Next MacBook to Include Glass Trackpad, Due in September?

[8CoreWhore]

Isn't there a trend to have certain functionality on a laptop with the laptop off? It can be used to play music, get email notification, etc. There would be a new SDK designed to take advantage of the new input interface. I don't think what you see on the track pad will mirror what you see on your screen. It will be contextual - the active window will have unique menu items on the track pad.

 

[techfreak85]

Isn't there a trend to have certain functionality on a laptop with the laptop off? It can be used to play music, get email notification, etc. There would be a new SDK designed to take advantage of the new input interface. I don't think what you see on the track pad will mirror what you see on your screen. It will be contextual - the active window will have unique menu items on the track pad.

its called cocoa touch

 

[TonicAngel]

The screen is also on the keyboard part of the book. Like a duplicate. Only difference is that the keyboard pops up on the keyboard side of the book. All glass.

Look at pic. Not a great Photoshop artist but you'll get the idea.

I think thats wicked. I'd buy a laptop like that. Of course, the keyboard has to be hell of a lot quicker then the iphone. My iphone keyboard takes forever at times. :/

 

[iMacmatician]

Going back to apple's conference call....Some big huge product introduction...and all they come up with is a glass track display?? I dunno. To me...just sounds like a normal update given that its 2008 and the technology is there. I'm still not seeing it.

There could be additional new features.

Question...what sorts of hints were there before the iphone was release? I rememebred it was released at the big event...macworld was it?

I remember mockups featuring a click wheel and an iPod-like OS.

I also remember talk about a 2.2" display too.

The real iPhone - especially the UI - was nothing like what those hints.

Picture.

 

[iOrlando]

but the EPS cut was for this qtr....

Totally agree with you. What was said on the finanical call is not flying with the rumors.....

anything released at the end of septemeber will not have huge impact on the quarter margins.

and i thought the ipod promotion was already in the guidance..So what can be bringing the margins down THIS quarter...ending Sept 30. That was the only reason why i originally though macbook refresh august..but i have changed my mind to october.

 

[i.maverick]

I don't know if this is going to happen this time around or not... but to me the next logical step is to get rid of the whole keyboard and mouse/pad input design.

I'd like to see a touch sensitive surface that maybe has a keyboard and pad area on it programmaticallly displayed and enabled, but no more physical keys... an LCD screen under... basically a large iPhone face.

I would like one of these for my desktops as well. Then, when I write software for say... recording audio... I can turn the keyboard into knobs and switches if I want, or a keyboard, or finger paint on it, or whatever I want... and I don;t have to buy a new input device.

A programmable multi function touch capable input device.

that's what i was thinking.. but maybe well see this functionality hit mainstream in os x 10.7 or whichever one (maybe os XI) comes after snow leopard!

 

[Breegy]

for the record, because this example is so overused and misunderstood: the woman who sued mcdonalds received third degree burns in a matter of seconds from the coffee which even mcdonalds admitted was too hot for anyone to consume. she had to get skin grafts and it took several months for her to recover from this. she also did not originally want to sue but instead wanted mcdonalds to cover the medical bills and they refused. if the coffee was that hot, imagine what it would do if you tried to drink it. this was not a frivolous lawsuit. millions of dollars were spent on pr to make people think that it was and that we need to change our laws to protect those poor, defenseless corporations from lawsuits.

This is true. The coffee was at least 180-190°F (which is only about 20°F cooler than the boiling point of water.)

 

[techfreak85]

Totally agree with you. What was said on the finanical call is not flying with the rumors.....

anything released at the end of septemeber will not have huge impact on the quarter margins.

and i thought the ipod promotion was already in the guidance..So what can be bringing the margins down THIS quarter...ending Sept 30. That was the only reason why i originally though macbook refresh august..but i have changed my mind to october.

but the ipod is every year... and not that big of a cut.... this cut was big.... i lost over 700 bucks cause people freeked out about it

 

[i.maverick]

Picture.

looks too much like a zune!

 

[stone315]

The screen is also on the keyboard part of the book. Like a duplicate. Only difference is that the keyboard pops up on the keyboard side of the book. All glass.

Look at pic. Not a great Photoshop artist but you'll get the idea.

I was just about to suggest this as a possibility when I saw your post. I think the presence of this form of touch screen would be a stronger and more innovative possibility than replacing the current trackpad with a glass one. However, given that, I doubt that I would like that setup... I like the feel of buttons. But I think it's entirely possible that Apple would take this path.

 

[iBrandon]

oh god please

I just registered to say this would be pretty cool. I hope its a glass trackpad and not a screen. I think it would look sweet, be more durable, and it could lend its self to some cool new technology.

My ibook has been dead for quite a while and I really need a computer for my last year of school. I also need something that i can use for graphic design when i graduate so im waiting for the new MBP no matter now long it takes.

 

[bigmc6000]

This is true. The coffee was at least 180-190°F (which is only about 20°F cooler than the boiling point of water.)

I've got another one - a friend of mine just spilled some marinara sauce on her leg from one of those dual Taco Bell/Pizza Hut places and it was so hot that she has a HUGE scar from it and took weeks to heal. And that's Marinara sauce! (The scar is a bit larger than an old half-dollar coin). Of course she can't sue or anything but that's just to point out that there's a LOT of things that get heated much hotter than they need to be just to satisfy the marketing of "hot food, fast" (or something similar).

 

[iOrlando]

There could be additional new features.

I remember mockups featuring a click wheel and an iPod-like OS.

I also remember talk about a 2.2" display too.

The real iPhone - especially the UI - was nothing like what those hints.

