Hey, I'm new here, and I've been looking around at the different computers that have been released with the Montevina chipset inside. One computer that caught my eye was a Sony, and it reminded me a lot of mockups people here have posted of the next generation Macbook Pro (linky). This model in particular seems to have a lot of the features that people want in the next Macbook Pro--Blu-Ray read/write, ATI graphics (even though this chip benchmarks lower than the 8600m GT), the chicklet keyboard design, and even a 16:9 screen. So what do you all think about this? Will the next generation Macbook Pro have a resemblance to this notebook? And if it does, will Apple keep the price at a comparable level?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Montevina Macbook Pro?
- Thread starter powerbookpro
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
According the link, that thing does not have ATI graphics, it has an Intel Graphics Media Decelerator. It's also 1.3in thick, and doesn't have Firewire. And how much do you wanna bet that screen has a TN panel? I swear, companies dump those things everywhere these days.
Actually, if you decide to customize the machine you can pick an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3470 with 256MB vRAM. Yeah, you are right that it is thicker than the MBP, and it is missing Firewire, and of course Mac OS X, but it has a few things the MBP should have, like HDMI connectors and even a slot for an SD card. But even with that thickness I'd assume that there is better ventilation within the case...I have a friend with a SR MBP that gets unbelievably hot when gaming and I think if there was more room for airflow it wouldn't get as hot. Even when customized, this is quite a bit less than the MBP and I think dealing with Vista might be worth the price savings (I'd deal with it only long enough to download a Linux distro 😛)
andiwm2003
macrumors 601
apple certainly sees the competition. i'm sure they will release a competitive machine. we just don't know where apple will compete.
that could be features: bigger HD, decent GPU, best screen, battery life, 2.8GHz chips, blue ray
it could be stylish design: a bit lighter, a bit slimmer, aluminum casing and such
it could be a radical new design: like the MB air, no optical disk, ultrathin and light, long battery life, SSD
i would prefer they compete a bit on features and a bit on design. that means midrange GPU, no blue ray, 2.6-2.8GHz CPU, less than an inch thick, less than 4 pounds, 13.3 inch screen, 7hrs battery (well i don't think that will happen)
and i heard mixed reviews about vista. for the average joe who doesn't anything special and doesn't install any utilities that screw up the system vista seems to work quite ok. that means apple can't just point to OS X and sell hardware that isn't competitive with sony and the rest.
that could be features: bigger HD, decent GPU, best screen, battery life, 2.8GHz chips, blue ray
it could be stylish design: a bit lighter, a bit slimmer, aluminum casing and such
it could be a radical new design: like the MB air, no optical disk, ultrathin and light, long battery life, SSD
i would prefer they compete a bit on features and a bit on design. that means midrange GPU, no blue ray, 2.6-2.8GHz CPU, less than an inch thick, less than 4 pounds, 13.3 inch screen, 7hrs battery (well i don't think that will happen)
and i heard mixed reviews about vista. for the average joe who doesn't anything special and doesn't install any utilities that screw up the system vista seems to work quite ok. that means apple can't just point to OS X and sell hardware that isn't competitive with sony and the rest.
alphaod
macrumors Core
Let's not forget it's not OS X and WTF with the 16:9 display!
It does have Firewire 😉
squeeks
macrumors 68040
The "i.Link" port is basically another name for the IEEE1394, which is basically firewire with a small head. Firewire 400 that is. The screen is not LED, and according to most people in the Sony forums, "not as good" as the MBP's screen. But that said, it sure as hell doesn't have yellow tints or light columns and on and on and on... 1.3in thick...no overheating, no warping, I wouldn't mind these characteristic in a MBP.
Brien
macrumors 68040
As much as I like the VAIO (it's the nicest of the PC laptops) to me it looks like a cheap knockoff of the MacBook Air.
CWallace
macrumors G5
"Wintel" PC manufacturers, because they sell in a market with so many competitors, have to explore every possible customer niche in order to try and drive sales just one or two percentage points higher.
And with a total market measured in the hundreds of millions, they can afford to offer models in almost every possible customer niche because even the duds will sell a few million copies and turn a basic profit.
Apple, on the other hand, sells into an effectively closed market. As such, just offering a handful of models that only address a handful of customer niches returns double-digit growth.
As such, Apple really doesn't need to offer every Wintel form factor out there. They don't have to offer a mini tower. Or a MacBook Air with a 10" screen and built-in DVD. Or a 19" LCD quad-core MacBook Pro with a Blu-ray burner and an nVidia Quadro FX or 9xxx series GPU. Or a Mac Pro with a Core 2 Quad CPU and a $1499 price tag.
And with a total market measured in the hundreds of millions, they can afford to offer models in almost every possible customer niche because even the duds will sell a few million copies and turn a basic profit.
Apple, on the other hand, sells into an effectively closed market. As such, just offering a handful of models that only address a handful of customer niches returns double-digit growth.
As such, Apple really doesn't need to offer every Wintel form factor out there. They don't have to offer a mini tower. Or a MacBook Air with a 10" screen and built-in DVD. Or a 19" LCD quad-core MacBook Pro with a Blu-ray burner and an nVidia Quadro FX or 9xxx series GPU. Or a Mac Pro with a Core 2 Quad CPU and a $1499 price tag.