Ultra-Portable Mac Expected at Macworld Expo 2008

[lazyrighteye]

Exactly. Apple will LEAD again the trend in terms of phasing out obsolete things...this was the case for floppies and will be the case for CDs and DVDs. On my iMac, discs are used only for 3 things:

- ripping music and videos I have;
- backing up a few files;
- playing a couple of games that require the CD to be there.

This ultraportable will SURELY blow out the minds of customers and catapult Apple to the first place in the IT industry; in other words, it's gonna be one of the last nails in Microsoft's coffin...I WILL buy it the moment it's released...GO APPLE!

BRLawyer, I was reading my way to posting virtually the same thing: remember the floppy, Zip, album, 8-track, cassette, VHS, Beta, laser discs, etc.? Exactly: all phased out. CD/DVD are no different - just the next in line to go away. Besides, physical media is so 2007. In the cars-flying-future, online is where all apps/OSes/content will live and or be distributed.

More of a hybrid of an iPhone and MacBook, I tend to think Apple's "next big thing" will introduce this media-less concept. And this device will not be built with video editing and/or gaming in mind. It will center around what the majority of people need/want/use: web, Mail, iLife, etc.
Sub $1k.

??

 

[dogcowabunga]

even though ive just bought a 17"mbp....

Ive bought a 17" MacBook Pro? Now THAT'S a remarkable news item! I would have assumed that Jonathan Ive, Apple SVP and design guru extraordinare, could get all the free Apple hardware he wants.

 

[rtdunham]

is this a workable idea?

I'm sure Apple will push Time Machine as the way to go to format your laptop and so an external HD will prabably be required in some way.

it might be cool to see a handsomely- and efficiently-designed apple hard drive housing (for Time Machine) with a slot (like the old duo docks had for the duo itself) into which a (yes, handsomely- and efficiently-designed) apple super drive could be inserted: At home you've got your two critical drives at hand (in an h- and e-d'd unit ) but when you go on the road you could pop out the external super drive and take it with you. So instead of a docking computer, you have a docking optical drive. Typical apple simplification-- without limiting utility but minimizing desktop clutter. while they're at it, i wouldn't mind some thought being given to how the ext opt drive might attach to the MB(P)--the apple remote clips magnetically to the screen bezel, after all--or how the power supply and ext opt dr might share some components or connect into a compact unit for travel. If numerous users are going to be traveling with common components--in this case an ac adapter and an external drive--they ought to be designed ground-up not only to work together, but to fit together. Capiche?

 

[GQB]

I dont think so. It would suck trying to look at the larger screen while typing on a touch screen I think...

The iPhone or touch would become the trackpad, not the keyboard.
If it could be done without being triggered while you type, I've been thinking the same thing.

 

[tingly]

The vaio has a dvd drive in it. Apple could beat $2099 easily without one. I bet the new apple keyboard was developed for this thing and it was so good that they are slapping it into everything.

 

[chicagostars]

hmmm

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.

Very good points. There is indeed a huge hole in the product line with the absence of the 12" Powerbook. I've gotten a great deal of mileage out of mine and have heard a great deal from others who would like to have something with an appreciable amount of power for their needs in a very portable package. My fiancee's MacBook seems portly next to my 12".

Not so sure that something with a 7-10" screen will fit the bill here; seems that Apple may see further exploration and development of the iPhone as the product to fill that particular space.

Also, the MacBook Pro line has gone a great amount of time without a truly noteworthy update, so one has to figure something will happen to the existing models of the MBP along with the possible introduction of a 'subnotebook'.

 

[erzeszut]

Curious to know what you all think are the odds of this rumored Apple "sub-notebook" having an ExpressCard slot??

The lack of an EC slot is what prevented me from purchasing a 13" MB for my boss. She was upgrading from a 12" PB G4, and doesn't like the extra size and weight of the 15" MBP.

But, since she needed a machine that would support a Verizon Wireless cellular connection (and VZW's USB cellular modems don't support the Mac), the 15" MBP was the smallest, lightest option.

If this subnotebook has an ExpressCard slot, I might be able to convince her to give me the 15" MBP.

What's everyone's educated (or not so educated) guess?

 

[tibi08]

Curious to know what you all think are the odds of this rumored Apple "sub-notebook" having an ExpressCard slot??

