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Portables (Apple) Businesses Hardware Apple

Apple May Be Re-Entering the Sub-Notebook Market 281

Posted by Zonk from the time-to-upgrade dept.
An anonymous reader writes "AppleInsider is reporting that Apple has plans to reenter the sub-notebook market this year. The project, the article states, should be unveiled around the time of WWDC (summer). Drawing parallels to the legendary PowerBook 2400, the sub-notebook will offer some of the best elements of old and new. With a small footprint, light weight, and manageable screen it will fill a niche not currently occupied by any Apple hardware. At the same time, it will offer some new technologies that the current crop of computers do not: 'The new MacBook model is expected to introduce some features not yet available with Apple's existing notebook offerings, such as onboard NAND flash. Plans reportedly call for the notebook to be the first of the company's MacBook offerings to utilize the solid-state memory in order to improve power efficiency and facilitate near instantaneous boot times. This feature, however, had not been frozen upon last check.' Apple hopes this micro-notebook will capture interest both here in the states and in Japan, where the appeal of small consumer electronics may offset the current weak computer market."
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Apple May Be Re-Entering the Sub-Notebook Market More

Apple May Be Re-Entering the Sub-Notebook Market

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  • Mac Tablets (Score:5, Interesting)

    by man_ls ( 248470 ) on Friday February 16, 2007 @11:38AM (#18039506)
    I'd be sold at nearly any price if they'd just include tablet functionality.

    I'm not terribly fond of Windows (most of my apps would run under Wine or Parallels, the only Win-Only suite I really use is OneNote) but if there were a Mac replacement, I'd probably buy.

    They're quick, pretty computers with easy software that doesn't get in the way.

    An ultraportable tablet running an OS that stays out of my way is like a dream...its too bad that Apple is so shy of making a tablet.

    • Re:Mac Tablets (Score:5, Informative)

      by great throwdini ( 118430 ) on Friday February 16, 2007 @12:11PM (#18040062)

      I'd be sold at nearly any price if they'd just include tablet functionality.

      It's not ultraportable, but this should meet the "for nearly any price" requirement: Axiotron ModBook [macsales.com].

      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by WillAdams ( 45638 )
        While I'm sorely tempted by the ModBook, it lacks the niceties and synergies afforded by the nice suite of peripherals available for my Fujitsu Stylistic --- in particular being able to drop my pen slate into a docking station on my desktop and instantly being connected to full-sized keyboard and mouse, Wacom graphics tablet, 17" display, network, printer and CD-ROM drive is something I'm not wild about giving up.

        Apple's ``Best of Both Worlds'' (codename for the initial PowerBook Duo and docking station, ``

        • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

          by great throwdini ( 118430 )

          It lacks the niceties and synergies afforded by the nice suite of peripherals available for my Fujitsu Stylistic [...] being able to drop my pen slate into a docking station on my desktop and instantly being connected to full-sized keyboard and mouse, Wacom graphics tablet, 17" display, network, printer and CD-ROM drive is something I'm not wild about giving up.

          Not that I'm in the market for the ModBook myself, but it does come with a SuperDrive (your last point) and BlueTooth/AirPort should solve issu

        • full-sized keyboard and mouse, Wacom graphics tablet, 17" display, network, printer and CD-ROM drive
          • Bluetooth
          • Bluetooth
          • Bluetooth
          • DVI
          • WiFi
          • Wifi
          • Built-in
          So you're docking connector will require a dvi port.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by simpl3x ( 238301 )
      Absolutely!!!

      Even on the Windows end, I wish that more tablet manufacturers realized that a powerful graphics system is helpful. My ideal system would be a powerful small tablet that I connect to a Cintiq and a Happy Hacker keyboard at the desk. It should have a nice dock with additional disk space and a DVD-R... Solid state storage would be great, and I'd even be willing to pay quite a bit for a 200 gig, but that really isn't totally feasable yet. I liked the concept of the new ModBook, but the aesthetics

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Frohboy ( 78614 )
      Hmm... that may be feasible in the not-too-distant future. If you think about the hot touch-screen features of the iPhone, they should be able to move that over to a tablet (especially if the iPhone is indeed running OS X).

