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Ultra-thin 12'' MacBook Pro?

lmalave said:
I notice you mention twice in your comments that you don't need the optical drive on a laptop because you can just connect the optical drive to the desktop. I think this is very misguided. I haven't used a desktop either personally or professionally for 6 or 7 years now. I don't WANT 2 computers. I want a single Mac to be my primary computer.
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That's a point for some people although I personally couldn't imagine having an ultra-portable as my only computer. I guess Apple should go with two models then. One about 1" thick with optical drive. And another one about 1/2" thick (maybe a bit more) without optical drive that could work with a desktop at home through firewire (for installing software and such).

Frederic
 
RichP said:
Hmmm..I could picture this machine with a low power dual-core, Robson NAND drive for some speed, and an iPod 80GB drive, keeping it VERY slim. However, the optical drive becomes the issue. The MBP cant get much thinner, and if you decrease the footprint, then the keyboard is OVER the optical drive, which means you are getting thicker than an inch.
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You can't use iPod HardDrives to boot and run an OS on. I mean, you *can* but they die VERY easily after extended use as a boot-device. Until something more reliable comes around (or flash capacity become cost-effective in large amounts), the 2.5" Laptop HDs will have to do.

RichP said:
Honestly though, I DONT see apple getting rid of the optical drive. Not their style to have add-on stuff.
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What's wrong with a USB Flash device? Even a 4GB one (approx. single-layer DVD capacity) is around $50, PLUS they're small, PLUS they're easy to carry around, PLUS they're instant Read/Write (limited only by the speed of your USB port). Compare that to a DVD. The only thing you wouldn't be able to do sans optical bay is watch physical media. You could, just as easily, rip a few DVDs and encode them as h.248 and watch near-DVD quality movies from a device the size of your thumb. To save yourself the hassle, you could set up an Automator Script to automatically rip and encode your DVDs when you insert them.

Think outside the consumer box. ;)

-Clive
 
This whole thing smells of WWDC '06 when everyone expected 15 new products, and of course TEH MEROM MBP!!!!

The real preview of Leopard. Check.
The new iLife/iWork. Check.
The 12 Inch Laptop. Maybe. I think an ultra-portable notebook is somewhere on the way, but who knows what form it would come in.
I would even venture to guess that Apple may announce its new AirPort running on 802.11n, but that might have to wait for WWDC.

iPhone... this one's hard to call. I think it would be prudent for Apple to at least address the issue, otherwise, theres going to be a lot of investors tired of playing games and rumor-milling.

New iPods? Nah, maybe in the beginning of the summer, at a special event.
 
CommodityFetish said:
Or why wouldn't they have two models one with optical drive, and another without? Customer choice anyone? Not holding my breath on that :rolleyes:
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This is another area where Apple would do well to study IBM/Lenovo. Now, granted, the ultrathin X series leaves the drive bays in the media slice, but they have a modular architecture called Ultrabay Slim. For my X60, I have three removable devices that pop in -- an optical drive, a 2nd battery, and a 2nd hard disk. The drive bays are about 11 mm tall. Versatility, compact size, and the ability to change to meet your needs AFTER it leaves the factory.
 
So I have a question for alls-yalls to chew on.

Why would Apple go through all the hassle of making a 12" widscreen MBP when they already have a blueprint for a 13" widescreen MB? From a logistics standpoint, I think it would be much, much easier to tap the same supply of 13" widescreen MB LCDs than to add another supply to the production inventory. It would STILL reduce the footprint considerably, plus would have the bells and whistles of a MBP. HD, RAM, video card, back-lit keyboard, the like.

Now THERE's a machine that would help some people off the fence about a MB or MBP... myself included.

-Clive
 
A new 12" Apple laptop would be wonderful. I've talked to a lot of people like myself who like the MacBook but, they don't want a laptop that big. I'm still using my 867mhz (Rev A) 12" PowerBook and I'll admit it's pretty slow but, it works for mobile chatting and web surfing and even some light Flash and Photoshop work and it's very, very portable. For everything else I use my intel iMac upstairs.

