even though ive just bought a 17"mbp.... i will be in san fran in january and will be checking these sub-notebooks out. i hope they are very cool. im sure i could find a reason why i NEED 2 laptops 
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Ultra-Portable Mac Expected at Macworld Expo 2008
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I know whats so strange about the "touchpad"
Gah! I figured it out! There will be no keyboard. All touch-based pad with the outlines of the keyboard and a section for the mouse. That's what so strange about it. You heard it here first!!
Gah! I figured it out! There will be no keyboard. All touch-based pad with the outlines of the keyboard and a section for the mouse. That's what so strange about it. You heard it here first!!
Best Thing Ever
has never made a mistake in any product launch. 's subnotebook will be the next iPod. No one with a rational mind can deny how amazing is has has always been and will always be. I will buy one subnotebook in no matter what incarnation for each day of the week. I wish they would bring back the flower pattern from the original form factor of the imacs and have that be the design for the subnotebook. But of course if they didn't obviously made the right choice. Getting rid of the optical drive will be analogous to ditching betamax for VHS. But of course if they keep the optical drive, obviously made the right choice because who would want an subnotebook without an optical drive?! forever, man, forever.
has never made a mistake in any product launch. 's subnotebook will be the next iPod. No one with a rational mind can deny how amazing is has has always been and will always be. I will buy one subnotebook in no matter what incarnation for each day of the week. I wish they would bring back the flower pattern from the original form factor of the imacs and have that be the design for the subnotebook. But of course if they didn't obviously made the right choice. Getting rid of the optical drive will be analogous to ditching betamax for VHS. But of course if they keep the optical drive, obviously made the right choice because who would want an subnotebook without an optical drive?! forever, man, forever.
Your post would be so much nicer to read without that all the time.
I also envisaged no keyboard - remember how they acquired that keyboard company that makes the touch multi-gesture keyboards?
If you watched it, you should know that your point does not stand. One of the major issues was that there was, in fact, more demand than supply for the EV-1 (and all electric vehicles of the time, each of which met the same inexplicable fate except 300 fully-electric Toyota RAV4s).
NOT going to be cheap. The Sony ones start at $2099:
http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs...10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921665181588
I expect the Apple ones to start at $2199. If they do go "low ball", maybe $1899, maybe as low as $1599, but "bring your own optical drive".
The Thinkpads are the next best, and they start at $1030 (I've got an older one and it's awesome). But I think Apple's will be closer to Sony's.
Let's not say, "but the dHell's cost only blah blah blah, and the Gateways are only blah blah blah" - those are junk and not worth even mentioning...
http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs...10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921665181588
I expect the Apple ones to start at $2199. If they do go "low ball", maybe $1899, maybe as low as $1599, but "bring your own optical drive".
The Thinkpads are the next best, and they start at $1030 (I've got an older one and it's awesome). But I think Apple's will be closer to Sony's.
Let's not say, "but the dHell's cost only blah blah blah, and the Gateways are only blah blah blah" - those are junk and not worth even mentioning...
Depends on what you mean by performance. If it's complex graphical manipulations, that will be more driven by the GPU. But tasks that require disk usage will be much, much faster. The guy on engadget got his macbook pro - with solid-state substituted for a hard drive - to boot in 24 seconds! That's with various add-ons, not a virgin system.
The bigger problem is going to the technical issues created by frequent writing and re-writing of solid-state memory.
The truly exciting possibility is that this will be a touch-screen. Main drawback to the tablet computers right now is how clunky they are. I'm hoping alot of this can be resolved with elimination of the hard drive and optical drive. Imagine a 13" version of the iPod touch...
I know that the act of hypothesizing about future Mac specs is a pastime among Mac fans... but I think too many people get mired in throwing arbitrary numbers out there (once again, I realize it's for fun) and lose sight of the bigger picture.
