“The dust from the new iPods has settled, but it appears that Apple is already gearing up for a next round of introductions. Apparently, the company is planning an October 14 event, during which a refreshed notebook family and a mysterious new product code-named ‘Brick’ are expected to be introduced,” Christian Zibreg reports for TG Daily.
“An ‘insider source’ told Daring Fireball that Apple will refresh its laptops at a new special event scheduled to run October 14: ‘Those of you holding out for a new lineup of MacBooks will have to wait until October 14, according to sources who, as they say, are familiar with Apple’s hardware plans,'” Zibreg reports.
“If you believe rumor site 9 to 5 Mac, there will be a “one more thing” moment with a new, mysterious product code-named ‘Brick.’ There is some chatter that this ‘Brick’ is actually a Mac tablet, but we here at TG Daily believe that if that is in fact the case, Macworld in January may be a more appropriate event to unveil a tablet,” Zibreg reports.
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Fred Mertz” for the heads up.]
Well, the code name certainly wasn’t going to be “slate” now was it?
oh yeah, first post MAC dorks.
Brick = the unlocked iPhone, I’m sure. In the past, jailbreak/unlock of your iPhone would “brick” it.
Easy. Codenames should be actual codes, not clues. Like “Mojave.”
I don’t think the name “Brick” conjures up much confidence.
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Brick? MacMini or MacTV IS a brick… And both could do with an hyper-super-boost!!!
Maybe it’s a super slim, wireless, power brick.
Brick Dust – Rip Torn’s grandson.
It’s Something that will hurl through Windows and smash it for good!
This looks like more fun than the last political thread I just fumbled into… (sigh).
New from Apple!: A Dead Phone.
“Something that will hurl through Windows and smash it for good!”
Truth in advertising. Apple is just telling you that three years from now they’re going to brick the product for you with a change of OS or processor to make it obsolete.
Not saying it is a tablet, but if Apple has it ready why would they wait until after the holiday season to release it. So I suppose the long rumored tablet could appear.
You want political? Paint lipstick on that brick.
MAC MINI BITCHES!!!!!!!!!!! MAKING THE COMEBACK!!!!!!!
Jobs has hired Woz to engineer Super Multi-Touch Breakout 2100.
No, john McCain and Sara Palin are…..oh, wait, where am I?
Hey! The Apple iTele is not a brick!
Maybe it’s a building block.
Got a bit excited there last time. A Mac Tablet would need a bigger introduction than a small on campus introduction, (I.E. macworld as stated). I say a redux of another small mac, affordable and just think about all the poor souls who already have the hardware from PCs and all they want to do is change the box. A new version of the mac mini/cube would be a great start to get them hooked on OSX.
Brick.
Smashes windows.
OSX licensed for all PC’s.
It’s so named because the rest of the industry will be looking up the hill they’ll have to climb and shout “Briiick!”
Another image for ya – thousands of of little Macssiles with the Apple logo on the side and PA Semi innards dropping on the boring tech landscape and blowing it up.
Boom!
the return of the CUBE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
which would suck cause i just got a new imac, and really wanted a Mac mini pro/Cube 2.0
but either way, it will be my next machine if BRICK is actually the new cube!
Apple (Steeve) is now very focus in his keynotes, except for Macworld.
I would expect laptops focused event.
So i opt for
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– the super slim power brick
– or no more brick at all (embedded alimentation) That would be cool
– and why not… no cables at all (radio charging ?) we can dream !
But i have to admit that a profound merge of Mac Mini / Apple TV + TV receiver + Blu ray would be cool…
A mac tablet is necessarilly in the works, but it seems that macworld would me more appropriate for this kind of anouncement (radically new product, can’t be announced with others, need its own communication focused space, and… knowing Apple, it needs more internet Buzz before launch) !
As others have said in various Mac forums, I think the “brick” is referring to the power supply. The “one more thing” will be that there IS no brick. It’ll be some sort of mag-safe directly to the outlet. This is an easy one-more-thing to dole out after explaining all the new features. It’s also a really nice feature for those who travel allot. As the leaked aluminum cases have shown, there is a large section of the case that detaches, evidence that the battery section of the computer is undergoing a major re-haul versus the outgoing models. It’s not a stretch to believe that the power supply components could be integrated into/next-to the battery.
Maybe “brick” is a play on words. Maybe whatever this device competes with is usually called a “Brick”. I think instead it is something super thin and light instead of bricklike. Makes sense for a codename, but will never be as ingenious a name as “Longhorn”.
Sorry…I now see Freebeer already said what I was trying to say.
The iBrick will help all Mac fanboys to encourage others to leave windows. Get a Mac or I’ll toss this Nano-Chromatic MultiTouch brick at your head.
I plan to buy a pile of bricks.
maybe the brick is a customisable mini tower type thing. The main computer is the foundation, and layers can be placed upon top, such as a SuperDrive, or high end graphics card, that can add more power to the base computer, but you only add what you need. They took the DVD drive out of the air, could do the same kinda thing with the mini, making it thinner. If you need one, buy the DVD “brick”, place it obtop and it automatically connects.
