Apple Tablet PC is real, says Asus

[Fash]

http://crave.cnet.co.uk/laptops/0,39029 ... 967,00.htm

Crave hangs with people in high places -- that's how we get exclusives and free food. A few weeks ago we were having a civilised dinner with our friends at Asus and angling for cool stories when we were told in a very hushed manner: "Asus is helping Apple build a Tablet PC."

We're tempted to ignore all Apple rumours because there's just so many of them, but this rings true because Asus is Apple's contract manufacturer. It's one of the companies responsible for building the iBooks, PowerBooks and MacBooks of this world, so when their guys tell us they're building an Apple Tablet, we believe them.

We checked back with our source at Asus on a different day and they confirmed that the Apple Tablet will not be based on existing Asus designs such as the R1. It will come from a completely new blueprint, possibly based on the patent Apple filed back in May 2005. We're guessing it'll be based on Intel Core architecture, a tweaked version of Leopard, and have all the multi-touch, CoverFlow goodness we've seen in the iPhone and iPod touch.

So, can Apple turn the Tablet PC into a success when previous attempts have failed? The short answer is 'yes'. Any company that can make a mobile phone with no buttons, no picture messaging, slow Web access and no video capture into the most desirable phone on the planet can easily make tablets popular.

Sadly, we've no word on when we can expect the Apple Tablet PC, nor what the final specs will be, but you can bet your bottom dollar it's being built as you read this. Mac fanboys rejoice.

[Ashur]

I could see it. The iTouch/iPhone were well-received pilots of just such a product (albeit a smaller scale).

Tablets have their place. My daughter's Pediatrician's office uses them extensively while my own doctor's office uses desktop terminals in each exam room with a hard token + Novell login for each attending physician. I think the tablets were much more user friendly.

I'd be very interested in seeing the product, but tablets aren't for the likes of me (yet). I still like a keyboard and am more likely to buy a desktop than a laptop and a laptop than a tablet.

But that said, I like the direction technology is going and I like that Apple continues to innovate (or at least package brilliantly).

[Winnow]

It might be good as a second computer. I'd be interested in it because the Wacom Touch Tablet thingy is $3K and doesn't include a computer. If this Apple product allows you to draw directly on the screen, I'd be interested if it's $1,500 or less and has a 17" screen. It would also be great for reading comics, pdf files, or even Ebooks in bed or in an easy chair, etc.

[Zaelath]

I'd be interested if it's $1,500 or less and has a 17" screen.

Pretty certain you're not going to be terribly interested then... they don't even sell a 17" laptop for less than $2800

[Winnow]

I'd be interested if it's $1,500 or less and has a 17" screen.

Pretty certain you're not going to be terribly interested then... they don't even sell a 17" laptop for less than $2800

What are you talking about? I got a nice Laptop with a great 17" screen for $1,600 two years ago.

If Apple wants to mark something up over 100%, it's their business and I won't buy it. I'll steal their OSX and use it on a more reasonably priced piece of hardware though.

The 17' Mac Pro going for $2,800 is the reason I hate Apple. Apple may be good for their stockholders but the price they charge is way out of whack when you can find better performing 17" Laptops for $1,000 less in the $1,800.00 range.

in the 1200-1500 range:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6834220177

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6834114393

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6834147509

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6834117536

You're throwing away 1,200-1,400.00, buying a Mac Pro, and their screens aren't even that great.

But I get your point. Apple will charge 3K for it and the fanboys will line up like lemming for it.

[Zaelath]

Well, you have to look beyond the screen size...

They have "budget laptops" in the MacBook range which have an appropriately sized screen for the graphics card that runs them. i.e. it's a 13" screen running "Intel GMA X3100 graphics processor with 144MB of DDR2 SDRAM shared with main memory" and given it doesn't run above 1024x768, 13" is fine.

They don't have anything "mid range", and especially, they don't have anything that attempts to be more than it is; i.e. a 17" laptop that only runs at 1024x768, or a 17" laptop that runs at 1900x1200 but has shitty fill rate because it's running from shared DD2.

What they do have in the 17" range is a 2.4Ghz core2 duo and "NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 256MB of GDDR3 SDRAM" @ 1680x1050 (with an option for 1920x1200), 2Gb of RAM (w/ an option for 4), etc. Once you try to get a machine from (say) Dell with the same specs (though they seem really keen on selling the 7950 GTX instead of the 8600M GT) all of a sudden you're at the same price, or more, and you have Vista/XP and no ability to run OSX properly.

Personally I like the business model that says "what we sell you will work well" rather than "we'll sell you something that looks good, cheaply, but it'll run like crap".

Oh and yes... I think you'll find all the machines you linked run shared memory video, and not a one did better than 1440x900... it's chalk and cheese.

[Canelek]

The ASUS "G" series laptop is under $2K. I have the 15.4" model, but the 17" is same price. Anyways, the stats are:

c2d proc
2gb ram
512mb nVidia

Of course, Apple retardedly inflates the prices...

