Difficult choices to make come June
if any of the guesses, rumours, half-truths and rare genuine facts we've been reading about here become reality, then the WWDC in June should be a mouth-watering proposition.
This could well be the situation:
1. New MacBook Pro design - a subtle evolution of the present model that combines the best of the current design with that of the MacBook Air. It will have Montevina/ Penryn combination (Centrino 2) offering greater power, longer battery life, and all in a lighter, thinner enclosure.
2. A new MacBook that ditches the plastic enclosure in favour of a sleek aluminium body, offering Centrino 2 chips, tons of memory, longer battery life and superb value
3. A new MacBook Air, also with Centrino 2, offering slightly more power, even lower power consumption and a 128 Gb hard drive all the same price as current 1.8 63 Gb SS model.
4. A 3G iphone with 32Gb of memory
5. An iPod Touch with 64Gb of memory (end of iPod Classic and click-wheel)
As exciting as all this stuff seems by now, rumours of other new products will have us all saying: I'm not buying the x until it has the y, where y is a new processor, more memory or some other features still not quite in production...
Hopefully by then we'll all be in a high state of excitement about the new TouchBook laptop with a touchcreen keyboard and other features that didn't figure in our imaginations in March 2008.
Bring it all on, I say.
This could well be the situation:
1. New MacBook Pro design - a subtle evolution of the present model that combines the best of the current design with that of the MacBook Air. It will have Montevina/ Penryn combination (Centrino 2) offering greater power, longer battery life, and all in a lighter, thinner enclosure.
2. A new MacBook that ditches the plastic enclosure in favour of a sleek aluminium body, offering Centrino 2 chips, tons of memory, longer battery life and superb value
3. A new MacBook Air, also with Centrino 2, offering slightly more power, even lower power consumption and a 128 Gb hard drive all the same price as current 1.8 63 Gb SS model.
4. A 3G iphone with 32Gb of memory
5. An iPod Touch with 64Gb of memory (end of iPod Classic and click-wheel)
As exciting as all this stuff seems by now, rumours of other new products will have us all saying: I'm not buying the x until it has the y, where y is a new processor, more memory or some other features still not quite in production...
Hopefully by then we'll all be in a high state of excitement about the new TouchBook laptop with a touchcreen keyboard and other features that didn't figure in our imaginations in March 2008.
Bring it all on, I say.
Comments
if any of the guesses, rumours, half-truths and rare genuine facts we've been reading about here become reality, then the WWDC in June should be a mouth-watering proposition.
I'm really hoping that Apple has new products for us every tuesday right up to WWDC. I mean why wait!
This could well be the situation:
1. New MacBook Pro design - a subtle evolution of the present model that combines the best of the current design with that of the MacBook Air. It will have Montevina/ Penryn combination (Centrino 2) offering greater power, longer battery life, and all in a lighter, thinner enclosure.
I don't think a thinner lighter enclosure is in the cards for the pro. The problem being it is a pro machine and that demands more capabilities. As to hardware Intels road maps are well known. However for a pro machine Apple might attack the design by keeping power usage constant. That is add in capability, cpu speed and other features with the idea that they gt as much as possible performance out of a given battery lifetime.
There are lots of things I'd like to see them do with the pro to enhance it as a pro machine. I'm not sure if Apple has much of a commitment to expanding the units capabilities though. In essence Apple has be come to full of them selves to successfully design leading edge portable machines.
2. A new MacBook that ditches the plastic enclosure in favour of a sleek aluminium body, offering Centrino 2 chips, tons of memory, longer battery life and superb value
I'd be surprised if this happened. Plastice offer some real benefits. I do see things getting a bit thinner but then you have the competition with AIR. I actually think AIR screws up Apples lineup but that is me.
3. A new MacBook Air, also with Centrino 2, offering slightly more power, even lower power consumption and a 128 Gb hard drive all the same price as current 1.8 63 Gb SS model.
