Imagine a laptop that can instantly turn into a touch-screen tablet—a super-sized iPod Touch when shut.
Might this be the mysterious Apple product transition?
Clues are out there. Apple exploring dual-sided translucent touch-screen panels was the headline over an AppleInsider item from this past March.
Read Todd Jonz’s reminder of the above, as we ponder the nature of the transition. We’re talking about a real patent application. Click on image for greater detail.
Easier to use than Tablet PC, maybe
So what’s the bottom line? Well, could we see tablet-notebook hybrids that were lighter and better suited to e-book reading than Microsoft’s original Tablet PC concept? And maybe more rugged and cheaper to produce in the long run, with a simpler mechanical side? And more convenient to use? No need to swivel the screen around? Plus, you can check your e-mail when the clamshell is shut? A handy little wrinkle to use in lines at the airport, no?
iTunes and the B word
Meanwhile, in keeping with speculation that Apple will take more e-books seriously, Mike Cane notes that the iTunes trademark has been changed to include the word "books." Here’s another sign of the folly of a Kindle-centric approach for readers or publishers. Oh, how we need trustworthy e-book standards to help personal libraries survive the inevitable moves from one hardware platform to another! Lack of DRM would help, too, as shown by Yahoo’s debacle.
Related: The rumored Apple tablet: A bridge between games and e-books?
[…] link: The eBook people are finally catching on that a Rumor #3 device makes having a separate device merely to read books rather redundant. […]
It looks to me like this is what the nintendo DS could also evolve into.
When the lounching of this tablet PC will be ? And where`is your distributor / agent in Indonesia ?
Interesting, that kinda looks like the Microsoft Courier.
Find more information on Apple Ready: http://apple-ready.blogspot.com/2009/01/new-tablet-pc.html