Apple "MacBook" filing suggests iBook re-branding

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  • Reply 21 of 54
    zengazenga Posts: 267member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Louzer

    Several things about an iBook replacement, based on past experience with Apple and their limited offerings:[list=1][*]It won't support dual monitors, except with mirroring. You want dual monitors, sorry, you need a "Pro" book.[*]DVI out might be allowed, but its iffy.[*]Sorry, no ExpressCard slot. You want expandability, get the "Pro" book.[*]Integrated graphics, no doubt. You want highe-end graphics card, get a "Pro" book.[*]My guess would be optical audio out capability, but not audio in.[*]No modem. Apple has declared all telephony communications dead.[*]iSight optional (hopefully optional). I have no need for one, but they added it to the iMac, which makes me wonder one way or the other.[*]One Firewire 400 port, if you're lucky (by the way, if you think they'll always support firewire because of all those aging firewire ipods out there, since when has that ever stopped Apple from tossing ports or hardware compatibility before?)[*]Lots of stuff most people will never use, but in there anyway so they can charge a high price, and the mac-heads can say "Yeah, but a comparably specced Dell costs the same!"[*]New lame design (well, since everyone says the current design is getting 'old', then they'll have to change it, but then half of the people will call it lame and blah, because you can't satisfy mac users, no matter how "hard" they try - well, if they tried hard, that is).[/list=1]



    Apple will do with these laptops what they've always done. Restrict them down so people who are in the market for a pro book won't be tempted to get an iBook. And they'll make sure the iBook starts in the $1000 range, right in between the mini and the iMac.



    Oh, and for that dreamer (yes, you know who you are!) who actually said I do see a mid tower in the future, ala apple "of course" in between the mini & power, a headless imac if you may that could be @ $999 (1/2) of a powermac & almost double than the base mini.., all I've got to say, is, of course, you're dreaming!



    Apple doesn't want to make a cheap tower. if they made a cheap tower, those who want that functioanlity could possibly buy it instead of the power line. That's lost sales. Plus, Apple has yet to do it in the last 5 years or so, despite desparate clamoring from mac users who hate holding on to their towers for 5 years waiting to save enough money to buy a new one. Why is switching to intel finally going to get apple to see the light?



    They tried a 'cheap' tower, the single 1.8GHz G5 at $1500. A truly lame offering from apple (if you hiked its memory requirement, hard disk, and a couple of other things to the low-end duals, you got close to the same price, with an extra processor). And you can tell they cared alot for that product, as they can't seem to fix the probems people have with it, and they stopped selling it.



    Oh, and what exactly could they do with it? They could only put in one extra drive bay (since the current towers have only one extra), a slot or two (but not PCI-Express?), and that's it. Anything else, and they'd already be out-speccing the incredibly lame "pro" machine specs they have now (hell, the mini has more USB ports then any other mac).




    thank you for clearing that up!

    not dreaming anymore!

  • Reply 22 of 54
    chris cuillachris cuilla Posts: 4,825member
    I'm sorry. Is there some real news here?



    I mean I don't think we needed and official trademark filing to make a pretty solid guess that:



    a) There will be an Intel-based (probably Core Solo, w/Core Due BTO option) consumer notebook, and...



    b) Based on the renaming of the PowerBook to "McBook Pro" that said consumer notebook would be called "MacBook".



    There is no news here.
  • Reply 23 of 54
    xoolxool Posts: 2,460member
    I agree that a future MacBook is practically a shoe in. Then again, like the Mac mini and various iPods, it could be some other type of MacBook, MacBook mini perhaps. I guess we'll know soon enough.



    It all depends on system specs and form factor. If Apple wants to leave room for a model between the iBook replacement and MacBook Pro, calling it a MacBook mini is far more likely.
  • Reply 24 of 54
    aplnubaplnub Posts: 2,605member
    It just seems odd they would take away the iBook name while leaving the iMac name. I guess that is why I don't make the big bucks at Apple...
  • Reply 25 of 54
    Quote:

    The Feb. 22, 2006 filing, made with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, describes MacBook as "computers, notebook computers, computer hardware, computer software, computer peripherals."



    I realize that there might be some logic to why people think the name of the new ibook will be changed to MacBook but based on the above one could deduct that the ilife name would change as well.



    For what it's worth though I don't really care what they call it but I'll be shocked if they truly lose the ibook name. It sets apart the line and is very recognizeable. I could see something like iBook Pro, Mac iBook, or even iMacBook Pro before them going with MacBook.
  • Reply 26 of 54
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    I said it before, and will again.





    When the 'MacBook' is introduced, the 'MacBook Pro' name will not only make sense then, but it will begin to sound like a good name!





    Mark my words the name will start to grow on everyone!!!
  • Reply 27 of 54
    hattighattig Posts: 860member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by JeffDM

    And I think we should wait to see the benchmarks to see if integrated graphics is still the ball and chain that it used to be. I think it may very well be that the 950 is a lot faster than the previous model's ATI 9200.



    My iBook has a Radeon 9550 - that's not a totally crap card, it probably beats the GMA950 fairly soundly.



    It is for that reason only that I suspect that apart from the basic MacBook model ($799-$899 Core Solo 1.5GHz) the other models might have discrete graphics (X1400), for example $999 Core Solo 1.66GHz, $1199 Core Duo 1.66GHz.
  • Reply 28 of 54
    dazabritdazabrit Posts: 273member
    I have got a horrible feeling that this means there will be another overhaul of the iMac, which will become The 'Mac'.



