And why so? I would rather expect them to do that! And its probable that the MBA will be upgraded before the MB/P which will literally be revamped!
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Apple to Update MacBook Air to Penryn Soon?
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And why so? I would rather expect them to do that! And its probable that the MBA will be upgraded before the MB/P which will literally be revamped!
Then maybe the MacBook will have a dedicated graphics card while the MacBook Air would not.
Needs more RAM
I think the main problem with the MBA is that you can't get one with 4GB RAM. If you plan to run Parallels or VMWare Fusion, 2GB of RAM just isn't enough, and many business users need to run Windows at least sometimes.
Frankly, with 4GB of RAM, the MBA processor would be fast enough for most uses besides photo/video/audio editing. A faster HD would be nice but that's probably not an option considering the form factor.
I think the main problem with the MBA is that you can't get one with 4GB RAM. If you plan to run Parallels or VMWare Fusion, 2GB of RAM just isn't enough, and many business users need to run Windows at least sometimes.
Frankly, with 4GB of RAM, the MBA processor would be fast enough for most uses besides photo/video/audio editing. A faster HD would be nice but that's probably not an option considering the form factor.
To those who think potential users are not interested in a speed bump - I am 100% for it, in fact it is one of the things keeping me from purchasing right now. A 1.6GHz processor is not enough power, neither is a 1.8GHz.
I understand many think this is not what the Air is about - but there is definitely a market for thin and light with a little more power to it. I dont need MBP power, but I dont want something that is clearly underpowered. 2GHz is fine, dont need more than that.
Obviously a storage boost and a HD speed boost would be welcome as well.
Other than that I think it is a great machine.
I understand many think this is not what the Air is about - but there is definitely a market for thin and light with a little more power to it. I dont need MBP power, but I dont want something that is clearly underpowered. 2GHz is fine, dont need more than that.
Obviously a storage boost and a HD speed boost would be welcome as well.
Other than that I think it is a great machine.
As an AIR owner, I am aware that this very much needed.
The thermal characteristics of the present iteration are far from ideal as Apple rushed these to market (definitely)
The story is that Apple initially asked Intel for a Chip for a ridiculously thin notebook, and that Intel said they didn't have anything.
But later on Intel came back to Apple and sold them some shelved project they had lying around.
So basically , what we have in the Air now is an aborted attemp.
Time for the real thing maybe?
The thermal characteristics of the present iteration are far from ideal as Apple rushed these to market (definitely)
The story is that Apple initially asked Intel for a Chip for a ridiculously thin notebook, and that Intel said they didn't have anything.
But later on Intel came back to Apple and sold them some shelved project they had lying around.
So basically , what we have in the Air now is an aborted attemp.
Time for the real thing maybe?
According to PhoneNews (via Engadget), "national retailers have been alerted to an imminent announcement of a new revision to the MacBook Air." If this is true, we should get leaks from such retailers soon to corroborate the news. If that happens, then you may want to consider returning it.
However, has Apple ever specifically notified retailers of a product launch ahead of time?
Time for the real thing maybe?
So, I guess you can sell yours now and buy the new one when it comes out.
Apple generally does that in its own ways! Recently Appleinsider said that Apple had alerted resellers to stock up on iPods since they expect a shortage!
Maybe not officially but they do warn them that stock will be low and to order what they need now. Maybe that is the type of announcement they are talking about?
The Air has had so many issues with the logic board/core shutdowns that I could see Apple just announcing a replacement for it without letting stock run down. They may not have a lot of stock out there now anyway.
swingerofbirch
macrumors 68040
I think what Apple *really* needs to update is the Mac mini. It's hard when switchers come to Apple and look for the cheapest Mac and see the Mac mini which is very under-speced. Dell has a small computer like the mini called a Studio Hybrid. It's not even possible to spec it out with the low features of the Mac mini. With an Intel Core 2 Duo at 2 GHZ, the smallest hard disk available is 160 GB. It includes a SuperDrive (with Blu Ray for 250 more), plus it has HDMI and a keyboard and mouse and is 549 (50 less than the lowest end Mac mini).
Of course having a Mac is all about the software. I know that. However, customers do care about specs. Customers care about the fact that they are paying a premium and only getting 1 GB of RAM and being told that if they try to upgrade the Mini's memory themselves later they'll void the warranty.
And some things like HDMI do just make for a better out of the box "it just works" experience. A lot of people buy Mini's with the intention to connect to their TV. Then they get it home and find out they need to buy a DVI to HDMI converter. A lot of them don't understand they lose sound in the process. And then they have to go out and buy a stereo cable to complete the whole thing.
Sorry I had to rant! If I could tell you where I worked, you'd understand why.
Of course having a Mac is all about the software. I know that. However, customers do care about specs. Customers care about the fact that they are paying a premium and only getting 1 GB of RAM and being told that if they try to upgrade the Mini's memory themselves later they'll void the warranty.
And some things like HDMI do just make for a better out of the box "it just works" experience. A lot of people buy Mini's with the intention to connect to their TV. Then they get it home and find out they need to buy a DVI to HDMI converter. A lot of them don't understand they lose sound in the process. And then they have to go out and buy a stereo cable to complete the whole thing.
