Apple's iBook successor may sport fashionable hues

Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited January 2014
When Apple Computer introduces its new line of Intel-based consumer notebooks this spring, the company may once again offer buyers a fashionable option it phased out of its iMac product line nearly half a decade ago: colored enclosures.



Like the Cupertino company's current PowerPC-based line of iBook G4 notebooks, the upcoming Intel "MacBooks" have been described by the few people who claim to have seen them as "fashionably clad in iMac white."



iMac white is the glossy shade Apple introduced on the face and under-compartment of its original iMac in 1998. Eventually, the popularity of the iMac amongst consumers drove the company to wrap almost all of its consumer products, including the iBook and iPod, in the same cleanly shade.



Still, some would argue that it wasn't the white, but the bondi blue risk Apple took with the remainder of the original iMac enclosure that paved the way for the iBook, iPod and one of the most astonishing comeback stories in corporate history.



When Apple chief executive Steve Jobs pulled the sheet from atop the original iMac on the afternoon of May 6th, 1998, many were expecting to see another beige box with sharp corners. Instead they were treaded to a bulbous, but friendly looking all-in-one Mac, wrapped in white and translucent blue plastics that forever changed the landscape of the personal computer industry.



While rival PC manufacturers struggled to duplicate the appeal of the bondi blue iMac in their own products -- albeit to little success -- Apple lead its colored iMac revolution through seven revisions and thirteen color variations, all the while selling millions of units.



Apple followed its inaugural bondi blue iMac early the next year with models dressed in flavorful hues called Strawberry, Lime, Grape, Blueberry and Tangerine. By mid-year it had also unveiled iBooks in the latter two flavors and subsequently tacked on a graphite colored iMac special edition later that autumn.



After introducing refreshed iMac models in 2000 bearing Ruby, Snow and Indigo-colored translucent plastics, the company became a bit daring with two additional models it wrapped in Flower Power and Blue Dalmatian patterns. It wasn't long thereafter that Apple dropped the patterned and colored iMacs altogether, redesigning the desktops around a a 15-inch flat panel display, white base and adjustable swing-arm in January of 2002.



Its been over four years since the company rolled a flamboyant Mac off its assembly lines, instead choosing to standardize on graphite- and aluminum-colored enclosures for its professional computers and white for its consumer models. However, with the recent success of its black-colored iPods, and to a greater extent its multi-colored iPod minis, there is talk that the company is once again "thinking differently" about the appearance of its upcoming MacBook consumer notebooks.



Earlier this year, it was reported that Apple was considering a black version of the yet-to-be-announced notebooks, which it will target towards education, entry- and mid-level customers. However, as development progressed without a black MacBook in sight, the company was believed to have discarded the notion.



To the delight of some insiders and likely the company's fans, just as word of the MacBook's competition began to spread, so did rumors that Apple continues to pursue the colored enclosure option.



People often familiar with the tight-lipped company's ambitions say current plans call for the Mac maker to introduce the MacBook in colors other than white. Apple has reportedly been guarding the colored models closer than the notebooks themselves, in area of its labs privy to only a select few of its elite, these people say. Therefore, it's unclear precisely what colors the company will ultimately approve for production and if it will indeed offer a black model like it does with its iPod and iPod nano digital players.



Still, the most reliable information appears to point to at least two colored MacBook models. Unlike the 90's when Apple jazzed up its iMacs in semi-translucent plastics, the colored MacBooks are more likely sport solid-shade, sleek enclosures similar to the company's professional MacBook Pro laptops. In fact, those people familiar with prototypes of the forthcoming notebooks say their overall design is reminiscent of the MacBook Pro, only "comfortably smaller."



In deciding to release multiple colors, Apple must weigh the risk-to-reward factor of managing an increasing number of retail SKUs (Stock Keeping Units) that comes with offering more than one color. However, since sources have reported that the notebooks will be standardized around a 13-inch widescreen display and Intel's Core Duo processors, it's likely the company plans only two distinct hardware configurations: a "better" and "best" model. As a result, offering two colorful models in addition to the standard white colored units would yield it the mere burden of managing just six SKUs -- a challenge Apple has met with little difficulty in the past.



"Given that these new MacBooks [will be]Â*targeted at volume markets including academic and consumer customers including women, colors are a great way to idenfify with customers and diffentiate in theÂ*PC market place," said one analyst who covers Apple, but asked not to be named.Â*"Apple has proven fairly adept at managing different colors in the pastÂ*given its track record with iPod mini, color iBooks, and color iMacs using different shades of plastic and composite aluminum."



Even if Apple calls a last minute audible and scraps its plans to launch the MacBook in a variety of colors, its intent to do so thus far indicates one thing: it intends for the notebooks to be a significantly high-volume product.



Indeed, a recent report from overseas stated that Apple has lined up three display manufacturers to simultaneously supply 13-inch widescreen LCD screens for the notebooks. One supplier, AU Optronics, is expected to provide between 40,000-50,000 displays a month, or approximately 150,000 per quarter. If Apple plans to tap each of the three suppliers equally, it could be setting it sights on sales of over 400,000 MacBooks each quarter.



