Light-weight Stylish Mac Laptops in 2006?

[Super Dave]

I sit next to a person with a Vaio S360 and the screen makes the my Powerbook's screen look like crap. The images are crystal clear and despite rumors otherwise they look no worse outside in the sun.

<snip>

I don't think the rumour is that they look bad outside in the sun, but that they are hard to read in any environment that has ANY light whatsoever because they reflect like a mirror. They're poorly designed.

I've had a friend consider taking one back because the screen was too shiny and she couldn't see anything.

David

 

[justkeith]

white...black... deep inside we are all beige

or aluminIum ...


and one day soon we may all have Intel Inside

 

[Peace]

or aluminIum ...


and one day soon we may all have Intel Inside

Somehow I just don't believe Apple is going to have any "Intel Inside" stickers on any new MacIntel..

crossing fingers

 

[Val-kyrie]

Screen Spanning

If the next gen iBook supported external displays, I would consider getting one. If not, I'll probably ignore laptops, as I've done up until now.

This has been a major hold-up for me, too. I don't see why I should pay the exorbitant prices for a PB in order to get screen spanning when all I need is an iBook. I, however, also need to run a particular windows app that has no Mac equivalent, so Apple's offering in January will cinch whether I buy an Intel-based iBook or buy a Dell/HP/Lenovo/other portable. If Apple is going to compete with Dell or HP or others, then screen spanning will have to come in the low-end lines just like it is present in PC laptops. I really want an Apple laptop that is feature-comparable to PC laptops for a similar, but perhaps slightly higher, price. For small portables, screen spanning is a must and an external video resolution of 1024 x 768 just won't cut it anymore, and this is why the hack for the iBook just isn't acceptable.

BTW--I found it very interesting that Dell just erected a kiosk in the mall just outside the local Apple store. You walk out the Apple store, look left, walk 15 feet in that direction and there it is.

 

[Val-kyrie]

Resolution

Apple won't enable external displays by default on the ibook line, it's one more 'feature' that distinguishes them from the powerbook models.

However, I have an ibook and an emac and have been using the screen spanning hack on both for ages and it works fine, so unless the graphics cards no longer support spanning in the new Intel books (unlikely as even 2 years ago the graphics hardware supported it) it's a non-issue

Yes, but isn't your resolution extremely limited? Could you realistically drive a 20" or 23"/24" widescreen monitor? Apple's lack of support of this feature does not compare well to other laptops on the market.

 

[Randall]

Somehow I just don't believe Apple is going to have any "Intel Inside" stickers on any new MacIntel..

crossing fingers

Don't worry, even if Steve does sell out and allow Intel to "brand" the computers, a sticker can easily be removed. As for the other rumors of "laser etching" an intel logo into the computer case, I don't believe that for a second. This kind of drastic advertising isn't even in the PC world.

 

[dernhelm]

Many people who travel (even from office to office, or meeting to meeting) *are* interested in smaller, lighter laptops. Apple has nothing in that space today.

Most people that I know wouldn't want a 17" laptop, from any manufacturer.

Ok - but I did, and I know several people that do as well.

A couple of people I know do have 17" PBs, but they went out and bought smaller notebooks (in addition) after realizing how big and awkward the 17" PB was. One bought an iBook 12", the other an even smaller Thinkpad. The 17" stay at home as desktop replacements, the small one is their portable.

Great! Apple makes even more money. For me, if my computer never leaves my home, I'd rather not have a laptop at all.

The fallacy in this argument is that you ignore "which features have what priority for the purchaser".

If "small and light" is an important feature, Apple loses.

I'm not ignoring anything. I'm relating my personal experience. I know 7 people that bought ultra-portables out of the 50 or so people that I know that own a laptop. Of those 7, several of them wish they hadn't (and told me so when I was looking) because they found that the 1lb weight savings wasn't worth the loss in functionality.

Not everyone wants a DVD or other fluff that adds bulk and weight. Many people would gladly take a slower processor (ULV Pentium M, for example) if it meant lighter weight and longer battery life.

Why does everyone assume that any new model will replace either the iBook or the Powerbook? Why can't Apple add additional models for different markets?

Apple has nothing for the subnotebook space, nor for the portable workstation space (the 3+ GHz or dual-core 64-bit laptops). These are big markets that Apple is simply ignoring because of their arbitrary consumer/pro model split.

If all you care about is how light your computer can be, and don't need good graphics, or optical drive capabilities then I certainly wouldn't recommend you buy current Apple products. You can definitely do better with a PC. Apple doesn't seem to be targeting that market, and none of their software strategy points towards a direction that indicates they would.

If you count this as a loss, or as a bad business decision for Apple, well I won't disagree with you - that is your perspective. But from my perspective in my tiny little corner of the world, it is a market segment that wouldn't likely have been all that lucrative anyway.

The size and weight of the 12"PB seems to have found itself quite a following. But part of that following is related to the fact that it still has a good processor, decent graphics, and is replete with optical drive. The question is how many current 12" PB owners would forgo all that to save some weight? I'm sure Apple has done some market research on this, and we'll have their answer (the only one that counts) in Jan.

 

[seashellz]

There will be a pink "Brittany Spears" model
A 'fishnet' black/white "Victorias Secret" model


and then the "Martha Stewart" model, with little cottage cheese bunnies all over the outer case