@Platypus Man: Actually, the current MacBooks have an accelerometer, although its only "real" use right now is to cause the hard drive to park automatically if it thinks its falling.

Reference here.

I don't know if it's as sensitive or as full featured as the device that would go into making a product like this, though.

sammy baby

@Eruanno: So you want a 13 inch MacBook pro? Why not just a 15 inch? Having had a 15 inch PowerBook, and now owning a white MacBook, I have to admit that I prefer the MacBook casing and the size isn't too different at least in terms of carrying it with you. Plus by keeping it with the ghetto graphics card and the black and white casing,Apple clearly defined two product lines. With that said, I may have to pawn my MacBook if the touch is anything like the mockup/rumor. And if you can use multitouch OR a stylus I may need a weeks worth of new underwear because I will crapping my pants for multiple days. Of course those impatient mac users among us could just get a ModBook.

thechansen

Give me a stylus for illustration and I might just waste my money on the first version...

atuck

loose the drive, gain an SD or CF slot. Or both. Who wants to buy 4.7 gig DVDs when they can use 4 gig µSDs? Oh, wait, people have not realized yet..

Anyway, I have to get busy wiping away the drool, my colleagues start complaining...

Poleeez, let it be with a 8" screen...

yogibimbi

Those Apple folks really like to touch things, don't they?

Rabid Penguin

I'll believe it when they make the formal announcement.

It does seem like a really awesome idea, especially if they can price it under $1000 and have Air-like thickness.

t3knomanser

@Platypus Man: I have so often had the urge to throw my Powerbook against the wall, it would be an added benefit to see, how hard I can throw it;-)

yogibimbi

I'm glad that Apple has finally decided to invent the tablet;)

Xenocide

If they make one of these it DAMN well better be able to run Final Cut Pro. That's all I'm saying.

rcast1986

@joe23521:

You can bet your sweet ass it'll cost more than an Air.

michaelwiggins

Sweet mamajama. Let it be so.

Illuminatus

@Platypus Man:

ETCH-A-SKETCH

Parapraxis

i wonder how well you could use photoshop with this? can you imagine?! it would be like that year-old "unofficial mac tablet" - but more integrated, and of course; by apple. gah, i can't hold in the excitement!

devianaut

An over sized iPhone that can do more? Seriously?

Droooooooooool

Santa better put one under my tree or he's a dead mofo

MrYuk

Me want, however I doubt it'll have a slot-loading drive if the Macbook Air doesn't have one. But after monkeying around with a new iphone for 2 weeks, I can definitely see something like this in Apple's future. "The Macbook Etch-a-Sketch"

JackHoliday

HOT! I want.

chrstphr

I don't want to get too excited. This has been rumored for years, I'll just hold my breath like I did for the iPhone and I wasn't disappointed. Well, except that whole "no sdk" thing at first.

Late_Night

This is what I've been waiting for to replace my iBook. Although that's still in great working condition.

nyaz

i dont believe it

pdditty

Also, after the leaked casing of the new MBP - i think the major transition will be ether the ditching of optical media in portables, or SSD across the laptop line.

big_marky_t

my iPhone is bigger than your iPhone.

convertible tablet notebook would be better than straight tablet - i can tolerate touchscreen typing on a phone, not so much on a computer.

nutbastard

I'm going to start volunteering for scientific experiments. Maybe they can grow a few extra arms and legs to pay for this baby!

Mag

So, that part of the laptop that does a really good job of holding up the display and input, they're just going to get rid of that? So that YOU can hold up the display and try to type with one hand on a piece of glass?

I think I'll pass.

bobdobbs

the true McBook Touch?
I want to believe, but i just cant see it - the mock ups help cos no matter how many people make - the actually product will look vastly different and far better - anyone remember the YEARS of iPhone mock ups?

big_marky_t

what is the practical use for something like this? Not bashing, seriously asking. I cant think of anything outside of novelty.

mcjake

this corresponds well with the earlier post about Stevo promising "new, exciting products" before the end of the year.

