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LED Displays for Upcoming Apple Laptops?

I want: More Battery life, 12" PB replacement, tablet, cheaper price, ill take a hit in processor. Oh yeah and some general newness in the product line. Rugdeness is good too.

Dont want: Supre fast, and power hungy processors. Over priced crap. Bad Quality control. Ohh and I dont want people telling me that I should only want what Apple makes because everything else is not in its best interest, as Jobs can see the future. Nope doesnt work taht way boys. This isnt a dictatorship where I should love what the leader works out. This is capitalism where I buy what I want or atleast try to buy what I want.
 
Chef Medeski said:
This is capitalism where I buy what I want or atleast try to buy what I want.
Click to expand...

The problem, is that Apple hasn't made anything that I really, really want since they moved the Intel products. Nothing really strikes me as saying buy me.

After going through two dud iMac G5 systems, I just really don't want another iMac. And, the new new ones can't even be opened easily (without risk of damaging something) to blow the dust out of them. If I can't blow the dust out myself, I'm not interested.

And, the MacBook and Mini with their weak video system just isn't it. The Mini's over-priced and underpowered for it's price. The MacBook would be fine except for that darned integrated Video.

The MacBook Pro is nice, but then it costs so much and the specs are still a bit weak for the price. Of course, the major price is due to the fact that it's portable. I don't care about portable, so paying a premium just doesn't make sense.

The Mac Pro is very nice. But, it's over-priced and way past due for an update. Hopefully a bit of an update will make it a better bargain. Either that, or update the high end, and reduce the price on the current low-end. Remember the $1500 PowerMac G5. Get me something in that range.

So, as it is, I'm still sitting at my Mini G4 (which I got for a steal second-hand) and waiting for Apple to release something I want at a price that isn't just plain ridiculous.

If Apple released something I wanted, they'd have had my money a long time ago.

Right now, a 2+ GHz Core2Duo Mini, with a dedicated graphics card, 7200 R.P.M. Drive, SuperDrive, and everything else the same would be all it would take. But, they'd have to do that at around $700 or less to make it attractive.

$700 for the current Mini's configuration is just weak. They put in a low-end processor, the slowest hard drive they can find, weak graphics, and then expect me to pay double what a comparable PC would cost?

The PC I purchased 2 years ago still out-specs the current mini by double, and it only cost me $430 for the entire machine back then.

Apple, build me something I want.

I'm ready to move-on from this G4 Mini. But, you haven't produced a compelling machine at a reasonable price to motivate me to upgrade.

The current Mini feels more like a down-grade from my old G4 model. So, let's get on it.
 
Just for the record the new Panasonic Toughbooks have had LEDs for as the backlights. Not only that, they have signs up everywhere here in silicon valley "World's brightest backlit notebook, oh and it's also bulletproof..."
 
flyinmac said:
The problem, is that Apple hasn't made anything that I really, really want since they moved the Intel products. Nothing really strikes me as saying buy me.

After going through two dud iMac G5 systems, I just really don't want another iMac. And, the new new ones can't even be opened easily (without risk of damaging something) to blow the dust out of them. If I can't blow the dust out myself, I'm not interested.

And, the MacBook and Mini with their weak video system just isn't it. The Mini's over-priced and underpowered for it's price. The MacBook would be fine except for that darned integrated Video.

The MacBook Pro is nice, but then it costs so much and the specs are still a bit weak for the price. Of course, the major price is due to the fact that it's portable. I don't care about portable, so paying a premium just doesn't make sense.

The Mac Pro is very nice. But, it's over-priced and way past due for an update. Hopefully a bit of an update will make it a better bargain. Either that, or update the high end, and reduce the price on the current low-end. Remember the $1500 PowerMac G5. Get me something in that range.

So, as it is, I'm still sitting at my Mini G4 (which I got for a steal second-hand) and waiting for Apple to release something I want at a price that isn't just plain ridiculous.

If Apple released something I wanted, they'd have had my money a long time ago.

