MacBook Touch?

[wonderbread57]

Well, I can't find it but there was an article recently on here about Apple researching fingernail input capabilities for their touch products. What if this new product is a tablet or macbook touch and instead of a stylus you can use your fingernail to write? I think that this sounds very probable. My theory is that this new product will be a tablet or macbook touch type device. I realize that this is an old rumor but frankly I think that there is a market for this type of thing. Also, like it has been said, the product would be costly to make but because of the prices they'll sell at, Apple will initially see a drop in profit margins. Once they start flying off the shelves then Apple's profits will increase to make up for the loss. This is my theory. I don't really care if you prove me wrong, it's just a theory.

New Apple touch patents show body part sensing, fingernail input

"In what's considered the definitive overview of Apple's attempts to patent its multi-touch interface, a deluge of newly-public filings show Apple considering technology that hasn't yet been used in the iPhone or the Mac -- including sensing the difference between body parts, explaining gestures through activities, and even responding differently to input from fingernails."

About profit margins; lower profit margins but more units sold can equal win.

 

[NiroNavro]

New Apple touch patents show body part sensing, fingernail input

"In what's considered the definitive overview of Apple's attempts to patent its multi-touch interface, a deluge of newly-public filings show Apple considering technology that hasn't yet been used in the iPhone or the Mac -- including sensing the difference between body parts, explaining gestures through activities, and even responding differently to input from fingernails."

About profit margins; lower profit margins but more units sold can equal win.

YES!!! My theory has solid ground! Go me! If I'm proved wrong then whatever, no big.

 

[Polish97]

pardon the crude depiction...

There will be no optical drive. There is no need for it.

32GB or 64GB HDD with the ability to run app store applications.

Allows developers to increase the size of their apps or keep them the same or both.

Price it between $900-$1200.

All it lacks is a BT keyboard to use for word processing.

 

[lewisg1212]

pardon the crude depiction...

There will be no optical drive. There is no need for it.

32GB or 64GB HDD with the ability to run app store applications.

Allows developers to increase the size of their apps or keep them the same or both.

Price it between $900-$1200.

All it lacks is a BT keyboard to use for word processing.

nice idea....only thing i dont like is that it would be near impossible to type with the screen on the left hand side

the only reason the keyboard works is because typing with your thumbs is so easy and quick....thats what i dont like about the new nanos...i preferred the 2nd gen ones, slimmer, narrower.

nice pics though

 

[Polish97]

the only reason the keyboard works is because typing with your thumbs is so easy and quick....

That's a problem that the developers could fix with a larger keyboard. Iknow the current isn't the best.

I was just showing that the app store could work on a larger display with another set of apps developed for the larger screen.

This is two iPhone screens pushed together. So your thumb stretches across one easily enough, now each thumb would have it's own screen.

 

[Ninja-Mage]

Eh i've been reading this forum for some time now, can't believe it's taken this long for me to make an account.

I'm going to college in august, and i'll be going for a degree in Digital Animation Game Art and Design. I already work heavily with photoshop and I do several conceptual art, but honestly the task of transitioning from paper to ink to scanner to photoshop is a pain, so i'd be giddy about a tablet by apple, the only other people producing them are HP(hate), Toshiba(eh they're alright) and Dell(crazy expensive).

I'm planning to go heavy on upgrades computer wise since i'll be doing a lot of 3d rendering in the coming months(though I use my desktop pc for all 3d rendering work) so i'm planning to buy a MBP when they're revised and chances are a tablet as well supposing it's under 1k and actually exists.

 

[iMacmatician]

pardon the crude depiction...

There will be no optical drive. There is no need for it.

32GB or 64GB HDD with the ability to run app store applications.

Allows developers to increase the size of their apps or keep them the same or both.

Price it between $900-$1200.

All it lacks is a BT keyboard to use for word processing.

NICE. The design is exactly what I was thinking.

I'd switch the HDD for flash, and I don't think the price will be more than $200 higher than an equivalent capacity iPod touch.

Also there would be some specific applications like iLife and iWork.

 

[smartaleck]

the perfect laptop:
-13" macbook pro
-quad core 3ghz intel
-4gb ram
-320gb sshd
-512mb vid card
-onboard 8x blu-ray burner
-beard trimmer

 

[Bridge51]

the perfect laptop:
-13" macbook pro
-quad core 3ghz intel
-4gb ram
-320gb sshd
-512mb vid card
-onboard 8x blu-ray burner
-beard trimmer

You forgot 8 hour battery life, HD iSight camera, and toaster.

 

[El Pájaro]

a sneak peek

the Apple "i"

 

[Riemann Zeta]

I think a relatively full-sized Mac Tablet would be a fantastic product. I have an old Toshiba M200 tablet running Vista (barely running Vista, even with 1.7Ghz Dotham, 2GB RAM & 7200RPM HDD) and I still really like it. The tablet interface is nice--Vista's slick translucency effects are a little much for the machine's puny GPU, but the handwriting recognition is better than any other I have ever used.