Sorry I had to rant! If I could tell you where I worked, you'd understand why.
I'm not sure it's that bad but I don't push mine. A lot of people do however, and I could see these things happening.
Mind you, it takes almost nothing to make the fan rev up to 6200rpm and the temps to reach 60C (this happens when just browsing with flash)
I've never had it happen myself but if the cores are really shutting down just watching Youtube then this update can't happen soon enough.
A change in supply is different than explicitly alerting retailers about a new product. If this "notice" was in fact about a supply shortage of MBAs, why didn't Apple just say it when they warned of iPod, MacBook, and MBP shortages?
Is it possible that Apple might include a variable speed processor control?
Meaning, would it be possible that they might sell you a machine that has a maximum speed of 2 GHz, and then give you a software control to lower it down to 1.6 GHz? Doing no-restart changes of your CPU's clock speed is probably too much to ask for without running into stability problems, but even if a restart is required it could still be very useful.
For instance, If you usually use your air in the office where you're always near an outlet then you'll keep your CPU speed set at max. But if you're gonna take your MBA on a long airplane flight then you can restart it in slow CPU speed to make the battery last longer.
Possible?
Likely?
Meaning, would it be possible that they might sell you a machine that has a maximum speed of 2 GHz, and then give you a software control to lower it down to 1.6 GHz? Doing no-restart changes of your CPU's clock speed is probably too much to ask for without running into stability problems, but even if a restart is required it could still be very useful.
For instance, If you usually use your air in the office where you're always near an outlet then you'll keep your CPU speed set at max. But if you're gonna take your MBA on a long airplane flight then you can restart it in slow CPU speed to make the battery last longer.
Possible?
Likely?
Correct me if I am wrong but they already do that, check the energy saver tab in system preferences.
I don't see why people complain about more speed as the processor should clock itself down when you don't need it and ramp itself up when you do. So really you are getting the same amount of work done on one battery just in a shorter amount of time.
Oh and does this update mean the MBA will have the X4500 vs the X3100 in the current one?
That Dell is beautiful. And i never thought I'd say that about a Dell, but they're heading in all the right directions all of a sudden.
One firewire port or another USB port is what i'd want if i was buying one. If they could somehow fit one in, a DVD drive too. But then, we'd have the new aluminium MacBook, wouldn't we?
agreed, except the DVD drive. i would sacrifice that for an option to get a 7200 rpm hard drive.
but yeah, i think then we'd have an aluminum MB.
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This is good news for the MBA. Now that speeds will closely match the MacBook all they need is to make the battery easy to replace and it will likely appeal to a larger customer base.
This is good news for the MBA. Now that speeds will closely match the MacBook all they need is to make the battery easy to replace and it will likely appeal to a larger customer base.
I think current CPUs already do some sort of downclocking when more or less idle. The FSB can downclock to 1/2 its maximum speed. Certainly a CPU at 10% usage uses up less power than one at 100% usage.
Indeed.I don't see why people complain about more speed as the processor should clock itself down when you don't need it and ramp itself up when you do. So really you are getting the same amount of work done on one battery just in a shorter amount of time.
The advantage to lower-voltage CPUs is that they have the same maximum speed as regular CPUs but use less power.
Price, batterly life, speed, and lack of ports is why I chose the macbook over the air. I mean come on 1.83ghz core duo? My 2 year old Dell that I just retired due to failing CD drive and a cracked LCD had that. But then again, I just bought my wife a mini with the same processor
- a step up for her, she don't need power; as she doesn't run what I do. But then again a baseline mini with the applecare, iwork, and an apple keyboard was under $1000 (including my state's sales tax).But seriously if the Air got a speed bump, and added 2 more USB and was only around $1400 or so with a standard 160gb drive - then maybe worth the price.
Apple keeps bringing all their lines close together, I mean if you really look at the specs (other than ports and the video card) - how much different is the new Air, the macbook, and the MBP. I can't see all the price differences between virtually the same machine.
I think more and more people will still choose the middle of the road macbook due to it being the best price that includes everything. But - just my opinion.
Air - to expensive, too few ports
Pro - not much different than a macbook.
macbook (top of the line white) - best choice for money (I would not pay extra for black - I just covered my white with an incase to protect it and got the keyboard cover with the black keys - looks pretty sweet).
what I think Apple should also do, is drop Applecare. I mean really. why make people pay for it. Just change the standard warrenty to the 3 years.
But I know someone in the insurance business, who's done a lot of research warrenties are set at a point of time just shy of when the thing will standardly start to fail. i mean if something standardly fails at one year, then the warrenty is usually 90 days or 6 months. All the extended care warrenty does is to compensate the company up front for something that will fail eventually - in the hopes that you do not do not keep the item for the full term.
One good note is that Apple atleast allows you to transfer that warrenty, should the item go to a new owner.
My friend got swindled by Dell. He bought second hand machine that had an extended warrenty. It broke, and he went to use the warrenty and was told - sorry extended warrenties are only valid to the original owner at the time the machine was sold new, extended warrenties are not transferrable.
He through the laptop away, as repairs were going to run him over $600 on a year old machine. A new comperable machine was only around $700.
Yeah i like the dell studio hybrid too. Small sleek and well designed and with the option of blu ray ....
