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Rumors spread quickly through the technology world, especially those which reference Apple’s product lines. How many fake photoshopped pictures did we slog through prior to the release of the iPhone? The iPhone’s touchscreen feature is boosting new speculation that Apple is developing a miniature, tablet-style notebook that will make use of this interface. Champions of the idea point to the power of the multi-touch iPhone interface. It’s a surprisingly sophisticated technology, recognizing more than one finger on the screen, as evidenced by the “stretching” and “shrinking” actions. But will this feature be truly usable on a notebook?

Tablet notebooks have been spectacularly unsuccessful in the past, particularly those which discarded the keyboard. However, with the recent popularity of the iPhone, Blackberry, and similar hand-held web-enabled phones, the public might be ready for a stripped down mini-notebook. After all, Generation Y seems to be able to type text messages on tiny phones as quickly as they type on a standard keyboard. If any Silicon Valley company was able to re-energize the market for ultra mobile computers, it would be Apple. Their sense of modern design and ability to integrate software and hardware would lend itself well to this product, which some bloggers are nicknaming the “MacBook Touch”.

The “MacBook Touch” would not only fill a void in the marketplace, but would hopefully reach out to Japanese consumers who are reliable early adopters of tiny gadgets. AppleInsider is reporting that the company is hoping to reach out to the Japanese market with this product, which has been slow for them lately. They predict that the mini MacBook, whether or not it features a touch screen, will be a hit in Japan.

This touch screen fever is not only focused on Apple, though. Microsoft’s innovative Surface interface is also hoping to revolutionize the physical way in which users interact with computers. Talkibie featured an article about Surface a few months back, and we expect to see more devices of this type in the near future. We are preparing for a world in which there are no physical barriers or limitations between us and our computers. Hopefully Apple will capitalize on the success of the iPhone and take their touch screen technology to a broader product line.

Thursday, November 8th, 2007 Both comments and pings are currently closed.

By Haley January Eckels