Posted on May 3, 2009 - by Eric

iTablet and It’s Role in the Game Sector

so so sexy

The rumor of an iTablet debuting alongside new models of current iDevices has been too tenacious to ignore. While I personally believe a tablet product from Apple will come out, at the soonest, in the next year, let us still have fun and analyze its role in the ecosystem should it arrive. Here are my estimate on the device itself;

- priced around $600 to $800

- targeted towards the Netbook users, Wacom professionals, and the usual Mac zealots

- possibly also the Kindle market

- 10-inch to 12 inch (too large i would guess), intel atom processor, nvidia grafx (capable of generating at least ps2 quailty grafx)

- won’t be named iTablet

Now here is where I will be bold and predict the following features;

- 2nd generation VoiceOver software (found ipod shuffle)

- Iphone-like App store for games and applications

- Iphone to Itablet software portability

Of relevance to our line of work here in Cavalcade Games are the 2nd and 3rd items.

The way I see it, the iTablet is a pre-emptive move against the inevitable challenges Apple has to face. Namely the popularity of the netbooks, Windows 7 and the contracting economy. iTablet fits too nicely in these holes not too pass up the chance to strengthen these weaknesses with one product instead of multiple ones.

Also, iTablet is well-positioned to ride the wave on several favorable developments;

• The Iphone, and Ipod Touch has proven very effective in exciting the customers in the mobile space. [What if this proves true in the desktop space?]
• Windows brand is at its weakest point [Now, is the time to strike!]
• Games and Entertainment software has proven to be very effective adoption drivers. [After years of ignoring games, Apple has found a curious but effective formula. Democratize the whole game dev - platform chain. Be the middle man to gain more profit in the process as well as have less Windows hand-me-downs.]
• Wacom, Kindle, Mac devotees, Vista victims are now a huge enough pool of potential buyers to make this foray at least moderately successful.
• The App Store will prove to be decisive in winning over software developers as it will give them a complete publishing and billing solution while leaving them more mindspace to design / build products.
• The unified hardware spec, larger touch screen, powerful hardware, in-App purchase, the mobility and keyboard-mouse option will all present an exciting new playground for us app developer.
• imagine Iphone apps being easily ported to the iTablet with just a few line of code.
• or having some iTablet and iPhone interaction

In the end, this is how I would think Apple would disrupt the console market stealthily. That is by aiming at a small space between Windows and the Xbox 360 and attracting the thousands of small developers to compete with the big ones in an even-level paying field.

All in all, its a high risk / high reward maneuver. There are too many volatile factors in the current year that if this rumor is to be true then the timing needs to be pitch perfect and the product very enticing (lower the price than anticipated). I have no facts nor research material to back me up on these predictions but I am sure the Apps store, Iphone model and the Ipod model are influencing Apple’s plans in attacking markets where they are struggling in, namely the desktop space.

Wishful thinking or a very exciting possibility? You be the judge…