Old Apple Tablet concept would make for a great accessory idea

John Brownlee ()

Old Apple Tablet concept would make for a great accessory idea

Now that we all know what the iPad is going to look like, the library of concept designs we used to illustrate the old “Apple Tablet” rumor posts look pretty silly, but they’re occasionally worth examining for ideas just not on what Apple could do with the iPad next… but what accessory makers might do.

This Yanko concept for the “MacView” tablet seemed like a pipe-dream even a few weeks ago, but what I particularly like is the iMac-like display shell it slides into in desktop mode.

Really, there’s no reason an accessory maker couldn’t make that work. Since the iPad can be paired with any Bluetooth keyboard, all this really is is a stand: design a free app that automatically pairs your keyboard with your iPad and you’ve got a pretty decent, touch-controlled iMac Mini.

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About the author

John BrownleeJohn Brownlee is news editor here at Cult of Mac, and has also written about a lot of things for a lot of different places, including Wired, Playboy, Boing Boing, Popular Mechanics, Gizmodo, Kotaku, Lifehacker, AMC, Geek and the Consumerist. He lives in Cambridge with his charming inamorata and a tiny budgerigar punningly christened after Nabokov's most famous pervert. You can follow him here on Twitter.

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Posted in iPad, News |

  • Jarman

    So am I to assume that Bluetooth will also allow for magic mouse connection to the iPad? Love this idea of the iPad stand.

  • Jim

    does that not do the same as the keyboard dock that Apple will be shipping?

  • http://ihbs.co.uk Ben

    this is much more elegant than the stand and keyboard that apple are toting!

  • Gary

    A stand like this would look great but would need to allow for portrait and landscape views to be efficient. It would also need to be able to rotate back and forth for game play.

    This landscape concept would not allow for docking without a cord. Maybe they could modify the design for portrait mode with a dock that could rotate to landscape as well.

  • Gary

    How about a dock like this with a iChat camera built in.

    No, to the Bluetooth mouse, the interface does not support a mouse, you don’t need one, just use your finger.

  • Poppa

    I like it, I want it …..

  • http://www.hoggworks.com/ Brian Hogg

    Why do the old designs look silly? Some did, sure, but many were much cooler looking than what Apple actually went with.

  • http://www.toxicspark.com Andrew Macdonald

    That is actually really cool, and if something like that were to go to market, id definitely be in line to buy one.

  • Simon Landon

    You just need a stand that is similar to stands that are currently available for the iphone and ipod touch. iMac style, spin between horizontal and portrait.

    The one in the apple store for the iphone is £25ish, and if there was one of a similar price for the ipad, it’d be worth getting.

  • Scott

    I’d love that as a night stand dock / charging dock / alarm clock display (I’m of course assuming that someone is going to design an awesome alarm clock APP for the iPad . . . )

  • Jake

    This is a very, very stupid idea, the iPad it’s a tablet PC, I can take it anywere I want, why should I use a static dock….

    …what an asshole who think in this crap !!!

  • http://twitter.com/pixelliquid Peter Emil

    Wow such a sweet concept and there’s nobody screaming for it. I personally want one. Definite! And it is not some crazy dream, it is worth investigating possibilities. iPadX including a stylish docking station … even Apple didn’t manage to accomplish this!