The Reason The White Plastic Macbooks Still Exist And The Rumors Behind It

At the next Apple event, Steve Jobs will mount the stage. He will brandish a little black remote. One click shows a picture of the current white Macbook. Then, with a magical Keynote transition, it move to another picture, this time the new Apple netbook/tablet.

Why do this? Isn’t this really stupid? Just get rid of the white Macbooks and introduce the new Apple netbook/tablet. That is what I would have thought too. But if that was true, why has Apple left the Macbooks alive for so long? Maybe because that transition is too perfect to pass up. Maybe in order to say, “Same price, more power, sleeker machine, 3G connection, no keyboard, and touch screen.”

Alright, enough with the overactive imagination, I want some facts. Or at least rumors.

AppleInsider had an article about Macbook rumors and said this:

the 13-inch portables are presently undergoing an industrial design overhaul that will see them reemerge in the coming months with a slimmer, lighter enclosure and restructured internal architecture to boot.

Interesting. While you interpret that, put this in your pipe and smoke it: A new rumor about the new Macbook netbook/tablet  input interface has been picked up. Again, AppleInsider has the dirt:

In a new patent application revealed this week, Apple has again disclosed plans for a multi-touch surface that could accommodate two full hands and distinguish between palms and individual fingers for typing, gestures and more.

The application, filed by Morrison and Foerster LLP in Los Angeles in June 2009 on behalf of Apple, expands on information first revealed by AppleInsider in early 2008. The massive document details a hand-based system that would allow “unprecedented integration of typing, resting, pointing, scrolling, 3D manipulation, and handwriting into a versatile, ergonomic computer input device.”

Make of these rumors what you will. But there is no doubt that this new development will be over hyped. I really liked The 2.0 Life‘s summary of all the hype:

From a Gizmodo article today, about the Apple tablet, and its potential for serving the textbook world:

The logic here is that textbooks are sold new at a few hundred dollars, and resold by local stores without any kickbacks to publishers. A DRM’d one-time-use book would not only be attractive because publishers would earn more money, but electronic text books would be able to be sold for a fraction of the cost, cutting out book stores and creating a landslide marketshare shift by means of that huge price differential.That’s seriously exciting stuff, and something that could quickly make the Apple tablet a staple among college students, who are a notoriously difficult group to reach.

The tablet can succeed here, where the Kindle is failing, because the tablet will (theoretically) allow for a wide range of data input. Having a way to read, highlight, take notes, and the like in a way that’s better than the Kindle could be huge. And, even if it’s an $800 device, with cheaper textbooks that’ll pay for itself in the span of a college career.

What do you think of the Macbook tablet/netbook’s career? Let us know in the comments.

Photo: acaben

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Apple iMacs and Macbooks [The Rumor Roundup]

With all of this talk on new iMacs and Macbooks, I thought I would do a quick round up all of the rumors. First off, here is what we are dealing with: a refresh of the iMacs and and update of the white Macbooks.

Macbook Rumors

AppleInsider had this post on the Macbooks claiming:

As is the case with the upcoming iMac makeover, little is known about the revised industrial design of the new MacBook models, other than hints towards a thinner, sleeker enclosure that will embrace Apple’s cutting-edge internal battery technology.

That said, one person familiar with pre-production units indicated to AppleInsider several weeks ago that models awaiting certification were seen in white polycarbonate shells, consistent with the sole $999 model currently available from the Cupertino-based company.

Basically, there will be a refresh of the Macbooks, with the same or cheaper price and a sleeker, thinner body. This is said to happen in the coming weeks.

iMac Rumors

According to several sources, along with the Macbook refresh will come a iMac refresh. This is supposed to happen at the same time as the Macbook refresh. I liked Gizmodo’s summary of the rumor:

New iMacs aren’t just coming soon, they’ve been rolling out for two weeks, according to AppleInsider. They’re thinner and look more like the LED Cinema Display, with mystery features that make them the “most versatile ever.”

One of those features might be Blu-ray (uh, finally), and another might something “related to audio.” AppleInsider says they’ll be extending the “capabilities of at least one technology introduced on the Mac platform as recently as last fall,” which to us means either an LED display, or the unibody build. (Or hey, maybe it’s a super Mini DisplayPort.)

I would agree that most of what is mentioned will happen. In a past article here, I mentioned what I thought future iMacs would contain.

Now that we have SD card slots in MacBook Pros, it won’t surprise you that I think that new announcements for refreshed Mac Pros and iMacs will include SD card slots. It’s obvious that Apple thinks that these are the future.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments!

Post by Looming Tech. Find us on Twitter and check out our other blog, Squealing Rat.

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