Carl,
As you have stated, and I tell people all the time now, Apple needs to move forward with the touch technology, i.e. iPod and iPhone. To not do so will create a vacuum and other companies will bring their products to market. Apple needs this as badly as they saw the need for the Macintosh: it is the next evolution of the PC, and they can do it better than anyone else.
I do not think it will be anything like a Windows PC Tablet. As you say, it will be jaw-dropping in size, form factor, weight, usage and beauty. Apple has a great technology in touch and they need to leverage it as much as possible where it makes sense. I can't wait to see what they unveil at Macworld!
Who knows, maybe the screen will un-dock from the keyboard.
For those who want a traditional clam shell portable the docked version could have an attached keyboard and trackpad.
For those who want an ultra light portable the screen could be un-docked and operated alone using multi-touch navigation, wireless networking, and a virtual keyboard.
I wonder if Apple's new wireless keyboard gives us a hint of what a new portable could be like.
On the weight point, the world is quickly moving in a "physical formatless" direction. CDs are just being ripped into iTunes. DVDs are being ripped into iTunes files with programs like Handbreak. Presentations are being saved online. Having an optical drive in a notebook is becoming less and less of a priority. I'm sitting on an airplane right now tapping this out on my iPhone. When I'm done, I'm gonna watch a movie on my phone. No spinning DVD, no hard drive, no moving parts. The faster we get there, the better IMHO.
I have to disagree. IMO Apple will have thinner portables with LED backlit screens. Ther could be a super lightweight model with a solid state disk; but the detachable screen and multi-touch keyboard ideas won't fly. Apple tried detachable screens over 10 years ago without going forward. The keyboard side is where the guts lie, not behind the screen. Present rotating screen hardware is clumsy and the use of a touch screen is a very limited market. There could be a touch pad with multi-touch additions such as the scrolling feature; but a full keyboard will be needed for a mainline product.
Later next year Intel's to start production on their very low energy chip design for portable devices. That may allow Apple to debut more powerful hand held products with expanded multi-touch in their bag of tricks.
Just like with the iMac, there's no reason anymore that the guts of the laptop need to be in the keyboard side. Especially when it doesn't have a hard drive or optical drive.
I too think Apple will have a laptop behind an LED touchscreen that can be docked to a really flat keyboard (which we've already seen in the wireless keyboard).
"Full disclosure: the author is long Apple Inc. at the time of writing."
Is my brain on the fritz, or does that not really make a stitch of sense?
Simply call it MacBook touch. Probably you can have it with have it with a small size harddrive like the iPod classic drive or with a SSD for an upgrade price. The should be a built in SD card slot because of the missing optical drive.
Bernd from Germany
Interesting
I like these tablet PCs....!
Amazing! Apple Mac Book has already been very popular and now this technology is certainly going to rock the world.This is not only hi-tech but it is looking beautiful.
There are more features and articles on here:
http://www.touchuserguide.com
Commenting by HaloScan
