Much talk about new MBP, what about standard MB?
I'm starting law school in the fall and I'm currently interested in spending about 1500 on a macbook. I'm not interested in the pro because I want something very easy to move about with and it's a little pricey for me anyway.
There's a lot of people talking about a new Macbook Pro expected to be released, but should we also expect a new Macbook and if so would it be wiser for me to buy the version currently out andd perhaps have a higher end model as opposed to spending the same amoutn on the lower end of the new series? I will want the black version, as well, for the professional asthetic appeal.
This will be my first mac purchase as well.
There's a lot of people talking about a new Macbook Pro expected to be released, but should we also expect a new Macbook and if so would it be wiser for me to buy the version currently out andd perhaps have a higher end model as opposed to spending the same amoutn on the lower end of the new series? I will want the black version, as well, for the professional asthetic appeal.
This will be my first mac purchase as well.
Comments
I would be surprised if the next gen stuff wasn't more $$. Plus you'll be paying full retail price as well as the "black tax" on top of that.
Don't know about time frames though.... that's anybody's guess.
I would be surprised if the next gen stuff wasn't more $$. Plus you'll be paying full retail price as well as the "black tax" on top of that.
Don't know about time frames though.... that's anybody's guess.
Huh? Why do you think the next version will cost more? Apple has raised the price on few occasions, but very rare.
As for the time frame, considering (1) MB was updated 15 days after MBP and (2) a bunch of PC manufacturers have announced (or leaked) Santa Rosa notebooks recently, I think it's coming up in late May to June. I do not expect MB to get full Santa Rosa treatment (e.g., Robson NAND cache), but GMA X3100 would almost be reason enough to wait.
They would have to be pretty amazing for my to buy retail. I'd personally wait until they started showing up on the refurb site, but that's me. If the current gen will work for you, get one refurb and save some $$.
I would be surprised if the next gen stuff wasn't more $$. Plus you'll be paying full retail price as well as the "black tax" on top of that.
Don't know about time frames though.... that's anybody's guess.
Your student discount should put you at right about the same level (if not lower) than the refurb price, unless you buy a refurb of the outdated model once a new model comes out. You even get a student discount on AppleCare, which I would most likely get for new purchases, not to mention refurbs.
As far as price *increases* the only one that comes to mind right now is the Mac mini that increased from $499 to $599 when it went intel, most likely to finally turn a profit on the little guy (it was more or less a we'll-break-even-just-so-long-as-we-get-you-to-switch-to-Mac machine, from what I have read component cost-wise).
The availability of santa rosa has me concerned as well to some extent. With the intel deal, Apple got first dibs on core duos for the iMacs and MBPs, but then seemed to lag behind on the Core 2 Duo front until many of the other manufacturers had theirs. Now with this third wave, I am hoping that the Core 2 Duo lag of adoption was a consequence of the Core Duo priority that Apple received and that the score is settled, so to speak. Hopefully Intel will be making a ton of these bad boys knowing of the pent up purchases of both Leopard (which was supposed to launch soon) and Vista.
I'm just not very patient and my current computer irritates me daily.
If anything Apple seems to have a nasty habit of slightly decreasing prices on new macs. Put it this way, I paid over £3k for a 1ghz mac 4 years ago.
"nasty habit?" Ummm... Sign me up for some nastiness?
while we're on this subject, i haven't paid much attention to new releases in the past, but how likely is it that, if i were to buy a mb in this next generation, that a major problem, not rooted out in the testing, would cripple my computer and put it out of commission until applecare repaired it?
Personally, I'd go with AppleCare. The "new" (now old) MacBooks and MacBook Pros have suffered a number of unfortunate problems including: discoloration of the casing after a few months of use, battery expanding, overheating problems, whining capacitors. And I'm sure some that I'm missing.
In the experience of my friends that have had to use it, AppleCare is well worth it; they basically walked into the Apple store, said "Here's my busted machine", and it was fixed - often right then.
- Jasen.
Isn't it a fair assumption that since the technology will be new that the price will increase? It's not the same as them just using current technology but creating a new vessel for it (like the switch over to intel).
No. The Core 2 Duo chips are a lot like the older ones. And they're smaller (I'm pretty sure) which means Intel can make more of them at a time. There certainly is some low-level newness; but it is VERY low level as far as us users and most of the OS are concerned.
- Jasen.
one more question: even if santa rosa/led mb's are announced at wwdc, when would they be in stores for purchace? this factor is the most important in my choice of when to buy, as i'm not willing to wait many months for a small bump in power and speed.
2-core (possibly 4-core) processor
19" LED-backed screen with 1920 x 1080 resolution
200-250 gig 7200rpm hardrive
blu-ray burner
Updated iLife Suite that takes advantage of blu-ray
I'd like a hardcore desktop replacement. I almost always use my current laptop plugged-in to the wall so battery drain isn't a big deal for me. It would be very useful when I go out on freelance jobs.