Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Exactly what I've been saying. Also, spot on about the "Back to My Mac" feature. I wrote about this in my iMac prediction post (the part about "Option B"). The only con is that you would require a high-speed internet connection, which isn't always available... especially on those long trips you speak of.


3G ie. HSDPA and HSUPA. Maybe? Europe/Asia it would work out well.

I guess it could go one of two ways. An ultraportable to do as you say. Which would be pretty neat.

OR

Something close to that Intel prototype. Again probably something I'd consider as it has different strengths.

If it's the latter I'd hazard an optomistic guess at the 1.8GHz 17w TDP Merom LV (L7700). Due out in September.
 
Another rumor tells that Apple is about to release a new sleeker keyboard. Maybe this new keyboard and an ultraportable/multitouch laptop is this new keyboard !!!!

The keyboard can be just a 12" widescreen screen with a dock. When docked, this multitouch screen will display a full keyboard to use with your main mac. It can have a proximity sensor like the iPhone to save power. It can serve as an multitouch input for your leopard Mac.

I guess you don't type much? That doesn't sound like a comfortable setup to me.
 
Another rumor tells that Apple is about to release a new sleeker keyboard. Maybe this new keyboard and an ultraportable/multitouch laptop is this new keyboard !!!!

The keyboard can be just a 12" widescreen screen with a dock. When docked, this multitouch screen will display a full keyboard to use with your main mac. It can have a proximity sensor like the iPhone to save power. It can serve as an multitouch input for your leopard Mac.

We can only dream until Apple make this true.

Don't take this as an insult, but I can tell that you're a newbie. You haven't been flamed enough for radically impossible ideas.

Let me say this swiftly: No. Just... No.

Who the hell wants to type all day on a 12", tactile-feedback-less slate? Plus, if you're never going to use it as a portable, there's no point in paying the $$ for it. Besides, keyboards are so cheap to make anyway (unless you're the Optimus -- let's not go there again :rolleyes:) so it would be irrelevant to cut out such a low-cost bundled item for a higher-cost one that may or may not be used to its potential.

There. I tried to be as nice as possible with your ridiculous idea. Others will not be as kind as I, so be fore-warned next time you have a thought about a break-through Apple product...

-Clive
 
A full featured 10" would be cool, but I can't see Jobs going for the smaller keyboard.
Apple always seems to keep full sized keyboards of some sort.

So while I agree with you on the 10 inch screen, and would like to see it, I believe that the ultra-portable will use a 12 inch screen.
 
You have to be kidding. One, the G5 is a PowerPC. Two...Octocore? Before any of the desktops? Three, how much heat would something like that put out? No way.

When has a little heat ever stopped Apple? ;)

I mean those iPhones are hot enough, but have you felt the Apple TVs? Sweet mama those suckers run hot!
 
Never going to happen as long as Steve Jobs runs Apple.

Bellow is a brief excerpt explaining why, you can read his entire article here. By the way, since someone is bound to just wave what this article say away as just some guy pontificating, he is the former head of apple's federal government division, you know the group that supplies all our scientists and researchers.
[/I]

Two things. That was 2002 and we all know how long Jobs' definite no's last.
Secondly, I believe that with the development of the iPhone UI, Apple has solved more than only cell phone interfaces. I really believe that the UI can be used for small form tablets too and would solve a lot of the current problems with tablet computers.

Don't think of the tablet as a general computer but more as a dedicated machine that only does certain things (organize your pictures, PDA functionality, presentations etc) but does them well.
Also, as it is already now in the iLive suite, all programs on the tablet would work together seamlessly
 
Don't take this as an insult, but I can tell that you're a newbie. You haven't been flamed enough for radically impossible ideas.

Let me say this swiftly: No. Just... No.