      The common wisdom (for what it's worth) seems to be that Apple doesn't release something until they can do it well. So, with a decent touchscreen interface, and their already popular laptops, they may just be reaching that point for a tablet.

      I'm not going to hold my breath, but it at leas

      • I'm not going to hold my breath, but it at least seems reasonable that the planets are aligning nicely to make an Apple tablet seem releasable.

        Yeah, I'm kind of surprised Apple doesn't have a tablet out. I'd like something that's a combination of a Macbook Pro and a Watcom tablet. That way I would be able to carry just one thing instead of two, a laptop and a tablet. If they don't release something like this I'd like to see Watcom release a thin tablet that can run off a battery and has a display buil

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by _|()|\| ( 159991 )
      the only Win-Only suite I really use is OneNote

      I'm not familiar with OneNote, but I've heard it mentioned in discussions of outlining / note-taking / "junk drawer" apps., such as OmniOutliner [omnigroup.com], DEVONthink [devon-technologies.com], and Yojimbo [barebones.com]. This seems to be a particularly hot genre on the Mac right now.

  • Cool (Score:3, Interesting)

    by soft_guy ( 534437 ) on Friday February 16, 2007 @11:38AM (#18039508)
    I'm a Mac user and I really like my MacBook Pro, but I also like really small subnotebooks. So, I'd love to see a super miniature version of the MacBook. It would be bitchin. I keep looking at a friend's Sony subnotebook and saying that it must be nice to have such a small book and I wish it could run MacOS X.

    • Re:Cool (Score:5, Funny)

      by EtherAlchemist ( 789180 ) on Friday February 16, 2007 @11:52AM (#18039742)

      With a sub version of the MBP, you'd at least burn a smaller protion of your lap ;)

    • I'm a Mac user and I really like my MacBook Pro, but I also like really small subnotebooks. So, I'd love to see a super miniature version of the MacBook. It would be bitchin. I keep looking at a friend's Sony subnotebook and saying that it must be nice to have such a small book and I wish it could run MacOS X.

      What I'd like Apple to release is a tablet. They also need to come out with a midrange computer, something between an iMac or Mac Mini and the Mac Pro. One that while not highend is expandable and

  • Let it be a Newton replacement as well.... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by WillAdams ( 45638 ) on Friday February 16, 2007 @11:40AM (#18039554) Homepage
    I'd really like to see Apple do something interesting and compelling in the pen slate computer form-factor --- at the very least they should add a digitizer to the screen and make it a convertable (having the screen fold over the keyboard while still being visible --- something better than a ThinkPad 360PE or Vadem Clio &c.).

    It's silly that InkWell (nee Rosetta, the print recognizer from Newton OS 2.0) is bundled w/ every copy of Mac OS X, yet is only enabled when one plugs in a graphics tablet (and only fully usable if one shells out for a Wacom Cintiq).

    William

    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      by pilgrim23 ( 716938 )
      Rosetta! Rosetta! Rosetta! Hey thats me!

      If you have a Apple and a pad; try writing "Rosetta!" three times. It was a Newton Easter Egg and from what I have heard migrated into OS X from its smaller cousin.
    • I always liked the Newton, but thought that it should be a bit larger. My Fujitsu slate was pretty near perfect, except for Windows and Intel Graphics. The thing weighed in at 2 lbs! Not bad at all...

      The PowerBook 2400 was my favorite Mac ever. I owned 2 of them. What a fantastic profile. even now looking at the photos, they still look like great machines. I bought a MacBook instead of the MacBook Pro for the size, and I'm not the only one I know. Apple should realize that they are losing sales to lower end

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by fermion ( 181285 )
      The iPhone, if it ever shows up, should evolve into a Newton replacement. The application issues aside, there is no reason it should not be a fully functional table Mac. All they need to do is sandbox the application side of the device.

    • It's silly that InkWell (nee Rosetta, the print recognizer from Newton OS 2.0) is bundled w/ every copy of Mac OS X, yet is only enabled when one plugs in a graphics tablet (and only fully usable if one shells out for a Wacom Cintiq).

      I'd love to see a Macbook with a builtin graphics tablet, maybe Apple can work with Wacom to make one. Of course knowing Apple, if they were to design one they do it themself. RSN I plan to get a Macbook Pro and I've been thinking of getting a Wacom also.

