With dictation coming to mountain Lion, typing shouldn't be an issue... And you would be doing most of your tasks with the pen. I've seen this product before. They have software that you literally write stuff with your own hand writing and it's read and typed into the field. It's pretty neat. Plus people won't be buying this to be doing stuff requiring a lot of typing or navigating but rather drawing!
New Pen-Based 'Modbook Pro' Tablet Launching in Early Fall
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With dictation coming to mountain Lion, typing shouldn't be an issue... And you would be doing most of your tasks with the pen. I've seen this product before. They have software that you literally write stuff with your own hand writing and it's read and typed into the field. It's pretty neat. Plus people won't be buying this to be doing stuff requiring a lot of typing or navigating but rather drawing!
LethalWolfe
macrumors G3
A couple years ago a graphic artist friend went the ModBook route and loved it. The price though is a big hurdle.
Lethal
Lethal
WestonHarvey1
macrumors 68030
That kind of tablet is good at a specific kind of task. It's when you're walking around a shop floor, warehouse, or a hospital with your hands full of other things and no good place to set a laptop down. When all the software you use is proprietary custom stuff you spent millions of dollars on that will never, ever have mobile versions unless you spend millions more.
It's safe to say that iOS was successful because it was designed around a touch interface AND it's simplicity. Apple didn't put OS X in it because people buy an iPad for basic use.... lol only a select group of people would have use for a pressure sensitive screen and the power that OS X would bring to the iPad. Not everyone needs or actually uses programs that are on OS X only.... Majority of the iPads sales are for the general public that uses it for web, email, and games. Period. Apple is in it for the money and iOS is a better choice because of its simplicity. Apples sees it like this; if you need to run programs such as aperture, photoshop, final cut, etc. BUY A MAC. If you can't see that than I don't know what to tell you....
Spectrum Abuser
macrumors 65816
That's an awesome product! And it's the exact same reason as to why I'm waiting for the surface tablets. Running a full fledged operating system is what I want in a tablet. Having a 'mobile' OS[iOS, Android] just deters me from purchasing.
einmusiker
macrumors 68040
This has been around for a while and apple doesnt really bother them because they are still purchasing and using apple hardware and software. Theyre also very small, sell maybe a few hundred a year
As someone mentioned earlier.. It would be nice if this used a MacBook Air instead of a Pro.
You'd have a higher-res screen, a SSD, and thin & light (important things for a tablet)
And what's with the bad design? I'm not the only one who thinks it looks bad, right? The enclosure around the screen has an odd color.
You'd have a higher-res screen, a SSD, and thin & light (important things for a tablet)
And what's with the bad design? I'm not the only one who thinks it looks bad, right? The enclosure around the screen has an odd color.
People here must be new to the Mac platform or have short memory.
This was a shipping product five years ago. They sold some, but very little. It was selling when Apple announced the iPad and people griped that they wanted a tablet that ran MacOS X. This was their chance, but did they buy it? Nope.
This product has a niche, but it is a small one. Mac apps are not designed for tablets, but you can make due with the onscreen keyboard, and handwriting recognition that is built into OS X. It's not an optimal way of using it though, except for graphics apps.
This product will sell as well as it did before, possibly a little better due to increased awareness of tablets these days, but it's not going to be a mainstream product.
This was a shipping product five years ago. They sold some, but very little. It was selling when Apple announced the iPad and people griped that they wanted a tablet that ran MacOS X. This was their chance, but did they buy it? Nope.
This product has a niche, but it is a small one. Mac apps are not designed for tablets, but you can make due with the onscreen keyboard, and handwriting recognition that is built into OS X. It's not an optimal way of using it though, except for graphics apps.
This product will sell as well as it did before, possibly a little better due to increased awareness of tablets these days, but it's not going to be a mainstream product.
Yes, it's legal. They're using Apple-made hardware, with the OS license that came with it from the factory.
The reason why the iPad did so well was the fact it's using a superior ARM cpu, which allows good battery life and allows it to be fanless, something those brickbooks could never offer. Plus, you have to remember that "grown-up" OS they were/are running is pretty damn bloated OS with little to no useful software for the general masses. Seriously who wants to use Outlook with touch, or pen when it's not really optimized for it?
baryon
macrumors 68040
Strange but interesting idea! I do like the Wacom pen, which makes sense as it allows a full featured mouse to be used, with right click, pointer movement and clicking, that you can't do on other tablets at all.
As for the keyboard, I have no idea how that would work. You can obviously type with the onscreen keyboard and the pen, but come on, you won't ever, ever do that And an external keyboard? So if you lug that around, might as well buy a MacBook Pro instead, which has it built in!
