Both 13-Inch and 11-Inch MacBook Air Models Next Week?

[papierbox]

So if Sony came out with a 'netbook' with a killer processor and a really high price it would be in the same category?

there is one, the sony x11/x13. 11'' screen, atom cpu, ssd, >$1400. and it is very thin, thinner than the actual macbook air. yes, there is a premium market.


i work since some years only with an 11'' notebook, i bought an 13'' macbook pro and it was too big for me. i will never buy such a big notebook. websites are no problem, you only need a display with a good resolution. for example the 11'' screen of the sony x13 has 1.366 x 768 px, better than the 13'' macbook pro / air.

i don't believe in esata on a mac. i think it could only be a sim card or an sd-slot is.
an sepcial ethernet slot would also be cool. ... but not sure.

 

[SpamJunkie]

It'll have a touchscreen as well, as this is one of the big new features in 10.7. I'm expecting iMacs with them also.

 

[johnnymg]

128 gb of ssd has to be standard. Any word on the screen being touchy?

"you'll get nothing and like it!" Rodney Dangerfield.

 

[63dot]

This is just wishful thinking.

You apparently have no experience with business class laptops like the Thinkpads or Latitudes - and haven't looked at the reports of broken hinges, cracking cases, yellowing plastic, failing graphics, and other problems with Apples.

Of course, you are right if you're comparing $700 laptops with $2500 Apples - but compare a $2500 Dell laptop to the Apple and you'll find that the Dell (or Lenovo) is just as well made as the Apple. Sometimes better made - since "thin" is not the prime objective.

I agree with you, but just from what I have seen in Staples, Office Depot, Best Buy, Costco, Target, Wal Mart, and a few other places, it's largely the economy PC laptops I see out there if not exclusively the budget PC laptops. I haven't seen a Latitude and have only seen a business class Lenovo in a magazine.

What the poster says about Apple being better than 99% percent of PC laptops is probably true, if he is considering what is out there in most stores. I do like the high end PC laptops I have seen that people have ordered over the internet, especially the highly configured gaming laptops. While I used to think Dells were so-so, their gaming laptops I have seen are really quite good but are also expensive.

Just from driving out to one of the local malls, Apple seems to have the best quality gear one could actually see in person. What I would like is to see Alien laptops more in stores and the one (the only one ever) I saw for $3300 at Electronic Boutique was as good, if not better than the Macbook Pros at the time.

 

[fuzzielitlpanda]

I'm really curious how Apple has designed the new SSD DIMM. The only manufacturer I can find that makes this type of SSD is Viking Modular:

http://www.vikingmodular.com/products/flash/satadimm.asp

According to the product description, even though it is connected by a DIMM slot, you still need to connect a SATA cable to it. Looking at the leaked pictures, I do not see a SATA connector, so it seems whatever SSD apple plans to use was developed internally. In any case, I expect it to be upgradeable

 

[Shanpdx]

So you think profit is the difference between end user sales price and bill of parts?

it is not what matters what i think matters, we are trying to arrive at what will be next "rumored" price of the MBA

generally from all the news source, apple margin's are somewhere between 25 to 35% .

 

[stubeeef]

Hoping for 11", 2 USB slots, SD slot at $999. Its Apple guys, stop dreaming of $799 lol.

Would work for me. Thin is great but the foot print needs to be smaller too. In fact a 9" would be super awesome imho. I know this might really effect the keyboard but I want something I will actually take with me, not lug with me.
2gb ram, 2 usb slots, SD slot, BT, .11n of course, would love them to get out of the box and have a fully articulating screen so that it can be come either a tablet or fold it over and it goes into iPad mode.

 

[AidenShaw]

I'm really curious how Apple has designed the new SSD DIMM. The only manufacturer I can find that makes this type of SSD is Viking Modular:

http://www.vikingmodular.com/products/flash/satadimm.asp

According to the product description, even though it is connected by a DIMM slot, you still need to connect a SATA cable to it. Looking at the leaked pictures, I do not see a SATA connector, so it seems whatever SSD apple plans to use was developed internally. In any case, I expect it to be upgradeable

Look up "mini PCIe SSD" - there's a spec for a miniature SSD that plugs into a mini-PCIe slot (like a wifi or internal 3G card does).

http://www.supertalent.com/products/ssd_detail.php?type=PCI Express

 

[Mattsasa]

The Macbook Pros are a bit outdated and should be refreshed:

640m i7
Nvidia 400M series graphics card
USB 3.0
SATA 3.0 (SATA II is a bottleneck for some SSDs)
Bluray?

