Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
More Sources Point to a Touchscreen Apple Netbook in 2009
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
manhattanboy
macrumors 6502a
The day they actually price stuff in a netbook range all the PC companies will conduct a retirement ceremony for their futures.
However, you, me, and even joe the plumber knows Apple is too greedy to do that!!
manhattanboy
macrumors 6502a
$500 bucks for FULL osX functionality?
Say good-bye to the entire Apple laptop line then.
Gosh I hope so, but will not hold my breath
The Acer Aspire One AOA150-1126 8.9-Inch Netbook battery's life lasts at least 6 hours. Don't talk about something you don't even know.
(1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 Processor, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, XP Home, 6 Cell Battery) It costs 319 dollars on amazon.
My right elbow tells me it's not a scaled down notebook but a scaled up iPod, which is both consistent with "not doing cheap" and Jobs going on and on about "post-PC devices" at WWDC '07.
iPod Touch Maxi 8" (aka iMax) running iPhone OS with ported iWork/iLife apps, as well as, Bluetooth and iDock.
If in same 8" Touch form factor, but running Snow Leopard, it will definately need rebranding other than iPod Touch (iPad?), as well as, Bluetooth, USB, and video out and/or iDock.
8" Touch form factor should be coat pocketable...or fit in purse/small backpack...heck, Apple could produce the companion iTote for it in addition to the companion iDock...both sold separately.
iPod Touch Maxi 8" (aka iMax) running iPhone OS with ported iWork/iLife apps, as well as, Bluetooth and iDock.
If in same 8" Touch form factor, but running Snow Leopard, it will definately need rebranding other than iPod Touch (iPad?), as well as, Bluetooth, USB, and video out and/or iDock.
8" Touch form factor should be coat pocketable...or fit in purse/small backpack...heck, Apple could produce the companion iTote for it in addition to the companion iDock...both sold separately.
Lesser Evets
macrumors 68040
No. You were definitely not that person. Weren't you thanking me?
You would have to go over this enormous thread to find the actual poster... it's not worth it. That post was a waste of time from a troll.
mambodancer
macrumors 6502
I suspect this will be a device used to control AppleTV and as a Keynote remote too. It would be a lot of fun if the iPhone games could easily scale in resolution to play on this too.
Scaling up apps to for a device like this -
You know, breaking ground on a new APP store that's netbook specific would be a huge boom for Apple's bottom line. Imagine taking 30% for apps that run on the full OS! Apple will happily take that cash. If they don't, I'm sure other Netbook OS vendors will jump at that chance. Maybe Microsoft is behind the times, but Google won't be.
Lesser Evets
macrumors 68040
The article said 10" screens. I am assuming the device will be approximately 8"x7" or somewhere in that general size. Most likely NOT a pocket device, but a backpack/bag device.
It would be the logical jump. Apps are instant cash. How much better is it to sell internet apps? No sales people, so packaging, no shipping, handling, middle people, no hassle. Just cash in pocket from impulse buying via credit card numbers online.
i believe i was thanking you, but my original post got edited by someone else so i couldn't trace it back easily to check. thanks again🙂
please let this one be true!
Just like the Mini, I pray this one is true. I have a MSI Wind and it is a piece of junk. Please Apple, answer my prayers. I want a tablet that I can use to read PDF technical documents with Preview style annotation. Let it also pair with an Apple bluetooth wireless keyboard to give me an instant keyboard. The touchscreen keypad is ok, but I want a flexible lightweight station. If you can give me Terminal, I will be happy as a clam. Or, just build the hardware design and I'll put it together myself... Anyway, I'm waiting... 🙂
Just like the Mini, I pray this one is true. I have a MSI Wind and it is a piece of junk. Please Apple, answer my prayers. I want a tablet that I can use to read PDF technical documents with Preview style annotation. Let it also pair with an Apple bluetooth wireless keyboard to give me an instant keyboard. The touchscreen keypad is ok, but I want a flexible lightweight station. If you can give me Terminal, I will be happy as a clam. Or, just build the hardware design and I'll put it together myself... Anyway, I'm waiting... 🙂
It costs $299 right in the store at Costco. It really is sweet. At $299 even I am tempted to use windows. Because I will only be using it for things like web and email. The big hassle with windows is the whole OS. But you really aren't delving too deep into that with these things. AND, they run XP, not Vista, so that's a plus.
