News ModBook Mac tablet now shipping

[Tim S]

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2008/01...now_shipping/1

Axiotron has announced that its homebrew Apple Mac-based tablet PC, the ModBook, is now available to order. Can a MacBook really be hacked into a commercially viable tablet?

[will.]

When they invent see-though hands I may be interested, until then I'll stick to my wacom.

[Cupboard]

That is rather cool, but rather out of my price range.

Where can you get a 13" Macbook Pro from? that would be sweet! (having an 8600GT in a 13" laptop )

[Gareth Halfacree]

My mistake - it's a modified MacBook, not a MacBook Pro.

[<A88>]

You can argue as to the pros and cons of Vista vs Leopard, but when it comes to tablet functionality, Vista rules the roost. The handwriting recognition is beyond anything I've tried and whilst the Modbook might be a nice piece of hardware, it doesn't compete with something similar like a Motion tablet.

<A88>

[Firehed]

Originally Posted by <A88>

You can argue as to the pros and cons of Vista vs Leopard, but when it comes to tablet functionality, Vista rules the roost. The handwriting recognition is beyond anything I've tried and whilst the Modbook might be a nice piece of hardware, it doesn't compete with something similar like a Motion tablet.

<A88>

I expect most people going for this kind of thing are doing it as graphics designers, not people who want $2000 notepads.

Still, I'll be interested to see if Apple releases an official one at Macworld 08 in two weeks, and I'll be laughing my arse off if it's cheaper than this thing. Doubt it would happen, but you never know.

[DXR_13KE]

maybe they will make a tablet pc like the normal ones from HP.....

[Nexxo]

Originally Posted by Firehed

I expect most people going for this kind of thing are doing it as graphics designers, not people who want $2000 notepads.

There are better (and cheaper) alternatives for that, such as the Wacom Cintiq.

[sam.g.taylor]

For those who haven't yet seen it, the ModBook is a rather nifty tablet PC constructed from a 13.3” MacBook.

Hey - you can disguise it any way you want; when you cut to brass tax it's a Mac, not a PC.

[DougEdey]

Actually, the new ones use intel hardware so they become PC

[Firehed]

Originally Posted by Nexxo

There are better (and cheaper) alternatives for that, such as the Wacom Cintiq.

Well yeah, but a Cintiq isn't exactly portable, even if you glued a Mac mini or something to the back. And the 20" Cintiq runs abotu $2k - hardly cheaper as that's just the screen. Of course, you have to compare things to the $1000 12" screen, but it's still hardly comparable. If you could rig up the 12" with a battery you'd be getting there, but it still completely lacks the integration.

I just figure that the tablet PC would be largely desired by graphics designers, and that it has fairly limited market appeal outside that demographic.


Re: Mac/PC. They're both personal computers. How would you classify a linux box running on the PPC architecture? What do you think the PC in PPC stands for? Could we drop this nonsense? It's just a different OS. If OS X is Mac and Windows is PC, does Linux quality as TD (torture device)? *ducks*