Apple to upset the tech cart on Wednesday

[CountDeMoney]

Whatever it is, I'm sure it'll be something pretentious graphic arts students, homosexual Polish lawyers and society-climbing Canuck lawyers will be buying up in record time.

Apple to unveil latest gadgets Wednesday

Apple Inc. officially alerted the world this month it is ready to unveil its latest tinkerings, which many in the tech industry are betting will be a multimedia tablet computing slate, on Wednesday morning.

The media hordes and analysts are being invited to Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater in San Francisco, where it is presumed company CEO Steve Jobs will show off the latest gadgets and services from Apple headquarters.

The invitation is as vague as it is inviting. "Come see our latest creation," the mass e-mail read. The Apple logo is emblazoned over a virtual painter's palette splashed with colors.

The maker of iPhones, iPods and Macintosh PCs and laptops is known for jolting the tech world with its announcements. Tablet devices have been around for two decades and have failed to catch on with the mainstream buying public. At this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, tablets were being pitched by the likes of Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard and Lenovo. And e-readers, a form of tablet, are gaining some traction after the success of Kindle, Amazon's wireless reading device.

Apple, though, is known for rearranging the markets of tech products.

"Apple loves to innovate around existing products," said Tim Bajarin, president of Creative Strategies. "They didn't invent MP3 players, but they reinvented them. They didn't invent smart phones, but they reinvented smart phones."

As usual, Apple is not saying what will be shown off at the morning event. But the tech world has been buzzing for months with speculation and rumors about a thin computing slab that could change how people access and interact online with content, from newspapers to movies to games. It is expected to be priced in the $800-to-$1,000 range.

More than one product could be offered up, said Envisioneering Group analyst Richard Doherty. Possible announcements could include a touch-screen iMac PC; a larger iPod Touch with a superior screen equipped with Wi-Fi for gaming; a 7-by-9-inch tablet that is a multimedia player; or even a laptop with a built-in tablet, perhaps a revamping of the ultrathin MacBook Air, he said.

The company's innovative edge, Doherty said, likely will be more than just sleek hardware and smooth-running software. It will be a new business model for, say, renting and accessing Hollywood movies, just as the company changed the way people buy music and other content through its online iTunes store.

"Apple is probably going to beat them all to the punch with not just the hardware but a business model that satisfies more consumers, that is more consumer-centric," he said.

Though multiple news outlets and bloggers have reported leaks out of Asia about an impending Apple tablet computing device, longtime Apple watcher Bajarin isn't ready to say he is sure about anything that will or will not be released this month.

"One thing that is a little puzzling is that Apple is famous for the secrecy they demand from their suppliers," he said. "This time around, the suppliers were singing like canaries. So right off the bat I'm suspicious. Who knows what this is about."

[Grey Fox]

I hope it has a dumb name like iSlate.

[Monoriu]

Don't worry.  I won't buy it. 

[DisturbedPervert]

Whatever it is, I'm sure someone will make cheaper and more functional version shortly

[Valmy]

Whatever it is, I am sure it will be overpriced with a bunch of proprietory stuff you have to buy from Apple without any new functionality that doesn't already exist in the market somewhere.  Oh and all the suckers will buy it.

[Berkut]

For all the fun of Apple bashing, they make some damn good products, and when it comes to personal media and portable computing, they are one of the innovators that drive the market.

The only Apple product I have ever owned is an iPhone, but I am rather certain that many of the products I do own are better because of Apple.

[grumbler]

For all the fun of Apple bashing, they make some damn good products, and when it comes to personal media and portable computing, they are one of the innovators that drive the market.

The only Apple product I have ever owned is an iPhone, but I am rather certain that many of the products I do own are better because of Apple.

I agree, but I also enjoy the unintentional irony of people who claim simultaneously that
(1) We don't know what Apple is launching on Wednesday, and
(2) Wednesday's launch will "upset the tech cart"  ! 

I admire Apple's products and deign philosophy, though I won't pay the premium necessary to enjoy  them.  My main complaint about Apple is that software designers like Microsoft make Mac products that are not compatible with the IBM-machine cousins.  At my school, this leads to many unnecessary tears, though none of them caused by Apple itself.

[Ed Anger]

As long as the stock rises on these announcements, they could release iFeces for all I care.

[Josquius]

Apple are one of the few underdogs in the world I can't bring myself to like.

For this...hmm, some mysterious invention which will totally upset the tech cart but noone knows what it is; anyone hear 'Segway'?

[Berkut]

For all the fun of Apple bashing, they make some damn good products, and when it comes to personal media and portable computing, they are one of the innovators that drive the market.

The only Apple product I have ever owned is an iPhone, but I am rather certain that many of the products I do own are better because of Apple.

I agree, but I also enjoy the unintentional irony of people who claim simultaneously that
(1) We don't know what Apple is launching on Wednesday, and
(2) Wednesday's launch will "upset the tech cart"  ! 

I admire Apple's products and deign philosophy, though I won't pay the premium necessary to enjoy  them. 

Oh yes, no doubt the iHype is laughable.

[Barrister]

society-climbing Canuck lawyers

*whoosh*

Yo Money, the mark is that a way.

[Barrister]

Whatever it is, I am sure it will be overpriced with a bunch of proprietory stuff you have to buy from Apple without any new functionality that doesn't already exist in the market somewhere.  Oh and all the suckers will buy it.

I bet you're right.

But I also bet the stuff already on the market will be very kludgey, difficult to use and integrate with your existing computers and peripherals.

The real genius of Apple is "ease of use".  Give a kid an iPod and 15 minutes after it's charged the kid will be listening to music.  Give a grandma an iMac and within 10 minutes of opening the box she'll be surfing the web.

[Barrister]

Oh yes, no doubt the iHype is laughable.

I for one an impressed at how Apple can do hype.  Look at all the hype - all without one official word from Apple.  Now I have no doubt they've orchestrated some 'controlled leaks', but not once has Apple ever said what the hell they're releasing tomorrow.

[Berkut]

Oh yes, no doubt the iHype is laughable.

I for one an impressed at how Apple can do hype.  Look at all the hype - all without one official word from Apple.  Now I have no doubt they've orchestrated some 'controlled leaks', but not once has Apple ever said what the hell they're releasing tomorrow.

It can be impressive while at the same time watching people like you get all iSpooged over it is laughable.

[Pedrito]

Oh yes, no doubt the iHype is laughable.

I for one an impressed at how Apple can do hype.  Look at all the hype - all without one official word from Apple.  Now I have no doubt they've orchestrated some 'controlled leaks', but not once has Apple ever said what the hell they're releasing tomorrow.

  and the fact their much hyped products usually deserve a lot if not all the hype they got is even more impressing to me. I'm no Apple fanboi, but there's no question that the drive their products give to the market is usually very strong.

L.