The myth oF an Apple Tablet is so firmly entrenched in the company's Folklore that long beFore Apple announced the iPad there were entire websites devoted to it. For ten years now people have been discussing this product like it's the Third Coming. By January 2010, just about everybody in the tech industry was convinced that Apple had taken the iPod touch and created a great big 10in version, and For once Apple wasn't about to be contrary.
But the history oF the rumour is interesting, because it suggests two possibilities. Either Apple has been working behind closed doors on the iPad For a decade, or the company has responded to the Fervour For the device by actually creating it.
In May 2001, Kevin Fox, a lead designer at Google, said on his blog: "at least five times in the past ten years engineers at Apple have worked on initiatives to bring a Full-sized tablet-based computer to market. Though the previous Four attempts never saw the light oF day, Apple has saved the best For last. This July: Meet iPad". That was ten years ago, and the myth has been circulating ever since.
The tablet rumours really returned en masse when netbook-style
A mysterious history - an iPad timeline
May 2011
Kevin Fox, a lead designer at Google, writes a blog entry called The Next Big Thing' that claims Apple is bringing a tablet PC called the iPad to market in July.
Nov 2010
Bill Gates demos a Microsoft Tablet PC at COMDEX. Rumour has it that Apple will follow.
Sep 2002
Steve Jobs tells International Herald Tribune: "We're not sure the tablet PC will be successful. It's turned into a notebook you can write on. Do you want to handwrite all your email?"
August 2004
The Register re-ignites the tablet rumour by reporting on an Apple handheld computer trademark registered in Europe.
April 2005
Tablet PC Review reports that the iPad is due in June 2005, claiming Apple has demonstrated it to select journalists at the Apple Store in Las Vegas.
Jan 2006
A US patent reveals an Apple device based upon an accelerometer.
Dec 2008
Rumours of a large-format iPod touch device similar to a tablet surface on website Tech Crunch, citing three sources.
April 2009
Apple COO Tim Cook says: "People looking for a small device that has internet access might consider an iPod touch or iPhone."
Sep 2009
Gizmodo says Apple is in talks with the New York Times about content fora "new deviceltiavigated without keyboard or mouse".
Nov 2009
Apple patent fora handheld computer with both pen and touch-based input appears on the US Patent and Trademark Office website.
Nov 2009
Chinese newspaper Digitimes reports that Apple is waiting for OLED displays and that the tablet will launch in the second half of 2010,
Dec 2009
A tablet-friendly edition of Sports Illustrated is demonstrated. An Apple patent emerges that appears to outline a process for making and selling digital magazines, books and other media,
Jan 2010
Apple announces the iPad at its headquarters in California.
computers arrived on the scene. Steve jobs dismissed netbooks saying, "we don't know how to make a sub $500 computer that isn't junk", but also tellingly said: "We'll wait and see how that nascent category evolves."
The netbook's rise was coupled with a rise in the popularity of ebook readers. Although these remain relatively niche, the market for ebooks was causing monumental shifts in the publishing industry - and following the success ofthe iTunes Store for music and movies, Apple was prime suspect when it came to bringing the electronic bookstore to the masses.
Apple has shied away from calling the iPad a 'tablet computer', possibly because tablet computers have been around for a while and are seen as very niche products. The iPad isn't meant as a niche product at all. Apple hoped to hit a huge market - and it didn't want the iPad associated with an established product category because Apple was pitching it as the first step towards the future of mainstream computing, not a glossy revision oFthe past.
The netbook's rise was coupled with a rise in the popularity of ebook readers. Although these remain relatively niche, the market for ebooks was causing monumental shifts in the publishing industry - and following the success ofthe iTunes Store for music and movies, Apple was prime suspect when it came to bringing the electronic bookstore to the masses.
Apple has shied away from calling the iPad a 'tablet computer', possibly because tablet computers have been around for a while and are seen as very niche products. The iPad isn't meant as a niche product at all. Apple hoped to hit a huge market - and it didn't want the iPad associated with an established product category because Apple was pitching it as the first step towards the future of mainstream computing, not a glossy revision oFthe past.
Patent pending
Here are some of Apple's patent applications that kept Mac fans guessing right up until the iPad was announced. They may have been red herrings, but the iPad emerged eventually...
Tablet Keyboard
This patent demonstrates a large virtual keyboard in action.
Tablet system
This patent outlines touchscreen input and handwriting recognition.
This patent demonstrates a large virtual keyboard in action.
Tablet system
This patent outlines touchscreen input and handwriting recognition.
No comments:
Post a Comment