Apple Ultra-Portable MacBook Rumor Roundup

[redsox]

You have GOT to be kidding me. You can think of NO WAY to angle a tablet to avoid arm fatigue??

...you really are a PC user, aren't you?

Never think outside of the box. It could scare you.

Incase you have been living in the 90's for the past decade, there are wireless mice and keyboard you can conjoin to a stand-held ultra portable that turns it into a trimmed down iMac. -_-; Good lord. As for a tablet used in work when you unhook, it is in your lap and you use a stylus to write, or a pop up keyboard like the iPhone.

.

Exactly, hence why I said it would have to be a monitor that was in a down/slanted position. No way there is ever a iMAC that is touch screen where you have to hold your arms out and lean forward. No-Way.

Regarding Macs, MBP, Mac Pro, and a hack n tosh.

 

[AidenShaw]

What are you talking about? Who said anything about someone not forcing somebody to buy a sub-portable Mac? I certainly didn't. I asked a question, and your post failed to answer it, so maybe you were a little confused by the question.

... If optical drives are removed from a sub-portable, then what replaces the optical drive? I don't mean added USB and firewire external devices either.

If the answer is that nothing replaces the optical drive unless external devices are purchased, then that would have answered my question.

Sorry, I had you confused with one of the 437 whiners who've been screaming that the new portable will be useless without a builtin DVD .

Wintel portables that don't have optical drives typically include the external optical as part of the bundle.

There are other options available as well...

• The system may have the DVD "image" on a hidden recovery partition, so that in case there's a need to restore that can be done by booting the recovery partition and running the installer. Doesn't help if the disk crashes, and losing a few GB of a small flash drive would hurt. OS upgrades can be done by copying the new DVD files onto the main drive, and running the installer.
• It's possible to boot from a USB thumb drive, so in theory the OS kit could install from there. (In practice, I don't know if this has been done for Windows - but it's certainly an enhancement that Apple could make with the OSX version that supports the new portable),
• A minimal network or USB thumb drive booting OS could be developed that could access a networked DVD or ISO image. This mini-OS could copy the files onto the disk, and then boot into the installer. ("WinPE" does this in the Windows world. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winpe)

So, for WinTel systems, the hardware manufacturers pretty much have to use a standard Microsoft DVD image for installation - so the external DVD drive is the simplest, safest option. (Also works for Linux and other OS kits.)

Since Apple can modify the OSX installation kit, it's possible that they'll do a network or thumb drive or other OS load technique that doesn't require a DVD for OS installation.

On the other hand, Apple's market research may have shown that most people will want the external DVD for entertainment and third party software - so they include the external DVD and don't bother with an alternate load method.

 

[chriseh]

Word just in from SJ. Apple isn't building an ultra-portable.

 

[twoodcc]

Word just in from SJ. Apple isn't building an ultra-portable.

i hope you got the wrong word

 

[olternaut]

Word just in from SJ. Apple isn't building an ultra-portable.

*sigh*....ok I'll bite. Where and when exactly did SJ gave you this "word"? SJ doesn't happen to stand for Stan Jackson your local barber does it?

 

[zlinger]

I like simplicty and sometimes I prefer form over function I can only speak for myself, but for me cardreaders are not handy at all. I prefer to connect my digicam direct to my laptop instead of pulling out the SD card and load in the computer.

With kind regards,
Bas

Totally agree. I think Apple should build modular external devices... i.e. multimedia box that includes blu-ray device, SD/Flash card reader, USB front dock for dig cameras, iphone, ipod.. in the same form factor as mac mini/airport extreme. All wireless... keep laptops clean and simple.

 

[John Jacob]

Ok so this can either go 2 ways:

1. We get a ultra portable macbook pro, which will essentially, be useless to professionals, I hate editing on a 17 inch screen let alone a 13 inch one, so for professional users this will be useless, period.

I've heard this argument quite a bit over the numerous threads we've had about the Apple ultraportable. Does nobody else find it funny that graphic artists and video editors seem to think they are the only "professionals" out there.

 

[John Musbach]

As rumors start to build for Macworld San Francisco 2008, the most consistent rumor appears to be one of an ultra-portable Apple notebook computer.

These rumors started back in March 2006 by MacScoop who indicated that "very reliable" sources had indicated that Apple was planning on releasing an "ultra-thin 12 inch Mac Book Pro". More confirmation came from an analyst, Benjamin Reitzes in June, 2006 with expectations that an "ultra-portable" Mac could be delivered as early as Macworld San Francisco 2007. Reitzes also suggested that these new ultra-portables would use NAND flash memory, either in combination with a traditional hard drive or using NAND flash alone.

