wouldn't a 15 inch mb be nice

[5DollaFootlong]

well. today, apple decided to rebrand their 13 aluminum macbooks as macbook pros. an awesome move indeed. however, this leaves the lonely 13 inch white macbook without any companions. what if apple were to introduce a 15 inch plastic macbook in black or white with similar specifications to the baseline macbook. they wouldn't have to have fw 800, an sd card slot, or any of the fancy mbp features. they could be priced at 1199, matching the baseline 13 inch macbook pro. this would truly diversify apple's range of computers. people would now have an option of the type of 15 inch notebook they could buy.

 

[NewMacbookPlz]

The new $1699 low-end 15.4" MBP is essentially just that.

It lacks the 9600GT that makes the 15.4" a "pro" machine in my eyes at least.

 

[Demosthenes X]

I think that would wind up costing as much or more than the unibody 15" MBP. To do so they'd have to design and test new molds for the plastic design, add an entire assembly line, and manufacture another product. Whereas it's quite easy to simple make two unibody 15" units, one with dedicated graphics, one without (if we're going to arbitrary assign that as denoting "pro" status ).

 

[shady825]

I think that would wind up costing as much or more than the unibody 15" MBP. To do so they'd have to design and test new molds for the plastic design, add an entire assembly line, and manufacture another product. Whereas it's quite easy to simple make two unibody 15" units, one with dedicated graphics, one without (if we're going to arbitrary assign that as denoting "pro" status ).

Yea I think the product line up right now is pretty darn solid!
Pretty much a laptop for every person/need.
Unless your in a Laptop Hunter's commercial

 

[5DollaFootlong]

ya i agree that it would be more cumbersome on Apple's part to start a whole new project on a 15 inch macbook.

 

[MH01]

Another way to look at it, apple did introduce the 15" MB. The entry 15" MBP lost its dedicated graphics

Lets be honest, adding 'Pro' to the MB means nothing. Actually Pro means nothing these days, you could argue the only pro model left if the 17".

 

[maflynn]

Lets be honest, adding 'Pro' to the MB means nothing. Actually Pro means nothing these days, you could argue the only pro model left if the 17".

What is a "pro" model anyways. Plenty of "professionals" were using pre-unibody MacBooks and complained bitterly about the lack of FW. That's now changed and I suspect the 13 MB[P] is a good fit for them now that FW is back in the machine.

The wording is all marketing and by including the MB into the MBP line, it simplifies apple's line up. They struggled at differentiating the MB/MBP line the past few years. Performance was close and with the introduction of the unibody design, the look was identical. The only major difference was the GPU and FW, performance was identical. Now they don't have to try to separate the two, but rather market the 13" along side its bigger brother.

 

[xraydoc]

The new $1699 low-end 15.4" MBP is essentially just that.

It lacks the 9600GT that makes the 15.4" a "pro" machine in my eyes at least.

Bingo. The $1699 15" MacBook.

Unless you're looking for a plastic-body (which, in that case, I could find a 14" iBook for you).

 

[tayloralmond]

I totally agree with you. There's not much of a point in calling the MBP's MacBook PRO when you don't have anything to compare it to. Adding a 15" MacBook would bring in many PC users too because the size of the 13.3" MacBook is one of the main griping points (as seen in Microsoft's ads).

 

[5DollaFootlong]

I totally agree with you. There's not much of a point in calling the MBP's MacBook PRO when you don't have anything to compare it to. Adding a 15" MacBook would bring in many PC users too because the size of the 13.3" MacBook is one of the main griping points (as seen in Microsoft's ads).

exactly, similar to companies like dell, buyers have more than one type of 15 inch computer to choose from.

 

[5DollaFootlong]

i am by no extent saying that apple should follow dell's example; apple has innovation.

 

[crackbookpro]

What is a "pro" model anyways. Plenty of "professionals" were using pre-unibody MacBooks and complained bitterly about the lack of FW. That's now changed and I suspect the 13 MB[P] is a good fit for them now that FW is back in the machine.

