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Confirmation of Fixed 17" MacBook Pro Battery, Mac Mini with Firewire

AidenShaw said:
And, while we're at it, WTF is Apple thinking of with not including a couple of eSATA ports in the ridiculously compromised Mini?
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Ok, im not 100% sure about this but i guess I can ask.

Isnt eSata kinda like the awkward cousin port that is just a place holder until Usb 3 and new FW?

I havnt really seen that much adoption of it.😕
 
xDYLANx said:
lol, ok all I said was I don't see the appeal of a notebook bigger than 13" but I guess I'm wrong?
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You are not wrong. That is your personal opinion. Just because other people do have a use for one it doesn't mean you do.

If i was to get a mac laptop personally i'd go for the air because i do all my intensive work at home. The only time i'd need a laptop would be for presenting complete work, general browsing etc. The Air would be perfect for me in that sense.
 
Apple could opt for a external battery solution, something like this but done good. Maybe via USB or FireWire so the extra battery can be charged together with the laptop, charging the laptop exclusively via firewire/USB could also provide some extra room for ports or make it slimmer.

http://www.dvhardware.net/review120_acryan_mobilit.html

9.jpg
 
dwl017 said:
$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
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I know!
WTF. $399?
That's the price of an iPod!
An Apple netbook would most likely be something like $799. That is if there is an Apple netbook.
 
If they double the battery capacity and make it much more durable (400 or 500 charges per year?) then the importance of having an interchangeable battery is greatly reduced to but the most specific of usages (stuck deep in the amazon filling out your spreadsheets on some animals mating habits or something).

I know its convenient but if they are using an expensive new battery technology, they may have been forced to forgo the battery casing and latch mechanism to simply throwing the cell inside the chassis of the MBP. I don't know how cutting edge their new battery technology is but it would be very very cutting edge if they deem it too expensive for the 17"MBP price point. I don't give this hypothesis much weight as I think the following one is the most probable.

Large open areas within are not good structurally for the laptop and batteries don't like pressure being exerted on them. Keeping the 17" MBP as thin as its 15" counterpart is very difficult and they probably gained reinforcement of the chassis by not making the battery a removable one. They might even have went to extreme measures by using the battery enclosure as a core structural backbone or as part of one (I know I said above that batteries don't like pressure being exerted on them but you can design a battery in a way that keeps the structural forces away from the chemical reactions happening inside). So much so that's it prevents the battery's removal from the chassis? Possible.

Pure speculation above. I couldn't resist taking part in all this 😱.
 
Sgt.Pepper said:
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.
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i don't agree, thickness does make a huge difference, my friend has a big slab of plastic XPS Dell 17", and there have been many, many instances when he will have avoided taking it somewhere because of its inability to fit in bags, and generally being the heaviest thing on earth.. he looks at my MBP, and lusts after it. After getting an Air though, the MBP feels like a mammoth compared to it, and if Apple can do anything to the MBP, they can make it lighter and thinner. People who need desktop replacements that are easily portable, they can just buy an iMac, i'm sure the majority of people that actually move around with a 17" laptop would love it to be lighter.
 
I tend to agree that the 17" is really just a mobile desktop. In that case, the battery life may be fine. Most people who are going to use a laptop on the road a lot and need extra batteries will buy the 13" or 15" for convenience.
 
dwl017 said:
Bring it! I'm game lets do it, I give the MR moderator permission to suspend my account for one week if the new lower end Mini comes in under $699
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You guys are all nuts.

Apple will most likely keep the price around where it is now. That is what I think. They want you to pay more for a computer if it is a "Mac"
 
NT1440 said:
Ok, im not 100% sure about this but i guess I can ask.

Isnt eSata kinda like the awkward cousin port that is just a place holder until Usb 3 and new FW?

I havnt really seen that much adoption of it.😕
Click to expand...

It's just a sata connection? The same connector that is used on pretty much every drive made for a fair while. The same connector that has support for multiple ports on any modern motherboard.
It would cost them nothing to implement multiple ports on desktops and laptops and the external enclosures you use would drop in price too. At the same time you'll be increasing bandwidth (not that it's needed with current drives), decreasing latency and allowing for port replicators/raid/etc incredibly easily and cheaply.

It isn't a replacement for usb/fw though.
 
Slowstick said:
You guys are all nuts.

Apple will most likely keep the price around where it is now. That is what I think. They want you to pay more for a computer if it is a "Mac"
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what's with the quote marks? and they raised the price for the low-end Macbooks so I don't see why not. Apple doesn't know the meaning of the word recession, maybe because they don't have to 😀
 
Hmm

Already purchased a aluminum macbook, so this stuff on the macbook pro means virtually nothing to me. I'm still unsure of how an internal battery will help to increase power 😕, it must be some new type of battery.
 
VoR said:
It's just a sata connection? The same connector that is used on pretty much every drive made for a fair while. The same connector that has support for multiple ports on any modern motherboard.
It would cost them nothing to implement multiple ports on desktops and laptops and the external enclosures you use would drop in price too. At the same time you'll be increasing bandwidth (not that it's needed with current drives), decreasing latency and allowing for port replicators/raid/etc incredibly easily and cheaply.

