Hands-On the Axiotron Modbook at MacWorld

[Tiffany Boggs]

As most of the tablet community knows we were let down Tuesday when Steve Jobs announced the MacBook Air at MacWorld. Where is the iTablet, the touchscreen MacBook or anything resembling all the rumors of a touchscreen notebook bigger then the iPhone? Thankfully someone did something about it and that someone is Axiotron.

(view large image)	(view large image)	(view large image)
(view large image)	(view large image)	(view large image)

Images courtesy of Engadget.

That is right, Axiotron finally released the Modbook. The first Apple tablet solution, but not from Apple. Axiotron designed the Modbook and teamed up with Other World Computing (OWC) to sell it. It was first announced in January 2007, but now orders are shipping. Our friends over at Engadget got a hands-on look at the Modbook at MacWorld, so here is a chance to see it in action.

• Core 2 Duo 2GHz or 2.2GHz processor
• 1GB DDR2 SDRAM
• 80GB or 120GB hard drive options
• Write and draw directly on screen
• No touchscreen though
• True pen & handwriting recognition
• The only Mac solution with WAAS enabled GPS Built-In
• Aircraft grade magnesium alloy for all terrain use

Axiotron’s innovative design and manufacturing process integrates an Apple MacBook computer, Wacom pen-enabled digitizer technology and Axiotron's own proprietary hardware and software components into a complete tablet solution, creating the Modbook. I could see many designers liking this tablet, to bad it doesn't have a touchscreen though.

The Modbook is built for artists, mobile users, students and professionals. The condensed form factor and integrated pen-based user experience offer unprecedented flexibility and control over the creative process. Users who don't need a keyboard should be rejoicing over this slate.

I hope to get my hands on a Modbook review unit, but I will have to wait and see. They are available now for ordering in the U.S. and Canada with prices starting at $2,279. Check out Axiotron's website for more information.

[Frank]

Is there only this weird tablet button beside the on/off switch or are there a few others, too and I just can't see them? Isn't a graphic oriented tablet much good without tablet buttons?

The only advantage this slate has are the 512 levels pressure sensitivity. Everything else, is, like the MacBook, not really great, especially the big display with the too low resolution.

The pictures are very unfavorable, because they are grainy and so the display looks very grainy, too Which, I hope, isn't the case.

[jerelyn]

I think I'm going to go to Macworld tomorrow just so I can determine once and for all whether this thing has a grainy screen or not. There *is* one advantage of Modbook that isn't being touted much, which is that the surface you are drawing on is glass. I could be mistaken, but I don't believe any other tablets use glass, so I'm fascinated by what that means for drawing experience.

$45 entry fee just for that, though...oiy. Well, I suppose it'll be an Experience too. Exhibit halls are always fun to wander, even if I'm not a mac person.

[Shogmaster]

Oh looky there. Bezel lip right at the edge of the LCD. Made for artists, huh? How about made for artists by people who never use LCD tablets.

[jerelyn]

Well, I can at least say that the graininess is not nearly as bad as it is ASUS R1E, but it isn't quite cintiq-level. Really good, tough screen. I would definitely trade my current machine in, if such a swap were possible.

Was definitely a lot heavier though. And vertical viewing angles were no better. Horizontal viewing angles seemed better, but I didn't have my R1E there with me, so that I can't say for sure.

[Shogmaster]

Well, I can at least say that the graininess is not nearly as bad as it is ASUS R1E, but it isn't quite cintiq-level. Really good, tough screen. I would definitely trade my current machine in, if such a swap were possible.

Was definitely a lot heavier though. And vertical viewing angles were no better. Horizontal viewing angles seemed better, but I didn't have my R1E there with me, so that I can't say for sure.

Do you see any possible way for you to service the screen yourself for dust creepage without taking the whole damn thing apart? I fear this the most for the Modbook.

[jerelyn]

Do you see any possible way for you to service the screen yourself for dust creepage without taking the whole damn thing apart? I fear this the most for the Modbook.

I'm not sure I can give you any answer that is particularly useful, since I haven't dealt with that problem yet myself, so I have no experience with what that entails. Where does dust creep usually occur? The glass panel of the modbook is bonded onto the LCD, so I have no idea where the dust would go...but as I said, dust creep is not a problem I've come up against yet in my tablet-ing. (There weren't any obvious screws/latches, but for all I know, it could be very easy to lift off the custom screen that Axiotron puts in place.)

The best part about the time spent at the Axiotron booth was that I got to talk at length with a wacom developer. Sounds like he may escalate the importance of the cintiq vs. penabled driver conflicts. *cross fingers*

[Shogmaster]

Dust creep is inevitable reality for LCD tablets since there is a gap between the glass/polycarbonate cover and the LCD. There is no casing made that will keep the dust out of that gap, since the pressure of the hand on the screen will inevitably flex the casing in some way to let the particulates inside.

This is true of the Cintiqs as well. A good half of the Cintiqs at my school has obvious dust creep problems after almost 2 years of use. The rest have not so obvious dust creep.

The way that most Tablet PC manufacturers deal with the problem is to provide a way for the user to get the front cover off with screws so that you can blow out the dust when it gets bad enough to distract. Toshibas have simple black plastic squares covering the screw holes with re-attachable adhesive layer. On my R25, for instance, there are 9 screws holding the front cover to the rest of the LCD housing.

On slates, this can be more problematic since the LCD is part of the main housing, so I was curious how Axiotron handled the matter.