7.28.09: Apple, do not let a college kid one-up you in the creation of a unique Operating System for your new Tablet Computer.
A touchscreen tablet computer by Apple is officially on the way. Visual mock-ups of the hardware itself are all over the internet. The various visual models of the Apple tablet hardware have been available for one’s viewing curiosity far longer than the official announcement by Apple of said device. Some of the mock-ups of the Apple Tablet show the device running the Mac OS X—be it Leopard or Snow Leopard. Some of the presumed replicas of the device show it running the iPhone OS, and a few mockups show a third type of Operating System that is a hybrid of both the Mac OS X and the iPhone Operating System.
What exactly will the Operating System (OS) for the newly-announced Apple Tablet computer be? As an iPod touch owner (and heavy user), I hope that the Tablet will run on an OS that is much more complex than the iPhone/iPod touch OS. Do not misunderstand me, I love the iPhone OS. It is revolutionary in its implementation—the iPhone OS reduces elaborate computing processes into a very user-friendly and visually-compelling Operating System/GUI that a few years ago one would have only dreamed would be available for computing devices the size of a mobile telephone.
But, if the new tablet computer by Apple is simply a physically larger iPhone/iPod Touch, many folks, including me, will stick with their iPhone/iPod touch devices—seeing a larger gadget that does the exact same, or very similar computing functions as being redundant.
Many blogs and articles about this new device have focused on the idea that it will be a “Kindle Killer.” First, you can get my personal opinion about the Kindle by reading a previous article I wrote about that (over-priced) piece of hardware. Second, to compare Apple’s upcoming Tablet computing device to a Kindle is selling the Apple Tablet short. All the functions of Amazon’s Kindle should add up to about 5-10% of the total user-functions of the Apple Tablet, if that. Heck, my iPod Touch has vastly more computing power when compared to the Kindle! (hardware + software = computing power). The Apple Tablet will nix the Kindle; this is obvious and not exceptionally newsworthy in and of itself. Load the Kindle app on the Apple Tablet and give the Etch a Sketch to grandma.
On the other end of the OS spectrum, many are calling for a full version of the Mac OS X Snow Leopard to act as a functional touchscreen OS for this device. I have taken a peek at some of the screen-shots of the upcoming Snow Leopard OS, and it does seem like Apple is adding subtle yet meaningful changes to the Mac OS to make it touchscreen-friendly. The main limitation to adding a full version of the Mac OS Snow Leopard to the Apple Tablet is of the hardware variety. The common belief is that Apple will be using an ARM-based CPU as opposed to Intel’s Atom chip or Intel’s Core 2 Duo processor. While the latter two would be more powerful, the common belief is that they would also eat up battery life on this (presumedly) ultra-thin device, which is why most accounts have the Apple Tablet pegged as using an ARM-based CPU.
The ARM-based CPU will most likely be built by Apple itself, which is one reason why Apple recently purchased chipmaker P.A. Semi. It also would not surprise me if the ARM-based chip was actually manufactured by Samsung who just yesterday unveiled a 1Ghz ARM CPU. Would Snow Leopard function well on a 1 Ghz ARM chip?
It also would not surprise me if most reports about the processor in the upcoming Apple Tablet are all miscalculations, and Apple will actually pack an Intel CPU similar to the Macbook Air, like the 1.86 Ghz Core 2 Duo. Heat issues? Maybe an ultra-small fan could be housed within the unit. This configuration could easily run the Mac OS Snow Leopard and with an Integrated 40-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery squeezed into the Tablet, battery life could be around 5 hours per charge—like the Macbook Air—if not longer. The iPod Touch, using WiFi and browsing the internet or watching Youtube movies such as a kid solving a Rubik's Cube in 47 seconds, will usually yield around 4 to 5 hours of use per charge.
The most compelling and interesting possibility for the GUI/Operating System of this device would be a hybrid of the Mac & iPhone OS’s. While sounding very interesting, a hybrid of the two existing OS’s would also entail the most work and be the most difficult to implement—being basically a third, and entirely new OS from Apple. If Apple is planning on a hybrid OS for its Tablet they have been very secretive about the creation of such an Operating System, and I have seen virtually no clues or hints that such a fusion of Mac OS X Leopard and the iPhone OS is in the works.
I have seen some very compelling mock-ups and animations of a hybrid OS for the Apple Tablet, and they have all come from one person! Keep in mind, I am now talking about mock-ups of the Operation System (OS) for the Apple Tablet, not the hardware device itself. I am not even sure of this person's name, but I know he is out of Atlanta and has created a series of 7 videos of his conceptual “iSlate” touchscreen computing tablet and its theoretical Operation System. This guy’s body of work is very impressive and his implementation of a hybrid, yet fully-functional, touchscreen OS is wonderful.
To quote this person’s blog about his “iSlate” concept, “Like many people, I am waiting for a fully functional Multi-Touch computer. Over the past year I’ve been just a little obsessed with the topic. It Started when I was sitting in my BioChem class and realized how the current keyboard and mouse interface limited my ability to effectively use my MacBook Pro in class. After a month or so of dreaming about how a Multi-Touch computer would work I realized how complex it would be. To make Multi-Touch computer really work you have to completely abandon the current keyboard and mouse paradigm. You also have to deal with the complexities of interacting with a computer where every square mm is a source of input. So, over the year I developed a workable interface concept and made a few videos and concept art to show it off.”
The videos that this person created showing the conceptualization of this theoretical Operating System for an Apple multi-touchscreen computing device are so cool I had to include a couple in this article.
Apple, do not let us down by including only a mildly souped-up version of the iPhone/iPod touch Operating System with your new Tablet. If a college student can produce the above concepts in his spare time, surely a Fortune 500 company with 30,000 employees can do it as good as one (very smart) college student!
Update: (9.29.09): The person who created the two videos above and uploaded them to YouTube has suspended his account. I wonder If Apple applied some pressure to the individual or to YouTube? Too bad, the videos were great...and, again, Apple—you better work the GUI-magic as good as this college kid did. I do not need an oversized iPod Touch!
Update: (12.25.09):This article has been updated, and any comments should be posted on the new blog article, which is now Wordpress-powered.
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