Apple planning to shake-up textbooks, newspapers, TV and gaming with its rumored tablet?

By on Jan 21, 2010 at 1:24 PM
Rumor January 21, 2010

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The Wall Street Journal has chimed in with its assessment of the Apple tablet and has described the many ways Steve Jobs is supposedly aiming to reshape how we read books, browse newspapers, play games and consume TV with Apple’s new tablet device. Long a stronghold, Apple is reportedly courting the educational market and has developed this tablet with electronic  textbook technology which will presumably take the e-book reading experience a step beyond the current Kindle-experience. The Apple tablet may also reportedly fill the gap that exists for newspapers who have been clamoring for a digital distribution channel that offers a better overall experience than what is provided by a 6 inch e-ink device. Apple is rumored to be in talks with The New York Times, Conde Nast Publications, HarperCollins and News Corp in this endeavor. Hit the jump for Apple’s rumored plans for television and gaming on its tablet device.

Anyone who has owned a 9 to 10-inch slate device knows that it hit the sweet spot for casual movie or television watching and Apple may try to capitilize on the feature by bringing a “Best of TV” subscription-based TV service to the tablet. Rumors suggest that Apple has been negotiating with CBS and Disney which owns ABC to bring four to six shows per channel to the tablet. As was the case with the iPod touch, Apple is also thought to be collaborating with Electronic Arts to showcase the gaming capabilities of its tablet device. Other features potentially include virtual sticky notes, facial recognition technology that recognizes each user presumably to deliver user-specific content, and , of course, a virtual onscreen keyboard.

Details on how Apple is going to integrate these diverse services into the tablet is sparse but at least some of the content may be accessible from iTunes which may be moved to a cloud-based infrastructure following Apple’s purchase of Lala. The other unknown is the wireless connectivity which is needed for such a device. Rumors are hot and heavy that the tablet will feature a Qualcomm chipset that may support Verizon Wireless EV-DO. Qualcomm also makes the Gobi chipset which includes GSM/HSDPA in addition to CDMA/EV-DO connectivity so the tablet may not be a carrier-specific device.  Anyone else going to be glued to their computer next Wednesday to see how these rumors pan out and what other surprises Apple may have up its sleeve?

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  • Sky

    @ Jarrett.
    Are those touch screen? I doubt it.

    • http://www.applebythehour.com jarrett

      @ Sky,

      Go search Google under “Newton” or “Message Pad 2100″ and you will see the original Touch Screen Tablets. This is a Category Apple helped bring to the masses 15 years ago. Don’t take my word for, just go search Google and you will learn all about it.

  • Justin Case

    Just keep checking those user-agents… one of them will appear soon enough ;)

  • Andre Ditis

    Viva le iPad! Viva Verizon!

  • blah

    I just don’t see this thing being tied to anybody. My guess is that this thing will include wireless data with out the requirement to activate it, much like many laptops out on the market today. Anywhoo I guess we’ll see what Wednesday brings…

  • http://web.me.com/mel.tan/ThoughtForFood/Journal/Journal.html Mel

    Maybe they’ll also find some use for their AppleTV product as well. Wireless TV watching around the house.

  • Ro

    I’m really interested in the input method that will be used in this device. Wil it be a simple on screen keyboard, aka iPhone? Or from other tech reports that I’ve been reading, an input method unlike anything we’ve seen, requiring a very steep learning curve. Should be a fascinating development..

    • eric

      @Ro

      “…requiring a very steep learning curve…”

      Ro, you don’t know Apple if you really believe that’s possible. Zero chance of that happening.

      I recently downloaded a TiVO app for my iPhone and it works, just like the TiVO peanut (minus the stuff a remote has to do to control the TV for such things and volume, turning off and on, etc.). It worked with zero learning curve. I’m betting any interface for this device will be quite intuitive after a bit of practice.

  • MikeD

    I’m surprised BGR hasn’t brought up the fact that Google is pushing back on FLASH and is supporting HTML 5.

    How much you want to bet that the Apple Tablet supports HTML 5 and most content provider are going that direction as well to get away from FLASH fatigue.

    This tablet Apple is going to release is not the invention of the tablet. Its the refining of the tablet. Get it straight haters.

  • pierrekamel

    apple tablet ftl

  • jarrett

    @la verdad,

    So don’t waste anymore keystrokes. People who are weak quit and I firmly believe that you should always give up after you have lost. There would be little point in you going forward.
    Sucks doesn’t it? you have already stated you are wasting no more keystrokes for me, yet your pride tells you to go for it. It’s like being called a pussy on the playground, do you stand up or sit on your hands.
    God, I love life.
    cheers

    In the future , maybe don’t bash something you don’t have any knowledge of. Someone else out there will call you on it.

    Posted from BGR Mobile (iPhone).

    • la verdad

      Best joke I’ve heard in years! Just how long did it take you to come up with that jem? Or, better yet, how sheets of scrap paper? Waiting for recess can be such a drag…

  • jarrett

    @la verdad,

    So much for saving those keystrokes.

    Posted from BGR Mobile (iPhone).

  • Mark

    @jarrett,

    I believe Sharp released the first touch screen PDA in Japan which had handwriting recognition in 1992. Their second one was released the same day as the original Newton message pad in 1993. Early touch screen monitors with hand gesture support were in development even earlier. Cell phones with touch screens, icon launched programs and music players could be bought in 2000. Technology changes so fast we sometimes forget how for we’ve come in a relatively short time. The first floppy I put in a drive was the old 8 inch floppy. (Am I getting old?)

  • jarrett

    @Mark,

    Wow, I thought I was old because I can remember using the commodore an Apple based labs at my elementary school computer labs. Those were only the 5 in floppers. My how things change.

    I will agree on the Sharp device. Of course if we are going to get that technical then palm wins because Hawkins basically came up with the whole idea of the “Dynabook” way back when (late 60′s early 70′s) So, do we really see any sharp devices still aorking functionaly? Because we all know that Message Pads are still being used and upgraded well over a decade later. The difference? Apple is Apple, and everyone else , is…….

    Posted from BGR Mobile (iPhone).

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