Apple's flagship MacBook Pro to arrive at NAB

[AppleInsider]

Apple Computer at the National Association of Broadcasters conference next week will unveil its most poweful Intel notebook yet, a 17-inch MacBook Pro strung with a few bells and whistles, AppleInsider has learned.

The flagship Apple notebook is expected to debut at speeds faster than the company's 2.0GHz 15-inch MacBook Pro and pack additional storage capacity, well-placed sources have said.

The over-sized portable, which will be built around a stellar 17-inch TFT widescreen display and look very similar to its 15-inch counterpart, will round out Apple's professional line MacBook Pro notebooks, those sources have said.

In the past, Apple has also offered its professional customers a smaller notebook offering in the form of the 12-inch PowerBook G4. However, sources close to the company have been unable to turn up any evidence that Apple will carry the petite notebook design over to its Intel MacBook Pro product line.

Instead, the Cupertino, Calif.-based Mac maker is expected to supplement its 12-inch model with a pair of "MacBook" consumer notebooks sporting a 13-inch widescreen display and Intel Core Duo processors. Their release, however, is now rumored to have been pushed back to "next month."

Sources have said that Apple will use its extremely large presence at the NAB show to highlight the performance of its recently released Final Cut Studio 5.1 running natively on its new Intel hardware.

Still, there are rumors that the company may also make several new announcements surrounding its Pro application software packages. One such rumor suggests attendees may be privy to the first demonstrations of Final Cut Studio 6.0, which will include updates to popular Pro apps such as Final Cut Pro, Soundtrack, Motion and DVD Studio Pro.

A new version of DVD Studio Pro (5.0) is rumored to include support for burning both Blu-ray and HD-DVD discs, new High-definition DVD formats, the latter of which began making its way to market on Tuesday. Meanwhile, an update to Soundtrack Pro is expected to package support for editing additional high-end audio formats, such as 5.1 channel surround sound.

Fewer details have emerged on Apple's plans for Final Cut Pro 6.0 and Motion 3.0, however the consensus amongst industry sources is that Final Cut will expand to support several new high-definition video formats.

The National Association of Broadcasters conference is set to kick-off at the Las Vegas Convention Center on Saturday the 22nd and run through thursday the 27th. The Exhibition hall will not open until Monday the 24th.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[Cedd]

"next month" for the MacBook? 1 / 2 May is OK - 30 / 31 May would be annoying in the extreme...

[TednDi]

iRiKLiAN
Junior Member

Registered: Sep 2003
Posts: 19
From: posted 04-19-2006 07:13 AM
Apple on the 28th of this month is set to announce a new product that has been eagerly anticipated. Not much is known on what it may be, but what is known is that it will not be related to the iPod family in anyway.

Heres hopin we see some new Macbooks....



Perhaps I stand corrected?

8)

[DeaPeaJay]

Is this all we're going to see? How about some new iPods to play that broadcasted video?

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

Originally posted by Cedd
"next month" for the MacBook? 1 / 2 May is OK - 30 / 31 May would be annoying in the extreme...

And TS says the same anyway..

[G_Warren]

Originally posted by TednDi
iRiKLiAN
Junior Member

Registered: Sep 2003
Posts: 19
From: posted 04-19-2006 07:13 AM
Apple on the 28th of this month is set to announce a new product that has been eagerly anticipated. Not much is known on what it may be, but what is known is that it will not be related to the iPod family in anyway.

Heres hopin we see some new Macbooks....



Perhaps I stand corrected?

8)

Wouldn't beat yourself up over it - if there is an annoucement, NAB is 24-27th, so I doubt it'll be on t he 28th still.

[jocknerd]

How about a 15" MacBook Pro that actually works? Without heat issues or the whining? Or defective cases? Doubt I could afford a 17" but I'll be interested anyway.

