Concept hints at cues for MacBook subnote
updated 04:15 pm EDT, Mon August 27, 2007
MacBook Subnote Concept
Apple may have already put in place several design cues that would make the frequently predicted Mac subnotebook a reality, well-known Japanese concept designer Isamu Sanada has pointed out through a new concept rendering. Nicknamed the "MacBook lite," the concept would use the tubular structure of Apple's recent Bluetooth keyboard, the LED display backlighting first seen in the new 15-inch MacBook Pro, and either flash memory or a smaller hard drive to reduce the thickness below that of any existing subnotebook. This design could also use a touch-sensitive keyboard to reduce size even further and potentially fit a DVD drive, Sanada says.
While the creator's design is just a prediction and includes cosmetic changes unlikely to find their way into a finished system, it does provide a visual reference for the unified technology that multiple analysts have suggested will arrive in an ultraportable Mac later in 2007 or early 2008.
Apple's prefered CPU maker, Intel, already claims to have illustrated the possibilities of an extra-thin subnotebook through its Metro concept which stripped out the optical drive but used mechanical keys for input, which frequently add significant depth to a notebook computer.
This is not news
08/27, 04:22pm reply
Someone looked at current products, then made a few guesses as to what a subnotebook from Apple might look at, then threw together some renders. This is not news. It's a high school art project.
njfuzzy
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Joined: Apr 2001
Maybe.
08/27, 04:39pm reply
But I'd still get one. We'll get a clue if this is close to reality if/when Apple legal sends the C&D.
ebeyer
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Joined: Jun 2004
The guy sucks
08/27, 04:40pm reply
Go to the website—his designs have no sense of proportion, style, anything! He's pretty crappy!
Zkatz007
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Joined: May 1999
Ooooohhh-kaaaaayyyyyy
08/27, 04:56pm reply
So there's actually people out there who've got nothing better to do then draw products that only exist in rumor, speculation, and people's minds?
Well, I'm sure if he wasn't doing this, he'd be busy writing fan fiction or something.
testudo
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Joined: Aug 2001
macbook light?
08/27, 06:37pm reply
I would at least call it MacBook Lite, not Light....
Guest
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Joined: Nov 1999
i like it
08/27, 06:54pm reply
It's a drawing, people, an artist's concept, based on recent cues, of what he believe such a sub-notebook might look like. All art need not be an exact and detailed representation of a finished product. And the article was not meant as verifid news, but only that such an idea was very likely in the planning ---maybe even development--- stages. Did you miss the sentence ". . .it does provide a visual reference for the unified technology that multiple analysts have suggested will arrive in an ultraportable Mac later in 2007 or early 2008?" Personally, I'd like to read a lot more about how functional (and durable) such a system might be.
GatorsFan
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Joined: Jan 2007
Re: gigabit, tm
08/28, 06:39am reply
Testudo, the Airport base station has gigabit ethernet. Perhaps you are thinking of the AppleTV?
Nope. The original version of the "AirPort Extreme 802.11n" came with only a 100 base-t. Apple changed it in the last couple of weeks (look at the original reviews, you'll see it was mentioned as a big flaw).
testudo
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Joined: Aug 2001
Re: i like it
08/28, 06:40am reply
Personally, I'd like to read a lot more about how functional (and durable) such a system might be.
What system? The one drawn, or the one Apple 'might' be working on? Speculation on such stuff is just a waste of a lot of hot air, since there's no idea what the system would include, not include, what materials it would be made out of, etc.
testudo
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Joined: Aug 2001
re: ooooohhh-kaaaaayyyyyy
08/28, 10:07am reply
Concept design is meant to be exploratory. Afaik the only 'waste of hot air' in here is all the self-serving criticism.
Super Glitcher
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Joined: Aug 2003