Apple pretty much got a huge knock in on every problem pointed out in those Laptop Hunters commercials (Notebook Hunters if they knew what they were talking about).
That $1199 MBP will stack up against pretty much anything in any price range. That's a solid machine with a lot of features. OK, it's not 15 or 17 inches, but all the other guys in that price range do is blow up the same resolution. What good is a 20-inch LCD monitor if I just put my settings on 640x480? Ick.
The SD card slot was probably something to make the reviewers ****. You would've thought Apple had taken out the hard drive. For $10, people could buy a card reader. This appeases everyone with simpler cameras, but I don't know how many upper-end cameras use SD. However, that's what USB is for.
Pretty much, you have two real problems with the line: There is no really cheap option to combat the $500 notebooks and $300 netbooks. Yes, these computers are crap, but go watch Best Buy shoppers purchase tons of crap. The other omission is Blu-ray. However, this might show up in the next iMac line first since the notebooks have less space to deal with and are more prone to power-sucking. Samsung's new BD players for home are much more power-friendly (and speedier), so maybe Apple-friendly drives are coming in the next year.
Oh yeah, the MacBooks still weigh a good pound or two less than the HP tanktops.
That $1199 MBP will stack up against pretty much anything in any price range. That's a solid machine with a lot of features. OK, it's not 15 or 17 inches, but all the other guys in that price range do is blow up the same resolution. What good is a 20-inch LCD monitor if I just put my settings on 640x480? Ick.
The SD card slot was probably something to make the reviewers ****. You would've thought Apple had taken out the hard drive. For $10, people could buy a card reader. This appeases everyone with simpler cameras, but I don't know how many upper-end cameras use SD. However, that's what USB is for.
Pretty much, you have two real problems with the line: There is no really cheap option to combat the $500 notebooks and $300 netbooks. Yes, these computers are crap, but go watch Best Buy shoppers purchase tons of crap. The other omission is Blu-ray. However, this might show up in the next iMac line first since the notebooks have less space to deal with and are more prone to power-sucking. Samsung's new BD players for home are much more power-friendly (and speedier), so maybe Apple-friendly drives are coming in the next year.
Oh yeah, the MacBooks still weigh a good pound or two less than the HP tanktops.