How about both a removal battery and extended run-time?
Confirmation of Fixed 17" MacBook Pro Battery, Mac Mini with Firewire
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How about both a removal battery and extended run-time?
macfreak93
macrumors newbie
no, just a touch screen iMac. But i would like a MacTablet or Macbook Touch type device
a universal magsafe external battery pack is a much better idea, I hope they do it for the people who really need to carry that extra bit of juice around with them. Personally after 5 years of powerbook/macbook pro usage I've never bought an extra battery and never needed one, I didn't even know the thing was removable for the first year!
xDYLANx
macrumors regular
ok? I don't really know what you're getting at. and if you need a workstation computer, why not save a thousand bucks or so and get a desktop? I'd rather have my main computer be an iMac and have a MBA to carry around.
Poll Smoker
macrumors 6502a
That says more about you than the needs of a pro user.
Trishul
macrumors regular
we're reading a lot of people complaining but can anyone actually name real world situations with their 17" MBPs where they've needed to change the battery after 6 hours? surely the people who move around a lot away from a power source wouldn't want a big heavy 17" in the first place, and would surely prefer using a 15"??! 17" laptops are meant to be desktop replacements that can be occasionally used away from a power source, i for one TOTALLY understand why Apple made this decision.
I travelled with my 17" quite a bit, and had a spare battery, and true it was useful on a handful of occasions, but if the battery lasted 50% longer, then i simply wouldn't have required an extra battery at all, and i'm sure some sort of external battery will be developed by apple or a 3rd party to cater for the few that do need the extra power.
-- The only thing that was suggested on the previous thread were students being unable to charge between or during lectures, but correct me if i'm being naive, surely the majority of students in lectures would prefer a 15"? surely 17" is too big for a lecture hall? and they're heavy, i know i wouldn't like to lug around my MBP over my shoulder all day every day, i'd definitely get a 15" if that was the case.
-- And granted i'm larger than most, but 17" is too big to use in coach, hence why i carry an Air as well, so i can't see there being too many people relying on having to use a 17" on longhaul flights, unless they ALWAYS sat at the front of the cabin. Again i'd imagine people who HAVE to use a Mac on a plane will get a MB or a 15", 17" only works in business class and above.
-- From my experience the majority of people using 17" need it for hardcore apps, and wouldn't dream of being away from a power source in the first place, instead of saying 'Pros' will be outraged, can we get some actual examples of why? I consider myself a Pro user and i love the idea of this battery if it means longer life and a thinner, possibly lighter laptop.
-- Also i think people will be interested to know iMacs are fast becoming used by editors and musicians who need portability and power, 17" MBPs don't need to cater to as many of those people as before, and i'm sure apple are aware of this, as well as the fact that the majority of 17" MBP users probably asked for a lighter laptop with longer battery life... hence built in battery.
I travelled with my 17" quite a bit, and had a spare battery, and true it was useful on a handful of occasions, but if the battery lasted 50% longer, then i simply wouldn't have required an extra battery at all, and i'm sure some sort of external battery will be developed by apple or a 3rd party to cater for the few that do need the extra power.
-- The only thing that was suggested on the previous thread were students being unable to charge between or during lectures, but correct me if i'm being naive, surely the majority of students in lectures would prefer a 15"? surely 17" is too big for a lecture hall? and they're heavy, i know i wouldn't like to lug around my MBP over my shoulder all day every day, i'd definitely get a 15" if that was the case.
-- And granted i'm larger than most, but 17" is too big to use in coach, hence why i carry an Air as well, so i can't see there being too many people relying on having to use a 17" on longhaul flights, unless they ALWAYS sat at the front of the cabin. Again i'd imagine people who HAVE to use a Mac on a plane will get a MB or a 15", 17" only works in business class and above.
-- From my experience the majority of people using 17" need it for hardcore apps, and wouldn't dream of being away from a power source in the first place, instead of saying 'Pros' will be outraged, can we get some actual examples of why? I consider myself a Pro user and i love the idea of this battery if it means longer life and a thinner, possibly lighter laptop.
