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MacBook, MacBook Pro and Ultra-Portable Updates

The ultra portable does sound nice, in the next few months i will need power more than portability so i will be swaping my macbook pro for a mac pro.

But i would love an ultra portable for around the house and when out and about. 13" does seem big, i remember my first mac was a 12" iBook, that was small but not ultra portable. I was hoping 10"-11", the size of a large portable DVD player.
 
11" screens seem to be the standard for U.S.-market ultraportables.

A 13" screen feels way too big - the MacBook feels way bigger than the 12" Powerbook, though thinner (a 12" Dell widescreen felt roughly the same as the Powerbook)

If they want to charge more money, it should have a 12" or smaller screen

AND they need to replace the MacBook's freakish keyboard/unresponsive trackpad with something more like the MBP/old G4 Powerbook - what is the deal with those canyons between the keys?
 
ncbill said:
they need to replace the MacBook's freakish keyboard/unresponsive trackpad with something more like the MBP/old G4 Powerbook - what is the deal with those canyons between the keys?
Click to expand...

Why? It's fine, so is the trackpad, if you think the trackpad is unresponsive your MB is faulty.
 
Ya, 13" is too big, I'm waiting for Apple to get their heads out of their butts and make a 8.6" portable with at least 3600x2400 rez.

BTW, what has happened to the 17" MBP?
 
ncbill said:
AND they need to replace the MacBook's freakish keyboard/unresponsive trackpad with something more like the MBP/old G4 Powerbook - what is the deal with those canyons between the keys?
Click to expand...

The space between the keys on the Macbook is the same as any other keyboard.
 
ncbill said:
AND they need to replace the MacBook's freakish keyboard/unresponsive trackpad with something more like the MBP/old G4 Powerbook - what is the deal with those canyons between the keys?
Click to expand...

Those spaces are the same width as the slanted edges of the PowerBook/MacBook Pro keys, so they are pretty much exactly the same to type on, and I'm guessing you have not tried for more than a few minutes (though I'm ready to be corrected). I actually really like the MacBook keyboard and would like to see it return in many future Apple products (hopefully backlit too [maybe thats one of the non-Santa Rosa or LED screen related upgrades for the next MacBook revision]).

EDIT: Beaten by 2 people :eek:
 
I hope that they come out with something comparable in size and weight to the 12" powerbook. Otherwise I will have a hard time deciding what to buy when I need to upgrade. I would prefer an optical drive for the few times that I would need it but that could be external.
 
Apple don't need to make an ultra portable, just sell me a copy of OSX I can load onto a Sony VAIO TX for $1,000
 
Where would this machine fit into Apple's lineup? At 13", obviously it's not a consumer device since they already have a 13" consumer laptop. But if they're ditching the optical drive and trying to maximize battery life every way imaginable, obviously this is going to be a stripped-down machine, considerably less capable than Apple's other laptops. I mean, is a great GPU or the fastest, latest processor even an option given the requirements? So, then, who exactly does this appeal to? Who's going to shell out MacBook Pro-level prices for a machine that's less capable than the consumer model, just because it's thin and has ridiculously good battery life? I just don't get it. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for a true ultraportable (<13") sacrificing features and speed for size and uptime (like a large iPhone with a keyboard and full OS X), or a 13" MacBook Pro that's just as, or very nearly as capable as its larger siblings (a shrunken 17" MBP -- I'd love it if that were the case). But this -- what is it?? It doesn't seem to fit. Right now it's sounding like a portable version of the Cube.
 
there is nothing "ultra portable" about a 13" laptop, regardless of its weight or slimness. i've been waiting a long time to replace my 12" PowerBook. i want something with the same or less of a footprint, half the weight, twice the battery life, flash storage and a higher res screen. if leopard is really going to be res-independent then smaller screens become more and more usable. 13" is bad news.
 
Problem is Ultraportables are mucho expensive unless you get one with a 1ghz celeron mobile or something. I would love a thin Apple but I just can't wait until the end of the year to get one :( school is in September damn it! And if the macbook update is as lame as they make it out to be....then hello MBP :D

Do any laptops use LED displays right now? I would love to check one out at bestbuy or something to see what all the fuss is about.
 
rosalindavenue said:
It would be an incredible blunder to not put santa rosa chipsets in the macbooks. Every other manufacturer is going whole hog with them, even in the $999 price range (google "santa rosa HP" and see what I mean.) Apple can cripple the MB in other usual ways (no graphics card, no card slot), but to stick with an old processor everyone else it ditching would be nuts.
Click to expand...

SR will be in the MB when it makes sense to put it there. However, it is fairly well documented that SR is a minor improvement. It is hardly going to rate 'incredible blunder' distinction. I also notice you post almost exclusively anti-Apple comments. Why are you even here, if you have such a dislike for them?
 