Who the hell wants to type all day on a 12", tactile-feedback-less slate? Plus, if you're never going to use it as a portable, there's no point in paying the $$ for it. Besides, keyboards are so cheap to make anyway (unless you're the Optimus -- let's not go there again :rolleyes:) so it would be irrelevant to cut out such a low-cost bundled item for a higher-cost one that may or may not be used to its potential.

There. I tried to be as nice as possible with your ridiculous idea. Others will not be as kind as I, so be fore-warned next time you have a thought about a break-through Apple product...

-Clive

Thanks. Don't worry, words don't kill. I know I'm a newbie, but... you're right, maybe 12" is small, maybe it can be larger, but my point is that you can get rid of the keyboard and use this thing, and when you go out you take it with you as a portable. Not any mac will come with this as a keyboard, that's obvious, but you can use it as one. Finally, this is not an impossible idea, it's just a software update away if it comes out as a portable. We are now hearing people accepting the iPhone tactile-feedback-less keyboard, so why wouldn't us accept a full keyboard like this?

I'm just defending my idea. Thanks for your advice. I'll take care from now on.

PS. You all were newbies someday !!! forgive us !!!
 
Powerbook Duos!

When I was in highschool I thought that the duos were the most intelligently designed computers ever. random picture of dock

They would beautiful if Apple did that again! I'd take multitouch but just want Leopard. I'd probably add 3G if they would just give me an Express 32 slot that didn't make the card protrude. I'm afraid though that it would be default so that Apple can say, you don't need a hard drive, you can just use web2.0 apps!
 
Stop trying to have your cake and eat it too! You can't run photoshop, final cut and WoW on an ultra-portable. NOW GET OVER IT!

Of course you can have your cake and eat it.
It will just be very expensive.

- There are ultra-thin 11" OLED displays from SONY (rumored to arrive later this year) which use a lot less space (just 1mm thin) and a lot less electricity, meaning the battery would last longer. Other manufacturers managed 160dpi OLEDs in sizes up to 14".
- There are battery technologies that offer higher electrical densities than current ones and are pliable into any shape so they could fill every nook and cranny to optimally use available space in a case; of course such a battery would not be user-replacable.
- SSDs are available in almost any size, it just gets expensive fast

My point is, it will depend on which market segment Apple wants to fill.

If Apple wants the cheap mass market a la MacBook then the ultra portable will be just that ultra portable - but not very powerful.

But if Apple goes for the higher end market, the ultra portable could easily have the same power and features as a current MacBook Pro at a fraction the size, but at 150-200% the cost.

Seeing rumors about the next iMac going 'upscale' with an aluminium case and seeing that the iPhone is in the upper price segment, I wouldn't be surprised if Apple opted for the 'luxury' category with a truly stunning and powerful ultra portable - costing $2999+.
 
But if Apple goes for the higher end market, the ultra portable could easily have the same power and features as a current MacBook Pro at a fraction the size, but at 150-200% the cost.

Seeing rumors about the next iMac going 'upscale' with an aluminium case and seeing that the iPhone is in the upper price segment, I wouldn't be surprised if Apple opted for the 'luxury' category with a truly stunning and powerful ultra portable - costing $2999+.

I'd still be interested in that. It'd beter be good for that price but it's not an impossible machine to create.
 
I'm thinking (not that this is original) basically a 12" iPhone. Multi-touch. Bluetooth wireless mousie and keyboard, solid state memory. No optical drive(built into the dock), one USB, one Firewire, one ethernet, speaker out, microphone in. Dock includes one HDMI out / monitor out and maybe built in hard drive? iSight on face. Dock also is a stand for desktop use. Same styling as the iPhone. Pro-sumer. Perhaps cell phone network access for data only? (hopefully not just ATT)

It seems to me that most all of the development costs have already been spent, on iPhone. This would just be an iphone with a larger case and some peripherals. If Iphone can be sold at $600, this should not be much more than $1800. (Probably wildly wrong on price.)
 


Apple is planning on releasing "a notebook that is so small and light that it could redefine the standards of ultra-portable computing."

