I don't think this is that great of an idea that being said if it were to become real it's super easy. All laptops for the most part have all the essential parts under the keyboard so all the iPad would need to is have a way to be able to use the ipas as a screen. So when it docks it could then just revert to a screen. Easy but not that practical
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Apple THIS is what we WANT
- Thread starter mcman77
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So now it's basically nothing like an MBA.
Now you've added a battery, CPU/GPU and storage to the "lid" of the MBA along with its weight and cost. Since you want power sharing between the two you need thicker wires to support that power transfer.This part is easy. Thunderbolt.
Only problem is that it's large, power hungry and not available on the ARM platform today. It would require a few more iterations of the Apple ARM SoC...
B
mcman77, I'm with you. I'd buy such a device tomorrow. For years I've traveled with a MBP for heavy lifting and an iPad for light stuff. With the hybrid contraption I could work on it as a laptop, then detach the top half to read in bed, watch a movie in the fitness room, or any of the many other things I currently use the the iPad for. Yep. I'd buy one tomorrow.
Agreed. I also like the concept. I have an external keyboard for my iPad that doubles as a case, and it's great. It's better than my MBA for days when I'm away on seminars or conferences etc due to the combination of long battery life/ stylus inpus/ 3G access. I don't have to worry about not being close to an electricity socket (if on my MBA) or about not being able to log on to whatever wifi they may or may not have where I happen to be. It's easy to make drawings etc as I take notes. I love my MBA, but as working device on days away, my iPad with a keyboard is my preferred choice.
Thats so true
All the people who say we don't want it, i wonder if apple made such a device and made a cool ad about it how many of you would be in line at the launch day. The matter is not what somebody personally wants anything or not. What they produce, they make people want it easily. We want everything, we just don't know it yet
Not bad, but I'd prefer a really slim Smartcover-with-keyboard. Less bulky, and easier to attach & detach.
Apple.Apple.Apple. Why don't you reply Apple?
We just wanna say this is not what we really want. I already got what I want
We just wanna say this is not what we really want. I already got what I want
They may be selling well for an Android machine, but that's not saying much. Android tablet makers are still in the mode of "let's just keep making more and more stuff until something sticks". If you're going to look at the tablet market you can't really say, "well aside from the iPad........". Looking at the big picture, and speaking very generally of course, the iPad is really the only tablet that's selling. And I don't think this is like adding a camera to a phone. That was the logical next step for phones, just like NFC is probably the next one that's coming.
Apple is very big on the whole "post PC" thing. They are catering to an audience that doesn't need a full blown computer and probably never has needed one. It's just that before 2010, that was about their only option: a complicated PC with a file system that could easily be screwed up. Now people are realizing that 99% of the time, all they need is an iPad. Hell, I'm more of a power user and even I admit that most of the time all I need is an internet connection and my favorite apps, and I'm good to go.
I just don't think there's a big enough audience of people for Apple to want to do this. That's not to say they WON'T do it. They change their minds all the time. Steve Jobs didn't want 3rd party apps on the iPhone. Look how that turned out. And I also think if any company could pull it off, it would be Apple. But I think Apple is very very slowly turning their vision away from full blown PCs and shifting more toward "gadgets". And that's totally fine with me.
I've run Windows and Mac OS remotely on my iPad paired with a keyboard and though it works fine while I'm on the go, the iPad's 10" 4:3 screen doesn't make it as efficient as say, an 11" 16:9/16:10 screen. Not sure how this hybrid iPad/MacBook would work without a compromise.
If the iPad retains it 4:3 screen size, then the MacBook experience suffers. If you make the screen bigger (wider), then that alters the iPad experience.
If the iPad retains it 4:3 screen size, then the MacBook experience suffers. If you make the screen bigger (wider), then that alters the iPad experience.
I wouldn't buy this. I know some who would though. I sometimes will use my MBP and iPad at the same time, like when I am on an all nighter caffeine induced frenzy for school. So this would limit my ability to multitask on two machines.
It's a cool idea, but it's not at all original (mockups have been posted for years now) and I don't think it would have enough of a user base for people to adopt it in droves like the iPad.
It's a cool idea, but it's not at all original (mockups have been posted for years now) and I don't think it would have enough of a user base for people to adopt it in droves like the iPad.