[Cory Bauer]

It would be odd and perhaps ill-timed for Apple to announce a 17" MacBook Pro just weeks prior to the Intel processor price cuts/new models. I would imagine the 17" MacBook Pro would come in at $2,499 - the current price for a 17" PowerBook G4. The issue with that is there's now a 15" MacBook Pro in that price slot. The 15" MacBook Pro's would have to get cheaper if the 17" MacBook Pro was to arrive at today's $2,499 price point. Unless they slap in a 2.33Ghz Core Duo, shipping at the end of May with pre-orders starting at NAB, and sell it for closer to $3k.

[DeaPeaJay]

Originally posted by jocknerd
How about a 15" MacBook Pro that actually works? Without heat issues or the whining? Or defective cases? Doubt I could afford a 17" but I'll be interested anyway.

No major heat issues for me (no more than is normal)
no whine in mine. (there's a hard drive sound sometimes, but that's normal, my friend's Dell does the same thing) So far the quietest machine I've ever had.

And what defective case are you talking about? Have you called Apple about any of this?

Edit: This is also off topic

[Bancho]

Originally posted by jocknerd
How about a 15" MacBook Pro that actually works? Without heat issues or the whining? Or defective cases? Doubt I could afford a 17" but I'll be interested anyway.

Apple's been fixing the MacBooks that are experiencing these problems. How about bitching about things that are actually a problem?

On topic, I'm interested to see what they mean by extra storage options. I remember seeing a pic of the 17" disassembled and it looked like there was room for an additional drive inside. With the Intel boards looking a bit smaller than the G4 boards they're replacing there could be even more space available. Imagine a 17" machine with dual drives set up in a RAID. This wouldn't be the most battery friendly option (HA!) but the speed/storage possibilities are pretty neat anyhow.

[Ireland]

I said a while ago we would not see a 12"/13.3 MacBook Pro, and was practically laughed at, well guess who will have the last laugh! Pro 15-17" Non-Pro 13" Thank you!

[JeffDM]

Originally posted by DeaPeaJay
Is this all we're going to see? How about some new iPods to play that broadcasted video?

Apple products announced at NAB and similar industry events generally center around pro products, such as Final Cut, Logic Pro, the G5 Quads, Aperture and so on, and consumer products are announced at more consumer shows. iPod is a consumer product. An exception is that the MacBook Pro was annouced at a MacWorld, where usually only consumer products are announced.

[noah93]

Originally posted by Ireland
I said a while ago we would not see a 12"/13.3 MacBook Pro, and was practically laughed at, well guess who will have the last laugh! Pro 15-17" Non-Pro 13" Thank you!

I am pretty upset about that, but this is for another thread.

Anyway, I would like to see what they do with the extra space inside the 17"

Noah

EDIT: Minor spelling errors.

[Outsider]

Originally posted by jocknerd
How about a 15" MacBook Pro that actually works? Without heat issues or the whining? Or defective cases? Doubt I could afford a 17" but I'll be interested anyway.

There is something wrong with your computer clock. We're not in February anymore. It's April. :P

[Brian Green]

Might we be seeing the beginning of Flash Memory with the 17"? Seems power is always the number one issue. Not having to spin a disk has to help. No real inside info here, but I am curious.

Proud owner of a 15" 2.16 GHz MacBook Pro

[wilco]

Originally posted by DeaPeaJay


No major heat issues for me (no more than is normal)
no whine in mine. (there's a hard drive sound sometimes, but that's normal, my friend's Dell does the same thing) So far the quietest machine I've ever had.

And what defective case are you talking about? Have you called Apple about any of this?

Edit: This is also off topic

Well, if it didn't happen with yours, everyone else's must be fine, too.

The problems with the MacBook Pros are well-documented onMacintouch, and the Apple boards.

[wilco]

Originally posted by Ireland
I said a while ago we would not see a 12"/13.3 MacBook Pro, and was practically laughed at...

That's not what we were laughing at.

[sjk]

[insert OT disclaimer]

See Raf's story for how he repaired his MBP.

[DeaPeaJay]

Originally posted by wilco
Well, if it didn't happen with yours, everyone else's must be fine, too.

The problems with the MacBook Pros are well-documented onMacintouch, and the Apple boards.

