Mysterious 'ix.Mac.MarketingName' listed as supported Apple device for iOS apps - Page 2

My wish, since I first saw the original iPad is that Apple creates a truly portable Mac device -- it has a fully functional Mac OSX, e.g., the Lion) but has the more efficient form factor of the iPad.

Clam shell form. This mean abandoning the "clam shell" form factor of the current MacBookPros, and MacBook Air. In the next more radical iteration, they become the next iteration of Apple's notebooks. It is not really the most convenient form for portable devices. This new Mac form factor will have a touch screen, and a screen-based keyboard for most simple tasks. Just like the iPad, the physical keyboard would be separate for more serious work.

Larger screens than the iPad. The IPad is nice for portability but 9.7" should not be the upper limit. It will then be able to serve as a portable communication systems, via internet telephony -- bypassing telecom companies to an extent (or Apple could buy in bulk telecom time from them, just like smaller telecom companies).

Camera tech analogy. In the camera technology, there are "consumer", "prosumer" and "professional" specific cameras. the iPad (using the usual iOS) will be most suitable for most consumers. At the other end, the desktop versions of the Mac OSX computers will cater to the needs of more intensive computing tasks.

New iX device. The truly unibody portable Mac computer with the form factor of the iPad will be more equivalnet to the "Prosumer" mobile computing device. It is a hybrid that will allow more serious work that can run more powerful applications and then the initial work done on devices like this ports seamlessly with Office or home-based more powerful Mac computers.

For fun and creativity. The hybrid aspect of this new form factor of a truly unibody Msc OSX device is that it has been reconfigured to be able to tap into iOS Apps, maybe more related to the iOS Apps created specifically for the larger iPad.

Even lighter than MacBook Air. With advent of cloud-based data storage and Apps Store based source of applications, the basic diskdrive may be smaller and other drives may be removed. Also, it will adopt a more streamelined features of the iPad, like its lighter skin wrapper, more efficient batteres, etc.

Wifi-3G/4G connectivity It will also have not only wifi but also 3G/4G connectivity like the iPad, to make it truly portable.


Farfetched? Not really. Take into consideration that both the Apple mouse and the trackpad in MacBookPros and MacBook Air are already able to use touch base navigation. In a prior presentation of Steve Jobs, he also stated that Apple has been trying to integrate iOS touch features into Mac OSX devices, e.g., a revised iMac screen or perhaps Notebooks? but the current form factors of both the iMacs and the MacBooks are just not the most suited to the touch-base interavtivity in iOS devices.

One solution to the aforementioned dificulty is to adopt the iPad form factor, but then use a native OSX as the operating system. It may also use the "hybrid screen" patented by Apple that has both the eReader and more complex touch-screen rich features integrated. There is no reason why the mouse need be elimiated in this new device, since there are still task where the mouse or a stylus is much better than the touch interface interactivity.

Not sure if the "mystery device" would be what I have been wishing for. I hope however that Apple is working on such a hybrid device -- truly as portable as the iPad but has the power of the more robust Mac OSX.

This envisioned device would have the best of both worlds of the iOS and the OSX, thus perhaps, the moniker "iX" :

"It is not an iPad, it is not a Mac" -- it is both, it is an iX device."


CGC

This makes a lot of sense. Impressive observation, Holmes.

Paul is dead.

Why that's just total nonsense. The PS3 will stream from any standard DNLA media server, and it will play DIVX/XVID, MP3, VOB (raw DVD ripps), and M2TS (HDTV ripps). Plus it will also play back files with DTS audio.

No need to import the files into iTunes or similar, it will just play from a shared directory.

And then there's the PS3's ability to play BDs, which put it so far beyond the Apple TV it's rather amusing.

That is more codecs and containers but does it stream Netflix better than the AppleTV? The last time I used Netflix on the PS3 it was clunky. Is there an improvement to the UI Im not aware of? The PS3 will technically do 1080p and 5.1 audio but from what Ive seen the the 1080p is pure marketing and i have to assume the bitrates are close. The PS3 can do BD but so can a lot of stand alone BD players, but thats a moot point as his comment is about Netflix streaming, not about BD.