Right now, a 2+ GHz Core2Duo Mini, with a dedicated graphics card, 7200 R.P.M. Drive, SuperDrive, and everything else the same would be all it would take. But, they'd have to do that at around $700 or less to make it attractive.

$700 for the current Mini's configuration is just weak. They put in a low-end processor, the slowest hard drive they can find, weak graphics, and then expect me to pay double what a comparable PC would cost?

The PC I purchased 2 years ago still out-specs the current mini by double, and it only cost me $430 for the entire machine back then.

Apple, build me something I want.

I'm ready to move-on from this G4 Mini. But, you haven't produced a compelling machine at a reasonable price to motivate me to upgrade.

The current Mini feels more like a down-grade from my old G4 model. So, let's get on it.
Click to expand...
I agree. I dont really need a Desktop, I bought a old G4 as backup music server, but I was looking something way below Mini prices with multiple bays so.... doubt I could have found anything new to suit me.

But, yeah on the laptop front there is nothing that truly makes me want to buy a laptop. I mean the MBP is nice, but I really prefer not to pay so much for a computer whose design hasnt changed in like 5 years.

Macbook is my most probably choice, but I really would like a bigger screen or something smaller (for the size to carry it around, I would rather sacrifice .3 more lbs and get a 15", its sort of in the middle of a 15" and 12", the two price points I want) or atleast something new like Tablet.

Ive been looking at the Modbook, but its soaring price would have been justified if they had atleast had the software to rotate the screen. It seems a very stock machine just with a Wacom pad as the sole input device w/o BT peripherials.... not that great all the time.

Basically 12" PB replacement. Or Tablet from 11.1" to 13.3" would be sick.

And I know there are a lot of people who would buy this.
 
flyinmac said:
I want: Faster processors, More processors, more durable products that can take a bit of rough handling, something that will last for 5 years or more, something that is attractive to me but puts function before beauty.
Click to expand...

I agree 100%. Form should follow function, not the other way around. I don't care if it's not the shinest plastic, or the most sleek, just for asthetic's sake. If you can make a product and then create a surround that is as elegant as the current Apple products, then fine. But to start with requirements for the external design first IMO is a little backwards.

Steve Jobs is just listening to the wrong people. He should be listening to those of us who like to use it more than fantasize about touching it. Eww. That just sounds dirty :confused:
Click to expand...

Hahahaha.
 
iW00t said:
List your specs.
Click to expand...

Well, if you must know:

3.4 AMD Athlon 64
1.5 GB of RAM
two DVD-R/RW drives 16x Dual Layer burners
two video controllers w/ 128 MB of Video RAM
two 17-inch Monitors
160GB 7200 R.P.M. SATA hard drive (no wimpy 5400 R.P.M. Drive here)
two audio inputs
two audio outputs
two microphone inputs
3 FireWire 400 ports
6 USB 2.0 ports
Dedicated Video Capture card (for capturing Analog video)
56K V.90 Modem
Gigabit Ethernet
Altec Lansing Stereo Speakers (sound great)
A very nice Keyboard and Mouse (which the Mini doesn't come with).
Windows XP

All that for $430 including shipping. And, $50 of that was for the Norton Internet Security package that I got with it. So, that would bring the cost of the actual machine down to $380 including shipping.

So, now find me a Mac with that much power, and equal to (or better than) those specs at the same price new.

I'll even make it easier, double the price I paid to $760, and see if you can find a Mac in the same configuration or better. Oh, wait, we'd still need to double that, because you'd need to spend at least $1500 to get a Mac of similar specs. And, even then you'd still be in the iMac Class, and wouldn't have dual monitors and video capture, and dual DVD writers, and so on. And, you still wouldn't have the ability to add upgrade with PCI cards. So, that brings us up to the Mac Pro. But, the Mac Pro costs a ton more.

Compaq made me quite a deal on the system. So, for the $380, I got a lot for my money. And, even including the Norton Internet Security (which bumped me up to $430), it's still quite a bargain.