Very very low

 

[tablebeast]

Perhaps no one else has considered this yet, but by the time 10.6 comes out how cheap will USB jump drives be? They could sell the OS and related software loaded on a USB jump drive and do away with the need for optical drives and media all together. They could even handle licensing via the jump drive and heck make it an iPod shuffle while you're at it! In 2-3 years when 10.6 'Lion?' comes out a 16GB jump drive will probably be less than $10 wholesale so the increased cost vs. optical media won't be much of a factor, especially if they touted the digital release format as something new and exciting. Maybe this OS X 10.5 is the last version to even be released on optical media! Yep, jump drives and digital downloads will be the future if they release anything with full blown OS X that has no optical drive. Count on it.

 

[rtdunham]

By the way, that is the consensus view on the Post-G4 MacBook chicklet-style keyboards? I've never used one, and they look like a step backward to me...

i've touch-typed all my long life and at a high speed; on my macbook keystrokes on the bottom row frequently fail to register. and this is after my MB has been in twice for keyboard adjustment/repair. It might just be my machine, but i'm disappointed in the keyboard. Loved the one on my 15" MBP.

 

[rtdunham]

.... too quick to update MB this soon...

but it's not too soon to replace the long-ago discontinued 12" MBP, is it?

i think the new little laptop, if it appears, will be an addition to the MBP line. I agree with those who anticipate a little bit of solid state storage for OS only, if at all, plus a HD.

 

[lena]

something this small[/URL], Only usable.

And less hideous!

Ha! My thought exactly...

 

[lasuther]

I’m not sure this is going to appeal to many people. This will probably sacrifice power, features, and price for weight. And even with the light weight, you will still have the 13” screen footprint.

The storage space from Flash is going to be tight. I would guess 64GB and 96GB sizes. I have a 60GB MacBook right now and with Leopard, WoW, MS Office, and iTunes I constantly hit my limit (2GB free right now). You certainly won’t be downloading many pictures, iTunes, and movies on this computer.

No optical drive will be missed by those who burn CDs, watch DVDs, and play an occasional game. That will probably be a lot of students and business travelers.

I would guess a weak processor to conserve power, possibly at the low MacBook end. Integrated graphics to save on cost, power, and size reductions. Drop the Firewire, and just have 2 USB ports with Eithernet. Battery will be small, but that shouldn’t matter since it probably won’t use much juice anyway.

And after all of these feature reductions and cost saves; the Flash storage, slim aluminum enclosure, and LED backlight screen should keep the cost around $1500.

Weight savings is nice, but if this computer has significantly less features and power than the MacBook and costs more, I’m not sure it will be a big seller.

 

[tirerim]

I'd buy one

For me, a lightweight machine with a 12 or 13 inch screen would be perfect. I'm a web developer, so I need something that I can actually see, and a keyboard I can actually type on. No need for an optical drive, or a vast quantity of disk space (if I want to carry my media around with me, I'll bring my iPod). And for me, the primary measure of portability is weight. It's very easy to slip something the size of a MacBook or 12" PowerBook into my bag, but it gets annoying carrying around 4.5 pounds of computer everywhere, especially added to all the other stuff I carry.

(My ultimate dream device is something like an iPhone, but with the processing power of a real computer and a decent-sized roll-up screen and keyboard. That's probably ten years away, though.)

 

[celloman]

will this be an add on to the mac lineup or be a replacement for the macbook?

 

[iW00t]

$799?

Why not just take your money and go elsewhere? Even the Mac Mini gives less for more.

Oh, 13"? Forget it then. Flash + LED + 13" = $1499 (I'd wager).

I am looking for something around 10". And something in the $799-$899 range. An unreasonable expectation, I realize!

My gut says they will brand it Macbook Nano, and my gut further says they are going to combine the AppleTV and Mac Mini lines into a Mac Nano -- AppleTV sized, HDMI, meant for the living room but is an actual computer that can be used elsewhere.

 

[MacSamurai]

This is what you can expect the specs to look like,and well as for the price you guys be the judges (click on tech specs)

 

[atarian90]

I am joining the bandwagon about 13" being too big. 10" is too small. I think 11"-12" is fine for a more usable ultraportable.

I hope the optical drive will stay. I've had a need to burn CDs on the road for people, and I am NOT going to give them $10-$20 1GB flash drives when a CD costs less than a cent. I'm sure people would love for me to give them flash drives, but I can't afford it!

