MacDailyNews - Where Mac news comes first

Jul 01, 09 - 10:31 am Comment from: deepdish

everything hints at a future Mac tablet.

An SD card in the iPhone will never happen. There's no space for it in the design and the capacities are already 2-4x their competitors.

I don't see why. They could have added one to the iPhone and that wouldn't lead me to think they were making a tablet. If they were making a tablet it wouldn't have to have an SD card slot, it could use storage like the iPhone and rely on wireless transfers, syncing or whatever. It might be more convenient to have an SD slot an a device of that sort, but putting it on a different kind of device doesn't mean much in terms of confirming new products.

Ultimately, I would posit that Apple are always "working" on a tablet, how hard is another question, but I doubt they've 100% ruled it out forever more.

Jul 01, 09 - 10:36 am Comment from: Spark

SD card = iTablet?
That's quite a leap.

Huh?
SD card = tablet on the way???
Yeah, thats a bit of a stretch.

Jul 01, 09 - 10:43 am Comment from: HMCIV

@deepdish

Does everything include your mom?

Oh! Snap!

Jul 01, 09 - 10:43 am Comment from: disposableidentity

I don't know that it necessarily points to a tablet -- but I think it signals the beginning of the end of optical media in mobile Apple products.

The MacBook Air is just the beginning. The next generation of mobile Macs (and certainly a tablet if there's one coming) won't have DVD or BlueRay drives.

Jul 01, 09 - 10:46 am Comment from: disposableidentity

I guess I should add that with chips replacing hard drives, optical media would be the last mechanical system on board. They really don't belong in a mobile product.

This is already old news.

Keep digging!!!!!

Jul 01, 09 - 10:48 am Comment from: TowerTone

Makes sense to me.
Any disc drive will be a battery chomper.
The SD can be used for a start up disc, to add new software, record, almost any function of a disc, or added storage for Time Machine.
I don't see an iTablet as a big iPhone, but a screen with a built in full functioning computer.
Has nothing to do with the iPhone.

Jul 01, 09 - 10:49 am Comment from: MacAdvocate

Corn in my stool this morning = evidence of an Apple tablet.

I think that it's more likely that the SD card slot is a sign that they are killing off the CD/DVD drives and probably it's the harbinger of death for BluRay, as well. Apple isn't interested in Blu-Ray, obviously. They are usually among the first to introduce new tech when it's available & viable. They are (and have been) trying to move away from moving parts in their laptops & desktops, just as they have done with the iPod.

I can imagine the packaging team are just getting thrills up their legs thinking about doing software distribution on SD cards instead of CD/DVD!

As I posted under some random alias, the slot is there for a simple and awesome reason. Your entire home directory will live on the card. When you want to go on a business trip, you will be able to pop it out of your desktop and put it in your laptop - no more worrying about sync, FTP, file servers etc. And when you go out for the day, you can pop it into your "tablet (iPhone on steroids).

Apple has already filed a patent on this concept. It will soon come true.

Jul 01, 09 - 10:59 am Comment from: Daner

32GB today, up to 2TB in the future. I'm thinking of it as the physical manifestation of the .me cloud, with a bit of the Time Capsule thrown in for good measure. Bring your profile and files with you to a new device, even if you have no cloud access. Faster than synchronizing everything wirelessly. Strictly backup, no primary storage of anything so losing the encrypted SD card need not mean that you have really lost anything permanently. Perhaps even a profile where no information is transferred to the host machine unless approved, allowing more personalized use of public computers with lower risk in both directions.

Jul 01, 09 - 11:09 am Comment from: aka Christian

Damn, I still have some big ol' 80 megabyte Syquest disks filled with art school images lying around somewhere. Remember when those were the bomb? The competition for smaller media with more storage is one of the most amazing stories to me. We've gone from floppies to hard drives to SD cards and flash drives in just a couple of decades. Cool stuff.

And MacAdvocate, I nearly spurted coffee over my 24" screen, you deviant. Hilarious. Gross, but hilarious.

The new SDXC card supports up to 2TB and 2x faster than a hard drive, although the new Mac's can't support the speed portion just yet.

I see Apple soldering the SD card (or something like it) right on the logicboard and you transfer files wireless or via USB 3 mini.

Firewire: gone, Superdrive: gone, Ethernet: gone, DVI: gone.

Tablet? perhaps, but people love keyboards, just a bunch of ultra thin MacBook Airs and goodbye MacBook Pro's.

what if the os was moved to the SD (with an accelerated bus) so that the macbook could just power 'ON' like the apple TV and iPhone and all other appliances... Can we finally bypass the lengthy startup times we've had to endure since our first computers... Perhaps a permanent standby mode instead of shutdown and sleep.

In a similar vein to virtualization allowing us to run several different OSs on a single computer... I wonder if the SD and hard drive could juggle two sets of OSX... install programs and restart one while the other kicks in and allows you to work seamlessly... Like having two engines in a car.

Jul 01, 09 - 11:15 am Comment from: Mac Daddy

Hmmm... I think the iPhone hints at a future Mac tablet.

It is a simple indication that they are going to completely phase out optical drive in their laptop line.

Apple better buy SanDisk before Microsoft does.

@MacAdvocate: Jaysus, did you have to say that? I'm eating my lunch here!

The inclusion of a screen on so many Apple products clearly indicates a touchscreen tablet device.
Cheez-louise.

