MacDailyNews - Where Mac news comes first

Dec 26, 07 - 11:01 am Comment from: TowerTone

Oh, I thought it said "Tumors Grow...".

I guess that will come out about the iPhone anytime now.

Dec 26, 07 - 11:10 am Comment from: iamdj

Is it Snappy!

Dec 26, 07 - 11:10 am Comment from: Ampar

That's o.k. as long as this trusted tipster didn't also pick Miami for the playoffs. Apple's secretive labs seems to have the right holes plugged this time around.

Dec 26, 07 - 11:12 am Comment from: Ampar

"labs seem"

Not enough coffee.

And I hope it's more schnappy than snappy.

Dec 26, 07 - 11:20 am Comment from: Macromancer

@ TowerTone

It's NADDA TOOMAH!

Sometimes-reliable tipsters with access to the acoustic section of Apple labs have reason to believe that the start-up sound being tested for these devices closely resembles the waveform created by a real human finger snap. Always the innovator, Apple appears to be preparing to introduce a generation of new devices that will be forever snappy.

I think of an "ultra mobile" Mac as one that can levitate itself and follow me around.

Sound yummy to me... I could use a smaller format than the present MacBook for sure. Even a 9" screen small MacBook would be great!

The Real® Zune...

Perfect mobile size.

how utterly pointless.

Apple wont go near anything like this - there is simply no market - a device like this wouldnt be a 'hobby' a la the AppleTV - it would need to sell.

instead expect to see a tiny freakin laptop - that folds on itself... with touchscreen.

around same price as a mac mini.

This sounds good except for the screen resolution.

Mysterious Ultra Mobile Mac 5.2″ 800 x 480
iPhone 3.5" 640 x 480

It should be scales up better or be even more dense maybe 800 x 600 or better.

Dec 26, 07 - 01:00 pm Comment from: Cubert

If they do have this in the pipeline, I don't see Apple making a separate tablet - this would be their tablet. They have never put that many products of a similar nature and of similar specifications before in their lineup.

This is what I've been saying all along, a mac in my pocket, then I can just dock it on my desktop to a larger screen. No?

Dec 26, 07 - 01:25 pm Comment from: ChrissyOne

To create this <i>and</a> a 10 inch laptop makes no sense to me, either. Multi-touch is clearly the future, so my money is on the tablet.

Dec 26, 07 - 01:26 pm Comment from: ChrissyOne

...and

Sorry. Preview sure would be nice.

Dec 26, 07 - 02:04 pm Comment from: TowerTone

"Rumors grow about Apple’s mysterious Ultra Mobile Mac"

I heard it was outted when Rove pushed Scooter to give Dick a heads up....

I seriously hope that Apple comes out with a new line Macbook Pros to accompany this; I've been waiting for an update since November!

APPLE will be developing the size of screen suggested.

It will be 12 - 13 inches.



S. Woz

@jeff

iPhone's screen res is 320 x 480.

I agree with the rest of your post though.

"Multi-touch is clearly the future"

I disagree. I think Multi-touch is of limited usefulness, and will probably remain useful only for small devices such as the iPhone. Having touch screens on larger devices would be too strenuous on the hand. A tablet would be about as large as I'd want it to get, and even then, some applications wouldn't work very well with it, so I doubt it would completely replace the mouse and a real desktop any time soon.

It would be more accurate to say that "Multi-touch will likely replace the stylus as the input method of choice in mobile devices."

Yeh, And they're working on a stealth computer, too. You can't see it until you find its been paid for by your credit card.

Dec 26, 07 - 03:42 pm Comment from: Ampar

"You can't see it until you find its been paid for by your credit card."

That's similar to Microsoft's strategy. They'll provide customers with software that is bug-free and virus-proof once they've decided you've paid enough for it. They use calculus to determine the correct amount using limits approaching infinity. It's buried in the EULA somewhere.

