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The iPad we've all been waiting for (AKA ModBook Pro)

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The only thing keeping this from being utter portable art creation perfection is the fact that it will probably be very very very expensive.

http://www.modbook.com/modbookpro

http://www.theverge.com/2012/6/28/3122271/the-modbook-pro-returns-morphing-a-macbook-into-a-pen-based-tablet

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  • Target_Renegade
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    Target_Renegade polycounter lvl 11
    Not sure, it's all in the tasting, would have to try before buy and the possible cost is not worth thinking about. Really it's all about how good the pressure sensitivity is and the response time.
  • Mark Dygert
    Wow that is impressive... I could see myself going for something like that if the price is right.
    Pricing and sales partners will be announced in the coming weeks.
    Damn it...
  • Dan!
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    Dan! polycounter lvl 6
    Wow that is impressive... I could see myself going for something like that if the price is right.
    Damn it...

    yep
  • System
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    System admin
    Yeah this thing is gonna be crazy money.

    I remember the old one was around $2200 for the base model.

    I mean, it's obviously gonna be at least $1199+ since that's the base price of the current 13" MBP, so I'm guessing $2000 minimum, probably $2500.
  • Fuse
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    Fuse polycounter lvl 18
    They should have gone without the DVD drive and Ethernet and no hard disk option. Just a ssd.
  • almighty_gir
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    almighty_gir ngon master
    you can still install windows on this, right?
  • Will Faucher
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    Will Faucher polycounter lvl 12
    You can partition the hard drive with boot camp, as per usual, I believe.
  • Mark Dygert
    Dual boot with bootcamp. (What he said^)

    I agree that they should drop the DVD drive and some of the other fluff they should be optional. Are they included in in the case or do they plug in?
  • aesir
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    aesir polycounter lvl 18
    I want windows 8 on it :)
  • System
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    System admin
    The thing is, the next 13" Pro will most likely drop the optical drive / HDD and have the 'retina' display like the new 15". Shame they didn't wait for that one.

    Alternatively they coulda used the new 13" Air. It's got a higher resolution and already has the SSD and USB3. I'm using one of the IvyBridge ones now and it's great for painting, even for 3D I haven't had any issues. It would have allowed more compact casing too, and it's the same base price as the Pro.

    In fact, since you can't get a dedicated GPU in the 13" Pro either, I really don't see why they opted for the Pro at all, the Air would've been a no-brainer I'd have thought.
  • almighty_gir
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    almighty_gir ngon master
    Dual boot with bootcamp. (What he said^)

    I agree that they should drop the DVD drive and some of the other fluff they should be optional. Are they included in in the case or do they plug in?

    well, i've got win7 installer on a compact flash stick, so as long as i can boot from usb input all i want to know is "do i have the option to get rid of OSX all together?"

    because i just don't have any need for it. and i don't want to be forced to use it.
  • oXYnary
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    oXYnary polycounter lvl 18
    I don't get it. Why pay apple for a notebook that even if you get in bulk deal pricing. Has to be torn apart and throwing away or reselling what's not used. All so you can have a OSX based system legally. At an extreme cost and without it looks like even multitouch .

    Why don't they just partner with a hardware company to offer a completely from scratch system. It still would be expensive, but could offer a much more integrated/optimized feel. Sure it couldn't legally use OSX , but they could make the hardware spec close enough that someone could just happen to Hackintosh it easily.

    I also don't get why no one who is making pressure sensitive tablets hasn't gone with a AMD Fusion route. With the integrated ATI gpu, such a tablet would be much more useful for anyone working with 3d.
  • Kwramm
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    Kwramm interpolator
    TeeJay wrote: »
    In fact, since you can't get a dedicated GPU in the 13" Pro either, I really don't see why they opted for the Pro at all, the Air would've been a no-brainer I'd have thought.

    my thoughts exactly. The air would've given them a higher resolution screen too.

    It's cool someone does this - I love hacks like that, but I wonder how useful it is. The 13" macbook ain't exactly light weight and I doubt people will do a lot of sketching on it on the go (other issue: battery life). It does have a strong "I want" appeal but how often would you use it in a mobile / travel setting to make it worth it?

    On a desk - how's it stacking up against a Cintiq which can be freely positioned via its base and offers higher resolution?
  • ikken
    you can still install windows on this, right?

    >> In addition, users can run OS X’s Boot Camp® application to install 32- or 64-bit Microsoft® Windows® 7 (sold separately) to turn their Modbook Pro into a powerful tablet PC.

    ewww @ 1 year warranty.
  • Baj Singh
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    Baj Singh polycounter lvl 9
    Maybe in the future, however the price would be the be all for me.