The wording is all marketing and by including the MB into the MBP line, it simplifies apple's line up. They struggled at differentiating the MB/MBP line the past few years. Performance was close and with the introduction of the unibody design, the look was identical. The only major difference was the GPU and FW, performance was identical. Now they don't have to try to separate the two, but rather market the 13" along side its bigger brother.

and the discrete graphics....that is huge!!!

but all n all, I agree with you. It is all marketing, and they are struggling with it. I have a feeling the Uni Alu MB(that I have) was a premature release if they are going to discontinue it(which seems likely), and only have polycarbonate MB's. From a marketing standpoint, you never take away a positive feature for any of your models - Well, they just did that ...No more alu uni's for the MacBook.

Apple is confusing me too...

CrackBookPro

 

[harcosparky]

Pro? Non Pro?

After years of working in IT, I can tell you that any Apple is more "pro" than any other notebook offered in the CONSUMER chain.

Consider the Windows notebooks .... where are the " pro " models? Oh they were/are there but you did not find them in the consumer chains like Best Buy etc. In fact Compaq REFUSED to allow Best Buy to be a delivery point for me to pick up an Armada many years ago.

When I think of a " pro " notebook, I think in the lines of Compaq ( pre HP ) Armada and of HP's Omnibook series, none of which could be bought at consumer outlets.

These notebooks were " Network Certified ", that is to say all the hardware was tested by Microsoft and certified for use with Windows NT.

Compare an HP Omnibook to an HP Pavillion notebook of the same era, you'll see the difference. Both were made by HP, but the Omnibook was made to last!!!!

My 'conversion' to Apple came about after my retirement from the IT field. I no longer had an 'in' to the supply chain that could get me an HP Omnibook so I set about searching for a notebook in the consumer chain. I was totally disappointed in the garbage put out by HP, Compaq, et. al. ( I actually sent my Microsoft Credentials back to Microsoft with a letter explaining my conversion to Apple and how I would never go back to what I considered an inferior product! :lol: )

The guy at a COMPUSA then put a notebook in my hands that felt like it was worthy of purchasing. I told him I wanted one, he told me making the switch to it would not be easy .... it was a Apple G4 Powerbook.

My god the thing was way better than any other consumer notebook I had put in my hands to that point, and trust me I looked at them all.

Fast forward to today and this PRO debate ....

I think it's a waste of time debating it, I mean even the plastic white Macbook is more 'pro' than other units out there.

To be fair, yes I have looked at many Windows Notebooks RECENTLY, even bought an HP unit with 64 Bit Vista ........ Had that for one day, returned it and traded it in for a big screen TV :lol:

Many people have different ideas of what " pro " is, my idea is " fit and finish " AND can the computer do the tasks you need it to do?????

How professional does it look when you pull out your ONE DAY OLD notebook and the Bezel around the keyboard is misaligned. ( HP ) When I took it back we checked several HP notebooks and all the bezels were in some way misaligned.

If you have a computer and it is not making money for you, no matter which one it is, it's not " pro ". :lol:



In the end, you may see the Macbook go by the wayside.

Lets see.......

Do I buy the plastic Plastic Apple Notebook for $999
-OR-
Do I buy the Aluminum Apple Notebook for $1199


According to many posts here *I* should be highly upset ...
Why???
I paid $1999 for a 15" MBP a month ago.

Now my model sells for $1699, comes with more memory.

Am I upset? Noooo, I have a user replaceable battery!!!


NOTEBOOK ADVICE:

1) Buy It!
2) Use It!
3) Don't look back!

 

[belvdr]

NOTEBOOK ADVICE:

1) Buy It!
2) Use It!
3) Don't look back!

Make that any consumer computer system and you're on to something, whether it's a laptop, desktop, or netbook. If it does everything you need it to do, then there's nothing to whine about. That's the beauty of choice (when to buy and what to buy).