Maybe I’m getting a bit carried away! I just want a mini tower!
Whatever happened to the Asteroid (or whatever the name was), that input box for GarageBand that ThinkSecret got shut down for leaking the news of?!
Sorry but I don’t see much of a market for a tablet product. Certainly I’d like to see an upgraded MacBook with faster processors, more RAM, larger HD and LED lighting.
All of that at a $999 would be killer !
We’ll all have to wait and see.
“Whatever happened to the Asteroid(?)”
Someone accidentally squirted it with a balm and the prototype vanished.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
We’re all “atwitter” over a new power supply?
Isn’t that what a brick is?
You guys slay me…
It will make Micro$ucks $#!+ bricks.
Brick — sounds like it could be a mac mini with no internal optical drive. you heard it here first.
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“Sorry but I don’t see much of a market for a tablet product.” —DH
I have to agree. It’s a neat idea, but who is actually gonna buy it? A device like this might be useful on the shop floor, or at the job site… places where people don’t have the luxury of sitting down when they need to use their computers. But otherwise a tablet is basically just a laptop without a protective cover for the screen. What’s the benefit once the “gee whiz” factor wears off?
A home server device?
one more thing, a new power supply !
wouhou !
more seriously, when is this tablet mac coming ??
Apple has been starting, and shelving, and restarting mac tablet projects since 1992 !
(i know, i was there once)
i like brick, favourite iPod game. Maybe apple is going to to do a revolutionary brick game to the iPhone?
Here is to dreaming of a mini tower mac. I want a real graphics card.
Macworld in January is fine, unless you want to catch the Christmas shopping season. Also, if the product was delayed and pushed out of Macworld 2008, it makes sense for Apple to introduce it now.
Besides, Apple has moved away from saving new products for major events and instead announcing them as they are ready to be released.
“Apple is just telling you that three years from now they’re going to brick the product for you with a change of OS or processor to make it obsolete.”
Uh yeah, I’ve got a couple 7 year old Macs here that work just fine and have about 95% of the functionality they had when I bought them.
Nice try troll!
“Mac mini pro”
Dude, seriously, there’s no such thing as a Mac Mini Pro. That’s like saying I want a subcompact Hummer. If you want Pro functionality then buy a Pro machine.
It’s worth noting that Beatles circles have been clamoring lately regarding news of The White Album being re-released (remastered, which is what they were waiting for) before the end of the year. Apple Corps is re-releasing the Beatles albums one at a time.
http://wogew.blogspot.com/2008/09/white-album-remastered.html
@ alansky & DH: You ask who would buy a tablet and I can tell you. Doctors, lawyers, sales people, & students like me who want something ultra light & ultra compact for taking notes in grad school. Before you suggest the MacBook air, I will tell you that it doesn’t fit the bill. The weight of the MBA is great but the foot print is just too big. I & many like me want something to replace the 12 inch Powerbook G4 but the MBA is not it.
It’s what Ballmer will shit when Apple releases whatever it is.
I agree with the opinions that say a mac tablet should be debuted at MacWorld and not a small on campus event.
If however they DO debut such a product at this event then……no no lol they won’t do that. But if they DO then that would mean something even more spectacular would show up at MacWorld 2009.
However, my opinion is that the “brick” that they are going to show off at this October event is an updated mac mini.
On the other hand it could be that this “brick” is some sort of mini notebook and not a tablet at all. But that can’t be either because the macbook air fits that description.
To summarize: mac tablet = macworld 2009.
brick at october event = ……….no clue. =/
The MacBook Air does not fit the description of a “mini notebook”. It has the same foot print as the MacBook. A mini notebook is no more than 12 inches and usually less than that.
Brick…Hmmmm…Shithouse? Oh no, that’s something else.
It’s a game console.
You heard it here first.
@Marc G:
Perhaps its not exactly a mini-notebook. But I doubt very much that apple is going to debut a product with a tiny screen a tiny physical keyboard alongside the macbook air.
They do things different.
The brick is probably the mac mini. In any case, we will soon find out.
“Brick” (if the name implies its shape) sounds the desktop equivalent of MacBook Air. A tiny Mac the size of the original iPod, with flash storage or a 120GB 1.8-inch hard drive. No display or included keyboard/mouse, like the Mac mini, but also no optical drive, like the MacBook Air. Basically, take the tiny components from a MacBook Air, and removed the screen, keyboard, trackpad, and battery.
Tablets do not sell. The market is too small.
Apple will not make a “headless” or “midtower” Mac, so shut up about it already. IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN. GET IT THROUGH YOUR THICK SKULLS.
To ken1w
Then all you’d have is a Apple TV.
Brick = modular ?
Modular storage?
It would be handy if I could snap on new storage as it is needed and have my Mac see all assembled storage as a single volume.
Modular computing?
Miniature stackable CPUs, allowing effortless processor upgrades with no disruption, followed by redistribution of processes among old and new CPUs.
I’ll tell you what it will be, a tablet the size of those mini 9 or 10 inch screen computers with a slide out bluetooth keyboard/cover. Return of the Newton anyone?
