macbook nano?

[Mushrooshi]

With the success of 'netbooks' like the Eee, why can't apple release, say, a MacBook Nano?

8 inch screen, powered with a special Core 2 Duo, as is the Air, and it has the power of a g4 iBook.

 

[Chandler Adaway]

Apple is capable of it.
For sure.

But they see more of a market for a tablet device with those specs.

Hence, why there labs are consumed with trying to build this.

 

[EricNau]

The demand isn't high enough - it's a very specialized market.

 

[electronique]

Im in the market for a laptop at the moment.

Its purely only going to be internet/emails/word.. I have never owned a Mac and am leaning towards a Blackbook.. But
Then I saw the UMPC's, Netbooks etc etc.. They look pretty cool. Especially the eee PC for the price and specs.. I also looked at the Fujitsu U810/U1010, but its waaay to small.

I would jump at a smaller Macbook if one was out. Even if it was a jump down in specs compared to the current Macbook.... And NO I dont want an Air. I think they are pointless piece of marketing hype.!

 

[Drumjim85]

Im in the market for a laptop at the moment.

Its purely only going to be internet/emails/word.. I have never owned a Mac and am leaning towards a Blackbook.. But
Then I saw the UMPC's, Netbooks etc etc.. They look pretty cool. Especially the eee PC for the price and specs.. I also looked at the Fujitsu U810/U1010, but its waaay to small.

I would jump at a smaller Macbook if one was out. Even if it was a jump down in specs compared to the current Macbook.... And NO I dont want an Air. I think they are pointless piece of marketing hype.!

i don't think the air is pointless... It's serves as a great stepping stone for next generation products.
I wouldn't advise anyone to buy it, but it does have a purpose.

 

[hogfaninga]

i don't think the air is pointless... It's serves as a great stepping stone for next generation products.
I wouldn't advise anyone to buy it, but it does have a purpose.

I agree. It does serve a purpose for many right now especially people who travel a lot. I have many friends who travel 90% of the time and it is great for what they need and they love it. It will only get better. Like with anything it just depends on what you intend to use it for. Just because it might be useless to you (not talking to the poster I quoted here) doesn't mean it is for others.

 

[Abstract]

The demand isn't high enough - it's a very specialized market.

The demand is high enough for every other company to have released 1 or 2 models of ultraportables AND netbooks.

Apple is capable of it.
For sure.

How do you know this? I don't think Apple's engineers know something that the rest of the market doesn't know regarding heat output and Core 2 Duo machines. If it was possible to release an 8" laptop with a C2D, even a "special" version, they would have done it. But maybe you have a point. They could build a C2D 8" laptop, as long as it was 1.5" thick, and the processor was clocked at 600 MHz or something. But then again, an Intel Atom would be more powerful, so there's not much point.

Even with regards to 9" netbooks powered by an Intel Atom (9" screens are far bigger than 8", mind you) , the netbooks are 1.3" thick. Adding in some form of special ultraultra low voltage (UULV???) C2D processor into a laptop that's smaller, but thicker than a 9"/10" netbook would require a miracle that Apple can't pull off. They have enough trouble cooling even larger machines that other manufacturers like Sony seem to have no trouble doing, so it's not like Apple is more capable. In fact, based on their history, I reckon they're LESS capable.

But they see more of a market for a tablet device with those specs.

How do you know? Are there a lot of tablet PCs out there that are widely popular? Surely netbooks are selling better than tablets. Judging from the number of readers of netbook reviews, there's certainly more reader interest for netbooks.

 

[Chandler Adaway]

How do you know this? I don't think Apple's engineers know something that the rest of the market doesn't know regarding heat output and Core 2 Duo machines. If it was possible to release an 8" laptop with a C2D, even a "special" version, they would have done it. But maybe you have a point. They could build a C2D 8" laptop, as long as it was 1.5" thick, and the processor was clocked at 600 MHz or something. But then again, an Intel Atom would be more powerful, so there's not much point.

Even with regards to 9" netbooks powered by an Intel Atom (9" screens are far bigger than 8", mind you) , the netbooks are 1.3" thick. Adding in some form of special ultraultra low voltage (UULV???) C2D processor into a laptop that's smaller, but thicker than a 9"/10" netbook would require a miracle that Apple can't pull off. They have enough trouble cooling even larger machines that other manufacturers like Sony seem to have no trouble doing, so it's not like Apple is more capable. In fact, based on their history, I reckon they're LESS capable.

So what your saying is, is that Apple is LESS capable of pulling of an ultra compact computer (MacBook Air) with a touch screen (iPhone)?
Apple is the KING of that right now. No other company can and will pull it off as good as Apple did. I can TOTALLY see them combining those elements into a "MacBook Nano". Now? Hell no. That would be impossible. But is Apple capable of it. Beyond capable. These things would be revolutionary if done right. And we all know how Apple likes to revolutionize the computing world.

