Ultra-thin and Ultra-light Mac Notebook in 2007

[QuarterSwede]

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.

That would go against Apple's current pricing model for ALL of their devices. The smaller they get the cheaper they are (iPod, MacBook, iMac, etc.).

However, I do hope that this rumor is true even at the expense of the seldom used CD drive (I'd buy an add-on if I had to). I haven't bought a MacBook partly because of the size as I currently own a 12" PB and love it.

 

[twoodcc]

well I would love to see this happen very soon. But im sure it will be awhile

 

[MrCrowbar]

Lovely

A even more radically approach would be to introduce some kind of sign language. Deaf people have it and communication works pretty well with it; They can communicate as fast as talking people.

You basically lay out whole words with one gesture. Using Huffman coding (short, simple gestures for often used wirds, longer, complicated ones for rarely used terms). The computer can assist with error correction and grammar.

I agree this type of input has a greater learning curve but more and more of our communication goes through computers. We learned to talk to people when we were young, why not learn to 'talk' to a computer while we're at it? Besides, sign language is taught at a lot to babys in the US because it's easier for the parents to understand a gesture than some baby-babbling. In the long run, this type of input can get considerably faster than typing or even talking. The cool thing is that a computer can assist you in so many ways, once it understands what you mean, which should happen before the year 2040 according to Ray Kurzweil.

 

[Roba]

If this is true i do think that the MacBook's (which are after all consumer laptops) will continue as they are but the GPU chip will be updated but they will still be using integrated graphics.
If Apple bring out something like the Sony TX that uses integrated graphics then apart from a size difference what is this really going to offer that the MacBook does not offer?

I think that the LG R200 maybe the only 12.1 notebook that offers dedicated graphics but then it is not that thin the casing looks similar in size to the old 12 PB's.

People really haven't been asking for an ultraportable with integrated graphics on Mac related boards.

I think that Apple should bring out a "thin and light" MBP 13incher with a dedicated GPU think of the Sony SZ or the Dell 1330. This would distinguish it from the MB and it would be a pro/business computer.

 

[CEAbiscuit]

well I would love to see this happen very soon. But im sure it will be awhile

I agree.

To make things simple, just breakout some old 12 PB cases and shove intel ships in 'em. That would be just fine, just fine...

 

[winterspan]

Tough competition ahead

I'm sure Apple will cook up something great, but it seems many of you have been looking for something similar for awhile now. In the US/Can at least, we don't see alot of small subnotebooks, I mean REAL subnotebooks.
I don't know how many of you are familiar with this site: www.dynamism.com, but they sell
English language converted Asian electronics.. Laptop/UMPC/Cellphones
Now I think a few of these or similar models are sold in the USA, but check out some of these specs:

Almost all of these fit within these specs:

Processors:
Intel Core Solo U1400 1.2 GHz / U1500 1.33 Ghz
Intel Core 2 Duo ULV U7500 1.06 Ghz / ULV U7600 1.2 Ghz
Ram: 512MB -> 1GB
Storage: 40-100GB HDD or 32-64GB SDD (flash)
Network:802.11B/G, Bluetooth 2.0, 3G (some)
Battery 4-10 hours REALISTIC times, many get 6-8 hours of moderate use.

Look at these screen specs and dimensions:

Panasonic T5
12.1" 1024x768
10.55 x 8.27 x 1.25" / 2.26 pounds

Toshiba RX1
12.1" 1280 x 800 pixels
11.1 x 8.5 x ~0.8"/ 1.88 pounds

Sony Vaio G1
12.1" 1024x768
10.9 x 8.5 x ~0.98" / 2.15 pounds

Flybook V5
8.9" 1024 x 600 pixels touchscreen
9.3 x 6.4 x ~1.18" / 2.6 pounds

Kohjisha SH1
7.0" 1024 x 600 pixels
8.6 x 6.4 x ~1.0" / 2.2 pounds

Fujitsu U8240
5.6" 1024 x 600 pixels
6.7 x 5.2 x ~1.04" / 1.28 pounds

FlipStart (this is the company that Paul Allen[original microsoft guy] invested in)
5.6" 1024x600
5.9 x 4.5 x 1.6" / 1.75 pounds


Check em out:


Sub-notebooks
http://www.dynamism.com/Notebooks/Subnotebooks/categorygroup.shtml

UMPC
http://www.dynamism.com/Notebooks/UMPC/categorygroup.shtml

 

[ziggyonice]

hmm

 

[dogcowabunga]

I hope/expect the ultraportable will draw from the iPhone as far as its screen.

If I am figuring it correctly, a "laptop" screen at the same dense resolution as the 3.5" diagonal iPhone would result in a 10.5" screen and 1440x960 dimensions. That would be outstanding resolution (almost the same as the current 15" MacBook Pro), very readable/usable, yet very, very portable.

 

[breath of apple]

Hmmm...the Mac Foleo?

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.

Seriously, since I have two 17" laptops, something this small would be nice for travelling.