Nickolai_the_Russian_guy

This will be my first Mac. This would cause me to cross over from the PC side.

SockMonkey

People just can't get over the MacBook Touch thing.

It sounds like a pain to use.

I would much prefer they further develop the MBA concept into different sizes with more battery life, etc.

But, I'm sure some people want a touch. Just not me. Frankly, I think some people just "want one", but aren't really sure why and/or haven't thought about all the limitations of such a device.

turbineseaplane

awesome.

have a slot to stuff the iphone in and give me roaming cell network access for high speed bandwidth and i'm there.

trekkie

No thank you. Aluminium case MacBook with a graphics card and I'm happy (doesn't have to be the most awesome graphics card, either!)

Eruanno

I'm not sure putting an accelerometer in it would be a good idea. Do we really need people swinging their multi-touch Apple tablets around? I can see that being a bad idea.

And whether or not it's a rumor, it makes sense, given the success of the iPhone's multi-touch.

Platypus Man

@joe23521: According to their last earnings call, from what I've heard, they're going to price their products much more competitively and take less profit on each device they sell. Lower the price, increase the sales. Basic economics.

shadowsurfr1

oh my God yes please.

Drew P Draws

*Drool*

jefino

SOLD

mdawg4624

Will someone please take one of these tablets and call me in the morning!?

SF_iris

Rumor: Bahhh...no it's not...

Uberdude328i

Oh god yes.

Modano

I don't have any kids for sale, how about my soul ?.

this would be the Mac I reall really...yes reaaaaaallly want :)

xenoastro

How overpriced will this be? I'm afraid to find out.

joe23521

want want want

monkeybizness

@Platypus Man: The accelerometer could be used for basic stuff like knowing which orientation the laptop is in. I highly doubt Apple is going to give developers access to the accelerometer with any useful accuracy to prevent abuse like what you've stated.

dagamer34

My credit card is ready. Make me happy Apple.

dagamer34

Too bad you can't tether it to the iPhone for mobile internet connection.

I'd consider one for the kitchen as a "hang-on-the-wall" PC/TV.

shawn_dude

usb keyboard support = good
if you could hook it up to another mac as a secondary display AND tablet THAT would be great!

Human Bomb

This would be the only Apple Product I will buy @ launch.

GadgetGhurl

Seems like a great idea and I would love to see it. However, I don't think I could buy a MBTouch over a regular MBPro, or standard MB. The current MB's/MBP's are just too good. Sometimes design "gold" is just struck, and newer designs don't seem to achieve the same level of usefulness and capabilities.

Take the model 1911 Colt 45, it's coming up on it's 100th year birthday and is still in use today. If it isn't broke,...

newgalactic

Give it stylus input and I'll take two, please.

monkeyrotica

This doesn't seem so far fetched. Isn't it just a giant iPod Touch/iPhone with a little more computer power? They have all the tech, all they'd have to do would be to put it together (over simplification).

maven2k

I'll believe it when I see it. There's a Mac tablet rumor every year.

Tablets never caught on in the computing space. The only thing Apple has going for it over the failure of other tablets is it's reality distortion field.

phoomp

Newton 2.0

Noobs-R-Us

finally... it's time to say goodbye to my 5 yr old HP which is being held together by tape and yarn

that_matt

Holy Fucking Gadget Lust!
If only their products weren't so goddamn expensive, I might own something other than an iphone.

rabiddachshund

i know i am thinking small terms here, but how about a cheaper higher capacity ipod touch?

aesopbx

@bobdobbs: in the picture (dunno if its a mockup) there appears to be a frame you can prop it on.

dont know if i'd be able to keep mine tidy and "mac pure" with all the nail-typing and body-greasin' finger printin' i'd do. the thing would prolly look like a battered ipod after a while... garageband mockup looks cool, but i'd really only want a tablet to play chess with or some crap like that. you know, throw it on a table outside with a friend. so i guess all i care about is daylight viewable display, oh, and it not being an apple product :)

dedalus987

If it has a convertible screen, and tablet pen support, I'll buy it in a heartbeat. But I'm not getting my hopes up.

metalgear08

I think this would be better when if at home you could set it up as a normal display with a keyboard and mouse and when you want to go somewhere you just bring the tablet.

kyel57

Hot.Creamy.Load.

