According to a report on MSNBC.com, Apple may introduce a new "mini" laptop later this year that uses Flash memory instead of a hard drive.
Apple Inc. may sell zippy notebook computers later this year that use the same type of fast memory as music players and digital cameras, driving down prices of hard-disk drives, an analyst said Thursday.
Full Story: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17521893/
So this begs the question, what type of work will we be able to do on it and will it rely solely on internet based software? Email, Browsing, those are a given, but what other types of work will it be able to perform and how big will this unit be? Right now a 13" screen is the small MacBook and the iPhone will have an approx. 4" screen so are we looking at something around 10" or smaller? Almost sounds like this will be a large Blackberry type of thing.
Depending on exactly what this machine can do software wise and the price of it, this could be another major breakthrough device for Apple and bring their market share ever higher. I am looking forward to finding out what exactly this device it and its capabilities.
Digg it
Flash memory
Macworld.co.uk has a short interview with the CEO of Samsung's semiconductor business. They're the world's largest supplier of Flash memory.
He says that the biggest drives they have now are 16 GB, which suggests that you're on the nose, Walter -- a big-ass PDA.
That said, another article I saw suggests that there's a 32 GB Flash module on the very near horizon. It also says that the new subnotebook will likely run the flavor of the OS X intended for iPhone.
If you poke around a bit, you'll find a ton of articles springing up around the edges of all this.
But I saw it first on YOUR BLOG. So way to go, Walter!!!
Now a big PDA / Small Laptop
Now a big PDA / Small Laptop is something I could really see being useful, moreso than even an iPhone / Smart Phone type of thing. Ever see people typing into those little blackberrys or their phones? They're so incredibly small that I really don't know how they do it.
Cut a laptop in half and it's still big enough and easy enough to use for regular typing and for even viewing websites. The article does say that several other companies are looking at this same concept but they're speculating Apple will be first to market which is quite the change. The iPod was late to the game, but it revolutionized the personal music player both because it worked and it was marketed as "oh so cool." If Apple DOES get to market first, this will be interesting to see what they can do being "out front" from the get go.
Mini DVD player sized?
Was chatting with my freelance editor today about this and we might have hit it right on the head. I told him to imagine a really slim Mac Mini that could hold a DVD/CD slot. Then he said, "A mini DVD player sized notebook." I was just at Best Buy and looked at them and could easily imagine a "sub-notebook" fitting right into that frame, maybe even smaller.
About half the size of the current 13" MacBook and the big advantage over the current smart phone / blackberry's is that it could play back DVDs. So imagine having a sub notebook that could also play DVD's that could also play downloaded iTunes movies? Heck people are already watching stuff on the iPod and this would presumably have a larger screen. Hmmm, something that people who commute in a car, on a train, on the plane could use for both entertainment and work.
Want to work on that paper or script, you have full word processing available. Want to watch a movie, pop in the DVD or watch your downloaded movie. Want to show your client the latest cut of your show and make script notes? Watch the DVD and switch to the word processor.
Could be a very slick device that's marketed as both an entertainment unit with true notebook features. Of course I'm just guessing here, but now I'm really intrigued.
First Mini-Laptop is out
Vulcan Portals looks like they are releasing the first mini-laptop. This company is owned by Microsoft Co-Founder Paul Allen so of course it runs Windows XP, but now there is a physical unit out there and it turns out to be about the size of a portable DVD player. So not a bad guess on our part there, but I can't wait to see what Apple has to offer.
full review on MSNBC.com
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18419069/