Well if it last that long! AIR is a troubled machine with a limited number of people finding the design acceptable. Apple does have an opportunity to address this with a future revision to AIR but I'm not sure they will. I'm not talking a drastic redesign either just addressing issues with Audio in and out, Firewire and a few other things. Apple could make a lot more people happy by making minor changes that do not impact AIR significantly.
4. A 3G iphone with 32Gb of memory
I really wish that Apple remove itself from the one horse owners club. What I mean by this is that Apple needs to release a family of products that cover many different users needs. A 3G phone would be nice but I'm expecting at least two models with different sized screens. The hope is that the big screen version is much higher in pixel count and uses the extra circuit board space for more storage. In other words a 64GB 3G phone with an HD screen to support the product line up.
5. An iPod Touch with 64Gb of memory (end of iPod Classic and click-wheel)
In the same way as the iPhone I'd like to see a large screen touch with 128GB of flash. Again the larger screen offers up more PCB real estate for flash chips.
As exciting as all this stuff seems by now, rumours of other new products will have us all saying: I'm not buying the x until it has the y, where y is a new processor, more memory or some other features still not quite in production...
For me it is the question of money. With a major recession hitting hard I'd not want to invest in anything unless I can pay cold hard cash for it. I do have my eye on a couple of products from Apple but everything needs to come out right for the money to be layed down. In the case of the iPhone and Touch it is also a case of wanting to see Apple road map.
Hopefully by then we'll all be in a high state of excitement about the new TouchBook laptop with a touchcreen keyboard and other features that didn't figure in our imaginations in March 2008.
Apple can shove the TouchBook right where the sun doesn't shine in my opinion. Such devices just don't make good hand held tools.
Bring it all on, I say.
Yeah it is good entertainment if nothing else! Unfortunately I'm waiting for Apple to deliver products that I don't hear much about in the way of rumors. That is a device that is like a larger Touch/Newton2/iPhone2 with solid multimedia capabilities and good access to apps.
Dave
2. A new MacBook that ditches the plastic enclosure in favour of a sleek aluminium body, offering Centrino 2 chips, tons of memory, longer battery life and superb value
I highly doubt that Apple would give the MacBook an aluminum case. After all, it is the plastic case that sets it apart from all of their other products. In fact, for many of people I know, they bought the MacBook because they liked the plastic design. (In my opinion, the aluminum design is ugly and easier to dent/break and I hate that it causes the laptop to receive weaker signals ... or so I've experienced.) In addition, although they are upping the memory every refresh, I doubt that you will get something like 320GB for a low, low price, ( <$1299-ish.)
Might as well get a MBP since it has all of those features already. MacBook was designed to be a lower-end product, not the less-expensive-but-somehow-fully-featured plastic MBP. ):
I'd be surprised if this happened. Plastic offers some real benefits. I do see things getting a bit thinner but then you have the competition with AIR. I actually think AIR screws up Apples lineup but that is me.
I agree with wanting to see the MacBook's plastic case being a bit thinner, but still being plastic. I think the Air "fits", however. It is a great addition portability-wise, especially for those who have to travel to other places constantly. I can see where you are coming from though.
Their recent push toward an environmentally-friendly image, combined with the points above, make me believe that an eventual switch to an Aluminum Macbook is a sure thing, and I don't think WWDC would be a crazy time to expect it. Macbook is the only plastic item left (not counting the Mac Mini with it's small amount of plastic on top), so a switch just makes sense to me.
Macbook is also THICKER than the MBP. Anyone else find this a bit strange for a ? An aluminum enclosure would help them slim it up a bit. It was definitely a factor in enabling Apple to make the Air as thin as they did while maintaining durability.
To be honest, a redesign of the Macbook (and maybe the MBP) is the only thing I'm truly "expecting" from WWDC, followed by an announcement, and possible availability, of a 3G iPhone. I'm sure they'll have some other things up their sleeves, but I don't know what.