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New 17 inchers - your guesses as to when?

M

macbook123

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Feb 11, 2006
1,869
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I'm in the market for a 17 inch MBP (the only Apple laptop having decent screen resolution imho), though could wait a few months without losing too much productivity.

My questions are:

--when will they add Nehalems?

--when will they add the SD card slot?

--any chances they'll get rid of the optical drives to shun weight and thickness in the front? I'm asking as I never use an optical drive and recently used a MBA for a while and noticed how NICE it is to have the tapering front edge as opposed to the knife-edge of my 15 inch MBP...

--finally, are the current displays on the 17" lower brightness and/or color gamut than the updated 13" or 15" models?

Thanks for any rumors you may have!
 
1. Mobile Nehalems will be available on Q4 '09 and Apple may use them

2. SD card slot sucks. Express card slot has more possibilities, including SD card reader

3. No

4. 17" has very good display but of course it can always be better
 
macbook123 said:
I'm in the market for a 17 inch MBP (the only Apple laptop having decent screen resolution imho), though could wait a few months without losing too much productivity.

My questions are:

--when will they add Nehalems?

--when will they add the SD card slot?

--any chances they'll get rid of the optical drives to shun weight and thickness in the front? I'm asking as I never use an optical drive and recently used a MBA for a while and noticed how NICE it is to have the tapering front edge as opposed to the knife-edge of my 15 inch MBP...

--finally, are the current displays on the 17" lower brightness and/or color gamut than the updated 13" or 15" models?

Thanks for any rumors you may have!
Click to expand...
1. Nehalems (probably Allendales) in early - mid 2010.
2. They probably will not add an SD card slot, for the ExpressCard Slot can function as that.
3. You are asking for a custom built laptop here! If Apple got rid of the optical drive on a Pro machine, they'd go bankrupt! (Yo, 99.99% of people need it).
4. The displays are by no means inferior.
 
The current 17"-ers have the best hardware in the current MacBook Pro lineup. Top-of-the-line screen(with matte option as well), better battery life, quieter fans, louder speakers, expresscard, etc. The screen on my 17" looks much better than my friend's new 13", not only in terms of resolution, but brightness/color/overall sharpness.

If the 17" does see an update early next year, it'll probably be minor - keep in mind that Apple follows through with their other models(the 13 and 15"), and from the looks of it they aren't ready for Nehalem yet.(Maybe Q2 '10?)
 
For the display it depends on what you choose--the anti-glare matte or the standard glossy.

It's my understanding that the anti-glare option on the new umbp 17''s are actually from the last non-umbp gen's optional list, where people of that time would opt to get the screen for the bump in resolution rather than the "anti-glare" since they didn't have glossies back then. So then, the new umbp's anti-glare screen technically does not have the increased color gamut 60% upgrade as advertised and seen in all the new mbps. So if you opt to pay another $50 and get the anti-glare, you're technically getting an inferior screen.

Of course, you can justify it by the riddance of this gloss. And by no means, are either of them bad or average displays. They're gorgeous :D. Just make sure you get ColorEye calibration profiles.
 
dudeitsjay said:
It's my understanding that the anti-glare option on the new umbp 17''s are actually from the last non-umbp gen's optional list, where people of that time would opt to get the screen for the bump in resolution rather than the "anti-glare" since they didn't have glossies back then. So then, the new umbp's anti-glare screen technically does not have the increased color gamut 60% upgrade as advertised and seen in all the new mbps. So if you opt to pay another $50 and get the anti-glare, you're technically getting an inferior screen.
Click to expand...

Whoa, can anyone confirm this?

I'm currently trying to decide between glossy or matte. I do a bit of graphic work, but I'm no photographer.

I've never owned a glossy screen before, so I kind of want to give it a go, but will kill myself if the supposed glare gets to me. Matte seems like the safer option..
 
phased said:
I'm currently trying to decide between glossy or matte. I do a bit of graphic work, but I'm no photographer.

I've never owned a glossy screen before, so I kind of want to give it a go, but will kill myself if the supposed glare gets to me. Matte seems like the safer option..
Click to expand...

Visit your local Apple store to see what a glossy display looks like. :apple:
 
macbook123 said:
--when will they add Nehalems?

--when will they add the SD card slot?

--any chances they'll get rid of the optical drives to shun weight and thickness in the front? I'm asking as I never use an optical drive and recently used a MBA for a while and noticed how NICE it is to have the tapering front edge as opposed to the knife-edge of my 15 inch MBP...

--finally, are the current displays on the 17" lower brightness and/or color gamut than the updated 13" or 15" models?
Click to expand...

1. Arrandale. Q1 2010.
2. Buy a 13" or 15". You don't want an SD card slot.
3. No.
4. Not to my knowledge.
 
geoffreak said:
Visit your local Apple store to see what a glossy display looks like. :apple:
Click to expand...

Hey, yeah, done that a couple times now.

Sort of hard to gauge the screen in the store. It looks hella nice, but the glare is quite significant. However, there is a ******** of fluorescent lighting in there though.

If I get the 17" glossy, and it doesn't work for the best, I don't suppose I can get the matte retro-fitted? Ha ha, may be pushing my luck.

Will probably just opt for the matte to be on the safe side.. Hmm.
 
dudeitsjay said:
For the display it depends on what you choose--the anti-glare matte or the standard glossy.

It's my understanding that the anti-glare option on the new umbp 17''s are actually from the last non-umbp gen's optional list, where people of that time would opt to get the screen for the bump in resolution rather than the "anti-glare" since they didn't have glossies back then. So then, the new umbp's anti-glare screen technically does not have the increased color gamut 60% upgrade as advertised and seen in all the new mbps. So if you opt to pay another $50 and get the anti-glare, you're technically getting an inferior screen..
Click to expand...

hmm... in this article, which is endorsed by apple, the author claims that he was told by an apple employee that the matte screen is the exact same LCD panel as the glossy. only difference is the glossy cover: http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/multi_page.asp?cid=7-10041-10146&sr=hotnews


on #2, man, the pros out there are already ****ing their pants about apple using SD slots in the 15" machines, imagine if they did that to the 17"!
 
Man I'm trying to find where I read it, but am ending up thinking I must've surmised it instead of read it word for word. I was reading through the engadget 17'' and gizmodo 17'' review, and then a couple others, when I stumbled upon it. You guys are most likely right. The panels are probably the same, except for the acrylic or cover they overlay--glossy or matte. I'll keep looking, but consider my voice void for now. Sorry.
 
I would imagine that the glossy/matte panels are the same aside from the fact that the glossy will still have a glossy coat under the glass (like the iMacs) and the matte just has a matte coating.

I was recently at a Apple store comparing because I'm looking to upgrade as well. From what I could tell about color is that they were identical.

Ultimately I'm gonna go matte because the glare was way to overpowering for my taste (I'm even using a non-unibody glossy MBP)
 
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