> Then all you’d have is a Apple TV.
Except that an Apple TV is not a Mac. It does not run as a computer; it runs as a media player for an HDTV.
It’s more like a “nano” Mac mini without the optical drive. I’m not saying such a device is a good idea. But the Mac mini itself is half as small as it needs to be; it can be cheaper to produce and have higher capability if it was one inch taller and used a 3.5-inch hard drive. Who’s to say Apple won’t make the Mac mini into a Mac nano, and take away the optical drive to push its “get your media through the iTunes Store” agenda.
@Olternaut
I’m not asking for a tiny physical keyboard. I’m asking for a small tablet or extra large iPod Touch that I can connect my bluetooth keyboad and mouse to. That way, I have something really small and light that will fit in my rolling bag along with my school books, that I can use for taking notes, checking my email and browsing the web. Not asking for much power just light and small footprint.
@Marc G……again:
Well I think we’re on the same page then. Its just that it would feel kind of weird for Apple to debut such a product at the October. An event which is going to be much smaller and on campus.
The tablet would be an uber product that would deserve introduction at the 2009 MacWorld event.
Oh hey, I would love it to debut in October but it would just be…..wrong somehow.
will be a revamped apple tv…with blu-ray as an option, a new firmware will enable to buy tv shows from apple tv. (well peter o from apple had said in his wall street meet they will be coming with something that will be far far superior and unmatched bla bla bla.. .. sometime in the end of september).. has to be something good to vreate a buzz for the holiday season..
.. macworld would be more of a new version of iphone… (hardware wise or look wise)…
“Well, the code name certainly wasn’t going to be “slate” now was it?”
Good one Jarrett.
Hmm. Wonder if they’ll play some Jethro Tull during the intro…
It’s actually a brick, but a very cool one…
“What’s the benefit once the “gee whiz” factor wears off?”
The best general purpose tablets from others allow you to rotate the screen over full keyboard to switch between notebook and tablet configurations. then you have a tablet when you need it and a normal notebook when you don’t.
A tablet would also be great for those of us who do digital art.
For the uninformed, Wacom makes a whole business just selling tablets.
Those tablets are mainly for digital art.
If Apple did a tablet that did art (with the image on the tablet-that could also be connected to a desktop) and also was a Macbook it would have tremendous appeal.
Certainly the Modbook people see the market.
“have about 95% of the functionality they had when I bought them.”
Strange how you’re happy with a Mac running only obsolete software and having 95% of the capability it had when you brought it. Anyone but a Mac fanboy would call obsoleting your processor then failing to deliver new OS updates for your hardware to be bricking it.
Bluetooth keyboard with integrated multi-touch touchpad for use with desktop Macs.
Having just returned from a overseas trip in cattle class on an airplane with my MacBook Pro, I sure would like to see a smaller notebook. My Pro was unusable without me contorting my arms and scrunching one way or another.
“Having just returned from a overseas trip in cattle class on an airplane with my MacBook Pro”
No road warrior carries a large heavy laptop for long. We’ve been using those compact sub 3lb windows notebooks, now in the 2lb class, for years. While thin, the Air is a bit large and hefty by today’s standards. It’d be great if Apple decided to make a notebook that is smaller and lighter weight than the Air.
An external battery finally. Batteries on laptops just add weight, now an external battery that you plug into the mag power socket would be sweet for those like me who have a powerbook that sits motionless on a desk for 10 months of the year.
The “Brick” is the Mac mini on steroids we all have been waiting for that will be the entertainment hub of your living room. New OS X front end GUI for HD TV viewing and navigation.
Use it as a Mac
Use it with Front Row
Use it as an iTunes hub
Use it as a TiVo
Use it for gaming
Starting at $499.
How about this for a “Brick”
A wireless or docking station. You set your macbook next to it and poof you MacBook connects to the large display/keyboard/mouse connected to the brick. Yeah I know video bandwidth needed would never permit it to happen.
Ok how about one firewire 800 connection.
For a few reasons, I think it’ll be a new Mac mini (note that Apple does not use a capital on “mini”). This will be a kinda building block of the Mac world that can be affordably bought in bulk for schools: down with dastardly shoddy Bindows boxes!
I’d love it if it had a wifi router embedded so it could be a wifi server; this would be like Time Capsule with a computer, not just an HDD. It could be that Apple will release “Slate” soon to make up the family, and that would be a tablet.
To be honest, calling a tablet or laptop a brick does not inspire confidence, because a brick is heavy, whereas a tablet or laptop shouldn’t be.
Another possibility is an expandable server system that you would just add “Bricks” to (as required).
I’m who would buy a tablet… a college student. That also could be why Apple is having the event on campus. To be free of notebooks is my dream…
Steve’s finally decided he can sell you and actual brick and you’ll pay $299 for it as long as it has an Apple logo.
I am also prepared to buy one in a heartbeat.
I’m interested in an improved mini. How about a single quad-core (gotta get it ready for Snow Leopard) with 4GB memory and 3.5″ 300+GB hard drive?
Such interesting read and information, thanks for sharing this post, Cheers
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