I just hope Apple doesn't skimp on any too-important features. An optical drive is a must of course, and dedicated graphics memory too. I doubt they'd give the 12" a type of PC card/Express slot but I can dream :p. Also if Apple were to create another 12" laptop they'd need to improve the AirPort range, my old Lime iBook gets a better signal than this PowerBook! :eek:

Well, here's hoping. It's about time if you ask me but, let's hope these things aren't super-hot, I bet that's what was keeping these things from coming out. I mean how thin and small can you have these things without them burning a hole in your lap? :p :D If Apple dives into the 12" laptop market again I'll seriously consider getting one. *takes PowerBook battery, RAM, and hard drive off of holiday wish list*
 
One question. If they can't lick the heat problem with the current 15"/17" MBPs why do we expect the heat issue to be any less in a more compact unit? Unless they've made some real leaps in heat management I'd expect these new 12"s to be underpowered vs. larger MBPs.

Either way, having gotten burned (literally) on the Rev A of the 12" PB, I'll be awaiting a Rev B of this one. That said, I'd love one if they are not underpowered and run cool.
 
Clive At Five said:
Pun intended?

-Clive
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Yes. Thanks for noticing. I debated putting a smiley there. :D

You make a good point for why Apple wouldn't want to add a 12 inch model when they have a 13. You're absolutely right, which makes me think that an ultra portable laptop would either be very, very small in screen size, or a tablet of some kind. Either way I don't really see it coming that quickly.

If anything at all, I find it more likely that there could be a slimmed down 13inch MBP with the trimmings one would expect, as Clive mentioned.
 
Fredou51 said:
That's probably the biggest point to keep the optical drive but Steve Jobs is pushing the movie store and it's with this kind of laptop people really see the advantage of buying online.
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They just started offerring High Definition movie downloadss on the XBox Live Marketplace. That is what holds me back from buying a movie on ITS and what made me what physical media (which I still do).

This stuff is happenning and faster than expected.
 
Clive At Five said:
So I have a question for alls-yalls to chew on.

Why would Apple go through all the hassle of making a 12" widscreen MBP when they already have a blueprint for a 13" widescreen MB? From a logistics standpoint, I think it would be much, much easier to tap the same supply of 13" widescreen MB LCDs than to add another supply to the production inventory. It would STILL reduce the footprint considerably, plus would have the bells and whistles of a MBP. HD, RAM, video card, back-lit keyboard, the like.

Now THERE's a machine that would help some people off the fence about a MB or MBP... myself included.

-Clive
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I agree. It seems to make more sense if they made a 13" like the Macbook. Though perhaps they are trying to distinguish the line even futher than just performance. I hope that they go with the magnetic latch on them. I really love that design.
 
don't think it will be a 12", more on the lines of a 13.3", but still they needed to put a smaller mb pro :cool:

it would be nice also to see them doing a ~$700 MB for students, not everyone can afford a $1100 portable :(
 
Clive At Five said:
So I have a question for alls-yalls to chew on.

Why would Apple go through all the hassle of making a 12" widscreen MBP when they already have a blueprint for a 13" widescreen MB? From a logistics standpoint, I think it would be much, much easier to tap the same supply of 13" widescreen MB LCDs than to add another supply to the production inventory. It would STILL reduce the footprint considerably, plus would have the bells and whistles of a MBP. HD, RAM, video card, back-lit keyboard, the like.

Now THERE's a machine that would help some people off the fence about a MB or MBP... myself included.

-Clive
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Agreed. Do what they did with the iBooks and PowerBooks. They had both models in a 12" version, and I believe the 12" PowerBook did sell well (well enough to continue it's existance for a few years, at least).

While I'd like to see some sort of ultra-portable Apple laptop, I don't think this 12" stuff is gonna fly.

I miss the 2400c
 
Fredou51 said:
That's a point for some people although I personally couldn't imagine having an ultra-portable as my only computer. I guess Apple should go with two models then. One about 1" thick with optical drive. And another one about 1/2" thick (maybe a bit more) without optical drive that could work with a desktop at home through firewire (for installing software and such).

Frederic
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But it's an ultraportable based on weight, not based on screen width. For example, I and many others were perfectly happy with our 12" 4:3 ratio iBooks as our only computers. My mom had no problem with it either (I gave her my iBook G4 since I was upgrading), and she's usually a stickler for having large, readable fonts and such.

To each his hown, I guess, but I don't think Apple markets *any* of its Macs as a "secondary" computer. Each Mac has to stand on its own.

