Behold, the Revolutionary Apple Wireless Touchboard Concept
If you’ve ever had a chance to use one of Apple’s recent notebooks for any length of time, you know that they ship with the best trackpads in the world. The trackpads are so awesome, in fact, that the Mighty Mouse doesn’t look quite so mighty in front of them and it’s the only reason for my reluctance to switch from my 17-inch MacBook Pro to a 24-inch iMac.
Therefore, it is my earnest desire that Apple does away with the mouse completely and replaces it with a keyboard like the one I’ve shown below (click on it to enlarge it), the ‘Apple Wireless Touchboard’ perhaps. The name sounds ridiculous, I know, but it’s not like I ever professed to be the creative type anyway.
The same Multi-touch trackpad that the Macbook Pro and MacBook Air boast of could be added onto the keyboard itself, allowing you to enjoy all the benefits of a desktop Mac without losing out on one of the best features from the notebook side of the lineup. It will be completely in tandem with Apple’s philosophy too:
- One converged device instead of two separate ones;
- Lesser wires and buttons;
- Possibility of Multi-touch™;
- Restricts end-user choice (which is totally up Apple’s alley);
- The scroll-ball issues will disappear once and for all;
- Easier to hop between the keyboard and trackpad;
- Unlike anything else in the industry (gives Steve Jobs a chance to introduce it as a “revolutionary” new product);
- Patent-worthy, and we all know how much Apple loves patents;
- More anodised aluminium, less of that white plastic-y crap; and
- It’s probably more ergonomic (or maybe not; I just had to have a total of ten points).
See? Ten solid reasons why it’s an awesome idea. Of course, there will be people who’d want a mouse only—graphic designers and the like—so maybe Apple could offer this as an optional accessory. Or the trackpad part could be detachable, revealing a USB port in its place, so you could switch between the mouse and trackpad whenever you wanted.
Note also that there’s no button below the trackpad. I feel that it’s not really required and I, for one, don’t find myself using it at all. I would’ve preferred it, in fact, if Apple had done away with it completely and bestowed my MacBook Pro with a larger trackpad instead. Plus, I’m no whiz at Adobe Photoshop and couldn’t draw the button anyway.
So, should I go ahead and patent it already? Let me know what you think…
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Comments
Nice design! did you come up with it? I would suggest you do without the top row of numbers and don’t omit the numbers keyboard you usually get to the right of the keyboard it comes in really handy well at least for me I’m an engineer.
I love it!! Except for one thing. The trackpad is on the wrong side of the keyboard. Other than that, it is perfect!
Please patent it.
Nice concept! Looks really awesome. However I wouldn’t suggest this for the main keyboard. This would however do awesomely on the bluetooth keyboard that they give. It would be a perfect solution for integration.
And the best part with this concept is if you prefer a mouse, just disable the trackpad and use a mouse as you always did! Good thinking boy.
I however do see this design to be a problem for left handed users, for which a separate keyboard might have to be made. Otherwise yes, the trackpad could be a large one so you don’t have to skip around on a high resolution display or something.
Left-handed? Well, he already suggested that it could be detachable. Some of us prefer mice… and frankly, I don’t think the trackpad will work well for first-person-shooter gaming.
So if it’s detachable, make it symmetrical; it can plug in the left side or the right. Gives you a spare USB connection, too. Bonus!
During a brief flirtation with blogging last year, I pretty much described the same thing… http://fakebob.blogspot.com/2007/08/yeah-yeah-yeah-but-wheres-mouse.html.
I still want one for my Mac Mini media. A mouse is rubbish on the couch.
Make the pad detachable but please add the bar! I spend about 1/3 of my time on my MBP and 2/3s on my iMac. I find that I am frequently going for the trackpad when I am working on the iMac. You will still be able to use a mouse without deactivating the trackpad just as if you were on a notebook.
Yes, I did.
I did suggest that it could de detachable, but maybe I should’ve made it clearer that the reason for that was to accommodate the left-handers among us. Of course, the illustration doesn’t show any signs of it being detachable but you can chalk that up to my not being up to snuff with Photoshop, not a disregard for the lefties.
The title reads, “Behold, the Revolutionary Apple Wireless Touchboard Concept”. Wireless = Bluetooth.
Yes, it won’t, which is why the humble mouse is not going anywhere anytime soon. My suggestion is just supposed to be inducted into the lineup as an alternative wireless keyboard for those of us who can do without a mouse or prefer the trackpad over it. Since the whole unit can easily be kept on your lap, you can sit back and have full control over your Mac from a distance while using the Wireless Touchboard.
Thanks to everyone for the kind words of appreciation!