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What I hope to see in Apple's new tablet computerSAN JOSE, Calif., Jan 26, 2010 (San Jose Mercury News - McClatchy-Tribune News Service via COMTEX) -- With Apple expected to finally unveil its tablet computer Wednesday, I'm among the many who are eager to see what the gadget will look like and how it will work. Judging from reports and rumors, it will resemble an overgrown iPhone and will be able to surf the Web, read electronic books, view digital videos and play games. It will be built around a 10-inch touch-sensitive screen, run a version of the Mac OS X operating system, and allow users to download applications through a version of the iPhone App Store. And if you believe the latest reports, it's likely to allow you to access the Internet via Verizon's 3G data network. Beyond that, details are fuzzy at best. Everyone from Apple fanboys to publishing industry executives has an idea about what the device will _ or should _ be. Here are my own hopes and expectations: _Low price. Rumors are that Apple plans to charge as much as $1,000 for its tablet computer. I hope not. That would be far too expensive for many consumers and too much money for this type of device. The tablet is likely to be a second computer for most people. As such, it will be competing against netbooks, which typically cost around $350. Apple's tablet may be niftier than the average netbook, but that's not going to matter to a lot of consumers if it costs more than twice as much. It may be a pipe dream, but I'd like to see Apple price the tablet at $500 _ or less. _Built-in 3G. One thing I didn't like about the JooJoo tablet that I played with in December was that it had only one way to connect to the Internet: over Wi-Fi. I love Wi-Fi, but it can be hard to find a Wi-Fi hotspot when you're away from home. Without an Internet connection, a lot of the tablet's features, such as the ability to surf the Web or watch Web video, are unusable. 3G networking _ the high-speed data transfer available through the cell phone networks _ solves that problem because it's available in many more places than Wi-Fi. Having the flexibility to use it just about anywhere would be a real boon to the tablet. And including 3G access could also help defray some of the tablet's upfront costs. Carriers such as Verizon and AT&T typically subsidize devices that use their networks in exchange for requiring consumers to sign a two-year service contract. _Quick-change PC. I'd like to see Apple make it easy for users to connect a keyboard and mouse to the device and to set it up on a desktop so that they could use it as a regular computer. Many users would enjoy having the option to use the tablet in place of a laptop when traveling or to use when they didn't want to power up their primary PC. Enabling this could be as simple as including a Bluetooth antenna in the gadget and allowing it to pair with Apple's wireless mouse and keyboard. Apple _ or its accessory manufacturing partners _ could also provide a simple stand for the tablet. _Easy TV sharing. The missing entertainment link in most living rooms is an easy way to watch on high-definition televisions the wealth of content that's available on the Internet. Electronics manufacturers have been working on this problem for years, but most solutions to date have been too expensive, too difficult or too limited, offering only small portions of online content. The Apple tablet apparently will be a living-room device, which means you'll use it while curled up on your couch. And like any computer, it should have full access to Web content, such as games and videos. It would be great to be able to easily project that content onto your big-screen TV so you can easily share it with other people in the room, rather than force them to huddle over the tablet's expected 10-inch screen. _Flash support. This is one of the iPhone's biggest missing pieces. A large swath of Internet content is available only via Adobe's Flash software. Because the iPhone doesn't support Flash, you can't use the device to access many Web-based videos, games or multimedia slide shows. That's an annoying but not critical problem for the iPhone; right now, few other smartphones support Flash, and users can access at least some of the content through dedicated applications. But it would be a deal-breaker on a tablet, particularly one whose primary use would likely be to access Web-based content. _Long battery life. Another big problem with the iPhone and other smartphones is their limited battery life. Apple says the battery in the latest iPhone will allow you to surf the Web for five hours using the 3G network, but in my experience, the battery lasts far less than that. In contrast, the batteries in the latest netbooks will last nine or more hours. Apple's tablet needs to have a similarly long life, so you can use it on a cross-country plane ride or throughout an evening without having to plug it in. ___ Troy Wolverton: [email protected]. ___ (c) 2010, San Jose Mercury News (San Jose, Calif.). Visit Mercury Center, the World Wide Web site of the Mercury News, at http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |