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MacBook to See Design Refresh in Near Future?
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Most likely, they will use the moniker "iBook" indicating the Internet as a big factor for the device.
The "book" will most likely indicate the size (something akin to a paperback or hard back book) for the look and feel of the new tablet.
That has to be the most craptastic aspect ratio I've ever seen on a portable display. High resolution, yes. Usable resolution, not no much. Completely useless IMO. Apple would never make something that hideous.
Also, how do you call the Air "port crippled" compared to that? The Vaio has exactly one more USB port than the Air. Hardly a crippling loss....
Furthermore, pricing and market...
Also, by pricing the plastic 'budget kitchen wonder' CrackBook 200 USD below the entry-level MacBook Pro, Apple must have gained some experience about customer behavior. Personally, I think it is worth paying the extra to get the aluminium case, backlit keyboard, better battery and more powerful processor. In that sense, the plastic one was indeed the budget wonder that only makes sense if you are desperate or if you are a child and your parents buy the 'cheap' Mac for you. But with a cheaper, more colourful MacBook range, Apple could gain more market share in a relatively poorly penetrated area.
Young people and children are not as concerned about processor type and the type of Firewire they get. As long as they can do what they do, they are fine (I hope that doesn't sound patronising). So Apple can cut back on parts for these machines. I expect basic C2D processors with 2 GHz, between 120 and 250 GB HDD and 2GB Ram. DDR2 is more than enough for a little yellow plastic wonder that might also find its way to wealthier people's kitchen.
Also, by pricing the plastic 'budget kitchen wonder' CrackBook 200 USD below the entry-level MacBook Pro, Apple must have gained some experience about customer behavior. Personally, I think it is worth paying the extra to get the aluminium case, backlit keyboard, better battery and more powerful processor. In that sense, the plastic one was indeed the budget wonder that only makes sense if you are desperate or if you are a child and your parents buy the 'cheap' Mac for you. But with a cheaper, more colourful MacBook range, Apple could gain more market share in a relatively poorly penetrated area.
Young people and children are not as concerned about processor type and the type of Firewire they get. As long as they can do what they do, they are fine (I hope that doesn't sound patronising). So Apple can cut back on parts for these machines. I expect basic C2D processors with 2 GHz, between 120 and 250 GB HDD and 2GB Ram. DDR2 is more than enough for a little yellow plastic wonder that might also find its way to wealthier people's kitchen.
Meh. I always thought the white macbook looked great! Better than the aluminum, even. The only reason I'm getting the Macbook Pro 13 inch is because I'll need the backlit keyboard and good performance, as I'll eventually be doing heavy video editing... :/
You're going to want more cores and a faster hard drive over a paltry few MHz more on a Core 2 Duo for video editing.
No DVD drive
MY guess is that the new MacBook will no longer have a DVD drive. I feel that the new laptop will take cues from the Air and the Netbooks by eliminating the internal drive.
My guesses are the following:
* The screen will be a 12.1" widescreen. Same resolution as current 13.3" screen. My guess on this is that by doing this Apple can maintain a healthy profit margin and keep the full size ketboard. BY having an overall smaller laptop.
* Battery will non-replaceable. Makes sense to improve in packaging.
* RAM will be 2 GB RAM without updagrade. They can save space and cost by making it un-upgradable.
* Core2Duo at the same speed as current MB. Will not updagre CPU unless MB Pros get updated first.
* Same Bus speed as current MB.
* May use a 1.8" inch HDD (120 GB) or 64GB flash soldered in (no SSD, not upgradable). I'm almost betting on the Flash as they already have a large order with Samsung secured.
* Will still use NVidia 9400 graphics (No intel or AMD).
* will most likely weight 3.5 lbs due to use of plastic enclose. Less than 1" thick.
* 2 USB port, mini-display port and audio port. FW will be used to separate the Pro level.
Look at this new MB as a big netbook. The $799 price sounds about right. The main feature will be the big screen and full keyboard.
The interesting thign will be with the MB Air at $1,499. If my ides of the new MB does comes true the MB Air would most probably disappear. Unless an aluminum MB Air is reintroduced as a 12" laptop at a price of $1,099
MY guess is that the new MacBook will no longer have a DVD drive. I feel that the new laptop will take cues from the Air and the Netbooks by eliminating the internal drive.
My guesses are the following:
* The screen will be a 12.1" widescreen. Same resolution as current 13.3" screen. My guess on this is that by doing this Apple can maintain a healthy profit margin and keep the full size ketboard. BY having an overall smaller laptop.
* Battery will non-replaceable. Makes sense to improve in packaging.
* RAM will be 2 GB RAM without updagrade. They can save space and cost by making it un-upgradable.
* Core2Duo at the same speed as current MB. Will not updagre CPU unless MB Pros get updated first.
* Same Bus speed as current MB.
* May use a 1.8" inch HDD (120 GB) or 64GB flash soldered in (no SSD, not upgradable). I'm almost betting on the Flash as they already have a large order with Samsung secured.
