Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Idea! iMac with a battery!

B

bungiefan89

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Apr 5, 2011
565
76
I had a GREAT idea for new iMacs in the future: a built-in battery! :D

Imagine this: the iMac with a battery would look just like the iMac today, except instead of connecting to the outlet through the outlet through a conventional thick white cord, it connects to the outlet through a charger cord not unlike the one used by a MBP or MBA: magnetic connection and all. The battery inside the iMac is not a large or particularly powerful battery... it can only power the machine for about 45 minutes on a full charge (longer in sleep mode, you get the picture). That would cut down on the price of the battery itself (hopefully).

Now, what can you do with a 45 minute battery? Well, you can much more easily move the computer around. The iMac is an all-in-one design, and I find the machine is relatively easy to pick up and move around. This feature needs to be built upon!

Why call someone over to your machine when you can just pick it up and take it directly to them? I dunno about you guys, but to me, that would be a great convenience.

The battery would also come in use during a blackout. It would give you the time you needed to at least save your data or finish something up before you shut the computer down.

Maybe I'm bonkers, but I think this would be a great innovation in the computing world. It would really make iMacs stand out from other desktops. And for that matter, it would eliminate my need to shut down my computer every time I want to move it more than 5 feet away from the nearest outlet. :)

What do you think?
 
A 20 pound battery to power an iMac for 45 minutes doesn't seem to get anyone anywhere.

Screenshare with your Macbook if you wanna show someone something in the other room.
 
I am going to have to go with bonkers on this one. It is an interesting idea to be certain, but the iMac needs a constant power supply. Even to power it for 45 minutes would require a pretty large battery, and you would still have plugs. I would be really interesting to see this done though, just not sure its practical or even worth it.
 
Won't work..... iMacs require a huge amount of power to run it. even if they have a battery in there for 45min of usage, it would take up tremendous amount of space and the hardware inside would be reduced or eliminated to some extent. the part about power outage: as stated before, buy a backup power generator or something. generally people dont pick up their desktops and take it across the room to show somebody something, they do it with a laptop though. if you want everything that you listed, you should try a Macbook :apple:
 
One of the silliest idea's I read on this forum.

Do you really need to show someone in the kitchen what you see right now on your iMac? And would you really carry an iMac into the kitchen for that?

If you really have that need that often to justify a redesign of the iMac line then a Macbook Air is what you need, not a battery in the iMac. That's why we have mobile computers and desktop computers.

And if you need an UPS then it's better/cheaper to buy a separate UPS and put it under the desk.
 
Wow - 'Hey Jessie!!! look at this crazy cat picture, wait, i'll come to you! Now to pick up this 27" iMac like it's my regular portable.... hmm.' :rolleyes:
 
miles01110 said:
Pointless. If you want continuity during a blackout buy a UPS.
Click to expand...

I have an American Power UPS connected to my iMac via USB, and it is HEAVY and on battery it won't last that long. Long enough to save files and such though. The battery can be replaced, but after a few years they stop making them and you have to buy a new UPS. putting a battery in a power hungry 27" iMac would make it too heavy for most people to even move.

If you want to move around a lot, buy a MBP. Moving an iMac is more than just picking it up; in my case I have a firewire drive connected, a keyboard, wired ethernet, and a wired mouse. Why would you want to disconnect all of that just to show someone something??????
 
I think the downsides (less room in the case for other components, added cost and complexity) would outweigh the benefits for most users. Most iMac owners don't routinely move their iMacs.

I'm also fairly certain that even with a Magsafe connection, the iMac would need a pretty beefy power cord as it draws a lot of power...
 
Dumb idea. It's a desktop for a reason! Put a battery in it and imagine all the lawsuits from people who drop their iMacs while hauling it around. They make these things called extension cords.... Get yourself a 50 footer and your problem is solved. Or get a MacBook air/pro and a 27" TBD and you can have both A laptop and a desktop (sorta)
 
bungiefan89 said:
I had a GREAT idea for new iMacs in the future: a built-in battery! :

Maybe I'm bonkers, but I think this would be a great innovation in the computing world. It would really make iMacs stand out from other desktops. And for that matter, it would eliminate my need to shut down my computer every time I want to move it more than 5 feet away from the nearest outlet. :)

What do you think?
Click to expand...

I agree, you are bonkers! Wouldn't a UPS built in just eat up the space and create lots of heat. Two of the biggest issues with the iMac. Just get an iPad and download one of the many apps that will AirPlay between the two screens. Problem solved.
 
iMac is not portable...

Not a good idea. If you want to move your mac around, buy a portable one. If the screen is to small on portables, buy a 27" and use it when home.
 
Cool idea ....

A 150 pound iMac ! :rolleyes:


Actually Apple already makes an iMac with a battery, but they call it the Macbook Pro !
 
The iMac (or any desktop computer) is probably going to be too heavy to lug around. If you want portability then the answer is a laptop/iDevice. However...

If you want a real leap in power technology then look at wireless power. Sounds like an oxymoron right? No. Imagine a box hanging from your ceiling that radiates electromagnetic energy and your computer has a receiving antenna inside. The receiving antenna receives the electromagnetic energy and supporting circuitry converts the electromagnetic energy to usable electrical energy. People are already doing this to some degree by harvesting stray electromagnetic radiation from TV stations to power small devices. It's starting off small but all big things start small.

Your computer could have a mix of energy harvesters such as solar panels, mechanical vibration sensors, antennas, etc. These harvesters would gather energy all day long, especially at night, and then all the energy would be released during the day when the computer is being used. Now, with all that said, you will need a place to store all that harvested energy and that would mean you need a battery.

Regardless of how cool you could make a wireless power setup work, this would never be accepted in critical applications where data security is essential. Think of server farms, hospitals, banks, etc.

I think you are only starting to scratch the surface here. Search for "wireless power" and see what others have already done and are already doing. I think Thomas Edison said if you try something and if it doesn't work then the idea is not necessarily bad. You just discovered a way that it doesn't work. Keep at it!

-=- Boris
 
bungiefan89 said:
I had a Horrible idea for new iMacs in the future: a built-in battery! :D

Imagine this: the iMac with a battery would look just like the iMac today, except instead of connecting to the outlet through the outlet through a conventional thick white cord, it connects to the outlet through a charger cord not unlike the one used by a MBP or MBA: magnetic connection and all. The battery inside the iMac is not a large or particularly powerful battery... it can only power the machine for about 45 minutes on a full charge (longer in sleep mode, you get the picture). That would cut down on the price of the battery itself (hopefully).

Now, what can you do with a 45 minute battery? Well, you can much more easily move the computer around. The iMac is an all-in-one design, and I find the machine is relatively easy to pick up and move around. This feature needs to be built upon!

Why call someone over to your machine when you can just pick it up and take it directly to them? I dunno about you guys, but to me, that would be a great convenience.

The battery would also come in use during a blackout. It would give you the time you needed to at least save your data or finish something up before you shut the computer down.

Maybe I'm bonkers, but I think this would be a great innovation in the computing world. It would really make iMacs stand out from other desktops. And for that matter, it would eliminate my need to shut down my computer every time I want to move it more than 5 feet away from the nearest outlet. :)

What do you think?
Click to expand...

*fixed ;)
 
Get a small UPS. If you ever really need to move your computer without shutting it down, you can move the UPS with it.

And the UPS will cover you for power outages. Also, it will allow you to keep other devices powered up during the outage, like your TM drive or a USB hub.
 
I think the only benefit of an internal battery in an iMac would be to keep it powered during power fluctuations. I'm not going to carry a 27 inch iMac across a house/office/school just to show someone something.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back