Freescale Hints at Apple Netbook with Photo?

[MacRumors]

Heise Online reports on a press release from Freescale detailing a new ARM processor which includes an interesting depiction of an Apple netwbook/tablet:

A picture included in their press release hints that the Freescale SoC may appear in a future Apple netbook. The vendor also envisages budget notebooks with Ubuntu Linux and i.MX51 under people's Christmas trees in 2009.

The image appears similar to the many mockups seen floating around the internet. The actual press release is not provided, but it appears this could just be a concept shot.

Article Link: Freescale Hints at Apple Netbook with Photo?

[r.j.s]

So they are saying it will be a combo tablet/netbook ... interesting.

[iMacmatician]

Interesting. Big leak - if it's a leak.

I seem to recall a mockup some time ago that looked like that.

Since that's a 12" display, it's too big to be the 7"~9" one referenced by the recent rumor, plus this one runs Mac OS X. Although there was a rumor about half a year ago about a 12" tablet.

Edit: Also reminds me of the iPhone picture in the Intel Atom presentation slide a while ago. In that case I don't think this hint means much.

[tclary]

Want It.

[zap2]

looks cool...I'm not saying its real, as its looks very photoshopped(why the iPhone/iPod touch home button?), but even if something like that came out, it be great....although I'm not sure i'd call that a netbook....more of a UMPC or MID

[Slowstick]

Originally Posted by zap2

looks cool...I'm not saying its real, as its looks very photoshopped(why the iPhone/iPod touch home button?), but even if something like that came out, it be great....although I'm not sure i'd call that a netbook....more of a UMPC or MID

That looks like a super expensive touch screen ultra mobile Mac than a netbook. Come on.....anyone agree?

[150hp]

Looks cool but $$$$$$$$ I'm sure.

[Fuchal]

Looks worthless.

[iMacmatician]

Regardless of whether Freescale will make such a device for Apple, I don't think the picture is real.

• The design doesn't match. I'm not talking about the front view, but the side view.
• 2 USB ports? LMAO.

[akoblentz]

If that's real, do you have any idea how much that would weigh? Way too much for a netbook, I'm sure. A glass and metal body of that size would easily weigh > 10 lbs. Love the idea, but can't justify that kind of weight for a "netbook." Assuming that it is thick glass and metal like an iphone or ipod touch.

[natebookpro]

Originally Posted by akoblentz

If that's real, do you have any idea how much that would weigh? Way too much for a netbook, I'm sure. A glass and metal body of that size would easily weigh > 10 lbs. Love the idea, but can't justify that kind of weight for a "netbook." Assuming that it is thick glass and metal like an iphone or ipod touch.

15" MBP is glass and metal and doesn't weigh >10lbs

[wonderbread57]

Why would Apple have purchased a Semi Conductor company and their own substantial rights to the ARM processor just to pay a third party for it all again?

Freescale will likely be part of netbooks to come but not from Apple...

[alexbates]

I wish it would happen, but it is definitely a fake.

[AlphaAnt]

I really hope that they keep whatever tablet they're selling under 1000, as that's the only way I would consider buying such a "toy".

[Warbrain]

Highly doubt that it's an actual product at this point.

[Demosthenes X]

Originally Posted by akoblentz

If that's real, do you have any idea how much that would weigh? Way too much for a netbook, I'm sure. A glass and metal body of that size would easily weigh > 10 lbs. Love the idea, but can't justify that kind of weight for a "netbook." Assuming that it is thick glass and metal like an iphone or ipod touch.

You mean like the glass and metal MacBook and MacBook Pro? Neither of those weigh anything like 10 pounds...

[Slowstick]

Originally Posted by akoblentz

If that's real, do you have any idea how much that would weigh? Way too much for a netbook, I'm sure. A glass and metal body of that size would easily weigh > 10 lbs. Love the idea, but can't justify that kind of weight for a "netbook." Assuming that it is thick glass and metal like an iphone or ipod touch.

Geez... ten pounds!!

[bobsentell]

It's interesting. But, I guess we'll know if it is real in a couple days.

[Artofilm]

Originally Posted by Fuchal

Looks worthless.

Wow, glass is half-empty kinda person much?
Why don't you go jump in a lake cuz life isn't worth living either?

The tablet looks sweet. It definitely has potential, but I don't think this is the Apple product itself (just a mock), but I could be wrong!

[alexbates]

At this point I don't think we will see either a netbook or tablet. So far there is no evidence of either one of them.

I bet MacWorld will focus mainly on the iPhone Nano, Mac Mini, Unibody MacBook Pro 17-in, and the elimination of the white MacBook. I think the Unibody MacBook will fall to $999, just as rumored.

[Lepton]

That's just about exactly the unit I describe in my article here. Mine is about the size of three iPhones side by size, assuming that's a virtual keyboard, this looks very close, maybe a tad bigger. I also describe a companion physical Bluetooth keyboard.

[zap2]

Originally Posted by wonderbread57

Why would Apple have purchased a Semi Conductor company and their own substantial rights to the ARM processor just to pay a third party for it all again?

Freescale will likely be part of netbooks to come but not from Apple...

its possible Freescale has a better product now, and next time around Apple plans to use its new bought company...they haven't had much time where Apple controller what they were working on, so its possible they did not have the chip Apple was looking for here


I just want to believe something like this is real! Come tuesday!!

[Slowstick]

Originally Posted by bobsentell

It's interesting. But, I guess we'll know if it is real in a couple days.

I'm sure it will be awhile before we see this. (if we do)

[Saladinos]

Freescale are pretty big. They don't make mockups just for fun.

I'm starting to save from now.

Oh, and if it ran on ARM, there's no reason it couldn't run applications designed for the iPhone. The iPhone basically runs a stripped down version of OSX with a different UI layer (i.e. UIKit and it's own UI layer instead of AppKit and Aqua). If Apple ported AppKit, Aqua and the rest of the missing frameworks to OSX on ARM, they should be binary compatible and run a full version of OSX, although it likely wouldn't be compatible with current applications (without Rosetta, but ARM processors are typically not powerful enough to run applications like this very well).

iPhone OSX is a subset of OSX with a few extra frameworks. Port the outstanding frameworks to ARM so that it becomes a superset of OSX, and you get an OS that looks and feels just like OSX, can run the same applications (with a recompile or Rosetta) and can run iPhone applications. Similarly, if you ported the iPhone-specific portions of OSX to standard OSX, you'd get an OS that supports what OSX does today, and iPhone applications with a recompile for x86.

I think the latter is the smarter choice. That would force the tablet to be x86-based, but it'd pave the way for a future iPhone running some sort of Intel Atom processor, so that Apple would only have to maintain one version of OSX.

[mikeinternet]

i think they are going to need a more transitional product. like the hp touchsmart.

first put multi-touchscreens on the existing lineup then once people are using the screen most of the time loose the key board.