There's definitely no way that Apple's cheapest offering could come anywhere near the Compaq in specs. And, at $799, the next Mini is a joke by comparison to my PC.

Even when compared to my G4 Mini, the new Mini just isn't a compelling upgrade. I got my current Mini for less than $400. And, they want $600 for the cheapest new one, and it's been stripped-down (no dedicated graphics chip). And, it's other "improvements" are very minor. The over-all feel is like throwing more money at them to get basically what I have now without a video controller. And, then I'd still have to throw them another $75 to get the memory up to the amount I have in my current Mini (yes I got a bargain on it as well).

Anyway...
 
job said:
I agree 100%. Form should follow function, not the other way around. I don't care if it's not the shinest plastic, or the most sleek, just for asthetic's sake. If you can make a product and then create a surround that is as elegant as the current Apple products, then fine. But to start with requirements for the external design first IMO is a little backwards.
Click to expand...


Exactly. Function, reliability, and durability should be more important than pretty.


Hahahaha.
Click to expand...

Yes, that just sounded bad. Especially when you put Steve Jobs in the equation :eek:
 
job said:
I agree 100%. Form should follow function, not the other way around. I don't care if it's not the shinest plastic, or the most sleek, just for asthetic's sake. If you can make a product and then create a surround that is as elegant as the current Apple products, then fine. But to start with requirements for the external design first IMO is a little backwards.
Click to expand...

Sorry, but I don't agree with that. I personally believe that form and function should be perfectly balanced, and Apple's kit is as damn close to that as you can get.

I think Apple's design philosophy is underpinned by miminalistic priciples. All their kit is beautiful to look at, and yet manage to be beautiful without slapping on go-faster stripes or any other non-function crap. Their designs, as far as I'm concerned, manage to achieve a beautiful balance between form and function. This is minimalism at it's best.

Minimalism: "The state of perfection that an object achieves, when it can no longer be functionally or aesthetically improved by reduction"

Take for example a perfect cube. If you lop a corner off or stick some other crap on there, it's no longer a cube. Same goes for any other perfect form. I believe Apple have decided to use perfect form factors as an initial starting point and have managed to create extremely functional appliances without undermining the above philosophy.

I say "Well Done Apple... Keep up the beautiful work"

If you want FUGLY... Buy a DELL :)
 
I will do one better - find an equivalent system at HP or Dell for that price. I just checked out HP, and could not configure a machine like that (e.g., the Athlon 64 was only 2.2 ghz, unless by 3.4 you mean tha Athlon 3400; they didn't offer 2 video cards, so I used only one; they would not let me outfit it with 2 burners, just one burner and on reader; added logitech speakers instead of A-L., etc).

So, the total cost, today, without the 2 monitors and with only 1 GB of RAM (not the 1.5 you got 2 years ago) comes to $629.

You are saying that 2 years ago, when RAM costs were higher, dual layer burners were newer, and processors and video cards were slower and more expensive, you got a machine that far exceeded that, with TWO monitors, for 1/3 the cost?

You are an exceptionally talented shopper.

Fish

flyinmac said:
Well, if you must know:

3.4 AMD Athlon 64
1.5 GB of RAM
two DVD-R/RW drives 16x Dual Layer burners
two video controllers w/ 128 MB of Video RAM
two 17-inch Monitors
160GB 7200 R.P.M. SATA hard drive (no wimpy 5400 R.P.M. Drive here)
two audio inputs
two audio outputs
two microphone inputs
3 FireWire 400 ports
6 USB 2.0 ports
Dedicated Video Capture card (for capturing Analog video)
56K V.90 Modem
Gigabit Ethernet
Altec Lansing Stereo Speakers (sound great)
A very nice Keyboard and Mouse (which the Mini doesn't come with).
Windows XP

All that for $430 including shipping. And, $50 of that was for the Norton Internet Security package that I got with it. So, that would bring the cost of the actual machine down to $380 including shipping.

