15.4" MacBook in 2nd Quarter 2007?

[jade]

15 inch MacBook is the missing link

I know that many of you are really into the Ultra-portable, but in case you haven't looked around all the PC laptops are 15 inches in the $1000-$13000 price range. These systems have very equivalent hardware specs to the current 13 inch MBs. In fact my work notebook is a 14 inch Dell Inspiron 640m. This is an OK notebook: around 5.5 pounds, 1GB or RAM, Core Duo, DVD Burner, 160GB hard drive, XP Pro total price $850. Note as sleek as a MacBook, but it is pretty cheap.

I am looking to replace my iBook G4 since I am hitting the 3 year mark. I have no need for express card slots or dedicated graphics...but I do want a larger screen (13 is too close to my current too small 12), explain to me why I need to pay another $700???? I mean that is pretty ridiculous, especially when I know there is an OS X-less HP for $1100-1200 that has everything I need.......

And put yourself in the average consumers shoes:
http://www.shopping.hp.com/scat/computers/notebooks/dv6000t_series/rts/3/computer_store

or

www.apple.com/macbookpro

These two machines look pretty much the same on paper....So they can spend 2X as much for a 15 inch screen.........

The target market for macbooks are gravitating towards 15 inch screens and apple's sales of MBs would skyrocket with the larger one with minimal cannibalization of the MBPs. The Apple-focuses message boards are a poor source of market research, it audience is made up of a vocal niche, not the silent majority.

 

[johnmartin78]

I hope they dont release it at a lower price I just bought a new macbook two days ago

The story of <insert any Mac users name here> life.

 

[djellison]

explain to me why I need to pay another $700???? I mean that is pretty ridiculous, especially when I know there is an OS X-less HP for $1100-1200 that has everything I need.......

Then that's fine. You don't need to pay another $700. Get the HP machine. Enjoy it.

Doug

 

[Zadillo]

I know that many of you are really into the Ultra-portable, but in case you haven't looked around all the PC laptops are 15 inches in the $1000-$13000 price range. These systems have very equivalent hardware specs to the current 13 inch MBs. In fact my work notebook is a 14 inch Dell Inspiron 640m. This is an OK notebook: around 5.5 pounds, 1GB or RAM, Core Duo, DVD Burner, 160GB hard drive, XP Pro total price $850. Note as sleek as a MacBook, but it is pretty cheap.

I am looking to replace my iBook G4 since I am hitting the 3 year mark. I have no need for express card slots or dedicated graphics...but I do want a larger screen (13 is too close to my current too small 12), explain to me why I need to pay another $700???? I mean that is pretty ridiculous, especially when I know there is an OS X-less HP for $1100-1200 that has everything I need.......

And put yourself in the average consumers shoes:
http://www.shopping.hp.com/scat/computers/notebooks/dv6000t_series/rts/3/computer_store

or

www.apple.com/macbookpro

These two machines look pretty much the same on paper....So they can spend 2X as much for a 15 inch screen.........

The target market for macbooks are gravitating towards 15 inch screens and apple's sales of MBs would skyrocket with the larger one with minimal cannibalization of the MBPs. The Apple-focuses message boards are a poor source of market research, it audience is made up of a vocal niche, not the silent majority.

The MacBook Pro is not comparable to the consumer 15" HP machines. You can't look at specs alone............ you also have to look at build quality, materials, etc. The MBP would be more directly comparable to HP's business-class workstation laptops, which cost much more. Those $1000 15" HP machines also of course feature poorer graphics cards, etc.

It's not like you're spending that extra money on an MBP just for a larger screen, or that the MBP is identical to a $1000 consumer HP machine.

 

[TheDance511]

I don't see why a 13" Macbook Pro would be pointless. Obviously, it will fall between the base 15" MBP and the black macbook as standard across the board, so why is it pointless? The price after building a BTO machine doesn't count, since I could very well spec a blackbook to top out the price of a base model macbook pro. At the same time a smaller lighter MBP would be very appealing. I'd definitely buy one over the 15-17", because truthfully, 17" displays are not that great for doing the heavy graphics work that macbook pros were designed for anyway, and with the dedicated GPU across the board, I can expand the real estate with a 30" display of my choosing, a feature the consumer level macbook doesn't have. I'll bet a 13" pro would have great sales, and people will still buy consumer level macbooks and full sized macbook pros.

I want a pro level mini dangit!

THANK YOU!! Bring on the 13" MBP's!!

 

[lord patton]

Hadn't thought of that yet, but it's quite likely. A lot of 15" Windows notebooks have a 1280x1024 resolution. And it would be one more way to distinguish it from the MBP.

More likely the 15" MB would get the current MBP's resolution, and the new MBP would have even higher resolution, what with Res-independent GUI in Leopard.

This would be an easy way to differntiate. Don't know what OEM panels are out there for 15", though.

 

[jade]

The MacBook Pro is not comparable to the consumer 15" HP machines. You can't look at specs alone............ you also have to look at build quality, materials, etc. The MBP would be more directly comparable to HP's business-class workstation laptops, which cost much more. Those $1000 15" HP machines also of course feature poorer graphics cards, etc.

It's not like you're spending that extra money on an MBP just for a larger screen, or that the MBP is identical to a $1000 consumer HP machine.

I agree, but unfortunately Apple doesn't offer a standard 15" screen for an affordable price. Mostly everyone here is forgetting that most people could careless about dedicated graphics, FW800, DVI out and expresscard slots.... they want a computer with a big screen that does the normal stuff...and some of them are even willing to pay a couple hundred dollars for something that looks sleek...but an extra $700 for the pro tax is pretty ridiculous. I kow if Apple released a 15in MB it would fly off the shelves. Let's hope they do.... [because this was the space the former 14in ibook occupied...and Apple sold quite a few of them, they would have sold even more if the price/processors were more comparable at the time)

Once this huge market is addressed, they can go back to the labs for the niche ultraportable.

 

[emotion]

Once this huge market is addressed, they can go back to the labs for the niche ultraportable.

Traditionally Apple isn't really about low-margin consumer devices though (and if it was they have that covered with the macbook 13.3). A smaller MBP would be more of a priority I would have thought, particulalry from the opinions voiced on this forum.

 

[Zadillo]

I agree, but unfortunately Apple doesn't offer a standard 15" screen for an affordable price. Mostly everyone here is forgetting that most people could careless about dedicated graphics, FW800, DVI out and expresscard slots.... they want a computer with a big screen that does the normal stuff...and some of them are even willing to pay a couple hundred dollars for something that looks sleek...but an extra $700 for the pro tax is pretty ridiculous. I kow if Apple released a 15in MB it would fly off the shelves. Let's hope they do.... [because this was the space the former 14in ibook occupied...and Apple sold quite a few of them, they would have sold even more if the price/processors were more comparable at the time)

Once this huge market is addressed, they can go back to the labs for the niche ultraportable.

Certainly, I think it makes sense for Apple to release a 15.4" MacBook, and it also makes sense for them to release a smaller "pro-level" notebook.