I am glad that someone else has made the Palm Foleo connection, as this was my first thought with all of this revived talk of portability and tablets. And to think that Palm was blasted pretty severely following its WDC announcement. Interesting that Palm recently has hired ex-Apple thinktanks into its camp. Could the Foleo have been a response to Palm's "wind" of an upcoming Apple iphone - ultraportable companionship? Hmmm.....just food for thought. Of course, anything that Apple designs, and including multi-touch, is always heads above Palm.

Interesting thread.

I need the power of a MBP on the road, but am excited to see the upcoming hardware that Apple comes out with! Would be great to access power apps via "Back to my Mac." or VPN and to be able to take presentations, documents, and spreadsheets on the road in a light package. Go, Apple!

 

[guzhogi]

I can see this as the laptop version of the Mac Mini or Power Mac Cube: really cool, but won't last too long. Either Apple'll say it's not successful enough or is cannibalizing the MB/MBP's sales.

 

[Aniej]

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.

The article was written in 2007, thus suggesting the author thought about the 2002 encounter's applicability to today's world. And Job's definite no does last, it's the ambiguous "who knows" and other such comments that don't last.

while your point regarding the UI is fair, it ignores the the entire other side of why apple would reject a tablet, namely its form factor and the lack of utility. If Apple didn't include a stylus with the iPhone and rejected such tablet ideas when the major us research group requested it, I think it is a safe bet that we will not see tablets. Far down the road we might see some sort of single slab of hardware such as the readers we are seeing now, but I highly doubt any tablet in the current form.

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

This is even less support for a tablet. Apple is not going to make a device that only serves as basic set of application features and call it a computer. That would be like calling apple tv a mac mini, which it is not. Apple understands utility and functionally by way of great GUI and hardware that is both aesthetically pleasing and useful.

 

[Poff]

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

I doubt it, as they are in the Blu-ray camp.

My opinion, however, is that any kind of optical drive belongs to the last millenium. They're dinosaurs. We'll soon even get HD-movies through iTunes! We download our software. Whatever would we need an optical drive for?

 

[dontwalkhand]

I doubt it, as they are in the Blu-ray camp.

My opinion, however, is that any kind of optical drive belongs to the last millenium. They're dinosaurs. We'll soon even get HD-movies through iTunes! We download our software. Whatever would we need an optical drive for?

Reinstalling tiger/leopard when you feel like starting off with a clean computer , though ever since I have switched to mac, I have never found this necessary.

 

[meagain]

I would like to see it have EDGE/5G amd wimax (early intel version). We could possibly see the clamshell variant with dispays on both sides, one of which is your virtual keyboard. The larger size will allow more fully finger shaped keys to be practical. It may be only 10" diagonal however so it is abit 3x the size of an iPhone interface.

Rocketman

I want a Sim card slot. And/or easily link to the iPhone for when a larger screen is desired.

 

[brguitarist]

Due for an upgrade.

Will be upgrading my PB soon, this would be perfect. Sweet!

 

[Ludaru]

How about two 10-12 inch screens fitted close to eachother? One LED and one multitouch. The same shape as an ordinary laptop, but the multitouch takes the ordinary keyboard spot. In that way you can use it as a normal laptop AND use it as a tablet while in 180 deg. This may be a bit far out considering battery issues, but does an "on the go"-laptop have to last for 10 hours?

 

[Dr.Gargoyle]

And Job's definite no does last, it's the ambiguous "who knows" and other such comments that don't last.

It wasn't long ago when Jobs said that people should stick with Treo phones and be happy, when asked about a whether Newton would make a come back. iPhone is basically a Newton II with phone capabilities.

Moreover, Job also said that computers never should have TV. Now we have Apple TV. Perhaps not a computer with a TV, but pretty damn close.

I am sure Apple sooner or later will make a tablet, but it will be a Apple tablet and they will sure as hell not call it a tablet.

Learn that Job is all about smoke and mirrors.

 

[pimentoLoaf]

Enough of all this computer speculation ... I demand an ultrathin translucent Bondi blue waffle iron!

 

[macidiot]

Reinstalling tiger/leopard when you feel like starting off with a clean computer , though ever since I have switched to mac, I have never found this necessary.

yeah, not much need for that with osx. But pretty much a once a year or less job with windows. I remember the first time my windows-using friend said he was going to wipe and re-install. I asked him why would you do that. He said it was a regular maintenance thing... I just shook my head in bewilderment.

 

[winterspan]

Optical drives

My opinion, however, is that any kind of optical drive belongs to the last millenium. They're dinosaurs. We'll soon even get HD-movies through iTunes! We download our software. Whatever would we need an optical drive for?

1) OS Installation
2) Cheapest/easiest form of 10's of GB of backup data
3) HD Video/Movies - with the state of our monopolistic telecom industry in the USA, It's gonna be MORE THAN A WHILE until everyone downloading 20GB HD movies is the norm... that'd require at least 75-100Mbps FTTH connections

Also think about the extremely low costs of distribution continuing into the future with 200 GB blue ray discs, 500GB-1000GB Holographic Versatile Discs,
and multi-Terabyte Protein coated discs....

No flash memory is going to touch that for a long time.... Although the form factor of these things may change away from a rotating spiral disc into something more like a flash memory card.... aka holographic versatile disc
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:HVC.svg,
but the mechanism behind it will be similar (aka read head & optical/magnetic media) instead of solid state transistors....

