Apple's Next Big Thing: MacBook Touch?

Apple's Next Big Thing: MacBook Touch?

Techtree News Staff, Jul 24, 2008 1820 hrs IST

Ever since Apple CEO Steve Jobs promised innovative products from its stable, speculation has been rife about the possibility of a MacBook Touch.

Rumors have started pouring in about Apple's next big innovation. Ever since Apple CEO Steve Jobs promised innovative products from its stable in the company's quarterly earnings report, unofficial Apple-related websites are anticipating the possibility of a MacBook Touch in the near future.

MacDailyNews, the website that reported wireless iTunes a week before its official announcement in the past, has initiated this rumor. The buzz is that the MacBook Touch, or whatever the name is going to be eventually, will have an interface that is similar to Apple's iPhone.

MacDailyNews writes: Think MacBook screen, possibly a bit smaller, in glass with iPhone-like, but fuller-featured Multi-Touch. Gesture library. Full Mac OS X. This is why they bought P.A. Semi. Possibly with Immersion's haptic tech. Slot-loading SuperDrive. Accelerometer. GPS. Pretty expensive to produce initially, but sold at "low" price that will reduce margins. Apple wants to move these babies. And move they will. This is some sick shit. App Store-compatible, able to run Mac apps, too. By October at the latest.

As reports suggest, the touch sensitive MacBook would be just one of the new innovative products that Apple is finishing upon. We wonder what the other novel products could be. Any guesses?



Write a comment

       (All fields are mandatory.)

Text Limit = 255 Characters

Type the characters you see in the picture below.

#

Characters are not case sensitive.

USER COMMENTS

I hope not either! I'm waiting for another compact Mac smaller than the Pro and larger than the Mini that is customizable, longer shelf life. As I've been holding off buying a new Mac and I DON'T want an iMac.

by Tivette, San Jose, on Jul 25, 2008 01:52 AM, Report abuse   Reply

-bump- Agreed

by Anonymous, Cincy, on Jul 25, 2008 08:05 PM, Report abuse

Fanbois have been prognosticating this for years, hardly an original idea. Just because Apple could do this, doesn't mean they should. First, what would be the advantage? Ergonomically, a touch screen larger than the iTouch/iPhone becomes a pain, thumb typing becomes unfeasible and the touch keyboard cannibalizes a lot of screen real estate. The feedback from a real mechanical keyboard is still superior to a touchscreen, so getting real work done would be more difficult. Your hands would obscure part of the screen as you work, and sitting with a touchscreen on your lap is far less ergonomic than a small form-factor laptop where you can adjust the screen to a comfortable angle. The option of holding the screen and using it with one hand is fine for simple tasks, taking inventory or accessing medical records, which, incidentally, is what tablets are mostly used for. A very specific market segment. The second issue is that such a product would slot uncomfortably between the iphone and the macbook air, yet would be less useful than either: too big to put in your pocket, less powerful and versatile than a regular laptop. Also, the cost of making a large touchscreen device, with miniaturized components, would be prohibitive. Witness the high manufacturing cost of the iPhone, as well as the low cost-to-performance ratio of tablets currently on the market. The profit margins on such a device would be quite slim, and its appeal would be quite limited.

by flyedlice, shanghai, on Jul 25, 2008 12:48 AM, Report abuse   Reply

Whoa .. u sure can type fast. Apt comments thou.

by Dizzy, Kolkata, on Jul 25, 2008 01:12 AM, Report abuse

VIEW ALL LATEST

Watch 3D Images on Your Mobile Phone

News > Gadgets , October 06, 2008 1729 hrs IST

Slyly placed LCD screen will create the magic ...

Apple Brick is No Gadget

News > Gadgets , October 06, 2008 1708 hrs IST

Mac-maker isn't introducing a new gadget by that name ...

VoodooPC Survives; But HP 'Integration' Imminent

News > Gadgets , October 06, 2008 1653 hrs IST

VoodooPC founder rubbishes rumors ...

Free Crysis

News > Gaming , October 06, 2008 1637 hrs IST

Yeah! You heard that right. ...

Fring Comes to iPhone With Skype Support

News > Telecom , October 06, 2008 1610 hrs IST

Free VoIP application for iPhone / iPod Touch users ...

 

USER REVIEWS

Apple NEWS

Hide
Ballmer to Apple: Stop Trying

Ballmer to Apple: Stop Trying

News | Gadgets | 03 Oct 2008

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer would like Apple to separate the software and...