So, now find me a Mac with that much power, and equal to (or better than) those specs at the same price new.
Click to expand...
 
flyinmac said:
So, now find me a Mac with that much power, and equal to (or better than) those specs at the same price new.


Anyway...
Click to expand...





I have to say your level of detachment from reality is unique.


Absurd that you are comparing your über-work-discounted buyings to full priced products... :D
Nice.

Well, if I play the same game too?

See,if I would break into the local apple store, I could get the apple macpro for free...If I would manage to drag that pig away before the security arrives.

So I beat you,right?



This is similar to people that say that "if you use that,and that,and that rebate from Dell,you get the stuff for half the price...".

You have to think a bit more global than that. Apart from small group of individuals the rest of the world cant get the same discounts.
 
fishdoc said:
You are an exceptionally talented shopper.

Fish
Click to expand...

Well, don't know what to tell you. The price I paid is the price I paid. Called them on the phone, and got a good deal. Didn't bother with going with the configurators online.

Maybe they had an over-stock, maybe they were clearing them out, maybe it was a sale, who knows. Called them up, said what I wanted. Got it shipped.
 
Well, that is great, but even if true (no offense, it just seems a bit implausible), it also sort of invalidates your argument - the fact that your 2 year old tech is unavailable today without spending twice as much means that the challenge to find a Mac with the same specs (always, in my opinion, a nonsensical challenge anyway) is a bit unreasonable, given that you can't even find a PC with the same specs at that price.

I should point out that, in Feb of 2005, 1.5 GB of RAM (DDR, as needed with the then recently-released Athlon 3400) was ~$300 (according to Sharky, the website that tracks RAM costs). So let's say they gave you an unbelievable 50% discount on RAM, bringing you to $150 for that alone. In Feb 2005, the Athlon 4300 CPU (by itself) averaged $191. Compaq certainly lost money selling to you...dual layer burners had been out less than a year, but you got TWO of them, along with your 2 monitors and your two 128MB video cards, motherboard, all those ports, video capture card, etc., all thrown in for - uh, $39 extra!

Even if we accept all of that as true, I say a better comparison is to go out, configure yourself a PC, and then see if you can find a comparable Mac (or the other way around). Even then the comparisons are kind of lame, as the less tangible things (OS, included software, etc) are impossible to compare, but it makes FAR more sense than the challenge as you stated it.

fish

flyinmac said:
Well, don't know what to tell you. The price I paid is the price I paid. Called them on the phone, and got a good deal. Didn't bother with going with the configurators online.

Maybe they had an over-stock, maybe they were clearing them out, maybe it was a sale, who knows. Called them up, said what I wanted. Got it shipped.
Click to expand...
 
flyinmac said:
Well, if you must know:

3.4 AMD Athlon 64
1.5 GB of RAM
two DVD-R/RW drives 16x Dual Layer burners
two video controllers w/ 128 MB of Video RAM
two 17-inch Monitors
160GB 7200 R.P.M. SATA hard drive (no wimpy 5400 R.P.M. Drive here)
two audio inputs
two audio outputs
two microphone inputs
3 FireWire 400 ports
6 USB 2.0 ports
Dedicated Video Capture card (for capturing Analog video)
56K V.90 Modem
Gigabit Ethernet
Altec Lansing Stereo Speakers (sound great)
A very nice Keyboard and Mouse (which the Mini doesn't come with).
Windows XP

All that for $430 including shipping. And, $50 of that was for the Norton Internet Security package that I got with it. So, that would bring the cost of the actual machine down to $380 including shipping.
Click to expand...

I'm not calling you a liar (maybe a troll), but it seems unlikely in the extreme that you got anything like this 2 years ago for the price you claim to have paid. (with shipping and OS). If you did get anything like this (which I doubt) shipping alone would have been about $100. (two monitors? C'mon. Or maybe they were LCD!)