If they did it right, Mac OS X on a tablet would be even better than Vista, especially with a full multi-touch and pen-compatible UI. All Apple needs for a true tablet is far better handwriting recognition; the "Inkwell" program built in to OS X is just for sh*ts and giggles and is virtually unchanged from the original Newton recognizer.

Ideal specs would be:

2.26GHz Intel Penryn CPU, 3MB L2
2-4GB RAM, maybe DDR3 memory will be available by then
7200RPM HDD or Optional SSD (obviously, the SSD = $$$)
USB, FW800, ExpressCard 34, Micro-DVI, Hardline Ethernet
13.3" 1440*900 Multi-touch / Electropen Display
iPhone-style Mineral Crystal Screen
No optical drive, no keyboard (USB and BT keyboards available)

 

[philamac]

I agree that the handwriting recognition software in Windows Tablet PCs is insane!!

If Apple can provide the same level of handwriting recognition, with their multi-touch interface, they could have a real winner in the battle of the tablets.

 

[whooleytoo]

When buying my iPhone in an O2 store, I saw an interesting device which got me thinking: a (very low end) PC with a phone dongle; subsidised by the network as you have to sign a contract.

What if this is something similar? A low cost mini-notebook, with built-in iPhone functionality. Subsidised by the network, so it's cheap. Cheap, always on internet connection on the move.

I think that would tally with a lot of the recent noises coming from Apple & analysts.

 

[maestro55]

If they do make a tablet and it sells, all the better for them. The nice thing right now with the extra money they are making on the iPhones and the increased Mac sells is that they can put more money into R&D.

 

[donbadman]

where's the professional macs?

just give me some new pro spec computers designers made apple now nothing new for us, come on at least new monitors...

 

[apple4mark]

Ah Remember this!

I had kept this picture a while back and I loved this and who knows it could be it!

Ah Damn! just looked back and someone got in before me!

 

[jonhaxor]

Display updates are long overdue .. might make for an interesting set of touchscreen displays depending on the size they're planning .. stream video to it (a la mac tv), or take it off the wall and carry it around. Put a camera on the front, and voila - home video phone.

when you think about it, there's a trend they seem to be going down with Mac OS X embedded that should make it trivial for them to begin to embed their OS in all sorts of home products and achieve some interesting types of convergence.

 

[swingsong]

Sorry

This is retarded. Not assume a mac isn't coming with a multi touch screen, but to assume it is a product of buying PA semi. I think it will be some time before we see what PA semi does for Apple.

 

[iOrlando]

I had kept this picture a while back and I loved this and who knows it could be it!

Ah Damn! just looked back and someone got in before me!

HMMM....I dont hate it.....i would buy that (depending on price).

I would love to use racing games, or something like SimCity on it. or GTA

 

[mithrilfox]

Please no... not more touch screen gimmickiness. No offense to those who look forward to the niched usefulness of the touch screen, but the last thing I want is a touch screen laptop. I made a whole article about how bad touch screens are for desktop/laptop systems, especially when they are the monitor or LCD screen itself.

The Nintendo DS is awesome because it fills a niche. By no means a small market, it's a particular type of device for particular types of usage. Touch screen on a MacBook? Disastrous if you ask me...

 

[McBeats]

a macbook pro + Multi touch display = reasonably ideal.
(maybe at 13" since I guess its unlikely to see 15" touch screen)

with a SWIVEL SCREEN like the HP Pavilion tx2500z.

I'm gonna sell my macbook pro n buy that pavilion if they don't release something like this, n use a mac for just my studio.

 

[philamac]

I think that if touch were coming to iMacs & macbooks, the multi-touch would complement the keyboard, not replace it.

So I imagine the imac and macbooks looking exactly as they do now, with an invisible glass/plastic layer of multi-touchy goodness added to it. The only complaint you'd get from that would be about the fingerprints on your screen! And who knows, as an added benefit/side effect, everyone would develop clean hands syndrome XD

 

[.Chris]

The Nintendo DS is awesome because it fills a niche. By no means a small market, it's a particular type of device for particular types of usage. Touch screen on a MacBook? Disastrous if you ask me...

The DS was made for little kids who dont know a thing about life. Thew apple systems would be used by actual human beings

 

[apple.]

I'm guessing it wouldn't be called MacBook something though - the book part suggests a folding laptop form factor.

good point.
but i think apple will still go with macbook touch only cause there laptops are macbook air macbook pro macbook i think macbook touch will be the name.

 

[apple.]

I had kept this picture a while back and I loved this and who knows it could be it!

Ah Damn! just looked back and someone got in before me!

the keyboard needs help!!!!