Samsung announced a 1.8″ 32GB flash drive. The rumor is Apple will announce the Intel based iBook (or Macbook amateur :-) sometime around April 1 (their 30th anniversary). Although unlikely, it sure would be nice if the new iBook came in at 2 pounds (or less) with the 32GB flash drive and a 12 hour battery life.
I have an iBook G4 with a 30GB hard drive. So, I will be just fine with a 32GB flash drive for the way I use an iBook (mostly note taking, writing, web browsing, email, and ssh-ing to my servers). I’m already pretty happy with the 3 to 5 hour (real life usage hauling it to a conference or other meetings) battery life. If Apple can pull off replacing the HD with the 32GB flash drive, reduce the weight in half (or more) and keep the price reasonable, I’ll be in line to buy a new iBook.
I would buy that. I have been waiting for the intel ibooks before I buy my next machine. I would like to wait a few months after they come out just for the bugs to be fixed, but if they came out with that in April it would be tempting. I am not so sure Apple will go that way though with the flash drive. I love the idea though.
Hmm, I think would just create more issues with regards to customers. What Apple really needs, particularly with their current market expansion, is to create a third laptop line.
1. The MacBook Pro/PowerBook line
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Keep this pretty much as it is. 12", 15" & 17" high power portables with approximately 3.5 hour batteries. Maybe consider replacing the 12" with a 13" windscreen (please! please!).
2. The MacBook/iBook
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Similarly, keep this as it is. A general consumer laptop with midrange performance and an approximately 4 hour battery life. Consider going widescreen, but probably not a good idea.
3. The MacBook Express
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A ultra-lightweight, long battery life, 12" notebook (or maybe even 11"), but with a low-to-mid performance. Designed to be used by pros/semipros as their portable machine, with any major processing carried out on their desktop PCs.
Upgrade iSync for convenient operation in this manner. I.e. Macbook Express hooks up to desktop via network, and quickly copies all documents etc. over to the desktop. The desktop machine has settings to choose what is kept on the "portable version of itself."
P.S. The Express name seems pretty logical given the naming of Apple's pro software.
I've been thinking about that ever since NAND memory's been talked about... Theoretically, it would be possible to make the _perfect_ notebook for a writer like myself (and you), but... I guess the market for it is too small, the technology still too expensive...
I hope they get rid of the artificial limitations of the iBook, for example the inability to extend the desktop onto an external monitor (the current iBook only supports mirroring). DVI would be nice, too.
A great idea, Todd. I'd love a machine like that.
A flash drive alone wouldn't give you 12-hour battery life. From that article:
"In a common model that assumes that a hard drive consumes about 10-20% of the battery power, the SSD could add about 20-40 minutes of operating time in a notebook that runs about 4 hours on one battery charge."
Also, I'll bet that drive will be quite expensive, given current flash-memory prices!
Samsung is expecting the price of the 32 Gb flashdrive to be around $750~$1,000 each. How many of you are willing to pay for that? I am not.
Any update on this rumor? When is Apple likely to introduce an ibook pro?