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January 5, 2008

speculation

Latest Macworld prediction: laptop docking station?

Posted Jan. 5, ’08, 7:44 AM PT by Aaron Freedman
Category | Apple » Speculation

The dawn of the new year has always heralded speculation and rumors, and this is especially so in 2008. No, I’m not talking about the Iowa Caucus (which is going on at this very moment), I mean the Macworld Expo. With rumors of an ultra-portable MacBook, a Mac tablet, new iPhone firmware and more circulating around, another potential product announcement at the Stevenote has also been introduced — a laptop docking station.

On Thursday, Apple was granted a patent for what appears to be some kind of laptop docking stations (see image at right). The dock, which looks a lot like a hollow iMac, would allow a portable computer to plug in and output its video on the station’s monitor, while still leaving space for access to ports open. The device would also be able to communicate with your Mac via WiFi and Bluetooth, getting rid of some cable clutter.

Whether or not this product actually appears at the Macworld Expo, it still looks like a good concept. There are already plenty of laptop docks out there, such as Logitech’s Alto, but few of them are Mac compatible and none offer Apple’s sense of simplicity and function in design and use. If Apple did release this dock, it would be great for people like me who bring their laptop to work or school and would like to dock it in some kind of a desktop station when they get home. Of course, a patent simply means Apple may be interested in making the product, not that they ever will. Still, the idea of an Apple laptop dock would be very attractive to a lot of Apple notebook consumers.


2 Comments

Greg said:

It's the DuoDock all over again

January 5, 2008 8:58 AM
Blackrider said:

Actually, Apple did already release a similar product back in 1992, named the PowerBook Duo. Maybe they are planning a dejavu comeback. :)

January 5, 2008 12:09 PM

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