The UltraPortable

Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited January 2014
What would be everyones educated guess as to when this would arrive. Would they announce it at the Paris event or is the fesability of it being produced in question (technology, chips etc)



Thanks in advance for your opinion
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 45
    Who said that this is even coming? Apple doesn't need an ultra portable since the MacBook is already very portable. A computer that apple does need is an affordable 15 inch laptop.
  • Reply 2 of 45
    mr. hmr. h Posts: 4,870member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by homeboy87 View Post


    Who said that this is even coming? Apple doesn't need an ultra portable since the MacBook is already very portable.



    Not agreed. See Apple sales in Japan (appalling, in case you don't know. Mainly due to no ultra-portable).



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by homeboy87 View Post


    A computer that apple does need is an affordable 15 inch laptop.



    Agreed.
  • Reply 3 of 45
    michaelbmichaelb Posts: 242member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by homeboy87 View Post


    Apple doesn't need an ultra portable since the MacBook is already very portable.



    Not as portable as an ultraportable, hence the ultra bit.



    And as someone who used to have a PowerBook G4 12" and replaced it with a black MacBook 13", I long for the form factor of my long since eBay'd 12". The MacBook is a few inches too wide for my liking.



    Most people dreaming of an ultraportable also see it as being flash based. A true flash based ultraportable would have many other benefits. Think of what the iPod Mini gained when it became the iPod Nano...



    - very thin

    - impressive battery life

    - no spin up from a hard drive

    - no sound from moving parts (whenever I un-sleep my MacBook, there's a characteristic mechanical sound)



    Also, comparing using my silent, responsive iPhone to my whirring, pausing 60GB 5th gen iPod, I yearn for the day when a Mac can do the same thing.



    But I don't know when it could happen. Flash hard drives are only really economical in the 32GB range currently, and an ultraportable Mac would really need a 64GB drive.



    Very doubtful for this year.
  • Reply 4 of 45
    aplnubaplnub Posts: 2,605member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by michaelb View Post


    Not as portable as an ultraportable, hence the ultra bit.



    And as someone who used to have a PowerBook G4 12" and replaced it with a black MacBook 13", I long for the form factor of my long since eBay'd 12". The MacBook is a few inches too wide for my liking.



    Most people dreaming of an ultraportable also see it as being flash based. A true flash based ultraportable would have many other benefits. Think of what the iPod Mini gained when it became the iPod Nano...



    - very thin

    - impressive battery life

    - no spin up from a hard drive

    - no sound from moving parts (whenever I un-sleep my MacBook, there's a characteristic mechanical sound)



    Also, comparing using my silent, responsive iPhone to my whirring, pausing 60GB 5th gen iPod, I yearn for the day when a Mac can do the same thing.



    But I don't know when it could happen. Flash hard drives are only really economical in the 32GB range currently, and an ultraportable Mac would really need a 64GB drive.



    Very doubtful for this year.





    Totally agree. I would settle for a 40 GB flash option at this point. Battery life is a must at 10 hours with screen brightness set at 25% or less.



    The ultra-portable is ultra-illusive.
  • Reply 5 of 45
    kisekikiseki Posts: 31member
    Nor its thickness...



    but rather its WEIGHT,

    especially in Japan where everyone uses (excessively crowded) public

    transportation to commute.



    Three figures (in grams) is standard now, most of the major players are

    competing in the 800g range and Toshiba just released (8/6/07) a 64GB

    flash-drive model weighing in at 848g (with a DVD-writable optical

    drive and 6.5hr battery life)--street price: $3000.



    (www.dynabook.com/pc/catalog/ss_c/070605rx/)
  • Reply 6 of 45
    lfe2211lfe2211 Posts: 507member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by kiseki View Post


    Nor its thickness...



    but rather its WEIGHT,

    especially in Japan where everyone uses (excessively crowded) public

    transportation to commute.



    Three figures (in grams) is standard now, most of the major players are

    competing in the 800g range and Toshiba just released (8/6/07) a 64GB

    flash-drive model weighing in at 848g (with a DVD-writable optical

    drive and 6.5hr battery life)--street price: $3000.



    (www.dynabook.com/pc/catalog/ss_c/070605rx/)



    I have a serious case of envy. Please Apple, throw me a bone.



    http://www.dynamism.com/rx1/pricing.shtml



    http://www.dynamism.com/
  • Reply 7 of 45
    Apple's not going to sell a $3000 ultraportable. They'd probably sell one for $2000 or $2500, but not $3000. That's sticker-shock even for Apple.



    Something like the $2300 model in the link sounds reasonable, except it'd have a GB of RAM.
  • Reply 8 of 45
    mcarlingmcarling Posts: 1,106member
    In order to keep the battery small and light, I would not expect an ultra-portable before Penryn ships.



    I tolerate my oversized, clunky, heavy 12" PB only because I'm not willing to hassle with Linux on a laptop or use any Microsoft products. I would not hesitate to pay $3000 for a 10" Apple laptop.
  • Reply 9 of 45
    I used an ultra lite (IBM X-Series) before switching and it is a great form factor. Making a very small notebook is not cheap and any model released by Apple would be in the MBP range, hovering around $2,000.



