Tablet Speculation With Beautiful Mockups: Developer Says Tablet Will Be “Big iPod Touch”

Leander Kahney ()

Tablet Speculation With Beautiful Mockups: Developer Says Tablet Will Be “Big iPod Touch”

Here’s some sensible tablet speculation from UK app developer Dave Hornsby of Chilli X.

A levelheaded Englishman, Hornsby reckons the tablet will be a big iPod touch running iPhone OS 4.0, which is basically the iPhone OS with support for larger screen sizes.

Hornsby doesn’t have any special knowledge of what Steve Jobs will release next week. He’s just thinking aloud. Here’s his reasoning:

“It won’t be running Snow Leopard – there’s no point putting the same operating system that people use to do high end rendering and print ready artwork on a small, less powerful device. If it was to run Snow Leopard then Apple would have to figure out a way of stopping you installing certain types of application and that’s just messy.

It won’t run the current iPhone operating system either, although it will run most existing iPhone apps in smaller windows (almost like OS X dashboard widgets). My guess is that they’ll use the event to announce iPhone OS 4.0 with lots of cool new features including support for larger screen sizes. It makes perfect sense – everyone loves the iPhone OS. Users because it’s slick, fun and easy to use and Apple because of all the money they make from the App Store – why would they want to use Snow Leopard and not be able to control what software goes on there (and get a cut of it).”

Hornsby figured it would be fun to imagine what his iPhone apps would look like blown up to tablet size. See the fantastic mockups above.

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“Imagine what we could do with all these extra pixels,” says Hornsby. “So we’ve used some of our existing apps as a starting point and mocked up these images showing the type of app we’d like to build. Imagine a combination of PhotoFrame, DeskClock and PlaySafe – what do you think?”

Tablet Speculation With Beautiful Mockups: Developer Says Tablet Will Be “Big iPod Touch”

19 comments »

About the author

Leander Kahney

is the editor and publisher of Cult of Mac, and author of three books about technology culture: Inside Steve’s Brain, the New York Times bestseller about Steve Jobs; Cult of Mac; and Cult of iPod. Leander has written for Wired, MacWeek, Scientific American, and The Guardian in London. Follow Leander on Twitter @lkahney and Facebook.

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Posted in Apple, Apple Tablet, iPod Touch, News |

  • http://www.szilveszter.ca WS

    It most like won’t run Snow Leopard because in all likelihood, it’ll be able to run apps from the App Store. SL doesn’t have that kind of support. Moreover, using the same OS that runs on the iPhone gives them the ability to expand both devices using many of the same resources. It’s a tablet, not a notebook…

  • Charli

    i agree that this device is not likely meant to be a full on computer and therefore Snow Leopard is over kill

    but I disagree with one part. the whole apps as widget idea. I think that app developers will upscale and revamp their apps into tablet sized apps (if they choose) to take advantage of the additional screen space. and in fact there have been several rumors about folks being asked to prep demos of existing apps in this way.

  • Derek

    Personally. if it’s just a”big iPod touch” I won’t have any use for the tablet. I just don’t see a reason to have just a bigger iPod when my current iPod touch. And iPhone work just fine for that. I need something that can do more. And that I can justify spending $700-$1000

  • imajoebob

    Jeez, this is an “expert.” Go back to about a year ago when this rumour first started and you’ll see my comment that says the same thing. Some expert.

    Of course, if I’m wrong, I’ll point out that I’m no expert, and besides, this professional computer guy said the same thing.

  • mark

    Do not be surprised when the iSlate gets a card reader slot. Those things are more and more popular as carriers of files too and smaller in size to take with you than usb sticks..

  • Mattzook

    I would really really hope that the “tablet” runs its own OS. Not the iPhone OS. Not the MacOSX. It runs its own Apple “tablet OS”, which is something in between the MacOSX and the iPhone OS.

    If the tablet runs the iPhone OS, then it is nothing more than a giant-sized clunky sized bloated fat iPhone. That’s all it is. It runs iPhone apps, and it has all the limitations and limits of an iPhone. It’s nothing more than a double-sized iPhone. That’s a half-baked retarded copout strategy that would have been worthy of Microsoft. What an Epic fail.

