My final thoughts, going in:
1) Only one standard clock speed in all of the 15" models - the 2.5 Ghz one.
The 2.6 Ghz model costs $214 more for minimal benefit. It'll be offered as a BTO option - and probably come standard in the 17".
2) The cheaper and more expensive 15" models will be differentiated by the more expensive one coming with 4 Gigs of RAM standard, versus 2 Gigs on the cheapest one (hey, RAM is dirty cheap these days) and by hard drive size.
3) 64 Gig SSD as a build-to-order option.
4) Keybord goes to MacBook-style backlit, like on the MacBook Air (it's clear that Apple likes this design and wants to standardize around it).
5) Magnetic latch.
6) Video cards remain the same or pretty much the same. Possibly a bump to 256/512. Or even 128/256/512 (17" or BTO).
7) My final prediction - and which runs contrary to some indications:
Price cuts. Remember, this is an Apple fan forum - and even many people here recognize that the MacBook Pro is probably overpriced when compared to other prosumer-type machines (which, basically, is what the MacBook Pro is - one can't really compare it to business-oriented or rugged machines, which have very different purposes).
Based on the threads here, and my own pushing around, it seems that the present line of MacBook Pros are priced over thier PC counterparts (I'm thinking, in particular, of the T61 ThinkPads and the XPS M1530, which seems to have been discussed a fair bit around here) by at least $500. Really, more, since many of those price tests don't take into account the savings which might be attained through buying after-market components.
For example, I could configure a 2.4 Ghz T61 with 4 Gigs or Ram and a 200 Gig 7200 RPM hard drive for about $1700 (these are Canadian prices, FWIW).
Same goes for the XPS, which actually does better than the ThinkPad in this regard.
Now, Apple doesn't have to - and won't - cut prices to the level of Dell. But, they could move closer to the Lenovo/IBM level. Not all of the way.
I see the entry-level Pro at $1799 (or, in other words, the same price as the Air - I've switched to U.S. prices now).
So, in other words, we end up with something like:
Basic 15" Config:
Intel Core 2 Duo 2.5 Ghz
2 Gigs RAM
160 Gig Hard Drive
NVIDIA 8600M GT With 256 Megs of RAM
$1799.99
Upgraded 15" Config:
Intel Core 2 Duo 2.5 Ghz
4 Gigs RAM
250 Gigs Hard Drive
NVIDIA 8600M GT With 512 Megs of RAM
$2299.99
17" Model:
Intel Core 2 Duo 2.6 Ghz
4 Gigs RAM
250 Gigs Hard Drive
NVIDIA 8600M GT With 512 Megs of RAM
$2599.99
Also, I don't think that resolution bumps are out of the question. The high-resolution panel might come standard on the 17", and perhaps the 15" would either get higher resolution as a BTO option or, alternatively, on the upgraded model.
Those are my thoughts/predictions.
1) Only one standard clock speed in all of the 15" models - the 2.5 Ghz one.
The 2.6 Ghz model costs $214 more for minimal benefit. It'll be offered as a BTO option - and probably come standard in the 17".
2) The cheaper and more expensive 15" models will be differentiated by the more expensive one coming with 4 Gigs of RAM standard, versus 2 Gigs on the cheapest one (hey, RAM is dirty cheap these days) and by hard drive size.
3) 64 Gig SSD as a build-to-order option.
4) Keybord goes to MacBook-style backlit, like on the MacBook Air (it's clear that Apple likes this design and wants to standardize around it).
5) Magnetic latch.
6) Video cards remain the same or pretty much the same. Possibly a bump to 256/512. Or even 128/256/512 (17" or BTO).
7) My final prediction - and which runs contrary to some indications:
Price cuts. Remember, this is an Apple fan forum - and even many people here recognize that the MacBook Pro is probably overpriced when compared to other prosumer-type machines (which, basically, is what the MacBook Pro is - one can't really compare it to business-oriented or rugged machines, which have very different purposes).
Based on the threads here, and my own pushing around, it seems that the present line of MacBook Pros are priced over thier PC counterparts (I'm thinking, in particular, of the T61 ThinkPads and the XPS M1530, which seems to have been discussed a fair bit around here) by at least $500. Really, more, since many of those price tests don't take into account the savings which might be attained through buying after-market components.
For example, I could configure a 2.4 Ghz T61 with 4 Gigs or Ram and a 200 Gig 7200 RPM hard drive for about $1700 (these are Canadian prices, FWIW).
Same goes for the XPS, which actually does better than the ThinkPad in this regard.
Now, Apple doesn't have to - and won't - cut prices to the level of Dell. But, they could move closer to the Lenovo/IBM level. Not all of the way.
I see the entry-level Pro at $1799 (or, in other words, the same price as the Air - I've switched to U.S. prices now).
So, in other words, we end up with something like:
Basic 15" Config:
Intel Core 2 Duo 2.5 Ghz
2 Gigs RAM
160 Gig Hard Drive
NVIDIA 8600M GT With 256 Megs of RAM
$1799.99
Upgraded 15" Config:
Intel Core 2 Duo 2.5 Ghz
4 Gigs RAM
250 Gigs Hard Drive
NVIDIA 8600M GT With 512 Megs of RAM
$2299.99
17" Model:
Intel Core 2 Duo 2.6 Ghz
4 Gigs RAM
250 Gigs Hard Drive
NVIDIA 8600M GT With 512 Megs of RAM
$2599.99
Also, I don't think that resolution bumps are out of the question. The high-resolution panel might come standard on the 17", and perhaps the 15" would either get higher resolution as a BTO option or, alternatively, on the upgraded model.
Those are my thoughts/predictions.
