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'Modbook Pro X' Tablet Based on 15-Inch Retina MacBook Pro Debuts on Kickstarter
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Lovely design (Apple should offer them), but INSANE price. I'd have to be in DIRE need of such a thing to pay $2000 EXTRA just to REMOVE the keyboard and add a touch screen. It's essentially an iPad on Steroids running regular OSX (something people said is STUPID when it comes to M$'s Surface Pro), but obviously it would be useful to many people just the same. That $4k price is beyond reason, though. I'd be TERRIFIED to drop the thing. I'd worry a lot less about dropping an $800 pad or $1000 surface pro.
The sad thing is Apple could offer this for the same price as a Macbook Pro. I'm betting they WILL offer something similar in about 2-4 years time. Until then, I think you'd be better off trying to find a way to HACK a Surface Pro to run OSX. But even then, this device or a Hackintosh would still have to face the fact that OS X isn't designed around a tablet device like iOS. Launchpad "could" help but it's hopelessly crippled with horrible configurability, etc.
The sad thing is Apple could offer this for the same price as a Macbook Pro. I'm betting they WILL offer something similar in about 2-4 years time. Until then, I think you'd be better off trying to find a way to HACK a Surface Pro to run OSX. But even then, this device or a Hackintosh would still have to face the fact that OS X isn't designed around a tablet device like iOS. Launchpad "could" help but it's hopelessly crippled with horrible configurability, etc.
Ahh. For some reason, despite the title of the thread, and having read the article, I thought it used MBA internals. Chalk it up to a brain fart.
Considering this, and what everyone else has said about N-Trig, it would be a better machine overall. Still...$4000. That's a pretty steep price. To throw in a bit of contention to the subject, the SP3 might not be as capable, but you're getting more bang for the buck.
No, you are not. again, a macbook pro with those specs plus a wacom cintiq for your desktop would cost as much as this mod book pro.
but that wouldn't be a portable solution would it.
I don't understand what you people don't understand. so much posts explaining why this thing is needed by certain users and yet ignorant posts that don't get the point still keep popping up.
a fool and his money are soon parted.
forget about the terrible design , it overall looks like a joke to me.
forget about the terrible design , it overall looks like a joke to me.
Not necessarily. I'm all about some pressure sensitivity. 250 levels is a little too low, I'd say 512x is the bare minimum. Both are a far cry from the SP2's 1024 levels. But tilt? It's not what I'd call an absolute necessity. Digital artists have been getting by without it for years, and while nice, it's hardly make or break.
Though there is the 3rd option neither one of us are considering: the Wacom Cintiq Companion. It's as expensive as the mid-high end SP3s, which makes it only half the price of this Modbook. The only downside to it is the comparative resolution.
If only I had the money
I'm kind of curious how they would do the 32GB RAM upgrade since it's soldered. However, I'm happy with my late 2013 15" rMBP as it is now so I'll wait. Unless Apple ships something really huge, I might wait until Cannonlake upgrades. Even then, who knows?
I'm kind of curious how they would do the 32GB RAM upgrade since it's soldered. However, I'm happy with my late 2013 15" rMBP as it is now so I'll wait. Unless Apple ships something really huge, I might wait until Cannonlake upgrades. Even then, who knows?
And no PCIe SSD. And only 8GB memory. And no dedicated GPU. And less surface area. And no TB support. And it runs Windows 8. Seems like plenty of downsides to me. The Companion is a low mid-tier Windows notebook shoved inside at Cintiq 13HD. No one is saying that the ModBook isn't the Mac Pro of tablets, both in specs and cost. But it's also the experience and power that a lot of digital artists have hoped for, and dearly wish Apple would serve up first-party.
I use both tilt and rotation heavily, maybe it's not a must for everyone but for any classically trained artist with brushes is certainly a must have. and 512 is incredibly low still in my opinion, 250 is a joke though people argue that with the ntrig rightly configure there's no difference between it and 1024 levels, I don't buy that.
Also look in the kickstarter page, the data sheet comparing the performance of the of the sp3. the resolution (and area size) is not the only downsize.
