I’ll start by offering my apologies. The ModBook has been in play for some time now and I have failed to get one, despite the fact that their offices are located mere miles away from ours! So, at MacDayLA who else do I come across but Axiotron and their slick ModBook. I sat down and spent some time with the ModBook with Sigthor from Axiotron’s marketing department. One interesting tidbit, the founder and creator of the ModBook is Andreas Haas, the last director of operations for Apple Europe’s Newton division. Yeah. The guy has a thing for handhelds and handwriting recognition.

All the better for us, I say. Apple has been very reluctant to enter the tablet arena for as long as I can recall. I do remember that a 3rd party company did offer modified PowerBooks for education and people with learning disabilities, but I couldn’t find any information or even an image. If you browse around Google searching for “Mac OS X tablet computer” you’ll find many people asking for one, asking about the, or just making their own. So, Axiotron decided to just make one. At first, they simply bought MacBooks and made their ModBooks, hence the name. Now you can buy them. Now that Axiotron is a Proprietary Systems Provider officially recognized by Apple they purchase them directly from Apple.

So, what is a ModBook other than simply a tablet PC? Simply put, the ModBook is a MacBook which has been taken apart and rebuilt as a ModBook. To do that, Axiotron removes the screen and the panel into which the keyboard and trackpad are built. This leaves the base of the unit which contains everything which makes it a computer. They then install a titanium frame and their custom bezel. That new top is what makes the ModBook a tablet computer. It contains a new display which is a layered system containing the pen grid, the display, and a special glass top. Just for kicks, Axiotron also slots in a GPS antenna (the white bar at the top of the screen).

The ModBook itself is very slick, only weighing in at a few ounces heavier than a standard MacBook. Sigthor told me that most people are surprised at the weight, but I can tell you from personal experience that equivalent devices of this type weight just as much. He also told me that the ModBook is being targeted at designers and graphics people. This is a smart path since using Photoshop on the ModBook is a dream. The pen, which has changeable tips of varying types, has an eraser on the back and a Right Click button on the side. I started with the standard tip, but soon changed to the felt tip which makes it feel like a Sharpie. Very nice, indeed.

Axiotron only adds two applications; a GPS driver interface utility (you need to buy your own Mac-compatible GPS software) and Quick Click, Axiotron’s onscreen keyboard. Everything else is handled by Apple’s own software, including handwriting recognition via Apple’s Ink Services. If you activate on-screen handwriting recognition, you can activate a text field and just start writing. Ink Services will translate it and insert into the field. Flip the pen over and you can erase. It works remarkably well and feels very natural. Drawing was also very natural. I’m no artist, but I do some cartooning. I was able to whip up several small, funny pieces in mere minutes, something I wouldn’t have been able to do with a mouse.

Everything from the original MacBook is retained in this process. The camera and optical and all ports are all there. It works just like a real MacBook. The only thing missing is they keyboard and trackpad, which you can use if you plug them in or connect Bluetooth models. One nice benefit from the conversion is that the new ModBook is far more rigid than the MacBook. Overall, I was very pleased with the ModBook and I look forward to seeing more from Axiotron and Apple.

written by Tyler Regas