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Good riddance. Those white Macbooks were one of the worst laptop designs that Apple has come out with. Apple should have kept them dead when they made the metal Macbooks. They were like the eMac of the Apple laptop line though without the rugged durability of the eMac.
 
If this guys guess turns out to be true, I think it's a terrible move from Apple. Phasing out a fully functioning laptop only to replace it with an 11" Netbook? (Yes a very nice and nippy netbook, but a completely different target audience).
 
an 11" screen is a little small for most people, gunna suck for those people who now have to spend more for the entry MBP
 
One side of me thinks that a logical move since the MB doesn't offer anything better than the Air, but another part of me thinks why not keep it and lower the price to make it more affordable to own an Apple laptop.
 
Well, a $999 air would be suitable to some people but others would still just want the good ole' macbook. I would go with the air, because I do not need a CD drive.

Agreed. But the move makes sense to either eliminate the 13" MBP or the MB. They are too similar and the MBA now competes with them too. So it would make sense one of them would go.

I'm just glad it's the MB (it's only a few hundred more for the MBP so anyone who wants the features the MB offered that the MBA doesn't have just spends a little more for an upgrade). I much much prefer the MBP, the few hundred is worth it for the not plastic case, the light up keyboard (totally aesthetic but I do like it), the black outlined screen (so much better than using white. Light colors tend to make colors fade more, a black frame makes colors pop out more), and even the slightly thinner is nice.
 
Without a Macbook, they need to redo the naming scheme. No point in having a Macbook Pro and Air without a "Macbook."

Agreed. I think, and before anyone shoots me down for possible "Apple religion blasphemy", that they could rebrand their whole Mac line; as follows:

MacBook > discontinue

MacBook Air > MacBook

MacBook Pro > stay the same (but would need at least an SSD as standard to compete with the Air's HD read and write speeds)

iMac > Mac :)eek:?)

Mac Pro > stay the same

Thus a clear definition between 'consumer' and 'pro' ranges. Leave all the "i" branding to iOS and iPods (small, all-in-one, modern consumer "toy" devices).

Thoughts?
 
I would definitely grab the current base MBA as my only computer over the white MB.. Since these new MBAs at 999 I always felt that way..

You should just go ahead and get a Chromebook or something.

What do you actually DO that right now as your only computer you would take a base Air over a MB?

Don't get me wrong I'm getting a MBA (to accompany my iMac for on the go stuff I need)...but there's no way in hell I'd get the 64GB 11" Air as my ONLY computer over a MB...unless I don't do any real work on it, like I'm suggesting is what you do.
 
According to the Apple store, yes, but the numbers quoted in the article do not make any sense then.

:confused:

From the article:
Apple's MacBook shipments have reportedly fallen to just 80,000-100,000 per month so far this year

I don't think they have any concrete evidence to back that up. Most likely yet another analyst speculating the sales figures.

The MacBook seems to go for the people who want an optical drive and larger harddrive instead of speed but smaller storage.

Exactly, and I would say that market isn't small. MacBook gets you a 250GB HD, still twice as much compared to the speculated 128GB. Not everyone has the $ for 13" MBP or MBA, so I can't see Apple making 11" MBA the only $999 Mac laptop.
 
Unfortunately I would not be surprised if Apple got rid of the MacBook. When I was looking for my first Mac I looked at the MacBook and found forum posts online where people said the plastic case got cracked and bubbles were forming on the bottom of the notebook.

With the 13-inch MacBook Pro not only did the notebook get a better built aluminum case, it also had the SD card slot, backlit keyboard, and RAM that can easily be expanded to 8GB.

R.I.P. iBook/MacBook.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdJlAygpfB0
 
well that eliminates the college consumer without money for a pro but still needs a work-capable laptop
 
Agreed. I think, and before anyone shoots me down for possible "Apple religion blasphemy", that they could rebrand their whole Mac line; as follows:

MacBook > discontinue

MacBook Air > MacBook

MacBook Pro > stay the same (but would need at least an SSD as standard to compete with the Air's HD read and write speeds)

iMac > Mac :)eek:?)

Mac Pro > stay the same

Thus a clear definition between 'consumer' and 'pro' ranges. Leave all the "i" branding to iOS and iPods (small, all-in-one, modern consumer "toy" devices).

Thoughts?
I actually like that. I was thinking, they need the "i" in front of stuff...but leave that to iOS devices.
 
