thestormglass.com

Since the iPhone was released, there has been talk that Apple may be in the market to revive the Newton. As
recently as last week, Appleinsider have been pedaling the most recent incarnation of the rumor. A week prior to that we
had discussed this very thing - but you'll just have to take our word for it

This is one of those 'Where to next?' conversations where everything starts to make sense. You can see the whole picture,
not just pieces of the puzzle. When AppleTV was announced, Steve Jobs explained the direction Apple was heading with media
in the home and in your pocket.

- iMac in your office.
- iPod in your pocket and car
- AppleTV in your living room

It paints a very simple picture of how Apple is aiming squarely at content distribution. You can retrieve your content, anywhere you want.
Now with the iPod touch and iPhone, you can buy content on the move, not just from your desk. This move further extends the reach of the iTunes store, making it not only a music and video platform but by stealth (through iPod games) a software purchase platform aswell.

This push to morph iTunes from a simple jukebox application to a integrated content distribution system should be scaring traditional software houses, they are already getting left behind. Just like the music and movie industry. Most people didn't understand the plan with iPod (arguably, neither did Apple), but these are now roads well travelled - the iPod business model works and the iPhone is doing it all over again.

iTunes is only one piece of the puzzle.

We think there is one product missing from Apple's current line-up, one that fits perfectly between the iPhone and Macbook.
That product is a multi-touch Mac.

'No!' I hear you say, 'Microsoft have been pedalling tablet PC's for years and they never got anywhere!' - we agree!
Not because we think they are a bad idea, they aren't. The single biggest hindrance to the tablet PC form factor has always been the interface and the hardware that its based on.

The Multi-Touch interface provides a method of interaction unrivaled in mobile electronics, the genius of Multi-Touch is not so much the hardware (although impressive) but the way you can interact directly with the software. Making the interaction so basic (by NOT using a keyboard and mouse) brings the device to the masses on a scale not seen since the iPod (click-wheel) and the original Mac (bitmap display/mouse).

Apple have a knack for solving problems with technology and not creating technology then trying to find a problem to solve with it - Multi-Touch epitomises this by providing a solution to a problem that most people take for granted. It's so simple, that it prompts cries of 'why didn't I think of that?' when you see it and draws 'ooh's' and 'ahh's' when you use it.

They cracked the code that was holding back the tablet PC, a Multi-Touch based Mac for the masses is coming. It's just a matter of time.

With the iPhone, we see a device that has converged some functions from a laptop, a phone and ipod. This is a major milestone in the world of portable electronic devices. Like the iPod, iPhone paves the way for 'smart' devices. The iPod's mass production has allowed Apple to push the envelope on price and on technology for years. Driving the price of memory, cpu's and LCD's down though sheer volume and allowing them the flexibly to create breakthrough devices like iPhone - now you know it's possible, I bet you wouldn't have believed how far ahead the iPhone technology was to be if someone told you 12 months before it was announced.

So Apple have the hardware and the software to make it happen, they have shown they can deliver content directly to your device though the Wi-Fi iTunes store. The board is set and the pieces are moving.

Zillatron and Brodmier