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

[captain kaos]

If the battery lasts longer per cycle then fine, but if the actual cycles before if dies doesn't change then you'll be paying apple every X number of months to change it and as this new new technology will be expensive, so will the cost of replacement. And as we know apple thinks batteries are a throw away item then will we also now have to pay the "fitting charge" that comes with these new batteries?

 

[iParis]

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?

Yep!
It's happening!
One of the reasons why they're updating it.
You'll be even more shocked when you find out the specs of this low-end $599 computer.

 

[VoR]

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 is just a slightly different connector, a bit more rugged for external use. Many computers have these, it's hardly recent - and if you don't you can buy a £0.20p adapter for a spare case slot.

edit: Reading your other post about the market deciding a products worth is a bit irritating The guy you were talking to is just frustrated with the current cost of their products, and that most customers have no idea what they're buying. Question dubious products and prices and everyone can enjoy osx on better machines for less. A niche market buying shiny bling and perceived quality might work fine for their bank balance, but I'd also prefer more for less.

 

[Slowstick]

Yep!
It's happening!
One of the reasons why they're updating it.
You'll be even more shocked when you find out the specs of this low-end $599 computer.

Might be one of the reasons the mini hasn't been keeping up with its higher end counterparts. Apple doesn't care, and we all know why. They are staying out of the crowded low end market.

 

[Eidorian]

I hope that the new mini comes with the video adapters in the box.

FireWire 800 is a nice addition. Maybe it'll hop onto the Macbook one day.

 

[Slowstick]

I hope that the new mini comes with the video adapters in the box.

They should at least include something? A keyboard....mouse?

 

[Lanbrown]

When will Apple and other companies start using USB 3.0? When this is first used in future products, I will be getting one.

http://www.usb.org/press/USB-IF_Press_Releases/2008_11_17_USB_IF.pdf

 

[Eidorian]

They should at least include something? A keyboard....mouse?

If they're going with the mini video outputs and the adapters don't come in the for at least DVI output what are you going to do?

The current Mac mini does have a DVI to VGA converter.

 

[NT1440]

esata is just a slightly different connector, a bit more rugged for external use. Many computers have these, it's hardly recent - and if you don't you can buy a £0.20p adapter for a spare case slot.

edit: Reading your other post about the market deciding a products worth is a bit irritating The guy you were talking to is just frustrated with the current cost of their products, and that most customers have no idea what they're buying. Question dubious products and prices and everyone can enjoy osx on better machines for less. A niche market buying shiny bling and perceived quality might work fine for their bank balance, but I'd also prefer more for less.

Ah well I havnt really been aware that esata has been gaining attention. Will usb 3 kill it or does esata have better specs?

To your edit: I've talked to that user before and we both agreed, he even described himself, as a spec junkie because hes a college student on a budget. My post was meant to be directly to him as a response to his inflammatory "1500 for shiny" comment. It just irks me when people go out and announce something as fact when its just a hissy fit comment.

 

[Trishul]

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.

correct me if i'm wrong but i vaguely remember the Mac Mini was the strongest selling item after iPods in Apple's retail stores, and that sales have fallen purely because the specs are so utterly out of date. But yeah they should definitely make the pricing as competitive as possible, Mac Mini's fill that gap for switchers... and by god do i want one myself!

 

[VoR]

I hope that the new mini comes with the video adapters in the box.

FireWire 800 is a nice addition. Maybe it'll hop onto the Macbook one day.

I can't believe they'd ship it without a dvi adapter - I'm surprised that they'd have mini-dvi and dp video out though (I read that somewhere, right?), two identical ports would be what I expect.

I'd like to think fw800 will make a (quiet?) reappearance too.

 

[dmayo1]

More slight evidence

Sorry I haven't read through all the comments, but I thought this would be of interest as well. Went in the Columbia, MD Apple Store today and they had this display on the 17" MBP:

Looks like they're not trying too hard to hide it.

 

[powers74]

about a day

What if the "fixed battery" is something that hasn't been seen in a production laptop before, say a fuel cell? If that was a case they may need to keep it user inaccessible, but the ends would justify the means.

Mmmmmyyeeeah. I've heard of these, but I think they're still about a decade out.

WTF Steve, the mac mini gets FW 800 while the MacBook looses its Firewire altogether. Argh...WTF-O

I'm surprised I haven't been hearing more of this. So much for the huge "trend" of pulling firewire out of all their non-pro machines.

 

[Bonte]

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"

Not really, they want to make a decent profit on there hardware and not end up like Dell.
Apple's profit margin's are around 28% average, probably 40% or more on software and the iPhone and 20% on Mac hardware. Skimming 10% extra on less popular Mac hardware won't do much in sales but will harm income and stockprice, just not worth it for Apple.