      Falcon

  • I'd be interested if... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Hawthorne01 ( 575586 ) on Friday February 16, 2007 @11:40AM (#18039562)
    ... it included something like the iPhone interface and/or Inkwell and was a convertible.

    Sub-notebook keyboards are a little cramped for me. Yes, I know Bluetooth keyboard blahblahblah (I'm using one with my Powerbook as I type this), but you can't carry that on the road.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by metlin ( 258108 ) *
      I'd buy one if it had another mouse button.

      I know that you can use control + button for right click, but everytime I've used that combination, it has felt unnatural (I agree, it is probably a matter of what I am used to, but Apple is still asking me to unlearn a muscle memory).

      And if I decide to run Windows and/or Linux on my Apple notebook, it would be worse since using an UI where I am used to the right mouse button without it would be hard.

      I understand the original reasoning behind a single button, but c

        • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

          by metlin ( 258108 ) *
          Like I said, it feels unnatural to me and every other notebook out there has another button on the trackpad for right-click.

          I find it annoying having to learn another thing (and especially since I have a muscle-memory of using mouse + keyboard combinations).

          If IBM took off a button, I'd move to Dell and if Dell did, I'd move to HP. So, why should I treat Apple any differently for not having a feature that is very common (not to mention desirable and widespread in use)? It's not like people haven't asked for [cnet.com]

          • Re:I'd be interested if... (Score:5, Interesting)

            by Spyky ( 58290 ) on Friday February 16, 2007 @01:18PM (#18041358)
            I take it you haven't actually tried using the two finger mouse click for very long. It took me less than a week after purchasing my Macbook Pro to get used to this trick. I now find it easier and faster than a traditional right button on a trackpad. The reason? I don't have to "find" the right mouse button that is always in a different position relative to my finger depending where my finger is currently resting on the track pad. The problem of locating the left and right buttons is unique to trackpads, since your fingers are not always resting in the same position as on a mouse. You may not think the button finding is really much of problem since it's something you are already used too on your ibm or dell or hp. But try using a macbook for a week, then the two button solution on your old notebook will feel positively clunky.

            Regarding the other comment in this thread about not being able to right-click drag with the two finger solution: I don't think this is true, although I'm having a hard time finding anything I have installed that can make use of a right-click drag. But it is certainly possible to move the cursor after performing a two finger right click (just keep two fingers on the pad while holding the button). Any application that allows a right-click drag should respond in exactly the same was as a right-click drag with a mouse. If anyone knows of an application that uses a right-click drag, I'll try it and respond with the results.

            -Spyky

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by fyngyrz ( 762201 ) *

          I take it you haven't heard about the two-finger right click functionality

          That doesn't cover all right-button uses; for instance, you can't right-click-and-drag with the two-finger method. I use this all the time, and I have to carry a mouse with my ($2800!!!) Macbook pro so that I can actually do it. And I use the two-finger trick all the time, as well as the control button trick. It's just not the same, and it is long past time for Apple to simply say "ooops" and fix the darned thing. Two buttons are

          • That doesn't cover all right-button uses; for instance, you can't right-click-and-drag with the two-finger method.
            Yes you can. Also, I find that it isn't an issue in MacOS X. It is only an issue when I'm trying to use WinXP on my MacBook Pro (which is rarely).

            • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

              by fyngyrz ( 762201 ) *

              Yes you can

              I mis-described that, sorry. You can't right+left click and drag from a left click state. In other words, here I am dragging out an ellipse with the left button. I want to release the anchor, which is done in this particular application by pressing the right button without releasing the left button. On the Mac, this action (dropping the second finger) locks the trackpad's position sensing, which means that there is no way to move the anchor. With a mouse, going from left press (sizing the el

          • That doesn't cover all right-button uses; for instance, you can't right-click-and-drag with the two-finger method. I use this all the time, and I have to carry a mouse with my ($2800!!!) Macbook pro so that I can actually do it. And I use the two-finger trick all the time, as well as the control button trick. It's just not the same, and it is long past time for Apple to simply say "ooops" and fix the darned thing. Two buttons are considerably better than one; and so on for a reasonable number of buttons, fo

      • On Macs alone, it might be a different thing - but when you dual boot, I just need that second mouse button. Until the day Apple changes and introduces that - at the very least as an option - I am not buying an Apple notebook.

