“It’s time to turn our attention to… that ‘future product transition’ Apple Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer mentioned several times on the company’s recent earnings conference call,” Arik Hesseldahl writes for BusinessWeek. “The smart money is on a revamp of Apple’s notebook line. I know I’m not the first to opine on the matter, but here’s why I’m expecting new iterations of the MacBook Pro to be a big part of the lineup that Apple expects to help narrow gross margins to 30% in fiscal 2009, from 35% in the third quarter, which wrapped up in June.”
“The first clue is the drop in margins itself,” Hesseldahl writes. “There are really two ways to reduce margins: Cut prices or increase the cost of the product by adding or improving features… MacBooks [includes MacBook, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air] accounted for about 60% of the computers Apple sold in fiscal 2007, and while they’ve sold like crazy, they haven’t seen a serious redesign in several years.”
“The most likely place to look for change is in the display screen. Expect a multitouch display similar to that found on the iPhone and the iPod touch. Apple has a solid set of patents on the new technology and has boned up on multitouch tech through the iPod line,” Hesseldahl writes. “I’m thinking a small MacBook with a multitouch screen that measures about 9 or 10 in. will be among the ‘several wonderful new products’ Jobs referred to in the earnings press release issued July 21.”
“Imagine the possibilities. Zoom in on pictures or documents easily, using a motion similar to that of the ‘pinch’ that makes the iPhone so great,” Hesseldahl writes. “You could ‘zoom’ in and out of the desktop, letting you arrange tasks as easily as you would pieces of paper on your real desk, and just as easily zoom in and out of applications.”
Much more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Carl H.” for the heads up.]
I’m wondering, if this is going to happen, will they use glass for the screen like they do with the iPhone/iPod touch?
This will add a lot of weight, will it not?
Be gentle………I’m first!!!
Pinch me it’s a dream. No it’s a new Mac thingy.
I’d buy one. Or I think I’d buy one, as I’m waiting for the next refresh to the laptop line before shelving my PowerBook G4 for good.
The product transition is NOT the MacBook Touch or even MacBooks with touch screens..
It is the iPod line going touch.
iPod nano will become iPod nano touch.
iPod classic will be replaced by the iPod touch..
Every portable device made by Apple will now have access to the “App Store.” That’s what it’s all about.
Not the screen… but a user-configurable multi-touch virtual keyboard
So please tell us how the competition won’t be able the match Apple ?
Mac+
I’m still not sure I understand what exactly people are predicting. Realizing that we’re mostly guessing at this point, are people expecting a tablet, vaguely resembling a giant iPhone, or a book that opens and closes. If it’s a book, will it have a regular keyboard and a multi-touch screen, or a multi touch keyboard as well as screen?
Or are these the things we are all wondering?
I wholeheartedly believe Multi-Touch can make tablet computers the next big thing. Ironic that Apple may be the one to make that market’s growth explode, given that Bill Gates has been trying to push tablet PCs for years. I would definitely buy a Multi-Touch tablet.
I seriously doubt it will be a full sized display / touch screen. Just imagine how tired your arm will get by having to constantly get it up there to touch the screen. If anything it will be like Mac+ suggested… a virtual keyboard.
My money is on something entirely different. I think it will be something from PA Semi, like new interface chips that greatly enhance the performance of the processors, or even something else way out there. Remember, it’s something that Apple’s competitors cannot easily duplicate.
:::
multi-touch keyboard;
a big deal for the big macs
macbook touch with dock.
:::
A touch screen notebook doesn’t make any sense to me. A tablet on the other hand, makes sense. I personally wouldn’t want to be touching my screen on my computer and smearing it like the iPhone unless it is for a really good reason. The only good reason would be a tablet form factor.
If it is a tablet, we should stop calling it the MacBook Touch. It’s not a book unless it opens and closes.
How about a large trackpad that functions like the iPod Touch. You could have a row of icons that you choose, just like in the dock. Have one for your mail, browser, etc. This would be better than trying to squeeze dedicated keys on a laptop like many PC makers do. Just an idea.
Time to get rid of the keyboard and replace it with a big touch screen.
As much as I hate people touching my computer screens… Multi-touch made possible on both typical track pad and glass screens makes designing the new ‘books’ with all kinds of possible configurations. Gesture on the screen or the extra large pad. On whole screen pages conveniently press your right thumb on the bottom right corner of the *tablet* to scroll down. Tap on a text box directly to type into it an then tap the button to submit. A level of more direct and immersive interactivity with your notebook that will make using the mouse feel like a sex with your pants on.
MacPad – does it have a ring to it like the name MacBookPro?
I think we’re going to see the demise of the mechanical keyboard, it being replaced by a multi-touch panel which can change depending upon the app being used. The user can even configure various areas of the screen, so you could have a virtual iPod clickwheel if you wanted next to your multi-touch virtual trackpad area.
Keeping a laptop format makes sense because you can protect the screen when traveling. Also, it keeps smudges off of your screen, but more importantly, it is a familiar form factor (traditional laptop) with cool, next-gen input technology.
After people get used to the virtual keyboard (and there will be many detractors and naysayers), Apple can transition to a tablet-type device. However, people are too used to laptops and aren’t open enough to drop a laptop for a tablet, even with multi-touch (just look at tablet sales to see this).
I want to see the multitouch display where the keyboard is, not the display. So basically, I want two displays. One for my hands and the other for my eyes.
Hesseldahl says, “There are really two ways to reduce margins: Cut prices or increase the cost of the product by adding or improving features…”
A third way is to recognize revenue for the product over, say, eight quarters, without capitalizing R&D;. This is exactly what Apple did with iPhone and AppleTV. The appeal of this approach is that it affords Apple with rapid growth over the next two years as the deferred revenues begin to appear on the income statement, while allowing Apple to release feature updates at will, without violating GAAP revenue-recognition rules.
One might reasonably expect a periodical named “BusinessWeek” to do a little deeper analysis of such things.
whats happened to zune tang these days?
If it’s as tech world changing as everyone thinks, where will the announcement venue be? And when?
John
Wingsy, you may be on to something with the PA Semi comment, though I would be surprised if Apple and PA Semi could pull it off so soon. But when the deed is done, the cloners are doomed.
freebeer,
“MacPad – does it have a ring to it like the name MacBookPro?”
Or like MaxiPad.
@zorpo & freebeer
How about “MacTab”?
I really really hope Apple isn’t going to start selling touch notebooks. Why would I want to have to keep reaching out to touch the screen when it’s easier to use the mouse?