There's nothing "netbookish" about a Kindle. If anything, the IT should have a divergent form factor in the same wise (without a keyboard and so much bezel).

whenever i read "news" like this, im reminded that Jobs was the guy that canned the newton back in the day...

Jobs is a businessman. The Newton had become an object of ridicule (rightly or wrongly). I don't think Apple had a choice. The decision wasn't about technology, it was about the management of a product line.

Roger.

I guess. For me the tablets are more about what they can do for me. And half the reason why the iPhone didn't work for me was to do the things I wanted it to do I would have to hack it. Only to get those hacks replaced by Apple's Official Firmware. Not to mention I abhor iTunes.

But then again I'm not an average consumer. So something like iTunes integration would be a pro for them.

I'm thinkin' back to the Macintosh days and wondering if the iPhone and its many variations will be following the same path, and for the same reasons.

Both The Mac and the iPhone simply worked out of the box and introduced more people to the technology that they represented and both faced scattered and unfocused competition in an emerging market.

However, the Mac relied on proprietary software and hardware and when the competition got its act together and as customers became more knowledgeable, the Mac found itself priced out of the market.

Many of the millions who have purchased the iPhone had never used a cell phone for anything other than a phone call. A huge percentage of these same people now use their iPhone to check/read E-mail more than they use a desktop computer to do the same...

Only to an extent. It was definitely personal for Jobs.

Rightly for the first-generation Newtons, extremely wrongly for the second.

I agree that Jobs killed the newton...I think out of spite. I had one and bought them for all of my IT staff. It was a great tool.

The handwriting was way ahead of it's time and I used it for note taking in meetings and would port to Word and email it out my staff. Sometimes right in the airport...other folks from the meeting would ask me how I was doing this (the fun part)

There was a whole community out there of Newton users and developers. They were greatly disappointed with Apple at the time.

Had Jobs not killed it, this tablet would today kick ***.

Just my opinion, ( I still have a Newton, don't use it, but miss what it could have been<G>)

This is often stated, yet I still question it. Apple was dying, and the newton w/it. What is a bigger slap in the face than taking something someone else hosed and making it successful? IOW, I think it may have been a more clinical decision than is generally credited to ol' Steve-O.

Of course, this speculation is coming from someone who finds Windows unnecessarily restricted and any company run by a dictator (benevolent or not) as laughable. Apt has set the bar for application management, and that's not due to competition from Cupertino or Redmond (neither of which could un-install an app to save their ***), but because of yum and emerge. Fault Debian for its butcher of run-levels all you want, 99% of anyone I deal with daily need exactly two: "Use It" and "Fix It" (and very few are qualified for the 2nd).

Apple is given a lot of credit for a lot of things, some of which is deserved. The success of the iPod is undoubtedly incredible...but so was that of the Palm Pilot. The iPod seems to be following in the footsteps of Palm. Where Palm developed and sold a pda+, Apple has developed and sold an mp3 player+. Both use large icons on a 'home screen' and allow for 3rd party development, and both appear largely incapable of growing out of that ideal. Apple made the smart choice in going w/an mp3 player with more universal appeal, but I think ultimately its fate will be the same.

I guess where I'm going with this (other than an inebriated stream-of-consciousness fall through the rabbit hole) is: an open platform with dedicated hardware advancements by a company (be it Nokia, Intel, or someone else) will ultimately serve everyone. Let's not forget that Apple, innovator in so many ways, went with a *nix core. Likewise, my n810 could easily have been sold as a pda, or an mp3 player, a gps device, or a MID. While I do those things with my n810, most of my time is with it is spent managing my network, filling out work spreadsheets, and watching podcasts.

Try and sell that dedicated device. :P

I always thought the ipod touch was the competition. Apple would be stupid to introduce a product thats harms that market. My guess is a netbook. Mac Book Air Mini?

I hope they do come out with something in this form factor with a proper keyboard.