On the week that Toshiba unveils its tablet computer, JOHN HARRIS asks what Apple has in mind.

One of the bestinvestments I ever made was in a portable DVD player for my then six-year-old daughter.

Flying back from China, we had a one-hour plane change at Singapore’s Changi Airport, so I left both my sweethearts to make a dash to the duty-free stores to purchase the $400 unit.

Although 18 months later, comparable DVD players were available in Australia for half the price, the seven-inch-screen device has earned its keep by keeping my daughter occupied in the back seat on many long country drives.

Unlike a notebook computer, which can also play DVDs, it lacks a lot of delicate parts, it has a good battery life and it is optimised for the job it’s designed for – playing movies.

I  was reminded of that purchase this morning after reading that notebook specialist Toshiba has unveiled a prototype of a handheld tablet computer, which also has a seven-inch screen.

Unlike earlier so-called tablets – which are basically notebooks with a rotating touchscreen – this new-generation tablet is true to its form factor: It has no keyboard, just a screen, to drive it.

The multimedia Toshiba JournE tablet was revealed at an electronics fair in Berlin.  With built-in Wi-Fi connectivity, the JournE offers Internet access and can access Picasa, YouTube, Flickr and instant messaging out of the box.

Toshiba, which claims it has a battery life of around 14 hours, reckons playing video will be the “killer app” for the JournE.  Apparently, it will be available in Europe later this year for 249 Euros: Although that converts to just over $400, it’s probably a meaningless exercise because the Aussie price is likely to be much more.

The 900-gram, brushed-aluminum unit, with an ARM processor and 1 gigabyte of built-in RAM, is run by Microsoft’s Windows CE 6.0 Pro operating system, supposedly a niftier and more nimble version of the lumbering Windows software.

Toshiba has even developed its own interface for the JournE, using large touch-sensitive icons to access the unit’s software.
By the way, if Toshie’s tablet sounds like an iPhone on steroids, you’re right.

For the past few months, the Apple rumour mill has run hot with speculation that Apple plans to release its own tablet device early next year if not earlier.

Small enough to slip in a handbag or briefcase, the unit may have a 10-inch touchscreen, which makes it big enough to surf the web, read newspapers and watch movies.

What makes this rumoured release interesting rather than an also-ran is that Apple has a well-earned reputation for adding an extra bit of magic. So watch this space.

John Harris is managing director of Impress Media Australia. Email jharris@impress.com.au.

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