For those who care:

http://tech.uk.msn.com/features/photos.aspx?cp-documentid=151921707&page=10

the Laws of Physics denote that that design would be rather unstable, unless the keyboard has some serious weights in it to prevent toppling over. even so, it doesnt look like the comfiest thing in the world to have sat on your lap :/


and sorry for being so ragey earlier guys, i had a rubbish exam yesterday, and was fully expecting todays one to go just as badly. As it happens i found it alright, and am rather happy about that sorry if i offended anyone with my overdose of Mac-hate

but my opinion about it being just another shiny object still stands

No shiny plastic tat for me thanks

If I want a computer I'll buy one that I need, not one that only exists for fashion & marketing

The keyboard dock is the same as the USB dock...


but with a keyboard on the front.

Probably aimed for people to use whilst at a coffee table etc...

Like this...

that makes sense, that support-y bit isnt shown in the image on that link

No, I don't need one.

I can't see why it doesn't have a USB port. You could copy music/photos/videos from external storage that way.

I can still see a use for it though, combined with Google Apps

A thought does occur to me..

My parents currently have a laptop. It hardly ever actually moves and when it does the battery is shagged because they've left it plugged into the mains for the last 3 years. It runs windows Xp. It breaks down all. the. freaking. time. And every time it breaks down I get a phone call. All they really do is web, email, the odd bit of WP or spreadsheeting and gathering/printing photos of their various relatives. They access the internet over wifi.

If this thing can print from the iWork apps, I'd actually buy one of these for them rather than a new laptop. With the keyboard dock and the iWork apps (provided it can print to a wifi printer) that would be 99% of everything they ever do on a PC. On a platform that's robust (entirely solid state), that they may want to pick up and wander around with and is actually easier for them to use than a PC with windows or mac OS - you should see my Mum using a mouse, even after years of practice.

It seems to me it's next to no use for people who actually want a computer but it's a bloody good solution for people who want to do computery things but don't know a port mapping from a portcullis.

Jon

Hmm, four questions then

Is it shiny? I thought it was silk/satin finish.

Is it platic? I thought it was aluminum.

Is it tat? I thought it was made by Apple to pretty exacting standards?

Are we looking at the same product?

I'm going to have to wait and see I think, but I can't see what needs this fulfils that my wife's netbook doesn't already.

If she's happy with her netbook then this probably doesn't have anything to offer. It's just another manufacturer with another netbook - albeit in tablet form.

Mark

It only takes a few minutes on Apple's web site to find out what it's made of.


I am sure there's some plastic in there, but the enclosure is aluminium and glass. Like the MacBooks and iMacs.

It does?