3G iPhone and $1500 'Super Laptop' in 2008

[phlabse]

Help someone who isn't too familiar with all this "flash memory" out! I'm a student, and I'm going to need a laptop this summer for school next year. I like the portable idea (i had a dell xps m1210) before and I'm wondering if this new ultra portable for Mac will be a suitable for a student.

I word process, browse the internet, email, itunes, and occasional photo editing.

Is this small flash hard drive going to be enough to sustain what I do?

Thanks in advance everyone! (who's much more Mac knowledgeable than myself!)

 

[QuarterSwede]

Maybe we're limiting our imaginations too much. Solid state memory only... really thin & light... other rumors and patents floating around (tablets, touchpads, etc.). Sometimes the raw data of rumors are correct, but the conclusions miss the target.

Could this be something besides a laptop? A tablet pc or something new we haven't thought of yet... some sort of ipod touch / laptop hybrid?

Actually, that would work quite well. At work we use Symbol devices (Moto) and the latest generations are touch screen based (no multi-touch unfortunately).

The company I work for, however, uses their own dedicated software and one of the recent updates uses huge icons that are easily accessible with a touch from your finder instead of the stylus. I've been quite impressed with how much more productive I've become because the software is so dead easy to use all while adding more powerful tools. It certainly doesn't look as good as the iPhone GUI but it does work well.

All that to say I could see the iPhone's GUI becoming a hybrid of sorts for a lightweight notebook and be just as useful if not more because of the enhanced usability. Seriously, it's high time for a new interface for computers. One that works the way we do (multi touch).

 

[CrackedButter]

A Black Macbook retails for $1500, what gives on the crazy pricing? Where is the Pro premium with this laptop?

 

[JBytes]

There's a TON of pent-up demand for an Intel-based 12-inch Mac portable. Ever since the transition away from PowerPC, people have been waiting for a smaller MacBook or MacBook Pro. These things will sell like crazy.

That's something I'll queue up for. I refuse to replace my 12" PowerBook with anything else.

 

[MacsAttack]

The hard drive capacity just got a smaller footprint and cheaper so this is possible.

http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/04/stec-announces-cheap-32gb-to-512gb-mlc-nand-based-ssds/

Had not seen that. Problem is, such announcements are commonly 6 to 12 months ahead of the product showing up (if they show up at all). kind of like the wild paper launches you get from Intel.

 

[tonywob]

*

 

[Mr R]

Can we get some hard statistics and numbers on the board (facts) rather than just vague statements about formula 1 cars and saloon cars.

I'm pretty sure that 3G can perform to 384kbits/sec maximum but really want to know what the theoretical maximum of EDGE is? On here ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enhanced_Data_Rates_for_GSM_Evolution )it says:

EDGE can carry data speeds up to 236.8 kbit/s for 4 timeslots (theoretical maximum is 473.6 kbit/s for 8 timeslots) in packet mode and will therefore meet the International Telecommunications Union's requirement for a 3G network.

 

[Small White Car]

I've said it before and I'll say it again now: Any Apple "ulta-portable" will surely be designed as a device that COMPLIMENTS your main system. It will NOT be made to replace it.

Think of it as an iPhone Plus (without the phone).

Given that assumption (and given that 'Back to my Mac' exists) then 32 GB is certainly big enough. Anyone who says it isn't is planning on using the device in a way Apple doesn't intend it to be used. You can do that, of course, but you can't then complain that Apple made it "wrong" if you're going to go and do something they didn't plan on. (In other words, buying this thing as your primary computer.)

 

[The Toddfather]

My guess is a 128 gig HD.

 

[rainmanbk]

YES YES YES. OH MY YES.

I will buy one the second they hit the Apple Online Store.

 

[notjustjay]

If they can fit a 160 gig drive into an iPod, surely they can put one in an ultraportable laptop.

 

[lazyrighteye]

Is 3g really worth it??I mean for me to buy another iPhone?