I don't think anyone needs this: the whole point of a tablet is to be portable, which this isn't really since it still needs a keyboard. The whole point of a laptop is to be full-featured, which this isn't either.
It's like an iPad that can run OS X and Windows, non-optimized for tablets at all, with faster hardware. And it's probably illegal to sell it
As for the keyboard, I have no idea how that would work. You can obviously type with the onscreen keyboard and the pen, but come on, you won't ever, ever do that And an external keyboard? So if you lug that around, might as well buy a MacBook Pro instead, which has it built in!
I don't think anyone needs this: the whole point of a tablet is to be portable, which this isn't really since it still needs a keyboard. The whole point of a laptop is to be full-featured, which this isn't either.
It's like an iPad that can run OS X and Windows, non-optimized for tablets at all, with faster hardware. And it's probably illegal to sell it
Is this supposed to be impressive or something? "Specific industries/occupations require specific tools", whoop-de-doo. Maybe get over yourself?
willcapellaro
macrumors 6502
Yes, pressure sensitivity would be nice, but if that's your only complaint you're not digging deep enough. Styluses are jumbo crayons, capacitive input is not ideal (resistive would be worse), accidental touches are a fact of life. I would just wrap it up into a big general request: please make stylus input not suck, or replace with make it pen input. They could give you pressure sensitivity and it would still suck.
However, Wacom has been around for nearly two decades and their tablets have worked flawlessly for the most part. Apple get off your duff and give them some Yen to help make an artists ipad. You have to get over yourself first--find a way to accept that people use styluses and pens.
Note: the ModBookPro has been promised for 2+ years. I thought they had shut down, there was no web site updates. I'll be surprised if these see the light of day, and I'd be hard pressed to let them Mod my 'Book.
They replace the screen with their own, and the aluminum Apple enclosure. And SSD is an option. Read more than headlines.
You do know companies like Wacom and N-Trig offer palm rejection to minimize accidental touches.
kitsunestudios
macrumors regular
This is a niche, but it's MY niche. 
The iPad dosen't offer pressure sensitivity or Pro creative apps. Direct drawing on a Macbook Pro requires the Cintiq, which is a pain in the butt to connect and tote around.
Yes, the iPad touch system is a superior portable computing metaphor for the vast majority of people. There are, however, some artists who want to be able to do work on the road, and the iPad falls short there for creatives.
I'm VERY interested in one of these.
The iPad dosen't offer pressure sensitivity or Pro creative apps. Direct drawing on a Macbook Pro requires the Cintiq, which is a pain in the butt to connect and tote around.
Yes, the iPad touch system is a superior portable computing metaphor for the vast majority of people. There are, however, some artists who want to be able to do work on the road, and the iPad falls short there for creatives.
I'm VERY interested in one of these.
ThunderSkunk
macrumors 601
Yep, impressing you is my #1 priority. That's what it's all about.
Not, countering the posts about how this won't be a mobile device with more mass appeal than the iPad, which it's not trying to be.
But hey, great points you made about it. Keep on being awesome.
willcapellaro
macrumors 6502
I was criticizing the iPad, but good to know.
In my dream world, Apple would do one of the following:
(All of these fall under the category of "Apple, you have a responsibility to acknowledge that a large number of your iPad users use, or want to use, a stylus/pen implement for certain applications. After said acknowledgement, keep these people in the ecosystem and make their lives delightful and easy."
1. Retina-ize the capacitive sensor: this would allow for much smaller stylus tips and possibly an micro-two pronged stylus tip that would act like Wacom's eraser. Let app developers have more access to actual sensor data so that they can make it more fluid, realistic, or usable.
2. Work with Wacom already. Buy digitizers from them - enabling pen (not stylus) input. Slap it on the new Ipad, allow the OS and apps to selectively disable or interpret the capacitive sensor.
3. Something else that replicates #2, but works with Apple's huge pride/legal hurdle.
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willcapellaro
macrumors 6502
This is a niche, but it's MY niche.
The iPad dosen't offer pressure sensitivity or Pro creative apps. Direct drawing on a Macbook Pro requires the Cintiq, which is a pain in the butt to connect and tote around.
Yes, the iPad touch system is a superior portable computing metaphor for the vast majority of people. There are, however, some artists who want to be able to do work on the road, and the iPad falls short there for creatives.
I'm VERY interested in one of these.
Repeating my earlier augmentation of a similar comment, I'm all aboard the pressure sensitivity train as long as I get an actual pen akin to a Wacom.
