“I have been hearing some interesting things about Apple’s upcoming line of portable computers,” Seth Weintraub blogs for Computerworld.
• Thinner than current MacBook and MacBook Pros and slightly more rounded, taking design cues from the MacBook Air.
• The trackpad is glass, multi-touch and uses gestures. The screen isn’t multi-touch.
• They will most likely have Intel Centrino 2 platform chips.
• Release Date: Last week(s) of September.
Weintraub writes, “I have no idea if this will be called MacBook Touch or if they will keep their current monikers.”
More in the full article, including rumored screen sizes and aspect ratios, here.
[Attribution: Electronista. Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Sir Gill Bates” for the heads up.]
well am i?
This would be tremendous for multiple reasons. I don’t think I need to list them.
Probably not true, although possible. But still, tremendous.
Lookin’ forward to some cool new designs, internally or externally. 😀
Glass with an LCD underneath? If not, what’s the point? The current trackpad already handles multi-touch. Although, an LCD where the track might not make any sense either.
A centrino chip? *gag puke*.
I really hope these come out in the next few weeks; I want one for the start of school in late August!
How about replacing the touchpad AND keyboard with glass. Just make everything shiny, high gloss glass. Make the case out of Pyrex in various colors. Totally recyclable like a pickle jar. That might satisfy Green Peace.
Gestures don’t seem that useful to me for anything more than basic movements… ie moving fingers in a circle triggers scrubbing/scrolling.
The more interesting possibility of a higher-end “trackpad” would be to incorporate capabilities along the lines of a Wacom Bamboo tablet. You could use a pen to do more accurate movements and edits. Finger-painting would be built-in. Higher-quality pens could be sold as an add-on.
Glass trackpads? Stop jerking us off and give us the MacBook Touch already.
Either that or a 10″ MacBook Mini ultraportable.
Well now, that is what I am talking about. I have been saying all along that a multi-touch trackpad would be the best implementation of the technology into the portable and desktop computing arenas. Let’s hope that there’s some truth to it
Replacing the whole bottom half of the laptop with an all-glass illuminated adaptable multi-touch (TM) LCD display would be something the competition couldn’t, umm, touch.
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”smile” style=”border:0;” /> Plus, it would also make sense why they’d be expecting some losses during this product transition. If you have an all touch keyboard, some people may be hesitant to get it, since it’s not a physical keyboard (as they were with iPhone’s in the beginning). It’ll be an interesting thing to get into for Apple if they do indeed release something like that. The power it takes to make it work may restrict it from happening on the laptops, I’m afraid.
You know, if they made the case out of the same material as a glass top stove, they could actually use a G5 processor. The neat part would be seeing that puppy glowing cherry red through the outer shell, just like an electric range. They could have it illuminating the Apple logo. Wicked bad!
Of course, battery life would be like ten minutes, but it would be a mighty impressive ten minutes.
The new next-gen MacBook’s will feature Multi-Touch displays, as track-pads are out of date and not very innovative anymore. Apple Inc. has filed many patents into the area and are now putting them to use.
• Thinner than current MacBook and MacBook Pros and slightly more rounded, taking design cues from the MacBook Air.
• Multi-touch Screen and uses gestures.
• They will most likely have Intel Centrino 2 platform chips.
• Release Date: Last week(s) of September.
Oppenhiemer clearly said that the product transition would affect margins this quarter. This Quarter ends the the end of September. Assuming that this is the product transition- wouldnt the launch date have to be sooner to actually affect anything?
Save yer money.
Glass! The perfect light weight and resilient material for a portable device!
What kind of meds are these people on?
NO. I DO NOT want any, thank you!
Well besides the actual MacBook kept at a very low price and a Air a little cheaper with better upgraded chips, such a device could be a winner too!
@Mr. Reeee
I don’t know if there is any merit to the rumor, but I’ve been carrying my iPhone in my pocket with keys, change and pens for more than a year now and there’s not a scratch, nick or crack in the glass. I don’t how they make these touch screens, but they are REALLY durable. Even several falls onto pavement has damaged it.
A simple trackpad made of glass for multi-touch would not be that revolutionary to spur Apple way beyond its competitors. However, replacing the keyboard and trackpad with a user-configurable multi-touch virtual keyboard would be something which could vault Apple beyond other PC makers.
Of course, Dvorak and his ilk would instantly bash it, well before they try it, stating that “people like physical keyboards” even as Apple sells out in the first weekend.
CENTRINO!?!?!? WTF??!?
What about a large glass, LCD trackpad below a conventional keyboard. The trackpad would have a “dock” like the iPhone home screen which is activated by a single button similar to the iPhone again. You could also have context sensitive special/function keys appear which could lead to a reduced number of physical keys (weight saving?). And there may be other things you could do to make the new MBs “industry changing”.
John
Whatever it is, kick slow Intel processor out!!!
I have read on other sites (AppleInsider and Mac Rumors) that the new planned MacBooks are meant to have all-in-one aluminum shells. Does this mean that the user will be barred from updating the hard drive as they can in the present model? It seems rather strange to me that Apple would do this at this stage, as in the next few years bigger capacity 2.5 inch standard drives and cheaper flash hard drives will be coming on the market.
Aww… c’mon Apple!
Just be done with it!
Put the freaking tablet/oversized iPhone/MacThingy-whatever you want to call it on the market and be done with it!
Everyone will buy it!
I’m fed up with all this periodic teasing – the raising and dashing of expectations is getting to me!
ok, ok… Toys are back in the pram…
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”wink” style=”border:0;” />
@ MacLovin & others,
Centrino isn’t some slow-@$$ CPU made by Intel, but just a name for a platform that includes a motherboard, CPU & other stuff made by Intel.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centrino