 

[bwanac]

been waiting for this.

hope it still packs a punch.

 

[Tastannin]

A even more radically approach would be to introduce some kind of sign language. Deaf-Mutes people have it and communication works pretty well with; They can 'talk' as fast as talking people.

Oh my, are we still living in the 1700-1800's? Do you think that just because some people don't have working ears, their vocal cords don't work either? Get with the times, that term is antiquated, and considered offensive by deaf people.

Please don't use that phrase again, thank you. Just "deaf" works for me.

 

[guzhogi]

1) OS Installation
2) Cheapest/easiest form of 10's of GB of backup data
3) HD Video/Movies - with the state of our monopolistic telecom industry in the USA, It's gonna be MORE THAN A WHILE until everyone downloading 20GB HD movies is the norm... that'd require at least 75-100Mbps FTTH connections

Also think about the extremely low costs of distribution continuing into the future with 200 GB blue ray discs, 500GB-1000GB Holographic Versatile Discs,
and multi-Terabyte Protein coated discs....

No flash memory is going to touch that for a long time.... Although the form factor of these things may change away from a rotating spiral disc into something more like a flash memory card.... aka holographic versatile disc
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:HVC.svg,
but the mechanism behind it will be similar (aka read head & optical/magnetic media) instead of solid state transistors....

I agree. Optical drives will be here for awhile. Downloading HD movies would take forever, even on the fastest cable/DSL modems. I can see an ultra-portable having flash memory, no hard drive or optical drive. If you need to reinstall software, they can get an external drive, or maybe external flash drive? dealram.com has 16GB flash drives for like $139. They also have a 64GB one for over $5,000, but that's a bit much. Holographic discs & protein coated discs look cool. Lots of memory & fast transfer rates. Just a few years away, unfortunately. I know Macs since the first iMacs can boot off of a network server using netboot (really cool technology), but the server still needs storage space and a hard drive is the only thing big enough right now. Besides, networking is still too slow to boot a whole OS. Can't wait for OC-3072 to be hooked into each home & office!

 

[OutThere]

If you want to see almost exactly what you are going to get with only some slight modifications, Intel has already given you a giant hint.

Yes. That thing is so sick, so apple. I can see something SO similar coming straight out of Apple's R&D. I haven't had fantasies about how cool it'd be to have a computer in a long time, but that really does it for me. I picture at my desk plugged into the 20", then on the run with a computer thinner than a (paper) notebook.

Apple's smallest portable just came out - the iPhone. Why would they create a 10" ultraportable? I haven't seen a single one used out in public. Ultraportables are a great idea and so is the tablet pc, but neither are practical, thus, no large scale markets. No markets, no dinero. I truly believe the iPhone is Apple's entry in both the cell phone, pda, and ultraportable markets. Look at all the rumors that lead up to the iPhone release. Nearly every filing is a feature that you now see in the iPhone.

Apple's smallest portable just came out, but that doesn't mean that they won't come out with a larger portable.

10" would be useless. I'm thinking they will go with the smallest screen that they can fit with a full keyboard. 12" widescreen? I'd be set with that.

like the millions of 12" PowerBook users that don't want a fat MacBook that is heavier and larger. They want a true ultra portable Mac.

This is less of a niche market than people say....just the smallest PRO level notebook computer that is feasible. The 12" is a beautiful size, give it a widescreen and dedicated GPU and shave a little off the thickness and you have a very portable MBP. Asking for power in a smaller form factor is NOTHING new, unlike some people in the thread seem to believe. They've already given it to us in the form of the 12" PB. It was almost on the level of the higher end powerbooks, just small.


If something specced like this showed up my wallet would open up like a hooker's legs:

Intel Penryn ULV Processor
80 GB 1.8" Hard Drive
Multi-touch trackpad
12" display
Firewire + USB
Mini-dvi out
Dedicated GPU
Bluetooth/WiFi

I'd say top end $2,200 low end $1,800 for starters?

 

[mickeymikey]

Maybe part of the reason people don't see the point of an ultra-portable is because they're thinking of it the wrong way. I think one key to ultra-portables is that they should not do everything. You have a desktop for the heavy work, and then an ultra-portable for travel. If you need to do heavy work on the road, you go back to your desktop...

...from your notebook.

Consider two of the features coming in Leopard; screen sharing and Back To My Mac. If you had easy access to your desktop while on the road, how much power does your laptop need? Not much. If you run into anything the laptop isn't good enough for, your desktop is just a few mouse clicks away. That's how I use my laptop now, using SSH and VNC.

Well put. Some of us here actually need/use multiple machines for different missions. I'm 100% for a smaller and LIGHTER machine for travel duty and meetings. Heavy work can be offloaded to the powerhouse machines at home/office. I could see doing this with both the full OS X or a updated version of the iPhone OS X.

I am continually amazed at how many people on these forums criticize Apple for not coming out with products that do EVERYTHING or at least exactly what THEY want. I wonder if those same people have ever considered that a company like Apple might actually do market research when developing new products, either for the masses or a particular niche.