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So, does 13" MBP admit the 13" MB was a mistake?
- Thread starter PracticalMac
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Ok. Point out a few (exact same specs) and I'll agree w/ you.
As far as FW800 chipsets, you can't find any on any computer (let alone a notebook) except a Mac.
When you're selling millions of IEEE 1394a chipsets and only thousands of 1394b chipsets, the price difference can be quite a bit more than "chump change" to the supplier. If I'm not mistaken, TI is still the exclusive supplier of IEEE1394b chipsets, while there are half a dozen or so IEEE1394a chipset suppliers (ie. NEC, Agrere, Intel, VIA, Ti, etc.) TI chipsets were quite a bit more expensive than competing IEEE1394A chipsets at one time, and it is doubtful that that has changed much. IEEE1394b chipsets are not cheap by any stretch.
They add pro b/c it sells. people are going to be like "o look, a macbook pro it must be better than everything else." Id honestly toss my pro if it wernt for the OS. And the plastic MBs are pretty good for what they are. The screen and speakers suck. But they get stellar wifi and can flop off a couch and smack a floor with no problems. I just cant wait to see when they do a good rev of the macbook. Id like to see a new plastic rev.
In response to the OP question, was this Apple admitting the 13-inch MacBook was a mistake?
I don't think so. This is their way of cleverly repositioning their laptop line-up, for two main reasons.
They need to innovate. Adding so many features to the 13-inch laptop, took it simply too close to the specs of the Pro line-up. They need to push the boundaries. Adding the SD card slot, that new high capacity battery, better screens, listening to users and bringing back Firewire etc meant that it really needed to be re-labelled the 13-inch MacBook Pro.
Imagine if they had added just the SD card and that was it. Trying to push people to the Pros. MacBook users would complain, why do they have inferior screens!
The other reason they did this is pretty obvious to me. They left a lone MacBook (the white one), which is pretty good value. However, the space is now open for that NetBook or Tablet device. Something with a 10-inch or 11-inch screen, even slimmer, no optical drive, aluminum unibody, SD card slot, keeping a nice Core2Duo (or possibly Solo)... for that £500-£600 mark. They needed to make space for it and now they have!
I don't think so. This is their way of cleverly repositioning their laptop line-up, for two main reasons.
They need to innovate. Adding so many features to the 13-inch laptop, took it simply too close to the specs of the Pro line-up. They need to push the boundaries. Adding the SD card slot, that new high capacity battery, better screens, listening to users and bringing back Firewire etc meant that it really needed to be re-labelled the 13-inch MacBook Pro.
Imagine if they had added just the SD card and that was it. Trying to push people to the Pros. MacBook users would complain, why do they have inferior screens!
The other reason they did this is pretty obvious to me. They left a lone MacBook (the white one), which is pretty good value. However, the space is now open for that NetBook or Tablet device. Something with a 10-inch or 11-inch screen, even slimmer, no optical drive, aluminum unibody, SD card slot, keeping a nice Core2Duo (or possibly Solo)... for that £500-£600 mark. They needed to make space for it and now they have!
IIRC, the typical SD or CF (or any) card readers use USB as the interface, so you are stuck with a really slow transfer rate.
Pros will need this, and FW 800 is highly desirable.
http://sandisk.com/Products/Item(2015)-SDDRX4-CF-901-SanDisk_Extreme_FireWire_Reader.aspx
OF course Apple could wire the SD to FireWire, but will cost more, and for how much of the market will Apple be able to sell that technology?
Ok. Point out a few (exact same specs) and I'll agree w/ you.
As far as FW800 chipsets, you can't find any on any computer (let alone a notebook) except a Mac.
When you're selling millions of IEEE 1394a chipsets and only thousands of 1394b chipsets, the price difference can be quite a bit more than "chump change" to the supplier. If I'm not mistaken, TI is still the exclusive supplier of IEEE1394b chipsets, while there are half a dozen or so IEEE1394a chipset suppliers (ie. NEC, Agrere, Intel, VIA, Ti, etc.) TI chipsets were quite a bit more expensive than competing IEEE1394A chipsets at one time, and it is doubtful that that has changed much. IEEE1394b chipsets are not cheap by any stretch.
There is at least 1 other FW 800 chip provider, maybe 2.
And I have seen the actual prices for those chips. The difference is not all that great.
Good points, but leaves 2 questions:
1. the Al MB was in many ways a MBP, minus the separate VRAM, and FireWire as its major differences. Eternally that MB and MBP was identical at a distance. So why not call it a MBP 13" (recall the PB 12" of past)?
2. Why was 13" MB completely dropped? Usually a laptop design is in production for a year (the old MB 13" was 8 months).
Oh, and if there is another "book" type in works, now we will have 4 brands to choose from.