Should be refreshed, but won't be. If they do they won't be getting anything major like what you have suggested, the 13inch might get a processor upgrade though.

 

[Shanpdx]

Should be refreshed, but won't be. If they do they won't be getting anything major like what you have suggested, the 13inch might get a processor upgrade though.

mostly 13" MB and MBP will be refreshed (core i3 refreshes)

15" and 17" the upgrade are after sandy bridge release from Intel which is at CES 2011, at least 3 to 4 months away.

 

[Apple OC]

personally I think Wed will be only about the new MBAs coming out and the Lion OSX ... I think MBPs will come out in Feb

 

[Mattsasa]

I don't know what the Sony Z is, but I do know that it does not run OSX. So, regardless of what it is, it's already less desirable to me.

There are lots of choices on the market, and one that I've made is OSX. So whatever ships with OSX, is what I have to choose from.

That's when you hackintosh! Which has been declared legal by the federal government.

 

[mdatwood]

I would like to see more about the SSD, I saw something about it possibly being a proprietary design? I'm thinking of putting an SSD in one of my MacBook Pros, I hear they are really good.

I have friends who have put SSDs in their machines. They say it's like no other upgrade they have ever done. It's that good. I need more space than the SSD I can currently afford so I'm still waiting (plus I have 8GB of ram which helps), but and SSD is my next purchase.

 

[zedsdead]

I have friends who have put SSDs in their machines. They say it's like no other upgrade they have ever done. It's that good. I need more space than the SSD I can currently afford so I'm still waiting (plus I have 8GB of ram which helps), but and SSD is my next purchase.

I agree with them. My SSD in my Macbook Pro runs circles around the HDD in my 27" iMac which has a significantly faster processor. In everyday tasks, like opening documents, the speed of the drive matters more.

 

[LoganT]

That's when you hackintosh! Which has been declared legal by the federal government.

It doesn't matter if it's legal if it doesn't work.

 

[AidenShaw]

I have friends who have put SSDs in their machines. They say it's like no other upgrade they have ever done. It's that good. I need more space than the SSD I can currently afford so I'm still waiting (plus I have 8GB of ram which helps), but and SSD is my next purchase.

Check out specs before you buy an SSD though - the cheap ones are seldom fast, and the fast ones are seldom cheap.

Even the cheap, slow ones, though, are usually much better than spinning disks for random reads - I recently replaced the disk on my Latitude X1 with a 32 GB 1.8" SSD and it is much, much snappier (even though the specs on the SSD are rather lame). That's mainly because the SSD doesn't have any head or rotational latency.

I had another system which had run out of memory at 8 GiB (and 8 GiB was the max that the chipset would support). I got a super-fast OCZ Vertex 2 that reads/writes at 275 MB/sec - and put the pagefile on that SSD. Now it can run apps that need 12 to 16 GiB of virtual memory without much hassle - it slows down a bit, but gets the jobs done.

 

[Shanpdx]

personally I think Wed will be only about the new MBAs coming out and the Lion OSX ... I think MBPs will come out in Feb

it is possible that 15"/17" refresh happens only on feb 2011.

whether 13" MB/MBP goes to Core i3 is the question

Apple might go direct to Sandy bridge for 13" (where intel's IGP is ok compared to current offering and may be OK solution for 13" MB/MBP).

 

[fuzzielitlpanda]

Look up "mini PCIe SSD" - there's a spec for a miniature SSD that plugs into a mini-PCIe slot (like a wifi or internal 3G card does).

http://www.supertalent.com/products/ssd_detail.php?type=PCI Express

thanks for the link. i've seen those before, but from the leaked pictures, it looks like they aren't using that type of ssd. of course nothing is concrete, but the leaks do mention that it will still be some sort of SATA connection.

 

[AidenShaw]

thanks for the link. i've seen those before, but from the leaked pictures, it looks like they aren't using that type of ssd. of course nothing is concrete, but the leaks do mention that it will still be some sort of SATA connection.

The mini PCIe cards have the disk controller on the card - there's no SATA or IDE or any other connection.

It would seem odd for Apple to put a disk controller on the motherboard, when a standard for self contained (disk+controller) mini PCIe cards exists.