As far as I can tell this system two years ago should have set you back several thousand. If you actually got it for the price you claim (I'd like to see the bill) then it was almost certainly a screw up by the clueless telephone salesperson and as such, not really a valid comparison.
 
maxp1 said:
I'm not calling you a liar (maybe a troll), but it seems unlikely in the extreme that you got anything like this 2 years ago for the price you claim to have paid. (with shipping and OS). If you did get anything like this (which I doubt) shipping alone would have been about $100. (two monitors? C'mon. Or maybe they were LCD!)

As far as I can tell this system two years ago should have set you back several thousand. If you actually got it for the price you claim (I'd like to see the bill) then it was almost certainly a screw up by the clueless telephone salesperson and as such, not really a valid comparison.
Click to expand...

Well, think whatever you want. It's not going to cause me any lost sleep if you don't believe me. Like my life is hinging on you believing what I say.

Shipping was free just as it is with many computer manufacturers. So, the price included shipping.

And, it would not have cost thousands of dollars. Offers from Dell on the same package (although they used Intel) were still under $1000. Offers from smaller companies were still under $600.

I know I got a great deal. I priced it out with several vendors, and purchased it from the one that gave me the best price. I was surprised that it was Compaq who made me the best offer. But, they made me an excellent deal, and I said send it.

I know it would have cost me a bit more from another vendor. And, Dell's offerings weren't even close for the price. So, I went with Compaq. Purchased purely on price of the package.

Can't help it if others don't shop around and haggle with the manufacturer. That's their own fault.

I've negotiated some great deals on the phone with Apple over the years as well. You call in and ask for the minimum. Being Apple, they want to up-sell. So, you let them up-sell you to what you would like but hesitate enough to make them cut you breaks as you move up.

I've gotten a lot of great computer packages that way.

I purchased a brand new Power Mac G3 266-DT with Video capture and DVD a few days after they were released and saved about $800 on it. I called CDW and asked to purchase one of their refurb systems that they had on sale. They had a bunch they were running on special in the catalog at the time.

The guy tried hard to convince me that I wanted a G3 instead of the old stuff. So, I let him convince me. By the time we were done, he offered me a brand new G3 for $200 over the price of the older models at their clearance price. He worked hard for that sale. And, I got a great deal.

Some people actually negotiate for their purchases. If you pay full sticker without negotiating, then that's your fault.
 
That is a lot of (equally unbelievable) explanation from someone who doesn't care what people believe.
 
Hope all the Appe products will be LED backlit.

Especially the iMac :) Be nice to have something like 10000:1

Hopefully the iPod will be OLED, after so many years of wanting an OLED iPod.
 
http://www.ledjournal.com/led_newsletter_current.htm#av

Arrays, Modules & Components
AnalogicTech Announces High-Performance Integrated Solution for
Display Backlight and Flash LEDs

Advanced Analogic Technologies, Inc. (AnalogicTech), a developer of power management semiconductors for mobile consumer electronic devices, has released the AAT2842, a 600 mA charge pump with dual low dropout linear regulators (LDOs) for portable systems operating from Lithium-ion/polymer batteries. Configured as a Total Display Solution, this new device features two separate S 2Cwire (Simple Serial Control) serial digital interfaces, allowing designers to independently drive up to four LEDs for either display backlight or keypad applications and four LEDs for high-current flash applications.

“Many mobile and personal electronics applications powered by a single-cell Li-ion battery, such as smart phones, digital still cameras and camera-enabled mobile devices, use separate ICs for backlight and flash functions,” said Adolfo Garcia, product line director for AnalogicTech. “By combining a high current charge pump, backlight/keypad drivers, a high output flash driver and two general purpose LDOs in a single 4 by 4 mm package and by retaining independent control of the backlight/keypad and flash functions, the AAT2842 offers product developers an attractive way to lower their parts count, lower the system BOM cost and build more compact systems without compromising their design flexibility or circuit performance.”

The AAT2842 features a high current tri-mode charge pump capable of driving up to four backlight LEDs up to 30 mA each. Alternately, the backlight current outputs can be programmed to drive lower current LEDs for applications such as keypad backlighting. The charge pump can also drive up to four LEDs for flash functions at up to a total of 600 mA.