Let me make this point, though: Sony, Dell, IBM, etc. have been making successful optical drive-less laptops at 3 lbs. or less for over 6 years now. Apple has had EVERY opportunity to sell a slim optical-less PowerBook all those years. Yet Apple has CONSISTENTLY determined that optical drive is an indispensable part of the Mac experience. Apple has instead decided to provide the lighest, smallest laptop WITH the constraint that it has an optical drive. Thus no one has yet been able to touch the 15" MBP at 1" thin and 5.6 lbs, or the 17" MBP at 1" think and 6.8 lbs. Apple's 15.4" MBPsare just a smidge heavier than other companies' 14" laptops, and its 17" MBPs are just a smidge heavier than other companies' 15.4" laptops.

Furthermore, Sony has moved AWAY from offering optical-less laptops, as it is now able to offer an 11" at 2.7 lbs and a 13" at 3.8 lbs. I think that Apple will follow the model of Sony circa 2006, not Sony circa 1999. If Apple can get a 12" MacBook down to 3.5 lbs. or so WITH an optical drive, then I don't think they will even entertain the idea of getting rid of it.

Sorry folks, the market is just not ready for an optical-less laptop.
 
Leoff said:
Agreed. Do what they did with the iBooks and PowerBooks. They had both models in a 12" version, and I believe the 12" PowerBook did sell well (well enough to continue it's existance for a few years, at least).

While I'd like to see some sort of ultra-portable Apple laptop, I don't think this 12" stuff is gonna fly.

I miss the 2400c
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The point is: people WANT a replacement for the 12" PB of ol'...not just a MB, but a full-featured MBP in a small footprint...and please, no bare-bones, ultralight subnotebooks...we need a REAL yet smaller MBP...that's all.

Optical drive? Check.
Backlit keyboard? Check.
Basic I/O, 12"/13" screen, widescreen? Check.

I am sold if something like that comes out...nothing more, nothing less.

Leave the PowerBook Duos and 2400s in the past...they are not needed.
 
I had JUST started looking into final gen 12" Powerbooks last night. I'm so happy to hear this news!
 
I would have gone for it... But already got my MacBook and I am quite happy with it. The 13in screen is really good, and I think 12in widescreen would be quite hard to work with. A 12in worked quite well in the regular 4:3 format allowing enough vertical space. A widescreen does not have enough vertical space with not much to work with.

I would have loved though, what somebody else already said, a 12" with minimum frame on the screen and keyboard, allowing to shave at least 1-2in from the width and depth of the macbook... Oh well, we'll see what will take place with time, who knows...
 
i say bring it on, only leave out the optical drive and replace the HD with a flash drive. i keep my PowerBook purely for the portability and after having it for a year i still haven't put a single disk in the optical drive. and i've never come close to using up any significant amount of hard disk space. i'd happily trade those for a 12 hour battery and 3 pounds of less weight and bulk. make it a TRUE ultra portable and i'll buy one today.
 
BillyShears said:
iTV
Airport Ludicrous
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I was under the impression that these two devices might be combined into one. You know, what Airport Express did for music iTV will do for video. With a snazzy software interface via iTunes. I guess there would/should be another base station once the 802.11n is a little closer to being ratified.

I mean, for years people on this site have been asking for an Airport Express that streamed video. That's the iTV. I wonder how many of those people asking for it complained about the iTV when we got a preview? Anyone care to step up and admit it?
 
failsafe1 said:
Can't dump the optical drive. That is part of what I need when I am out and about with my Powerbook (soon to be MBP). I have to back up photos and make DVD copies of those photos when I am on assignment. I need to leave the photos with the folks at those locations. Gotta have a burner. Don't want to carry more stuff like the external drive. That goes back to might as well carry my 15 around. That's what I do now.
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Exactly right. This is a pro machine and pro's have clients that they must cater to. Besides, when they got rid of the floppy they added a CDburner, so that is a poor example. We will always need some sort of slot, even if it's a CF cardslot and vendors can exchange media this way. When 8gig CF cards are as cheap as a DVD, maybe we'll talk about losing the drive. Until then, leave the options where they are.
 
If this thing coms out, I will be pissed. I sold my 12" PB in the beginning of the year, and I really miss it. I already own a macbook so i won't be getting this, but the 15" was too big for me.
 
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