-- Also i think people will be interested to know iMacs are fast becoming used by editors and musicians who need portability and power, 17" MBPs don't need to cater to as many of those people as before, and i'm sure apple are aware of this, as well as the fact that the majority of 17" MBP users probably asked for a lighter laptop with longer battery life... hence built in battery.
Michael CM1
macrumors 603
I think USB 3 is due out in the middle of the year. It'll probably be longer before useful stuff comes out that is worth the extra dough.
iParis
macrumors 68040
For people that need to do their work on the go and prefer the convenience of a laptop.
iParis
macrumors 68040
USB 3. Huh. Maybe... Q2 or Q3 2010 we will see them in Mac's.
xDYLANx
macrumors regular
lol, ok all I said was I don't see the appeal of a notebook bigger than 13" but I guess I'm wrong?
mikeinternet
macrumors 6502a
surprised. the macbook will have the removable battery and the pro will not. but i guess it is the way things will be moving.
iParis
macrumors 68040
I'm with you on that fact. There are just some people who want a bigger screen I guess.
I would never call a 17" laptop, well a laptop because it's more of a portable desktop.
rick3000
macrumors 6502a
You aren't wrong but you shouldn't make a blanket statement againt anything larger than 13". For most people a 13" MB is perfect, for most pro's a 15" MBP is perfect, and for pros who need screen real estate the 17" is perfect.
No... I would consider a 17" borderline desktop replacement. A 17" screen is pretty big.
xDYLANx
macrumors regular
I meant to add an IMO in there
Shunnabunich
macrumors regular
Well, that's a scary prospect, having a non-removable battery in the notebook that needs a removable battery the most. Well, as long as the battery lasts for 24 hours or more on a single charge, Apple doesn't have a problem, right? 
Otherwise, I hope poor, poor Phil recieves a standing boo upon such an announcement. The unjustifiable MacBook Air is bad enough without Apple's actual computers starting to emulate it.
Otherwise, I hope poor, poor Phil recieves a standing boo upon such an announcement. The unjustifiable MacBook Air is bad enough without Apple's actual computers starting to emulate it.
dwl017
macrumors 6502a
How in the world would you know this?
I don't see any reason why or any reason to believe they would raise the price.
LOL! why? its called business 101 you silly fool
$699 will be the starting price.
corywoolf
macrumors 65816
Why would there be Firewire on the Mac Mini if it's not on the MacBook? Doesn't Apple want to keep the Mini at least as crippled as the MacBook? Why wouldn't they add another USB port (like mentioned) and scrap FW all together on the lower level consumer targeted products. Also why wouldn't they make it thinner and make the optical drive an optional accessory? With all the netbooks selling like hot cakes that don't have built in optical drives, why not drop the price to $399 with an option for the MacBook Air external optical drive. Many consumers are comfortable with buying all their media on iTunes and if Apple launches an App store for the Mac, that would eliminate most of the need for an optical drive.
AidenShaw
macrumors P6
...we can complain about....
...the lack of a modestly expandable mini-tower that used desktop quad-core chips and chipsets, and had space for a 2nd (and maybe 3rd) hard drive, and a bay that could be used for a 2nd optical (or HD), and a PCIe x16 slot to add a modest graphics card if you want more than the integrated graphics, and a PCIe x1 slot or two for TV tuners, or sound cards, or audio gear, or ....
And, while we're at it, WTF is Apple thinking of with not including a couple of eSATA ports in the ridiculously compromised Mini?
Seriously, what would be left to complain about after all that (except the price)?
...the lack of a modestly expandable mini-tower that used desktop quad-core chips and chipsets, and had space for a 2nd (and maybe 3rd) hard drive, and a bay that could be used for a 2nd optical (or HD), and a PCIe x16 slot to add a modest graphics card if you want more than the integrated graphics, and a PCIe x1 slot or two for TV tuners, or sound cards, or audio gear, or ....
And, while we're at it, WTF is Apple thinking of with not including a couple of eSATA ports in the ridiculously compromised Mini?
