Apple component allocations point to new form factor sub-notebook
Activity within Apple's supply chain throughout the better part of 2010 has shown signs that the Mac maker is gearing up to introduce a new notebook that doesn't fit into any of its existing hardware designs, according to one Wall Street analyst.
In a note to clients on Thursday, Kaufman Bros. analyst Shaw Wu said a new MacBook Air from Apple appears increasingly likely to make an appearance during next Wednesday's special "Back to the Mac" event, which is set to take place at 10:00 am local time on the company's Cupertino campus.
"Our checks with supply chain sources over the last 6-9 months have indicated evidence of a new subnotebook form factor," he wrote. "We had thought it would be released earlier this year but believe it may finally see the light of day as the new MacBook Air."
Meanwhile, other "industry sources" have reportedly informed the analyst that Apple is making much progress in the area of "true" multi-touch Macs. Such products are believed to be more feasible today than ever, given the success of the 9.7-inch iPad which is believed to be helping to bring down the cost of touchscreens and substrates, which have previously been prohibitively expensive.
"The next logical step is to extend the technology to a touchscreen similar to that offered on its iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and iPod nano," Wu wrote. "We are not sure if this technology is ready for primetime but perhaps we could get a sneak peek."
The analyst also claims that the next version of Apple's iLife application suite, which his "sources have indicated has undergone extensive testing," could be unveiled along with a preview of Mac OS X 10.7 "Lion" and possible speed bumps to the MacBook and MacBook Pro line.
Generally speaking, Wu's expectations closely conform to those published by AppleInsider in recent weeks. The Kaufman Bros. analyst maintained his Buy rating and $374 price target on share of Apple.
In a note to clients on Thursday, Kaufman Bros. analyst Shaw Wu said a new MacBook Air from Apple appears increasingly likely to make an appearance during next Wednesday's special "Back to the Mac" event, which is set to take place at 10:00 am local time on the company's Cupertino campus.
"Our checks with supply chain sources over the last 6-9 months have indicated evidence of a new subnotebook form factor," he wrote. "We had thought it would be released earlier this year but believe it may finally see the light of day as the new MacBook Air."
Meanwhile, other "industry sources" have reportedly informed the analyst that Apple is making much progress in the area of "true" multi-touch Macs. Such products are believed to be more feasible today than ever, given the success of the 9.7-inch iPad which is believed to be helping to bring down the cost of touchscreens and substrates, which have previously been prohibitively expensive.
"The next logical step is to extend the technology to a touchscreen similar to that offered on its iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and iPod nano," Wu wrote. "We are not sure if this technology is ready for primetime but perhaps we could get a sneak peek."
The analyst also claims that the next version of Apple's iLife application suite, which his "sources have indicated has undergone extensive testing," could be unveiled along with a preview of Mac OS X 10.7 "Lion" and possible speed bumps to the MacBook and MacBook Pro line.
Generally speaking, Wu's expectations closely conform to those published by AppleInsider in recent weeks. The Kaufman Bros. analyst maintained his Buy rating and $374 price target on share of Apple.
Comments
Activity within Apple's supply chain throughout the better part of 2010 has shown signs that the Mac maker is gearing up to introduce a new notebook that doesn't fit into any of its existing hardware designs, according to one Wall Street analyst.
In a note to clients on Thursday, Kaufman Bros. analyst Shaw Wu said a new MacBook Air from Apple appears increasingly likely to make an appearance during next Wednesday's special "Back to the Mac" event, which is set to take place at 10:00 am local time on the company's Cupertino campus.
"Our checks with supply chain sources over the last 6-9 months have indicated evidence of a new subnotebook form factor," he wrote. "We had thought it would be released earlier this year but believe it may finally see the light of day as the new MacBook Air."
Meanwhile, other "industry sources" have reportedly informed the analyst that Apple is making much progress in the area of "true" multi-touch Macs. Such products are believed to be more feasible today than ever, given the success of the 9.7-inch iPad which is believed to be helping to bring down the cost of touchscreens and substrates, which have previously been prohibitively expensive.
"The next logical step is to extend the technology to a touchscreen similar to that offered on its iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and iPod nano," Wu wrote. "We are not sure if this technology is ready for primetime but perhaps we could get a sneak peek."
The analyst also claims that the next version of Apple's iLife application suite, which his "sources have indicated has undergone extensive testing," could be unveiled along with a preview of Mac OS X 10.7 "Lion" and possible speed bumps to the MacBook and MacBook Pro line.
Generally speaking, Wu's expectations closely conform to those published by AppleInsider in recent weeks. The Kaufman Bros. analyst maintained his Buy rating and $374 price target on share of Apple.
[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]
How does Kaufman Bros. really know what is coming out next? This is just speculation on their part that is all.Someone told me that the 13inch MPB is gone pretty soon with the core 2 duo. Who really knows? Let us see on Wednesday the outcome.
How does Kaufman Bros. really know what is coming out next? This is just speculation on their part that is all.Someone told me that the 13inch MPB is gone pretty soon with the core 2 duo. Who really knows? Let us see on Wednesday the outcome.