I hope it dosnt look like this though - something like a giant iphone would be cool - and havingh AT&Ts 3G network as an option. and Wi-n

Stacky Botrus

But can it play crysis?

In all seriousness though, I really can't see this. Why is apple making EVERYTHING touch? I prefer something tactile like my keyboard and mouse, not laptop touchpads or touchscreens that I can smudge up with a brush of a finger.

How hot will this device get? It's pretty much just a huge screen. It will have to have a solid state hard drive, because according to this picture, you'll be doing a lot of tilting, turning, etc. I can't see it really being practical. I'll take my 13 inch macbook now please, kthnxbi.

evangelistc01

Back to reality :

1) How cold will be ?
2) If adding multigesture, multitouch, multiwhatever result in something as slow as iPhone 2.0, good luck on that.
3) Let's assume you go to your beloved coffee shop. How do you type on such thing ? It will certainly not be in a flat position. Either you will have something on its back (which goes against Apple's minimalistic philosophy) or ... will it levitate on air ?

jenheta

@t3knomanser:

Don't count on it. That would make it the cheapest Mac besides the Mac Mini, which is a desktop computer that does't even come with a display, keyboard, or mouse. I don't even think Dell could come up with a microsoft version of this for under a Grand.

michaelwiggins

"SHIT!!"
"What is it honey!?"
"I dropped my $3000 macbook Touch and now its a pile of glass and aluminium!"
"Well its your fault for buying an overpriced useless laptop that doesnt even have a keyboard."
"But the multi-touch hotness!"
"Now Now. Don't worry your warranty is only good for 6 more hours. So quick to the apple store"
apple sore genius "Sorry the apple warranty doesn't cover drops, gunshots, failing hardware, spills or any other slight moisture, and overall stupidity for buying one of these 'laptops' "
"Damn! Then what can I do?"
"Buy another."
"...Hmm...Okay..."

bdk185

wow, shiney, new, better start applying for that 2nd mortgage now.

s017jrs

I hope they include a keyboard and mouse to plug in when you're at home or office. Gaming, PhotoShopping and fast editing would be a nightmare (especially if there's no Cut/Paste on this model either).

-LeiTxo

LeiTxo

@phoomp: Well, there are a couple of areas where tablets rule: Some retail (saw them used for order taking in a high-end stone-and-tile shop) and definitely in electronic medical records. All the doctors at the hospitals in my town (Cleveland - best place in the world to get sick, and darn likely) use tablets for charting etc.

I personally have used a tablet for years. Most common use: grading papers for my college classes. Awesome.

If this is a tablet, I will be replacing... any number of things, not the least of which is my laptop. whatever it takes.

ps61318

Gotta trust sources that say "This is some sick shit."

jw

This is a delicious rumor. I swear on my own grave that I will line camp the moment Apple anounces this. I just hope it comes with a stylus as well, and integrates that with finger gestures. Touch in nice, but there are times when jotting notes comes in handy.

I wonder if this might actually be a hybrid notebook/tablet. There's a chance this might be the next MacBook or MacBook Pro. It might just make multitouch popular on the market years before Microsoft can get its shit together and release Windows 7. It sounds like a very Apple thing to do.

DisposableInterloper

@Xenocide: I wonder how long it will take PC makers to "catch up" and make a tablet.

[www.axiotron.com]

Brookespeed

You know you're a fanboy when, after reading this, you need a change of underwear.

kOtic

Well a Power Support screen protector for this should only be about $100. Time to buy stock.

mcdj

Hmm thats funny, I seem to have called this one on my site yesterday! If it turns out to be true, I'm going to be the first on line. That would be one heck of a product!

floodcasso2

i guess this will be the beginning of my mac fanboism

Glavan27

Well, I'm excited, because maybe (just maybe...) this means that the normal MBP's will drop in price, so I can afford one. Except I already planned to blow all my savings on a Nikon d3x. ...dammit.