        Apple does sell two button mice, the Mighty Mouse has two buttons. Now I wish the trackpad had two buttons however I use a mouse instead of trackpads and Macs also work with third party mice. And I am planning on getting a Macbook Pro, because of MS's policy of requiring Activatio

  • I repeat (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Jethro ( 14165 ) on Friday February 16, 2007 @11:46AM (#18039652) Homepage
    I've said it before and I'll say it again.

    Just make a 13.3" MacBookPro already! I don't want a MacBook and I don't want a 15.whatever laptop.

    I love my 12" Powerbook but it's getting to the point where it's just too underpowered, and I don't have an upgrade path that I'm happy with.
    • Word, brother! This isn't the same as the "plain old MacBook"--the pro has more memory, a better graphics card, etc.

      I want a mac for my next computer, but I'm not finding the features I want matching with the size computer I want.
    • Amen- I require a graphics card.

  • What I would like... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by EtherAlchemist ( 789180 ) on Friday February 16, 2007 @11:50AM (#18039698)

    ... is to see them get their exisiting line of notebooks to work without problems or failures before they add more to the market. I am sad to say, especially with the Mac Book Pros, it seems like they've taken a few steps back with regards to reliability.

    I'm probably more than a little biased because my own has had some problems, but so have a lot of other people waiting at that damn Genius Bar in the Apple store. Other customers I've talked to are in there for really similar problems (to mine and each other) and you have to wonder how much QA went into them and then subsequently why they were released with the problems.

    Of course, you could also wonder why Apple customers (myself included) continue to stand by their chosen brand and accept it.

    Expand the line, but fix the problems first- not after their in the wild.
    • In my limited sample, the first round of Macbook Pros was pretty junky. We bought about 5 of them for the developers here, and they all get REALLY hot, one randomly had all the fans fail, and another had to have a stick of bad RAM swapped out.

      Fast forward about 9 months, and we have a few new developers. The senior devs passed their first-gen Macbook Pros onto the new guys, and got the updated Core 2 Duo models. So far, these have been leaps and bounds better than the initial rev. Quite cool and stable, no
    • The reliability problems on the MB and MBP are worked out. I bought a new, custom built MBP about 2 weeks ago after carefully watching reader reports on the reliability issues.

      I agree that the first ones were shit. We have one here at the office that is absolute shit - and it has had a motherboard replacement and it still is shit.

      This is usually the case with new Apple hardware models. I've had problems with buying just after a new model comes out on the following models: PowerMac 7200, PowerBook 5300 cs, P

    • ...see them get their exisiting line of notebooks to work without problems or failures before they add more to the market.

      Currently the reliability of their hardware, including notebooks, is among the best in the industry as evaluated by consumer reports.

      I am sad to say, especially with the Mac Book Pros, it seems like they've taken a few steps back with regards to reliability.

      Whenever any manufacturer releases a new hardware line they take a few steps back with regard to reliability. Invariably ther

  • Funny (Score:5, Interesting)

    by wiredlogic ( 135348 ) on Friday February 16, 2007 @12:03PM (#18039926)
    It's funny that compared to todays ridicululously oversized and overweight notebooks a computer the size of the PowerBook 2400 is now considered a "sub-notebook". I would consider a sub-notebook to be something like a classic Libretto or a Fujitsu P1610. Back when the 2400 was current a 10.4" screen was considered large.
    • Ditto. I'd buy it in a heartbeat if it had a Lifebook P2120 form factor. (Down with touchpads!!)

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by zlogic ( 892404 )
      Perhaps because as the screen gets smaller (and the battery also gets smaller requiring an underpowered CPU), ordinary GUIs don't work? You'll either end up seeing tiny buttons or losing screen estate. And for 3-4" screens we have Windows Mobile and other operating systems that are optimized for low-power small-screen devices.
  • The one feeling that I've always had with my 12" G4 Powerbook is that OS X just doesn't work on that smaller screen. It always feels like OS X was designed for 15" or 17" screens, and everything takes up more real estate that would be desirable on the 12".

    Don't know why Apple couldn't tweak the OS to make it more usable on the smaller computer.