Nope.
But you can bet Apple will do their best to make it appear so.
Maybe some sort of 'Back to the Mac' feature will require 3G or something goofy.

 

[Mr R]

I certainly have had bad experiences with 3G phones, and I can't even get EDGE, so for me a 3G iphone is great, but not something I am particularly excited about. And the way O2 have handled EDGE, I hold no confidence in them getting decent 3G support on an iPhone.

I'm with O2 at the moment, still considering the iPhone but EDGE is really springing up all over the place near me (centre Glasgow) and starting to reach the outskirts now.

 

[QuarterSwede]

$1500 seems kind of cheap. Dell's 12 inch laptop with solid state drive starts around $2000 (with 32gb drive.) Add $400 if you want a 64gb drive. And the thing is only a 1.2Ghz Core2 Duo. However, it does include an optical drive.

Apple has always based price on the size of the unit. Of the PowerBook line the 12" was the cheapest even though most PC manufacturers charge a premium for portability. $1500 actually sounds about right if they position it between the MB and the MBP.

 

[evolu]

online will expand

with leopard's network ease and a relatively minor dotMAC update, you wouldn't need a lot of HD capacity - put 3G in the iphone AND the ultra-portable and you've got 'anywhere' access to all your home pc's files. then you have a 3G portable that shares headlines with the 3G iphone.

BTW - if they move the iPhone camera to the front and add ichat, i'm IN!

 

[sam10685]

If the ipod Touch came in more gigs... say-- 32, or more... I'd get one in a second.

 

[rikers_mailbox]

I fully expect the keyboard on the forthcoming "ultra-portable" will be *very* similar in appearance (if not identical) to the current bluetooth keyboard offering. Apple developed an ultra-thin yet highly usable keyboard for a reason.

By releasing it for desktops beforehand, now they can boast that even their ultra-potables have full-size keys.

That's something I'll queue up for. I refuse to replace my 12" PowerBook with anything else.

No kidding. I <3 my 12" PB.

and that's my 2-cents.

 

[tonywob]

*

 

[lazyrighteye]

Maybe we're limiting our imaginations too much. Solid state memory only... really thin & light... other rumors and patents floating around (tablets, touchpads, etc.). Sometimes the raw data of rumors are correct, but the conclusions miss the target.

Could this be something besides a laptop? A tablet pc or something new we haven't thought of yet... some sort of ipod touch / laptop hybrid?

What I keep expecting is an Phone/MacBook hybrid.
Something between the two. Hit the sweet spot.

 

[Phatpat]

I can hear the screams of millions of unsatisfied macrumors members already...

 

[bdkennedy1]

My opinion is that it's not even a laptop, but a tablet or pad like a big iPhone. It just seems too thin to have a clamshell design and the 13" PowerBook never succeeded because the screen was too small.

 

[hidehide]

LOL @ those who signed two year contract. Their phone is already "old" when they just passed half of their contract..
Im going to sell my unlocked iPhone n get the "new" iPhone when it releases

 

[~Shard~]

I am definitely interested to see what the specifics actually turn out to be with regards to the ultra-thin laptop, since we have heard many various claims. I'll be away for MWSF this year but can't wait to see what's in store for me once I get back!

 

[John A]

I know tons of folks who have had 12" PB's for ages who are really hoping that something smaller than a MacBook comes out soon. I guess we'll see! When do we start getting faked 'spy' photos in stairwells and elevators?

 

[dwwd]

I've said it before and I'll say it again now: Any Apple "ulta-portable" will surely be designed as a device that COMPLIMENTS your main system. It will NOT be made to replace it.

Think of it as an iPhone Plus (without the phone).

Given that assumption (and given that 'Back to my Mac' exists) then 32 GB is certainly big enough. Anyone who says it isn't is planning on using the device in a way Apple doesn't intend it to be used. You can do that, of course, but you can't then complain that Apple made it "wrong" if you're going to go and do something they didn't plan on. (In other words, buying this thing as your primary computer.)

So it would be just like a Foleo? Foleo ?