It is a cool idea but I don't see it happening. That would just cause them to lose more money by combining two of their best selling products!
Honestly, I much prefer the Brydge
This keyboard combo doesn't change the iPad, but extends is functionality
I like the iPad and my MacBook Air both for different reasons
But I wouldn't want my Air to have a screen the size of the iPad
Nor would I want to deal with the different resolutions
I have different uses for my Air and my iPad, and I don't need them to be one device
This keyboard combo doesn't change the iPad, but extends is functionality
I like the iPad and my MacBook Air both for different reasons
But I wouldn't want my Air to have a screen the size of the iPad
Nor would I want to deal with the different resolutions
I have different uses for my Air and my iPad, and I don't need them to be one device
I guess I don't understand how you didn't just describe the current workflow of a MBA + iPad?
A MBA + iPad gets you exactly what you just described without any of the drawbacks mentioned in this thread about the "hybrid" design.
I believe people are hoping that this hypotherical hybrid tablet will be lighter than MBA+iPad. And maybe cheaper too. ie, Base iPad = $500, base MBA = $1000, for a total of $1500, so they are thinking a hybrid tablet will maybe cost around $1200-1300.
My thinking is in order for a hybrid tablet to become feasible, techknology has to advance to the point where the tablet/screen part can be as light as the current MBA screen. I mean, when I carry only my MBA, it's not so bad, but when I add the iPad to my laptop bag, it feels hefty. So IMO, in order for the tablet hybrid to be attractive to me, it has to weigh no more than the current MBA 13 inch. And the tablet part still has to have the nearly 10 hour battery life of the current iPad. Otherwise, there's no point.
I'm sure Apple is thinking about a hybrid tablet, but I think the technology just isn't there yet to make this a feasible product with good user experience.
It's not what I want...and apparently not what too many other people want either. Sure, it looks kind of cool, and it might be convenient sometimes, but there are so many drawbacks and compromises.
The fact is that it isn't an elegant solution to anything. All it is is a gimmick. Think about it. So you want to undock your tablet and put the keyboard part away...first you'll need to shut it down (otherwise the keyboard will be running out your battery), then you'll need to start up the tablet. That right there, that little sequence of events is why Apple while never do this.
Could Apple make this? Sure. Should they or will they? No.
Within a few years we'll likely have a truly hybrid OS that gives the iPad all the capabilities of a Mac. If you really want a keyboard attached to it, there are plenty of keyboard accessories available, and I'm sure they will continue to be available in the future.
This thing though...ugh.
The fact is that it isn't an elegant solution to anything. All it is is a gimmick. Think about it. So you want to undock your tablet and put the keyboard part away...first you'll need to shut it down (otherwise the keyboard will be running out your battery), then you'll need to start up the tablet. That right there, that little sequence of events is why Apple while never do this.
Could Apple make this? Sure. Should they or will they? No.
Within a few years we'll likely have a truly hybrid OS that gives the iPad all the capabilities of a Mac. If you really want a keyboard attached to it, there are plenty of keyboard accessories available, and I'm sure they will continue to be available in the future.
This thing though...ugh.
COMPLETELY defeats Apples core concept of KISS (keep it simple stupid), one of the biggest selling points of Apple products.
This might be a neat idea for windows 8 however seeing as its an operating system tweaked for both.
This might be a neat idea for windows 8 however seeing as its an operating system tweaked for both.
You can already get a keyboard for the iPad. I don't care for the "slim on one end and fat on the other" look of the Mac Air. I am happy with my iPad 3, but only wish I could have 256 gig on board SSD. Maybe an SD card slot, Flash, quad core 4 GHZ processor, quadrophonic speakers with Dolby surround sound, and a 10" subwoofer on the back side!
What you just described is a desktop computer. It would probably be cheaper to just get a desktop then spring for a separate iPad. At least I could use one while using the other instead of losing my "screen" when I want to take the ipad out of the house/office.
So in other words the OP wants to gimp their computer by making it rely on an ipad for a screen.
Flash was needed maybe 6 years ago. Look to the future where we don't have to rely on a buggy bloated plugin to watch a video. Really, no site that relies on flash as their main interface is worth browsing nowadays. I don't need animated menu buttons and crappy music to get information.
If anyone can name some sites that are pure flash that they regularly browse, I'll tell them how irrelevant those sites are.