Apple has never been about specs. They don't make a big deal about it in their packaging. Mention of specs is almost entirely absent from their marketing (inspired by the marketing philosophy of Dr. Amar Bose). So attentuated is their focus on specifications that users will note the one glaring difference between that UK kid's iPod touch ad and the final version used by TBWA\Chiat\Day is the omission of the "8GB", "16GB" and "Mac + PC" inserts. Brief yet entirely incongruous with Apple's approach to product... even before I saw the broadcast version, something seemed horrendously odd about those inserts.
Specs are a means to an end, not an end unto themselves. Specs are what is required to meet the requirements of a desired user experience... but it is the user experience that defines the Mac, not the specs.
Specs are mundane, but the concept is redefining computing in such a significant way that Apple dropped "computer" from their name. It's an inelegant term to describe such elegantly designed devices.
What the hell am I talking about, you wonder. I'm saying forget the specs... discuss the ideas. Ideas are bigger than specs... and in execution, ideas do revolutionary things. It could be an idea to get someone in LA talking with someone in New York (telegraph, telephone, videoconference), or a means to get a message to the masses (Gutenberg press, linotype, photocopier, e-mail...)... It could be a device to store thousands of symphonies in your pocket (iPod)... It could be a device to do all of these things and more... but to reduce it to a set of criteria that in and of themselves do absolutely nothing to inspire imagination and creativity.... that is missing the forest for the trees!
"Wouldn't it be great if you could... " - Steve Jobs
What if Apple has laid the foundation for something really special to solve this with Leopards new "Back to my Mac" feature?
For those complaining about the 13-inch display, remember this:
A 13-inch display is about 11.5 X 7 inches.
The 12-inch PowerBook measured 1.18" H x 10.9" W x 8.6" D
The MacBook is bigger: 1.08" H x 12.78" W x 8.92" D --
But there is a very large margin around the display. You could shrink the margin around the display and accommodate the same display in a much smaller case -- perhaps 0.6" H x 12" W x 8" D.
This would make it smaller than the 12-inch Powerbook in all dimensions but one, and just 1.1 inches wider.
It would be 3/4 of an inch narrower and almost a full inch less deep than the current MacBook -- and just over half the thickness. That sounds ultraportable to me.
If the device was priced reasonably (<$1500 without optional DVD drive), I might consider getting one.
A 13-inch display is about 11.5 X 7 inches.
The 12-inch PowerBook measured 1.18" H x 10.9" W x 8.6" D
The MacBook is bigger: 1.08" H x 12.78" W x 8.92" D --
But there is a very large margin around the display. You could shrink the margin around the display and accommodate the same display in a much smaller case -- perhaps 0.6" H x 12" W x 8" D.
This would make it smaller than the 12-inch Powerbook in all dimensions but one, and just 1.1 inches wider.
It would be 3/4 of an inch narrower and almost a full inch less deep than the current MacBook -- and just over half the thickness. That sounds ultraportable to me.
If the device was priced reasonably (<$1500 without optional DVD drive), I might consider getting one.
13" is NOT Ultra-Portable
Seriously, nobody ever called the 12" PowerBook G4 an Ultra-Portable, so all of a sudden a paper-thin laptop with a 13" screen becomes Ultra-Portable?
There's more to laptops than their thickness.
I'd rather see something with a 7 or 8" screen, as long as the resolution is at least 1024x768 (bare minimum). And before someone tells me a screen that size is impossible to use, I've worked with VM84 displays (7" at 1024x768).
As for the keyboard, you only have to look at the iPhone/iPod touch for your answer. Maybe Apple with pull a Nintendo DS and put two displays, the bottom one being the keyboard/touchpad/whatever (we've all seen the patents a while back).
Seriously, nobody ever called the 12" PowerBook G4 an Ultra-Portable, so all of a sudden a paper-thin laptop with a 13" screen becomes Ultra-Portable?
There's more to laptops than their thickness.
