How Long Before Apple Does The Ultra Mac?

THE ULTRA MAC

Believe me, there is a sweet spot in computing; An ‘ideal’ computer that combines size, price, performance and function to perfection. It has yet to be achieved by anyone, but there are a lot of devices that are close, including the MacBook Air and the iPod Touch. Think of these two devices as hitting a little to the left and the right of the bullseye.

There are signs that other computer makers are seeing this too. With all the press and angst going on concerning new ultra-cheap, ultra-portable PCs (EEPC, IBM, Dell, Sony, et. al.), we basically understand the reason for their popularity. It is precisely because they are small, light and cheap, but most of them are not useful for doing genuine and steady work. In other words, they are lacking in either performance or function, or both.

The real question for us is, how long do you suppose it will be that Apple gets a clue about this, and comes out with a handheld or palmtop device that truly hits the mark?

(Note: Most of these $400 ultra-portable laptop and palmtop computers are not seen as competitors to the high-end computer market, but are rather viewed as desirable accessories for computer Geeks, as well as perhaps marketable mainstays for third-world students and businessmen. However, the failing of most of these devices is that they are not true work-generating computers. Instead they must rely on a connection to a real computer to download or upload data or media.)

It might take a while for anyone to make such a perfect device, even though this particular form-factor is the true MISSING LINK in the mind of most computer users. Think about it. Most of us want the best minimal computer in our hand, which we can still use to do real work (workability). This requires a real full-sized keyboard. I suspect that we all want THAT much more than just having a cool portable device, which we have to load up with stuff to watch or read. Even if we only buy such a device to web surf, most of these palmtop devices have screens too small (3 or 4 inches) to really enjoy using. Again, what we are talking about here is performance and function. Given the speed of most processors today, performance is not really the issue it once was. Almost any CPU built today for portable devices can give us adequate video and animation. Function is the other issue, especially with these new ultra-light notebook computers. They seem to be deliberately missing what is necessary to provide us with workability, that is, no (or too-small) keyboard, a too-small screen, and lack of word processing (or office) software.

I only ask this question concerning a perfect computer, because practically forever, I and others here at mymac.com have been hoping for an ultra-light ultra-portable Mac laptop from Apple. You know our ideal specs: a bright 9″ screen, a 55 key full-size keyboard, no media drive, and wireless access, all for well under a grand. Most of us would also prefer this device to be folding clamshell, rather than a tablet. The ideal size of such a pocketable device would be about 7” by 4” by a lot less than an inch thick. If Apple made it, this would be the requisite and perfect writing or work-generating device. Call it the UltraMac. (BTW, it would also not hurt if the Ultra Mac were flexible, even bendable.)

We had high hopes for this when Apple announced the MacBook Air in January, but although that Mac is a truly amazing and desirable (but very expensive) laptop, it is not the UltraMac we had in mind, because even though it has true workability (performance and function), it is not truly portable like a small clamshell Mac would be.

Conversely, the very pocketable iPod Touch is also completely wonderful, and the typing (one handed) is fast and intuitive, as well as having the amazing gesture-interface. But the @#$&# thing is way too small for serious story writing, and there is no real WP app available (yet). The whole point of an ultra-portable computer is to do real work; not just upload or download to it. Because of this, the iPod Touch is neither the right size nor the right form-factor to be the ideal UltraMac.

However, since the reality is that Apple may never offer an Ultra Mac, (primarily, I suppose, because Steve Jobs neither uses nor desires one), there are still plenty of choices out there. But only if you can stand to use Linux. Many of these devices will have the Microsoft Windows operating system, if only in their fairly efficient Windows Mobile or PocketPC iterations. But MS is not an option for a lot of us under any circumstances (Been-there-done-that, never-again; life-is-too-short-for-crapware), ahem, because Windows has lately become completely bloated and useless as an OS, as more people are discovering.

Here are a few of the latest iterations of these uber-PCs on the market.

ASUS EEE PC
At two pounds the Asus Eee PC is the first small ultra-cheap ($400) PC on the market. The Eee draws on Asus’s long history of great notebook design: It is a solid, minimal machine. The Eee runs the simplified Xandros Linux. Big icons let you launch a web browser, Skype, office apps, and games. However, it only has 2 hours and 20 minutes of battery life, and there is only 1.3GB of free memory. The keyboard is too small for touch typing, and the 7” screen is also too small for work use. The Eee’s size and lack of memory mostly makes it a novelty instead of a writing or business tool, IMO. (Workability: No.)

THE SIMPUTER
The $200 handheld palm-top Simputer is designed to bring computing and the information age to developing countries. It has 32MB of flash memory with 32MB of RAM. The Simputer features a built-in modem, an infrared and a USB port, and is powered by Linux, It also has a 240 x 320-pixel touch screen, and works on AAA batteries. For the illiterate, the device supports text-to-speech capability and voice feedback in local language. The user will need to purchase a SMART CARD to be able to access to his stored on-line data, private information such as bank accounts and web access. I do not consider this to be a viable candidate for a true and useful ultra-portable computer, but it does have a voice interface, which none of the others seem to have. (Workability: No)

FUKATO DATACASK
The sleek and well designed Datacask has an 8-inch, hi-res 800 x 480 display, a 20GB hard drive, 512MB of RAM, and uses a Linux-based OS, for a great price of $450. This device sounds pretty good, huh? Small, cheap, and functional, with plenty of performance. The only way to know for sure is to use one and see. Still, neither this cool ultra-portable ultra-cheap laptop, nor any of the others is our Ultra Mac, is it? (Workability: Yes)

Here is a LINK to CNET reviews of nearly all ultra-portable (non Mac) laptop computers currently on the market.

THE APPLE IPOD TOUCH
Obviously, everyone already knows about the iPhone and the lighter and more elegant iPod Touch, so posting a description here is rather redundant. As we said, the Touch is not the ultraMac either, because it is not an instrument that you would use by choice to do serious work on, regardless of the excellent touch screen experience. No physical keyboard, the very small screen, and the lack of serious work-related software preclude the Touch from being the UltraMac. (Workability: No)

You know, my wife has used ultra-portable devices such as these for nearly six years now. She lately used the Palm LifeDrive handheld device, with a 10GB internal hard drive, Palm software, along with a portable, folding full-sized keyboard docking station. The whole setup cost less than $500 and fits in her purse. Before that, she used the Sony Clie’ with a portable folding keyboard. It cost nearly the same amount, but had no hard drive. Who knew she was such a cutting-edge Geek? =) I considered these to be toys, but she used them to take notes in her doctorate classes, as well as to play simple PowerPoint shows and animations for her students. The main caveat to all this is that she could not use these handheld devices to create her work, but simply to upload text or download projects and notes to and from her iMac. But, all this is ancient history to her, now that she has her video-capable iPod Touch. I have never seen anyone type so fast on one of these. Still, her only disappointment with the Touch is that she cannot generate real work on it.

So what do you think? Are you content with a device like the iPod Touch or the iPhone, even though you cannot (easily) generate work on it? Do you see a need for an UltraMac in your future? Are you already using one of the other ultra-portable or palmtop computers out there? Are any of them really useful to you for doing work (workability)?

Comments?

Regards,
Roger Born
“Sorry, No Refunds”
Your mileage may vary.
Film at 11.

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