* Will still use NVidia 9400 graphics (No intel or AMD).
* will most likely weight 3.5 lbs due to use of plastic enclose. Less than 1" thick.
* 2 USB port, mini-display port and audio port. FW will be used to separate the Pro level.
Look at this new MB as a big netbook. The $799 price sounds about right. The main feature will be the big screen and full keyboard.
The interesting thign will be with the MB Air at $1,499. If my ides of the new MB does comes true the MB Air would most probably disappear. Unless an aluminum MB Air is reintroduced as a 12" laptop at a price of $1,099
Good and bad.
I hope they don't lower the price of the macbook. I LIKE that it is an exclusive high brand product. If they lower the price, more and more people will get one and therefore... viruses will start to pop up.
I don't want to sound like an elitist for shunning people from the 'mac experience' but I believe that Mac has always been a low market share high price computer.
I hope they don't lower the price of the macbook. I LIKE that it is an exclusive high brand product. If they lower the price, more and more people will get one and therefore... viruses will start to pop up.
I don't want to sound like an elitist for shunning people from the 'mac experience' but I believe that Mac has always been a low market share high price computer.
Blah.
"looking to bring a fresh exterior look to the aging entry-level notebook"
Blah. The exterior is fine. Focus on what really matters.
Battery life.
Ruggedness. (drops, wetness)
Durability. (wear and tear)
Reliability. (component failure)
Speed. (already good)
Memory. (already good)
Storage. (already good)
"looking to bring a fresh exterior look to the aging entry-level notebook"
Blah. The exterior is fine. Focus on what really matters.
Battery life.
Ruggedness. (drops, wetness)
Durability. (wear and tear)
Reliability. (component failure)
Speed. (already good)
Memory. (already good)
Storage. (already good)
apple has had countless opportunities to get into the cheap piece of **** market, they haven't for a reason. this rumour comes up every 4-6 months (remember the 700 dollar unibody macbook guys??? and prior to that the sub1000 dollar macbook?? ....and ibook.......?) i don't know why "analysts" continue to claim this, and why macrumors would bother to publish it at this point. refresh, sure. 500 dollar mac portable? no.
Maybe I don't want low-end components. Bad idea I think. I don't want them to compete with budget PCs; I want to know I'm getting quality. Not high-end Dells and HPs.
Where did you read anything about the MacBook being discontinued? Overhauled and entirely different maybe, but that name isn't going anywhere. Get a clue.
No way, it will NOT be un-upgradable. That is also nuts. It's not a toy. People still love to upgrade their MacBooks. What do they have to gain by not allowing people to get inside? If anything, that's a huge consumer turnoff.
About the ol' Netbook thing...
There are dual-core Atom processors, so maybe Apple might get this idea to work with Snow Leopard. However, Dell has determined that 10" is the size things should be, they got rid of the smaller and larger models, so I doubt Apple would have that many sizes.
Colour options would be nice.
The reason I bought my netbook was that I needed something to take care of email, word processing and surfing while my MacBook needed repairs done and was away for a whole 2 weeks. The Dell Mini 9 is (or rather, was) netbook perfection - plenty of ports for what I needed, external optical bought separately and RunCore 64GB SSD... things like nVidia graphics aren't really needed.
I reckon the MacBook Air will stay, and below that a smaller Atom based net-tablet or net-book. As for the plastic MacBook, I say BRING BACK THE BLACK ONE! Or something... and it is too early to be ditching optical drives - my MacBook is my workstation, DVD player, TV, everything... I like the built-in drive!
There are dual-core Atom processors, so maybe Apple might get this idea to work with Snow Leopard. However, Dell has determined that 10" is the size things should be, they got rid of the smaller and larger models, so I doubt Apple would have that many sizes.
Colour options would be nice.
The reason I bought my netbook was that I needed something to take care of email, word processing and surfing while my MacBook needed repairs done and was away for a whole 2 weeks. The Dell Mini 9 is (or rather, was) netbook perfection - plenty of ports for what I needed, external optical bought separately and RunCore 64GB SSD... things like nVidia graphics aren't really needed.
I reckon the MacBook Air will stay, and below that a smaller Atom based net-tablet or net-book. As for the plastic MacBook, I say BRING BACK THE BLACK ONE! Or something... and it is too early to be ditching optical drives - my MacBook is my workstation, DVD player, TV, everything... I like the built-in drive!
seriously, not only is this a crappy thing to publish, its pretty annoying. how many times has it been said "we are not interested in the low-end market." and "we require our users to have a good experience." using cheap garbage parts to make a 500 dollar macbook? yeah, thats apple's business model. that will give people a positive macintosh experience. who is this "analyst" and why is he still writing?
What do I get instead? I need a notebook, want apple, and need as much portability as I can get. That really only leaves the high-end 13 inch uMBP!
A desktop? You're going to get a little more performance from Arrandale over Core 2.
Getting a higher end Core 2 is just throwing money away for a few seconds compared to more cores/threads.