I do a lot of photography and 3D work. So I need a decent GPU. The MacBook doesn't offer this. Also, I like the look and feel of the MacBook Pro much better, compared to the MacBook. This for me is the main reason I don't want a MacBook.
Okay. Then there's the MacBook Pro. 15" or 17". Not very handy when you're on the road. 13" would be ideal: enough to work with, and I use an external monitor for 3D work anyways.
So now, there's the dillema:
- or buy a big laptop (Pro)
- or buy a laptop without a decent GPU
Buying a MacBook seems a step backwards (even if the CPU is much better). The Geforce 5200 of my Powerbook may not be fast, it certainly is a lot better than integrated gfx which "eats" my main memory.
Lastly, I now have to spend $500 more on a laptop, since the $1499 price for a 12" Powerbook is not an option anymore! The closest deal now is a $1999 laptop.
I also hope Apple does something about the confusing names: MacBook and MacBook Pro....How could they ever come up with those names???
I'd really like to see a 13" MacBook Pro myself. Unfortunately, even thought the MacBook non-Pro isn't all I'd want it to be, it's a bit more feature-packed than I'd expected, and it will probably be enough to make a lot of people who want the 13" size happy, happy enough for Apple to have even less reason to make the product that would make me happy.
The 13" MB was just close enough to what I'd like to have to make my decision between that and a 15" MBP more painful, but I finally broken down and ordered the 15".
I figure that I can try living for a while with the larger size again (I had more than one 15" PB for a while before having two different 12" PBs over the last 2.5 years), the extra weight, and shorter battery life. If Apple does finally come out with a 13" MBP, or if I simply decide that I'd prefer the extra portability again, I figure there's always eBay.
Something I wrote in another thread which I think is apropos here:
We all know the 12" PowerBook was in many ways really just a 12" iBook with an aluminum enclosure. If Apple followed a similar route to make a 13" MacBook Pro -- a slightly glorified regular 13" MacBook wrapped in aluminum instead of plastic -- I could be pretty happy with that.
It seems a lot of people are turning out to be willing to pay a $150 premium for black plastic over white plastic. If people will pay that much for just a color change, why not as much as $250 for aluminum, which offers a small size and weight advantage as well as being (to many of us) more aesthetically pleasing? An aluminum-clad 13" MacBook should, for instance, be able to shrink down from 1.08" thick down to the magic 1" thick or a little less.
Bump the price a little more for a better keyboard (maybe even with backlighting -- although the 12" PowerBook never got this feature) and a real GPU instead of integrated video, and I'd happily pay a $400-$500 premium over the price of a white 13" MacBook for this hypothetical 13" MacBook Pro.
And of course, offer the choice of a glossy or non-glossy display, like the rest of the MacBook Pro line.
I'm guessing that the smaller 13" display is a significant factor in the 6 hour battery life of a MacBook non-Pro, vs. 4.5 hours for the 15" MacBook Pro. A real GPU is going to use more power than integrated video, and if we presume a slightly faster CPU (2.16 vs. 2GHz) that could consume a bit more power too. Perhaps this hypothetical 13" MacBook Pro could split the difference on battery life and get between 5 and 5.5 hours?
No I don't think so, there's a definet market for a small dedicated gpu laptop, apple probably just wants to find a way to do it without wasting resources.
The black macbook might have been that test, apple testing to see how much a 13" 1499 notebook would actually sell.
Since apple obviously produces less black macbooks, if they sell really well on current gpu (intel ig 950) then maybe they'll think it's worth the effort to spend the extra $$ for a dedicated one.
Comments
I do a lot of photography and 3D work. So I need a decent GPU. The MacBook doesn't offer this. Also, I like the look and feel of the MacBook Pro much better, compared to the MacBook. This for me is the main reason I don't want a MacBook.
Okay. Then there's the MacBook Pro. 15" or 17". Not very handy when you're on the road. 13" would be ideal: enough to work with, and I use an external monitor for 3D work anyways.
So now, there's the dillema:
- or buy a big laptop (Pro)
- or buy a laptop without a decent GPU
Buying a MacBook seems a step backwards (even if the CPU is much better). The Geforce 5200 of my Powerbook may not be fast, it certainly is a lot better than integrated gfx which "eats" my main memory.
Lastly, I now have to spend $500 more on a laptop, since the $1499 price for a 12" Powerbook is not an option anymore! The closest deal now is a $1999 laptop.
I also hope Apple does something about the confusing names: MacBook and MacBook Pro....How could they ever come up with those names???
Ars also gave the MB a pretty nice review. It is a major leap forward.
With the completion of the notebook family, there can always be a sub-notebook or even, drum-roll, a tablet.
The 13" MB was just close enough to what I'd like to have to make my decision between that and a 15" MBP more painful, but I finally broken down and ordered the 15".
I figure that I can try living for a while with the larger size again (I had more than one 15" PB for a while before having two different 12" PBs over the last 2.5 years), the extra weight, and shorter battery life. If Apple does finally come out with a 13" MBP, or if I simply decide that I'd prefer the extra portability again, I figure there's always eBay.
Something I wrote in another thread which I think is apropos here:
We all know the 12" PowerBook was in many ways really just a 12" iBook with an aluminum enclosure. If Apple followed a similar route to make a 13" MacBook Pro -- a slightly glorified regular 13" MacBook wrapped in aluminum instead of plastic -- I could be pretty happy with that.
It seems a lot of people are turning out to be willing to pay a $150 premium for black plastic over white plastic. If people will pay that much for just a color change, why not as much as $250 for aluminum, which offers a small size and weight advantage as well as being (to many of us) more aesthetically pleasing? An aluminum-clad 13" MacBook should, for instance, be able to shrink down from 1.08" thick down to the magic 1" thick or a little less.
Bump the price a little more for a better keyboard (maybe even with backlighting -- although the 12" PowerBook never got this feature) and a real GPU instead of integrated video, and I'd happily pay a $400-$500 premium over the price of a white 13" MacBook for this hypothetical 13" MacBook Pro.
And of course, offer the choice of a glossy or non-glossy display, like the rest of the MacBook Pro line.
I'm guessing that the smaller 13" display is a significant factor in the 6 hour battery life of a MacBook non-Pro, vs. 4.5 hours for the 15" MacBook Pro. A real GPU is going to use more power than integrated video, and if we presume a slightly faster CPU (2.16 vs. 2GHz) that could consume a bit more power too. Perhaps this hypothetical 13" MacBook Pro could split the difference on battery life and get between 5 and 5.5 hours?
The black macbook might have been that test, apple testing to see how much a 13" 1499 notebook would actually sell.
Since apple obviously produces less black macbooks, if they sell really well on current gpu (intel ig 950) then maybe they'll think it's worth the effort to spend the extra $$ for a dedicated one.