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MallyMal · Jun 10, 2005, 07:11 AM

Thought: Now that Apple is switching to Intel it will have access to better mobile chips. What do you think about the prospect of an Apple ultra portable like the 10" ones on the PC side?

It's not something that I would be interested in per se but it may interest a lot of other people.

teknopimp · Jun 10, 2005, 12:57 PM

i'm all for it. dump the optical drive. make it similar to the newton.

nonhuman · Jun 10, 2005, 01:08 PM

I want to see them make a 'laptop' that's the size of an iBook keyboard. I'm positive Apple could fit a whole computer into a space that small, and with a Pentium M/Yonah it could probably even get decent battery life. The only restricting factor would pretty much just be the custom LCD.

osxisfun · Jun 10, 2005, 02:01 PM

I wonder if this is something apple will look into now... i mean they all use the same chip and will save money on dev-ing the g5 so maybe apples plan is to come out with more models.

it would be nice i agree.

Randman · Jun 10, 2005, 02:18 PM

We'll have to see if those rumours of an iTablet come to fruition. I think a stripped-down 10" model would be a nice offering but I see it more as an iBook than a PowerBook.

I think the iBook line should be 10" and 12" with the PowerBooks at 13.3", 15 and 17.

f1000 · Jun 10, 2005, 03:03 PM

Originally Posted by Randman

We'll have to see if those rumours of an iTablet come to fruition. I think a stripped-down 10" model would be a nice offering but I see it more as an iBook than a PowerBook.

I think the iBook line should be 10" and 12" with the PowerBooks at 13.3", 15 and 17.

A 10" iBook? The iBooks were meant to be cheap, not freakishly small.

I'd also like to see a slimmed down 13.3" wide-screen PowerBook. Dump the drive, do something about the cheap gray gasket, and make the entire unit half an inch thick when closed.

Paco500 · Jun 10, 2005, 04:00 PM

I love the size of the 12", and if they could keep the dimensions but add a better GPU, GB ethernet, PC Card slot and FW800 it would be great. I have used the ultra-portables and the size/weight savings is not worth the loss of functionality. The only real form factor changes I would like to see is a widescreen.

Of course, that's just me.

tie · Jun 10, 2005, 08:45 PM

I have no interest in a better GPU. I'd be very happy with no GPU.

But the 12" is extremely heavy compared to PC laptops of its size. It should be 3 pounds, or at most 4. It also needs a better display -- the current one is quite bad. Higher resolution would be nice but really I'll take anything decent. The price could be significantly higher, it would be worth it.

GSixZero · Jun 10, 2005, 09:08 PM

Originally Posted by tie

I have no interest in a better GPU. I'd be very happy with no GPU.

But the 12" is extremely heavy compared to PC laptops of its size. It should be 3 pounds, or at most 4. It also needs a better display -- the current one is quite bad. Higher resolution would be nice but really I'll take anything decent. The price could be significantly higher, it would be worth it.

Why would you want higher resolution but not care about a better GPU?

And how could you be happy with no GPU?

urrl78 · 10:45 PM

Since Macs have no offerings of under 12" with a PC card slot I went and bought a Sony T250 about 4 months ago. Nowdays I use the 17" Powerbook for the heavy video work and leave it at home. The T250 has become a real fun machine; I can take it anywhere because it is about 3 lbs, and with the Verizon EVDO card I can get on the net anywhere any time in the Ft Laud/Miami area. It can get speeds up to and greater than 1 Mbps according to this site:

http://us.mcafee.com/root/speedometer/default.asp

Not bad at all for a wireless solution that does not tether you to a base station or router or have you looking for hotspots.

Plug the card into the 17" and I can make the Powerbook a base station by opening up network sharing so another person can surf the net on the T250 while I surf the net on the 17". There are disconnections at times with the Powerbook though, not sure why. Seemed to work fairly well at first though. Guess thats why they call it a PC card.

Sure there are viruses but AVG Free Edition takes care of that pretty well. Seems like I've mentioned all this before, but I don't mind reposting it. All in all until Apple comes up with a similar size/weight solution I'll be using the T250.

tie · Jun 11, 2005, 09:59 AM

Originally Posted by GSixZero

Why would you want higher resolution but not care about a better GPU?

And how could you be happy with no GPU?

I don't play games, I don't edit video. Photoshop doesn't need a GPU. I want a machine that is easy to travel with and give presentations on, with occasional Photoshop usage for converting RAW files and doing simple editing. I don't want a hotter, noisier, heavier machine. The processor needs to be fast, but for graphics integrated chipsets with PCIe are just fine.

OB1 · Jun 12, 2005, 10:52 AM

Originally Posted by Randman

I think the iBook line should be 10" and 12" with the PowerBooks at 13.3", 15 and 17.

We seem to be in aggreement again about the direction Apples portable lineup should be heading in Randman

Now how am I going to be able to resist a 10" iBook and a 13.3"PB???