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Apple Creating iMac-like Docking Station

I finally got what they're REALLY doing..uh duh...

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I finally got what Apple is doing. This is a REALLY old patent Apple filed back way back when which was posted on Engadget.com here

I think this is what's really going to happen at MacWorld 2008:

  1. iPhone goes 3G
  2. New Laptops revised to allow for an iPhone "bay"
  3. iPhone goes into computer/laptop allowing for integration, charging, and 3G connectivity
  4. The Messiah will come and strike down all Windoze users for being ****tards

That's what Apple is doing. Its very clearly laid out. On top of that, we all know that the iPhone is being introduced to Japan now in 2008 and it has to be 3G or nothing else. Even AT&T stated that it was going 3G.

And this makes sense if you think about the iPod/iPhone Halo effect:

  1. You buy a Macbook/Macbook Pro/iMac with the new iPhone bay
  2. or... You buy an iPhone and don't yet have a Mac
  3. If you buy one and not the other, you'll want the other one because it compliments (better yet, amplifies the other product).
  4. You heard it here first people - tell'em iPhonePhan told 'ya
:p:apple::p
 
Hmm...
From the patent:
20. A docking station as recited in claim 19, wherein the radio communication is associated with one or more of the following: a short-range wireless data communication standard, BLUETOOTH, a wireless networking standard, IEEE 802.11 standard, and a proprietary wireless communication specification.
Click to expand...
This supports what was stated earlier about the ultraportable being able to connect to the dock wirelessly...
 
iPhonePhan said:
I'm not sure if you're quite catching onto the point, but the iMac, as indicated in the patent application and very well imagined above is NOT a whole new line of hardware, but in fact a revision of the current hardware.

Eg., ALL iMacs will have the ability to become portable since Apple is fully aware that people are gravitating more and more toward laptops and mobile devices. This is kinda like the whole "Every MacBook or MBP comes with a remote and a camera".

Ya get it? :D

This would really set Apple apart from the pack. This could potentially put them into whole new markets that were previously unattainable. I am very eager to see this come to light as being a standard feature on all desktop iMacs.
Click to expand...

Killed the thread. Remember folks, you heard it from iPhonePhan first :cool:
 
The whole thing seems very complicated, inconvenient and confusing. I can understand the docking concept back in the day when laptops were limited in their capabilities and design was less advanced, but laptops have come such a long way and can hold their own against desktops.

Bigger brighter screens, more than capable processing power and memory, space efficient design such as slot loading drives and light weight. So much so that many people (myself included) use only a laptop as their main computer. Of course there are certain folks who require legitimate desktop setups, but I'm not sure who would really want a 2 in 1 like this. I think most people are clear what they need in a computer. But this concept is like they purposely rip out the guts of the computer only to make it available in a more inconvenient and cumbersome form...and available to you only at home.

I had a PowerBook Duo 280c in college and the whole docking concept just didn't work for me. A lovely small laptop for when I was away but if I ever bought software or games I would have to wait until I got back to school before doing anything with it...unless I felt like packing an external cd drive thus defeating the purpose of a small light weight laptop. And the setup was such a mess and so inconvenient. External peripherals and cables everywhere. I always had to unplug everything when I went to class with my laptop or plug everything back in when I came home. What a pain. Let's not forget external peripherals are always slower than built in whether hdd or dvd drives.

Even when I am home, I like to bring my mbp over to the couch to show my wife a photo slideshow or whatever. This would be such a nuisance with this setup. I don't know. I'm sure there will be some who will love it, but the whole concept seems rather primitive and limiting to me.

I am waiting until after macworld to buy my wife a macbook which will be her first mac. Given this latest rumor, I'm worried about what is going to be announced. I am also worried about the flash memory hd rumors. Yes, it may be faster and lighter but if it is less than 100gb, it's rather useless in this day and age. Again, defeats the purpose of a slim notebook if you need to carry an external hd. If anything, I will wait for the price reduction.
 
maybe digitimes was onto something 5 years ago!

;)

2003 Article on new iMac

The article used to show images of an iMac with a detachable display that could be used as a tablet. Alas, time has caused those to be banished to the bit bucket.

<EDIT>

Sorry, brain fart - here is the Register article I was thinking of dating back to 2001!!!
 
