Filed under: Macworld, Hardware, Macbook Pro, MacBook
OWC and Axiotron announce the ModBook, a Mac-based tablet computer
A Mac Tablet? Seriously? Seriously!
OWC is well known for their iPod solutions, Mac CPU upgrades and Firewire hard drives, but they will now be known as the folks who brought us a real Mac tablet solution. On Jan 9th they, along with their manufacturing partner Axiotron, will unveil the ModBook, a "high-end slate-style notebook computer solution" featuring WACOM Penenabled hardware that is fully compatible with Apple's Inkwell handwriting and gesture recognition technology, allowing you to write and draw directly on the screen. There's even a built-in GPS option available!
Full details won't be available until their press conference at Macworld Expo on Jan 9th, but here's the official teaser to hold you over: "Engineered in the U.S. by a renowned team of German and American designers, the ModBook's condensed form factor and integrated pen-based user experience makes it the ultimate solution for applications and situations where a keyboard only gets in the way. Ideal for: Mobile Users, Business Professionals, Artists, Students, and Technology Leaders!"
We will be at the unveiling, of course and promise to have lots of pics and details as they unfold! And if you're attending Macworld yourself, you can stop by Booth: S2218 for a hands-on trial!
UPDATE: We hear from OWC that the ModBook will initially be offered as a turnkey solution., but it will be offered fas an after-market mod solution at a later date (TBA). The turnkey ModBook will come standard with a 1 Year Warranty similar to Apple's and with a similar Applecare like extension program offered as well.
[obDisclaimer: I have close ties to OWC, but my excitement about this product is quite sincere!]
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
This is Me said 12:45PM on 1-04-2007
Go, Larry, Go!
http://forums.macresource.com/list/1
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Si said 12:51PM on 1-04-2007
Well... they'd better hope Steve doesn't announce an Apple tablet in his keynote!
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Jonathan Allen said 12:51PM on 1-04-2007
Let the cease and dissist orders begin!
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Leonard Nimrod said 1:07PM on 1-04-2007
"Let the cease and dissist orders begin!"
Cease and desist what?
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Mark Fleser said 1:10PM on 1-04-2007
Thanks for the hat tip guys, I submitted this one.
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Laurie said 1:34PM on 1-04-2007
Sorry Mark - I don't see any tips from you, but I tipped this one myself :)
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STephen Cee said 1:36PM on 1-04-2007
Site says it'll be magnesium alloy..... I'm assuming they mean the case.
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icerabbit said 1:55PM on 1-04-2007
Interesting. I've been hoping for Apple to do more in this area.
Four things will decide if this is a hit or miss a) functionality equal to pc offerings (I own one and am not too impressed) b) quality/durability (it's a modded notebook) c) looks d) price.
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Alex said 2:49PM on 1-04-2007
Engineered by designers, eh? If that's really the case then we can expect this ModBook to be a piece of art that doesn't work worth a damn. And if it was designed by engineers then we can expect an ugly piece of junk that doesn't work worth a damn.
Sincerely,
An architect major.
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Laurie said 2:50PM on 1-04-2007
@ Super Weiss - it means i have business unrelated to TUAW (and unrelated to this particular product) with OWC on a somewhat regular basis.
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J. Walsh said 5:23PM on 1-04-2007
"Engineered by designers, eh? If that's really the case then we can expect this ModBook to be a piece of art that doesn't work worth a damn. And if it was designed by engineers then we can expect an ugly piece of junk that doesn't work worth a damn.
Sincerely,
An architect major."
Amusing comments from a putative architect but sadly probably quite true (not necessarily of this product, but as a general statement). However, I now fully expect you buildings to be masterpieces and also meet the most stringent LEED standards.
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zoffdino said 5:43PM on 1-04-2007
Ok, let's have a quick estimate of how they did this: first you need to buy a MacBook from Apple, remove the screen, add your touch sensitive screen in and put everything back in place. This does not make a lot of sense given that the screen on the MacBook cannot be folded backward (nor the design of the computer allows that).
So here's our second alternative: build a tablet the size of the MacBook and run OS X on that. But has Apple licensed their OS X to any third party just yet. Uncle Steve may announce that "next big thing" next week, which sould be a good thing. But then again, would you want a cheapo Dell to run Mac OS X and be the plunger of blame for anything that happens?
Why they chose to reveal it during the same time as the keynote on Jan 9 is also interesting. Perhaps they will make an on-stage appearance with Steve Jobs?
This gotta be the best MacWorld ever. Just 5 more sleepless nights....
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phlavor said 6:37PM on 1-04-2007
@ zoffdino
Here's your 3rd alternative: You pull the keyboard and surrounding casing off, pull the LCD's casing off, flip the LCD over, wire in a touch panel on top of the LCD (either giving up or hubing an existing USB port), then attach a new bezel that snugs up to the existing bottom casing.
Bam! Mac Tablet.
Damn. I should have done that.
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mike said 2:07AM on 1-05-2007
Sincerely,
An architect major.
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I can't believe i'm doing this: "an ARCHITECTURE major"... dude.. I just burned you on your life purpose... um..
how old are you?
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Enrique said 12:03PM on 1-05-2007
THE APPLE STORE'S WEBSITE HAS MACBOOK PRO CORE 2 DUO'S ON THEIR REFURBISHED PRODUCTS PAGE!!! They weren' there yesterday - To me, this means that something new is coming to the MacBook Pro line!
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Laurie said 12:09PM on 1-05-2007
@ Enrique - that doesn't mean anything really. MBP Core 2 Duos have been on the refurb page on and off for a while. I've even bought several of them for clients. The refurb stock is updated and changes daily. A good site to track for changes in the Apple refurb section is http://wslrss.com/ , which I believe we've blogged about before.
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Eric Alessandrini said 10:12PM on 1-05-2007
wow! that's not something I was expecting to see this year
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Christiaan W. Lustig said 3:12PM on 1-07-2007
Sincerely,
An architect major.
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I can't believe i'm doing this: "an ARCHITECTURE major"... dude...
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Maybe he studies architects? ;-p
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JR said 6:09PM on 1-09-2007
The full write-up is available on OWC 's website. Definitely a heavy mod. New display panel, 3rd party GPS, tilted iSight... only the most essential MAC guts are included, more for licensing issues with OSX I assume. Not as pricey as I would have guessed, but very ugly. Hopefully there will be a review on it's performance soon-
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ScottG said 2:06AM on 1-10-2007
Dude "licensing issues with OSX" What are you talking about? It's a MacBook with the Keyboard and screen removed. A Wacom Touch screen in it's place...Performance? It's a MacBook from Apple Inc. Nothing is changed from a Macbook's Performance from doing this, except the cool looks you're going to get with this thing in Public. Apple can't say a thing about it, Period! This is no different then having the MacBook Painted. It's voids the Warranty from Apple, but the Painter offers the same as Apple does. I remember someone taking old iMac Motherboards and building a Mac around that, and trying to resell it as a Mac Clone - Now this is something that Apple Shutdown right away. This MODBook again is doing nothing but flipping the screen around and giving it a Pen Input. I hope Apple never comes out with something like this, this is reserved for a nitch market share. It will be a Blast with the WiFi walking around on a Site or a Customer doing IT Stuff - I can't wait to get one. I placed my Pre-Order Minutes after the Release. I got a real high Reservation Number too, so either this is a random Number or this is going to be a Real Hot Item.
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