I'm just worried about the lack of tactile feedback for an on-screen keyboard. A 7·10 wouldn't be held like the iPhone would it?
Running on iPhone OS would solve the startup time problem.
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MacBook Touch?
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I for one (who did plunk 6 bills for the iPhone) would buy a 10" mini Macbook Touch in a heartbeat. I've been looking at the Dell M1210 in the refurb area but would love to give my corn to AAPL for something even sexier. A little coffee house notebook with a webcam that plays movies...put that right in the shopping cart with overnight delivery.
They already have devices that take that to the next level-- laptops with screens that swivel. If you're able to sit, you can use a keyboard and type faster and be more productive. If not, you simply swivel the screen, and you can use your thumbs to type. Sure, they're not as small as you're asking for, but I could see another manufacturer (probably not Apple, since small screens aren't their style) make that happen.
Personally, however, I really hope Apple gets to market that midrange tower before they work on anything else. I'm guessing they would, though, if they had any sense. Lots of people think a tablet would be cool, but even more people think a midrange tower would be useful, and therefore would be more likely to invest in one... myself included
I doubt it, seriously doubt it. From what people want, it's either going to be a 7" wide fat iPhone with no added ports or functionality costing $1000-$1200, or it's going to be an Ultra Mobile Mac with maybe a USB port and an 10"-12" screen for $1500-$2000.
Any other price range or functionality, even a built in optical drive and you are just dreaming.
Not a snowball's chance in hell. More like at least $700 for the entry-level unit you describe, and that's even eating deep into Apple's normal margin.
The story indicates the latter, with an optical drive. Your price range I agree with.
What do you need optical drive for when you have Apps Store. Apple is making it so everything can be delivered wirelessly; movies, music and now apps. forget an optical drive.
Considering that we're looking at a device probably without a hard drive or an SSD, but maybe 64GB of flash onboard, an optical drive is the easiest way to increase local storage cheaply--and to make it possible to watch DVDs. One of the problems with existing slate-style tablets is that they're treated as a third-order computer instead of a different kind of laptop.
A tablet with a Bluetooth keyboard should be able to eliminate any reasons that might make one want a laptop instead, which is their competition. Some people will prefer the clamshell, and for desktop replacement, you'll still need that traditional notebook.
But for people who have the "desktop at home, laptop on the road" mentality and who don't rely on the mobile computer for everything, a tablet has a real chance to shine, especially if it can be used around the house as an interface to the big-iron desktop in a home office somewhere, or even a server-type device in a closet.
That said, I personally agree that an optical drive is unnecessary as a space-taking, power-wasting internal device on a non-DTR mobile. An external module with its own battery would make an excellent accessory, in my opinion.
Lord knows a portable Mac OS X device would serve little actual purpose.
So you must one of those people that consistently clicks the NEGATIVE button after every thread is started?
I agree, it doesn't need an optical drive, but not for the reasons you describe. This tablet is supposed to run OS X Leopard. Apps downloaded from the App Store will not run under Leopard. I think this tablet won't need an optical drive simply because it's hard to make something like that that is shockproof, which would be needed if it were going to be installed in a tablet. Even my MacBook Pro has issues if I were to lift it up while it's trying to read a disk. Try to incorporate an optical drive into a tablet, and you have a disaster on your hands. People will be crying to the Apple Geniuses about broken optical drives, scratched disks, stuck disks... Apple doesn't want to have to deal with that.
A device between (usable for actual computing) OS X and (touch) OS X, yes, it wouldn't.
We have a negative button?
Again, not a chance. Expect the MBA to look fully featured compared to this mythical tablet device (which isn't coming out anyway, so it doesn't even matter)
Unlikely. It would then just be an iPod touch with a big screen, and since iPhone applications are optimized for the 3.5" screen already, the only place it would help is Safari.
If you start upgrading hardware (RAM, CPU, full USB implementation), then you're out of your suggested price range.
9to5mac
Hey, apparently 9to5mac has some info on the mystical macbook touch that they are guna give us this week!!! Also they say it will have a glass touchpad! http://www.9to5mac.com/macbook-brick-coming Select the text (in white) under the video to see the new feature they think it will have!
Hey, apparently 9to5mac has some info on the mystical macbook touch that they are guna give us this week!!! Also they say it will have a glass touchpad! http://www.9to5mac.com/macbook-brick-coming Select the text (in white) under the video to see the new feature they think it will have!
I was just about to post that!!
Anyway, what does a glass trackpad mean? Does that mean there will be a display on the trackpad?
Could that display run iPhone apps? Is it detachable (like another mockup I saw a while ago)?
Im thinking it mite well be like that or something like that! But the problem is that it would be so similar to the MacBook, just with a glass touchpad! So I wonder what will be different and how much 9to5mac really know. They got the nano's right so maybe...
mmm yeah... I don't like that display touchpad concept at all but hey, maybe that's the product transition but it's surely not a bold new mystery product (crosses fingers for something more radical)
There's no sign of Blu-ray
I think this "MacBook touch" is unlikely. It just doesn't seem right. But I do think it's more likely than Blu-ray.