The Apple MacBook touch is a bit of a mythical creature, many have had a go at hacking together their own using either a touch-screen LCD or the LCD that comes 
with the MacBook and some sort of Wacom style tablet, but Apple has yet to release their own version of the tablet PC. With the release of the iPhone, and the amazing sales numbers of the device, it’s apparent that people like to interact with their technology either by swinging stuff around (the Nintendo Wii) or by touch (the iPhone).
So why wouldn’t Apple give the people what they want? They have the multi-touch engineers, the patents, the technology, and now thanks to both the iPhone and the iPod Touch, the experience to make a good tablet, so why don’t we have a Mac book touch yet? My guess is we’ll probably see one some time next year, hopefully sometime within Q1.
Apple has been hiring touch-technology related people like crazy, filing patents for technology that should further shrink their already thin and light notebooks, and all this points towards a thin and light tablet coming out of Cupertino. It also points towards a few other things, such as a new version of the iPhone, a new version of the Newton, and/or a new ultra-portable notebook. All of which would still make me happy, but I want to see a MacBook touch.
Sure, they could base it off of the MacBook Pro line, and then it would be a MacBook Pro Tablet or touch of some kind, but chances are to keep it comfortable to use, and the battery life up, it will be based off of the MacBook, or maybe something smaller, a MacBook Mini if you will, thus making the tablet version the MacBook Mini Tablet, or maybe the iTablet or maybe just simply the Mac Tablet.
Apple’s touch keyboard makes a new appearance on a generous, two-million pixel slab. [Image rendering via MacLife]
Mostly, I just hope they spread the same gestures and similar touch screen technology as they have used in the iPhone and iPod Touch. And with Sharp announcing that the same screen used in the iPhone is now available in sizes up to just over 13-inches earlier this year, it’s a possibility we could see just that. I don’t know how safe of an idea a 13-inch plate of glass would be, but it would be nice to have that same kind of protection for the LCD.
Part MacBook, part iPhone. Could be on your desk in 2010.
Meet the flagship of Apple’s recent flurry of patent activity, a product some have been predicting Apple would release for years: the Mac tablet. This slate-format tablet is as portable as a MacBook Air, but with a twist: It also docks into an iMac for regular desktop work. This is no stuffy PC tablet; expect a fully thought-out interface and a specialized Mac OS update—as well as a treasure trove of innovations that could take this tablet from cool to downright phenomenal.
Based on existing technology, the tablet would feature iPhone-like multitouch, spanning the entire screen. Flitting through images and albums will be as easy as it is on the iPhone and the latest MacBook touchpads. And new gesturing patents granted this year will continue to add capabilities, assigning new functions to more multifinger gestures, full-palm gestures, and stylus data-entry.
When you’re not mobile, the Mac tablet docks into an iMac-like chassis. This may seem mundane at first, but don’t count on Apple leaving this as a simple, dumb display, with a relatively underfeatured tablet shouldering all of workload. Tucked inside this custom iMac you’ll find a larger, secondary hard drive (for extra storage or automatic backups), a beefed-up graphics chip, or even an extra processor, giving the tablet a power boost befitting a workstation. -MacLife
Regardless, only time will tell, and Macworld 009 isn’t that far away. So, if you are interested in the latest news regarding the potential Mac book touch or any other news regarding all things touch sensitive and Apple feel free to check out iPhone Buzz.
Apple introduced the new iPhone 3G on June 9 at WWDC 2008
The new iPhone 3G is priced at an amazing price of $199 for the 8GB model, and just $299 for the 16GB model. iPhone 3G will be available in more than 70 countries later this year, beginning with customer availability in 22 countries-Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK and the US-on July 11. We’ll post the iPhone 3G prices in the other 21 countries as they get announced.
Additional information about the iPhone 3G is available over iPhone Buzz, so make sure to click on over for the latest buzz in iPhone 3G!