like it has been said before there has never been an event for the macbooks so if nothing happens tomorrow do not lose hope
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NVIDIA Powered MacBooks on October 14th?
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Regardless of what we hope for (I'd be just as happy with a price-dropped speedbump), I think that's the most probable thing we can expect. No new form factors, no new cases, just a motherboard upgrade. Probably including SATA for internal storage.
Well... yes, when Jobs got back on board and they introduced the classic 2x2 product matrix (desktops / notebook, pro / consumer). Also sort of on a small scale, when they abandoned making the eMac and again sold the iMac to educational institutions. But again, back to your question:
Yes... but not so much more expensive than the MacBook. Sure, the aluminum case should a bit more costly. But with SSD prices going down the MacBook going to get LED-backlit screen sooner or later as well, the gap really closes. Also, the MBA doesn't have any optical drive, FireWire or ethernet circuitry on board, as does the MacBook. Does this warrant a premium of several hundred dollars retail? 500 - 700 Dollar? I do not think so.
It would surely make sense. The best way of recouping their costs is not by selling this at the highest possible price. It depends on volume of sales. By lowering the price they'd sell more units, in theory trying to hit a certain optimum combination of price and unit sales. Economic 101 really. Of course, the question is where that optimum would be. I tend to think it's below current prices.
I mean... Currently, you're supposed to shell out 700$ (!) more for a notebook that does even less than the 1099$ MacBook? Sure, it's lighter and has a shiny aluminum case. But that's about it! Some people had been waiting for a aluminum subnotebook, willing to pay the 1800$ price tag. However, I'd guess Apple must have witnessed a significant drop in units sold as this first "wave" of early adopters and subnotebook fans has been supplied now. So now it's about time they lower the Air's price.
And, to quote your words, look historically: What was the difference in prices between the entry iBook and PowerBook 12"? As far as I recall, it was certainly less than 700$. So I reiterate my stance on this: Apple will lower the Air's with the next revision. Well... they'd better do... they have to
Sorry to whack in such a massive quote, so I'll keep it simple. The MacBook Air is a premium product, aimed at a totally different market from the MacBook, so specs don't really matter. Apple will sell it at the current price till sales are saturated, then drop the price a small amount till sales pick up. Then when that happens they will drop again-ad infinitum-examples of this in the business world are rife.
And my point is, that the MacBook, the Pro, and the Air are all different lines for different markets. The markets haven't changed and neither will the lines. It just doesn't make any sense to unify the products into one line. What is the benefit?
Oh and yeah, the Air will get a price cut soon. I was just originally saying that it won't go down as much as some people have been wildly hoping, and it won't become an entry level machine or ever reach "netbook" prices.
Surely it doesn't make any sense to have an event for the release of their laptops?
I mean think about it:
1.iPods are a portable, short term electronic investment, like a phone, that have a lot shorter life span than a laptop, that lasts a few years.
2. A laptop is a much bigger purchase that happens a lot less often
3. iPods are a massive cultural phenomenon-everyone knows what one is. The market for iPods is a much larger market than that for Macs.
The point of having the events for the media is to showcase them and to make them more desirable. There is a reason that they are usually shown off in the run up to Christmas too-to put them on everyones Christmas list.
A laptop, however, is a totally different ball game. The only people who would care are gadget lovers, the sort of people who follow forums like this, and those about to buy a new laptop, which is probably a small portion of the long term market.
So can someone explain to me why Apple would need to hold an event for the update of a current line, which is unlikely to have any revolutionary features that would make it newsworthy? It just seems to me like a massive waste of time and money.
I mean, if every company held events for every time they updated a product, you'd never get a seat on a plane for all the journalists
In regards to your response zambia, you make logic points and I agree with you. However, I think I'd sleep better if I saw an event occurring for next week!
looks like a MBP to me...Uhm.. what do you guys make of this... credit to Mac95.com
From what i can make of the text:
the new macbook pro. Experience power like youve never felt before with _______ up to 3.3 GHz. Now with bluray built right into the superdrive for watching HD movies on the go. With the new NVIDIA (sp?) graphics card you can play the newest games, make movies (this ones kinda blurry), and more. Welcome to your new mac.
I like the idea, but it seems like a spec bump. And as far as i can tell this paragraph isnt very apple esque in nature
Can anyone decipher what it says. The quality is horrible!
Edit: He had a bigger one uploaded: http://869789182725854870-a-mac95-c...ac95.com/www/Home/DCFC0013.jpg?attredirects=0
Just regular 'old MacBook Pro.