On a semi-related note; why can't Apple just get with the overall mindframe of laptop manufacturers and subsidize their price an eentsy bit with some crapware? I'm totally serious. I wouldn't mind spending a day to remove it, if it meant I might save $200.

bjacobel

only if it were compatible with tablet XP...

saych

Possibly the only thing that could get me to buy an Apple product.

Now, as soon as the 'nix guys get the touchscreen happening, I won't even need this.

brother9

@aelver: Downloading iTunes music onto iPhone/iPod touch.

Mark Wilson

What is this 'wireless iTunes' you speak of? Are you talking about Airport Express years ago?

aelver

@SockMonkey: You're right. I never thought I would hear myself saying that I want a Mac. But if this thing is real, then I'm in. First Mac evar.

inVINCEble

Just got a $5000 scholarship, and am putting the Apple Store as my homepage. Avid Mac fan, iTunes junkie, and future tech writer. If this comes out on my birthday, I'm making all of my friends Apple converts.

8"-10" 1280 x 800 LED-backlit display
1-2 gig RAM
.76" closed
80 gig hard drive
1.6 ghz core 2 duo

I don't care how much money we're talking, just make it happen.

blacksamurai87

MacBook Smudge

johnnyabnormal

I can see people getting mugged / killed once they purchase one of these babies.

Apple should sell life insurance too?

kvstud

Great, now if I ever have kids I wont be able to afford to send them to college =\

Lance Wallen

/start of dream
In a simple ceremony, away from the public, sharp looking Macbook Air and sexy petite iPhone got married. The offspring of their union is expected around October. The iPad: A glass 8" touchscreen inside an aluminum convertible shell, less than 0.8kg, with extremely thin keyboard, atom based, iphone apps compatible, location aware, and 3G cloud connecting to take advantage of operators subsidies. That will be 599usd with a 2 year contract, thank You.
/end of dream

The iPhone's intuitive touch interface has been the best ambassador of Apple to the millions of non geeks and it is time they make a profit out of this opportunity.

kanenas

@t3knomanser: Under $1000 ahahhahahahaha. keep dreaming. Seriously though it must have wacom-like pen sensitivity.

Sloth

but, Will It Blend?

Blinklink11

I WANT this if its real!!! hopefully it's priced anywhere near current pricing....

topper7788

$999 is the killer price point.

jaydot

I want to believe!!

EL_RIEL

This is going to be an awesome computer, although i don´t think i´ll buy one, if it´s helps to reduce the price of the standard macbooks, i´m gonna love it!! Let´s hope they release it with an affordable price ...

Daisuash

screw aringtons $200 crapfest, im getting this!

jewsrock

As nice as I'm thinking it will be, I also think it needs to be a significant improvement over OWC and Axiotron's Modbook to be meaningful. That thing can be equipped with dual HDD's, has all of the ports of the standard Macbook, comes with a stylus for whatever, and can be had with GPS on-board.

If it has a capacitive display, it might need something similar to the Pogo, which is an iPhone compatible stylus.

Kaiser-Machead's Chips Ahoy!

Y'know, going along the line of thought that touchscreen MacBooks won't be a separate line, this might just mean a new MacBook Air as well. A super-light, super-thin, 13" hybrid tablet. That is the essence of joy right there.

DisposableInterloper

Looks very nice.

HeartBurnKid, creepy morbid freak

@jw: I was wondering about that as well :).

Does anyone know how well the HP Touchsmart is selling? My brother just bought one and he loves it.

Joseph

Ew.

If that's replacing the Macbook, I'm buying the old one.

William Hook

MUST BUY MORE APPLE STOCK NOW

redman042

Same tablet s**t, different day. No thanks.

xxdesmus

i've been waiting to buy a mac til this fall since i knew there would undoubtedly be some hardware updates. hopefully that hint at lower prices is true, i have nothing wrong with the current prices but i certainly never mind extra cash to spend elsewhere.

awperk

@michaelwiggins: HP sells a convertible tablet starting at $900. So it's not unthinkable.

