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My guess? No. If the tablet supports keyboards, people will think of it as half a laptop. The keyboard will be denigrated as an unofficially-required-but-not-
by roc 17y ago
My guess? No.
If the tablet supports keyboards, people will think of it as half a laptop. The keyboard will be denigrated as an unofficially-required-but-not-included peripheral. Everyone will get stuck on the usability annoyances of lugging around a tablet with separated keyboard and 'how do you prop up the screen'. (Chance of integrated kick-stand is around 0)
Further, devs will get keyboards and write software that assumes people have them too, exacerbating the above.
A pen is iffy. I don't think Apple wants anyone thinking of the tablet as another-pen-based-mistake. Not while finger-on-iPod is such a smashing UI success. But the upside to a stylus is pretty huge (maybe they'll attempt to re-brand it as something else; a 'brush' perhaps).
But I think physical keyboards are right out.
- ugh 17y agoI think Apple may allow kayboards and mice but not right away. They might very well wait two or three years to first "educate" everyone about how tablets are supposed to work. Just an example: I don't think it would harm the iPhone now if Apple started to sell pens. It would have hurt the iPhone when it started.
- roc 17y agoOn the contrary, I think the longer the platform goes without kb/m, the less relevant they become. At this point, with so many people so used to touch* and typing emails on their iphones about as quickly as they did on their blackberry, how many people in Apple's market would choose the hassle of a BT chiclet keyboard? (*the most common usability complaint I hear RE: Android, is apps that don't expose functionality through on-screen UI, iphone-style, but via the 'menu' button) As for pens, Apple may be content to let third parties handle that. User expectations don't get confused, but much of their power can still be harnessed.
- roc 17y agoFor the record, I literally /facepalm'd when I saw the keyboard/dock.
- bmj 17y agoThe current reading of tea leaves says the tablet will have the iPhone OS, which means, perhaps, a reasonably sized software keyboard in landscape mode? I agree that physical keyboards are out, though.