ModBook Unveiled, No One Notices
It seems that with all the hubbub over a certain other electronic manufacturer’s new tablet-esque device, no one noticed toady’s official unveiling of the Axiotron ModBook, the first OS X-wielding commercial tablet. We previously reported on a few of the specs, but we now know it’ll come in three flavors; a 1.83 GHz Core 2 Duo model with 512 MB RAM, a 60 GB HDD, Combo Drive, and no GPS; a 2.0 GHz model with 1 GB RAM, 80 GB HDD, SuperDrive and GPS; and another 2.0 GHz dream machine with a whopping 160 GB HDD and 2 GB RAM, as well as a SuperDrive and GPS. With a thin aluminum shell, the ModBook definitely has looks going for it, when many people thought a tablet hack couldn’t come close to Apple’s design. However, with its looks comes a price tag to match: the cheapest ModBook is $2279, more than twice as much as the MacBook it shares components with. The higher-specced models go for $300 more than the last, with the medium machine going for $2579, and the best and brightest going for $2879. For those who are willing to jump on the early adopter bandwagon and pre-order before anyone gets their hands on it, there’s a bonus: the $2279 is selling for $80 less until it ships, and each of the higher models is selling for $180 less. With a 15″ MacBook Pro as my constant companion, it’s hard for me to justify that high a price, however enticing the ModBook is, but I’m sure this is the answer to the prayers of many a Mac user, and if successful might even show Apple that a Newton 2.0 isn’t such a bad idea after all.
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Very nice, but like you said a little pricey. Why would I get one when I can get a MBP for the same price? I wouldn’t. By the way, why did you get the 15″ MBP instead of the 17″ MBP? I’ll be picking a MBP up this year and having a difficult time deciding between the two.
To #1 – Err .. didn’t you read the article? Touch-sensitive screen, built-in GPS. You won’t be getting that in your MBP.
How come nobody is adressing how this will work with Boot Camp and Vista?
To #2 – Oops! Yeah, I kind of pooched that one. I only read the brief here, not the previous post on it. My bad.
So, I guess if those things are important to you, then go for it. I’ll stick with a MBP. I can add GPS after market.
KidDoc: The operating system thinks of this as a Wacom tablet attached to a MacBook, so I’d assume it’d work fine.
No one notices? Plenty of people noticed. Just not you, apparently. It was extremely popular.
As for why “nobody is adressing how this will work with Boot Camp and Vista”, that’s because it’s a Mac Book. No new software, no weird hacks. If it works on a Mac Book, it works on this. (The touch screen under Vista may be an issue, as it DOES use a driver… It just happens to be a driver that already exists in a standard Mac OSX install.)
I’m very interested in this, but it’s basically just a toy for me, and I’m trying to decide if I can spend that much money on a toy. (My current laptop is 500mhz and that doesn’t bother me.)
The moment I see an intel mac version of either Mudbox or Zbrush I’m all over this. I’ve been wanting a decent slate for use as a purely digital sketch/sculpt book since tablet pcs were first announced. I’d have no problem paying for the fully tricked out model either. Well worth it in my opinion.
My only concerns would be that windows based tablet pcs don’t seem to be geared towards serious art tool usage either (sensitivity and accuracy issues when compared with say a desktop intuos tablet). However the tradeoff for being able to draw directly onscreen is worth it I guess, untill the tech improves.
Given the choice, and available software I’d much prefer to do my sketching/sculpting on a mac slate than a pc, as I also prefer the OS to windows. This is definitely one of the sweetest looking slates I’ve seen even compared to windows based slates.
what im confused about is WILL IT FOLD OUT TO KEYBOARD???
It’s a WACOM. Therefore supported by Vista Business and Ultimate.
No, The Modbook is a slate, not a convertible.
I pre-ordered one of these to use with my business. I’ve written a database using Filemaker Mobile about 4 years ago to collect inspection data on a PDA then sync over to the MBP to process the report. However, it has been taking me way too long to process the information into a good report. I’ve re-written the program (streamlined) to work on this slate. Can’t wait to test it.
My question is (& I think I know the answer), can this ModBook change the orientation from architectural to portrait? Seems like when holding the box, it would be more comfortable holding it longways like a pad of paper and not the opposite.
Anyone know?