The $899 notebook (not macbook)
According to some other post on this forum and others, there seems to be 12 new SKUs for the new notebook lines. Existing categories (Macbooks=3, Macbook Pro=3, Macbook Air=2) So we are left with 4 new SKUs if the current product categories and product mix remains the same. Will we be seeing a new product category within the notebook series?
Do you think a mac tablet (aka large iPod touch) is in the works here?
Let's revisit some old patents as early as 2005 which basically has trickle down to the way iPhone and iPod touch works which has been filed on other separate patents on multi-touch gestures.
http://www.engadget.com/2005/05/10/apples-patented-the-tablet-mac/
http://machinesthatgobing.com/apple/apple-mac-tablet-patent/
http://www.engadget.com/2006/02/02/apples-patented-the-tablet-mac-part-ii/
The time seems to be almost ripe. Apple has the technology and the expertise to create an all-in-one wonder.
Firstly, about 10 million iPhone has been sold (not including iPod touch) and we are used to how to "gesture" the device.
Apple has ability to mass produced the touch screen on a very large scale, probably saving a lot of cost even for a touch screen that's 10".
HP has been releasing their Touchsmart for a while at a low price of $1299 for a 22" touch screen, including DVD rom, hard disk, keyboard and mouse. If you were to sell a 10-12" touch based device for $899 without DVD rom, keyboard and mouse. Do you think it would be feasible?
The 8GB 3G iPhone cost about $173 to make, the most expensive been the 8GB NAND flash part that cost $23 according to iSuppli.
If the new mac tablet were to be made, I expect that it will be flash based with non-moving parts - means we won't see a traditional hard disk. Most likely the exact NAND flash based drive we see in iPod Touch and iPhone. But most importantly, the idea of a mac tablet will be the ability to move the device around..without loss of data. A traditional macbook still has the old hard disk , but is much more prone to traditional knocks and movements. And not to mention power consumption.
The mac tablet will not be targeted at power users. It will be a different beast from Macbook Air as there will be no need for DVI, USB port as there is will not be an external DVD drive. No movable parts, saves cost. As with the Macbook Air, no user battery replacement. You want more disk space - Apple's Time machine is available at separate cost.
A low cost device for everyday light usage (also which a corporation or institution can justify the purchase) The use will be mainly for light writing, surfing, it basically is what an iPhone will be, but at a much larger screen. I expect the device to have some sort of external docking feature for additional input/syncing and collaboration on a network scale (office, school, etc). It cannot be more than 12-13" because it will be difficult to gesture on it with two hands holding at the edge and secondly not extremely portable (think school children). If you look at the Touchsmart from HP, it is actually cumbersome to put your hand to draw on it..in a upright manner. In the aspect of human interface design, it is not ergonomic. School children would much prefer to lay the machine down or tilt at 45 degree or put on your lap as it were a paper and draw on it. It thereby creates an avenue for more usage of the device.
This new notebook will be a boon for school children, art class, organisation deployment (think Fedex like applications), museum usage. Basically you can restrict the access of the Apps on the machine much like the Apps deployment for iPhone. Corporations have been spending money on large and expensive laptops or desktop for its employees which most of them use for normal email and office apps.
Applications on the AppStore will be able to be used on the new notebook, thereby allowing Apple to reduce the cost of the device, and recoup profit from the Appstore and expanding the capability of the Apps on Appstore. Some Apps require a large real estate space for using (eg. Scrabble, Chess, think board games. ) No one has done an accelerometer device at 10" yet. Imagine the possibilities? Now the only factor in this whole game will be the processor chip and the graphics card. Which determines how fast this machine will be at cruising normal activities. But if we can play games with the iPhone, i bet the processor will be good enough. The only catch here is..will the machine be crippled to iPhone/iPod Touch version of OS X. Or it will be a full blown version?
Why I think a tablet screen will not be available for macbook pro. Simply because the screen quality will not be good enough for graphic work and not at that size (15" and 17) to be cost effective yet. Secondly, professional artist and designers still needs tonnes of space and processor speed(photoshop cache, 3D rendering) and of course and input device like the wacom tablet. A gesture based tablet will not have the precision or speed required. Even a second monitor output is required sometimes for pro user.
How nice it will be, to bring this tablet out, drink coffee, record the sights and sounds of the surrounding, take a cam shot, listen to music. Have movies and music stream at it via Apple TV or from your lecturer's console. Replace your school textbook, notes. All at $899. Keyboards sold separately (Bluetooth only)
I think the time is ripe....very soon.
