Despite it’s shortcomings it has been an amazing tool for me in terms of productivity and growth as an artist; I’ve been waiting and hoping for Mac to come along and do one better for a long time. Looks like the wait may finally be over?

I’m an early adopter waiting for mine to arrive. I have been waiting for a good quality Mac tablet for a LONG time (and never understood why Apple didn’t jump on that idea since it caters to designers). I’ll not only use this for my career (Art Director) but for fun (drawing). I also fully intend to set up a “dock” at home for it either when it becomes available, or when the stand becomes available (and I’ll get a new apple slimline keyboard and might mouse to couple with it).

this modbook is really sexy(too bad for this white and silver sandwich) but needs some improvements. But I think the price is ok as you just put a macbook+a wacom+400€ and you get the price of a mod book so…..

This is a specialized item. I’m a graphic designer, and this thing is something that looks remarkably useful to me. Of course, I’m part of a niche market demographic. This isn’t exactly for everyone - I mean I also use a trackball instead of a mouse, and find that non-designers are loathe to touch the trackball unless it’s attached to a screen bearing Atari’s Centipede game. The trackball makes my life much easier, but you’ll notice that Apple doesn’t manufacture a trackball. Don’t even get me started on stand alone graphics tablets (many people can’t get over the pen-to-eye disconnect).

In short - specialized item for a specific subgroup of users. Those who can use it will sing it’s praises, the rest will be indifferent.

Either it will fly, or they’ll stop making them. If it turns into the next big thing, I have no doubt Apple will cut them a nice big slice of pie for the rights (as they did with Cassidy & Greenes SoundJam, which later became iTunes). If it doesn’t, perhaps it will have the same market as the Kensington Trackball, a great option manufactured and sold by “not Apple”.

The initial price is high about a grand above a comparable off the rack MacBook. But consider this: It’s a lesser version of the Cintiq, but portable (the Cintiq weighs in at 22lbs…). If the utility is there for you, it’s worth it. And lets face it, all new technology is expensive - maybe 10 years from now you’ll get one of these in your cereal box as a prize - but til then, what are you gonna use?

My question is (& I think I know the answer), can this ModBook change the orientation from architectural to portrait? Seems like when holding the box, it would be more comfortable holding it longways like a pad of paper and not the opposite.

Anyone know?

No, The Modbook is a slate, not a convertible.

My only concerns would be that windows based tablet pcs don’t seem to be geared towards serious art tool usage either (sensitivity and accuracy issues when compared with say a desktop intuos tablet). However the tradeoff for being able to draw directly onscreen is worth it I guess, untill the tech improves.

Given the choice, and available software I’d much prefer to do my sketching/sculpting on a mac slate than a pc, as I also prefer the OS to windows. This is definitely one of the sweetest looking slates I’ve seen even compared to windows based slates.

As for why “nobody is adressing how this will work with Boot Camp and Vista”, that’s because it’s a Mac Book. No new software, no weird hacks. If it works on a Mac Book, it works on this. (The touch screen under Vista may be an issue, as it DOES use a driver… It just happens to be a driver that already exists in a standard Mac OSX install.)

I’m very interested in this, but it’s basically just a toy for me, and I’m trying to decide if I can spend that much money on a toy. (My current laptop is 500mhz and that doesn’t bother me.)

So, I guess if those things are important to you, then go for it. I’ll stick with a MBP. I can add GPS after market.