The Apple Tablet saga: $500-$1,000 unit said to be on the way, with perhaps a 10-inch screen
Wouldn’t it be funny if Apple gizmos, not Amazon-related hardware, were the most common brand used to read Kindle-format books on?
An Apple tablet, probably selling for $500-$1,000, is indeed on the way, and the screen may be a large as 10 inches, according to TechCrunch. Also see Techmeme roundup. Piper Jaffray is talking about a debut in early 2010. A dely compared to previous plans?
The tablet would use apps the same as the iPhones or at least similar. That would include such programs as Stanza, the Kindle iPhone app and Shortcovers. Amazon now owns Stanza and, if it survives, presumably will let it read Kindle-format books.
Related: Wintek to supply panel modules for updating Apple e-book form factor network, from DigiTimes. Also see today’s item on the promising Shortcovers update.
May 22nd, 2009 at 11:23 am
At $500-$1000 a tablet? Hilarious.
May 22nd, 2009 at 12:37 pm
Yep, at that price range it will sell to mostly Apple fanboys and the few others who can afford the luxury. I guess that quote about not knowing how to make an under $500 netbook also applies to tablets.
May 22nd, 2009 at 3:43 pm
There is a new MID just available that shows what might be possible: the SmartQ 7 MID with a 7″ screen running Linux. Cost? $189.
A brave bloke in Britain ordered one, it came, and he put up a few videos of it, including one where he raves about running the included FBReader on it:
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/1531883
As he notes, ‘if it weren’t for the issue of DRM, this could be a Kindle-beater.’
Isn’t it nice to live in a world with DRM?