No, I don't believe they know more, but I do infact believe that they know how to use their information more. Otherwise, don't you think LG would have invented the iPhone instead of Apple? They seem more of a phone company, no?

What did people say about the iPhone when its first rumors came about?
"Nah, I'll stick to my physical qwerty keyboard. Touch screens are never easy to use..", etc.

How do you know? Are there a lot of tablet PCs out there that are widely popular? Surely netbooks are selling better than tablets. Judging from the number of readers of netbook reviews, there's certainly more reader interest for netbooks.

Let's once again step back and look at what Apple is capable of.
How many touch screen phones before the iPhone came even CLOSE to that of the iPhone AND as popular?
Trust me, many people thought that this was going to be an epic fail and now, the iPhone has changed the cell phone world forever.

I have no doubt in my mind, that Apple will introduce this in the following years and make millions from it. They will INVENT a market for it. That's just what they do.

AND, to reinforce this idea, you may view the multiple patents that Apple has out for tablet Macs. Hence why I said they are capable of it.

 

[Apple Ink]

There's a difference between ultraportable and ultrabudget! Fortunately the latter automatically ends up partially in the prior category as well!

As for Apple, it never has shown much interest in ultrabudget devices. The mini has been left to rot in countless occasions!

I can grasp Apple decreasing the current MB prices but not releasing a sub $500 notebook! Thats not like Apple.....

 

[Cheffy Dave]

Im in the market for a laptop at the moment.

Its purely only going to be internet/emails/word.. I have never owned a Mac and am leaning towards a Blackbook.. But
Then I saw the UMPC's, Netbooks etc etc.. They look pretty cool. Especially the eee PC for the price and specs.. I also looked at the Fujitsu U810/U1010, but its waaay to small.

I would jump at a smaller Macbook if one was out. Even if it was a jump down in specs compared to the current Macbook.... And NO I dont want an Air. I think they are pointless piece of marketing hype.!

I think they are pointless piece of marketing hype.![/QUOTE],got an opinion there sparky? They are in fact a niche, just like the pointless piece of marketing hype you are looking for, more than able to handle the internet/emails/word that you are going to use it for, in fact pretty much what you need. Have a real look. A great back lite screen and keyboard, one you can actually use, and drop dead style. If it's really about the money, well then, point taken

 

[donga]

if the rumors are true, maybe we'll get a macbook ultraportable with much lower specs than usual, and a lower price point (but still relatively pricey) a la the mac mini for desktops

 

[*Sandy*]

don't see it happening EEE PC is flooding the market, with too many new items.

 

[Abstract]

(snip)

Half your post is about the iPhone, and nobody doubted that touchscreen wouldn't be technologically capable, so it's not really relevant to what I said, or the conversation. We're not talking about UI development for a touchscreen, which doesn't really have a comparable technical hurdle.


Obviously, I believe Apple is capable of making a small laptop. I just said it's impossible using a Core 2 Duo. In 3-4 years, Apple may give us a 8", perhaps 9" or 10" laptop. However, we won't be using the C2D by next year anyway. For Apple to prove me wrong, they would need to release an 8" machine within the next 12 months or so. Everyone else will move towards dual core Intel Atom processors, which are coming in a few months.



Apple has never proven to be the best at dealing with heat issues. Their smallest laptop right now is the MBA, and it's no thinner than some 12" or 11" models out there. Those models use a C2D at around 1.2 GHz. Since the MBA's 1.6 GHz cpu actually runs at 1.2 GHz the large majority of the time, lets say the processor technology they use are all equal.

- Sony has the incredible 11" Vaio Tz that's less than 1" thick, and it has a C2D processor running at 1.2 Ghz (which is what Apple's MBA is running at most of the time.

- Toshiba has the 12" R500 model with the 1.2 Ghz C2D. It is 0.77" thick, has a DVD burner, and is lighter than the MBA. It also has a lot of ports.

- Asus has something similar.
- Same with Lenovo.
- Fujitsu is famous for their small machines.

- Apple gave people a 13.3" laptop that's essentially the same thickness as its competition (just thinner on one end), 1-2 ports, and no DVD burner. Apple's engineers would wimper if they were asked to put a DVD drive in there as well. Where would the heat go?


However, nobody has created a laptop with a C2D that's smaller than 11", and Apple can barely make a 13" mobile laptop with that chip. Don't get me wrong though. I love the MBA, don't think it's too expensive (since competing ultra-thin mobiles are much more expensive), and is light and portable. However, you said Apple was the best at handling this. They're clearly not.