Axiotron Modservice takes your sad, disused Macbook, converts it into swanky new tablet

If you happen to have a spare MacBook lying around, and you're at all intrigued by Axiotron's ModBook tablets, you'll probably be stoked to hear that the company is now taking orders on their website to convert personal MacBooks into the devices. Prices start at around $1,300 -- far less than buying a new one, which go for a base price of $2,290. Modification kits are being sent out to a network of authorized modders, the nearest of which will contact you once you place your order to set up an appointment for the so-called "transformation." You're totally out of luck, however, if you were looking to have your brand new, aluminum MacBook "transformed" because they're apparently "too cool" to submit to the keyboard denuding-degradation Axiotron requires. As if.

[Via Notebooks.com]

[apetruck @ Oct 28th 2008 9:53PM]

now all it needs is 3G.

[j_g_puff @ Oct 29th 2008 5:53AM]

Now all we need is some way to convert sad, disused mac users into something useful, like energy.

[lgespee @ Oct 28th 2008 10:01PM]

Their website:
| Which Apple MacBooks can be converted?
| You can convert most Intel® Core™ 2 Duo-based white Apple MacBook computers into an Axiotron Modbook.*
| The Intel Core 2 Duo-based Apple MacBooks were introduced in November 2006.

No blank ones, I wonder who they are voting for next week ;).

[lgespee @ Oct 28th 2008 10:01PM]

* blank => black

woops

[wickedpheonix @ Oct 28th 2008 10:22PM]

I think their point is white vs. aluminum, I don't think that Vaderbooks will prove to be a problem.

I get your joke though...

[Juaquin @ Oct 28th 2008 10:23PM]

Their cases are white - so while it would work with a black one (same exact case, just colored differently), it seems their design department put the squash on it.

[TareX @ Oct 28th 2008 10:07PM]

Touch is way, way, WAY too overrated. Sure it's great as an additional input method, but not a replacement.

I'm glad the G1 has a keyboard, and if the hi-res touchscreen-only Touch HD comes in Android, I wouldn't get it an would wait for the G2 instead.

[_Mark_ @ Oct 28th 2008 11:26PM]

Touch may be overrated, but that's irrelevant - the ModBook is a tablet screen, not a touch screen, and it only responds to a stylus.

(And yeah, OSX handwriting support is... unfortunate at best, but for anything visual, the modbook is quite nice.)

[wickedpheonix @ Oct 28th 2008 11:26PM]

this doesn't have a touch screen, but a Wacom sensor that detects a pen. Much, much different - it is to graphics work (Photoshop) what a joystick is to flight simulators when compared with a mouse.

[Joe H @ Oct 28th 2008 10:07PM]

The problem is that OS X, for all it does do well, isn't a tablet minded operating system like XP Tablet Edition and Vista are. If you do this, you're probably going to need to install boot camp anyway and use it as a PC, and so for that price, you could just get a separate tablet.

[Leindurstit @ Oct 28th 2008 10:21PM]

Or two.

[Joe H @ Oct 28th 2008 10:25PM]

I meant a separate Windows TabletPC, but yeah, if you go the drawing tablet route you could get a couple, or one really good one.

[somebody @ Oct 28th 2008 10:28PM]

Actually the modbook comes with drivers for OS X.

[Joe H @ Oct 28th 2008 10:30PM]

I'm not talking about tablet drivers. I'm talking about the actual interface of OS X. It wasn't designed for being used for slate style tablet pc input. For example, it's got Inkwell, but quite frankly Inkwell's technology is far behind Vista's handwriting recognition and not integrated as well throughout the system.

[J-Rad @ Oct 28th 2008 10:12PM]

Can't wait for Engadget's infamous multiple follow-ups

[ridestp @ Oct 28th 2008 10:25PM]

Wouldn't this be a "slate" and not a tablet?

[MioTheGreat @ Oct 28th 2008 10:43PM]

I believe "tablet" refers to both the "slate" and "convertible" style tablet.

[Chris @ Oct 28th 2008 10:36PM]

$1000 for a new old macbook + $1300 for the tabletification which is $10 more than buying strait from them so basically if you don't already have a macbook then just buy one from them. (or screw multi touch and get a new macbook which is so much better and cheaper)

[Benson @ Oct 29th 2008 12:32AM]

"Screw multi touch"???

This doesn't have multi touch; it has a digitizer. For drawing/painting/such, that's much less screwable than multi touch; you can get a new Macbook, a Cintiq, and a suitcase, or you can just get this.

[B2RStudio @ Oct 29th 2008 6:14AM]

much less screwable......

I have to disagree I feel I could be just as intimate with both

[MioTheGreat @ Oct 28th 2008 10:43PM]

$1300?

My fully spec'd out tx2500z didn't even cost that much!

[Marcos @ Oct 28th 2008 10:46PM]

This is great for artists. Painter and Photoshop both have great UIs to use with tablets and this

a) Beats a regular tablet
b) Is not much more than a Cintiq, but way more portable.

For the regular user, perhaps not so much.

[Jeff Lewis @ Oct 28th 2008 10:59PM]

Uh.. no.. $1300 is NOT a lot cheaper because you still had to pay for the MacBook - either way - it's about the same price - around $2400.

Or you could just go get any Windows based Tablet PC from $699 to $1799 and put iATKOS or Kalyway's patched MacOS X on it. :)

[Cole Mitguard @ Oct 28th 2008 11:37PM]

Well, for the money I would rather have one of these than a MBA... I guess that's the only way I could look at it and see it being worth the money... now if I had any want of a MBA.... ;-)

[Cybergypsy @ Oct 28th 2008 11:50PM]

I will wait for Apples:)

[ethan @ Oct 29th 2008 12:18AM]

don't hold your breath there, pal.

[john @ Oct 28th 2008 11:54PM]

Now if they'd just take an air motherboard, and make a convertible touchscreen tablet with 7-9" screen. That's a modbook I'd buy.

[macstibs @ Oct 28th 2008 11:58PM]

John -
AMEN BROTHER!

[Imran @ Oct 29th 2008 5:46PM]

Wow, not bad, if only they did Macbook Pros :(

[jacob.luber @ Oct 29th 2008 9:14PM]

Isn't it obvious why they are doing this? They realize that the old macbooks they can convert are being fazed out and unfortunately they cannot re-manufacture the new aluminum macbooks. It is a desperate business move.