Sorry to ruin the excitement.
Really? Doesn't something look different at all?
Gee that's disappointing.
Just regular 'old MacBook Pro.
Sorry to ruin the excitement.
does the current mbp come in 3.3 GHz? (i really dont know)
Want more power?
You've got your match.
The new Macbook Pro. Experience power like you've never felt before with speeds up to 3.0GHz (??? not sure on this bit). New with Blu ray built right into the superdrive for watching HD movies on the go. With the new NVIDIA graphics card you can play the latest games, make movies and more. Welcome to your new Mac.
I think it's fake... Wording is not too great.
How is the current line-up any better at that. In fact I think it is worse. 1 Integrated GPU and 2 Mid-end GPU. At least with my idea, you get something better across the board (except the 16" MacBook Pro which would remain at mid-end GPU).
I think the new MacBook will have dedicated video cards.So no dedicated graphics?
No more Integrated.
oops, missed your post... the number is basically impossible to make out.
'tis fake though.
Hey the wording isn't too great. I made out what you said. But we don't know... I can't wait until the 14th!
well the number looks like 2 rounded bumps to me making it an 8 or a 3, 3 being more likely.
Any way, i hope its fake
the mbp needs a tweak in design at least.
At least:
1. Black bezel like the Aluminium iMac
2. Black MacBook Air-keyboard (Illuminated as well)
3. Base price down to $1799
4. 16:9 ratio panel
5. User-replaceable Hard Drive
6. Magnetic Latch
Thats good
One of the worst things about the Macbook is its integrated graphics card. Can't display EV nova? Come on. No World Of Warcraft??? USELESS.
One of the worst things about the Macbook is its integrated graphics card. Can't display EV nova? Come on. No World Of Warcraft??? USELESS.
I play Age of Empires II and use Celestia (Link: http://www.shatters.net/celestia/index.html) just fine on my Core Duo MacBook.
OEMs have been using Nvidia graphics and Intel chipsets for awhile. Apple isn't doing anything strange by using their IGPs in a new series of laptops. As far as chipsets are concerned, I'm not entirely convinced that Nvidia even has a mobile Intel chipset, much less one that works well (especially in the area of IO). Where the key for any macbook will be is the heat output. GPUs get hot, and the IGPs are getting hotter and hotter the more dense and powerful they become (across the board). If Snow Leopard is to use GPU acceleration on the notebook platform, then they will have to do a pretty impressive engineering feat to design the heat dissipation system. Having done a fair amount of GPU folding, I know a normal GPU gets toasty. Increased power, whether CPU of GPU, always comes at some cost, and that's likely to be heat. Unless they start water-cooling their notebooks, you might want a hot-pad on your lap ladies and gents .
.
I will draw the following conclusion...
...the board stated that their profits would be down this coming quarter due to a revolutionary product etc.
Suppose the plastic Macbook cracking and warping had become such a prominent issue that Apple had to investigate a radical change. They spend more this quarter setting up a US factory for producing aluminum casings; finally tapping into those cash reserves. However, the long-term goal is to reduce returns due to defects. Think how labor intensive it is to refurbish a Macbook that needs an all new case...
...the board stated that their profits would be down this coming quarter due to a revolutionary product etc.
Suppose the plastic Macbook cracking and warping had become such a prominent issue that Apple had to investigate a radical change. They spend more this quarter setting up a US factory for producing aluminum casings; finally tapping into those cash reserves. However, the long-term goal is to reduce returns due to defects. Think how labor intensive it is to refurbish a Macbook that needs an all new case...
OEMs have been using Nvidia graphics and Intel chipsets for awhile. Apple isn't doing anything strange by using their IGPs in a new series of laptops. As far as chipsets are concerned, I'm not entirely convinced that Nvidia even has a mobile Intel chipset, much less one that works well (especially in the area of IO). Where the key for any macbook will be is the heat output. GPUs get hot, and the IGPs are getting hotter and hotter the more dense and powerful they become (across the board). If Snow Leopard is to use GPU acceleration on the notebook platform, then they will have to do a pretty impressive engineering feat to design the heat dissipation system. Having done a fair amount of GPU folding, I know a normal GPU gets toasty. Increased power, whether CPU of GPU, always comes at some cost, and that's likely to be heat. Unless they start water-cooling their notebooks, you might want a hot-pad on your lap ladies and gents
What about ATI chip-sets? How good are they compared to Nvidia chip-sets?