This may appeal to techies, but do they have the "all in one" access that is provided by the Apple Ecosystem? The seamless integration of devices, applications and service provided by the Apple Ecosystem is the reason why all other companies are trying to build the same. The main issue is that it took Apple years to build and integrate the components of the Apple Ecosystem to what it is today.

That to create such an integrated ecosystem is not easy and is not cheap contribute to the inability of other companies, including Google and Microsoft, to replicate the Apple Ecosystem for their own devices and consumers.

When they can build similar intgrated ecosystems, that is the time when the competition truly heats up. And, the one that builds the most easy to use ecosystem will be the force to reckon with. Newer technologies or paradigm shift arising from creative ideas can alter the current status.

CGC

This is a good suggestion, but I just can't see Apple putting out one device that would run both iOS and OS X on the same screen. It would wind up being neither fish nor fowl—OS X on too small a screen with no pointing method or iOS on a too-big and clumsy touch screen, or somehow making you choose which you want at any given moment? Very un-Apple-like.

What I would like to see them do is in line with the rumors from a couple of years ago. The trackpads on Mac notebooks are already touchscreens with no display behind them. How much would it cost to add a display and turn the trackpad into basically an iPod Touch? Remember it would need no case or WiFi or cameras. If you wanted to run your laptop as an iOS device, you could download apps, use the trackpad as the controller, and have the display mirror the app. This would allow you to use touchscreen apps without the "Frankenstein Posture" needed to use the main display that way. Could a new line of "hybrid" laptop-iOS devices be iX.Mac.MarketingName? That's the only explanation I can think of for "Mac" in the designation.

Aw... but that's not as much fun....

Sounds good to me. I already have the latest gen AppleTV. Bring on the apps that compete with XBOX Live, Wii, and Sony PSN.

Actually, what I have in mind may be more a variant to what you are stating. I do not expect Apple to simply put both the iOS on top of the OSX to come up with a hybrid device -- as what was achieved with the dual OS of the MacOSX-Windows possible with Intel based Macs.

The prototype of what I have in mind would be the evolved and latest iteration of the iMac. The screen and the other hardware (diskdrives, CPU, etc.) are already in one unit, except for the keyboard, stand and the mouse. Shrink that iMac without the physical keyboard and you have the form factor of the original iPad, except it has an OSX and the screen is not yet a touch-screen technology.

How difficult is it to introduced the touch-screen based technology to such a shrinked iMac (iPad form factor)?

The next step is to make that new form factor to be more interoperable with the technology of the iOS. Unlike your suggestion, in the hybrid I am proposing, the screen becomes the "trackpad" technology already integrated in MacBooks (white, Pros and Air). As noted above, and in my previous posts in other forum threads, it is the keyboard that is decoupled from the existing form factor of the MacBooks.

In this context, let's not forget that iOS was derived from OSX. Just as Apple was able to tweak the OSX to create a more portable, energy efficient iOS, Apple should be able to reverse the process so that features of the iOS may be tweaked back into the OSX. How the hardware technology has to be changed I do not know. Most likely, it would remain Intel based but just like the fabrication of the A5 unique for the iOS, a similar may be done to the Intel-based technology of the Mac hardware. After all, Windows based hardware are key customers of Apple iTunes.

But, it does not have to be the case. Apple has shown willingness to revise the hardware technology it uses.

What Apple will do however is to ensure inter-operability or at the very least, maintain the more consistent or more gradual changes in user interface.

CGC

N.B.

By the way, contrary to popular belief, the iOS devices respond to stylus or more precise "point touch". There are many examples of this in You Tube. Thus, in the hybrid state, there is no reason not to be able to use either a more intelligent mouse or stylus to perform more precise tasks, e.g., signatures, link clicks, cut and paste, etc.

What I noticed though is that I use the mouse less and less and sometimes even make the mistake of touching the screen of my MacBookPro, thinking it was already a "touchscreen" device. What I have seen in the Apple Store is that younger kids, who grew up with the iPod touch, iPhone and iPad use touch moves more and rarely use the mouse, with great dexterity,