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Apple to Launch an $800 Laptop?

ooh...... $800.00 Macbook?

Hmm.... Maybe it might be time to retire my long-in-the-tooth yet trusty and dependable 12" Powerbook. Of course my decision would be predicated by posted performance scores after they've been released. (i.e., I won't be waiting in line for one, or make an impulse buy). It's showing its age, and seems to run a bit slower in Leopard than it did in Tiger.

I LOVE my 12" Powerbook's small form factor, and I really wish they'd release a 12" MBP, widescreen be damned. But I don't think that will happen. :(

I imagine the baseline performance would be pretty good, and with rumored nVidia chipsets on-board, they may be able to handle the graphical improvements supposedly in the upcoming SnowLeopard release.

Let's hope we see them on the 14th. One thing's for sure though, with Apple "supposedly" bringing in laptops at relatively lower price points, they will buck the trend of the current economy and still do well. :apple:
 
Oh yea btw, October 14th event is CONFIRMED, so that means its likely we will see the new MB and MBP on October 14th, yippie
 
I'm curious to see what all of these sites that said, "Not the 14th!", have to say after pulling back their previous claims earlier this week.
 
Ironduke said:
bollix your just a fanboy
Click to expand...

Yer reaching.

C225 said:
Roll on Tuesday

http://www.engadget.com/2008/10/09/apple-notebook-event-is-on-october-14th/

:):cool:
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Good catch! I was just going to post that too :p

wheelhot said:
Oh yea btw, October 14th event is CONFIRMED, so that means its likely we will see the new MB and MBP on October 14th, yippie
Click to expand...

Remember announcement is not the same as release. It is still possible that we can't get our hands on these until November. I hope sooner though!

image.php
 
Have a ? the only time I can recall them having an event was for the Air other then that they just released the mbs

Do you guys think something else is up?
 
I want a: headless, Blu-ray, dual G5, dedicated GPU, 12", iMacBookPro or nothing at all!

Did I leave anything out? ;) :D
 
sushi said:
Agree.


I think you are on to him. :)


Doubt it. But it would be cool to see a Newton replacement.
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No I smell a tablet coming. For Apple to be doing an event on Macbooks which is very very rare their going to pull out an amazing "one more thing"
 
840quadra said:
Remember announcement is not the same as release. It is still possible that we can't get our hands on these until November. I hope sooner though!
Click to expand...

I would be happy just knowing the specs and price. My wife's laptop has dead keys requiring the use of an external keyboard (kind of defeats the purpose of a laptop). I have been very close to getting a Dell Inspiron 1525 from Best Buy for $599 and making a dual-boot Hackintosh. If the Macbook is anywhere near the price with decent specs it would be far easier to add a windows Bootcamp partition to a Mac than an OS X partition to a Dell. Even a Combo drive wouldn't be a showstopper since both my Mini and MBP have SuperDrives. I do use iDVD to make DVDs from iMovie, though, so a SuperDrive does have value to me.
 
A netbook would be awesome, but there haven't been any rumors suggesting they're making one for OS X, so I'm not keeping my hopes up

And for those who say Apple would never jump in the market... seeing as to how many people are buying them, they'd be foolish not to jump into a market where the hardware already exists - they just have to add their OS to it and make it to their liking.

And those hatin on netbooks... I bet if Apple made one, you'd be all over it. There are more than a few users on this forum alone that were hestitant at buying one, bought it, and now use it daily usage!
 
Ironduke said:
osx is built to run on specific chipsets
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Not exactly. There are drivers in it for way more than what's in officially supported Macs.
Ironduke said:
infact I would wager xp was bloated to cater for so much hardware configs
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XP might still have more drivers included.
But they aren't used.
And the required space is still small.
Windows XP is from 2001, fits comfortably onto a single CD and needs maybe 2GB drive space to install.

Mac OS X is the more bloated of these two and has ever been.
Even Apple themselves sort of acknowledge that it's bloated (see Snow Leopard).
 
12 SKUS... nice.

My guess... all 16:9 screens, which would make it:

MB (Netbook): 10-12" screen (1366x768) - 2 models (1 with combo drive and 1 with superdrive)
MBA: 12"-13.1" screen (1366x768) - 2 models (1 with SSD)
MBP: 14.1" screen (1366x768) - 3 models replacing current MBs (1 with Blu-ray and possibly SSD)
MBP: 16.4" screen (1600x900) - 2 models replacing current MBP 15" (1 with Blu-ray) -- SSD is BTO option
MBP: 16.4" screen (1920x1080) - 1 model replacing current MBP 15" (with Blu-ray) -- SSD is BTO option
MBP: 18.1" screen (1920x1080) - 2 models replacing current MBP 17" (1 with Blu-ray) -- SSD is BTO option

Just a guess of course. But with a new netbook, the current MB should merge into the MBP line, and with 16:9 screens, they should become 14.1", 16.4", and 18.1". Blu-ray could, of course, be a BTO option (instead of SSDs) in the MBPs, but I'm remaining hopeful to see them in retail units.
 
As for the 12 price points, my guess is 4 MBs, 3 MBAs, and 5 MBPs: 2 12" MBs, 2 14" MBs, all 3 of the MBAs will be 12", and 1 MBP will be 14", 2 16", and 2 18". I sure hope so at least.
 
Blu-Ray on a mac? That would be AWESOME! I think a blu ray enabled mini would be a game changer, especially if they keep the price bellow $800.

And im guessing a blu-ray apple laptop would be quite pricey and out of most peoples range.
 
cHinds78 said:
Blu-Ray on a mac? That would be AWESOME! I think a blu ray enabled mini would be a game changer, especially if they keep the price bellow $800.

And im guessing a blu-ray apple laptop would be quite pricey and out of most peoples range.
Click to expand...
You'll be hard pressed for find Blu-ray on an $800 laptop.
 
Eidorian said:
You'll be hard pressed for find Blu-ray on an $800 laptop.
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Not really... I just built one in about 30 seconds on HPs website. $779 (with no student discounts or coupon codes). Pavilion dv5t base model, update the processor to C2D T5800, take the free upgrade to 2GB DDR2 RAM, and update the optical drive to Blu-ray. Done. Personally, there's other upgrades I would take, but Blu-ray in an $800 notebook is very much available.

You can do the same with the Dell Inspiron line as well -- in fact, I just built a 1525 with Blu-ray for $699, though you'd want to spend the extra $100 anyway to get up to Vista Home Premium and 2 GB RAM. But $800 for a Blu-ray notebook is easy. PC manufacturers tend to price their systems based on actual cost... not some perceived "Q" factor. ;)

BTW, none of that is to say Apple is putting a BD drive in an $800 notebook. Of course they're not. But the major PC vendors certainly do.
 
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