    • Re:Scaling OS X down (Score:5, Insightful)

      by necro81 ( 917438 ) on Friday February 16, 2007 @12:16PM (#18040158) Journal
      The next release of OS X will have resolution independence. It's been just beneath the surface for a few releases now. Resolution independence allows text, icons, and everything else to be scaled to look "right" on high-resolution, small scale screens, or on normal resolution, ultra-large screens.

      Some [appleinsider.com] links [apple.com] about [wikipedia.org] this [digg.com].

    • Re:Scaling OS X down (Score:4, Interesting)

      by fermion ( 181285 ) on Friday February 16, 2007 @01:15PM (#18041298) Homepage Journal
      Mac OS was originally designed for a very small screen. The OS itself still works best, in my opinion, on a small screen. I find that I prefer X Windows on my larger screen.

      What does appear to be true is the Apple application make more liberal use of space,assuming a big screen. For instance iMovie wastes an enormous amount of space. Itunes is not so bad, but the borders are in some contexts quite large. Safari is the exception, but most web pages now are exersises in the frivolous use of screen real estate.

      I would think the OS itself could be put back on an 640X480 screen with few changes. However, the current culture of application GUI development has to change. A large matter, really, is hte culture of application development, and the assumption that the user has relatively unlimited resources.

    • I'm using OSX 10.3 on a clamshell iBook from 5 years ago. Its usable (with dock hidden), the only reason I dont upgrade is that I only use it for mail and surfing, though
    • And last I checked, it was pretty well scaled down.

  • Intel Santa Rosa platform (Score:4, Interesting)

    by frankie ( 91710 ) on Friday February 16, 2007 @12:04PM (#18039950) Journal
    A new mobile Mac with NAND flash is 99.4% likely to be using Santa Rosa [wikipedia.org] aka Centrino Pro. The chipset isn't exclusive to subnotebooks, so if this rumor turns out true then the larger MacBooks will get bumped up as well (90% likely, but Lord Steve is of course a capricious diety).
  • .... What about having a fully functional subnotebook like this Fujitsu:

    http://store.shopfujitsu.com/ca/EcomCA/buildseries bean.do?series=P7120 [shopfujitsu.com]

    Plus by using off the shelf stuff in it, they lower the cost. Works for me.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Ucklak ( 755284 )
      I had one of those Sony Vaio Picturebooks a while ago.
      Came with WinME which I put Win2K in it's place.
      It also worked with RH7.2 but not Mandrake.

      Great little fully functional notebook.
  • Not kidding when I say this...

    1. Apple needs to identify all the shortcomings of UMPC [umpc.com] or the PepperPad [pepper.com]

    2. Infuse Appley goodness into a perfected formfactor, and sell it,

    3. And profit.

    I'd buy one in a heartbeat.
    • The shortcoming is the interface. Without a normal size keyboard, normal people can't type (I'm a writer, I am NOT using my thumbs and a tiny onscreen keyboard to type). That leaves touch, voice, and handwriting, and the latter two are still unacceptably poor quality for widespread use. I'm sure Apple could make an 8" multitouch display, but that doesn't solve the problem of how to write a letter.

  • Nowhere to go. (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Ralph Spoilsport ( 673134 ) on Friday February 16, 2007 @12:10PM (#18040052) Journal
    They HAD a very small and wonderful little laptop - I'm using one right now - a 12" G4 iBook.

    The differences between the MacBook and MacBook Pro are very few and certainly not worth the $. The MacBook has drifted upward in abilities, and they stopped making the 12" machine - hence, there is nowhere for them to go. They have to re-invent what they've abandoned. As TFA says, three once was a small and venerable machine many years ago, and the 12" G4 iBook was the last of that "inertia".

    Now their strategy has abandoned low end small machines. Ooops. So now we'll see one. This comes as no surprise. They have nowhere to go. Frankly, I am looking forward to this, because my G4 iBook is getting a bit long in the tooth...

