A Woodstock, Ill.-based solution provider shocked the faithful at MacWorld with its own MacOS-based tablet notebook.
Other World Computing (OWC), a Mac dealer since 1988, along with German and American engineers from El Segundo , Calif.-based Axiotron Inc. have introduced the ModBook, an after-market hardware modification kit, which allows an off-the-shelf Apple MacBook systems to be converted into a slate-style tablet PC.
For the Canadian Mac channel, the ModBook will be made available to solution providers here. Other World Computing will be acting as a Canadian and U.S. distributor for the ModBook, which is priced at US$2,279. The ModBook is currently available for pre-orders through Other World Computing’s e-commerce portal Macsales.com/modbook.
Other World Computing, which was on the show floor at MacWorld this year in San Francisco and drew a crowd of well over 100, also runs an e-commerce portal called MacSales.com that has about US$35 million in revenue per year, according to the company. The company is also a Premiere Level Apple Developer Connection member.
Andreas Haas, president of Axiotron, said the ModBook is built for mobile users, artists, students, medical practitioners and professionals. It enables users to draw and write directly on the screen, while the handwriting recognition built into Mac OS X Tiger not only turns hand scribbles into text in every application, but also provides extended control of the system through gesture recognition.
Haas is a former management level leader with Apple, including serving as Newton business unit manager in Europe, where he explored the tablet feasibility.
The ModBook has a condensed form factor and integrated pen-based capability.
Built for mobile users, artists, students and professionals, the ModBook enables its user to draw and write directly on the screen, while the handwriting recognition built-into Mac OS X Tiger not only turns hand scribbles into text in every application, but also provides extended control of the system through gesture recognition.
The Modbook comes standard with built-in iSight camera and an integrated CD/DVD combo drive that can be upgraded to a 8.5 GB DVD burner, and it is the only portable Mac solution that also features an optional built-in Global Positioning System (GPS).
Every complete ModBook solution purchased through Other World Computing includes a one year OWC warranty and can be extended to up to three years. The channel can purchase the optional two-year OWC warranty extension.
