Gallery: How Apple’s Tablet Will Be a Paradigm Shift

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Here’s how Apple’s tablet will work and why it’ll be a paradigm shift. Using your fingers as an input device is extremely intuitive, and it’ll make the mouse and keyboard seem as antiquated as punch cards.

On the following pages is a gallery of concept designs created by Jon Doe, an anonymous grad student from Georgia who has done a LOT of thinking about how Apple’s tablet will work.

Doe has done a remarkable job of figuring it out. Over the course of a year, Doe has imagined how the device might work, what gestures it might support, and how Apple could adapt its popular iLife software to work in a multitouch environment. He’s created a blog to showcase his ideas and a series of YouTube videos. There’s so much to see, I’m publishing several posts over the next few days.

“The problem is that the current PC interface (PC as in Macs, Windows, and Linux boxes) is outdated,” says Doe. “We’re reaching the limit of what we can do with a mouse and keyboard.”

Check out the video and gallery after the jump to see why Apple’s tablet will be such an exciting device.

Here’s a mockup TV ad that gives a taste of how Apple’s tablet might work. The experience is one part Minority Report, one part Jeff Han. It’s clear a device like this will be a lot of fun to play with.

Why is Doe anonymous? “I’m not too comfortable having my name and face on the good ol’ interweb,” he says. “I avoid social networking and, until I wanted to share my Slate idea, I’ve avoided personal blogging.” He’d also like to work for Apple some day. “Apple’s very persnickety about rumors and its logo, so I figured I’d have a better chance at getting this dream job if my name wasn’t attached to my internet life,” he says.

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