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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The Looming Tablets

TechCrunch recently came out with this article on the future of tablets. This part is particularly interesting:

So what can we expect in the next year? Well, first we have the CrunchPad. When all the bugs are worked out, it will be an amazing device – I’ve seen it. And I’m not just saying that because I’ve been intimately involved in the design process, because I wasn’t – that gives me a bit of perspective. Expect the CrunchPad to be a excellent device for blogging – that’s what Mike made it for – and for web apps. Don’t expect much in the way of media.

Then there’s the iPad. This will eclipse the industry and for the rest of the year that’s all you’ll hear about. Trust me. Apple could require you to give this device three drops of blood every morning in order to satisfy the demonic hell-beast soul trapped inside it and we would, gladly. The release will be on par with the iPhone release and they’ll sell a million of them.

Then you have Microsoft’s Courier. It’s impressive, but it’s Microsoft; don’t expect that thing to take shape for two years and don’t expect it to take off until the second generation. Like the Zune, Microsoft will make a product but they won’t make it good until they have a little time to mull it over. I don’t think the Courier will be a player in 2010.

As for the rest of the devices, expect slow uptake by price conscious consumers and folks who don’t think it’s “cool” to own “name brand” technology and are real “hackers” (read: teenagers and European students). Archos, for example, is doing a lot of good work in the tablet space but they’re an also-ran. They are going the Tablet OS route, which is no good. Creative has some devices planned and it’s also clear that ChromeOS could power a nice device – provided HTC makes it.

As for connectivity most of these will have a 3G option – although I doubt the iPad will have 3G built-in. WiFi is an obvious second-best.

As for size, tablets, at least with capacitive screens, are weighed down by a huge hunk of metal that shields the electronics from the screen. This hunk of metal – and the glass – prevents us from getting a bigger iPod Touch and is what is keeping the iPad from coming out sooner. Once the world’s (i.e. China’s) scientists solve this problem we’ll get what we want. Until then it’s resistive all the way.

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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