The upcoming Apple notebook is said to feature a 12" display, 0.6-0.7 inches thick, and weigh less than 3 pounds.

These two comments contradict each other unless it includes a built-in slot-loading drive. Otherwise it's been done before.
 
What's up with people putting '12" multitouch screen' on the expected specs? Go ahead and strech out your arms and fumble around your Macbook's screen with your fingers. Notice something? Arms can be heavy, right?

Multitouch is great for handhelds or tablets. But as soon as you have an upward screen, it's damn horrible. Even Microsoft understood that and has that coffee-table-touchscreen ("Surface") on a horizontal plane. Jeff Han has it pretty horiontal most of the time too.

it just wouldn't work on a laptop at all. A 12" Mac tablet would be quite cool tho... Spice up leopard with interface ideas from the iPhone (touch keyboard when required and you can drag it to where it's convenient for you, magnifying glass for precise pointong, flick-to-scroll, pinch-to-zoom, etc.) and you got yourself a damn good computer.

Who knows, that might be the iMac of the future. The computer is in the screen, but this time, the keyboard and mouse are gone. Put both your hands flat on the screen and the keyboard is resized and curved to match your hands. When typing, the error correction could gradually alter the virtual keyboards geometry to put the 'keys' where you expect them, maybe even changing the key layout a bit if necessary. Or just put one hand flat on the display to bring up a one hand keyboard. Multitouch is a powerful technology that requires drastic changes in the overall concept of computer design and interaction. Don't be afraid of it, the mouse was scary at first too.
 


MacScoop claims that according to "trusted sources" that Apple is planning on releasing "a notebook that is so small and light that it could redefine the standards of ultra-portable computing."

The upcoming Apple notebook is said to feature a 12" display, 0.6-0.7 inches thick, and weigh less than 3 pounds. MacScoop's sources are unclear if an optical drive will accompany this ultra-portable notebook, but do feel it is likely to come by year's end (2007).

For reference, Apple's current 15" MacBook Pro weighs 5.4lbs with a 1 inch thickness.

Rumors of a ultra-portable Apple laptop have been ongoing for since late 2006. MacScoop reported in December 2006 about the upcoming 12" ultra-portable MacBook Pro with additional details provided by Appleinsider in February. There are some conflicting reports with one summary that believed the ultra-portable would carry a 13" LED display.

Article Link

My bold prediction: Apple, and Steve Jobs, will soon declare the optical drive obsolete, much like with floppies. Thinking about 12 months from now...
 
Who knows, that might be the iMac of the future. The computer is in the screen, but this time, the keyboard and mouse are gone. Put both your hands flat on the screen and the keyboard is resized and curved to match your hands. When typing, the error correction could gradually alter the virtual keyboards geometry to put the 'keys' where you expect them, maybe even changing the key layout a bit if necessary. Or just put one hand flat on the display to bring up a one hand keyboard. Multitouch is a powerful technology that requires drastic changes in the overall concept of computer design and interaction. Don't be afraid of it, the mouse was scary at first too.

Lovely
 
If Apple is taking the route I suggested and is designing the software to support using a notebook as a supplemental machine, that may be a part of the delay in iLife. Using iLife and using a notebook together is a little annoying. I want to keep all my files in one place; on my desktop. But while on vacation I store photos on the laptop. To get the photos to the desktop I have to manually copy the files. Maybe the next iLife will include syncing between computers for iPhoto and iTunes. Just dreaming. :cool:

My bold prediction: Apple, and Steve Jobs, will soon declare the optical drive obsolete, much like with floppies. Thinking about 12 months from now...

You mean they aren't already?
 
Does this mean Apple is buying out Palm so that the latter's recent toy will be reflagged and reworked to ...

Er, um... sorry. I forgot about the iPhone. :eek:

Seriously, since I have two 17" laptops, something this small would be nice for travelling.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.