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When will these features be available?

B

BeeBee

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 17, 2009
3
0
My iMac is old, wanna a Mac laptop - hopefully this year. But, how long would I have to wait for each of the following features to be available in a Mac laptop? Thanks for knowledgeable guesstimates.

touch screen
better ergonomics such as wireless screen that unhinges from wireless keyboard with adjustable stand so screen can be viewed at eye level (i.e. pull out telescoping stand or latching stand stored on shell with Lego-like snap feature
big screen that folds in half for transporting, with "healed" screen gutter when laptop is in use, but can use half screen (i.e. other half folded back) when space is cramped
nano solar power as standard feature
battery works at least 12-16 hours before it needs to be charged
shell made from sustainable bamboo
significantly lower price
shell colors like lapis, brown madder, phthalo green, raisin, payne's gray, translucent coral, etc.
easy to view screen when using laptop outside in sun
3-4 USB ports.
 
touch screen - don't hold your breath, this feature is somewhat overrated. Tablet PC's have been available for years, and they've never really caught on. Manufacturers, including Apple, are aware of this, and most will not develop a new product for which the market is small and/or shrinking.

better ergonomics such as wireless screen that unhinges from wireless keyboard with adjustable stand so screen can be viewed at eye level - Laptop stands are already available from third parties, but since that's a personal preference I don't see it likely that a manufacturer will incorporate it into the design (besides, it would just add weight to a laptop which many people would not appreciate). You might be better off...wait, did you just say wireless screen?

nano solar power as standard feature - IIRC, a MB uses 65 watts and a MBP 90 watts. You wouldn't be able to carry around a PV solar array that could generate that much power. Don't hold your breath on this one, either.

battery works at least 12-16 hours before it needs to be charged - this may happen someday, the recent updates to the MBP 17" can get up to 8 hours, so strides are definitely being made - but right now getting 16 hours from an iPod battery is still pretty charming.

shell made from sustainable bamboo - for some reason, I suspect you're not joking about this one.

significantly lower price - refurb or eBay. As long as Apple can sell 'em for the current price, then that's what they'll charge.

shell colors like lapis, brown madder, phthalo green, raisin, payne's gray, translucent coral, etc. - and you would be buying one in each of these colors? (BTW - what would be the hex color code for "raisin"?)

easy to view screen when using laptop outside in sun - The only screen of any kind that I've ever seen and would describe as "easy to view" are those on billboards and stadium scoreboards. That's a function of fighting one source of light with another, and the sun usually wins that battle.

3-4 USB ports. - this might be possible, but it kinda conflicts with the battery life and use-it-outside-in-the-sun goals.
 
Any reason to wait past spring to buy MBP?

Ayeying, appreciate your sobering response. Guess I'll take the leap when the MBP gets the next upgrade in March or so; but is there any reason to wait, i.e potential significant upgrades later this year?
 
about half of those things will never be implemented, no matter how many years pass by...because they are just...awful...no offense.
 
now realistically speaking, here is what we know is coming this year:

snow leopard.
next generation processors, especially for the imac.
 
Thanks to all for your insights. Appreciate the Snow Leopard tip.
 
The MBPs could see a speed bump of about .133GHz around May, possibly even later, and it should be just that, nothing significant. The update after that or one even later on would be though. Some of the features you're talking about will probably never see the light in Macs, it would take years for some others.
 
useful feature

8 GB RAM in a MBP 15 would be a useful feature, at least for me...

...8 TB of RAM would be much more useful especially with a quantum processor, but 8 GB RAM would be still good enough in 2009 before May...

energy and sustainability features are increasingly important for all our beloved gadgets, also some ethical concerns could arise if someone takes a closer look where our gadgets are assembled, but the trade off between economic development fostering a middle class where no middle class was versus ethical puritanism is cleary for the economic development, so buy gadgets to support democracy in China!

The rest comes with the end of the Oil economy...
 
BeeBee said:
Ayeying, appreciate your sobering response. Guess I'll take the leap when the MBP gets the next upgrade in March or so; but is there any reason to wait, i.e potential significant upgrades later this year?
Click to expand...

The new intel cpu architecture is going to be extended to mobile cpu's this year. Also, once laptops are swapped over to use the new intel cpu they will also need be using new chipset/graphics. So in addition to Snow Leopard, there will be significant hardware updates in the future. But the neatest thing about all this is that Snow Leopard looks like it's being designed to make better use of the new hardware (and current hardware also). These updates have parallels with the update to Core 2 Duo and Leopard to some extent, except this time they could happen closer together. In my opinion getting a computer at the beginning of a cpu refresh can give you a longer lifespan for the hardware.

As to when all this will happen, it's hard to say, I'd guess in the next year or so.
 
