Apple’s Magic Trackpad

So it seems a lot of the tech world is all uppity because Apple releases a desktop track pad and they are saying it is the End of the Mac OS as we know it. Well I believe they are half right as always. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Apple is an evolutionary company. They learned a long time ago to think way ahead and then take the baby steps to get there and wait for the consumers to catch up.

Apple will incorporate touch into Mac OS X eventually. But it will probably not be in the way most people think. Touching a desktop display never makes any sense because users arms get tired and looking at smudgy displays drives a lot of people nuts. Just look at the iPad and iPhone users. Almost everyone automatically wipes down the display after every other use.

If however you add a secondary display that is meant to be touched then it works perfectly. You get to keep all the added benefit of a huge clear display for viewing what you are working on and then use a multi touch trackpad to get more functionality. Lets look at my idea of where this is heading in terms of logical evolution.

1. Add multi buttons to mouse – Most PC users have appreciated this for decades and Apple finally dived in a few years ago.

2. Add a touch panel to top of mouse. – starts to mimic some of the ideas of the track pad but still gives users that mouse around feeling.

3. Add trackpad option. – Gives users the option of using a trackpad that functions the same as the one on their laptop.

Now on to future stuff

4. Make the trackpad standard for all shipping computers.

5. Attach trackpap to keyboard to make it a single device.

5.5 Make iPad app that can act like trackpad and do the same as below.

6. Make trackpad a display like iphone – can be used to display widgets and is programmable with infinite number of functions. Is demonstrated but iLife apps that replace keyboard with sliders, knobs, buttons etc. Is also opened up to developers to do with as they please.

7. replace keyboard and trackpad with larger display track pad that doubles as keyboard and trackpad when needed.

Etc etc

You see where this is going.

Also on a related predictive note. I don’t think Apple will replace the Apple TV. I think Apple is going to make the Apple TV an App for the iPhone and iPad. It will require the iPhone 4 or iPad and also a special dock that has etherent, remote, and hdmi output. to the Big screen TV in your living room. But it will allow these device to act as what is now the Apple TV hardware. And probably the App will only work when docked in the special dock which will be about 60 to 90 dollars. But this way you can use the Ethernet in the dock or the devices built in wifi to stream files from iTunes directly, or your home based network. And then immediately if you need to get up and go just take your portable device with you and continue where you left off.

Think about it. If Apple really wanted to make a massive push into the TV market why not just convert the already massive market you have. It makes consumers feel as though they get more out of the device they already have without having to but a whole separate device. And it would require little to no training because the user interface would be similar to the current iTunes and Apple TV interfaces already.

Anyways those are my two predictions for future Apple products.