i think this would be a great idea for Apple. Perfect for users such as myself who use a desktop as a primary machine and just need a small mobile device to type notes on and work on spreadsheets while on the go. A highend or even mid range notebook is a waste for me as I do most of my work on my desktop.
iSee
macrumors 68040
That folding screen thing in the picture is pretty dern cool!
But I have a feeling it was just awkward wording out of China. Take the redundant "monitor" out, and it reads naturally where the plural "screens" seems to mean multiple screens for multiple laptops, not multiple screens for each laptop.
Also, the tempered glass on the iPhone/Touch is pretty durable. I've had mine from day one (approaching two years) and it has zero scratches. While I do have an InvisbleShield thing on it, I didn't always, and I'm not exactly easy on the stuff I put in my pocket every day. You should see what my old iPod looks like. It looks like I dropped it into a running a blender and I only carried that around for about a year.
I guess we'll see in about 6 mo.
preservative
macrumors regular
Woohoo! Coming to an apple refurb store soon. I'll take that thank you! 😉
Oh and I'd call it the ipad
Oh and I'd call it the ipad
Povilas
macrumors 6502a
Hey now. I just posted this in the first thread. Cool Stuff, huh?
Anyway, I said that my money is on this:
Truth be told, if it's good enough for me to do some real mobile work... (2ghz + 1gb ram) ... I'll buy that and a MacPro.
I would buy also, but if it's just smaller notebook no buying then. It must be like bigger touch ir something like that. This "insert ir into iMac" look awesom.
I don't care so much about the specs of this thing, but if I can use it as. . .
. . . the Apple remote on my coffee table
. . . a midi control head a la Jazz Mutant Lemur
. . . a Skype phone
. . . a Kindle
. . . a two track audio recorder
. . . movie player on flights
you better believe I'm buying it. The applications are all that matter.
. . . the Apple remote on my coffee table
. . . a midi control head a la Jazz Mutant Lemur
. . . a Skype phone
. . . a Kindle
. . . a two track audio recorder
. . . movie player on flights
you better believe I'm buying it. The applications are all that matter.
A little research and I think the Atom is about 1/2 the speed of the current lowest spec Mac and the single core Atom running Leopard is a tiny bit faster than a G4 with a 100Mhz system bus upgraded with a 1.8Ghz 7448 G4:
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=6301765&geek#post6301765
Geek Bench Atom 1.6 GHZ single core running Leopard = 952
Geek Bench Atom 1.6 GHZ dual core running Leopard = 1235
http://lowendmac.com/reviews/08rev/maxpower-1.8-ghz-single.html
Geek Bench "Mystic" 1.8Ghz 7448 running Tiger = 916
Geek Bench "Mystic" 450Mhz Dual G4 running Tiger = 421
I ran Geek Bench today and my system is pitiful in comparison:
Geek Bench "Quicksilver" 800Mhz running Tiger 10.4.11 = 463
A 1.6Ghz Atom dual with 2Gb RAM, a 32Gb drive and at least an 800 x 480 screen for half the price of the entry level Mac book would be an excellent little system but would have to be £350 - £400 at most because it would have little to no expansion and half the CPU performance.
It's going to be interesting to see what this all leads to.
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=6301765&geek#post6301765
Geek Bench Atom 1.6 GHZ single core running Leopard = 952
Geek Bench Atom 1.6 GHZ dual core running Leopard = 1235
http://lowendmac.com/reviews/08rev/maxpower-1.8-ghz-single.html
Geek Bench "Mystic" 1.8Ghz 7448 running Tiger = 916
Geek Bench "Mystic" 450Mhz Dual G4 running Tiger = 421
I ran Geek Bench today and my system is pitiful in comparison:
Geek Bench "Quicksilver" 800Mhz running Tiger 10.4.11 = 463
A 1.6Ghz Atom dual with 2Gb RAM, a 32Gb drive and at least an 800 x 480 screen for half the price of the entry level Mac book would be an excellent little system but would have to be £350 - £400 at most because it would have little to no expansion and half the CPU performance.
