Apple validates 13-inch LED backlight units ahead of ultra-portable

[AppleInsider]

Apple, which in January is expected to take the wraps off its slimmest and sleekest notebook in years, is reported to have placed orders for a new breed of 13.3-inch LED backlight units with production-ready quantities scheduled for delivery this month.

Citing "industry sources," Taiwanese rumor publication DigiTimes reports that Kenmos Technology and Taiwan Nano Electro-Optical Technology (Nano-Op) have both recently become suppliers of notebook-use LED backlight units (BLUs) for industry heavyweights Dell and Apple, with shipments to each supplier expected to soar in the near-term.

Specifically, Nano-Op is said to have already started shipping 12.1-inch notebook LED BLUs to Dell via AU Optronics, while its 13.3-inch LED notebook BLUs have since been validated by Apple.

"The sources disclosed that Nano-Op's LED notebook BLU shipments in November were only about 10,000 units, but Apple orders are expected drive up shipments to over 90,000 units in December," the report claims.

Of interest, DigiTimes notes that the component shipments to both Dell and Apple are "for high-end models," reinforcing assumptions that the Mac maker's upcoming streamlined notebook will fall somewhere between its existing 13-inch consumer MacBooks and its 15- and 17-inch professional MacBook Pro models.

Though often referred to as an 'ultra-portable,' the upcoming Apple notebook design was revealed by AppleInsider earlier this year to have been built around a 13.3-inch LED backlit display, rather than 12.1-inch display or one smaller. The 13.3-inch LED BLU orders mentioned by DigiTimes are expected serve an initial manufacturing ramp of the notebook early next year.

DigiTimes in its report added that Kenmos' shipments of LED notebook BLUs to PC manufacturers will reach an estimated 300,000 units in the first quarter of 2008. No expectations were listed for Nano-Op's shipments.

Apple is expected to use a keynote presentation by chief executive Steve Jobs on January 15th to introduce its new 13.3-inch notebook.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[g3pro]

Question... What's the difference between a MacBook and an ultra portable?

If you read AI... nothing!

[samurai1999]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

Apple, which in January is expected to take the wraps off its slimmest and sleekest notebook in years, is reported to have placed orders for a new breed of 13.3-inch LED backlight units with production-ready quantities scheduled for delivery this month.

13.3" seems way too big for the sub-notebook market
- they need to go to 12", 10", 8" to get a foothold in the Japanese market, I think
- I don't see what's so hard about this
- everyone else has managed to do it for years.

Also, I would have thought that the sub-notebook market was an ideal market for Apple, as the sort of apps needed for this market are readily available on MacOS (i.e. Office, Internet etc)
- for more serious apps, you probably need a larger screen anyway.

At 13.3" this will be a useful addition to the Macbook Pro range (and while they're at it they should do a 15.4" MacBook), but it doesn't really open up a new category for Apple.

[desarc]

a macbook is useful for doing actual work, an ultraportable is useful for watching movies, surfing the net and writing nothing larger than you would in a text message. they have a blackberry keyboard on steroids.

i'll be happy if Apple doesn't come out with a UMPC but instead continues to create the best looking notebook computers anywhere. 2/3" thick, ssd, EXTERNAL optical drive. yummy.

[Fishyesque]

Originally Posted by samurai1999

13.3" seems way too big for the sub-notebook market
- they need to go to 12", 10", 8" to get a foothold in the Japanese market, I think
- I don't see what's so hard about this
- everyone else has managed to do it for years.

Also, I would have thought that the sub-notebook market was an ideal market for Apple, as the sort of apps needed for this market are readily available on MacOS (i.e. Office, Internet etc)
- for more serious apps, you probably need a larger screen anyway.

At 13.3" this will be a useful addition to the Macbook Pro range (and while they're at it they should do a 15.4" MacBook), but it doesn't really open up a new category for Apple.

For the last time, that's not the reason sales in Japan are down. People in Japan simply aren't buying computers like they used to. It's not high on their priority lilst.

[polvadis]

Originally Posted by samurai1999

At 13.3" this will be a useful addition to the Macbook Pro range (and while they're at it they should do a 15.4" MacBook), but it doesn't really open up a new category for Apple.

I think a 15.4 sub $1,000 dollar MacBook would be a new category for Apple. Everyone else is selling theirs like hotcakes.

[Maestro64]

Originally Posted by g3pro

Question... What's the difference between a MacBook and an ultra portable?

If you read AI... nothing!

The prevailing thought is it will shed things like the optical drive, a few i/o ports and maybe have solid state storage of about 32 to 64 gigs. If this what they do, then having a 13in display that is less then 1in thick and around 3 or so pounds makes is ultra portable.

Going after the Japan market is not Applies primary market space, They will never totally crack that nut just like no outside company will.