[Zaelath]

The ASUS "G" series laptop is under $2K. I have the 15.4" model, but the 17" is same price. Anyways, the stats are:

c2d proc
2gb ram
512mb nVidia

Of course, Apple retardedly inflates the prices...

Links plz, you're not showing nearly enough specs and "512Mb nVidia" means little... as does c2d proc, are we talking 1.86Ghz or the 2.4Ghz in the pro?

the MacBook Pro stuff is really quite "top of the line" gear, and I haven't seen anyone offering it for $800 less with the same specs. If you want to tell me that 1440x900 is the same as 1680x1050, or that 128Mb of DDR3 and the ability to leech another 384Mb of RAM from the DDR2 pool is 512Mb, then I have to suggest you're full of crap.

I'm not an apple fanboy, and they certainly used to charge a premium for their gear when it was motorola chips and special RAM and HDD, but that premium just isn't there any more. Or at least it's not a 40% premium.

[noel]

The ASUS "G" series laptop is under $2K. I have the 15.4" model, but the 17" is same price. Anyways, the stats are:

c2d proc
2gb ram
512mb nVidia

Of course, Apple retardedly inflates the prices...

Links plz, you're not showing nearly enough specs and "512Mb nVidia" means little... as does c2d proc, are we talking 1.86Ghz or the 2.4Ghz in the pro?

the MacBook Pro stuff is really quite "top of the line" gear, and I haven't seen anyone offering it for $800 less with the same specs. If you want to tell me that 1440x900 is the same as 1680x1050, or that 128Mb of DDR3 and the ability to leech another 384Mb of RAM from the DDR2 pool is 512Mb, then I have to suggest you're full of crap.

I'm not an apple fanboy, and they certainly used to charge a premium for their gear when it was motorola chips and special RAM and HDD, but that premium just isn't there any more. Or at least it's not a 40% premium.

I agree. Apple no longer retardedly inflates their prices. If you compare like models, the MacBook Pro will be slightly more, but you're paying for integration of hardware/OS that's simply not available in the PC world.

[Canelek]

The ASUS "G" series laptop is under $2K. I have the 15.4" model, but the 17" is same price. Anyways, the stats are:

c2d proc
2gb ram
512mb nVidia

Of course, Apple retardedly inflates the prices...

Links plz, you're not showing nearly enough specs and "512Mb nVidia" means little... as does c2d proc, are we talking 1.86Ghz or the 2.4Ghz in the pro?

the MacBook Pro stuff is really quite "top of the line" gear, and I haven't seen anyone offering it for $800 less with the same specs. If you want to tell me that 1440x900 is the same as 1680x1050, or that 128Mb of DDR3 and the ability to leech another 384Mb of RAM from the DDR2 pool is 512Mb, then I have to suggest you're full of crap.

I'm not an apple fanboy, and they certainly used to charge a premium for their gear when it was motorola chips and special RAM and HDD, but that premium just isn't there any more. Or at least it's not a 40% premium.

Sorry about that--here is what I have:

http://www.veeshanvault.org/forums/view ... 25&t=19356

All the stats are there.

however, on doing a product search on newegg, I think it may be discontinued, as well as the same-price 17" model.

I spent $ 1800 at beginning of year for it from newegg.

Model
Brand ASUS
Model G1-AK008M
Part# 90NLAA123321141L400T
General
Operating System Windows XP Media Center Edition
CPU Type Intel Core 2 Duo T7200 2.00G
Screen 15.4" WSXGA+
Memory Size 2GB DDR2
Hard Disk 160GB
Optical Drive DVD Super Multi
Graphics Card NVIDIA GeForce Go 7700
Video Memory 512MB
Communication Modem, Gigabit LAN and WLAN
Card slot 1 x Type I/II PC Card Slot
Battery Life 2 hours
Dimensions 12.76" x 11.19" x 1.48"
Weight 6.84 lbs.
Tech Intel Centrino Duo Mobile Technology
Other Features Gaming feature- ASUS Direct Messenger
Gaming feature - ASUS Direct Flash
Gaming feature - Gaming focused keyboard
Touch Pad Lock
Power 4 Gear+
Battery Re-Callibration
Gaming bag and Mouse
30days ZBD (Zero Bright Dot)
Discrete graphic card performance
CPU
CPU Type Intel Core 2 Duo
CPU Speed T7200(2.00GHz)
CPU FSB 667MHz
CPU L2 Cache 4MB
Chipset
Chipset Intel 945PM
Display
Screen Size 15.4"
Wide Screen Support Yes
Display Type Wide SXGA+
Resolution 1680 x 1050
Operating Systems
Operating System Windows XP Media Center
Graphics
GPU/VPU NVIDIA GeForce Go 7700
Video Memory Dedicated 512MB
Graphic Type Dedicated Card
Hard Drive
HD Capacity 160GB
HD RPM 5400rpm
HD Interface SATA
Memory
Memory Slots 2 x DIMM
Memory Speed DDR2 667
Memory Size 2GB
Max Memory Supported 2GB
Memory Spec 1GB x 2
Optical Drive
Optical Drive Type DVD Super Multi
Optical Drive Interface Integrated
Optical Drive Spec 8x Super-Multi DVDRW Dual layer
Communications
Modem 56K
LAN 10/100/1000Mbps
WLAN 802.11a/b/g Wireless LAN
Bluetooth Bluetooth v2.0 + EDR
Ports
Card Slot 1 x Type I/II PC Card Slot
USB 4
IEEE 1394 1
Video Port 1 x VGA, 1 x DVI, 1 x S-Video TV-out
Audio Ports 1 x Microphone-in jack
1 x Headphone-out jack (S/PDIF)
1 x Line-in jack
Audio
Audio Integrated Sound card
Speaker Internal Speakers
Input Device
Touchpad Yes
Keyboard Standard Keyboard with 88 keys, Gaming focused keyboard
Supplemental Drive
Card Reader 4-in-1 Card Reader
MMC, SD, MS, MS-Pro
Webcam 1.3M Camera
Power
AC Adapter Output: 19V DC, 4.74A, 90W
Input: 100 - 240V AC, 50/60Hz universal
Battery 8-cell lithium ion
Battery Life 2 hours
Physical spec
Dimensions 12.76" x 11.19" x 1.48"
Weight 6.84 lbs.
Features
Software Included Multimedia Software:
ASUSDVD XP 6.0
Power Director V3.0 DE
Medi Show V2.0 SE

