As Apple’s World Wide Developer’s Conference (WWDC) approaches, the speculation always runs high. In reading some of the theories around, I thought I’d write about not what I think Apple will introduce but what I think it should be introducing.
It was not too long ago that I wrote a post about Apple reinventing the handheld computer market. With the introduction of the iPhone SDK that allows developers to create all sorts of applications for the iPhone and iPod Touch, Apple has done exactly that. Actually, it can be argued that the iPod touch is nothing but a handheld computer that happens to be a good music player.
Apple should make the most out of this platform it is creating and drive its technology advantage, in the form of OS X for iPhone (or touch devices) and create a small sized touch based Internet device. One thing the recent EEE-induced mini-notebook frenzy has demonstrated is that there is a need for a lightweight companion device you can pretty much take anywhere to access the Internet and Apple already has the technology to deliver a great device.
There has been speculation about an Apple tablet computer for years. It will probably never happen. Why? Because it is a solution for an ill-defined problem. Sure, I’d like to have a device I can hold with one hand and jot some notes down, but for something like this to be practical it cannot weigh the same as a full sized notebook.
Microsoft took the concept a step closer to being usable with its UMPCs, but again it misses the mark by trying to make a very tiny computer that could do everything you can do in a full sized one. What we need is an effort such as Apple has done on the iPhone and Asus has done with the EEE PC. We need a device that will be lightweight, easy to use, support high-speed wireless Internet access and have a fully functional web browser. Oh, it would be good if we could install some custom applications too. Well, it seems I was just describing an iPhone. Now suppose it had a larger screen in the 7 to 9 inch range. With this device, you would be able to browse the Web without having to zoom in and zoom out all the time, as you do with an iPhone.
If adequately priced, such devices would give the new breed of mini-PCs a run for their money. It could also position Apple to go into the eBook reading market Amazon is striving to create.
Apple has all the pieces in place to deliver such a device: the base platform, the hardware technology and development tools already used by thousands of developers around the globe. If they don’t do it, it will be because they feel the moment is not yet right.
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