I would be very interested in something like this. I am hoping this means the laptop part will be smallllllll. 12 inches or less.

However as some have stated, this could make for a fairly underpowered desktop solution as compared to a real iMac. Don't know if that part interests me.

With a good pricepoint though, maybe the iMac shell would be more of an accessory. Hopefully a reasonable one if this is true at all.

Even without it, I am dying for a new small laptop.
 
CWallace said:
I wonder if the dock will have an integrated LCD and the whole laptop just tucks in behind it, or if it will be an open area that a Mac tablet (with multi-touch?) would slide into, as kontheur mocked up:

imac_touch.jpg
Click to expand...

Ye gods! That tablet is HUGE if the dimensions of the keyboard and display are any guide. I hope any tablet would be at least half the size of that.
 
this is a great idea

I think the ultra laptop will have no keyboard just touch screen. it will be all screen. Flash memory only. No hard disk or Optical as previous rumours. The lid will be removable.
It will slip into the imac like shell which will have a large hard disk and optical drive. Extra ports and a connnector which will switch off the touch screen and utilise the manual keyboard.
The laptop will be the brains in the machine which run as fast as an imac anyway. when the screen is away from the shell it will communicate wirelessly.
There is a new version of firewire that runs about 4 times faster than previous and faster than HDMI. maybe this will be used when the portable is in doc.
 
I like this idea.

I struggle with this concept at home and in the office

At home, I want to relax on the couch with my laptop 90% of the time. But the other 10%, I want a big display and will work at a desk. This is the best of both worlds in a clean set-up.

At work, I use a 17" and 30" display. I'd prefer a set-up like this again because it is cleaner.

It would be cool if you could have an "external" drive in the display for additional storage or Time Machine.

The problems are as others have pointed out, that the hole and computer size need to stay the same.

I don't think Apple is going to release this, but I think it's a cool idea.
 
How about this:

Laptop with :
- Cpu
- Ram
- Usb
- screen
- audio out
- keyboard
- iP[hone|pod touch] docking station below the keyboard

==> Ultra lightweight Multitouch Trackpad Laptop.
 
Well, here's my setup at home, and I'm sure I'm not the only one...

I have a MacBook. I plug it into my 46" LCD TV. This is my main setup.

Sometimes I take my MacBook for bedtime viewing, or to gigs etc.

Whenever my MacBook is in its place, I have to plug the DVI, audio, USB cables all back in. This is a pain.

This is obviously what Apple are creating a solution to.

I would be happy with either of these 2 approaches from Apple:

• An induction-connected dock. You pop it on a holder/tray/mount. No connections. All your cables are connected to this dock.

• Their own line of large LCD TVs that the ultra-portable goes inside. The TV would also have the optical drive, large HDD etc.

Does this float for anyone else?
 
No No No No.... Apple...don't do this... please... why dont they make a Wireless Connectivity solution instead. This whole... plug in your MacBook Nano to a humongous big-ass iMac Dock.. doesn't seem right. If we bought an imac from Apple already and we don't have the desk space on our table we cant use this MacBook. Now that aint right. Anyone else agrees? I think they should make an iPhone/iPod like Dock or use WiFi instead.
 
ThinkGeek said:
No No No No.... Apple...don't do this... please... why dont they make a Wireless Connectivity solution instead. This whole... plug in your MacBook Nano to a humongous big-ass iMac Dock.. doesn't seem right. If we bought an imac from Apple already and we don't have the desk space on our table we cant use this MacBook. Now that aint right. Anyone else agrees? I think they should make an iPhone/iPod like Dock or use WiFi instead.
Click to expand...

I think the main aim is to be able to use the MacBook on a larger display. WiFi alone can't do this!
 
MuzakaEklekta said:
I think the main aim is to be able to use the MacBook on a larger display. WiFi alone can't do this!
Click to expand...

but what does this mean to those who bought an iMac and do not have the desk space for this peripheral. I mean, for some people they want to use the MacBook Nano/Touch/Whatever on the go and just use their existing desktop computer to do work at home.

I think that this iMac-like Docking Station should be optional for those who dont want to buy a desktop and just use laptop. The main option should be to use wifi to use the MacBook as a secondary display/keyboard thingy. And I don't mean WiFi displays.

