ASUS: Apple tablet is in development
updated 08:35 am EST, Tue November 6, 2007
ASUS on Apple Tablet
Apple is in the middle of developing a tablet computer, according to contacts within ASUS speaking to CNET. The Taiwan firm is reportedly contracted to build the device, which would be a completely new design rather than share roots with any existing ASUS model. No details have been provided as to the nature of the tablet, though all of Apple's touchscreen devices to date have included a mobile-optimized version of Mac OS X as well as a multi-touch display. A release date for the system is also unspecified, though the timing of the news points to a release next year.
The report has not been directly corroborated but comes from a normally reputable source and fits with ASUS' manufacturing history. ASUS is regularly contracted to produce notebooks for other companies and is frequently tasked by Apple with assembling certain models from the Mac portable line, including MacBooks. A separate claim made in late September by AppleInsider suggested a Newton revival that would resemble a larger iPhone with a more data-centric design. Neither Apple nor ASUS has responded to the claim.
A Newton revival?
11/06, 09:44am reply
Hallelujah! It is about time.
TheSnarkmeister
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Jun 2007
newton saves the world...
11/06, 09:47am reply
...anybody remember Steven Seagal using a Newton to save the world in Under Seige II?
Feathers
Forum Regular
Joined: Oct 1999
i before e...
11/06, 09:48am reply
Damn...correction to my previous post: Should read "Under Siege II". I before E except after C...write out one hundred times...my bad!
Feathers
Forum Regular
Joined: Oct 1999
And...
11/06, 10:19am reply
how long will ASUS be involved with this project if all they're doing is talking about it?
But it won't happen. As has been said over and over again on these boards, the market for tablets (and sub-notebooks, and sub-$2000 towers, and cheap 15" laptops) is too small for Apple to get involved in it.
testudo
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Joined: Aug 2001
Newton II
11/06, 10:38am reply
Newton II? It would be so great to see the Newton brand come back rather than the iTablet or iCarryItAround or iWishicouldthinkofbetternames or iMacPortable of MacBookPorty
jeph4e
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Joined: Dec 2005
Don't see it.
11/06, 10:41am reply
This is one of those pointlessly geeky gadgets that just doesn't look or feel like Apple. The streamlined product line suddenly starts to feel cluttered and inelegant, like the early '90s. When consumers pause to grasp their options, you can bet a sale is at risk, and the brand image is getting diffused. This rumor is way off.
xoch
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Joined: Jan 2006
Duh
11/06, 10:41am reply
Apple Makes Markets.
Too small? BS. Every market is "too small" till you grow it.
The key is having the remarkable product that solves a problem or provides better solutions.
Tablets are great if you are managing data on the go. Gee, there are none of those folks out there.
jeph4e
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Joined: Dec 2005
I'll be first in line
11/06, 10:59am reply
Apple's been developing this thing since 2002. It's about time. I hope it sports a radically new design than anyting we currently have. I don't want steel and glass, make it all glass or something. Make it pretty.
ibugv4
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Joined: Jun 2003
jeph4e
11/06, 11:06am reply
iAgree
gitcypher
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Joined: Jul 2007
NDA
11/06, 11:15am reply
great. now we have to wait 4 more months while steve finds a new manufacturer. when will these turds learn that when apple says "STFU" they mean it?
i hope a***, errrr, asus enjoys their temporary bump in stock price. hardware is commodity. there's more than one motherboard manufacturer in Taiwan.
Rezzz
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Joined: Jan 2006