[www.shopping.hp.com]

I could see a UMPC-style slate or a full size convertible. But a full size slate? I don't know, but I'm not sure there's a big market for those.

tophtucker

given that the macbook air doesn't have a built in optical disk drive, i can't see apple making another more portable computer with an ODD. I can, however, see them making the same kind of external drive.
i still haven't taken my superdrive for my MBA out of the shrink wrap.

itouchgadgetsinappropriately

Yes! Now I can hope for another product I obviously can't afford!

hammertime1994

@Noobs-R-Us: Now, now. I don't think it's time to start resorting to calling things the N-word.

rjp

@William Hook: i doubt it'll replace the Macbook, but it'll be a variation of it. i'm still hoping for regular Macbooks in aluminum!

chopstickhero

If it can run World of Warcraft, I might have one for myself and one for the Mrs. Don't forget that a b-tooth keyboard and mouse can still be used if you are not in mobile-mode.

But for drawing my toons, it better have some kind of stylus support.

rtwod2

@redman042: yeah, we should have done that in 2004 at $15 but we didn't eh?! and then we had another opportunity this year at $110 back in feb of this year. Now? no. sorry I don't think is a good time to buy. just wait before Xmas when goes down to $130 range.

dysthymia

@hammertime1994: obviously.

kahri

@tophtucker:

I admit you got me on the dell (or HP) tablet part. But I think we can all (mostly) agree that if apple is making this, they'll have come up with a justification to sell it for a ridiculous amount of money...

Can't forget the "Phone, iPod, Internet Communications Device" crap of yesteryear.

michaelwiggins

I really hope this is super overpriced. so i can be even more smug in public! Imagine it. siting in the mall talking on my iphone, surfing the web with my islab drinking a latte. mmmmmmm don't forget the black turtleneck either.

aeroworks

Nice, but:

"Pretty expensive to produce initially, but sold at "low" price that will reduce margins."

Riiiight

I'm sure it will use an Atom chip, which is cheaper than the regular C2D, but I doubt it will be cheaper than the cheapest macbook.

Apple: bring the G4 iMac case back and I'll convert to the church of Jobs.

Shadowlayer

"Pretty expensive to produce initially, but sold at "low" price that will reduce margins"
sorry but ahahahahahahahahh!!!
that made my day lol.

Jkuhn

If this is true, sign me up for one!

Lego Addict

wow! a big iphone without the phone mode.. niiiiiice
ahahaha

jpbraconi

@William Hook: that's a third-party mock up you see at the top of this post, chief.

as far as the product described by the rumor, i'll take one for sure, if it has those features.

TonyRockyHorror

Honestly, who didn't see this coming eventually?

ThisCharmingMan

@William Hook: You know, I was about to say that there's no way Apple would be silly enough to altogether replace the Macbook with that... then I realized, this is Apple we're talking about, so it's entirely possible.

If they're smart, and use this to expand their line, it'll go over well. If they expect to replace their low-end notebook with it... well, that won't go over so well.

HeartBurnKid, creepy morbid freak

i don't believe in carebears, neither in cheap apples.

i'll go with grapes.

laio

@Shadowlayer: A Saint he may soon be made...(Do you have to capitalize religious shit? I forgot.)

willyboy

@nutbastard: Detachable screen maybe?

willyboy

idk....... I mean this would be great, but..... I've been holding off for months and months and I'm going to wait to get a Macbook Pro when the new revised Pros come out. Idk if i'd buy this. it would be really awkward to work on and edit video and stuff..... well I betetr start waiting in line just to play with it at the Apple Store.

goaliegeek

it looks from the picture in the bottom left that it comes with a stand that you can coupule a mouse and keyboard with, voila, a
touch screent that also works as a desktop replacement.
i do want this

Charging_Mooses

@Eruanno: This would be nice, especially if you throw in a 1440x900 screen. A tablet would be sweet though, although you can just tell Jobs will go on about how the tablet computers is his own invention, when really its been a microsoft thing for quite a while now

hired_geek

iPod Touch v2.0 -

newtype2011

imagine how many times you'll accidentally close something when you try and minimize it... >_<

untitledjL

Not sure this is such a bad idea. Much like using PC docking stations now, the new touch book could hook up to a stand to stay upright and work with my bluetooth (wireless) mouse and keyboard. It's fantastic. Why lug a keyboard with you everywhere? how much typing do you really do on airplanes?

