MacBook October Refresh Might Include Multi-Touch Trackpad

While it seems like half the geek world is busy doing nothing in queues outside Apple stores (apparently they have new gadget launching today), the rest have got all excited about the future of Multi-Touch in the company's product line.  Greg over at theyshoulddothat.com is obviously as greedy as I am, and wants an ultra-portable tablet, iPod, Cinema Display and iMac all with the touch-sensitive screen.  Meanwhile, Crunchgear reports that a "trusted source" tells them that the refreshed MacBook line coming in October – which will be temptingly slimmer than current models – will feature Multi-Touch trackpads.

Apparently the same pinching, gesturing and other finger tricks that help to make the iPhone so intuitive will be similarly implemented on the MacBook trackpad, an upgrade that while not as impressive as a proper touch-screen would certainly be far easier to include.

My own concern would be the usability of such an addition.  When you're gesturing directly onto an object on-screen there's a perceived sense of where you're touching as well as the gesture that is far more accurate than aiming at a mentally-mapped point on a trackpad.  Try using a tablet PC compared to a standalone graphics tablet and you'll have a similar experience.  Crunchgear's story is probably the most believable, but I can't help wishing that Greg's would be the one to come true.

For more on Multi-Touch and that damned iPhone, check out our sister site MYiTablet