For example, I am working on a presentation on my desktop. I bring my MacBook Touch/Nano over and it syncs data like Time Machine does (Maybe this wont use wifi but firewire iPod-like dock). That way I will have all my data on my portable at all times. So that when I bring it to school to present my presentation, I am sure that the data is there. And if I want to use my MacBook Touch as a secondary UI thing at home I can via WiFi or iPodlike cable.
 
MuzakaEklekta said:
I think the main aim is to be able to use the MacBook on a larger display. WiFi alone can't do this!
Click to expand...

Yet... ;)

Just looking at the front page image - arent you putting the back of a tablet or lapto into a iMac frame? how could thta then be a screen ? Apple logo shown on tablet/nanombp.
Alternatively - a double screened tablet/mbp - 6" screen as the exterior cover, 12 inch inside screen?
 
I would buy such a docking station in a heartbeat. I am in the process of migrating from PC to Mac. Replacing two laptops (my wife's and mine) as well as our desktop with Macs is very pricey. If I could get a 24" dock for about $800 vs buying a 24" iMac for $1800, that would save me $1000. I would then puchase two Mac laptops (perhaps one of them would be the ultra-portable that Apple is about to announce) and would use the dock when at home working on something that requires a larger screen.

I prefer having a very portable laptop but also have a desktop for the tasks that are better done on a desktop.

Another thing that Apple could do with this type of dock is to add a hard drive slot for additional storage in this dock. That way, the ultra-portable can have 32 or 64 MB of NAND flash, and the rest of the storage can be in the dock. Those who need ultra-portable laptops normally don't watch DVDs on them, so the DVD drive can also reside in the dock along with FireWire, etc.

For a student, this type of dock is not of much use. For a family of professionals, I think this is brilliant! It would also work very well in a corporate environment where companies would not have to equip their employees with two computers -- desktop and laptop. If you can save $1000 per employee this way, imagine the savings company-wide!
 
The idea of being able to purchase one computer and it having the benefits of a laptop and desktop would be great. The laptop could have a smaller flash drive and the dock a much larger drive, the dock could also be accessed over the Internet perhaps so that all data is still available to the laptop when out and about. Also the need for an optical drive in the laptop could be eliminated making it very small and light - the perfect laptop. While the "docktop" can have a much larger screen and take advantage of all the things a desktop can provide. The only thing that I'm not excited about is the rather cumbersome looking way the laptop is inserted into the dock. If this succeeds it will be on having a price point that makes it cheaper than buying an iMac and a MacBook together for those that need both. It will also appeal to those that cannot be bothered with wireless networking laptops and desktops. Perhaps there will be a slot for iPods and iPhones as well - why not chuck everything in there!
 
ThinkGeek said:
[...]

For example, I am working on a presentation on my desktop. I bring my MacBook Touch/Nano over and it syncs data like Time Machine does (Maybe this wont use wifi but firewire iPod-like dock). That way I will have all my data on my portable at all times. So that when I bring it to school to present my presentation, I am sure that the data is there. And if I want to use my MacBook Touch as a secondary UI thing at home I can via WiFi or iPodlike cable.
Click to expand...

You hit a nail there, this is exactly the kind of thing I was thinking about.

Look at some of the technologies we have now, and let's see how they can be combined:
  • Time Machine
  • Back to my Mac
  • Front Row sharing, your music everywhere
  • cross-Mac Spotlight
  • broadband internet everywhere

You see where I'm going? Here's the idea: Your data, available everywhere. The line between local and non-local data blurs.

How it works: you have a main data location. It could be an external hard drive on your Mac, or a GDisk or .mac account. That's where you have all your files, applications, music, video, pretty much anything that is not bound to your computer. You can have tens, hundreds, or thousands of gigabytes of stuff.

For on the go, you have the Mac tablet. The tablet has 32 GB of Flash memory. Now, the only thing that is local and stays local is your operating system. All the apps, everything, is streamed from the internet. This isn't as bad as it sounds, as it can hold up to 32 GB of cache. So the apps you tend to use, are available locally because they are cached. But this caching is totally invisible for the user - it looks as if the user has these thousands of gigabytes available!