I also expect Apple to match or beat the competitors (Sony, Toshiba, etc) when introducing a new product. A 13" screen with no optical looks so out-of-date. If their competitors can release an 11"-12" ultraportable with a CD/DVD burner, I expect Apple to also, and then work from there. Any new features better be REALLY earth-shattering if they want to make up for the bulkier size of the Mac ultraportable.

That's my 2 cents.

 

[FrenchKheldar]

This is what you can expect the specs to look like,and well as for the price you guys be the judges (click on tech specs)

You can;t have both SSD and HDD though... And it gets pricey pretty quickly (SSD drive is $900):
$2838
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T7250 (2.0GHz/800Mhz FSB, 2MB Cache)
Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Premium Edition
Slim and Light LED Display with VGA Webcam
2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz
High Reliability: 64GB Solid State Drive
CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW Drive)
Intel® Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator X3100
Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N Mini-card
Built-in Bluetooth capability (2.0 EDR)
56Whr Lithium Ion Battery (6 cell)
Integrated Sound Blaster Audigy HD Software Edition
No Fingerprint Reader

 

[chrmjenkins]

This is what you can expect the specs to look like,and well as for the price you guys be the judges (click on tech specs)

Right, Apple is going to totally innovate by copying a Dell Product

 

[panda]

what is 'sub'?

13" is not a sub notebook and not an ultra portable.

If the terms "sub notebook" and "ultra portable" are synonymous with the rumor, we can expect something 12" or smaller.

A thinner, lighter 13" without optical drive just doesn't make sense.

its been said that a sub notebook should have a small screen. that to me in fact IS the problem with notebooks that are too small. i personally feel that weight is FAR more important than size in this category.

i justify this by assuming that any 'sub' laptop will not fit in the pocket and need to be carried in a bag. does the size of the bag matter much? not in this case. One can clearly divide portable size into two major categories -that which fits in the pocket and that which doesn't fit in the pocket. (though the non-pocket size certainly can have limitations, as i personally feel that 17" is close to being -less of a portable. more of a desktop.

the difference in my mind in ease of portability from a size standpoint between a 10" and a 13" is negligible. however, the difference between 4 lbs and 2 lbs, is huge. include a big, really useful screen with this (13" or more) and portability becomes really interesting.

i can see this new ultra-portable taking 1 of these 2 form factors:

1. a small macbook pro that eventually will be part of a revamped macbook pro line with the 15" and 17" also slimming down (in weight).

2. a tablet along the lines of wacom's new centiq, which together with apple's wireless keyboard, touchscreen technology (including virtual keypad), leopard, incorporated desk stand, separate optical drive, all the usual ports and wireless connectivity as well as some new input devices (pen, marker, airbrush), could make for the creative person's super-light dream computer come true.

so back to my point, when it comes to portability, weight generally matters more than size. and in this case, the bigger the screen, the better.

 

[MacSamurai]

Right, Apple is going to totally innovate by copying a Dell Product

Well not exactly copying.I was just showing what a laptop with similar specs(according to the rumors) looks like,and hence what the ultra-portable from apple could look like.Also to give a good idea of the cost.

 

[chrmjenkins]

Well not exactly copying.I was just showing what a laptop with similar specs(according to the rumors) looks like,and hence what the ultra-portable from apple could look like.Also to give a good idea of the cost.

That's the exact same size as the macbook though :-/

I think we are pretty confident it's going to be more like the Sony Vaio's and whatever else that it has been compared to rather than the existing 13.3" form factors.

That is, of course, if it exists

 

[chillywilly]

BRLawyer makes a good point about the phasing out of physical media.

Updates are done online. And even if you had to restore, nothing wrong with plugging in an external flash or hard drive and booting from it to get your OS and data back.

This new ultra portable sounds pretty cool. Let's see what happens at MWSF in January.

 

[joemama]

Completely right. Sony makes what are hands-down the most impressive ultraportables on the market, but you virtually never see them in the wild because they are extremely expensive. I think if Apple prices this new machine of theirs at $1499 it will sell like crazy. At $1999 it will sell alright, and anything over that and it will hardly sell at all. They could conceivably price it as low as $999, since it sounds like it will use standard laptop components, but at that price you'd have to expect to have hardly any disk space (like, say, 8gb).

Wow I'm thinking in the $500-600 range. ANything higher would infringe on MacBook sales. think about it - no traditional HD, no optical drive. Most of the cost is in the screen/touch screen.