  • http://www.drtablet.com Dr. Tablet

    @Mattzook:

    I imagine it’ll run a variant of the iPhone OS, and what I mean by that is the actual underlying Unix-ish operating system, *not* the user interface. That way, they can take advantage of a lot of their existing code, power management facilities, etc.

    On top of the core iPhone OS, they’ve likely built a tablet-specific UI. Remember, the iPhone UI is designed for a 3 to 4″ screen. Some of the gestures that work well on a small display don’t translate to a bigger display as easily. So they’ll have a UI that, while based on CocoaTouch, will extend things to work better on a larger-format display.

    At least, that’s my theory.

    –
    http://www.drtablet.com – Tablet news, info, rumors and opinions

  • owen-b

    Wow, what an insight this guy has. I think we’ve all worked out for ourselves through piecing together the numerous and extremely exciting patents Apple have filed, the rumours of deals with various media providers, the unofficial leaks from Apple to WSJ etc that this tablet is going to be considerably more than ‘just’ a big iPod touch. Sure, it will look like a big iPod touch (well, except for the aluminium enclosure I guess) but in terms of what it will be capable of doing, it’s going to reach out much further.

    Plus every man and his dog has been saying “big iPod touch” for months.

    SCOOP!

  • Phil

    Why on earth is this still being debated?

    Everyone should already be expecting it to be an iPhone OS4 device. It’s NOT going to run a desktop OS like Leopard, that would be pointless, and it would cannibalize Macbook sales.

    Apple aren’t going to start supporting – and expect users to adopt – a third OS.

    At best, OS 4 will be an evolution of 3.x. This has been suggested already, along with not being compatible with 1st Gen devices – Apple aren’t afraid of closing doors on old hardware, they want to encourage people to upgrade at least every 2-3 years (you don’t see any 5 year Applecare plans around).

    The evolution will be tailored to less clutter and a more computer-like experience, rather than a gadget-experience.

    On that note, I really dig the topmost concept illustration.

  • Max

    I want 2 of them.

  • ged

    is that a big iphone in your pocket or are you just pleased to see me?

  • Sam

    I heard you can bake cookies on the iSlate.

  • JD

    I’ve seen one, and this isn’t it… way cooler, way more functional. You all will be drooling. :)

  • sequence8

    When will people stop force-transporting me, without warning, to the iTunes store via blog links?

  • http://www.dejal.com/ David Sinclair

    I yesterday posted my own predictions on the tablet, based on rumors and my experience as a Mac and iPhone developer. Take a look:

    http://www.dejal.com/blog/2010/01/apple-tablet-predictions

  • radioflyer

    I have the first generation iPhone and love the aluminum casing. I’ve not purchased an updated version hoping they go back to the aluminum, but I highly doubt it will happen anytime soon. So, I decided I’ll wait and see what happens this Wednesday to make my decision. One thing for sure, I will not be purchasing this tablet device. Although, I could change my mind this Wednesday.

  • Ictus75

    Only Steve knows, and he’s not talking (yet)…

  • sTIjn

    my best guess is that Apple will (finally) break into the business market with the iSlate/iPad.. I’d love to add a Mac product to my iMac/iPod/iPhone combo that can replace my work laptop: a multifunctional device that allows to collaborate on documents and exchange ideas in a meeting room.. a convenient way to present something on the iSlates/iPads in the room.. virtual paper to take notes etc.. Bring it on. I’d be seriously disappointed if they try to remake the netbook market with a nice interface..

  • Harry

    Dumbest prediction yet. If there is one thing we’ve come to expect from Apple it’s the unexpected. A big ipod touch and the stock goes to $180 on the disappointment and lack of vision from Apple.
    Why must it run either OSX or the iPhone system. Why not a hybrid that allows OSX’s power with the iPhones ability to run apps? Why not position it below the Powerbook but with a touch interface. I know, you’ll cannibalize Powerbook sales. Think Mac Mini and iMac. Thin, portable and powerful enough run the things people really need. It’s a hit for college students who can have their textbook, do their note taking and write their paper all on one device. Oh, and by the way, it has a touch screen.