    Technology I would look forward to would be a reasonable amount of Flash HD in addition to a conventional HD. Say 8 to 16 Gigs of Flash and then a small HD. The Flash could hole your primary programs as well as being the virtual memory when needed. The more I think about it the more Flash + Conventional HDs sounds like an interesting approach for Apple to take in hte MBP range over the next few years.
  • Reply 10 of 45
    dhagan4755dhagan4755 Posts: 2,152member
    Given what happened this week with Aluminum and the iMac, I wonder if the rumored Macbook thin will be clad in aluminum? I think whatever design Apple is working up for the MacBook thin that it's something that it will be part of the rest of the line. The current design of the MacBook Pro, while still relevant, is a 4-year-old design.
  • Reply 11 of 45
    cubitcubit Posts: 846member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Mr. H View Post


    Not agreed. See Apple sales in Japan (appalling, in case you don't know. Mainly due to no ultra-portable).







    Agreed.



    Not so sure about that ...sales in Japan, appalling bit. "Service in Japan outside Tokyo- appalling" OK, I can agree with that, but the sales are not bad considering the Japanese language competion!
  • Reply 12 of 45
    Sales in Japan are appalling. Service in Japan is appalling. Apple Japan is appalling.

    At this year's stock holders' meeting, Apple took some flak about Apple Japan (not for the first time).



    To improve sales in Japan (where I live), Apple needs a couple of things:



    - an ultraportable aimed at businessmen (sure, they can run windoze if they wish); if the machine is right, price doesn't really matter

    - TV tuners/HDD TV recording incorporated into their computers (a major complaint about the iMac)

    - better support from Apple Japan (my wife knows more about Macs than they do and she is a recent convert)

    - the ability to actually repair their products

    - AppleJapan employees who actually use Macs (I have asked three phone reps who were incapable of answering my questions what computers they used and they all said PCs)



    An ultraportable is the key to better sales here. Many people travel up to two hours each way to work - every day-, on trains. The MacBook is just too heavy for commuting long distances (my wife has one so I know).
  • Reply 13 of 45
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Cubit View Post


    Not so sure about that ...sales in Japan, appalling bit. "Service in Japan outside Tokyo- appalling" OK, I can agree with that, but the sales are not bad considering the Japanese language competion!



    True: some of the laptops made by Japanese companies are absolutely amazing.
  • Reply 14 of 45
    vineavinea Posts: 5,585member
    Given Apple Japan's dismal record Apple would be better off firing everyone and starting from scratch.



    Heck, hire Bergermeister, hand him a sales target, a nice budget, a ultraportable model and a tanto wrapped in rice paper for incentive to meet the sales target...
  • Reply 15 of 45
    I am so tired of Apple. I have been trying to buy an ultra-portable from them for YEARS, but they are making it impossible. A tease here and a leak there, but nothing. I am willing to spend whatever it takes to get what I want, but I want something. So darn secret. Tell me something is in the works so I can plan. I am going to buy a $3000+ Japanese windows model and once I do... that is the end of it. Apple is losing millions by keeping information from us. I was open minded to trying Apple again (old Apple II user), but they are pissing me off. I actually am begining to HATE them. How many i-pod models do we need for gosh sake ? Is there really a good reason to NOT say they are working on a new ultra?? Worried they will cut into the sales of other models? BS... the ultra WILL cost more and 99% of those that buy other models while waiting will NOT get a new ultra computer when it comes out.



    COME ON APPLE... stop with the BS and SAY SOMETHING... eh, nevermind... you already lost me.



    Hope somebody at Apple reads .... forget it... they never listen to us anyway... brainwashed robots is all they want.
  • Reply 16 of 45
    tripotripo Posts: 74member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tired of waiting View Post


    .



    Me tired too . .. i don't need ultra ,mega multy portable , just 12 or 13 inch power book g6
  • Reply 17 of 45
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ZachPruckowski View Post


    Apple's not going to sell a $3000 ultraportable. They'd probably sell one for $2000 or $2500, but not $3000. That's sticker-shock even for Apple.



    Something like the $2300 model in the link sounds reasonable, except it'd have a GB of RAM.



    In 2002 the TiBook was $3200 and only later in the year dropped to $3000... back in 2001 there was a $3600 Powerbook (figures from http://www.apple-history.com)
  • Reply 18 of 45
    This is me dreaming of Apple's Notebook line...



  • Reply 19 of 45
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by KennyWRX View Post


    This is me dreaming of Apple's Notebook line...

    [fancy chart thingy]



    I think that an UP would have more than a measly 1.2 GHz Processor. I think the 1.8 would be possible. (L7700) would improve the performance of that at least 2-fold without killing the battery life all that much.



    In the Macbook, I think that the specs for that 15'4" should be toned down a bit (realistically) and also mirrored onto a 13'3" screen for people who don't want to sacrifice performance to go smaller. Also, intro MB = x3100, high end one is 128MB 8400. Apple wouldn't kill the MBP sales that much.



    HD would only be 5400 RPM standard in the 15.4" MBP for battery life.
  • Reply 20 of 45
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bobmarksdale View Post


    I think that an UP would have more than a measly 1.2 GHz Processor. I think the 1.8 would be possible. (L7700) would improve the performance of that at least 2-fold without killing the battery life all that much.



    In the Macbook, I think that the specs for that 15'4" should be toned down a bit (realistically) and also mirrored onto a 13'3" screen for people who don't want to sacrifice performance to go smaller. Also, intro MB = x3100, high end one is 128MB 8400. Apple wouldn't kill the MBP sales that much.



    HD would only be 5400 RPM standard in the 15.4" MBP for battery life.



    I had not heard about the L7700... but true would be better. Asus has an L7500 in a 11.1" notebook already... so it shouldn't be a problem.



    I still want better graphics for the 13.3" than the integrated stuff. Having the 8400M-GT in the low end and the 8600M-GT in the high end should do it.



    Don't agree on the HD though. Pro should be more inclined to performance rather than battery life, at least more than on the consumer line.
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