So...make keyboards, mice, power sources ubiquitous and just lug a screen + CPU + SSD drive around. awesome.

alan_gen

So tantalizing, but then the whole pracitcality issue. I agree with nut touchscreen typing on a phone is tolerable - anything else would aggravate me into a finger smashing frenzy that would destroy the device.

Chriscgb6

Can't wait for everyone to claim Apple invented touch notebooks.

Kyang

And the cycle starts again...
[www.misterbg.org]

rodiak

I'm sold if the UI controls like the iPhone. Now, I'd only kill if this were a MacBook PRO with a touchscreen. I'll still probably end up with this as my first Mac computer.

x3r0

@Kyang: Only REinvented them. Apple didn't invent the MP3 player or the touchscreen phone. But hell, when they do something, they do it right. (Minus Apple TV)

iamse7en

I just hope to god it's more a small iMac and less a giant iPhone.

xboxishuge

Ah, nevermind. Apple Insider links to a very old story that probably ended up being the iPhone 3G.

Mascott

Okay, they do say that it will be 1.5 times the size of an iPhone in the article, so let's not get all excited here.

Mascott

@iamse7en:

I'll agree to that.

Kyang

Easier to browse Giz on the crapper..

Luizzle

Those of you all ready to replace your existing computers with this are likely to be disappointed. This is much more likely to be an iPhone on steroids than a real computer.

My guess is that this is intended to tie in with MobileMe. You are still expected to work on a real computer, this one mainly being to carry your synced docs around, surf, music & movies, etc. Just grab it as you head to a meeting, hop a plane, or go out to lunch...

Don't expect a ton of storage, a zillion ports, lots of ram, or a powerful processor. This puppy will not be a typical tablet computer, it will be a new class, sort of like the PADD in StarTrek.

As a new class, they can afford to make it fairly cheap since it won't be displacing the computer purchases of anyone who wants to do more than basic internet and such. Remember guys, "think different."

I want one. I hope it is between 7 and 10 inches though.

AlternateEarth

Totally hot.

So... My poor li'l MacBook might get a big brother come year-end bonus? Only time will tell...

*shudder* I'm so excited!

philbert

Windows tablets have been out for years. Most people already know that. I've owned two. So what's new?

AlphaPepper

I don't see this happening unless there is a stevenote before. I'm sold (I'd buy this just to read cbr comics¡ fullscreen coverflow comic covers, yes!) but you need some big guns to convince any tech pundit that tablets are the next big thing.
Give me a keynote announcement and I'll get excited.

joq100

Cheap in Apple terms probably means 3000$. Maybe 2500$ after 6 months...

ups

All I really want is a new Macbook Pro. Is this too hard to ask?! I need cake-cutting edges on my powerhouse laptop.

tehwonderboy

The next product transition isn't going to be a tablet like this (as much as i would like it to be). Apple's going to introduce a new mini-like computer at $399, using a smaller scale CPU and using GPU cycles as well to power OSX. MB Pros will be updated also, but no tablets yet. They want to flood the market with macs, and eliminate any psystar like jerks undercutting them.

cheebs

About time they caught up to everyone else. Hopefully they'll have good handwriting recognition, and apps that take real advantage of this form factor. I've been very happy with my Windows tablet. Looking forward to seeing this one in action.

AlphaPepper

why oh why did i look at this page? i want one so bad but i know i can't afford it.. not for 10 years at least and by then this will be old news :(

mariathephan

Having work for a major university this would be perfect for use in labs and classroom work in small scale chemistry as long as it works

crash1105

Rumor or not, I'd say a product like this will happen in the near future. It's the best of both worlds with a touch screen and a Qwerty keyboard for typing input.