I'd rather see something with a 7 or 8" screen, as long as the resolution is at least 1024x768 (bare minimum). And before someone tells me a screen that size is impossible to use, I've worked with VM84 displays (7" at 1024x768).
As for the keyboard, you only have to look at the iPhone/iPod touch for your answer. Maybe Apple with pull a Nintendo DS and put two displays, the bottom one being the keyboard/touchpad/whatever (we've all seen the patents a while back).
But 13" is almost the same as current MacBooks..
I was thinking something more portable like 10" - 12" in max!
Like this Sony Vaio TR5MP:
Of course with Apple style , that vaio is ugly
That Vaio is ridiculously ugly and tiny; 10" is just useless for anyone willing to do some real work. Gimme a 12" and I will be happy.
This sub-notebook has certain form-factor restrictions based on the OS and things we like to do with our laptops.
Must have at least 100 gb drive - even 80 doesnt cut it now.
The physical size of the drive isnt going to affect the size of the laptop that much.
Solid state storage is much too expensive, unless Apple have got some stunning deal going....
Screen must be 12" - any more and its pointless, any less and its too damn small.
No optical drive - so how do we get programs, music, OS etc into it?
Keyboard size - once you get below a certain size, it becomes a joke.
It sounds like a replacement for the 12" powerbook, with some new stuff.
It also sounds like a niche product, similar to the PB 12", which means limited production and high price.
I would buy one to replace my Macbook Pro, but I wont buy one if I have to give up Optical drive, Storage space, etc.
What would be the point? Give me an iPhone with 32 gigs and that will do the trick.
Must have at least 100 gb drive - even 80 doesnt cut it now.
The physical size of the drive isnt going to affect the size of the laptop that much.
Solid state storage is much too expensive, unless Apple have got some stunning deal going....
Screen must be 12" - any more and its pointless, any less and its too damn small.
No optical drive - so how do we get programs, music, OS etc into it?
Keyboard size - once you get below a certain size, it becomes a joke.
It sounds like a replacement for the 12" powerbook, with some new stuff.
It also sounds like a niche product, similar to the PB 12", which means limited production and high price.
I would buy one to replace my Macbook Pro, but I wont buy one if I have to give up Optical drive, Storage space, etc.
What would be the point? Give me an iPhone with 32 gigs and that will do the trick.
This post make sense - Apple could include the OS on a couple of 4 gig flash drives.
Got me thinking this might happen.....
I'm a 17" laptop guy right now, and I don't imagine I would drop down to the 15 or the 13" laptops. (The 15" isn't small enough to warrant the loss in pixels and the 13" doesn't have the GPU power, and again, isn't small enough to warrant the loss in pixels.
But a super small and light may be a winner for me. It would need incredible battery life, but as an exec who has traveled the world for the past 5 years with the latest and greatest 17" from Apple, this may be the thing that makes me change.
Of course, last week I had to give a presentation in front of 8 people who huddled around my laptop. (Their projector was busted.) It's moments like this I think the 17" is a must have.
No matter what, given Apple's problems in the past few years with quality on the first 2 - 3 revisions of new portables, even if I want to buy this, I will not be the first person in line. Not a chance.
But a super small and light may be a winner for me. It would need incredible battery life, but as an exec who has traveled the world for the past 5 years with the latest and greatest 17" from Apple, this may be the thing that makes me change.
Of course, last week I had to give a presentation in front of 8 people who huddled around my laptop. (Their projector was busted.) It's moments like this I think the 17" is a must have.
No matter what, given Apple's problems in the past few years with quality on the first 2 - 3 revisions of new portables, even if I want to buy this, I will not be the first person in line. Not a chance.
I've wondered about that myself, re: the iPod, iPhone, etc. How long can you use flash ram before it wears out?
As for the specifications, I think given current costs it is much more likely to have an iPod hard disk, 80 gb, and smaller amount of ram (16? 32?) which would work more like a cache than a separate hard drive. Maybe keep the operating system in it.