They do want aggressive pricing on products that utilize the Appstore for obvious reasons but there is nothing extra to be made on most Macs, there has to be profit.

 

[Slowstick]

correct me if i'm wrong but i vaguely remember the Mac Mini was the strongest selling item after iPods in Apple's retail stores, and that sales have fallen purely because the specs are so utterly out of date. But yeah they should definitely make the pricing as competitive as possible, Mac Mini's fill that gap for switchers... and by god do i want one myself!

I don't know what it was then, but i know it wasn't in 2008.

 

[kolax]

If they're going with the mini video outputs and the adapters don't come in the for at least DVI output what are you going to do?

The current Mac mini does have a DVI to VGA converter.

I'm pretty sure Apple would be making one hell of a mistake if they didn't include video output (either Mini DVI or Mini DisplayPort) to DVI. They'd get battered with complaints.

Not including one in the Unibody MacBooks is fine because it isn't a requirement in order for the system to work - you get a laptop display. The Mac Mini, you need to hook it up to a display, and forcing people to buy an adapter would be wrong.

 

[Slowstick]

Not really, they want to make a decent profit on there hardware and not end up like Dell.
Apple's profit margin's are around 28% average, probably 40% or more on software and the iPhone and 20% on Mac hardware. Skimming 10% extra on less popular Mac hardware won't do much in sales but will harm income and stockprice, just not worth it for Apple.

They do want aggressive pricing on products that utilize the Appstore for obvious reasons but there is nothing extra to be made on most Macs, there has to be profit.

Keep in mind they also have to be able to sell them...

 

[air-ick]

So, we're confirming a rumor from another rumor site?? The other rumor site probably got their info from here. Doesn't seem like a very solid confirmation. We'll see in a couple days i guess.

 

[apolloa]

I think some people are missing something here, although we will know soon, just what CPU and GPU are they going to put in the 17" IF it has a non replaceable battery? If we are talking up to 2.8 and the 9600 or perhaps 9700GT then if you use it to edit or do hard work on the go, your gonna be wanting that replaceable battery option! But then again the 15" is the sweet spot for a laptop, and who ever said a 17" was big? These day's you can buy a bloody 20" apparent laptop.

 

[Slowstick]

So, we're confirming a rumor from another rumor site?? The other rumor site probably got their info from here. Doesn't seem like a very solid confirmation. We'll see in a couple days i guess.

What a noob.... I think it is safe to say that a new mac mini will be appearing during MacWorld.

That posting doesn't make sense.

 

[Trishul]

I'm pretty sure Apple would be making one hell of a mistake if they didn't include video output (either Mini DVI or Mini DisplayPort) to DVI. They'd get battered with complaints.

Not including one in the Unibody MacBooks is fine because it isn't a requirement in order for the system to work - you get a laptop display. The Mac Mini, you need to hook it up to a display, and forcing people to buy an adapter would be wrong.

yeah totally agree, completely understand why they are using the new ports, but if they don't include a mini DVI -> DVI adapter like they do with the Air, then they will be really dumb and greedy, it would almost be like not providing a power brick!

 

[corywoolf]

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.

So therefore no video editor would use a MacBook with the your logic of "No Firewire= No Video Editing". No serious video editor would use a Mac Mini.

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.

So you have an XD Cam and can't afford a MacBook Pro? The Mini is not meant to be a powerhouse, nor very rugged. It's an entry level desktop and most entry level users have no need for firewire, that's why they took it off the MacBook. Apple can save money + space by doing away with firewire in the entry level target audience.

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.

What about the iPod Shuffle? No screen, and it still sold like hot cakes. Apple knows how to skimp and make it look like a groundbreaking product. They can slowly take away functionality and profit from it.

Sorry I haven't read through all the comments, but I thought this would be of interest as well. Went in the Columbia, MD Apple Store today and they had this display on the 17" MBP:

Looks like they're not trying too hard to hide it.

That's nothing special, they are just doing maintenance on a standard demo machine.

 

[Slowstick]

What about the iPod Shuffle? No screen, and it still sold like hot cakes. Apple knows how to skimp and make it look like a groundbreaking product. They can slowly take away functionality and profit from it.

That is an mp3 player...much easier to price....

 

[air-ick]

What a noob.... I think it is safe to say that a new mac mini will be appearing during MacWorld.

That posting doesn't make sense.

Ummmm...... Appleinsider would be another rumor site. The title says confirmation in it. It's all rumors. And attempt to be nice.

 

[kolax]

Ummmm...... Appleinsider would be another rumor site. The title says confirmation in it. It's all rumors. And attempt to be nice.

Mac Mini 3,1 isn't a rumour, it's a confirmation.