Brau

i just don't see the allure. I'm sure Apple will make something crazy or game-changing happen with it, but I wouldn't want to type on that thing for an extended period of time. Different strokes, I guess.

geedots

don't care how much this will cost. but if it's just slightly similar to the pic above, I will get one.

krom

Me want now, cheap.

Ycare

please jobs hear me now:
multi touch is awesome... but mutitouch with a highly pressure sensitive stylus is every artists dream.

Fatty

whups, forgot the article was titled Macbook Touch, duh. need more coffee.

westonalan

my guess is it'll be called Macbook Touch. It's a logical step, and of course it'll have all the usb bluetooth connections for a real keyboard. Apple's the only company who could make this work, I can't flippin wait!

westonalan

Let's hope they call it the MacSeePad, and I'd better get a free one if they use that name.

Maybe that would have been better for the smaller, iPhone sized gadgets... either way, I like the name...

If I'm anywhere besides my desk, the only other computer I use is my iPhone. This would be a perfect middle-ground as a more powerful mobile solution.

I could go without the Optical Drive, but I must request a built in full-speed HSPDA card, with an OPTIONAL contract. Talk about MobileMe.

There is so much potential for a wish-list to be filled by this device.

DurfDiggler

@untitledjL:

"imagine how many times you'll accidentally close something when you try and minimize it... >_<"

-That's when Multi-Touch Gestures would be used. 8===D

DurfDiggler

Apple's recent earnings call talked about exciting new products with competitive prices (profit from volume, not just sticker-shock-inducing margins.)

In any case, I've had two three tablets and they were all marvelous except for three things:

1. Windows Tablet PC (is junk)
2. Required a stylus or had very primitive "touch" (single point, not accurate, slow)
3. Terrible hinges and clunky design (bad keyboard, limited CPU, dim display, delicate, got very dirty and couldn't be cleaned.)

I guess Apple has to stick to its corporate image-conscious ways, but if they brought out a tablet that was practically waterproof and rugged like a ToughBook, I'd take it. And I bet if Apple's design genius were turned to the challenge, they could come up with a better tablet than any of the ruggedized units I've borrowed -- it's a market segment that's been handed to Panasonic for free because nobody competes.

Imagine a MacBook Pro "Touch" actually made out of a Titanium (not paint ... sheesh) with cool transparent bumpers on all the corners and a tough glass screen.

Whatever the design, I bet they start small because the panel and sensor costs will be painful, plus it gives them at least one whole product cycle to learn before committing to every detail of the bigger units.

I guess it means we'll finally get a new keyboard and mouse in bluetooth with a design that somehow all fits together. I wonder if the folding mouse design has a broad patent (was that Microsoft?) Pity.

I wonder if they'll have the balls to tether it to an iPhone for 3G data. That would have lines stretching from Apple stores halfway across the city.

YMMV

Finally a computer I can take into the bathroom to keep me company while doing #2. :)

iatacs19

@Fatty: I couldn't agree more. Having Wacom's finest and mutitouch in a tablet Mac would be sweet. Having both in convertible tablet goes into the 'and a pony' category, but one can dream.

Bloodboiler

forget the mouse and keyboard It needs to have at-least 1,024 pressure levels and a pen (Mighty-Pen), it's true, we need something better than the mod of Axiotron's Modbook. And hope it doesn't have the cursor delay that Wacom has using the touch screen they have because they are annoying. Something with real time. Then maybe have some settings in for multi-touch where you can link to keyboard short-cuts to use in Photoshop or any other program, like Wacom has. If it has multitouch and 1,024 pressure levels then it's a tablet worth buying. I don't care how much it cost. It would be great for Photoshop, Sketchbook Pro, or even playing a virtual piano for velocity, harder you hit it, the harder it sounds

alexpr

Axiotron.com For the graphic designers and illustrators out there. The MacBook version should be touch and tablet enabled so you could use a pen as well as finger.

Vitaminpk

So now my Macbook Touch will have finger smears all over it just like my iPhone and the iPod Touch before that.

shokk