This is certainly intriguing, but doesn't make sense given Apple's current mode of operation with regard to product lines. Apple is very focused in their product lines. While there are slight variations in sizes and colors, etc. They have only 4 iPod models, the Shuffle, the Nano, the Classic, and now the Touch. They make only six computers. Three consumer models, two pro models, and one server. Too mnay product lines creates confusion for consumers and positions them as being way too fractured.

Why would there be any need for a 5.2" device when the iPhone, or the "Ultra-Portable" bracket it so well on either side? Just doesn't sound like a product Apple would do.

"It would be more accurate to say that "Multi-touch will likely replace the stylus as the input method of choice in mobile devices."

There is one thing the stylus can do that the finger cannot. It can point to and activate much smaller and closer objects.

I too see the multi touch screen as being very useful for handheld computers but it will never be anything more than a novelty input method for the desktop or even laptop computer.

If you have a 20 inch screen do you set your mouse to require a full 20 inches of travel on your mouse pad to move the pointer across the screen? Of course not!

The whole idea of the mouse or the laptop's trackpad is so you don't have to move your entire arm all over hell.

Dec 26, 07 - 06:03 pm Comment from: ken1w

> Your Ultra Mobile Mac. YUMM!

I agree, except that such a device, which is sure to be released at some point (but not at MacWorld 2008), will not be called a "Mac." It will be an iPod or iPhone, depending on whether it has mobile phone parts inside.

Dec 26, 07 - 06:58 pm Comment from: Cubert

@Jacob,
It's called a tablet similar to Wacom's. Picture a mouse pad that uses multitouch and not a mouse.

Make sense?

Dec 26, 07 - 07:40 pm Comment from: Tommyr

Go get yourself a ASUS eee pc! Man they rock! Google that shit!

@ Tommyr-people complain that the iPhone/Touch don't have enough memory and you suggest a mini computer with only 4 Gb of flash memory?

"...cleary ...the future...."

Oh, really, Kreskin?

Dec 26, 07 - 10:14 pm Comment from: El Guapo

@jake
"a mac in my pocket, then I can just dock it on my desktop"

dock your pocket?

Dang thing is too small fer me.

Dec 27, 07 - 01:40 am Comment from: TowerTone

Could it possibly be used as a touch screen controller for all things Apple, a portable screen for viewing video around the house, and a video-conferencing device all in one? Not to mention games?

And when not in use, it makes a dandy picture frame while setting in its charger.

Dec 27, 07 - 02:55 am Comment from: KingMel

@Jeff: 800 x 480 is close to a 16:10 aspect ratio, which is a common widescreen movie format, and would have a resolution of approximately 175 ppi which is in the ballpark of recent hi-res Apple products.

800/50 = 16
480/50 = 9.6

So this rumor does contains some internally consistent data, although that does not mean that an associated Apple product will materialize. I like reading rumors, but I am willing to wait and see what Apple actually releases next year.

The "MacTablet" already exists.

http://www.axiotron.com/index.php?id=modbook

Dec 27, 07 - 10:03 am Comment from: ragarcia

Jacob and @Jacob,

You both miss the point that multi-touch is not a new way of doing the same OLD things but a new way of doing NEW things.

Who cares that a stylus points up smaller objects when there are no smaller objects in your interface?

Who cares that your mouse travels twenty inches on a trackpad the size of two, when there is no need for a mouse?

If you don't believe the power/future of multi-touch, then you need to re-visit how cool things like Microsoft's Surface and Andersen Consulting's monitors in O'Hare Airport are.

And we all know neither of those things works as well as the multi-touch implementation on the iPhone. Since the iPhone, I find myself wishing that multi-touch existed on at least the following devices:

- ATM Screens
- Self Checkout screens on supermarkets
- Check-in screens at airports

And I find myself mightly pissed off that it doesn't already exist on:

- Portable GPS device
- Fixed GPS device on my Acura
- On my MacBook Pro (lets face it, holding CTRL-double mouse to zoom on a webpage sucks compared to double tapping the screen)
- On the LCD picture frame my wife gave me as an anniversary gift

Dec 27, 07 - 11:07 am Comment from: flappo

exc post !

Got any pictures?

What's the hard drive capacity going to be?