The company’s Research Lab built a remarkably similar device in 2008 called Codex. And in the real world, the Microsoft tablet is not quite as slick as the demos make it look.
ZDNet’s Mary-Jo Foley is reporting that Courier is more than a concept: it’s an “incubation project” slated for a possible mid-2010 release. Also, Microsoft is “leaning toward” building the hardware itself, like the Xbox, to speed the device to market, and presumably offer competition to Apple’s rumored tablet.
Check the video and pictures after the jump to see what it actually might look like in real life.
The Apple tablet is 10.7-inch device that runs the iPhone OS and is ready to go, subject to Steve Jobs’ final approval, iLounge reports.
Citing a rock solid source with a proven track record, iLounge says the “iPad” looks like a jumbo iPhone with a curved back and an approx. 720p touchscreen. The device will be announced on January 19 and ship in May or June — the delay is designed to build iPhone-like hype.
It will come in two configurations: One with built-in 3G networking and another without. “Think of the 3G version as a bigscreen iPhone 3GS, and the non-3G version as a bigscreen iPod touch,” iLounge says.
The device is not designed for a work or productivity. It’s for media consumption.
“It’s a slate-like replacement for books and magazines, plus all of the media, gaming, app, and web functionality of the iPhone and iPod touch,” iLounge says. “It is not meant to compete with netbooks. It’s an iPhone OS media player and light communication device.”
And Steve Jobs is 80 percent likely to give the green light for a January 19 launch.
Processed food mongers Kraft thought they might cop some of Apple’s cool by sticking an “i” in front of a new product.
Meet iSnack 2.0. It’s Vegemite (for the uninitiated, concentrated yeast extract) plus cream cheese. In one handy jar.
(Forgive me Australians: it sounds like it should’ve been directly marketed as an emetic.)
The new Apple-esque name was chosen from 48,000 entries in a contest. The winning entry was coined by 27-year-old Dean Robbins, who, we’re guessing because he’s also a web designer, is probably also a Mac user.
What it is: A simple puzzle platformer in which you play Jeremiah the Frog, a cheerful fellow trying to escape Satan’s curse by turning floor squares red and green with his hops — all to the music of brilliant indie rock outsider Daniel Johnston.
Why it’s cool: Didn’t you read the description? Ah, well. The play control is smooth and easy to pick up, the graphics are beautiful and cartoony, and the soundtrack is amazing. I’ve only been playing for five minutes, but I’ve already heard “Some Time Spent in Heaven.” Better still, Jeremiah is based on a mural Johnston painted in Austin, Texas, who cheerfully declares “Hi, How Are You?” to people on the campus of the University of Texas. But it’s a good game whether you know that or not.
Where to get it: On the App Store, of course. Link. It’s only 99 cents for a limited time.
Apple's popular iMac is rumored to get a refresh soon. Many are hoping Blu-Ray will be added, but that's unlikely. CC-licensed pic of an iMac by QuattroVageena: http://www.flickr.com/photos/quattrovageena/1709649008/
A redesigned iMac with a slimmer chassis, a lower price tag and possibly Blu-Ray is coming in the next few weeks, says AppleInsider.
Citing two sources, the new iMac is already rolling off production lines in Taiwan, says the website. It could be launched as early as next week, though early- to mid-October is likelier.
The new machine will likely be cheaper and sport a thinner industrial design, along the lines of Apple’s latest LED backlit Cinema Displays. It may also have Blu-Ray, AppleInsider suggests, though not very strongly.
“People familiar with Apple’s thinking have suggested in recent months one of these moves could see the company finally embrace Blu-ray — a technology once derided by Chief Executive Steve Jobs as a “bag of hurt” from a licensing perspective.”
CoM is betting against Blu-Ray. The format isn’t yet ready for prime time on computers. Until software and other media ships on Blu-Ray, it’s a format that makes sense only for movies on home theater systems.
If Apple does add Blu-Ray, it’s likely to be at a premium, AppleInsider says, suggesting Blu-Ray may be available as an option, which sounds reasonable. Customers wanting a Blu-Ray drive can pay extra for it.
