How to make a Macbook Tablet

iPad too small or too locked-down for you? Build your own Mac Tablet!

There are three excellent Mac Tablet builds on Instructables already, so what sets my build apart from the crowd?
- The build is self-contained within the original Macbook body.
- Instead of using a Wacom tablet such as c4l3b or tqbrady's build, this tablet uses a modified Wacom TabletPC digitiser and stylus from a HP TX1000. Its much thinner and easier to modify.
- The optical drive, keyboard and trackpad get ditched for a USB hub and some funky peripherals...

The inspiration for this build came from the Axiotron Modbook (or nowadays, Modbook Inc's Modbook Pro), which turned a Macbook Core 2 Duo into a tablet. Whilst being the object of my affections for a few years, the price tag was just too great. 

On launch, the Modbook's RRP was a whopping £1,649.
My build is currently topping out at £240. 

The shopping list:
£150 - Macbook Core 2 Duo (2.16gHz, 80gb hard drive, 1gb ram) sold without battery or OS X, off eBay. 
£25 - HP TX1000 Wacom Digitiser with cable, off eBay.
£25 - HP TX1000 Stylus and spare nibs, off eBay.
£20 - Wire, solder wick, flux pen from Proto-Pic
£20 - Second HDD Caddy
(Several other parts and accessories have been collected over the years and have been reused.)

You're probably excited by the cheap cost by now, so before we begin, here's a word of warning:
During this build, you will destroy a perfectly good Macbook. It involves cutting a huge hole in the display lid, tearing the keyboard to its basic parts, cutting parts of the chassis, and soldering/desoldering tiny wires which connect to the logic board. This build is not to be undertaken lightly!

That's it, that's all. Let's make a MacTab!

Step 1: Tools and Basic Knowledge

Here's a non-definitive list of the tools you will require for this build. Items in bold are a necessity, every other tool can be substituted with hand-tools and a bit of ingenuity!

Cutting and Shaping Tools
-Oscillating Multitool with cutting discs
-Dremel with grinding, milling and sanding discs
-Hacksaw
-Tin snips
-Router, with bearing-flush bit and bearing-chamfer bit
-Various files and sanding paper
-Knife
-Drill and drill bits

Screwdrivers
-Phillips #00 screwdriver
-Small flathead screwdriver

Electronics 
-Soldering Iron
-Multimeter
-Wire snips and wire strippers
-Flux, wick, solder (60/40)
-Wire shrink wrap
-Electrical tape 

Miscellaneous
-Compressed Air Can
-Screen/Computer cleaning spray
-Degreaser
-Double-Sided Tape
-Masking-Tape

Comments

[HarryBeast2000]

What OSX can this run?

[jadyoh]

Very creative and almost professional. Good job

[orangefult]

I've been thinking about doing this for a while, though I wonder if I could do it with a UC-Logic Digitizer? I've got one and I'm trying to make just the DIY cintiq with it, once I get that working maybe I'll feel a bit more adventurous and try making my old macbook into a tablet.

Thanks!

[sonicrz]

Epic dude just epic

[einstien123]

You should show Apple that!

[instructamaker]

You should go to techshop and engrave a customized apple logo and mactab on the back.

[chandrahas aroori]

This was amazing!!

[chandrahas aroori]

This was amazing!!

[Penolopy Bulnick]

This is pretty sweet!  Wish I knew how to do stuff like this :)  You should enter it into the Holiday Gifts Contest!

[MrQuiffster]

Thank you for the kind words! I've entered it, so we'll see how it fares..!

[avgmike]

Found this one while looking for yours. Very similar but he's put in a wireless charging coil too. Neat mod btw

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=941316

[MrQuiffster]

Wow! When I was hunting for similar projects, I only found the ones I mentioned in the Instructable, but thats a nice project! Thanks for the tip!

[FuzzyBearGeek]

Voted.
Beautiful.
Makes me want to own a mac.

[MrQuiffster]

Thank you! If you have some spare cash, buy an old Mac off eBay. There are plenty of hacks and tricks you can do with these old machines!

[MrQuiffster]

Thank you! If you have some spare cash, buy an old Mac off eBay. There are plenty of hacks and tricks you can do with these old machines!

[xMSIx]

This is really nice. So basically you can turn any laptop into a tablet?

[MrQuiffster]

With a bit of willpower and a ton of patience, I think you probably can turn almost any laptop into a tablet. However, if you're looking for a non-Mac tablet, I suggest just buying an old TabletPC. At least you would have the foundations for upgrading it right there, and depending on the model, you may even have touch support too!

[pertamax11]

Wow!!! an awesome project!!
Voted !!

[MrQuiffster]

...and thanks to you [and others like you], I somehow won a Grand Prize in the Reuse Contest! Thank you very much for your support!