    Probably (Hopefully) won't happen until the Autmn though



    It appears to me that they are going to transition the remaining machines to Intel a LOT sooner than expected with the last machines arriving at WWDC.

    That leaves the Autumn/Education season wide open for the first revisions to the Intel lines alongside some nice Xmas iPod revisions with WiFi/Bonjour
  • Reply 29 of 54
    jeffdmjeffdm Posts: 12,951member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Hattig

    My iBook has a Radeon 9550 - that's not a totally crap card, it probably beats the GMA950 fairly soundly.



    The thing is, I would like to see some benchmarks before I can accept claims like that. The 9x series Radeons are already two or three generations old so an integrated chip could still be competitive.
  • Reply 30 of 54
    eckingecking Posts: 1,588member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Robin Hood

    Dell seems to use integrated graphics, even the older GMA900 chipset and not the GMA950 used in the Mac mini, on laptops up to $1499. Why would Apple use dedicated graphics on a cheap laptop, if Dell and most PC manufacturers don't?



    Well I hope then that if it's got to have IG that they use the 128mb version of the 950.
  • Reply 31 of 54
    eckingecking Posts: 1,588member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Ireland

    I said it before, and will again.





    When the 'MacBook' is introduced, the 'MacBook Pro' name will not only make sense then, but it will begin to sound like a good name!





    Mark my words the name will start to grow on everyone!!!




    I actually think that can cause confusion amoung average consumers because right now people use the term macbook to mean the macbook pro all the time. I think the names are too similar.
  • Reply 32 of 54
    hattighattig Posts: 860member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by JeffDM

    The thing is, I would like to see some benchmarks before I can accept claims like that. The 9x series Radeons are already two or three generations old so an integrated chip could still be competitive.



    The Radeon 9550 has 4 parallel pixel pipelines & 2 programmable vertex shader pipelines. It is powered by the same R350/360 core as the 9600 PRO and XT.



    The ATI integrated chipset graphics are better than the GMA900 (which mostly is a slower version of the GMA950 - 400MHz vs 333MHz). The integrated ATI chipset has 2 pixel pipelines, half that of the 9550, but may run faster (I don't know how fast Apple clock the 9550 in the iBook). Also Intel's graphics chips never seem to get anywhere near theoretical performance.



    Therefore I'm reasonably confident that the 9550 will beat the GMA950.
  • Reply 33 of 54
    xoolxool Posts: 2,460member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by ecking

    I actually think that can cause confusion amoung average consumers because right now people use the term macbook to mean the macbook pro all the time. I think the names are too similar.



    I'd go so far as to say that if you don't know the difference the standard MacBook would be fine for you. The Pro/Prosumer who needs a MacBook Pro wouldn't settle for anything less unless they knew what they were doing.
  • Reply 34 of 54
    mdriftmeyermdriftmeyer Posts: 7,503member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by jms698

    Why New Zealand?



    Hot chicks? Great for movies? Tv series like Xena and Hercules make it a great tourist spot?
  • Reply 35 of 54
    smalmsmalm Posts: 677member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by JeffDM

    The 9x series Radeons are already two or three generations old so an integrated chip could still be competitive.



    The 9200 is a version of the 8500.

    The 9550 is a version of the 9600.



    GMA is no competition for a 9600 class chip.
  • Reply 36 of 54
    gargar Posts: 1,201member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by mdriftmeyer

    Hot chicks? Great for movies? Tv series like Xena and Hercules make it a great tourist spot?



    hobbits?
  • Reply 37 of 54
    Quote:

    Originally posted by TheTSart

    If there is to be a "Mac Pro," might there be a plain ole "Mac" too?



    eMac?
  • Reply 38 of 54
    gsxrboygsxrboy Posts: 565member
    At the end of the intel iMac advert dont they just show the word mac? (from memory) ..



    Seems to be perfect indication of the future naming, including the iMac, which will be rebranded to just mac once people have got used to it in the ad.
  • Reply 39 of 54
    gargar Posts: 1,201member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by gsxrboy

    At the end of the intel iMac advert dont they just show the word mac? (from memory) ..



    Seems to be perfect indication of the future naming, including the iMac, which will be rebranded to just mac once people have got used to it in the ad.




    No.



    If you're talking about Mac, in the real world, people think: "Hey, McDonalds".



    If you say iMac, in the real world, people think: "A computer, right?"



    What's wrong with iMac?

    If the "iMac" has to renamed to "Mac", so has the MacBook (Pro). Mac mini, Mac Pro, etc.



    It's "Power" out and, as necessary, "Mac" in.

    "Book" is a book?

    "Book Pro" is a difficult book?

    "MacBook (Pro)" is a computer.



    And you know what?

    so is an "iBook".
  • Reply 40 of 54
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    Makes me wonder when they'll get around to rebranding iTunes as MacTunes...or MacTainment... or Mac Music 'n' Video Rent-To-Own.



    But seriously, I've been thinking they may be prepping new brand lines. Remember, before the Mac there was Lisa, and Quadra, and Centris, etc.



    Maybe the new consumer entertainment lines will have a different brand name... Apple MobileMe... you get the point.
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