SInce everything is running OSX just stick your SDXC card in your MacBook, boot up and do your thing, pull it out and stick it in your iPhone, boot up and everything that was on your MacBook is in your iPhone, do your thing, pull it out and stick it in your iTablet, boot up and everything you did on your MacBook and iPhone is on your iTablet, etc.

Jul 01, 09 - 12:00 pm Comment from: iWill

@ Mac Daddy

I think the Mac Tablet will hint at a past iPhone..

One thing has always bothered me about Apple creating a larger "tablet" device:

How would you type on it?

Thumb-typing won't work - if the device is much larger than an iPhone, your thumbs aren't going to reach all the keys.

So, you put it down flat on the table and type like a keyboard? Ok, but now you're doing your work with your neck bent down 90 degrees looking at your desk.

Put a little kickstand on the tablet so it stands up like a display? Ok, Johnny Ivy could pull that off, but now we're back to "how do you type"?

When I think about this I can only come to one conclusion: That the iPhone IS Apple's entry into the tablet market. The only way I can think of Apple expanding the platform is to make an iPhone accessory that basically looks like a netbook (small 10" screen/keyboard that folds in the middle) that the iPhone actually slides into, providing CPU, apps, telco access, wifi and BT radios. This accessory would provide a bigger screen, a larger keyboard, longer antennas for the radios, and possible some additional storage and IO. The touchscreen on the iPhone could even serve as a trackpad for the device if the iPhone was mounted flush to the surface.

I've pitched this idea in MDN forums before, and most feedback revolved around the notion that "Apple would never design such a kludge". Here is my response to that reasoning...

Something to think about...
-AP

Wouldn't a "Mac Tablet" have some kind of USB connection? The SD Card slot doesn't necessarily mean anything, except maybe Apple wants to eventually sell their software on read-only SD cards instead of optical discs.

Jul 01, 09 - 12:20 pm Comment from: buffalo

I think the nearly simultaneous deaths of Ed, Farrah, Michael and Billy indicate that a Mac tablet will be here any day now.

Jul 01, 09 - 12:41 pm Comment from: thethirdshoe

@MacAdvocate

Jul 01, 09 - 12:46 pm Comment from: Mr. Reeee

Replacing the ExpressCard/34 slot for and SD-card slot in the MacBook Pro was Apple going cheap.

It certainly doesn't point to a tablet, or anything else.

Jul 01, 09 - 12:47 pm Comment from: macslut

What a weird article.

It would have made more sense to have said, "If Apple releases a tablet or netbook, I could see it having an SD slot, and it would also be a nice to have feature on the iPhone".

Although wanting doesn't equal intelligent speculation or informed prediction.

Jul 01, 09 - 12:54 pm Comment from: Scott Rose

Just because Apple included an SD Card Reader on their 15" laptop doesn't mean that they should have removed the ExpressCard slot. Bad move, Apple!

More details here:
http://scottworldblog.wordpress.com/2009/06/09/apple-bring-the-expresscard-slot-back-to-the-15-macbook-pro/

If Apple was relying on SD cards for the MacBook touch, it wouldn't have started off by putting SD drives in MacBook Pros. Apple typically waits to introduce a new technology (like USB) until it is really ready to change the marketplace with it.

Apple most likely added SD cards to MacBook Pros because SD cards have become the default storage media for cameras and video cameras. It's easier to move your SD card over than to carry another cable with you, and may be faster transfer speeds anyway.

That said, it appears as if the SD card drives were added late in the game, since the SD cards, when inserted, still stick out of the MacBook Pros to some degree. I suspect that will change with future versions.

Jul 01, 09 - 03:10 pm Comment from: lurker

Think something like the display portion of a MBP13 with a card slot and a wired in 2 (4, 6, 8?)TB card that could function like an iPhone for input on the go. At home you have an ergonomic charging/ docking station with a keyboard, optical drive, wired network(?) connection. The ideal classroom device, no more textbooks, it's all in the tablet.

I'm going to have to get a job in an Apple Store. I can't afford to keep buying all these goodies (he says while typing on a new MBP13).

Jul 01, 09 - 03:22 pm Comment from: thethirdshoe

@Scott Rose

There's only so much room along the side. Ya want a floppy disc also?

SD Card slots have been around on a PC notebook for some time now. Not a standard on a PC though but it's definitely makes Apple want to follow.

http://www.bing.com When it comes to decisions that matter, Bing & Decide

If all this is any indication, then yes, but if you've seen this possible concept look you will no doubt believe one is coming.

Check it out . . Awesome!

http://trisosceles.com/concepts/mactouch.htm

In inclusion of the SD slot as evidence of a Tablet is a stretch to me. As others have said, it's more likely that the SD slot is paving the way to get rid of optical drives. Of course it could just be that Apple noticed how little the ExpressCard slot was used and simply wanted to add something more useful.

I think a big clue of an Apple introduction of a Tablet is in their continual push toward SolidState Drives. This is the type of storage you would need in a Tablet.

Please take a look at my Multi-Touch interface concept and let me know what you think:
http://macslate.blogspot.com

Enjoy

@ I'm a PC, Max, and SlateGuy

Wow, three people in a row plugging their stuff. Love the Tablet concepts though

People plugging their site. Now that's a definite sign the iTablet is coming tomorrow.