    RS

    • Re:Nowhere to go. (Score:5, Insightful)

      by rwyoder ( 759998 ) on Friday February 16, 2007 @12:46PM (#18040696)

      They HAD a very small and wonderful little laptop - I'm using one right now - a 12" G4 iBook.
      So did I, and I recently sold it for 40% of what I paid for it (3.5 yrs ago), and bought a 13.3" MacBook. Remember that the MacBook has a 16:10 screen vs the 4:3 screen of the iBook. That is why the MacBook is *thinner* and *shorter* front-to-back. The only dimension that is a little larger is the width. And I now have: faster 64-bit CPU, 3x RAM, GigE, Toslink audio in/out, 802.11a/b/g/n, built-in iSight, Bluetooth, higher-resolution internal LCD, external video resolution greater than internal (including 1920x1200 & 1920x1080), external video that does not need to mirror internal screen, DVD-burner. There is *nothing* I miss from the old iBook

    • The differences between the MacBook and MacBook Pro are very few and certainly not worth the $.

      Fwa? When I was purchasing my first Mac in years I did a comparison between the two. At this point I wouldn't touch the MacBook with a 10-foot pole.

      The MacBook Pro has:

      * Faster processors.
      * Larger screens at better resolutions.
      * Faster RAM. Support for more RAM. Better amount of RAM in default configuration.
      * Faster bus.
      * Option for a faster DVD writer.
      * Non-crappy onboard graphics.
      * More ports, more options.
      *

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by fotbr ( 855184 )
        You're debating with someone who likes their iBook, not a powerbook owner. If the iBook was good enough for them, then a macbook probably will be too.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by noewun ( 591275 )

        If you're a college kid with empty pockets I'm sure the MacBook is fine. If you want to do real work, you need a MacBook Pro

        That's a stupid thing to say. I can do "real work" on my seven year old Pismo: it runs the latest versions of Quark/Photoshop and friends just fine. No, it doesn't run them as quickly as my G5, but they work with all functionality. I'm sure they work even better on a MacBook.

        I'm thinking about getting a MacBook because it will give me a good, Intel-powered laptop for about $1,000.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by rho ( 6063 )

        You'll have to define "real work". I do "real work" on a Macbook non-Pro just fine. Not that I wouldn't like the Pro--I could play Neverwinter Nights on it, which would be fun.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Buran ( 150348 )
        "If you're a college kid with empty pockets I'm sure the MacBook is fine." ... which is the intended market, in large part, for the Macbook. There is nothing wrong with the Macbook -- it will do a very good job when put in a websurfing/emailing/researching/paper-writing/etc . role. Unless you are in a curriculum that requires a beefy machine, a Macbook will be fine for you. They're also good for casual home users -- I helped my mom pick out a good laptop a few years ago for the Web, email, and digital photo

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Fex303 ( 557896 )

        If you're a college kid with empty pockets I'm sure the MacBook is fine. If you want to do real work, you need a MacBook Pro.

        Define 'real work'. I'm not in IT or multi-media, so most of the time work for me involves email, net access and (much as I hate it) MS Office. A MacBook is more than capable of doing all of those things. I would suggest a vast majority of people who use computers in their line of work would rarely find themselves in situations where the advantages that you mention are actually n

    • I'm in a similar situation. My first non-used Mac was one of the orginal 12" PowerBooks, purchased less than a month after the 12" line came out, and it created in me a love that borders on unnatural. I'd used a 15" TiBook extensively, but this was a completely different thing, and I realized that I'll never use a laptop larger than 12" as my primary machine again. I'm completely hooked on the size.

      Despite its modest performance it was my constant companion until the day I found out that Apple was abandonin

  • Strechable Laptointrops (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Doc Ruby ( 173196 ) on Friday February 16, 2007 @12:24PM (#18040318) Homepage Journal
    I'd love to see Apple sell a notebook that's only 12"x8"x1" that flips open to reveal a fullsize keyboard and a wide screen at 1200x800 for immediate use. Then rotates the screen on its bottom right corner, then stretching out a "rollable" display across to a 16" or 24" wide by 12" high screen at 16-2400x1200.
  • I'd like a small, portable system with a decent battery life. My existing laptop lasts 3 hours, and while I know it's not the best that's out there, it's pretty good. What I want is something I can use in conjunction with the laptop, which is really more of a desktop replacement than a lappy.

    Here's a short list of some of the features I'd like to see:
    -Reasonably high DPI screen. Doesn't have to be super-big, maybe 12" should be enough, but it's got to have a respectable resolution.
    -A backlight that you can
    • If all the games you ever play are online flash type games and minesweeper, you don't need a laptop -- you just need a *proper* PDA. I've seen this so many times these last few years, I've come to think I should try and bring Psion back to life.