Not a stylus. If you had a pressure sensitive stylus you'd still find it lacking. Evaluate what you actually like about Wacom's Intuos and Cintiq products - the implement is tapered to an actual point, the input is precise as well as sensitive. Plus hovering above the surface gives you an indication of cursor location without any actual drawing input until you touch it down - that subtle feedback is huge for precision. Plus: the eraser. I'd rank pressure sensitivity at the bottom of this list. I could even live without it: plenty of apps make do with some tapering at the beginning and end of strokes. The rest of the list, I kind of need.
As an Apple user who uses Windows reluctantly, I will be very torn if the Microsoft Surface Tablet gives use most of these. And I'd rather spend my money on a Cintiq than this ugly duckling (Cintiq's no prize pig either).
All of the "how can they do this?" comments tell you something about how well the original Modbook was marketed: not nearly well enough. Conceptually, legally, there's nothing new here.
First, this is not "what the iPad should have been". Based on its sales, it's obvious the iPad was just about exactly "what the iPad should have been".
Second, there is most definitely a use for something like this. I'm a cartoonist, and work almost entirely digitally these days. I currently use two machines: a MacBook with a Wacom Intuos tablet for input, and a Lenovo Tablet PC convertible (the screen pivots and folds back to be used like a slate). Neither of them is ideal: with the MacBook/Intuos I can't use the stylus directly on the screen, and with the Lenovo the keyboard/mouse assembly adds to the bulk... and it doesn't run OS X. The lack of a keyboard on this is a big "so what?", when I'm drawing in Manga Studio, I rarely have any reason to touch the keyboard. I have a desktop computer for uses that involve typing.
The iPad is ideally suited for media consumers, and suitable enough for those who dabble in media creation. For professional media creators, it isn't that great... but this is. Whether the price will be affordable, and whether it'll reach a large enough market to be profitable, remains to be seen. This still isn't perfect (bigger and lighter would be nice) but the Modbook Pro is almost exactly what I want for drawing.
First, this is not "what the iPad should have been". Based on its sales, it's obvious the iPad was just about exactly "what the iPad should have been".
Second, there is most definitely a use for something like this. I'm a cartoonist, and work almost entirely digitally these days. I currently use two machines: a MacBook with a Wacom Intuos tablet for input, and a Lenovo Tablet PC convertible (the screen pivots and folds back to be used like a slate). Neither of them is ideal: with the MacBook/Intuos I can't use the stylus directly on the screen, and with the Lenovo the keyboard/mouse assembly adds to the bulk... and it doesn't run OS X. The lack of a keyboard on this is a big "so what?", when I'm drawing in Manga Studio, I rarely have any reason to touch the keyboard. I have a desktop computer for uses that involve typing.
The iPad is ideally suited for media consumers, and suitable enough for those who dabble in media creation. For professional media creators, it isn't that great... but this is. Whether the price will be affordable, and whether it'll reach a large enough market to be profitable, remains to be seen. This still isn't perfect (bigger and lighter would be nice) but the Modbook Pro is almost exactly what I want for drawing.
Pilgrim1099
Suspended
That's exactly why this is a practical way to work using a pressure sensitive pen for graphic professionals, especially digital artists. Pen sensitivity is a must to have accurate line drawings with light to dark tones. And having a full version of Sketchbook Pro on that is KILLER. I use it on my iMac and it's as good as Corel Painter, but lighter and faster.
I say good for Modbook.
You know what's ironic? Steve Jobs said that styluses are a no-no. And yet, he ran the Pixar company that utilized 3-D graphic workstations that the pros there used with the mouse and tablets using a stylus. Most likely the latest and state of the art wacoms at the time. Right now, they're all probably using Cintiqs in every workstation. They even ray-trace 3-D physical models or mannikins to mo-cap, if I'm not mistaken.
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Manga Studio is a SICK program. In fact, their digital inking tool is probably the most accurate I've ever seen next to Sketchbook Pro.
AppleFan1984
macrumors 6502
...yet the Outbound was smaller and lighter than Apple's best effort at the time.
Apple isn't always first or best at everything. Now and then a third party comes along that introduces something that inspires Apple.
Remember where iTunes came from? Just one of a long list.
Whether this stylus effort will pan out remains to be seen. But keep in mind that Apple filed a patent on a stylus just last month....
You don't know what you're talking about. Just because you can't conceive of a use for it doesn't mean that other people don't have one. I've been begging for something like this (at an affordable price) for years, and I haven't been alone.
You really have no idea whatsoever what you're talking about.