Here is a quick rundown of what an Apple iDevice will (might) be like. I’ve been an Apple watcher for years and never been surprised by what they do and don’t release.
First off release date, its quite obvious that the release of any iDevice won’t be at this years WWDC. We haven’t seen the rash of rumours (or chatter) that accompany any new Apple release. A September/October time-frame is more likely, ready for the holidays.
The look ‘n feel, is almost more important to Fanboys then price, battery or even if it exists at all. CNET are suggesting a 7-8 inch screen, thats just wrong. 10-12 inches is the sweet spot.
Full disclosure time, I’m an Apple developer and it means I’m bound by NDA about discussing specifics of the iPhone OS 3.0, however it’s quite obvious that more work has gone on behind-the-scenes than we might be lead to believe. Independent resolution, a file-system (ZFS?), external storage, multiple processes are all things we can expect in an iPhone OS deployed on any new iDevice.
Apple has (some what unwittingly) created an immense ecosystem with the App Store, it not about to hamstring this by releasing low-cost, low-powered devices. Expect any new device to be at least as powerful (and feature equivalent) as the current 2nd Generation iPod Touch. Any talk of no wireless or smaller screens is laughable.
One thing to keep in mind, Apple has been here before. It invented the Netbook with the eMate in the late 90’s. Don’t think it’s forgotten this, expect this to be pushed in schools as e-readers, teaching aids etc.
The processor will be the most innovative feature of the iDevice, possible multi-processors and GPU’s all utilised by Grand Central. It won’t allow you to run Photoshop but it will allow HD movies and OpenGL ES games to sing!
The battery, I always feel sorry for Apple when they release a new product. They always get slammed for the battery life, it’s not like they do it on purpose. If there was a 20 hour battery that weighed less than a ton and didn’t cost 1 million pounds they’d use it. Right? The other bone of contention is removable-vs-fixed. It is nearly always portrayed as a negative to have a fixed battery, never mind the increased battery life etc. Why is this, well it’s simple, Technology is written about by Tech Journalists. Tech Journalists travel a lot with their laptops and need 10’s of hours of battery life, so for the last decade they have all been carrying 3, 4 or 5(!) extra batteries. They think this is normal. It’s not. Batteries cost £40-£60 (well Apple batteries do), normal people can’t claim them on expenses, so we make do.
Expect decent battery life, but not amazing.
Back in the late 90’s when Steve came back to Apple he gave a Keynote (I have it on VHS somewhere), where he talked about the similarities of digital watches and computers (bare with me). He pointed out that in the 80’s the average American household had 1 digital watch and today (late 90’s) it’s 8 (NB: I’m writing form memory but the point stands). This is the overriding aim for Apple; 2 x Desktop or Laptop, 4 x iDevices (including iPhones and iPods).
What does this last paragraph mean? The price will be such that you can buy multiple iDevices for your home and family. They might even sell them is packs of 3 or 4! And if you’ve got a Time Capsule (or other compatible NAS) your ‘profile’ will follow you.
“Pick up the iDevice in the kitchen and search for a recipe, move to the lounge and use the iDevice there to read a book downloaded from Amazon. Each of the kids will have their own for IM, Twitter, Facebook etc. You iPhone will wirelessly sync all new contacts, photos etc. After dinner you can all sit around the AppleTV and view the photos you all took on you iPhones and camera equipped iPods. Then watch a movie downloaded form iTunes.”
Tags: WWDC