What form would/should an Apple UMD take?
Posted by Dennis Sellers 
May 21, 2008 at 7:36am
There’s talk that Apple will release a tablet-like device, a new version of the Newton (though there certainly won’t be any Newton references in its moniker since Steve Jobs killed off that before-its-time device upon his return to power) this year. If we’re talking about an ultra mobile device (UMD) it would make sense as such devices are expected to flourish this year even as desktop computer sales remain flat.
As technology companies adjust to the macro-economic effects of tightened credit, flat wage growth, and job losses, 2008 looks to be a year where UMDs continue to flush out their ecosystems, and notebooks and emerging markets assert themselves on the computer side, according to a new study by In-Stat. Sales growth for UMDs is expected to be 72.6 percent, the high-tech market research firm says. UMDs are ultra mobile computers, mobile Internet devices, a percentage of high-end smartphones, and a percentage of high-end personal media players. I guess the iPhone and the iPod touch are, technically, UMDs, but I think Apple may have further versions in the works.
Mobile computer growth is forecast to be 15.4 percent in 2008, while desktop growth is forecast to flatten in 2008, and “recover nicely” in 2010, according to In-Stat. Mac desktop sales look to avoid the “flattening” trend, based on recent results, but there’s no reason Apple can’t do an UMD and keep updated Macs coming hot and heavy.
What form would an Apple UMD take? I think it will be a bigger version of the iPod touch with a larger screen, enhanced IM and gaming capabilities and beefed-up handwriting recognition. It will be geared for email, web surfing, gaming and note taking. I think it will probably have support for a plug-in keyboard (which would make it perfect for taking notes in class or for journalists covering a speech). I DON’T think it will be a dedicated gaming machine or a tablet in the traditional sense.
It would be cool if an Apple UMD included decent still camera and/or camcorder capabilities—imagine an iPod touch married to a DXG-569V—though I don’t think this will happen. What form do you think an Apple UMD will take?
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Ken Says:
Look to the iPod touch. Touch display, OS X and a healthy chunk of memory, which only increase in the future. Now add the developers who have downloaded 200,000 copies of the SDK.
I think Apple will “enhance” the touch (and iPhone) on a continual basis, but I also believe it will be the developers who drive the future of both. Let’s face it - Apple is in a very comfortable position in this market with the developers jumping on board.
Posted on May 21, 2008
KenC Says:
I like the form of the OLPC2 that I saw recently. Like two iPhones stuck together. What Apple could add is a multi-touch keyboard that adapted to the placement of your fingertips.
Posted on May 21, 2008
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Contributor
Dennis Sellers
Dennis has been a newspaper editor/reporter (seven years) and teacher (seven years). He has over 4,000 magazine, newspaper and online articles to his credit. He has also covered the Mac and tech industries for over a decade for such online publications as MacCentral, MacMinute and now MacsimumNews.
Mac Hammer Says:
Whatever form factor it takes, I want Grafiti back!!!! I like the iPhone keypad, but I honestly believe that I can Grafiti faster than type. :) I used to look down at my paper note tablet in meetings and find that I was trying to Grafiti on paper. Needless to say, I could not read THOSE notes! But they made perfect sense to my Newton. It was WAY ahead of its time and Steve would be wrong to dismiss the _entire_ concept, because there was some real good to be found there.
Mac
Posted on May 21, 2008