BeeBee said:
My iMac is old, wanna a Mac laptop - hopefully this year. But, how long would I have to wait for each of the following features to be available in a Mac laptop? Thanks for knowledgeable guesstimates.

touch screen
better ergonomics such as wireless screen that unhinges from wireless keyboard with adjustable stand so screen can be viewed at eye level (i.e. pull out telescoping stand or latching stand stored on shell with Lego-like snap feature
big screen that folds in half for transporting, with "healed" screen gutter when laptop is in use, but can use half screen (i.e. other half folded back) when space is cramped
nano solar power as standard feature
battery works at least 12-16 hours before it needs to be charged
shell made from sustainable bamboo
significantly lower price
shell colors like lapis, brown madder, phthalo green, raisin, payne's gray, translucent coral, etc.
easy to view screen when using laptop outside in sun
3-4 USB ports.
Click to expand...

10 years, except we won't know what USB is.
 
1. In a portable? 2020 with the release of OS XI.
2. Never.
3. Never.
4. Never.
5. Can be done now.
6. It's a computer. Buy that piece of Dell oval-shaped thing.
7. People pay this price. They have no reason to lower it.
8. Buy a case.
9. I have no trouble doing so now.
10. Probably not.

BeeBee said:
Ayeying, appreciate your sobering response. Guess I'll take the leap when the MBP gets the next upgrade in March or so; but is there any reason to wait, i.e potential significant upgrades later this year?
Click to expand...

Clarksfield in late Q4/early Q1 2010.
 
Tallest Skil said:
Clarksfield in late Q4/early Q1 2010.
Click to expand...

My prediction is that with Clarksfield there will also be a new GPU, since the chipset will be different. Because I need something better than my current MB, I'm going to get a refurb MBP15 to tide me over till all that comes out, then I will get a maxed out MBP17, which is what I need for the long term.
 
Steve Jobs isn't ill; he's off sowing bamboo on the new Apple bamboo plantation for harvest in Q3 2010. Look for your bamboo MacBook to be released in Q1 2011, maybe even at MacWorld! :D
 
TheDPR said:
Steve Jobs isn't ill; he's off sowing bamboo on the new Apple bamboo plantation for harvest in Q3 2010. Look for your bamboo MacBook to be released in Q1 2011, maybe even at MacWorld! :D
Click to expand...

Anodized aluminium and bamboo is sweeet, they should definatley look into it for the cover of the macbook. When I get mine that will be a mod I will be looking into just for the cover behind the screen.

Look at my 'designers briefcase' in my sig for a quick idea ;)
 
relativist said:
My prediction is that with Clarksfield there will also be a new GPU, since the chipset will be different. Because I need something better than my current MB, I'm going to get a refurb MBP15 to tide me over till all that comes out, then I will get a maxed out MBP17, which is what I need for the long term.
Click to expand...

They changed chipsets several times and kept the 8600M GT.
 
Tallest Skil said:
They changed chipsets several times and kept the 8600M GT.
Click to expand...

Yes, but the 8600M GT was faster than the chipset, that might not be the case next time, whatever replaces the 9400M might close the gap with the 9600. Also I'm thinking there is going to be an update to the nVidia mobile GPU's 2H 09. Apple did go from the 8600 to the 9600 fairly soon after the 9600 was released.
 
My favourite:

significantly lower price
Click to expand...

A big list of out-of-this world features, for not just the same price, not just a lower price, but a significantly lower price?

:eek:

Someone mentioned a year-long battery... that would be cool, and will probably happen one day. I'll bet all those people whining about the non-removable battery in the 17" MBP would shut up if the battery lasted a year and not just 8 hours.
 
If I were considering a MBP right now, I would consider waiting for two things.

One, Snow Leopard release date at least... wait to know when Snow Leopard is being released as it could be sooner rather than later.

Two, the next update of the MBP. We know the model should stay constant as it was just released. BUT, the speed bump upgrade should be coming in the next few months. Another thing, problems with design are usually corrected in the first revision. So, maybe Apple will change the design of the latch/panel on the battery/HD compartment.

So, if you really want it now, buy it... but, I think from your wish list you're not in that big of a hurry. If you can wait two or three months, you definitely will see a speed bump update in the MBP and PROBABLY Snow Leopard too.

You never know what the next speed bump upgrade may be... may just be worth the wait. It has been over four months since the MB, MBA, and MBP were upgraded, so within two months they're due... for something.

For the MBP: Maybe an anti-glare option like the 17" MBP. Maybe an extended life battery like the 17" MBP. Maybe a quad-core CPU. Maybe an 8 GB RAM option like the 17" MBP. Maybe something else???

I think the absolute best time to buy any Apple product is on its first revision after a new design (not the new design but the first time the new design is changed - like the newer MBA or the iPhone 3G or the very next MB or MBP). AND, as close to the release date as possible. Apple prices its products based on the release date... so you are getting a lesser and lesser value as you get further from the release date. Or, you get older and older technology as you get further from the release date.

Cheers.
 
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