    However, the price of the Samsung Series 7 slate has gone down to £700 and I picked one up last weekend. Absolutely worth it!! Zbrush and Photoshop CS6 run like a dream.
  • Entity
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    Entity polycounter lvl 18
    I'd be more worried about heat. Even the small cintiqs get hot, and that's just a monitor.
  • ikken
    mbpros get hot quite quickly too
  • Jeff Parrott
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    Jeff Parrott polycounter lvl 19
    MBP 13 inch are already $1000. Figure at least another $500 for the baseline model. Add in SSD option to make it on par with the Samsung Series 8 or ASUS E131 deals and that'll be another $300-$500. I really want to get one of these (512 levels of pressure instead of 256 is awesome) but $2000 for this when either of the previous ones costs $1000 and no multitouch is kinda tough. I'll definitely be keeping tabs on this. I love that you can get an actual slate computer with OsX on it or dual boot. But for 2x the costs I'll have to pass
  • Jeff Parrott
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    Jeff Parrott polycounter lvl 19
    If you're rolling in money you can preorder one now http://www.modbookshop.com/mbi-bto-mbpa.html
  • ambershee
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    ambershee polycounter lvl 17
    $3500 for the base model, nearly $5000 for the version with the specs they advertise.

    The price is a joke.
  • Mike Yevin
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    Mike Yevin polycounter lvl 11
    who the hell in their right mind would spend over 3 grand on something they plan to take around with them daily? how is this thing so damn pricey? its essentially like most other tablets out there minus the heightened sensitivity, am i wrong?
  • Justin Meisse
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    Justin Meisse polycounter lvl 18
    ambershee wrote: »
    $3500 for the base model, nearly $5000 for the version with the specs they advertise.

    The price is a joke.

    really? I don't think I could do a cheaper conversion myself.

    I was hoping modbook was going to branch out and do their own hardware, a whole MacBook is a pretty expensive component, I'm sure they could charge less and make a larger profit with all original hardware (although the supply chain gets a bit more complicated).
  • Jeff Parrott
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    Jeff Parrott polycounter lvl 19
    Totally agree Justin. I wish they would have just made a stylus for the iPad that doesn't suck. Something with more precision that the fancy ones out now.
  • ebagg
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    ebagg polycounter lvl 17
    That is a pretty damn high price point...you can get 3-4 Tablet Laptops for the same amount.
  • flaagan
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    flaagan polycounter lvl 18
    Or you can just wait and see what the specs are on MS' Surface Pro... Unless the stylus setup on that is utter bollocks, I'm already trying to sell off my ipad 3, mac mini, and possibly my new MBP and switching to that.
  • oXYnary
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    oXYnary polycounter lvl 18
    Totally agree Justin. I wish they would have just made a stylus for the iPad that doesn't suck. Something with more precision that the fancy ones out now.

    http://tenonedesign.com/home.php
  • DavePhipps
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    DavePhipps polycounter lvl 7
    I'm way too cheap for these things. I'll just get an old HP TX series off ebay and stick windows 8, and some nice graphics apps on it. The Wacom digitizers built into them aren't the greatest but they are decent for sketching around, and the pens are pressure sensitive but not great.
  • maze
    just lost my iphone last saturday, can't even imagine losing one of those 5k gadgets.... I would smash something... I wouldn't go out with anything digital 500bu+ ....besides my 5dmkll, but at least am not drunk while using it. Anything besides that can and will be used at home only!

    I still want one though! just kidding.
  • ambershee
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    ambershee polycounter lvl 17
    If you think $3500-5000 is an acceptable price point for mobile hardware, I'm pretty sure you must live on another planet thanks to your space-lambo.
  • Justin Meisse
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    Justin Meisse polycounter lvl 18
    ambershee wrote: »
    If you think $3500-5000 is an acceptable price point for mobile hardware, I'm pretty sure you must live on another planet thanks to your space-lambo.

    it's an acceptable price for a done by hand laptop to tablet conversion. The fact that one of the components is a already marked up laptop is what's making it so expensive.

    I'd consider picking one up if I wasn't spending a butt load on a tech shop membership - I might look into doing my own laptop to tablet conversion service since I'll have access to some high tech machinery.

    I'd personally want one for a work around the house type of computer, I don't even feel comfortable bringing my ipad out & about.
  • lloyd
    are we counting out surface as a option for portable drawing PC?
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