Of course there are some obvious performance concerns, but many have obvious solutions. You could of course mark directories, applications, or certain libraries (like your photos, videos, or music) as 'always sync'. This would make sure that those marked items will always be kept in cache.

Some examples of what it could do:
  • With your iPhone, you could listen to a gigantic collection of music, previously only available to the iPod classic.
  • Your calendars are always synchronized: across your iPhone, Mac, etc. Same thing for your to do list.
  • The Mac ultraportable could hold many, many apps, without needing a large hard disk drive. Your apps are available everywhere.

What do you think? Is this where we are heading?
 
Sijmen said:
You hit a nail there, this is exactly the kind of thing I was thinking about.

Look at some of the technologies we have now, and let's see how they can be combined:
  • Time Machine
  • Back to my Mac
  • Front Row sharing, your music everywhere
  • cross-Mac Spotlight
  • broadband internet everywhere

You see where I'm going? Here's the idea: Your data, available everywhere. The line between local and non-local data blurs.

How it works: you have a main data location. It could be an external hard drive on your Mac, or a GDisk or .mac account. That's where you have all your files, applications, music, video, pretty much anything that is not bound to your computer. You can have tens, hundreds, or thousands of gigabytes of stuff.

For on the go, you have the Mac tablet. The tablet has 32 GB of Flash memory. Now, the only thing that is local and stays local is your operating system. All the apps, everything, is streamed from the internet. This isn't as bad as it sounds, as it can hold up to 32 GB of cache. So the apps you tend to use, are available locally because they are cached. But this caching is totally invisible for the user - it looks as if the user has these thousands of gigabytes available!

Of course there are some obvious performance concerns, but many have obvious solutions. You could of course mark directories, applications, or certain libraries (like your photos, videos, or music) as 'always sync'. This would make sure that those marked items will always be kept in cache.

Some examples of what it could do:
  • With your iPhone, you could listen to a gigantic collection of music, previously only available to the iPod classic.
  • Your calendars are always synchronized: across your iPhone, Mac, etc. Same thing for your to do list.
  • The Mac ultraportable could hold many, many apps, without needing a large hard disk drive. Your apps are available everywhere.

What do you think? Is this where we are heading?
Click to expand...

I take it you have FiOS or OC-3 upload speeds... If we are headed that way ISP's are gonna have so much fun raping us for bandwidth (in the USA).
 
OK... I haven't bothered to read through all 5 pages of this thread, but...

I think you guys are missing a serious point. There is, acording to the patent application, NOTHING other than a display, wireless, some other AppleWireless maybe, a "docking station", and some wired ports. (with all the neccisary HW to make it all work).

There is NO harddrive, NO copy of Mac OS X... nothing like that.

~~

An idea: what if the iMac drawing is just a placeholder. Think about the possibilities if a MacBook unveiled at MacWorld had, in addition to the disk drive, an iPhone "dock"? This would also be on new iMacs? allowing a full X environment from the iPhone.
 
diamond.g said:
I take it you have FiOS or OC-3 upload speeds... If we are headed that way ISP's are gonna have so much fun raping us for bandwidth (in the USA).
Click to expand...

Of course, the most stuff would be synced at home. This is also in benefit of the user, because it's faster over WiFi, Firewire, or USB.
 
Sijmen said:
~snip~
Some examples of what it could do:
  • With your iPhone, you could listen to a gigantic collection of music, previously only available to the iPod classic.
  • Your calendars are always synchronized: across your iPhone, Mac, etc. Same thing for your to do list.
  • The Mac ultraportable could hold many, many apps, without needing a large hard disk drive. Your apps are available everywhere.
~snip~
Click to expand...

But I have a better idea. What if in addition to this, it would also be stored on a, you know, 10TB "local" disk, for "local" use. Transition between local and non-local would, of course, be hidden from the user.

But, god, talk about all the resources this thing would use "backing up"?
 
rhyndu said:
But I have a better idea. What if in addition to this, it would also be stored on a, you know, 10TB "local" disk, for "local" use. Transition between local and non-local would, of course, be hidden from the user.

But, god, talk about all the resources this thing would use "backing up"?
Click to expand...

10TB local would be great :p but not really an option with the iPhone, or an ultraportable.

Also notie that anything that is fetched from the remote server, is also stored locally for future use. Lesser used items get deleted when the disk is full.
 
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