Apple Notebook Event Rumor Roundup

[MacRumors]

Apple will be holding a special media event on Tuesday, October 14th at 10AM Pacific in Cupertino, California.

Apple has made it clear that the event will focus on notebook computers. In addition, a leaked Apple support document confirms that "late 2008" MacBooks and MacBook Pros will be amongst the products announced. While there's been no definite word about MacBook Air updates, it seems reasonable to expect that MacBook Airs could also be updated to latest Intel processors.

MacBooks and MacBook Pros

Apple last updated both the MacBooks and MacBook Pros in February of this year. The MacBook update was a bit of a surprise as the product line had just been refreshed 5 months prior. Rumors suggested that this represented an interim update to keep the MacBook in line with the current Intel processors and that more substantial updates would come later in the year.

AppleInsider first reported in April that the new notebooks would see "major design changes" to bring it closer to the MacBook Air and iMac designs.

Case Leaks

There have been a surprising number of case photo leaks from Taiwanese and Chinese sites over the past few months. The first leak from Apple.pro in July claimed to show a tapered MacBook Pro bottom and top. Though we were initially skeptical of the leak, AppleInsider has confirmed that it is legitimate. Apple.pro later posted photos of the top and bottom of the MacBook cases as well as a a video, though the authenticity of these images are still in doubt.

The most convincing leak came just days ago from MacX.cn (there is a claim that MacHome.com.cn is original source). Case images of both MacBook and MacBook Pro were detailed from many different angles and are believed to be real. The images suggest that the MacBook will not include a Firewire port.

Brick, Glass, Two Tone

9to5Mac seems to be standing alone with these rumors, which have not been corroborated by any other sources. After weeks of speculation about the "brick" codename, 9to5Mac believes that this refers to the manufacturing process for the new notebooks. Other claims have included the use of a glass trackpad and the use of both plastic and aluminum to produce a two-tone appearance in the MacBook.

While 9to5Mac has had accuracy with iPod rumors in the past, they were somewhat misguided in their Rainbow iPod rumor.

NVIDIA

Perhaps one of the most welcome changes to the Apple MacBook will be the rumored inclusion of NVIDIA chipsets and GPUs. The NVIDIA chipsets are said to provide a smaller footprint and significantly better graphics performance when compared to Intel's offerings.

Other Possibilities

- $800 Apple Laptop?
- Networked HDTV from Apple
- Blu Ray support from Kevin Rose, though we heard that Rose described his source as a "bad" one during the taping, so didn't offer much confidence in the possiblity
- One image later posted to the MacX.cn photo set depicts what the MacBook Pro would look like with a trackpad and keyboard in place. This is a confirmed Photoshop mockup and does not represent the actual product.

Coverage

We'll be providing SMS/Twitter coverage for the event at http://twitter.com/macrumors. To follow MacRumors news stories on Twitter, follow http://twitter.com/macrumorsrss.

We will provide links to live text and photo coverage of the event as it approaches. There is no live video stream available, but Apple will likely post a video online after the event. If you prefer to watch the video without prior knowledge of the announcements you can sign up for Spoiler Free coverage.



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[Stang68]

Tomorrow is gonna be a good day...




...hopefully

[rrijkers]

Seriously, I can't wait!

[cdbob]

Can't wait for tomorrow!

[JG271]

Should be good tomorrow! I'll be ready to buy, although it looks like the prices won't change

[840quadra]

Thanks for the roundup. Hopefully people canconsolodate their last minute questions here, as opposed to the many other highly active threads posted recently!

Looking forward to seeing what I intend to order this week.

840

[arn]

Originally Posted by JG271

Should be good tomorrow! I'll be ready to buy, although it looks like the prices won't change

Best Buy doesn't have any early knowledge of the prices. those are pure placeholders.

arn

[aleksandra.]

Twenty hours.

[nnkd]

Add me to the "I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!" list.

It'll be nice to get a replacement for my PB G4 and it's 24-7 noise (the fan that spins at 10000 rpm constantly may be somewhat to blame though).

[Eidorian]

I'll be gaming to pass the time.

More job interviews later this week after the notebook event.

[sfwalter]

I wonder if macrumors will break Twitter.

[manhattanboy]

here's hoping for a "$800 Apple Laptop?" that is actually a Mac tablet!
But I'm not holding my breath...

[corinhorn]

Originally Posted by 840quadra

Looking forward to seeing what I intend to order this week.

If they are available for order at all. They may not be available for a while

[Peace]

Originally Posted by corinhorn

If they are available for order at all

If earlier rumors of Macbooks being shipped here means anything I'd guess availability Wednesday.

[PeckhamBog]

Are you suggesting the new macBook will be significantly slimmed down because of the chip set? Same foot print becase of the same screen diagonal, but thinner and lighter?

[ThinkBrilliant]

What we expect to see:

• Macbook Pro - new keyboard, overhauled case design, refined (major inspiration from Macbook Air), SSD options, magnetic latch, reconfigured ports, black bezel around the screen, possible aspect ratio changes, possible increased multi-touch gestures, possible larger trackpad

• Macbook - overhauled case design, move to aluminum, possible addition of multi-touch gestures to trackpad, possible larger trackpad, reconfigured ports, general attempt at a more high-end feel

• Macbook Air - briefly mentioned, spec updates, overall performance increase, storage boosts, possible but unlikely case refinements, possible price reduction

Across the board:

• Aggressive price points
• Unified look across entire notebook line (Aluminum)
• Standardization of parts for easier production
• LED’s

Probable:

• Inclusion of NVIDIA chipsets, specifically targeted towards reduced power consumption
• Ramp up of LED inclusion/production

Not Likely:

• Tablet notebook, multi-touch netbook
• Blu-Ray integration
• multi-touch glass trackpad
• re-introduction of 12″ G4 powerbook (comparable model)
• unification of entire notebook line (as in calling them all macbook’s and dropping the “pro”)
• LED keyboard

[JG271]

Originally Posted by arn

Best Buy doesn't have any early knowledge of the prices. those are pure placeholders.

arn

Great, still a possibility of lower prices then! Thanks arn.

[Spock]

The next 20 hours are going to drive me crazy! I need to update my G4!

[PeckhamBog]

Are you suggesting the new MacBook will be significantly slimmed down because of the chip set? Same foot print becase of the same screen diagonal, but thinner and lighter?

[gog]

All up, Great work MR!

[kabunaru]

Blu-ray:
Plausible or not?

[CBillups1]

cant freakin wait!

[twoodcc]

so i guess no tablet tomorrow?

[DanielJvdBerg]

Originally Posted by kabunaru

Blu-ray:
Plausible or not?

I say plausible.

[jpmittins]

I would love if the price drop to below $1000 for the base model and if the base model actually became comparable to PC's spec-wise of that same price range.