It isn't a replacement for usb/fw though.
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I said esata, which as far as im aware isnt exactly the same as sata, ive been seeing esata ports pop up on some computers recently.

eSATA_TypA.jpg
 
dwl017 said:
$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
Click to expand...

Ok well then they could at least bring down the baseline model to $499 where it used to be.
 
xDYLANx said:
what's with the quote marks? and they raised the price for the low-end Macbooks so I don't see why not. Apple doesn't know the meaning of the word recession, maybe because they don't have to 😀
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I put the quotes to indicate a general adjective. Anyway, I think the mac mini will be priced less than the current (not by much though) because the mac mini doesn't sell as well as the macbooks. And it is a desktop, and the prices of desktops fall faster faster than notebooks making the desktop market much more competitive.
 
Slowstick said:
You guys are all nuts.

Apple will most likely keep the price around where it is now. That is what I think. They want you to pay more for a computer if it is a "Mac"
Click to expand...

Dear God man where have you been for the last few years? SJ said it him self if you want cheap this is not the place for you.
 
I never had to replace my battery anyway. Plus if the battery is flexible like in Air, means it can fill every available space. More power. I like that! Only apple is smart enough for this. Im sure all others will follow and copy that.
 
Slowstick said:
I put the quotes to indicate a general adjective. Anyway, I think the mac mini will be priced less than the current (not by much though) because the mac mini doesn't sell as well as the macbooks. And it is a desktop, and the prices of desktops fall faster faster than notebooks making the desktop market much more competitive.
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Rip Van Winkle is that you? LOL 😀
 
iParis said:
I know!
WTF. $399?
That's the price of an iPod!
An Apple netbook would most likely be something like $799. That is if there is an Apple netbook.
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Hmmm... I am pretty sure the Mac Mini could be priced in the ball park of netbooks. The Mac Mini doesn't include a display, keyboard, mouse. It would also drop the optical drive. It would not be much more expensive then an Apple TV, considering it would be very similar, just a better processor and graphics card, and more ports.
 
corywoolf said:
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.
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The Mac Mini is meant to be a desktop computer, with firewire you can daisy chain hard drives and devices, that is the main benefit of firewire, and while USB is as fast on paper, no video editor would dream of using USB to connect a scratch disk. 13" laptops are designed to be portable, and i personally can't think of a situation where firewire would be essential, or as useful as an extra USB port.

Having said this i would love my Air to have a firewire port so i could capture footage from my XDCAM Camera when abroad instead of having to take a heavier laptop with me. But that is such an obscure situation, and is not what the Air is designed for at all... and why i'd love to get a mac mini and just connect it to some hotel TV, and have a rugged portable powerhouse that can daisy chain.

I do like the idea of them removing the optical drive, and just using the Air's superdrive, but i doubt they will do that because far too many people seem to think they need an optical drive before truly realizing how little they use them nowadays, and will automatically reject the mini like the reject the Air for not having an optical drive, and Apple can't afford to lose potential Mac Mini customers as it is the Ultimate choice for switchers and Apple's long term goals for world domination. 😀
 
dwl017 said:
Dear God man where have you been for the last few years? SJ said it him self if you want cheap this is not the place for you.
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Did you read my post? I said it will most likely stay where the price is now! I didn't say it was going to be cheaper. The Mac Mini, for what you get, is one of the most expensive desktops on the market. Even with the upgrade it will be overpriced compared to its PC alternatives with the same hardware. Remember, it doesn't come with a monitor and all other accessories. Before lashing out, read the freaking post.
 
MacPredictions.com predicts the 17-inch will be a new addition to the "Air" line and not the "Pro" line... which explains the fixed battery.

macbook_air_family.jpg


Nice screen real estate, rumored LONGER battery life, "Air" thin unibody... as long as Apple doesn't skimp on the power offering... this could be a VERY SLEEK creative powerhouse machine. It can bring new life to their "Air" line.

I think creative professionals will be all over this (if close to the mentioned features). Maybe Apple will bring the MATTE option back for this portable... because the current Air does not have the FULL glass screen like the new MacBooks.

Think about it: one portable, sleek 17" option for designers and editors on the go... MacBook Air Pro??? LOL.
 
iParis said:
Ok, you may not have had to replace your battery before but I bet others have.

Actually, the current Mini is $599, not $400.
I wish it were though. XD
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Wow $599...I never paid attention because I'm not in the market, but dang, $599 for a low-end computer with no monitor is pretty lame.

Are people really buying these that much?
 
Sirobin said:
This non-removable battery is such a terrible idea. Apple, are you really saying you couldn't put in, oh I don't know, a removable Silver-zinc battery!?😕
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im with you, non-switchable batteries on the iphone and macbook pro 17" are complete moronic ideas.

i own an iphone, so i know! just because people buy a product in spite of it, doesn't mean it is a good design idea.

sorry apple, but while you get better, in some ways your stubborn and anti-consumer. where is Blu-Ray???

rest my point
 
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