[Buck]

People in Japan simply aren't buying computers like they used to.

Why are they not buying computers like they used to? What's wrong? What about companies?

[Bergermeister]

Originally Posted by Fishyesque

For the last time, that's not the reason sales in Japan are down. People in Japan simply aren't buying computers like they used to. It's not high on their priority lilst.

They aren't buying them because the manufacturers are not making what the consumers want and then complain that the market is sluggish. My friend down at the local computer shop says there are many inquiries, but the machines are too big, lack functions and are over-priced. They look at cell phones and say why can't the computer be smaller and more functional like my cell phone?

[satchmo]

My guess is that this simply won't be a mid-range laptop that bridges the two lines.

Instead, it'll be a new category in the "tablet" vein. Apple has let the tablet market die off and will claim it's demise has been a result of poor implementation...until now (heard this spin before?).

[samurai1999]

Originally Posted by Bergermeister

They aren't buying them because the manufacturers are not making what the consumers want and then complain that the market is sluggish. My friend down at the local computer shop says there are many inquiries, but the machines are too big, lack functions and are over-priced. They look at cell phones and say why can't the computer be smaller and more functional like my cell phone?

I don't live in Japan, but last time I was there, I certainly got the impression, that while quite a few electronics stores carried the Apple range, they just seemed way out of line with what the other makers were offering - i.e. very small range of laptops
- I think the Japanese are quite open to Apple products, and the iPods do quite well there
- but the computer range is not what the average Japanese consumer is after.

- a lot of people end up with a 10" Vaio or equivalent.

- it's interesting that the store-guy says that even the Japanese companies aren't making what the consumer wants.

- what do think they would buy? - a grown up iTouch/iPhone with a 4.5" or 6.5" screen?
- that would be ultra-portable

[ascii]

They must be bringing back the baby Macbook pro. That's great I think it was the best one really.

[Bageljoey]

Originally Posted by polvadis

I think a 15.4 sub $1,000 dollar MacBook would be a new category for Apple. Everyone else is selling theirs like hotcakes.

Are they making any money?

[Fishyesque]

I'll try to find the article for you guys about the Japanese market.

[Fishyesque]

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/...partner=alerts

There you go.

[Bergermeister]

The business guys still want and need an ultraportable. Just asked my wife, who is a workaholic senior manager at a large company who regularly attends meetings where everyone is clamoring for something more powerful than the cell phone (and easier to type on quickly) but smaller, lighter and cheaper than your average laptop. She wants something the size of a DVD tall case (about 8.5 inches diagonal), no optical drive, flash, no HD, long battery life. The screen needs to flip over to fit snug atop the device to allow direct touch interaction in cramped quarters (a commuter train in Tokyo does not have much elbow room) and to allow it to be used for presentations. Yeah, and it needs a digital TV tuner like her cell phone has, and a camera, and a LAN cable, and an HDMI output for presentations on the company's big plasma screen TV.

She is currently considering the Kohjinsha, which costs a mere 1000 bucks, because there is nothing else out there.

http://www.kohjinsha.com.sg/products/outline-sa.htm

[Fishyesque]

Let's hope that Apple does this right.

[Bergermeister]

Personally, I just bought a Palm TX with an external folding keyboard so that I can sit and type practically anywhere (I can even doodle in color and with layers). The TX and the keyboard both fit nicely in the extra space in my camera bag so I can have my camera and my office with me at all times. Total volume is about 3 iPod videos. I barely notice the weight, either. Apple is not in the market of making folding keyboards, though.

If the 13 inch rumor is true, then I hope we will see a return of the Duo: a light portable unit that has the basics and a powerful base station to plug into when you get home.

[jasenj1]

Originally Posted by desarc

a macbook is useful for doing actual work, an ultraportable is useful for watching movies, surfing the net and writing nothing larger than you would in a text message. they have a blackberry keyboard on steroids.

The few folks I know who have ultraportables use a dock with an external monitor, keyboard, etc. whenever they can. The built-in screen is for field work, or in airplanes, and such. So while the complaint that an ultraportable's screen is too small for "actual work" is valid, people do as little "actual work" on the ultraportable as possible - for "actual work" they dock it.

I think 13.3" is too big for a true ultraportable, but if Apple can make it thin, light, and strong enough, and couple it with a powerful docking station, they may have a winner.

- Jasen.

[ascii]

I can't see Apple making an UMPC... just too gimmicky. Unless maybe it was also some kind of a touchpad.

[aegisdesign]

I still think AppleInsider is way off on this one. a 13.3" wide 'ultraportable' is nonsense.

This LED backlight screen is replacing the MacBook's CFL backlight just as Steve Jobs said they'd do some time ago in his open letter about green issues. The MacBook *IS* a high-end model. Apple don't do low-end models.

