News Analysis: A report has surfaced claiming Apple has ordered 10-inch displays that will likely be used in the company's rumored Apple Tablet. It makes sense. Apple has no reason to acquire 10-inch displays unless for use in the upcoming mobile device. Apple is up to something. And it's becoming increasingly likely that that something is the Apple Tablet.
A report has surfaced claiming Apple has ordered 10-inch displays that will likely be used in the company's rumored tablet PC. Assuming Apple does finally
release
the Apple Tablet, it will need some features to help it achieve the kind of
success the company has enjoyed with its iPhone. The Apple Tablet can't simply stand
on the fact that Apple is offering it. That's not enough to justify consumers
or businesses spending hundreds of dollars just to have it.
The device will need strong integration with the products in Apple's App
Store. It will require a usable keyboard. It needs to have the features that
users really want in order for Apple to create a real value proposition for
customers.
So let's take a look at some of the features the Apple Tablet should have
when it makes its rumored debut on store shelves sometime in 2010.
1. A useful keyboard
Since the Apple Tablet will feature a touch screen, the device's keyboard
will become an extremely important feature. If users have a hard time typing URLs
or information into any office-productivity software that will be installed, it
could significantly limit the device's appeal. Overall, the iPhone's virtual
keyboard isn't too bad. Apple should mimic its functionality. But whether or
not a larger device with more screen real estate can recreate that experience
is a big question mark.
2. App Store integration
The Apple Tablet won't have nearly enough appeal unless it plays nice with
Apple's App Store. Admittedly, that's a hard sell. Right now, applications in
the Store are designed with the smaller displays of the iPhone and iPod Touch
in mind. Developers would need to modify their applications so that they work
with the Apple Tablet. That said, there are over 100,000 applications in Apple's
App Store. The hardware company needs to exploit them as quickly and
efficiently as possible.
3. A responsive display
In order for the Apple Tablet to be a success,
its
touch screen must be responsive to any and all gestures the user makes on the
display. The iPhone wouldn't be the iPhone if it didn't have such a
responsive (and accurate) display. The Apple Tablet will be just another
useless tablet computer if it doesn't have that same precise functionality. By
the time it hits store shelves, the Apple Tablet must provide an iPhone-like
experience.
4. True Apple design
Identifying Apple's devices isn't so difficult. Typically,
they
are the best-designed products on the store shelves. They have all the
features that users really want. And they feature a "sexiness" that
most products just don't have. For the Apple Tablet to be successful, it must
have all those elements. Customers expect a certain design aesthetic from
Apple. The company needs to deliver.
5. Uniqueness
Tablet PCs are nothing new. In fact, they've been around for years.
Realizing that,
Apple
needs to find a way to make its tablet unique. Providing multitouch
gestures on a lush display is a good first step, but it might not be enough.
The device needs to do something special that customers haven't seen yet.
Email
Print
