Apple tablet speculation resurfaces, this time at Verizon
Published: 23 July, 2009
One of the most rumored devices over the past year has been the legendary Apple tablet, which could see the iPhone maker adopting an emerging mobile/netbook hybrid format, as already adopted by Samsung and others. The latest buzz says that the Apple product will be with us in time for the holiday buying season, and may be the device to break into Verizon Wireless and the CDMA market - without having to wait for the end of the AT&T exclusive by launching a Verizon iPhone.
According to The Street, the device would look like a larger iPod Touch with a 9-10 inch screen and possibly a physical keyboard. Perhaps the most significant aspect of such a launch would be a shift in the business model, compared to the iPhone deal with AT&T. Although that relationship has brought huge sales for both sides, tensions have increasingly appeared - weaknesses in AT&T's network mean the iPhone cannot always perform to its full potential, while Apple was forced to back away from initial revenue sharing terms for a more standard deal after the first generation phone.
A Verizon agreement would likely involve heavy subsidies in return for a lengthy exclusive but, assuming the tablet is tightly tied into the App Store, it would have to make some compromises on its own evolving storefront strategy. Speculation says that th ' iTablet' would cost about $800 unlocked. Scott Moritz of The Street commented: "Apple and Verizon won't be as tightly integrated as Apple's iPhone exclusivity deal with AT&T."
Apple has reportedly had a prototype of the data-only device for over a year, but has been cautious about launching it given the unimpressive performance of some early tablets from suppliers like Hewlett-Packard.
As well as new products and carriers, Apple will also look for growth from expanding the reach of the iPhone, with the enterprise its particular target. Progress here has been slow, but Apple claimed Q2 was a breakthrough quarter, and that 20% of Fortune 100 companies have now ordered 10,000 units or more, encouraged by the enhanced security features of release 3.0 of the iPhone OS. For instance, it adds an on-device encryption for data and a remote wipe feature for Exchange 2007 users.
The touchscreen boom has been of great benefit to Synaptics, and the company introduced two new devices, predicting that 20% of all cellphones will feature touchscreens (up from 1% now) in 3-4 years. Its latest screen can recognize up to 10 simultaneous finger touches and multifinger gestures, and it also introduced a cheaper model for mass market phones. Synaptics' most high profile customers are RIM and HTC and it is also in some iPods, though not iPhones. "Over the past number of quarters, we've gone from a relatively low percent of our total business coming from touchscreens on handsets to, depending on the quarter, 40% or 50%," said the company. "We've been able to continue to grow at strong double digits because of the adoption of our latest technology, which is touchscreens in handsets."
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