Apple make a Sony TX, please!!!

sushi said:
The Sony VAIO VGN-TXN29N/L has some interesting specs:
- 11.1 inch display
- Built in optical drive (dual layer)
- 2GB RAM
- 100GB HD

Price is around $2,600.

I don't see Apple introducing a ultra-portable much cheaper than $2,000. Maybe $1,600, but not anything close to $1,000.
Click to expand...

561999517


I have the Sony TX series Laptop and it is the perfect combination of size/weight/performance. If it only ran Mac OS X it would be ideal. If sony can make a computer this size, then apple should be able to match it. At this point I wouldn't even consider a mac laptop just because they are SO HUGE! Granted some people use them as replacement desktops, fine, but they are nothing close to an ideal ultraportable. Guess the closest Apple came to it was the 12" G4, which they no longer make.
 
Mydel said:
No way! Ultraportable are more expensive than regular notebooks. I think more like 2300-2500
Click to expand...

It is more expensive - and that is unbelievable. The component cost for the Dells, HPs, Acers, Toshibas, Sonys is about that of a $700-$800 laptop. I am hoping Apple will be able to produce these at a price which is justified by what is in them.
 
Eraserhead said:
Why? It's fine, so is the trackpad, if you think the trackpad is unresponsive your MB is faulty.
Click to expand...

agreed. the MB keyboard/trackpad is fine.

SMM said:
SR will be in the MB when it makes sense to put it there. However, it is fairly well documented that SR is a minor improvement.
Click to expand...

it makes sense now. SR is, ironically (if this rumor is true), a minor improvement for the MBP, but it is significant for the MB because of the shift in graphics chipsets.
 
No Optical Drive!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

No Optical Drive!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!


Then how are you going to upload MacOS X, Photoshop, Pages, you name it...

Will it be an internet book? Wow... that sucks.

Sorry, as cool as it may sound, it falls face down without a disc drive... Unless Apple will finally introduce Data Crystals, in which case I'll shut up...
 
sikkinixx said:
Problem is Ultraportables are mucho expensive unless you get one with a 1ghz celeron mobile or something. I would love a thin Apple but I just can't wait until the end of the year to get one :( school is in September damn it! And if the macbook update is as lame as they make it out to be....then hello MBP :D

Do any laptops use LED displays right now? I would love to check one out at bestbuy or something to see what all the fuss is about.
Click to expand...

Check out these LED screens...

http://www.engadget.com/2007/02/01/samsungs-15-4-30-and-40-inch-led-backlit-lcds/

And the laptop http://www.engadget.com/2007/02/10/asus-gets-official-with-its-led-backlit-u1f-lappy/
 
I really hope this is true, I've been waiting for this release for a while and the lot time from using old (~6 years) slow machines is costing me money and patience. Please be next Tuesday, please! :eek:
 
Stupid...

I don't care how trivial an upgrade Santa Rosa is, (I don't agree, but) with Dell, HP, Compaq and every other Windows dog hammering Santa Rosa, if the MacBook doesn't get Santa Rosa, Apple can forget "Back to School"...:eek:
 
Your welcome:) ...

Well, I am about to buy a new TV and knowing the big difference between LED and LCD, I am very hesitant to invest in any flat-screen at the moment. Same goes for any laptops...

By the way, do you think we'll get iLife or a mini version included in Leopard? I mean, why isn't anyone talking about that anymore? And whatever happened to AppleWorks? Or the iSight for Pro customers who doesn't have a built in webcam?

Will Leopard be able to launch PC apps right off of the MacOS desktop? Is that one of the big secrets?

Will .mac ever get an update?

Will we ever get a cool remote control to our iPods? Or wireless headsets?

I'm confused, but either Apple has something so big coming this summer, and everyone will fall in love with Apple again, or we'll all be disappointed.

One thing that worries me is that on their invitation it says, get a huge head start on developing apps for Leopard. June, July, August, Sept, Oct. that's about 5 months... Is that even enough for these developers to get their business updated? If not then could we actually wait till Jan 2008 for OS X 10.5?

Apple, has been getting off track lately and their stores have become quite boring...

Is there a bigger change coming?

I still love :apple:

But, I need some motivation here... All their new Apps are wait too expensive for me...
 
ltcol266845 said:
I REALLY hope they dont use those Samsung displays... the resolution still is tthat 1440x900... I want a resolution bump!!! Makes me consider a Dell Latitude, at least then I can pick a screen resolution...
Click to expand...

True, I would like to see a serious resolution jump...

I always get angry at the end of every MacOS X cycle... Cause my computer slows down dramatically... I have 10.4.9 and it is having so many problems, apps quitting and things load forever... This started with 10.4.7 I think... or 8...:(
 
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