[rtdunham]

Originally Posted by desarc

a macbook is useful for doing actual work, an ultraportable is useful for watching movies, surfing the net and writing nothing larger than you would in a text message. they have a blackberry keyboard on steroids.

i'll be happy if Apple doesn't come out with a UMPC but instead continues to create the best looking notebook computers anywhere. 2/3" thick, ssd, EXTERNAL optical drive. yummy.

hear, hear.

[rtdunham]

Originally Posted by Bergermeister

...If the 13 inch rumor is true, then I hope we will see a return of the Duo: a light portable unit that has the basics and a powerful base station to plug into when you get home...

if that powerful base station (dock) includes a HD, you'd want sata for speed, right? I've seen some hard drives for sale recently with two ports--usb 2.0 and sata. And when i bought an enclosure for the drive i took out of my MB, i got one with that same connectivity. what's the likelihood apple might put an sata port on the computer itself--you could then have a mobile drive that can be put into the dock, where it would connect via sata, or taken with you for additional external storage w/o the dock, and still connect via sata. In other words, not only would the computer dock, but the drive would, too. This would allow users to have a dock at home and a dock at the office, but carry all their data with them to both locations when desired. Remember 2.5" drives are now up to 320 GB. For all the talk about increased ease of syncing a portable to a desktop, i still find it much more efficient to have everything in one place, and if that could be a drive with the flexibility described, that would be great.

(and for those of you who don't remember the duos and their docks, keep this in mind: there were two different docks available at that time: a large one with built-in hard drive capabilities, network connectivity, etc, and a smaller one that provided only various connectivities. The smaller one was lightweight enough that i kept it at home and often took it with me on trips; i kept my big dock at the office. So there are a lot of imaginative things apple could do with the docking arrangements)

[JeffDM]

I think it's more likely that it's for replacing the existing MacBook screen. An ultralight might be nice though, but no one should get confused into thinking it will be cheap. Even the "bargain" brands offer an ultralight in the US for $1500 on the low end. Apple's would be $2000.

Originally Posted by Maestro64

Going after the Japan market is not Applies primary market space, They will never totally crack that nut just like no outside company will.

Japan is the world's 2nd largest CE market, I don't think it's justifiable to blow them off so lightly.

I had a Japanese friend that said Macs were a very popular computer type, more so than in the US, he said in part because it was one of the earliest computers to offer Japanese localization. That lead is long gone.

Originally Posted by Bergermeister

They look at cell phones and say why can't the computer be smaller and more functional like my cell phone?

Smaller than existing computers, fine, but their phone is more functional than a computer? What bizarre yardstick are they using? What is it that they are really asking?

[utsava]

This is just a thought, but what if Apple unifies the MacBook and MacBook Pro lines with common design elements and adds a low end 13 incher? The models would be differentiated by specs and features, without a distinct split between the plastic MacBooks and the aluminum Mac Book Pros. This streamlining would be very apple, and consistent with the use of aluminum throughout all their other product lines. I mean, even the shuffle is aluminum now! Sure, its not as sexy as the ultra-portable touch screen rumors, but maybe it's a bit more realistic.

[pmjoe]

I continue to be puzzled by this use of "ultra-portable" and "13-inch" in the same sentence.

[AmbientMatrix]

We have the iPod Touch and now we will have the the iBook/MacBook touch... think of it as a paper sized iPod touch with full OS X capabilities.

[Clive At Five]

Originally Posted by polvadis

I think a 15.4 sub $1,000 dollar MacBook would be a new category for Apple. Everyone else is selling theirs like hotcakes.

You're new to Apple, aren't you?

Originally Posted by satchmo

My guess is that this simply won't be a mid-range laptop that bridges the two lines.

Apple wouldn't make a mid-range anything.

It sees in only two color: Basic consumer and Pro.

[nofear1az]

I agree that a 13.3" size will be pushing the limits of an ultra-portable but we'll have to wait and see what it really looks like. It just might be really small and light that it makes it a moot point.

However, I just wish Apple would make a laptop that is 17" screen size that doesn't cost $3k but more inline of $1K. Other computer manufacturers such as HP sells a nice notebook 17" size for $800. Who wants to spend 3000 just to get 17", even the 15" I think is still pricey for a laptop. Oh well.... I can keep wishing. hehe

[JeffDM]

Originally Posted by Clive At Five

Apple wouldn't make a mid-range anything.

It sees in only two color: Basic consumer and Pro.

For most people, there's so little differentiation in the notebooks anyway. The ~10 things that are different between the two are just lost on most people.

[Fishyesque]

Originally Posted by Clive At Five

You're new to Apple, aren't you?

Hahahahahahaha

How true.