      Take a Psion Series 5, keep its physical layout, but update it with the modern advances in display resolution, battery life, storage, and network connectivity. You'd have an on-the-go workstation (that does not need to be a mere extension of a real computer) capable
  • If Apple makes a 10" ultraportable with a touchscreen, I'll buy one. If it's good, I'll buy 4 within a year. If it's really good, I'll buy 12 within two years. (For my company, of course.)

    Seriously. I love the Fujitsu Lifebook p-series, but I'd be happier if I could use OSX on something similar.

    (Unless Wyse or Neoware get their gorram act together and produce a linux-based touchscreen notebook thin client first, anyway. Get on it, people!)

  • If I could get one with the WUXGA (1920x1200) resolution I can get on a thinkpad.

  • Hello... Apple? (Score:2, Interesting)

    by JimDaGeek ( 983925 )
    In the last 4 months I have bought an Intel Macbook for about $1,100 USD and an Intel iMac for about $1,300 USD. How about instead of this dumb little laptop, you give _paying_ customers like me a _real_ mid-tower option that doesn't cost more than $1,200 or so? I love your hardware and OS X is very nice. Being Intel based lets me boot WinXP and Linux, which I like very much.

    I have always built my own PC systems for a lot less then what I paid you. Please give me, a paying customer, an affordable mid
    • You're not the first person to make this request. If you want to read an inordinate amount of commentary and contention on the issue, look at this thread [arstechnica.com] at the Ars Mac forum. Yes, I realize that it's like asking for a piece of chocolate and being dumped in the vat where it's made, but there's a lot of information and speculation there.

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Jason Mark ( 623951 )
      Not for nothing, but I don't think you're Apple's primary audience, and I doubt if they're sitting around how to get into the low margin, low cost "build your own" box market. I'm not saying the way you think of computers isn't valid, it's just I don't think you're actaully a target user for Apple. Like BMW or Mercedes, they focus on a small market share, and high profit margins, and their target audience aren't poeple who go and soup up their 1974 Ford Mustang with the newest graphics card... ya know? -
  • As haveing to pay $2000 just to get is too much when other laptop have them in the $1000 and up rage.
    The mac book black should of had one.
  • It's called an iPhone, they already announced the product, it does all the stuff I do on my 12" iBook, only thanks to AT&T noone can afford it.

    Apple must be cooking up a AT&T-free version.

  • then you can save a lot. What I'd like to see is a WiFi enabled, small, very light weight system. With access to Google Docs & Spreadsheets, my documents are online so I don't need a lot of disk space, so dump the hard drive. Same for email. I'll dock it with my main computer to download media, so I don't need an optical drive. Maybe they'll even enable easy remote disk sharing with something like sshfs.

    Weight is key, though. On a business trip, I can live with carrying a laptop. With everyday trav

  • I'd buy one, with one caveat.

    My workday comes in waves - I have tons of downtime between the things I need to do when I'm sitting at my desk, and I generally burn that time by watching DVDs on my MacBook - if Apple came out with a small, light, feature reduced laptop with an optical drive, I'd buy one in a heartbeat.

    Without the drive, it'll probably take a couple extra heartbeats.

  • I'm probably going to get a MacBook Pro later this year, depending on if I can convince myself I really need one (as my three and a half year old 1 GHz PowerBook G4 is still working wonderfully). However, there are two features I'd love to see in a MacBook Pro that would convince me to get one in a heartbeat.

    1) Docking station support. Granted, I could use Belkin's ExpressCard-based high speed dock [belkin.com] when it's released, but that would limit me to Windows as it doesn't support Mac. Call me lazy, but I'd lik
  • SSD drives use 0.5w instead of 1.5w and cost $500 more.

    For reference, here are some power utilization figures for Apple notebooks: http://www.girr.org/mac_stuff/laptop_power.html [girr.org]

    If the entire notebook is drawing say, 16.5w, and gets 4 hours of battery life, reducing this to 15.5w buys you an extra 15 minutes of battery life, for a rather high cost. It is likely however that the notebook they ultimately produce will use more watts than that, the standard Core 2 Duo mobile CPUs use 20-34 watts whereas

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