Wow, if this is true (non-removable battery in the new 17), I can't tell you how disappointed I am. I've been holding off on buying a new machine, waiting for the new 17, for months now, but I will NEVER buy a computer with a non-swappable battery. For Christ's sake, anyone who has ever sat in a meeting room or cafe with limited outlets knows you don't always have easy access to power, let alone those of us who go to client sites - and this is supposed to be the PRO machine! This is a move that will lose customers for sure if it's true.
MBP17"-- I don't care, but even if they figure out a magsafe battery or whatever, I doubt this goes down without a hitch.
Mac Mini-- Again, not interested, but surprised to see so many fans of firewire. In my experience, many peripherals just don't have firewire, and those that do seemed to work as fast or faster with USB. Maybe I'm on a 400 thing instead of an 800 thing? Anyway, even if it were 2x as fast as USB, I'd still rather have an extra USB port, since most of my garbage is USB.
Mac Mini-- Again, not interested, but surprised to see so many fans of firewire. In my experience, many peripherals just don't have firewire, and those that do seemed to work as fast or faster with USB. Maybe I'm on a 400 thing instead of an 800 thing? Anyway, even if it were 2x as fast as USB, I'd still rather have an extra USB port, since most of my garbage is USB.
Sgt.Pepper
macrumors member
Making a 17inch computer a bit thinner isn't going to make it much more portable if at all. When I take my laptop around the thickness of it doesn't even cross my mind. Thickness doesn't do anything to portability when the computer has a large footprint. The current 17" Macbook Pro is by no means a thick laptop either.
I see this as just a marketing movie, so they can say they have such a thin 17inch computer like it means something, and fool all the consuming drones, who unquestionably listen to advertising.
Sure when you need you battery replaced you can take it into a store to be replaced, but that's just another extra cost. I'm sure than was another reason for doing it, so they can squeeze more money out of customers in replacement costs beyond the price of the physical battery.
Not to mention the costs you have to pay in petrol and time going in, or sending in your whole computer (and time costs some people a lot of money)
And then also sell external battery solutions that cost more than a regular, replaceable battery.
I hope they have a huge recall, that costs them millions. (Although I don't hope so because of the inconvenience to customers)
As far as environmental benefits, I wonder if they outweigh, if there is a battery recall I wonder if the petrol, and other resources used to recall laptop instead of just batteries will outweigh the benefits. (That just a theory, one that is most likely not true)
Also if you can replace your battery yourself, having a spare battery gives twice as much battery life, which for those who struggle with maths, is more than the 50% increase this new built in battery promises.
So in closing, no I don't think a built in battery is good. I haven't even gone into all the reasons why it's not good either, this is just some of the main ones.
I see this as just a marketing movie, so they can say they have such a thin 17inch computer like it means something, and fool all the consuming drones, who unquestionably listen to advertising.
Sure when you need you battery replaced you can take it into a store to be replaced, but that's just another extra cost. I'm sure than was another reason for doing it, so they can squeeze more money out of customers in replacement costs beyond the price of the physical battery.
Not to mention the costs you have to pay in petrol and time going in, or sending in your whole computer (and time costs some people a lot of money)
And then also sell external battery solutions that cost more than a regular, replaceable battery.
I hope they have a huge recall, that costs them millions. (Although I don't hope so because of the inconvenience to customers)
As far as environmental benefits, I wonder if they outweigh, if there is a battery recall I wonder if the petrol, and other resources used to recall laptop instead of just batteries will outweigh the benefits. (That just a theory, one that is most likely not true)
Also if you can replace your battery yourself, having a spare battery gives twice as much battery life, which for those who struggle with maths, is more than the 50% increase this new built in battery promises.
So in closing, no I don't think a built in battery is good. I haven't even gone into all the reasons why it's not good either, this is just some of the main ones.
dwl017
macrumors 6502a
$399 LOL LOL LOL
some of you guys must really be out of touch or live in some deep rural areas away from modern civilization $399 LOL hang on while I wipe the tears from my eyes LOL $399