Depends on how far down Arrandale goes and what price level of CPU Apple decides to use.
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MacBook Fall 2009 Speculation
- Thread starter sherwinzadeh
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Now THAT would be nice.
$599 will be the killer price.
But i don´t think that´s gonna happen.
$599 would be great and that's what I hope they do. In my opinion Apple needs to at least get it down to $699 or $799.
Picture the unibody enclosure. Now on white and plastic instead of metal.There you have what i want.
This way you avoid the palmrest cracking. It can be done with a single "press" instead of milling of course to cut prices.
A better panel would be a start - that is the signal worse element in the whitebook currently, and under $500 PC laptops have better screens. Not expecting glass and all, just something better than washed out and incredibly bad viewing angle. The display is a disgrace, I shake my head each time I see a whitebook screen at the Apple store.
I went to the Apple store about a month ago and found the macbook´s display quite bearable. Specially compared to the then crappy and even glossier alu macbook display. Havent compared the new MBP screens but i bet the results wont be different, mainly because the gloss in the alu macs is too glossy.
Does anyone knows if i can buy a third party screen and put it in a white macbook? a better one of course.
As much as I and many people on this forum would love a tablet, I don't think Apple will create one to replace the MacBook line. We're in the biggest recession since the Great Depression and Netbooks are gaining a lot of popularity and mindshare. Apple will not make a Netbook but they have to have lower priced regular laptops. I see $799 but could go lower.
I'm not saying they WON'T make a tablet... just not to replace the MacBook.
Actually, I don't think they will release a tablet anytime soon. It's a product trying to solve a problem that doesn't exist. If you're on the road, you have your iPhone with you at all times. The only time that's not good enough is if you need:
a) to type long emails or documents
b) a larger screen
c) faster horsepower and desktop apps
For all of these situations, a laptop is an ideal tool.
Furthermore, creating a tablet means that Apple has to support yet another version of OS X. OS X Mac, OS X iPhone, and OS X tablet. I think they won't do it at this point. It's too much fragmentation at this point... (we're getting off topic so I'll stop here)
Sherwin Zadeh
Artamata, Inc.
Check out my iPhone app: Artist's Touch
I agree with the OP. With one MacBook and a handful of Pros, I see apple adding something else to the line with a more attractive price point, and maybe even better portability. Apple has mentioned they like the idea of a netbook(which the air is not), but wouldn't do one unless they can do it right/better than the current offerings. I would rule out a tablet because there is hardly a market for one. My money is also on smaller MacBook without an optical drive due out within the next year(I want to say fall, but I wouldn't count on it).
One thing is for sure, they're not going to get rid of the MacBook as it's their highest selling model.
One thing is for sure, they're not going to get rid of the MacBook as it's their highest selling model.
I don't see a major upgrade for any notebook lines until Arrandale. We might see minor speed increases across lines in fall, but it would be foolish to do a major overhaul with new microarchitecture so close.
I definitely see a price drop though. Apple needs to be more competitive in the sub-1000 dollar notebook market. Everyone I know who has bought a laptop recently has spent about 600 bucks on a Windows machine. I also really hope that they make 4GB standard at the 999 price point---it's REALLY not that expensive!!
It'd also be nice to see discrete graphics options for the macbook. Who knows.
I definitely see a price drop though. Apple needs to be more competitive in the sub-1000 dollar notebook market. Everyone I know who has bought a laptop recently has spent about 600 bucks on a Windows machine. I also really hope that they make 4GB standard at the 999 price point---it's REALLY not that expensive!!
It'd also be nice to see discrete graphics options for the macbook. Who knows.
Well, for this to happen the mac community needs quit returning their notebooks 5-6 times and demanding new ones because the logo has a blemish or the keys get shiny.
Really, with all the after-purchase crap Apple has to deal with I'm surprised the mac line costs what it does. It's the customer service after the sale that mac folks are buying. (But those $600 PC people don't think about this).
So... I would really not like to see prices get slashed again. This would mean something else would have to get cut.
Well, for this to happen the mac community needs quit returning their notebooks 5-6 times and demanding new ones because the logo has a blemish or the keys get shiny.
Really, with all the after-purchase crap Apple has to deal with I'm surprised the mac line costs what it does. It's the customer service after the sale that mac folks are buying. (But those $600 PC people don't think about this).
So... I would really not like to see prices get slashed again. This would mean something else would have to get cut.
I thought that was why they overcharged for an extended warranty that doesn't even cover accidentals =p?
Yeah, for those idiots that purchase the $250 extortion fee directly from Apple I guess.
But I don't know too many of those idiots.
Maybe for the Pro, but I picked Fall 09 because their Macbook lineup is so lacking currently. The Pro lineup is probably the best they've ever had. And let's not forget we're in a recession. Most people have no clue what Arrandale is. They just want a sub $1000 notebook and Windows netbooks are sub $500. There's a huge gap here.
You're putting too much stock into the "Pro" name.
To the average consumer, Apple basically has 5 laptops to offer, one to fit everybody. They don't need any more.
I don't mean just the name... I mean the line and price points. The MacBook is just $200 cheaper than the 13" Pro. It doesn't really make sense to get it. It's obviously just something to hold us over until they release the new MacBook line at much lower prices.
Good reasoning. Maybe the MacBook will be like the iMac G3 in terms of price: Pretty reasonable, then the bottom drops out of the price, then it is back up to pretty reasonable by the iMac G4 (IMO, the iMac G4 is the best looking computer ever made).
Well, I do think that recently they have be responding to the Microsoft Laptop Hunters Ads -- and the economy in general. I think the latest updates in the Pro line were a bit early and unexpected given that new Pros were released just this last Winter.
Btw, did you guys see the new Laptop Hunters ad? They went for look for the best computer for "Under $1500" to "Under $700"... I think it's more support that Apple will be responding with lower priced laptops, aka a new line of Macbooks.
That laptop hunter ad where that designer or something was looking at a Macbook Pro 15in and didn't want to get it because it only had 2GB of RAM, now it has 4GB RAM standard, just another reason why to get a Mac
apple will probably add two more macbooks to the current line, redesigned, with integrated graphics, and then upgrade all the pros (including the 13") to have discrete graphics.
on the laptop hunter ad at the end it says "Microsoft - Life without walls", then why the hell do we need Windows?!?!
^ I like windows, but that was good. I'm gonna use that next time my friends pick on me for switching back to OS X.
Seth Weintraub of ComputerWorld seems to be agreeing with my speculation that future MacBooks will drop the optical drive and ship software on SD Cards!