Then you wouldn't have an external optical disk included. The operating system would be installed already. Updates would be downloaded as now. Maybe a thumb drive for emergency recovery. Probably an optical drive sold separately. Or maybe the good, better, best, with the better and best coming with external optical for extra money.
Omigosh you are all fools. There will be an optical drive, but the keyboard will flip up to reveal it! It will also have a -0.01" thick OLED screen!
Seriously though,
I would say they will do away with the trackpad as we know it, and you will have a touch screen. This allows for a device with smaller depth to it. As for the screen, it will be gesturific (goodbye hot keys) and probably have a twistable screen so that it also functions as a conventional tablet does. As for the drives, 64 GB SSD is expensive, but plausible. Take the price of a macbook (~ 1200) and add the 800 or so they will get the drives in bulk, and you have a 2000 dollar machine. You are also kicking out the cost of a HDD and optical drive from that. (And no, there's not going to be dedicated graphics, you guys are so demanding. It would be a nuclear reactor in your lap). Add in the convenience premium, and I'm sure you're around the 2k price point.
As others have mentioned, you don't need more than 64gb or an optical drive because this isn't your main computer. It's your on-the-bus-on-the-plane--on-the-train-gotta-get-work-done laptop that you sync with your regular computer when you are home.
Fin
Seriously though,
I would say they will do away with the trackpad as we know it, and you will have a touch screen. This allows for a device with smaller depth to it. As for the screen, it will be gesturific (goodbye hot keys) and probably have a twistable screen so that it also functions as a conventional tablet does. As for the drives, 64 GB SSD is expensive, but plausible. Take the price of a macbook (~ 1200) and add the 800 or so they will get the drives in bulk, and you have a 2000 dollar machine. You are also kicking out the cost of a HDD and optical drive from that. (And no, there's not going to be dedicated graphics, you guys are so demanding. It would be a nuclear reactor in your lap). Add in the convenience premium, and I'm sure you're around the 2k price point.
As others have mentioned, you don't need more than 64gb or an optical drive because this isn't your main computer. It's your on-the-bus-on-the-plane--on-the-train-gotta-get-work-done laptop that you sync with your regular computer when you are home.
Fin
There's also more than their width. What I want is something I don't have to worry about dragging along with me. There are *magazines* larger than 12 X 8 inches.
I wouldn't. I have a hard time reading the MacBook display. Anything smaller than that would probably be a deal killer. I seriously doubt many people would actually buy a computer with a 7 inch screen. I could be wrong, of course.
If I want an iPhone keyboard, I'd get an iPhone. A smaller than standard keyboard would also be a deal-killer for me. ymmv.
It sounds to me like what you want is a jumbo-sized iPhone, not a mini PowerBook. Maybe there's a market for that, but somehow I doubt it. The world of computers is scattered with the charred remains of micro-mini-sized computer makers.
I think that had something to do with the fact that GM never offered the EV-1 for sale.
Lets be realistic. The Macbook Pro's design is 2 years old, so this is obviously going to be a revamp of the Pro, just like they did with the iPods a couple months back. We can look at their past behavior to see what they will do next.
Right now, there is a huge hole in their product line left by the 12 inch powerbook. They are going to once again offer a fast notebook, that is less than 15". It is going to look similar to the new iMacs as well as the iPhone in design (alum, glass and black accents).
This revamped line will offer 13", 15" and 17" models. It will be thinner than the current MB Pro, and come with an external optical drive.
Thats my guess. I want a MB Pro, but don't want a 15", so this is what i have been waiting for.
Right now, there is a huge hole in their product line left by the 12 inch powerbook. They are going to once again offer a fast notebook, that is less than 15". It is going to look similar to the new iMacs as well as the iPhone in design (alum, glass and black accents).
This revamped line will offer 13", 15" and 17" models. It will be thinner than the current MB Pro, and come with an external optical drive.
Thats my guess. I want a MB Pro, but don't want a 15", so this is what i have been waiting for.