Indeed, earlier in 2006, Digitimes had first reported that Apple and Intel were researching the use of NAND flash in portables to improve boot time and battery life. MacScoop later detailed the thin-laptop to be a $1700-$1800 12" MacBook Pro with dual core processor and still retain an optical drive.

Macworld San Francisco 2007, of course, came and went with no new ultra-portable, but in February, more claims emerged from Appleinsider confirming that Apple was working on a mini-MacBook "lighter and more compact than any other Mac portable Apple has put forth in recent years". These specs claimed that the new laptop would exclude a built-in optical drive and would indeed use NAND flash memory.

9to5mac added a report in September that an aluminum MacBook prototype had been spotted that was "considerably slimmer" than the current MacBook Pros, with a thinner bezel around the screen and "something strange about the touchpad".

Finally, as we approach 2008's Macworld, some more confident reports have emerged with Appleinsider now believing that the new ultra-portable laptop will be released at Macworld as a 13" aluminum notebook with NAND flash, no optical drive, and LED backlit screens. Even CNBC now has their own sources claiming that a 12" sub-portable MacBook Pro with Flash memory only (no hard drive) would be introduced and retail for around $1500 at Macworld.

Based on the confidence and number of reports, it seem very likely that some sort of ultra-portable laptop will be arriving from Apple in January. To sum up claims:

MacScoop: 12", Ultra-Thin, Optical Drive, Dual Core
Appleinsider: 13", aluminum, 50% lighter, Slim, NAND Flash, LED backlit, No Optical Drive
CNBC: 12", 50% Thinner, NAND Flash only (no HDD).
9to5mac: "something strange about the touchpad"

To be fair, MacScoop's reports were from a year ago, so details may have changed in the interim. It's also conceivable that Apple may have more than one product in the works that could explain some of the discrepancies.

To give some perspective on what might be capable, readers are reminded of a prototype Intel laptop (Metro) that was revealed in May of this year. The concept design was said to go into production near the end of 2007 and offered the following specs:

- 2.25 lbs
- 0.7 inches thick
- 14 hours battery life
- NAND Flash
- WiMax, Cellular, WiFi support

As a concept design with no regard to cost, all of these features may not be included in a theoretical Mac laptop, but it does provide an idea of what might be possible with current technology.


Article Link

As neat as this is we should give thought to how useful such a laptop will actually be. Flash storage has yet to reach anywhere near the amount of storage standard hard drives can provide, and most software is still provided on cd/dvd medium. With that in mind one must wonder how usable this laptop will be when it is limited to just flash storage and has no cd/dvd drive... If you have the money this could be cool to show off to your friends but aside from that I'm just not sure how usable this laptop will actually be...

 

[koobcamuk]

I've heard this argument quite a bit over the numerous threads we've had about the Apple ultraportable. Does nobody else find it funny that graphic artists and video editors seem to think they are the only "professionals" out there.

Well said. I cringe every time I see this 'professional' misnomer thrown around.

 

[AidenShaw]

...and most software is still provided on cd/dvd medium. With that in mind one must wonder how usable this laptop will be when it is limited to just flash storage and has no cd/dvd drive...

Please, it'll have an external DVD for installs - these external modules are about the size of a DVD jewel box. Since most people will never travel with them, it's a great solution.

Flash storage has yet to reach anywhere near the amount of storage standard hard drives can provide

128GB SSDs in a 2.5" form factor in stock at Newegg (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820609245), 512 GB have been announced. The price per GB is a bit more than standard drives though.

Smaller drives are also coming:

 

[GregA]

Please, it'll have an external DVD for installs - these external modules are about the size of a DVD jewel box. Since most people will never travel with them, it's a great solution.

Nah, it'll have an iTunes solution. iTunes will check only for system, iLife, and iWork updates, and run any upgrade for the ultraportable when you connect it . iTunes will also sell applications like iPod games.

 

[Sijmen]

GregA, you bring up an interesting point. The idea behind the iPod was that the management was done on the computer using iTunes, but with my iPod touch I'm starting to see that this system won't hold forever. For example, the border has ben pushed back a bit by the WiFi iTunes store, and now people are asking for support for adding podcasts subscriptions.