I hope so, but that would also mean a discrete GPU which also means finding room in the 13? machine for that GPU, and the only room I know of (outside of even more miniaturization is where the ODD is.
it's just the "newlydesignedamazinglymagicpaperthin" MacBookAir. Bring it on if so!
I'm with you, I just know it's gonna be: magical and revolutionary!!!
Meanwhile, other "industry sources" have reportedly informed the analyst that Apple is making much progress in the area of "true" multi-touch Macs. Such products are believed to be more feasible today than ever, given the success of the 9.7-inch iPad which is believed to be helping to bring down the cost of touchscreens and substrates, which have previously been prohibitively expensive.
"The next logical step is to extend the technology to a touchscreen similar to that offered on its iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and iPod nano," Wu wrote. "We are not sure if this technology is ready for primetime but perhaps we could get a sneak peek."
Weasel words from the analysts. Sure, the hardware might be ready but it's software that makes "multi-touch" do its magic. Until we see iOS's Cocoa Touch integrated with Mac OS X (or at least some of the main concepts), then I don't see much mac multi touch hardware showing up.
Bye bye Acer!
I'd be more interested in a 17" macbook air than a 11" one
Hear, hear!
Not getting my hopes up, though.
It should be on Page 2, not on the front page. The guy's track record is a complete joke.
I hope so, but that would also mean a discrete GPU which also means finding room in the 13” machine for that GPU, and the only room I know of (outside of even more miniaturization is where the ODD is.
Hmm, they have the external optical drive for the Air; how about an external, cable-attached GPU?
Hmm, they have the external optical drive for the Air; how about an external, cable-attached GPU?
That really would be a discrete GPU, though far from discreet.
This may well be the final nail in the netbook coffin! First Apple successfully attacked it from below with the iPad, and if they keep the price low enough (Apple can), this new machine could effectively kill the netbook world from above!
Bye bye Acer!
Only if they make it sub $250 and from shitty materials, which they wont.
This rumor comes from Shaw Wu.
It should be on Page 2, not on the front page. The guy's track record is a complete joke.
We should track his predictions and see what percentage of the time he is correct.
Touch screens make sense in certain contexts. I'm glad my library uses them for checkout, and I'd hate for my iPhone to have a trouble-prone fold-out keyboard that's too tiny to be of any use. But in more work-intensive contexts, it's hard to beat a keyboard, and I'd hate to spend hours every day reaching out my arms out to a large, desktop screen.
I believe it was G. K. Chesterton who made fun of the 'prophets' whose skills consisted in merely projecting current trends still further. The move from isolated villages to nations, they thought, meant the future lay in transnational unions (the troubled EU) and finally a World State.
Chesterton's more commonsense views of the future have proved far more accurate than those of his friend H. G. Wells. Wells believe the Great War was the "war to end all wars" because it would usher in a World State that would enforce the peace. Chesterton believed that Germany remained trapped in the same mindset that led to the Great War and that within a generation there'd be another war still more horrible. He put his hope not in a League of Nations that was to stop any war anyplace (the ineffective League of Nations) but in a NATO-like alliance that would deliberately target a particular foe as the chief risk of another war: Germany in the 1930s, the Soviet Union from 1945 to 1990 and today's war on terror, particularly if the bad guys get nukes.
Of course, like the news stories about this analyst, Wells got all the attention. The more outlandish the claim, the more likely it is to get attention. Chesterton was merely right after the fact.
Touch screens everywhere are not quite an evil like a global war, but a silly fad for them could prove a nuisance for a few years.
--Michael W. Perry, author of Chesterton on War and Peace
imo I hope they annonced an AppleTV app store, but I know chances are super slim.
We've heard a lot in recent months about iLife possibly dropping iDVD from the suite. I think its entirely likely that this will happen, and iDVD will receive a minor update and be posted as a free download on Apple.com (think iMovie HD/QuickTime 7).
Combine this possibility, with the likely refresh of the MacBook Air, Apple's DVD-less notebook. Coincidence? Maybe. But if you speculate a little further, I wonder if the time as come for new form factor notebooks (all of them except the 17") that are all without optical media drives, and Apple introduces a new notebook SuperDrive accessory that works across all notebooks, for those who want it.
Whether you agree with the principle or not, its very possible that Apple will bill these new form factor notebooks as being lighter and faster and thinner due to the lack of unnecessary optical drives. We could see insanely fast MacBooks, with discrete GPUs (aka: what we really need), in place of optical drives.
It seems very, very logical that optical drives get moved to the accessory department as Apple pushes ahead for lighter faster notebooks with bigger batteries.
So yes I'm thinking the big change to the notebook line is not just performance bumps, but performance bumps achieved by new designs, minus the optical drives.
Sorry guys, no blu ray for ya. (unless by magic the new optical accessory is a blu ray drive lol)
I hope so, but that would also mean a discrete GPU which also means finding room in the 13? machine for that GPU, and the only room I know of (outside of even more miniaturization is where the ODD is.
Read my above post. I think it's coming.