I know they're documented. The point is that these problems have been for the most part resolved by apple in the current MBPs (mine) and are fixing the earlier ones, if you just call them! Therefore, it's pointless to complain about something that Apple has already fixed!

Has there been documented problems with the W86 models?

[wilco]

Originally posted by DeaPeaJay
Has there been documented problems with the W86 models?

Yes. Why don't you take the time to check before you spout off?

[slughead]

Originally posted by Bancho
Apple's been fixing the MacBooks that are experiencing these problems. How about bitching about things that are actually a problem?

Apple releasing a defective product isn't a problem?

Originally posted by Bancho
On topic, I'm interested to see what they mean by extra storage options. I remember seeing a pic of the 17" disassembled and it looked like there was room for an additional drive inside. With the Intel boards looking a bit smaller than the G4 boards they're replacing there could be even more space available. Imagine a 17" machine with dual drives set up in a RAID. This wouldn't be the most battery friendly option (HA!) but the speed/storage possibilities are pretty neat anyhow.

I was actually thinking the same thing. What'd be better is if Apple gave the option of using RAID or not, since idle drives don't drain power.

It's also possible that Apple's planning on using "Intel's" new solid-state hard drives, which are faster and use far less power than conventional platters and are meant to be put in laptops. We shall see...

[neutrino23]

Originally posted by Brian Green
Might we be seeing the beginning of Flash Memory with the 17"? Seems power is always the number one issue. Not having to spin a disk has to help. No real inside info here, but I am curious.

Proud owner of a 15" 2.16 GHz MacBook Pro

I can't imagine how using flash memory would change things much.

Just to replace the disk drive for temporary storage why not just increase the amount of DRAM? Or use an HD with a larger buffer? Much faster and comparably priced.

For nonvolatile memory why not just use the HD? Adding a few gigabytes of flash wouldnt' change things much but it would bump the price by $100 or more.

The newer HDs are using less and less power and they are faster so they need to be powered up for less time. I'm open to new things, but this doesn't seem obvious to me.

I would be interested in a high capacity drive for this laptop. One of the new 160GB drives would be cool.

[JeffDM]

Originally posted by neutrino23
I can't imagine how using flash memory would change things much.

...

The newer HDs are using less and less power and they are faster so they need to be powered up for less time. I'm open to new things, but this doesn't seem obvious to me.

Right.

To put it in perspective, a laptop hard drive uses about 2.5W max for the fastest spinning ones and that is when it is writing, reading is lower. The thermal design power of the Intel Mobile CPUs is 25W. I don't know what the screen backlight takes, assume max of 25W. Assuming flash cuts power in half, it would not noticibly affect battery life, unless you will notice a couple extra minutes.

I'll consider one of the 160's when it is available in SATA form.

[shetline]

Originally posted by AppleInsider
In the past, Apple has also offered its professional customers a smaller notebook offering in the form of the 12-inch PowerBook G4. However, sources close to the company have been unable to turn up any evidence that Apple will carry the petite notebook design over to its Intel MacBook Pro product line.

Instead, the Cupertino, Calif.-based Mac maker is expected to supplement its 12-inch model with a pair of "MacBook" consumer notebooks sporting a 13-inch widescreen display and Intel Core Duo processors. Their release, however, is now rumored to have been pushed back to "next month."

One can still hope that this is merely a matter of priorty in timing releases... 15" Pro, 17" Pro, 13" non-Pro... and then, perhaps, a 13" Pro model.

Lack of "evidence" found by "sources close to the company" (however that evidence is gathered, and with whatever degree of reliability) could merely mean a small-size Mac Book Pro is further out in planning than other products.

I'm not saying Apple hasn't dumped the idea of a sub-15" MacBook Pro, but I'm surprised at how so many people seem as if they're actually eager to believe that this is true.

[MacSuperiority]

I was hoping they would wait and put merom processors in the 17 incher. Guess not.

[JeffDM]

oops.

[JeffDM]

Originally posted by slughead
Apple releasing a defective product isn't a problem?

I'm pretty sure the person you are quoting meant problems that haven't been resolved. People have been getting replacements for the machines that had problems.

