes and businesses – now the internet streams through a window full of video, photos, movies, tv shows and music. Surprise! The future is NOW and only one device delivers it all, seamlessly: the iPad.
I saw the future when I bought the first iPod. It was obvious to me and so many others. Pundits and analysts? They didn’t get it at all and as a group, they dismissed the iPod, the iPhone and now the iPad – talk about slow learners! LOL
I don’t think it makes phone calls.
It’s got built-in microphone. And wifi. Which means you can make phone calls with Skype. But, yes, it’s not an iPhone, just the same OS.