Trusted sources informed MacScoop that Apple is headed towards the release of a notebook that is so small and light that it could redefine the standards of ultra-portable computing.
The new notebook is likely to complete the MacBook Pro line-up with a smaller version featuring a 12 inch display — a form factor that was formerly used on the PowerBooks' entry-level but was discontinued when the line-up made the switch to the Intel architecture in 2006.
Compared to the original 12 inch PowerBook, which is Apple's smallest notebook released so far, the new notebook is said to be half as thick, or something between 0.6 and 0.7 inch (15 to 18 millimetres). It will also be, by far, the lightest computer Apple ever released, or less than 3 pounds (<1.36Kg), sources told MacScoop.
Mock-up based on the PowerBook 12 inch' advertising material
The company's current MacBook Pro line-up features 15 inch and 17 inch models with respective weights of 5.4 pounds (2.44Kg) and 6.8 pounds (3.08Kg). Both of the current form factors offer 1 inch of thickness (25 mm). The 12 inch PowerBook weighted 4.6 pounds (2.02Kg) and was 1.18 inch thick (30 mm).
One thing MacScoop's sources did not clearly specify is whether or not the new notebook will include an optical drive. One hint for the answer to this question is another question: Can any currently available drive fit into such a slim notebook? Well, maybe!
Apple's MacBook Pros currently include a 0.37 inch (9.4 mm) thick drive, which was the thinnest optical drive in the industry until earlier this year, when Panasonic Communication, Ltd. announced an optical drive which is 0.27 inch (6.8 mm) thick and weights 0.218 pounds (99g). It can play or record CDs and DVDs and could be a good candidate for inclusion in new the notebook.
MacScoop was the first to report last year that Apple has been developing an ultra-thin 12 inch laptop. Further reports MacScoop obtained described what appeared to be an ultra-thin but full featured notebook.
Release timeframe remains, as always, quite vague, but sources feel certain that the new notebook will be released before the end of this calendar year.
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i'm on the verge ... since
i'm on the verge ... since i'm a writer and basically need only a writing machine when i'm travelling daily, away from my desktop ... of buying an ALPHASMART NEO, which got a big play recently on MacOPINION.
word of a possible REAL portable for users like me will probably have me hold off on ordering the NEO, which basically is an old-fashioned version of a typewriter, like the RADIO SHACK TR-80 i used as a reporter/producer at network TV more than 20 years ago.
i want to wait and see what CHARLES MOORE says about it on his MacOPINION site.
mminihan
the Toshiba R500 with a 12
the Toshiba R500 with a 12 inch widescreen display has an optical drive and weighs 2.4 pounds with a SSD. It is 0.77 inches thick at the front and 1.0 inches thick at the rear so it may be very possible to squeeze an optical drive into a 13 inch notebook that's 0.7 inch thick.
Um, it will be 13". Apple is
Um, it will be 13". Apple is all wide-screen these days; aspect ratio. They are not going to go back. Think about it.
It will have to have a hard drive or the professional uses will be very limited in the creative market, but it could work, and it could go without an optical drive if its address correctly; software installation issues.
If it runs Final Cut Pro and has a firewire/usb port with some kind of video out, it will be super!
"Um, it will be 13". Apple
"Um, it will be 13". Apple is all wide-screen these days; aspect ratio. They are not going to go back. Think about it."
Who said a 12" display has to be 4/3?
Nice but what I really want
Nice but what I really want is an iPal, a palm sized Macintosh. The iPhone is almost there but Apple locked down the OS. I want to be able to run my desktop applications on a pocket sized machine, have it replace my PalmOS Handspring, digital camera, iPod, phone (at home cordless via WiFi & cell), etc. Just one device please.
Cheers
-Walter
Sugar Mountain Farm
in the mountains of Vermont
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/blog/
http://HollyGraphicArt.com/
http://NoNAIS.org
"Who said a 12" display has
"Who said a 12" display has to be 4/3?"
It doesn't. But its to Apple's advantage to buy in volume and use shared components across their line of products. Doesn't sound like a big deal but it is. Besides, why didn't they go 12" wide-screen on the MacBooks?
Don't be surprised to see some of the same components in the MacBook and MacBook Pro lines, especially since Apple will continue to slim them down too!
According to Digitimes,
According to Digitimes, Apple has placed orders for both 15" and 13" LED displays. The 15" have already gone into the MacBook Pro, and the 13" are scheduled to arrive a few months after ..
The MacBook has only just recently undergone a revision, and it is unusual for a second (ie. addition of LED screens) to come so soon after. This gives the real possibility that the 13" screens are on order for another product ... could this be the MacBook 'Thin'??
In any case, economies of scale will be quite important with the new, more costly LED screens, and what better way to increase your order and drive down costs but to build them into BOTH the MacBook and the MacBook Thin? ...........
In conclusion, MacBook Thin is very likely to be 13".
[Digitimes]
http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20070507PD207.html