According to the same report, Asustek has won the contract to produce the MacBooks for Apple in the Far East and has received an initial order of 1.2 million units from the Mac maker.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 208
    elixirelixir Posts: 782member
    i think this would be brilliant.



    i also said they need a black laptop.





    black,white, maybe blue? a green? a nice tinted gray?







    thats it,perfect.
  • Reply 2 of 208
    geo06geo06 Posts: 19member
    A black MacBook Pro???



    I think that would be an ingenious plan...
  • Reply 3 of 208
    deapeajaydeapeajay Posts: 909member
    So, if these are similar to MBPs are they going to be alluminum?
  • Reply 4 of 208
    So when's it going to be? Beginning of May, nice black laptop as a sort of iBook fifth anniversary wake, or what?



    Wish list -- and this is a WISH list, I don't necessarily expect it . . .



    LED screen (some PC books already have it, it saves power).

    The successor chip to the Intel 950 integrated graphics (unfortunately this probably isn't quite ready for market yet, but it would be Radeon 9600 performance with integrated graphics energy efficiency).

    1280x800 display (fear it will settle for 1280x720).

    Keyboard up to 12 inch Powerbook standards.

    Battery life equal to current 14 inch iBook or better.

    8X Superdrive as per 14 inch iBook.

    At least same port selection as Mac Mini (three USB, FW400, DVI/Mini DVI, Gigabit Ethernet).

    Core Duo 1.66GHz, as per Mac Mini.
  • Reply 5 of 208
    Doesn't the black iPod have issues with scratches showing really well? I can see complaints to no end if shiny black MacBooks look all scratched up.
  • Reply 6 of 208
    brussellbrussell Posts: 9,812member
    Flower Power and Blue Dalmatian!
  • Reply 7 of 208
    dhagan4755dhagan4755 Posts: 2,152member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by DeaPeaJay

    So, if these are similar to MBPs are they going to be alluminum?



    That's a good question.
  • Reply 8 of 208
    solsunsolsun Posts: 763member
    The same material they used for the iPod mini would be nice. Those things were extremely durable.
  • Reply 9 of 208
    Doesn't Apple have a patent for a case design that can change color? That was rumored to be part of a future iMac (now past), but I wonder if the iBook could have a feature like that...
  • Reply 10 of 208
    I have a feeling they might do something with customisable enclosures.



    Ideally some kind of projection onto the skin from the MacBook OS itself.



    If not I think they might break out customisable physical covers - there is a whole world of accesories waiting for these MacBooks to create the same kind of stir as the iPod has done.



    Of course it would have to be done well though...
  • Reply 11 of 208
    Quote:

    Originally posted by solsun

    The same material they used for the iPod mini would be nice. Those things were extremely durable.



    you mean... aluminum?
  • Reply 12 of 208
    alexluftalexluft Posts: 159member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by amsterdam33

    I have a feeling they might do something with customisable enclosures.



    Ideally some kind of projection onto the skin from the MacBook OS itself.



    If not I think they might break out customisable physical covers - there is a whole world of accesories waiting for these MacBooks to create the same kind of stir as the iPod has done.



    Of course it would have to be done well though...




    I think that making customizable physical covers might be at the expense of the durability of the current generation. I'm all for alluminum, though 8)
  • Reply 13 of 208
    solsunsolsun Posts: 763member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by dillyo1001

    you mean... aluminum?



    Yes, but the iPod mini aluminum is different from the PowerBook/MacBook Pro aluminum... Isn't it?
  • Reply 14 of 208
    dhagan4755dhagan4755 Posts: 2,152member
    I hope these "fashionable hues" aren't cues to a story late last year about new Apple notebooks "attracting female users."
  • Reply 15 of 208
    Quote:

    Originally posted by AppleInsider



    two distinct hardware configurations: a "better" and "best" model.





    Well what will the "better" configuration actually be better than? I think this crosses the PR-BS line.

    Quote:

    "Given that these new MacBooks [will be]_targeted at volume markets including academic and consumer customers including women"



    And here I was thinking that the colours were there to attract only metrosexuals...
  • Reply 16 of 208
    deapeajaydeapeajay Posts: 909member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by DHagan4755

    I hope these "fashionable hues" aren't cues to a story late last year about new Apple notebooks "attracting female users."



    Well, I'm sure they'll have one primarily girly color. Pink probably.



    I'll guess, white, black, pink, and blue maybe. Of course, if they limit it to a small number like that, somebody's gonna want another color.



    An ideal way to go would be this way,



  • Reply 17 of 208
    bigmigbigmig Posts: 77member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Tag Me Back

    Well what will the "better" configuration actually be better than? I think this crosses the PR-BS line.



    Better than the competition's notebooks, obviously.
  • Reply 18 of 208
    dhagan4755dhagan4755 Posts: 2,152member
    Let's hope the only colors are white and black.
  • Reply 19 of 208
    Quote:

    Originally posted by DHagan4755

    Let's hope the only colors are white and black.



    hear, hear! Colors only make the product look really dated in a few years. The graphite iMac still looks good, all the others look old and ugly as Sh_t.



    Same with those Easter Egg iPod minis.
  • Reply 20 of 208
    deapeajaydeapeajay Posts: 909member
    ok, so if its iPod white, how COULD it be alluminum?





    Nother thought, how thick is it? Do you think they could pull off an inch? Or maybe an inch and a bit. My old iBook looks pretty thick compared to my MBP.
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