[SpamSandwich]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

Specifically, Nano-Op is said to have already started shipping 12.1-inch notebook LED BLUs to Dell via AU Optronics, while its 13.3-inch LED notebook BLUs have since been validated by Apple.

There's nothing in this rumor/"confirmed rumor" to indicate that Apple has agreed to the truthful nature of any of this.

[SpamSandwich]

Originally Posted by Maestro64

The prevailing thought is it will shed things like the optical drive, a few i/o ports and maybe have solid state storage of about 32 to 64 gigs. If this what they do, then having a 13in display that is less then 1in thick and around 3 or so pounds makes is ultra portable.

Going after the Japan market is not Applies primary market space, They will never totally crack that nut just like no outside company will.

Until they design and market a product in Japan I agree with this.

[Clive At Five]

Originally Posted by JeffDM

For most people, there's so little differentiation in the notebooks anyway. The ~10 things that are different between the two are just lost on most people.

Yeah, you're right, I'd even go so far as to say that the MB and MBP meet up pretty nicely in the middle in spec... not in price. I don't see how a slightly larger screen, 1 GB RAM, and last year's middle-of-the-road GPU warrant a $700 difference in price. Oh, and there's also the backlit keyboard and aluminium chasis... I bet THAT's expensive.

Way to charge for the word "Pro" Apple.

I suppose I should be used to it by now...

-Clive

[polvadis]

Originally Posted by Clive At Five

You're new to Apple, aren't you?

Yes, I am new. But I get the point; Apple has always been exclusive, quality and price wise, and that much I understand.

I had a brief contact with an iBook and now am looking to get something Mac. But every time I see the price tag and notice similar setups or better for at least $400 less... it irks me a little. I guess the question is "how much is a Mac worth to me". I've also looked at used Macs but the price break is not much so might as well go new.

Either way I'll keep waiting till after Macworld to see what changes.

[aaarrrgggh]

Originally Posted by Bergermeister

The business guys still want and need an ultraportable. Just asked my wife, who is a workaholic senior manager at a large company who regularly attends meetings where everyone is clamoring for something more powerful than the cell phone (and easier to type on quickly) but smaller, lighter and cheaper than your average laptop. She wants something the size of a DVD tall case (about 8.5 inches diagonal), no optical drive, flash, no HD, long battery life. The screen needs to flip over to fit snug atop the device to allow direct touch interaction in cramped quarters (a commuter train in Tokyo does not have much elbow room) and to allow it to be used for presentations. Yeah, and it needs a digital TV tuner like her cell phone has, and a camera, and a LAN cable, and an HDMI output for presentations on the company's big plasma screen TV.

She is currently considering the Kohjinsha, which costs a mere 1000 bucks, because there is nothing else out there.

http://www.kohjinsha.com.sg/products/outline-sa.htm

HDMI plus a dock with an 8" screen would be a great product from Apple. I might actually go the Hackintosh route if Apple doesn't come up with something in this arena... lugging around the 17" MBP is hard some times.

[Nordstrodamus]

Originally Posted by satchmo

My guess is that this simply won't be a mid-range laptop that bridges the two lines.

Instead, it'll be a new category in the "tablet" vein. Apple has let the tablet market die off and will claim it's demise has been a result of poor implementation...until now (heard this spin before?).

I have to agree with satchmo, it makes no sense to introduce another 13ish laptop that is just thinner and call it an ultra-portable.

A tablet or convertible is the only thing that makes sense. And given Apple's sense of style I would bet against a convertible.

I wonder if it will be lickable.

[foobula]

Quick question, from someone who's been half-paying attention. Is the product introduced in January supposed to have a touch screen?

[Clive At Five]

Originally Posted by polvadis

But every time I see the price tag and notice similar setups or better for at least $400 less... it irks me a little.

Really? $400 less? I peruse the newspaper ads on Sundays and from what I can find, even the best deals either use last year's mediocre hardware or are pretty closely-priced to Apple's offerings.

And do you really want a computer that will just sorta-work for 2.4 years then die? At least with a Mac, you'll have stable hardware, stable software, an easy-to-use UI, and a really slick-looking industrail design all on a unit that'll last you at least 4 years. Look at the number of people still carrying their 12" G4 PowerBooks around. And me? I'm using a G4 iMac that's going on 6-years-old this spring.

The things I listed above are worth the "$400 premium" ... at least to me.

-Clive

[addabox]

Originally Posted by Nordstrodamus

I have to agree with satchmo, it makes no sense to introduce another 13ish laptop that is just thinner and call it an ultra-portable.

A tablet or convertible is the only thing that makes sense. And given Apple's sense of style I would bet against a convertible.

I wonder if it will be lickable.

The other thing that makes sense is that they're not calling it an ultra-portable.

Occam's razor, ya'll.