I'm looking to buy a new MacBook within the year. Should I wait for the next refresh of the MacBooks to buy one? If there's going to be a major refresh (like the unibody models) I don't want to be stuck with a lame "last-gen" model like current white MacBook owners are.
Wirelessly posted (iPhone: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 2_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/525.18.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.1.1 Mobile/5H11 Safari/525.20) Check out the buyers guide here on macrumors. Personally, I'd say buy now since they just did a refresh at WWDC. Apple most likely won't do a refresh of the lineup anytime soon (next spring at the earliest is my guess).
The next updates won't be until maybe the end of the year, they just updated the Macbook line, so don't wait, plus now you can get a free iPod with the Back to School deal. As a side note, I have the older generation, it even has the GMA X3100 graphics in it and I do not feel as though "I am stuck with a lame Macbook", it does what I need it to do and I like it. You have to ask yourself, "Will it do what I need", don't buy one now, then look back and wish you had the new one, if you buy one now, then use it and be happy. It is a computer, don't dwell on every little thing, keep in mind you buy technology today and tomorrow it is outdated.
Wait They did just update but wait for OS 10.6 Snow Leopard to come out in September unless you feel like paying $30
If you want/need it now, then go ahead and buy it now. If you feel like you want to wait until the next update/refresh, then wait. There is always something bigger and better coming out in the future and you will always be waiting on the next big thing, so just buy whenever you want/need it and be happy with a great product that will last you several years.
Since 3.5 months justifies $30..? What do you do for a living; sell $.25 lemonade? Also, I don't feel like my 2.13 WhiteBook is 'outdated' due to the fact that I bought it two weeks ago.
I also believe this. I wholeheartedly think Apple will come out with new MacBooks. The recent speed bump in the white ones is just to hold the people off for a while. People can now get a 13.3" MBP for $1199. That's too close in price compared to the white one which is only $999. They may release a "big iPod Touch" that runs of 3G and Wi-Fi. No one can really say yet. I would just get a 13.3" MBP now if you have the money.
Personally, I'd buy it now, and have the enjoyment of using it for a good few months before Snow Leopard comes out. And, you also won't have to pay the $30 to upgrade, instead it will be $9.95 for all Mac's purchased after June 2nd. - http://www.apple.com/macosx/uptodate/ Seeing as how they have just upgraded them, it's less likely that they'll be updating them anytime soon. But one thing to bear in mind, they've reduced the SATA interface to 1.5 gigabits (from 3 gigabits.) - so see if you can find a previous gen in the refurb store at Apple.com Hope that helps.
Yes, buy now. If you don't want a white MacBook, but are looking for that price range - the $1199 MBP is a 'hard to beat for the price' machine...maybe upgrade it to 250GB of hard drive for $50. And later, you can always get 4GB of RAM at newegg.com for $60-$70. Snow Leopard is coming in September, and that is the next thing most Apple MB buyers are waiting for... CrackBookPro
I would buy now, they just did a refresh of the macbook model and the new ones look great. I love my late 2008 uMB and I don't feel outdated because it does what I want. So buy one now and then update to SL in september for 10 bucks. Also if you want a better idea of what you should do without reading then just put a poll on this thread and then you can see what people think