Apple’s stock plummeted in after-hours trading tonight after the company gave a weak guidance for its upcoming fourth quarter. The stock price has fallen over 10 percent, close to 17 points, and as such has wiped out nearly $15 billion from Apple’s market cap.
So the natural question is, why, after a... (Read more)
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I suspect that it is indeed an iSlate. Something smaller than a tablet but bigger than the iPhone. When you think of it, the Touch and iPhone gave Apple a platform from which they could easily expand. The limitations of the Touch are it's size. This limits the screen to being just a little too small and the battery to having just a little less than an ideal charge capacity. Also the size and efficiency of antennae as well. By adding about 1,5 inches to it's width and 2 inches to it's length you end up with something far more portable than a laptop, even the ASUS micro-PCs and yet with all the advantages of the Touch. All the technology exists and has been proven. Now the engineers at Apple can actually remove a few limitations and really show what this platform can achieve.
The new product will be...
That is speculation; on the more conservative side I believe that natural extensions of existing products have been seen and may be seen.
Have been seen: The iTouch from the iPhone; iPhone/Touch capabilities in the MacBook Air (pinching squeezing, etc. on the trackpad).
May be seen:
More iphone/Touch capabilities on future MacBooks and MacBook Pros. May be built into the display.
A larger iPhone/Touch tablet like computer. (I am sure this will happen the question is when).
iPhone/Touch capabilities to future iPods.
But the new product will be that Steve Jobs has been cloned.
"Microsoft after it threw down the gauntlet with its Netflix on the Xbox 360 deal."
I doubt Apple is much concerned about MSFT/Netflix. This is not an area where MSFT is likely to be able to gain much traction.
I'd say a tablet is VERY likely. But a USEFUL one; something the computer-buying public hasn't seen yet, given the pathetic sales numbers for such devices.
I'd love an iTablet, but it's too big a gamechanger to release in the Fall quarter. The iDevice is a big enough deal to be released at MWSF 09.
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