I guess you can argue that with the price of a mod book pro you can buy 4 (or more) surfaces but seeing how the performance is exponentially higher and at least for me the pros outweigh the cons I'd say it's not so expensive for someone who actually needs that power and features.
the only thing I find silly is the dock. I think because of the weight they couldn't have laptop looking dock and didn't want to have some sort of kickstand. but I think they should've just offer a lone dock station with ports and then you could use a bt keyboard of whatever you'd like if you're in your desk.
As for everything else, if you think those bezels are huge, look at the bezels in the Wacom Cintiq Companion. I also think the buttons are a brilliant idea.
See, I don't think the Modbook is a bad idea at all. I've been a huge proponent of workhorse tablets for a long while now, and this, like the SP3, is a good step in the right direction. It's not perfect. Like the SP, it need a more touch-centric UI to make using all that extra power a little more elegant, but I'm not about to bash it because of that.
My only complaint about it is that it's far too expensive. $4000 is just too much, even if you do desperately need it. You're paying a lot more than necessary just for a little more portability and an onscreen stylus digitizer.
...and that's Apple's fault, because they won't make one themselves. The Modbook people have done a great job with it in the past, and deserve to be paid for their effort, sure, but it's a stopgap solution. It's only there because you have no other choice.
And yeah, the buttons on the back are a good idea, but could have some downsides. It's something I'd have to play with myself before I proclaim it awesome or crap.
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With enough knowhow (which these guys obviously have), you could unsolder the ram, and solder a larger solution back in place. It'd take a lot of care and patience, but it can be done.
Looks nice. I hope they fit it with a cooling system suitable for the task. As a computer it runs hot when using "heavy" applications (like games) and I don't think holding it in your hands is possible when it does.
I don't think it's that expensive. just count the price of a that spec'd macbook pro, count the cost of the digitiser, count the cost of manufacturing that custom enclosure, the cost of the labor, and of course their premium.
I really can't start to speculate how much those things are worth exactly, and only they can value their labor and engineering.
Apple is probably never going to make a product like this even with pressure by consumers. I remember how much people were mad the iPad was just "a big iPhone"
with luck we might get actual pressure sensitivity on an iPad but i wouldn't hold my breath, and even then it wouldn't be more than the sp3 is currently offering.
this product is truly one of a kind. maybe the cintiq companion will offer more competitive specs in the future but it will remain windows or android machine, and at least for me, that's not bearable as an every day personal machine.
What they're doing is buying retail MacBooks, gutting then, and placing it into a proprietary shell.
So technically the original OSX license is legitimate since it resides on the "original" hardware (motherboard, hard drive, etc.), just that the original case and perhaps screen have been tossed.
Not a good long term business plan (you're at the mercy of Apple's hardware design)... but other companies have been doing this for a while now.
Even if they did it won't compete with this, but it would be nice to see a 12" iPad. This won't make them do it though, but the Galaxy Pro 12" sales might? if it is selling?
Yeah because Tim Cook is all about leaving money on the table.
Their is nothing to stop Tim Cook developing one of these, in case you missed it ModBook have existed for quite some time now, and Apple has not made any effort to make it's own 'PROFESSIONAL' tablet like this.
Nor will they. This sort of product, even though I adore it, is a niche of a niche in terms of prospective purchase base. That's why it's being done as a Kickstarter. ModBook, Inc. has no illusions that this would be a big seller in the broader market.
So the 10 people who need one will buy it
10 people? that's how many people you think work in graphic design, engineering, industrial design, the video game and visual effects (movie) industry?
Only a very small number of professionals will buy an essentially hacked up machine. Real professional will stick with a manufacturer supported device like the Cintiq Companion Tablet.
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you might want to ask those people first before talking. I'm here. I have not bought one but i sure want one. also youtube and google are your friends. those people already have. again, the mod book has been around for a long time now.
This is what I thought (and hoped) the iPad would be before it initially debuted. Still would be nice to have. Full OSX in a tablet with USB3, TB, HDMI, Intel dual or quad core i5 or i7, 8 or 16GB ram, 512GB SSD and Intel GPU. If Apple offered this for under $2,000 I'd consider getting it. When at home just connect to an external display and wireless keyboard and trackpad or mouse and you're ready to rock.