Well, I read right here on MacRumors about the quad core chips being released by Intel this month. Supposedly for iMac and maybe Mac Mini. I still think that everything I said in the post is true. Apple MUST keep its product line MORE current than has in the past. It gets to be ridiculous when paying same price six months later for same hardware seriously outdated. It is just NOT going to fly in this economy. If people have any reason not to buy, they will not buy! I think because of the recent 256 GB SSD and anti-glare options for the 17" MBP, we could all be shocked that Apple would offer more BTO options for the 15" MBP, and why not change whole lineup???
I agree, Apple will probably disappoint us, as they always seem to when it comes to updating much later than they should... but I am hopeful that the economy inspires them to yearn to keep sales up, and they only way to do that is to stay current. Read today that analysts are predicting an EARLY iPhone update just to keep sales up. People are not happy paying same price for iPhone that was offered at a year ago when every other phone is fully subsidized and outdated within six months!
So, let's see what Apple does, maybe critical failure and maybe not. With that much cash, they can afford to make mistakes in the short run, but not what may cost them market share in the long run for iPhones, iPod Touch, and Macs. Prior mistakes cannot be made in this market. The iPhone is doing so well, why let the ability to seize the day pass by not updating products in a timely manner. Look at the Mac Mini, people are paying the same price for hardware that is a 1.5 yrs old! Just not good business! It is in an economy like this that failures are multiplied exponentially. I hope Apple can adjust and keep investors, and customers happy.
I'm not attacking you, I just want you to understand a few things I'm kinda positive about so you don't, as you say, feel to disappointed when what you hope for doesn't happen.
What you read on macrumors is most of the times just that, rumors. If someone says there are
mobile quad core chips from Intel, ask for a link, all I read about it claims a late 2009 availability of the chips and 2010 Macbook Pros with them, probably, if not later.
This thread is about aluminum macbooks and it is pretty safe to say the white one will die in 2009 and since Apple usually updates macbooks every 6 months, I repeat, they will probably update them in Spring and not wait for quad-cores, that would be crazy.
iMacs have mobile chips, same goes for Mac Minis, they're both waiting to be updated and if it happens soon, they won't have quad-cores, pretty simple.
As you were saying, people are paying money for 1.5 year old specs, that's the thing, Apple is here to make money, since people give them money, they don't care what specs people pay for.
iPhone, have you read many threads about it being outdated? A lot of macrumors members are still holding on to the original 2 year old, almost, iPhone. Why? Couldn't they make enough money selling it? I doubt it.
If you trust every rumor, like the iPhone nano, tablets, netbooks, quad-cores, of course Apple will disappoint you more and more.
You are expecting quad-cores and bigger SSDs in the macbook air? Good luck, you know its SSDs dimensions aren't the same as the New 17" Pros options, right? Same goes for the processor. They had a small custom built a year ago for the original MBA. The MBA is to be compared to ultraportables and find me a quad-core MBA competitor and we'll call it outdated then.
Anyway, the Macbook is a consumer product, being the best sold Apple product or something close, so yes, since it's been about 3 months since its update, waiting other 3 months could save you a couple hundred $$.
hard to beat that feeling of new apple goodness.
