Apple to unveil new or updated laptops on Oct 14

[hugh]

Apple Inc will unveil its updated laptops on October 14 and they may cost less, but analysts say the company's drooping stock has already taken any change into account.

another rumour

The Inquisitr claims that some Apple retailers have already been given price lists for Apple's upcoming laptops and that there are 12 price points ranging from $800 to $3100. Current laptops are said to have only have 8 retail price points: 3 Macbooks (starting at $1099), 3 Macbook Pros and 2 Macbook Airs.

[granduncle]

There are also some rumors that Apple will broaden its chipset usage, i.e. it will start using NVidia chipsets (and IGP) in some of their
products (MacMini?). This allegedly is the reason we haven't heard for a while about new products from the "green" company: Apple's "omerta"...

[QuickSilver]

Starting this off I want to say this totally my own opinion on todays notebook update.

DISSAPOINTED

I have been thinking about replacing my 15.4" MBP and it seemed this would be the perfect time. I will post a couple pics of the updated line. These are from Apple's website.


A few things have led me to be dissapointed with this change to the MBP line:

1. Keyboard - Have used the keyboards on the Macbook and absolutely hate them.

2. Glossy Screen - There is no Matte finish option from what I can tell. Quite dissapointed as in my office glare will be a huge issue.

3. Display Port - No more DVI. Not a huge issue but when I hook up my laptop in boardrooms I really do not want to be pulling out my display dongle to hook up to their projector. Small issue like I said.

4. Overall the aesthetics of the entire redesign do not suit my eyes. I knew from the rumours that they would be going to a black bezel around the screen but to me it is ugly.

5. Price - On the MBP line they are pricing things quite high. I do understand they have bumped up the video card and other specs but they still only include 2 USB ports. I expected at least 3 ports.

6. Trackpad - I am still a bit on the fence about this one. They removed the button and made the entire trackpad a button. It is made of glass as well.

Other news from the notebook event is they updated the Macbook line. They made them to look identical to the MBP line with a smaller screen (13.3"). They also dropped the price on the white "classic" MB line. They talked about the new process they "discovered" while making the Macbook Air which is basically building the notebooks from one piece of aluminum.



Like I said this is only my opinion but I am disappointed. Maybe my expectations were too high? What are your guys opinions?

[Cyclism]

Yup, colour me "disappointed" as well.

The changes to the MB and MBP line are evolutionary, rather than revolutionary, and really we're only talking about aesthetics rather than performance.

I never liked the two-tone body and keyboard of the Macbook Air, so I don't like it in the new MBs and MBPs.

I was hoping to see something that would really make me want to upgrade from my current 1.5 year old MBP. After seeing these new ones, I think I'll hold on to mine a little longer, and maybe just upgrade the RAM from 2GB to 4GB.

[QuickSilver]

Yeah I have the same MBP about 1.5 years old with 2gb. Things seem to run fine and these new ones really do not propel me to upgraditis like other Apple products have.

[faston]

Sounds like we all bought our MBP's at the same time. 1.5 yr and 2gb memory here as well. Still a great machine; no need to even think about upgrading for a while.

[granduncle]

So, the rumor was on the money, 9300/9400 IGP NV chips are in Macs now.
But no HDMI and no BD support despite the fact this is one of the best chipsets for that. Here is what Jobs had to say:

Blu-ray is just a bag of hurt. It's great to watch the movies, but the licensing of the tech is so complex,
we're waiting till things settle down and Blu-ray takes off in the marketplace.

Hopes that Apple might enter the HTPC market were groundless...

Shiller added

We have the best HD movie and TV options in iTunes.

Yeah, right.
I don't think there is a H.264 en/decoder worse than the one present in QuickTime...

[lgplasma]

No Firewire on the MacBooks. Boo!

[kgeorge78]

Purchased my MBP today. 2.53!

[Nuje]

Yeah, colour me more than a little underwhelmed as well. Not sure what exactly would've had me jumping for the new ones. As it is, I'm getting a new laptop for work, and I was really hoping to get a kick-ass new MBP. Now.....maybe I just settle for the "old" Macbook Pro....?

The trackpad - geez, I'd really like to play around with it before deciding if this is a deal-maker for the new version.

One question: does the advanced video chipset do anything performance-wise for day-to-day "real" computer work (i.e., spreadsheets, email, Word and Web vs. hard-core gaming)?

[granduncle]

One question: does the advanced video chipset do anything performance-wise for day-to-day "real" computer work (i.e., spreadsheets, email, Word and Web vs. hard-core gaming)?

I don't think so.
Gaming, maybe. If you have the 9400, better 3D than 9300 (only difference).
But Macs are not exactly gaming platforms. Unless you install Windows on it...

They might use better encoded hidef videos on iTunes - the new NV chipset/IGP can do the decoding by itself without CPU help...

[kgeorge78]

sure it does. DVD watching, HD Video (via stream or download). The apple OS is quite video hungry so anything helps.

[QuickSilver]

Has anyone purchased the new MBP yet? I am curious to get some feedback about the screen in real world usage. Also the keyboard is holding me back from purchasing one. I am happy with my current MBP but am always open to something better.

[Nuje]

I played around with one at the Apple Store in Calgary a couple of days ago, and you can count me completely underwhelmed, and at the same time, absolutely thrilled that I got an old-style (the most recent version, mind you) refurb MBP - still has the LED display, and the keyboard I do indeed like better than the "chiclet" style of the new ones (had one on my Macbook). All for $1600 vs. $2150 for the new ones.
(BTW, you'd have to think that that list price - $2150 - has to be going up pretty soon, right? I mean, with the current exchange rate of $1999US = $2600 in real-world exchange....(?)

[atong]

I purchased a MBP to replace my old Blackbook which I got when it was first released over 2 years ago, I can say that the screen is a huge improvement over what I had before, I didn't know how dim my LCD was on my macbook until I got the MBP. I had a glossy screen before and liked it, this glossy screen is more reflective than the old Macbooks, but the reflection does not bother me at all, but it could be a dealbreaker for some. I've only used it indoors though, I rarely take my computer outside.

I love the new trackpad, it works the same as before on the macbook except its a lot bigger and you can even set a right click on the right side of the trackpad now. Overall its a great improvement for me going from the MB to the MBP but I can't recommend someone with a late model previous generation MBP to upgrade, I don't think there's going to be that much of a difference to warrant spending another 2k on a new laptop.