Two separate S 2Cwire serial digital interfaces allow designers to independently enable, disable, or set current at up to 16 levels for the backlight/keypad and flash functions. The backlight / keypad and flash LEDs can also be separately controlled via external resistors. To protect the flash LEDs against thermal damage, the AAT2842 also features an integrated flash timer, which can be set by an external capacitor.

Integrated into the AAT2842 are two high performance LDOs. Each LDO can supply a continuous load current up to 200 mA at a 200 mV dropout voltage. Running from the same 2.7 V to 5.5 V input voltage as the charge pump, the two LDOs are controlled by a single enable input. The output voltage of each LDO is user-programmable from 1.2 V to 5 V via an external resistor divider. Optimized for battery-powered applications, the LDOs consume only 85µA quiescent current.

The AAT2842 is available in a Pb-free, 4 by 4 mm, 28-pin TQFN44 package and is specified over the -40º C to 85º C temperature range. It sells for $1.75 each in 1000-unit quantities.
 
bigbossbmb said:
that is a 15.4" screen with only 1280 x 800 resolution.... same res as the macbook, but too big. I can definitely see this kind of tech going in the macbook first. It'll make it into the macbook pro once they get the higher res with the large color gammut.

Although this one looks promising...
Click to expand...

That 30in could be the next upgraded CD. Now if they would only put that resolution on the 17in MBP at least (doubt they'll do it for the 15.4...because, well that's just Apple). I can see where these LED screen updates don't need to be part of any other upgrade cycles. Whenever they are ready to ship, Apple will make the change over. Seems with greater color accuracy & slightly lower power consumption, they will be ideal for a laptop, but I wouldn't expect much more battery life. Some other component (maybe a higher performance GPU) will offset any minor gains such LED backlighting would get you.
 
flyinmac said:
Well, don't know what to tell you. The price I paid is the price I paid. Called them on the phone, and got a good deal. Didn't bother with going with the configurators online.

Maybe they had an over-stock, maybe they were clearing them out, maybe it was a sale, who knows. Called them up, said what I wanted. Got it shipped.
Click to expand...

I find your prices suspect too.

I sold off an ancient 15" LCD monitor on ebay some months ago for A$150 (roughly US$110). Yet you can somehow get 2 x 17" LCDs and the rest of a very good computer for $400? A quick look on Amazon shows 17" LCDs going at around 170 Amerikan dollars. Even if the retailor took a big hit and sold you each monitor at $100 each you are telling me that computer costs $240?

Bullocks.

By the way a computer more powerful than yours, let me present to you... the Mac Mini. BS price disclosures aside just check how Core Duo is a lot more efficient than the old Pentium 4 (ala Athlon XXXX) speed rating that you have been used to. A 1.83ghz Mac Mini smokes your Athlon 3400 easy.

You have an untapped talent there, the ability to buy at retail stuff for less than wholesale perhaps.
 
Just read this article about the Sony TX and I'm rather intrigued. Why is it that the Sony's panel can get such good colour range with only 32 LEDs, while the Samsung demo unit barely managed 42% of the NTSC gamut with 60 LEDs?

Is there something more than just the sheer number of LEDs at play?
 
iW00t said:
I find your prices suspect too.

I sold off an ancient 15" LCD monitor on ebay some months ago for A$150 (roughly US$110). Yet you can somehow get 2 x 17" LCDs and the rest of a very good computer for $400? A quick look on Amazon shows 17" LCDs going at around 170 Amerikan dollars. Even if the retailor took a big hit and sold you each monitor at $100 each you are telling me that computer costs $240?
Click to expand...

Never said anything about it being LCD monitors. Assumptions...

Forget it. It's not worth arguing about. I purchased the systems. I have the invoices. I really don't care if you think I paid what I paid.

You're not worth the time. It's not worth arguing about. Consider it over. Unsubscribed.

Go argue with someone else.
 
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