Picture.

haha funny you should include that. I was reading someone's website over the weekend. THis guy claimed (even to this day) that he took pictures of steve jobs (lives near him I guess) talking on a phone that looked like some kind of ipod back in early part of 2006 and he was using his fingers to dial numbers. Google steve jobs and the picture is somewhere there.

Totally doesnt connect to any rumors or macbooks, but thought it was funny.

 

[achtung!]

glass trackpad? nasty fingerprints? nhak. no thanks!

 

[lasuther]

Right because no one was ever successful for suing a company for spilling hot coffee over their lap..

If you had third degree burns on your privates and over 6% of your body (burned 16% total), were in the hospital for eight days for skin grafting, and had over $11,000 in medical expenses all because McDs had the coffee way too hot; you'd sue as well.

She didn’t want to sue, she wanted to settle for medical expenses, but McDs refused to offer more than $800. Ended up costing them a lot more in the end, and I’m glad they lost.

Its amazing how much people say about a topic they know nothing about.

 

[cromwell64]

i dont think they'l force it on you, i mean you really dont have to use multi touch on the air, you can just ignore it, or use it

i don't mean just the multi-touch features which are already optional, i mean any way that it might use a trackpad with an actual screen underneath it.

 

[jdechko]

This is an entirely different set of circumstances. Apple is currently in unprecedented territory here. They have to do something to keep it going!

Apple doesn't have to do anything to "keep it going". They'll keep selling MacBooks and iPod Touches like hotcakes. It's so insaine. Remember last year they introduced new iPods with less than 2 weeks left in the promotion. They were not included in the promotion either.

Also, some of the veterans here know that we aren't the typical mac users. We are more in the know. People go into the stores everyday regardless of what the rumor mills say because they (usually) need a computer.

Fortunately, my wife is cool about holding off until September.

 

[bigmc6000]

Speaking of a September time frame I'd have to say it's going to be much earlier. There's no way that Apple's margins for the ENTIRE quarter are going to be dropped 3-4% by selling these things for all of 1/8 th of the quarter. That would mean they'd only have a 10% margin on these products (34 - (8*3)) and that's about as Un-Apple as you can get. If there's something big coming I'm guessing it'll be here in the next few weeks since I highly, highly doubt Apple would release a product that has an operating margin of anything less than 25% - and that would REALLY be pushing it for them (let's just ignore the TV as it doesn't really have a chance of dinging the bottom line that much).

 

[clu10]

I've got another one - a friend of mine just spilled some marinara sauce on her leg from one of those dual Taco Bell/Pizza Hut places and it was so hot that she has a HUGE scar from it and took weeks to heal. And that's Marinara sauce! (The scar is a bit larger than an old half-dollar coin). Of course she can't sue or anything but that's just to point out that there's a LOT of things that get heated much hotter than they need to be just to satisfy the marketing of "hot food, fast" (or something similar).

hmmmmmm.i wonder that does this have to do with laptops. is there gonna be a "BUY A MACBOOK, AND YOU GET A FREE TACO" sale. cause i dont see how this relates.

but if they did, that would be a awsome sale, i do lurves my tacos, almost as much as i love my mac,i call her leanne(she's been good to me)

 

[50548]

This is true. The coffee was at least 180-190°F (which is only about 20°F cooler than the boiling point of water.)

Well, most people around the world DO like to drink their coffee at almost boiling point...and that's why we are so careful when drinking it after all...sipping is the right term to be used. However, the U.S. has abandoned long ago the idea of personal responsibility for your own acts, especially if the "average man" is supposed to act in a certain way...

So yes, for most of the civilized world, that WAS a frivolous lawsuit...

 

[w00143881]

Glass Trackpad

I think I get it...

or at least here is my thoughts.

Apple recently submitted a patent for solar panels under glass screens. I thought this would be super convenient for your iphone as it could help extend battery life even if just for 20 minutes.

Now apply this to computers...

The screen is always bright. The light from the screen could help charge the computer especially if the trackpad was the size of the iphone screen.

Longer battery life i'm assuming would be for blue-ray.
Charge your computer as you watch a movie.

At this point, technology of batteries and power usage of computers are very competitive however i truly believe its these small innovations that make companies like apple special.

Thoughts???

 

[iMacmatician]

Speaking of a September time frame I'd have to say it's going to be much earlier. There's no way that Apple's margins for the ENTIRE quarter are going to be dropped 3-4% by selling these things for all of 1/8 th of the quarter. That would mean they'd only have a 10% margin on these products (34 - (8*3)) and that's about as Un-Apple as you can get.

Does this imply that there's going to be ANOTHER product that is (will be) responsible for the reduction in margins? Either that or the whole laptop and iPod line is to be updated with low margins.

 

[bigmc6000]

hmmmmmm.i wonder that does this have to do with laptops. is there gonna be a "BUY A MACBOOK, AND YOU GET A FREE TACO" sale. cause i dont see how this relates.

but if they did, that would be a awsome sale, i do lurves my tacos, almost as much as i love my mac,i call her leanne(she's been good to me)

It was just a reference to the quote I was quoting. Just talking about ***** being too hot and people suing. Of course it does bring up memories of the old PB's and the ongoing joke about cooking breakfast on it...

 

[shen]

heh

ie: I just washed my hands or something. Probably better that it doesn't work with wet fingers. No one should use electronics while soaking

well that was were i was going with it.

the significant other generally surfs while eating breakfast and doing the morning get ready routine, so our iBook is generally 6 kinds of dirty. have to get digs in at someone else over that.

 

[iBrandon]

I think I get it...

or at least here is my thoughts.

Apple recently submitted a patent for solar panels under glass screens. I thought this would be super convenient for your iphone as it could help extend battery life even if just for 20 minutes......
Thoughts???

That would be the most amazing and eco friendly thing I have ever heard of in laptop design. I love it.