The Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco is getting ready for something big for January 27th. One week before that, Apple, Inc. sent invitations to members of the media to come join them for an announcement of "[their] latest creation". What exactly it is, nobody's revealed for sure, but everybody is almost 100% convinced that it's going to be the supposed Apple Slate, or the iTablet, or some similar godawful name.
(Fact: everybody was spot-on when they guessed "iPhone" was going to be the name of Apple's smartphone in 2007; obviously, Apple wasn't going to name a phone based on the iPod line an "Apple Verbal Communicator" or something. Duh.)
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="One of the many mockups of the speculated Apple tablet."]
[/caption]The Slate has occupied nearly every tech writer's thoughts and column since rumors first arose, and the Apple rumor community is in full force. They were disappointed recently at the September 9, 2009 event when everybody was convinced that a tablet would be announced (or a magical iPod Touch With Camera), only to discover the new product was an iPod Nano with a video camera. Deflating, yes, but the fifth-generation Nano was a perfectly competent device still. I bought my sister
Roslyn one for her birthday. She likes it.
There's definitely something substantial about these rumors. Steve Jobs has been apparently quoted as saying, "This will be the most important thing I've ever done." That's some high praise, and in all honesty I can't see how a tablet will change the world the way the Apple II or the iPod did. Book publishing companies are reporting that Apple has allegedly aggressively pursued deals on digitizing textbooks and other ebooks. With the Amazon Kindle controlling a relatively primitive market, an Apple venture there might prove hugely successful.
I own an iPhone 3G S and a MacBook; the Ruslan household has three iPods, two of which are models you can't get anymore — there's no doubt I'll be very interested in any new product Apple launches, especially if it's going to be the Slate. But I'm going to be holding on to my money first: as exciting as the Slate is, the war for winning my heart and mind was won by Microsoft,
when they announced the Microsoft Courier.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="The Microsoft Courier. This isn't speculation: this is the real deal."]
[/caption]This is what I really need: not an upsized iPod Touch, not a writing tablet, not a 10" multimedia platform. Something that can run PDFs and ebooks would be great, but I'd prefer digital ink rather than a backlit LED for reading. The Courier is it: a sleek, incredible take on the traditional organizer, with contacts, full-screen calendars maps, touch support, writing recognition. There's no doubt the Slate will have all these, but I'm holding my breath until I see examples of it. The Courier has won me because of its design, its primary role as a digital organizer and magazine-style reader, and because it came out with solid details first.
Still, the Courier isn't coming out anytime too soon: if tomorrow's event really is a Slate announcement, the huge interest is definitely going to make Microsoft have to act cautiously and start the PR machinery to keep interest (and keep pace with Apple) in the Courier. The battle to win us over with the best tablet is still very wide open.
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