“… you’ll never own a Microsoft Courier device,” he writes in his latest column. “It’s not real now. It’s not going to be real in the future. And even Microsoft does eventually make it real, it will fail in the market and you won’t buy one.”
As Elgan points out, the “leaked” photos and video of the device are pure CGI; Hollywood-style special effects that look great as mockup photos and demo videos, but may not be possible to build.
“Everything is awesome when it doesn’t have to actually be manufactured, sourced or developed at an affordable cost,” he writes. “It’s special effects wizardry, not software or hardware design.”
In edition, Elgan notes that a pen-based tablet is doomed to failure. He calls Microsoft’s repeated attempts to force pen-based devices on the market “crazy,” citing Windows for Pens in the 1990s, pen-based Tablet PC and Ultra Mobile PC, and Windows Mobile devices with pens. “I don’t think pens have any role in mass-market devices of the future — certainly nothing that could compete with an iPhone-like Apple Tablet,” he says. We agree – pens are a throwback. The future of multitouch tablets and PCs are finger-controlled.
Now that Apple has released a new version of its iPod touch, the floodgate of first- and second-generation units offer some good bargains. Today, we include two options – refurbished touch’s from the Apple Store and a MacMall deal. Weather you’re into leather or metal, we have an iPod/iPhone case for you. Plus, in our drive to offer you choices, today’s other lead-off hitters give you two discounts on Mac hardware or screen protectors.
For details on these and other products (like a portable solar charger), check out CoM’s Daily Deals page.
In an embarrassing turn of events, Palm has gotten the smackdown from a USB industry group over a software hack that enables Palm’s Pre smartphone to sync with iTunes.
When Palm released the Pre earlier this year, the company cleverly spoofed Apple’s unique USB identifier to fool iTunes into thinking the Pre was an Apple device, allowing it to sync songs and playlists. It was a sneaky but daring move for Palm, ensuring the Pre was compatible with the market-leading music software.
But Apple repeatedly disabled the hack with a series of iTunes updates, so Palm sent a letter to the USB Implementers Forum, an industry group that oversees the USB standard, claiming Apple is “hampering competition.”
But in a response to Apple and Palm on Tuesday, the group sided with Apple, saying Palm’s spoofing of Apple’s ID likely violates USB-IF policy.
“Under the Policy, Palm may only use the single Vendor ID issued to Palm for Palm’s usage,” “the group said in a letter obtained by Digital Daily.
“Usage of any other company’s Vendor ID is specifically precluded. Palm’s expressed intent to use Apple’s VID appears to violate the attached policy,” the letter continued.
Embarrassing. Clearly not the response Palm was hoping for.
The USB Forum asked Palm to clarify its position and respond within seven days. Palm told Digital Daily it is reviewing the Forum’s letter and will “respond as appropriate.”
If you’ve wanted a MacBook for so long, but have held off waiting for the right moment, wait no longer, because we lead off today’s caravan of Apple bargains with deals on MacBooks, MacBook Airs and two offers on MacBook Pro laptops. Of coursem no hardware extravaganza would be complete without a deal of Time Capsules.
For details on these and other items (such as the Gogo iPod and iPhone case), check out CoM’s Daily Deals page.
But where Apple’s device will be designed for your fingers, Microsoft’s includes a pen! WTF? Is this the nineties? Has Microsoft learned nothing from the iPhone at all?
Yeah, Apple’s tablet will also support a pen. For detailed graphics work, and maybe even text input, a pen will work better than your fingers, but the primary input device?
Says Giz:
“The Courier user experience presented here is almost the exact opposite of what everyone expects the Apple tablet to be, a kung fu eagle claw to Apple’s tiger style. It’s complex: Two screens, a mashup of a pen-dominated interface with several types of multitouch finger gestures, and multiple graphically complex themes, modes and applications.”
Codenamed Courier, it has two multitouch 7-inch screens joined by a central hinge, which has a single iPhone-like “Home” button. It’s a late prototype, Giz says, and may have nifty hardware features like inductive pad charging.
But if you have to use a pen to control it, it’s fucked.