[Bancho]

Originally posted by JeffDM
I'm pretty sure the person you are quoting meant problems that haven't been resolved. People have been getting replacements for the machines that had problems.

I'm the one he quoted, and yes, that is what I meant (though it may not have been completely clear). There is another thread here somewhere concerning the updated firmware for the Intel based machines that mentioned Apple's swapping out (not fixing) machines with the known problems.

Disclaimer - I'm not affected by any of the problems (I have a Core Duo iMac) so I can't vouch for actual experience getting the problems resolved.

[pmjoe]

When I saw that the article said "flagship MacBook Pro" I was hoping that meant they decided to add a modem.

[DeaPeaJay]

Originally posted by wilco

Yes. Why don't you take the time to check before you spout off?

Well, in my googling, reports of W86 problems was minimal. So, I'm simply assuming there's no widespread problems, and that the reported problems only affect a small minority. Therefore the claim that Apple needs to release a "15 inch MacBook Pro that actually works" sounds whiny to me.

[Corey]

Any chance of a Superdrive in the 17"?

[DeaPeaJay]

Originally posted by Corey
Any chance of a Superdrive in the 17"?

Is that not a given?

[Kolchak]

Originally posted by pmjoe
When I saw that the article said "flagship MacBook Pro" I was hoping that meant they decided to add a modem.

Why? A 17" MacBook won't be a cheap machine. Anyone who can afford one can afford to stay in a hotel with a free wifi hotspot.

[DeaPeaJay]

Originally posted by Kolchak
Why? A 17" MacBook won't be a cheap machine. Anyone who can afford one can afford to stay in a hotel with a free wifi hotspot.

Believe it or not, there are some area's where there is no hi-speed internet options. The area where my dad works has only has a cable-modem option, and to get that you have to subscribe to all the lousy cable quality channels. So he's forced to use dial-up.

[JeffDM]

Originally posted by DeaPeaJay
Believe it or not, there are some area's where there is no hi-speed internet options. The area where my dad works has only has a cable-modem option, and to get that you have to subscribe to all the lousy cable quality channels. So he's forced to use dial-up.

Sounds to me like he choses dial-up when there really is an alternative. It costs more to shut off the analog video feed anyway. Basic cable generally only pays for the upkeep of the lines and delivery system.

[DeaPeaJay]

Originally posted by JeffDM
Sounds to me like he choses dial-up when there really is an alternative. It costs more to shut off the analog video feed anyway. Basic cable generally only pays for the upkeep of the lines and delivery system.

Well, it costs 70 or 80 bucks a month, and that's sort of ridiculous

[Corey]

Originally posted by DeaPeaJay
Is that not a given?

My bad. I should have been more specific. I was referring to the faster dual-layer 8x SuperDrive that was omitted from the 15-inch MBP.

Any chance that will be in the 17"?

[DeaPeaJay]

Originally posted by Corey
My bad. I should have been more specific. I was referring to the faster dual-layer 8x SuperDrive that was omitted from the 15-inch MBP.

Any chance that will be in the 17"?

oh

well personally I would think not, since the reason it was omitted from the 15 inch was because it couldn't fit and still be an inch thin. I'm sure the 17inch will be an inch as well.

[ecking]

Like I said on April 8:

Originally posted by ecking
$2899 MacBook Pro
17" Widescreen
2.16GHz Intel Core Duo
1GB memory
120GB 5400rpm HD
SuperDrive (DVD±RW/CD-RW)
ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 with 256MB GDDR3 memory
Built-in AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth 2.0
Built in iSight
Apple Remote

That's your 17" machine gentlemen and ladies!

Originally posted by AppleinsiderThe flagship Apple notebook is expected to debut at speeds faster than the company's 2.0GHz 15-inch MacBook Pro and pack additional storage capacity, well-placed sources have said.

This just means a bigger standard HD people.

And maybe the processor will be 2.33 instead of the 2.16 I put back in early april, but I doubt it.

[DHagan4755]

Why not the Radeon x1800?