Modbook Makers Fight Back With, Err, Free Digitizer Pen

Axiotron, makers of the thing that was closest to being an iPad before the iPad was announced – the Modbook – are not going to give in without a fight. No sir.

They’ve sent out a press release today, announcing a new promotion for buyers of all new Modbooks. Something they hope will make customers think twice before buying an iPad.

A Modbook, for those readers unfamiliar with the idea, is a Macbook that’s been torn in half, then re-assembled with a touch-screen attached. If you provide your own MacBook for them to work on, it’ll just cost you $899. That’s on top of the cost of the MacBook. Or you can just buy the whole thing from them direct, for $1,849.

And Axiotron are clearly trying to put some distance between their product and what they sniffily call Apple’s “one-app-at-a-time media pad”.

No, say Axiotron. The Modbook is a “full-fledged tablet computer” and “the most powerful and affordable slate-style tablet computer system on the market”. Why, they seem to be asking, would anyone waste their money on a puny little iPad?

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Oh, and that special promotion to make the Modbook sound a little more appealing? If you buy a Modbook, you’ll get a free additional digitizer pen set (worth $50!), as well as the one that comes with the Modbook anyway.

Hmm. Yeah. Good luck with that.

11 comments »

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Giles Turnbull is a freelance writer in England. He writes for the Press Association and The Morning News. He has a website you can ignore and a Twitter account you needn't follow.

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Posted in Hardware, Hardware Hacks, iPad, Macbook, News, Tablet |

http://www.chrisburke.ca Chris Burke
personally I think the modbook is WAY better than the iPad.. but.. a digital pen is not going to make me fork out the money..
Charli
I have to disagree Chris. The Modbook is not WAY better. They are two different things.
The Modbook is for those that need the power of a full laptop. The iPad is for those that don’t. Those that only need the things an iPad can do.
Axiotron has more to feel from the issue of price than anything else. There are likely folks out there that like the idea of a tablet but don’t need full power and now they don’t have to pay the almost $2000 to get what they do need
Name(Required)
@Chris
” …personally I think the modbook is WAY better than the iPad..”
There are 140,000 reasons why you’re wrong.
Scott
I actually think the iPad will help Modbook sales. People will look at iPads and see it falls short in x or y feature and might consider picking one of these up (who otherwise wouldn’t have thought of it). The iPad will be great for most people, but some need the extra power that a Modbook brings.
…and of those 140,000 of those reasons, you can be pretty certain that about 80% of them are probably just making it harder to find the useful 20%.
Webbs
@Name(Required) First off, a good portion of those 140,000 reasons are bad and worthless. Also if you haven’t noticed there are things called applications for OSX. And they are better because they are not “apple approved”
Secondly, I would take a touch capable macbook any day over a stretched out iPod Touch.
Knightlie
They’re different products. Axiotron just looks silly dissing the iPad, the ModBook is different enough that they didn’t need to. It’s not Apples or the iPads fault that they have a very niche product.
http://blog.icreatemagazine.nl Bram Balk
No offense, but the Axiotron ModBook is a piece of crap.
- The single-touch technology works horrible (because the icons in Mac OS X are too small, you can’t work properly on a ModBook)
- Its tablet functions are a BIG joke (the performance of technology is similar to the old Wacom Bamboo. So if you’re serious about photoshop you’ll stick to the Wacom Intuos or Cintiq, anyway)
- The case is ugly (believe me: the screenshot of the modbook above shows its good side; otherwise you’ll see Axiotron uses ugly cold gray plastic for the mod)
- Its too heavy (Holding it in your arm is a serious workout, people)
- It subtracts functionality because the virtual keyboard makes things worse instead of better (You cant type on it with your fingers, so prepare for a Mac on which you won’t surf the web, won’t chat with your friends, won’t write any e-mail, won’t be able to use quick function keys, etc, etc, etc.)
In other words: you pay fortune to gimp your MacBook. The world is a better place without it.
Andrew
The Modbook is a niche product targeted at artists and creative professionals who appreciate a truly portable, pen-based creative tool that runs full OS X. There is nothing like it in the market now, so it does fill a need. Apple’s iPad is a mass consumer product.
Comparing Modbook to Cintique/Intuos is missing the point. Wacom provides the components for Modbook, and while they limit it to 512 pressure levels, it’s still more than enough to make good art with. The Modbook is not a Cintique/Intuos replacement; rather it enables you to make art in places and situations where it’s impossible or impractical to lug around an additional peripheral and power brick.
Finally, this article makes Axiotron appear to be in competition with Apple. They are not. Not until Apple introduces a pen-based OS X tablet. Also Axiotron have never dissed the iPad or Apple in any way, and are in fact a Premier Apple Developer. Every Modbook sale contributes to Apple revenue due to the very nature of the product.
http://doobieburnin.com Doobieburnin.com
Thank you Andrew for saying that. Apple does work with Axiotron and they are not in competition. Apple just doesn’t see it as a market they want to peruse. and for Bram Balk, sorry you didn’t like the Modbook, I didn’t know 5 pounds so heavy for you. I walk everywhere with mine, I’m an animator & I love just sitting down anywhere and being able to work. Its design is very attractive to alot of the public, (you should see me at the park!) and for the on screen keyboard, love it, it doesnt take awayfrom the experince, it comes natural after a day, I swear! and plus I have a bluetooth keyboard I keep with me just incase i want to type out a blog, but if Im just surfing, or watching youtube? its fun as hell! it might not be for you but anyone i know can pick it up and can figure it out in less than a few minutes and they love it.
bob
Agreed
Scratchmark
ah yes, my modbook- biggest waste of money and effort ever. What a hunkajunk.