Apple to Distribute Mac OS X Snow Leopard Builds

Apple to Distribute Mac OS X Snow Leopard Builds

News | Software | 01 Oct 2008

The first builds of Snow Leopard will be distributed to limited developers only.

Soon: Flash on iPhone?

Soon: Flash on iPhone?

News | Gadgets | 01 Oct 2008

You've dreamed of using the Flash Player on the iPhone for a long time now. It...

Apple REVIEWS

Hide
Apple iPod Nano 4G

Apple iPod Nano 4G

Reviews | Entertainment | Portable Audio/Video | 06 Oct 2008

It's ridiculously slim and blessed with some new bells and whistles. We take a...

iPhone 3G Reviewed

iPhone 3G Reviewed

Reviews | Mobile Computing | Mobile Phones | 21 Aug 2008

We review the 16GB version of the iPhone 3G. It is finally here, but has it...

iPhone 3G and the Others

iPhone 3G and the Others

Reviews | Software | Mobile Phones | 20 Jun 2008

A first look at three eagerly-anticipated mobile titans - Apple iPhone, HTC...

Apple USER REVIEWS

Hide
Mobile Phones,iPhone

Mobile Phones iPhone

cyberphunk

Apple | Mobile Phones | Thu, 04 Sep 2008

A must have for anyone who wishes to show off, and loves to listen to music and...

MP3 Players,iPod Shuffle 1GB

MP3 Players iPod Shuffle 1GB

henmar

Apple | MP3 Players | Mon, 21 Jul 2008

MP3 Players,iPod (30GB)

MP3 Players iPod (30GB)

anilchintz

Apple | MP3 Players | Wed, 03 Oct 2007

good value for money..the search feature which has been introduced recently...

Notebooks NEWS

Hide
New MacBook Pro Spotted?

New MacBook Pro Spotted?

News | Hardware | 26 Sep 2008

A photo was put up, then quickly taken down by a French blog

HP Denies VoodooPC Shutdown Rumors

HP Denies VoodooPC Shutdown Rumors

News | Hardware | 23 Sep 2008

Voodoo PC alive and well, says HP

MSI WIND U90 Unboxed

MSI WIND U90 Unboxed

News | Hardware | 22 Sep 2008

Atom powered, looking good

Notebooks REVIEWS

Hide
HCL MiLeap MH04 Netbook

HCL MiLeap MH04 Netbook

Reviews | Mobile Computing | Notebooks | 29 Sep 2008

This Netbook seems suitable for people who want to do basic tasks like internet...

HCL Leaptop B24 C2D

HCL Leaptop B24 C2D

Reviews | Mobile Computing | Notebooks | 25 Sep 2008

Leaptops are what HCL calls its line of laptops, which they say are designed to...

MSI GX620

MSI GX620

Reviews | Mobile Computing | Notebooks | 19 Sep 2008

This laptop boasts of a sporty look and a NVIDIA 9600M GT powering its...

Notebooks USER REVIEWS

Hide
Dell,Vostro 1310

Dell Vostro 1310

hsanghavi

Notebooks | Dell | Sun, 01 Jun 2008

BEST FOR THE PRICE AND CONFIGURATION

Acer,Aspire 6920G

Acer Aspire 6920G

agni#lee

Notebooks | Acer | Tue, 27 May 2008

Acer,5102NWLMi

Acer 5102NWLMi

somanarhvp

Notebooks | Acer | Wed, 30 Apr 2008

MOST POPULAR NEWS

Hide
News

Could A DVR Save Your Marriage?

News | Consumer Electronics | 04 Sep 2008

...Or should you stick to your shrink?

News

Firefox Counters Chrome's Speed Test

News | Internet | 04 Sep 2008

According to Mozilla's SunSpider test, Firefox 3.1 is 28% faster than Chrome on ...

News

Nokia N96 for Rs. 40,000?

News | Telecom | 04 Sep 2008

False alarm everyone... We have learnt from Nokia that the N96 will be priced be...

MOST POPULAR REVIEWS

Hide

MOST POPULAR GAMES

Hide

MOST POPULAR DOWNLOADS

Hide
Downloads

Forbidden.exe

Downloads | Games | 02 Sep 2008

Downloads

md5deep

Downloads | System Tools | 04 Sep 2008

Downloads

RivaTuner

Downloads | System Tools | 03 Sep 2008