More on TechnologyTell: Gadget News | Apple News
Latest Mac tablet rumor to be skeptical about
November 6, 2007 | 8:35 pm
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By David Rothman
"An insider at Asus has claimed that the company has been working on a tablet for Apple that blends the power of the MacBook Pro with the touchscreen capabilities of the iPhone. Could this mean a Multitouch tablet?" – SlashGear (based on a Crave report).
The TeleRead take: Wow, as wish fulfillment, that was fast. See our earlier item suggesting an Asus tablet. Now if only the rumors check out and the price is reasonable!
Related: Techmeme roundup on the possible tablet.
And speaking of Asus: Dr. Ellen Hage’s mostly positive impressions of her just-arrived Eee.
Other hardware/software news: Palm: No plans to join Google’s Open Handset Alliance (Palm InfoCenter via Handheld Librarian) and Mobile Players Ho-Hum about Android (PC World via Blogrunner). Also: Japan saying Sayonara to PCs (TechNewsWorld) .
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Comments:
i am really, really, REALLY hoping this is true. i would be an early adopter of a tablet. i’ve wanted one for years now, and to have it touchscreen? *swoon!*
Definitely interesting to see the Japanese PC decline. Sure there are cultural differences and the Japanese home has a lot less square footage than the American home (with less room for PCs). Still, it’s a little shocking to think about replacing the general purpose PC with specialty devices.
A few years ago, I spent months denying the decline of the PDA because I didn’t want it to be happening. This time I won’t practice denial, but I will say that the PC is a wonderfully flexible means for entrepreneurs to use in delivering new products. I can write a game for a PC but I couldn’t even get in the door to write one for a Wii or a Play Station.
Rob Preece
Publisher, http://www.BooksForABuck.com
If a slate-based Mac makes you salivate, you could always consider an Axiotron ModBook (http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/ModBook), a re-manufactured MacBook on which the display and keyboard have been replaced with a Wacom-based touch screen. It’s yours for about $1K above the base model MacBook on which the model you select it based.
I long for a large screen reader (I’m a musician interested in a device on which to store sheet music; no, the iLiad’s not quite big enough) and I’ve considered buying a ModBook. But it’s the weight and bulk, not the price, that are holding me back; a full-blown Mac is pure overkill for the application. Who wants a battery-sucking 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo, disk drive, etc. in a reader?
I’d have a hard time getting excited if His Steveness were to announce something like this at MacWorld next month. Now a 12″ or 14″ ARM-based device similar to an iPhone or an iPod Touch (especially with regard to weight and thickness) is something I could get *really* excited about….