I think the difference here lies with the different means of communication the device has. The original iPod could only communicate with your computer, so it was no problem at all to do it all on your computer. Now, these portable devices support the internet, and voila: you want to add content from the internet, instead of your computer.

Let's hope they find a golden way.

 

[Mal]

Nah, it'll have an iTunes solution. iTunes will check only for system, iLife, and iWork updates, and run any upgrade for the ultraportable when you connect it . iTunes will also sell applications like iPod games.

iTunes won't have to check for system updates, there's already a little application you may have noticed called Software Update that's more than capable. I agree, though, the idea of software upgrades being put out on disk probably needs to be a thing of the past. Making them available on flash media for people with either intermittent or no internet connection or for times when the internet connection isn't working is still a good idea, but that's about as far as it needs to go. Perhaps they can do like some companies and offer a download only version, or for $30 more can put it onto a 4GB flash drive or something.

jW

 

[TurboSC]

here it is:

No more than another rumour...
Picked it up via Complex here: http://www.newlaunches.com/archives/ultraportable_macbook_coming_your_way.php

lol looks like they just scaled down one of the other models?

I mean I'm perfectly fine with that, I just have this image of something new and sleek coming for the ultra-portable...

I seems MacWorld is taking forever to get here... *sigh*

 

[GregA]

iTunes won't have to check for system updates, there's already a little application you may have noticed called Software Update that's more than capable.

Ahh... true... my thinking was stuck inside the wrong box. I was thinking iPod/iPhone centric... unnecessarily.

Now... not sure if this is related or not, but it could be... why can't the iPhone do a system update this way?

(I'm kind of expecting "Leopard 10.5.2 lite" to be a common base shared by AppleTV, iPhone, iPod Touch, & Ultra portable)

 

[kontheur]

 

[Sijmen]

That would be called the MacBook fingerprint - but it's by far the nicest looking mockup so far.

 

[jhande]

Oh my..... that's just..... I'm speechless.

1. First thought: OK that'll suck for me -- I touch type.
2. Second thought: Oooooo.... shiny, promptly forgets first thought.

 

[zedsdead]

Oh my..... that's just..... I'm speechless.

1. First thought: OK that'll suck for me -- I touch type.
2. Second thought: Oooooo.... shiny, promptly forgets first thought.

I don't plan on buying a new laptop for about 2 years; however, if Apple releases something like this, I'm in.

 

[Mal]

The system may have the DVD "image" on a hidden recovery partition, so that in case there's a need to restore that can be done by booting the recovery partition and running the installer. Doesn't help if the disk crashes, and losing a few GB of a small flash drive would hurt. OS upgrades can be done by copying the new DVD files onto the main drive, and running the installer.

I just saw this post, and wow, there's an even better way that just came to mind, but very closely related. What if Apple simply placed 8GB of flash memory into the computer, separate from the main drive and only accessible when you were trying to do an install, onto which the OS was loaded. If you purchased a new version of the operating system and downloaded it, the system would load it onto that separate flash drive embedded inside the computer, restart from that drive, and the load the OS onto the main drive. If your machine messed up, you simply option-boot into that drive, do your maintenance or reinstall, then reboot back to the main drive. It'd be incredibly efficient, wouldn't cost much in the big scheme of things, and solve all the issues of the above method.

jW

 

[Martin C]

*Imagines the amount fingerprints and blemishes that machine would constantly have*

 

[kontheur]

*Imagines the amount fingerprints and blemishes that machine would constantly have*

The iPhone uses exactly the same materials, and people aren't affraid of touching that are they? I remember a patent Apple had, it was about an input device, like a 'Fingerworks Multitouch' keyboard, but then with sort of the same techniques like they use on those braille things to really feel your keys when you touch them.

 

[TurboSC]

*Imagines the amount fingerprints and blemishes that machine would constantly have*

I dunno if the world is ready for no tactile feedback on keyboards... I mean I guess I've adapted pretty well to the iPhone's keyboard interface, but just not having ridges etc to find the keys etc might get odd...

They could have bumps etc around the keys to help with that i suppose.

 

[nielsen]

When will the new macbook become available?

If Apple presents a new Ultra-Portable macbook at MacWorld 2008....
When will it likely become available to the public?

Hope to get some answers....
/Christian

 

[Martin C]

If Apple presents a new Ultra-Portable macbook at MacWorld 2008....
When will it likely become available to the public?

Hope to get some answers....
/Christian

No one really knows. They could announce it and start shipping in March, or they could announce it and have it online at the end of the keynote and in stores by the end of the week.