Axiotron goes mod with Mac

USA - Apple may or may not be planning to announce a Macintosh tablet computer at the Macworld Conference & Expo later this month, but in the meantime hardware vendor Axiotron announced last week that it has begun shipping its own Apple-authorised Mac tablet.

Originally announced at Macworld a year ago, Axiotron's Modbook integrates a state-of-the-art Wacom digitized pen-sensitive LCD (liquid crystal display) slate-style display with Apple's MacBook computer, giving users enhanced on-screen writing and drawing functionality, the company said. With 512 levels of pressure sensitivity, it offers twice the pen sensitivity and control of any tablet PC on the market, said El Segundo, Axiotron.

Whereas tablet PCs traditionally have been aimed at the commercial market with industry-specific applications, Axiotron's device seems to be geared, at least in part, more toward consumers, Doug Bell, a research analyst with IDC, told MacNewsWorld. Vendors including HP and Gateway also have consumer-oriented tablet PCs, and "it's really a new market," Bell explained.

The device, which was named "Best of Show" at Macworld 2007, is currently the only Mac tablet on the market. Priced at US$2,290, the Modbook is available in the United States and Canada exclusively through Axiotron authorised resellers.

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