According to Apple, MacBook sells more than MBAs together... See "Top Sellers" on the right-hand-side http://store.apple.com/us

How many years of sales is that statistic based on?

MacBooks were big sellers for a few years after the intel switch but I think that those sales have been scavenged by other products such as the 13" MBP, MBAs, and iPad.
 
According to Apple, MacBook sells more than MBAs together... See "Top Sellers" on the right-hand-side http://store.apple.com/us

I doubt this will happen. Or why not discontinue 13" MBP as well, there is 13" MBA at same price points after all :rolleyes: This sounds like another useless analyst

along with whatever everyone else said, i think you also have to take into account that there is only 1 model available for the regular macbook


never mind lol they include the whole product line mybad :p
 
well that eliminates the college consumer without money for a pro but still needs a work-capable laptop
When I go to my Community College most students used the 13" MacBook Pro or the HP notebooks sold by the school. The only plastic MacBook I found on campus was the one used by my instructor.

If a student finds the 13" model expensive, they can always do what I do and buy a refurbished model from Apples refurbished store.
 
well that eliminates the college consumer without money for a pro but still needs a work-capable laptop

If the 200 dollar difference makes that much of a difference, why are they buying an 1000 dollar laptop when they could get a 500 dollar PC laptop. It may not be OSX but if you are on that tight of a budget it will still do what you need. And if you really need OSX and are on that tight of a budget, there is always buying used. That will save you a few hundred more.
 
It makes sense if you look at the product, It looks/feels cheap. Somehow it does not fit to apple. On the other hand wouldn't it just make sense to provide it cheaper?

In Europe you pay 999 Euro (1400$ including Salestax) for the Macbook, which will get you one of the most expensive Notebooks in a Store equilant to Best Buy. Shouldn't there be an less expensive entry Model?
 
I don't feel that they'll discontinue it. Maybe they'll drop the price to $899 ro whatnot? Especially if they update the MacBook Air's specs it'll fit in that price range. Unless they go ahead and update the white MacBook as well. As others have mentioned the $999 air has an 11" screen, no optical drive, etc, so I thinkt here may still be a place for this MacBook... somewhere.

Core 2 Duos CPUs seem a bit stale at this point, yes they're still quick, maybe they're best for a lower-end model if need be. Apple is always saying they are building the best machines they can. So everything should at least have an i3 or i5 processor in them. :)
 
Unfortunately I would not be surprised if Apple got rid of the MacBook. When I was looking for my first Mac I looked at the MacBook and found forum posts online where people said the plastic case got cracked and bubbles were forming on the bottom of the notebook.

To be fair, I've never had that problem with my Macbook.

Did they drop them a lot or use them while sitting on a hot, rocky cliff?

Again, I'm still baffled by offering an entry-level laptop that is really a netbook. No CD drive installed? I don't use my drive regularly, but it's how I put 250+ albums on my computer. I'm glad I didn't have to go and buy an external drive just to do so.
 
Sad to see this go

I personally dont like the Air as I buy a lot of Cd's & DVD's and then rip them to the mac

MacBook Pro is a little too expensive for me
 
I'm curious to see how Apple is going to handle the nomenclature. I doubt they will ever do what they did with the Aluminum MacBooks - MacBook Pros 13" again.

Think about it- the last MR article shows Lion banners displaying MacBook Airs (you can make out the name on their bezels). So, obviously, the "Air" name is sticking through this next refresh. Say that Apple does drop the white MacBook this refresh, or before the next - we would be left with only "MacBook Airs" and "MacBook Pros". You cannot have a "MacBook" line without something being labeled "MacBook". It just doesn't make sense.

There's basically three possibilities, either the white MacBook is not refreshed this cycle (think iPod Classic) and is stuck with C2D until the NEXT refresh of Airs - then it is dropped and the Air is renamed simply MacBook. This would be the best "phase out" option in my opinion. Option 2 would be that Apple keeps the white MacBook this refresh and does update specs, killing it the next go-around. This would make less sense because it would draw attention to a product Apple wants to stay low-key (according to this article) and phase out. Third (and one that would make the least sense in my opinion), is that they simply kill it this week, while releasing updated MacBook Airs that keep the "Air" title.

We'll see.
 
Relaunch, making it thicker, heavier and uglier, half the battery life, half the price and get more people using macs

:D

//oh and disable HDMI through the display port. You have to get the premium model to get HDMI out you see :rolleyes:

//and remove bluetooth too...
 
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