[crazyg]

congratulations

[MaxZim]

In response to comment(s) - I fully agree that there is a market niche, so:

Who's up for starting a business with me to appeal to the low-cost to even very-low-cost markets to even high-end users in the long run for such a device type? I have a list of improvements in mind that I have categorized by cost but also implementation complexity. Creating the first prototypes and products with the help of funding raised via Kickstarter. I think this is absolutely exciting from a technological standpoint but also makes total sense from a business perspective.

[jovino]

So... how do you type?

[MrQuiffster]

You have three options.
1. Use the Keyboard Viewer. Its handy for tapping small amounts of text (Use it for Spotlight and hunting through iTunes)
2. Apple Ink is handwriting recognition software built-in. Its pretty good, and can make my scrawl legible. I use it for writing anything up to a few paragraphs.
3. Bluetooth or USB Keyboard. This is only for when I need to do some heavy typing, and I generally use my Macbook Pro for that kind of work anyway.

If you want a computer for typing, i'd recommend you leave it as a Macbook!

[jovino]

Ahhh, yes. Thanks. :)

[MrQuiffster]

I'm away from the internet for the next fortnight or so due to work. However, any question or comments posted WILL be answered when I next get internet.

Thanks for the overwhelming response to my project; I'm humbled by your kind comments!

[zack247]

this is really cool!
and a person could easily adapt this to any other computer as well!

personally i'd have used the extra space to optimize the cooling in the computer, but the extra storage is a nice touch too.

i hope i can get the opportunity to try something like this in the future!

[MrQuiffster]

The extra space could definitely be used for cooling, or anything you like! Once you take the optical drive out, its surprising how much room you have to play with!

[zack247]

agreed! theres many more useful things you can put there if you never use the optical drive. :3

[InX]

Just for Keynote and PowerPoint presentations, such pocketable Mac would be great. I mean, make the presentation on the Mac, move the file to the pocketable Mac, carry ONLY the latter one in a pocket and do the presentation. No need to carry 2 kg of a laptop et al. Because even the 11-inch MacBook Air is too heavy and large.

And concerning iOS, it does not work. Keynote and PowerPoint presentations created on a Mac are NOT compatible with the iOS devices. And I mean all presentations, not just the simple ones.

[MrQuiffster]

Hmm. You could try a hackintosh Sony Vaio UX. They're small, light, pocketable and a fully functioning computer. I own one, and they're astonishlingly powerful for something so small. Might be just your solution!

[InX]

The message below was in reply to MrQuiffster, because this comment system does not allow me to reply to such comment using Safari 5.1.7 on Mac OS X 10.6.8, since it requests to enter words that do NOT show at all.

[sfjberk]

Not only is this how-to piece all the commenters say it is, but MrQuiffster's article is truly a joy to read. No unneeded apostrophes, very few unneeded commas. Good sentence structure; informative with a bit if humor thrown in to ensure it all goes down easily.
Hats off to you and your teachers, sir!

[MrQuiffster]

That's very kind of you! There will be more Instructables to come...

[he who crashes often]

I have an old macbook (the original black model) but the screen is broken. any Ideas where I can get a new one?

[MrQuiffster]

eBay is a haven for second hand and replacement screens, and iFixit.com is a great place for spares too! I'm a big fan of the black Macbook, wish they would've continued it!

[hsilva1]

Awesome!
I will buy an macbook only for this!
Thanks a lot!

[InX]

Apple should make a light (400 to 600 g) and small (5 to 9 inches) truly ultra-portable Mac (whatever form factor: chamshell, slider or tablet). That is great for Keynote and PowerPoint presentations.

[MrQuiffster]

I agree with you, but I can see why they don't blend the Macbooks and iPads up like this. Using Mac OS X with a finger is a bit of a pain, as hitting scrollbars and small icons (minimize etc) are a case of jab and hope. Using a pen (like this Macbook) is a lot easier, quicker and even with the alignment problems, more accurate!
I'd love to see Apple make a slider, but with the Tablet-arms race in full swing, I can't see it happening!

[tqbrady]

Apologies if I missed this bit, but without calibration software, how are you aligning the pen events with where they get rendered on screen? Or are you just not able to do that, yet? How much of the screen is covered by the digitizer?

[MrQuiffster]

You have it right, I'm not able to align the pen and the pointer completely yet. However, using Apples generic tablet drivers, it does recognise pressure. It takes a few minutes to get used to, but it is usable without alignment!

I almost ALMOST managed to get alignment using the Pen Tablet drivers supplied here: ftp://ftp.wacom-europe.com/pub/Mac/cons505-3_int.dmg
However, it hangs on trying to align the lower-right hand corner. This may be due to my sensor being slightly torn, or it might be an incompatibility issue. Using the driver, you can change the settings for the pen buttons though, so I have hope!

The HP TX2000 sensor is for a 12.1" screen and the Macbooks screen is 13.3", so you lose about 3/4" top and bottom, and about an inch on each side. There is a Fuji Lifebook (T900 if I recall) which has a 13.3" digitiser. Provided the sensor is USB, then it may work! The folks over at BongoFish have a much better idea than I do though, and their Wiki has a list of digitisers, their dimensions, and their inputs.