It's going to be interesting to see what this all leads to.
voicegy
macrumors 65816
What purpose indeed...
I'm right with you there, fellow Demi-God (ooops, I'm behind on my renewal gotta get on that!)
There's a small flurry of activity going on out there as far as small form factor touch screens that are vying for the "nerve center of the home," multi-functional devices used for information, communication, remote processes, and entertainment. I think this is what Apple has been looking at for a while and may want to jump into.
OpenPeak comes to mind, and I've been watching them closely and like what I see - however, WHEN this comes out is still up in the air:
http://openpeak.com/
In the meantime, AT&T has looked over its shoulder at what OpenPeak-like devices promise and have been busy themselves - behold HomeManager:
http://www.wireless.att.com/homemanager/
Either one of these systems is pretty sweet. I prefer the OpenPeak system, not only for its eye-candy but tie-in with VoIP, which I prefer and use at home.
One-magic-glass-tablet-to-rule-them-all is coming to the home of the 21st century. Given the above, can you just imagine what Apple can offer, not only in services, but in ergonomics and design?
I, for one, welcome our new tablet-thingy overlords. 😉
I'm right with you there, fellow Demi-God (ooops, I'm behind on my renewal gotta get on that!)
There's a small flurry of activity going on out there as far as small form factor touch screens that are vying for the "nerve center of the home," multi-functional devices used for information, communication, remote processes, and entertainment. I think this is what Apple has been looking at for a while and may want to jump into.
OpenPeak comes to mind, and I've been watching them closely and like what I see - however, WHEN this comes out is still up in the air:
http://openpeak.com/
In the meantime, AT&T has looked over its shoulder at what OpenPeak-like devices promise and have been busy themselves - behold HomeManager:
http://www.wireless.att.com/homemanager/
Either one of these systems is pretty sweet. I prefer the OpenPeak system, not only for its eye-candy but tie-in with VoIP, which I prefer and use at home.
One-magic-glass-tablet-to-rule-them-all is coming to the home of the 21st century. Given the above, can you just imagine what Apple can offer, not only in services, but in ergonomics and design?
I, for one, welcome our new tablet-thingy overlords. 😉
Attachments
ObsidianIce
macrumors 6502
I love this idea....the ability to dock it with a full fledged machine would be quite nice. Perfect if it runs mac os and also windows. This would be perfect for my incar and traveling needs!
Hey now. I just posted this in the first thread. Cool Stuff, huh?
Anyway, I said that my money is on this:
Truth be told, if it's good enough for me to do some real mobile work... (2ghz + 1gb ram) ... I'll buy that and a MacPro.
Lesser Evets
macrumors 68040
I wish we had a pixel count on these 10" screens. I feel confident this device will have double the iPod Touch res., so about 960x640, though it should really be above 1024x800 to be competitive with most netbooks. It would be REALLY awesome if it is the compressed resolution of the iPT but at 10" of screen... not sure where that gets us, but it's probably about 1200x900. I would really love that resolution...which means there isn't a chance in hell it will realized for 4 more years.
You may get feel AFTER or WHILE you are pressing the virtual key but that is FAR different from a REAL keyboard. If is not even CLOSE to the same feel as speed of a real keyboard. Don't get me wrong - tactile feel when hitting a virtual key would be nice but nowhere near a real keyboard.
D
zombitronic
macrumors 65816
The glass is durable. I've also had my iPhone since day one and it has taken a beating but it's still solid. I just worry about all that potentially exposed surface area on a tablet. I would feel much safer about my new iPad if the screen was not always exposed.
I'd love to see Apple bring flexible, folding, or roll-up displays to the mainstream.