I also didn't realize Mac had upped their hardware--I was going off of old data--there's me not doing my homework! ><

[Fash]

I went on Apple's site and configured what I would want to buy (basically the best macbook pro, 2.6ghz, 4gb, 200gb)... It was over 4k.

[Zaelath]

I went on Apple's site and configured what I would want to buy (basically the best macbook pro, 2.6ghz, 4gb, 200gb)... It was over 4k.

I went on Dell's site and configured what I'd want to buy (basically the best) and it was over 6k. What's your point?

[Zaelath]

I also didn't realize Mac had upped their hardware--I was going off of old data--there's me not doing my homework! ><

Cause it's 12 months old, also pretty hard to compare. However, in today dollars you start w/ the CPU and it's $300 more to go from 2.0 to 2.4Ghz. But 7700 Go v's 8600M GT? I dunno what that's worth.. etc.

I've never seen a 17" at the same price as a 15" either... seems like I'd be asking the guy in the store for $100 off the 15" even if that's what I really wanted.

[Fash]

no point!

[Canelek]

I also didn't realize Mac had upped their hardware--I was going off of old data--there's me not doing my homework! ><

Cause it's 12 months old, also pretty hard to compare. However, in today dollars you start w/ the CPU and it's $300 more to go from 2.0 to 2.4Ghz. But 7700 Go v's 8600M GT? I dunno what that's worth.. etc.

I've never seen a 17" at the same price as a 15" either... seems like I'd be asking the guy in the store for $100 off the 15" even if that's what I really wanted.

The 17" model (G2, I think it was) was the same price +/-$50. Moot point now, that they no longer sell them, apparently. Hope I can still get parts for my G1! I think the 17" had a crappier video card or something...either way, I didn't see the point of a laptop that huge!

[Winnow]

I went on Apple's site and configured what I would want to buy (basically the best macbook pro, 2.6ghz, 4gb, 200gb)... It was over 4k.

I went on Dell's site and configured what I'd want to buy (basically the best) and it was over 6k. What's your point?

Best PC Hardware > Best Mac hardware

There's a point in there somewhere.

[Zaelath]

I went on Apple's site and configured what I would want to buy (basically the best macbook pro, 2.6ghz, 4gb, 200gb)... It was over 4k.

I went on Dell's site and configured what I'd want to buy (basically the best) and it was over 6k. What's your point?

Best PC Hardware > Best Mac hardware

There's a point in there somewhere.

Well, I was being somewhat facetious. The idea of buying a laptop with RAID0 hard drives for "performance" (for example) is a bit like buying a supercharger for a flatbed truck.

[noel]

My point is this... If you go on the Apple site, and configure your Macbook Pro, then go on the Dell site and configure a laptop to be as close as possible to the Macbook Pro's hardware, the price is extremely close, within a few hundred dollars (<$300). To be fair, it was several months ago when I did that comparison, but I believe it's still the case. At that point, if it's like hardware, it's your personal preference which OS you prefer... and with BootCamp, you can run Windows natively on your Mac Hardware if you want.

[Truant]

My point is this... If you go on the Apple site, and configure your Macbook Pro, then go on the Dell site and configure a laptop to be as close as possible to the Macbook Pro's hardware, the price is extremely close, within a few hundred dollars (<$300). To be fair, it was several months ago when I did that comparison, but I believe it's still the case. At that point, if it's like hardware, it's your personal preference which OS you prefer... and with BootCamp, you can run Windows natively on your Mac Hardware if you want.

Just to back you up, I noticed this as well when I was pricing out books.