Oh wait, using a standard would give the user the ability to choose a different SSD - and the Lord God Jobs doesn't like choice.

 

[SkippyThorson]

But you can hook up to ethernet with even the current MacBook Air. It's a usb dongle so maybe that doesn't cut it for your network diagnosing needs... but yeah, it's an option.

http://store.apple.com/us/product/MB442Z/A

I actually didn't know about that, and it's very cool. I just may give it a shot just to try it for myself. If this is good enough, it may just be a good enough reason for me to get an Air. Thanks a ton!

 

[joelypolly]

Intel Core i7 6M Cache (or i3 with lower cache) 2.0GHz- Low Voltage CPU + Mobo + IGP = $300
SDD - let us take the smallest - 80 GB - $100
RAM - Single or dual stick - 4GB - $100
Screen - 11"/13" High density IPS - $100
OSX and everything else - $100

it is $700 dollars and make it $350 profit it is going to be either - $999 or $1099, mostly it is going to be $1099.

for $1099 you will get SSD and 4GB RAM and better screen compared to current MBA at $1499 (the base model 2GB RAM, 120 GB mechanical HDD ).

I see there is a possibility of additional USB port and ethernet port.

and make the external USB Super Drive cheaper or include with the $1099 like the HP and others ...

Not sure where you got pricing but minimum for CPU + MB + IGP is going to be around 450 to 500 as the price for CPU is already around 250 to 300. Cost for chipsets usually run around 20 to 40. Then you have the cost of assembly + other bits and pieces (audio, wifi, bluetooth, efi).

An 80 GB would be considered too small by most and because Apple usually picks SSDs from Samsung or Toshiba which come in 128GB and 256GB sizes.

Also good luck finding a screen for less than 100 bucks for 2 reasons. On the 13" they are going with a 1440x900 screen which costs 250 bucks used. Also manufacturing of higher resolution screens are usually more expensive due to higher number of failed screens (too many dead pixels etc)

 

[joelypolly]

The mini PCIe cards have the disk controller on the card - there's no SATA or IDE or any other connection.

It would seem odd for Apple to put a disk controller on the motherboard, when a standard for self contained (disk+controller) mini PCIe cards exists.

Oh wait, using a standard would give the user the ability to choose a different SSD - and the Lord God Jobs doesn't like choice.

It could be using the standard SATA communication standard even if it isn't using the same connector standards. I believe hight is the primary issue they are concerned about as a standard mPCIe slot would be too high to fit in the case.

 

[AidenShaw]

It could be using the standard SATA communication standard even if it isn't using the same connector standards.

Of course it would be using the standard interfaces, otherwise no OS would be able to boot....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahci

I believe height is the primary issue they are concerned about as a standard mPCIe slot would be too high to fit in the case.

Oh yes, the form over function problem again.

 

[Mattsasa]

iBook? Where did I mention an iBook. A MB has a built-in optical drive, and entire array of inputs, and is 4lbs. No, that is a real notebook computer.

If you can't stand people that think they are right no matter what then you best start by looking in the mirror. I asked you how I was wrong that a MBA wasn't a netbook. You can't give me any real difference besides screen size. Hate to break it to you but Dell sells a 12" netbook -- the Mini 12.

MBA:

Ultra light - check
Limited inputs - check
Weak processor - check
Useful mostly for web and office apps - check

Sounds like a netbook to me.

Weak processor - no check.
Useful mostly for web and office apps - no check

This will have at least core 2 duo, if not more.
Pc net books have intel atom, many times weaker that the air.

And the air is a lot more capable, of more advanced apps, as it has about the same power as a MacBook.

Other net book features
Clunky old pc software-no check
Cramped keyboard-no check
Low res display-no check

doesn't this make the macbook useless in the macbook line up.

I was wondering the same

It doesn't matter if it's legal if it doesn't work.

But it does work

there is one, the sony x11/x13. 11'' screen, atom cpu, ssd, >$1400. and it is very thin, thinner than the actual macbook air. yes, there is a premium market.
.

Since when was intel atom considered a killer processor?

 

[Mattsasa]

Originally Posted by eurisko

The current Macbook Pro 13" is a rip off, a 13" screen with 1280x800 in 2010?!


Yea, a typical 13-15inch pc laptop, won't have a higher resolution