We now know that there will be something happening on Jan 27 10am (2am Jan 28 SG) at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater in San Francisco. The headline of the invite says “Come see our latest creation” which is not surprising since almost everyone expects an announcement for a new Tablet-like product from Apple.
From the multitude of rumors mixed among news, a few things about the new product might have leaked:
- It will sport a screen between 10-11-inch
- It will have a multi-touch-supported screen, just like the iPhone
- It will be available by Spring 2010
- It will be cool
Ok the last point is moot.
But hey, so what else do you think it will have? Here’s our list of what we want to see:
Hardware-wise:
- Always-on connectivity – built-in 3G+WIFI which can transfer connection seamlessly between both
- OLED screen with at least 1200 by 800 resolution
- SSD harddisk with at least 128GB capacity
- Apple’s own high capacity battery found on the MacBook Pros
- An optional (or the _high-end model) docking station that expands its capability, seen recently at Leonovo’s IdeaPad U1 Hybrid
OS-wise:
- A new variant of OS X, similar to iPhone OS but with more advanced multi-tasking support
- Supports existing iPhone apps but display as widgets or full-screen when developers port with new SDK
- New SDK will allow developers to create one app that runs on both iPhone and this new product
- Voice-control and speech recognition system-wide input
- Hand gesture input control – akin to Project Natal for Xbox
- Advanced keyboard input that works just as well with one hand or two-thumbs input (the latter occurs when you hold it on both hands)
- WIFI/Bluetooth direct connections between this new product and other Macs
Others:
* New iWork and iLife Lite versions that works on this new product
* Always-on connectivity gives cloud-storage with iDisk and MobileMe Gallery
* Back To My Mac remote access support
* FrontRow remote control
* Price between S$899-S$1299 (below a MacBook)
So what have we left out?
We don’t really foresee having a camera (back especially) on this as it is not easy carrying a 10″ gadget to take photo/video. A front facing camera might still work, only for gesture input support. But hey, an old idea of a swivel camera might still work?
What else? Somehow I think it might spell the end of the iPod touch.
In conclusion…
To be honest, we aren’t sure what to expect on the 28 Jan morning but one thing we think this will be – a game changer and don’t be surprise if someone here gets it when it is available.
What are your expectations? Share with us.
We will be up on the 28 Jan morning to catch the announcement. Keep a look out at our site to find out how you can do so!
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I just wish they will also announce that they will put BD-ROM drives in all their new computers and have the hardware and software support to play Blu-ray discs.