Photos of a Prototype MacBook Pro with Integrated 3G Cellular Data

Why bother?

I really can't see the point of this, even if it is mede neater (internal antenna).

For 5 years, I have been getting data on my laptops using, until recently, a bluetooth tether with a 3G mobile phone.

More recently I have been utilising the WiFi Hotspot functionality in iOS, using my iPhone as the modem. Most of us have mobile phones these days, and you certainly don't have to have an iPhone to make this work. Until I got my iPhone a year ago I used a Sony Ericsson and before that a Nokia, they worked flawlessly.

Also, I recently bought an iPad2 and bought a 3G one, mainly because I couldn't find a WiFi only one anywhere and didn't want to wait weeks.. I was thinking that the internal 3G might offer some more flexibility. So far I haven't even thought about using it, which says to me a phone tether is the way to go? I wish I spent the extra cash on the full sized memory! the 32Gbyte one is ok, but ....

Mobile telecoms ditched external antennas way before 2007... I reckon its an elaborate hoax! Someones smiling as the auction price gets higher and higher either way..

Apple may have a phobia around 3G in their laptops. They've ignored it for years when many others have offered it. All my Windows laptops have it.

Nowadays, that antenna would be irrelevant. There are 3G-enabled netbooks heck the Chromebooks have 3G support.

Over $11k ? REALLY ?

Jordan925 said:

You guys are serious? That is a PowerBook G4!

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Are YOU serious? I'm typing this reply on a 2007 Santa Rosa "non-unibody" MacBook Pro which looks exactly like the one in the picture (minus the 3G antenna, of course).

Here's a review link to refresh your memory:

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Apple-MacBook-Pro-15-Notebook-Santa-Rosa.4227.0.html

Jibbajabba said:

Over $11k ? REALLY ?

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Hate to say it, but I think we're into the "silly bid" territory now. Hope the seller is vigilant about cancelling fake bids.

evilroot said:

....I'm the seller...
...the antenna actually follows that exact description: it is attached with a magnet and snaps off!...

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Hello, Mr Seller!

Those pics look more like a hardware tech's bench. Brings back memories!

The idea of the antenna strikes me a quite "Apple-esque". Extend for greater range, but simply knocks off without damage to the display housing or antenna if knocked hard enough. Would that be a fair description?

evilroot said:

...I'll answer questions if anybody has them, just please don't go too crazy. Tomorrow it goes into a safe deposit box and likely stays there until the auction is over.

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Probably the safest idea.

I do have a question about the location of the radio components. The J1300 connector AFAIK is an Extended Debug Port. What plugs into J4327? J4XXX seems to be in the same series as other USB devices, which would support the fact that it is a USB Modem.

EDIT: Perhaps this driver might help:

SiLabsUSBDriver.kext

Part of:

Silicon Labs USB Driver Installer.mpkg


I'd like to see a listing of the Dynastream ANT2USB device in the USB catergory of System Profiler. Specifically it's Vendor ID and Product ID.

EDIT 2: perhaps this was the intention but all parties concerned didn't see it thru. But I'm not sure that explains the antenna or the SIM card.

http://www.thisisant.com/pages/products/fit-sdk

$30,000.99 now

helmsc said:

$30,000.99 now

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It's Apple trying to get it back.

Heck! They've got the cash!

helmsc said:

$30,000.99 now

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It wouldn't surprise me if those are fake bids and at the end he keeps chasing buyer because no one wants to actually pay... Only way to "get rid" of it is buy now with immediate payment I think .. Unless someone really is THAT stupid to pay that kind of money ..

It could be some competing companies wanting to take a look at Apple's way of implementing 3g?

I cant believe how much this is going for. Imagine what the guy who bought is thinking!

Some of the bidders look legit. Just hope none of them are hijacked accounts. I'd **** a brick if I saw a $30,000+ charge on my credit card or checking account.

I feel this will stay away from the macbook pro line, and the technology was most likely later used for the development of the iPhone. I have never had issues with running my pro on wifi alone; I mean I get wifi at home, at school at work, even the hotels I have visited. Mcdonalds and starbucks also have wifi. Not to mention that Verizon iPhone's as well as other iPhones can send local wifi.

This would also raise the price of the pros with all the necessary equipment. It sounds more like luxury than necessary to me.

It would have been cool before, but I think its alright due to how much wifi we can get on a daily basis.

OrangeSVTguy said:

Some of the bidders look legit. Just hope none of them are hijacked accounts. I'd **** a brick if I saw a $30,000+ charge on my credit card or checking account.

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The latest high bid is from someone new, but the 30K bidder has feedback of over 900, so it should be legit. I am astounded that someone would pay that much. Good luck to the seller, it looks like he will make a killing.

Problems

That keyboard is oooolllllddd...

that antenna is massivvvvveee...

sure we all read the acknowledgment that this comp is from 2k7, but have any of you seen the 3g antenna in an iPhone? the ribbon is about an inch long.

If i were going to put a similar antenna in a MacBookPro i would put the antenna in the display as done here, but just behind the glass in that black negative space area and run the antenna all the way down (better signal) and to the motherboard along with the display, camera, mic connectors.. bam done no cosmetic changes.

But i don't work for apple sooo whatev, speculation is fun isn't it?!

i'd speculate a 3G macbook Air prior to a full blown MacBook Pro, simply because it conforms more to that netbook stereotype and would help rationalize an investment in a lesser machine (i say lesser meaning smaller HDD, no CD drive, less graphics power, etc – not poorer quality )

Magic innovation.

$30,200 now... One man's junk is anothers....

can't believe it tripled in like 5 hours.

when i first saw this a few days ago, it was at about $4000, and I expected it to get somewhere around 20k at the most, but it's already over $30,000 and there are still 3 days left!

The auction is no longer up.

Last i saw it was around $60,000

fun173 said:

It could be some competing companies wanting to take a look at Apple's way of implementing 3g?

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Dell and HP have been shipping systems with internal 3G since mid 2006 or earlier, so I doubt that there would be any interest from them.

Rocketman said:

Excuse me. That's not a rumor, it's a fact!

One second after AT&T offers a "bucket of wireless data" plan for "all your wireless devices", linked to your iTunes account authorized units, all these magical devices and more will pop out of Apple like weeds.

We lost 5 years of convenient wireless data access for a million MacBook users because someone decided we should want dongles better? Apple is clearly imperfect.

Rocketman

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I would totally go for that, in both my iPad and my Macs. As it stands now though, I'll just keep using the wifi hotspot functionality for a my devices. I have no desire to have separate data plans for all, when none of them will likely ever go over their respective caps.

Well, that was abrupt. Suddenly the listing was simply gone, and as of yet I've not been told why or what happened.

evilroot said:

Well, that was abrupt. Suddenly the listing was simply gone, and as of yet I've not been told why or what happened.

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Keep us posted as to what eBay says about why they cancelled your listing!

Your listing has been removed.

Your item was removed because of a request we received from Apple, Inc., a member of our Verified Rights Owner Program (VeRO), asking us to remove the item for:

- Item(s) infringes copyrights, trademarks or other intellectual property rights.




As of now I know nothing further. I suppose I'll wait to hear from Apple and see what the explanation is and how to proceed. I'm really bummed out, obviously. I put a lot of time and effort in and was under the distinct impression everything was legitimate.

I also e-mailed Steve Jobs asking for clarification . . . . who knows, maybe he'll reply!

I bet that picture really got Jobs undies in a bunch

He showed everyone, didn't he LOL