New MacBook and MacBook Pro to get 'SAME' aluminum & glass design?

I would detest having the "new" keyboard...

Would glass be too heavy for a portable?

the mockup looks like good work, but it does not look like an apple product. sure it looks like a macbook pro/ imac/ new keyboard all melded, but that is what HP and toshiba are doing nowadays. it looks a little busy and doesn't have the class the current MBP does.

it will be awfully hard to top the current design, but when apple finally does it, I expect it will be something really special, much like the first PB aluminum was.

Macbooks/(Pro) are still heavy as hell.

When; been trolling about these for years - bring it!

Glass would be stupid in a notebook... heavy, delicate and no purpose. I think it's even stupid in the iMac.

Yeah... why not take out the optical drive to put some glass in?

You serious? They are among the lightest in their category.

I actually think that mockup is plausible, though there probably wouldn't be a need for the Apple logo on the inside. The company would probably still be comfortable with the backlit Apple logo on the outside of the lid.

Whether Apple can really revamp its line that way is another matter, though. Apple currently likes it its normal/pro dichotomy and would probably want to distinguish its lines a little more conspicuously. I can imagine Apple having a 13-inch/15-inch MacBook line that looks like a portable aluminum iMac, though, and a 15-inch/17-inch MacBook Pro line closer to what we have today.

And maybe, just maybe, the 15-inch consumer MacBook could have lower-end dedicated graphics, like a 128MB GeForce 8400M GS.

The LCDs have used glass since the original Mac Portable.


And yet are still about 2lbs to heavy to be a real subnotebook. A Macbook sized notebook with all the ports and drives should weigh about 4lbs. Sony can do it, why can't Apple?

Don't worry too much... I'm sure the new Al craze will give us a lighter Macbook. Hopefully with 10.5 launch.

are any of the current mac portables meant to be sub-notebooks?

nice mockup, ireland, tho' not sure about the size/width of the black frame. looking forward to seeing mbp's loaded with the penryn...

No they are not.

But I understand the point that the MB is a bit heavy at 5.1lb when the bigger MBP 15" weighs 5.4lb. When and if they move the MB to Al they should tip in the high 3's to low 4's.

My response from the last time you raised this:

As Ireland says a unified design language would be very interesting. Notably the iMac has always represented the consumer section, and this update dumps their consumer styling. Likewise it now makes their Pro styling look outdated. Apple could: unify their computer design language along the iMac's lines and toss the difference between pro/non-pro. Use the iMac's language for MacBooks, and establish a new Pro language. Use the iMac's language for MacBook Pro's, and establish a new consumer language. Those, as I see it, are their main options in computer design going forward.

So what if they do actually unify their language? Offer a MacBook at 11" (subnotebook), 13" (current MacBook), 15" and 17" (current MacBook Pro). As it is the differences between the regular and Pro models are pretty darn slim at this point (GPU, mainly) so why not just offer a models a base model that can be specced upwards?

Perhaps, because of the GPU, a base model and top-end model at each size (perhaps tag the 13", 15", 17" top-end models with the Pro tag, and give the 11" model a Nano tag or something). Top-end model gets the niceties (keyboard lighting) and the features (top-end CPU/GPU) and the base model doesn't have that. Both models can be BTO'd upwards or downwards in RAM/HDD but if you want to switch GPUs or CPUs you're automatically upgraded/downgraded to the relevant model.

The subnotebook would likely be the least configurable and perhaps the 17" model would lack a low-end version. That way stores get two SKUs for 13" and 15", and one SKU for 11" and 17" (6 SKUs in total, compared against 6 SKUs now if you go by the Apple Store online).

No additional shipping complexity in return for a laptop line that adds non-Pro 15" model and an 11" subnotebook, and unifies Apple's design language going forward.

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I'd add today a 7" Newton/UMPC device though Ireland would argue for the 10" tablet version .

except your first post was in reference to the macbook pro. which was never intended to fulfill any sub-note categories.

I stopped using keyboards like that when I left the TRS-80 COCO.

They weigh twice what comparable notebooks sold in Japan weigh.

And man, you're missing out.

The new keyboard is phenomenal. I'm in the process of getting a second one and just keeping my older mac keyboards around for emergency only.

I love the new keyboard. I wouldn't be surprised if Apple uses the same keyboard but molds the keys with a faux-silver plastic like the current MBP keyboards. That way yo can have the backlighting on the keys.

Eh, I'm OK with mine, but I do have a problem with my "n" key. It needs more pressure to generate a character than most of the other keys. It kinda sucks, but I've only had the system for a couple months now, so I'm guessing that it'll probably teach me to hit the key harder any time now.

True, but the white key/black border contrast is too garish, IMO. Especially since they will be so close to each other. And black keys will be worse.

Personally I think they will keep the white keys, like in the mockup above. But there will be no black border around the LCD.

I think the release of the aluminum MacBook hinges on (no punn intended) LED-backlit LCD panel supply, more than the release of Leopard. Leopard's release may provide coincidental timing for Apple's MacBook. From my reading of the quoted item below, it seems like the supply balance is going to be tough on LED-backlit LCD panels.


Be that as it may, the up-and-coming 9to5mac.com reporting that the new models have been seen in both black and silver aluminum is a good sign that they are nearly ready.

Something's brewing...the lead times for schools buying MacBook Pros has gone up.

I wonder why the lead time on the 17" MacBook Pro went up to 2-3 weeks!?!?



It's 2-3 weeks whether you choose standard resolution or the 1900x1200 high resolution option on the 17-inch.

Sure. Let's go over to a shiny new thread here: Newton2 Size: 5.5-7" Vs. ~10"

Could be!

Might Apple drop the 2.2GHz model and replace it with the 2.4GHz model at the same price? Intro the new 17" MBP with LED-backlight screen, high resolution as the standard?

I think Oct/Nov will be a time Mac enthusiasts will come to love. Leopard in October, and either preceded, accompanied, or followed by introductions of new MacBooks, MacBooks Pro, Macs Pro, Apple Cinema Displays, and possibly a new MacBook Thin.

At least I keep dreaming!

Yeah, I'm dreaming too. Please, someone, wake me when it's over!

Don't forget his 'new' black turtle neck sweater.

Possibly a PDA (a la Newton) at Macworld.

Don't ruin my dream!

I was figuring that that's the next step Apple is taking, but honestly... where's the white going? The white MacBooks were heavenly!

The iMacs aren't White, the MBs may not be white, the MBPs aren't white, and the last of the white iPods are gone.

The MacBook Pro is an amazing laptop but it does have one limitation. People use them outside and often times expose them to less than friendly conditions. I spent two years in the Middle East and sand was a constant problem. I dropped the laptop twice because my fingers were dusty and the metal enclosure just slid out of my hand. Luckily it still worked but the lid never closed right after that, nor was it flat bottomed.

We need Apple to recognize that people will be taking their laptops outdoors and they need at least one model that'll handle dust, sand, rain, and drops. I realize that it would make the model thicker and heavier, but to the people needing the protection, it's well worth it.

I know it's a niche market that most people wouldn't use, but there currently exists no Mac ruggedized to handle that kind of abuse, at any price that I'm aware of. Considering that so many production companies use MacBook Pro's in the field, one would think that the added protection would be welcomed.