 Axiotron's Modbook |
Axiotron announced Friday that Steve Wozniak, cofounder of Apple and designer of the Apple I and Apple II computer, had joined its Board of Advisors. Axiotron is the maker of the Modbook, the first (and so far only) Mac tablet computer.
"We're thrilled to bring Steve onto our Board of Advisors. His deep knowledge and experience are an invaluable resource for Axiotron," Andreas E. Haas, CEO of Axiotron, said in a statement. "Steve's forward-thinking and non-conformist approach, his incredibly creative engineering designs and his emphasis on the human aspects of technology have always been an inspiration to me."
It's not yet clear exactly what role Mr. Wozniak will be playing at the company, or if he will be directly advising the company on its Modbook. Though the Modbook is the only product Axiotron currently offers, the company also said it, "is dedicated to becoming a leading high-tech innovator through the conception and development of intriguing digital lifestyle products."
Our own Jeff Gamet and Dave Hamilton interviewed Mr. Wozniak today on the iPhone Alley Podcast with Michael Johnston (to be published shortly), where Mr. Wozniak said that there were aspects of the Modbook he was interested in improving.
"I've got a list right now of little things -- you know, it's version 1 -- that I wish were different: This windows doesn't cover up that when you try to use it, and little icons and things tend to move a little bit when you're tapping them with the pen."
To that effect he said that he would be using the Modbook and coming up with ideas about what needs fixing, and helping to determine the priority of fixing those things and improving the device.
Axiotron's Modbook is effectively a converted MacBook that turns the Apple notebook into a tablet-form, pen-based Mac. Apple has not shown any interest in this space, with CEO Steve Jobs having told the media that tablet computers represent a tiny niche in the market, leaving it to companies like Axiotron to explore.
This article was updated with quotes from Mr. Wozniak and additional information.