Up close and personal with Apple's MacBook (photos)

Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
Apple Computer on Tuesday unveiled its newly designed MacBook consumer notebook, which features Intel Core Duo processors and a new 13-inch glossy widescreen display, elegantly wrapped in a sleek industrial design reminiscent of the company's existing professional line of MacBook Pro notebooks.



Together with the 15-and 17-inch MacBook Pros, the new MacBook completes Apple's Intel-based portables lineup replacing both the iBook and the 12-inch PowerBook.



A tipster who swung by an Apple retail store in Chicago was able to snap some of the first detailed photos of the black high-end model. The images show close-ups of the notebook's glossy widescreen display, keyboard, built-in iSight, track pad, infrared port and completely magnetic latching system. (Thanks Branislav Milic.)



MacBooks available at most Apple stores



Based on a series of brief checks, it appears that Apple began drop-shipping the new MacBooks late Monday evening to its retail locations across the United States. Several retail locations contacted by AppleInsider claimed to have stock of the new notebooks. While the average Apple stores appears to have received a handful of the computers, the company's flagship retail stores reported significantly larger stock of the notebooks.



Unlike the 15-inch MacBook Pro, which did not make its way into stores until about eight weeks after it was first announced, Apple is able to offer immediate availability of the new MacBook because it ramped manufacturing of the notebooks for a full two weeks before they were announced.



The Apple Online store is currently listing wait times of 1 to 5 business days for the white MacBook models and 3 to 7 business days for the black model. By comparison, the professional 15-inch MacBook Pro carried wait times of up to 6 weeks immediately after it was announced.



































Read more on the MacBook's user-replaceable hard disk drives, heat-staked feet and innovative RAM slots.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 95
    solsunsolsun Posts: 763member
    Interesting that the letters on the keyboard are centered within each key rather than placed on the lower left corner of each key. Anyone else notice this?
  • Reply 2 of 95
    kolchakkolchak Posts: 1,398member
    Hey, Chiclets-style keys! I haven't seen those since the original keyboard for the IBM PCjr.
  • Reply 3 of 95
    cosmonutcosmonut Posts: 4,872member
    I'm curious what the hold of the magnetic "latching" is like. How well does it hold OR how easy is it to accidentally bump it open?
  • Reply 3 of 95
    I can't even reach some of the Apple stores near me, says they aren't taking calls

    Strange...
  • Reply 5 of 95
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    Flat keys on the keyboard? This is not a very promising development. Keys are curved so you can quickly tell what your positioning on the keyboard is, along with the raised "Braille" dots on the "F" and "J" keys. Curved is better, dammit.
  • Reply 6 of 95
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    Thank you Jesus!!! Apple went with "Matt" Black. Thank you!!!
  • Reply 7 of 95
    multimediamultimedia Posts: 1,035member
    Great Job Branislav Milic. Can someone say what that other thing is next to the infrared sensor on the front right close up?
  • Reply 8 of 95
    Apple store Burlington only has Black Macbooks in stock, wow that's odd...
  • Reply 9 of 95
    charlesscharless Posts: 301member
    Those pictures aren't loading for me...



    edit: never mind, just needed to empty the browser cache
  • Reply 10 of 95
    glossgloss Posts: 506member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by SpamSandwich

    Flat keys on the keyboard? This is not a very promising development. Keys are curved so you can quickly tell what your positioning on the keyboard is, along with the raised "Braille" dots on the "F" and "J" keys. Curved is better, dammit.



    I don't see it being that big of a deal. They're flush with the computer, not completely flat. There's still a relief there so you can type by feel.
  • Reply 11 of 95
    patrik_lpatrik_l Posts: 55member
    Have they stolen the keyboard design from Sinclair QL?



    Picture: http://www.silicium.org/images/catal...inclair/ql.jpg



    Not really, but almost God, I miss my wonderful QL...
  • Reply 12 of 95
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by gloss

    I don't see it being that big of a deal. They're flush with the computer, not completely flat. There's still a relief there so you can type by feel.



    I'll get to a store immediately to see for myself...
  • Reply 13 of 95
    dstranathandstranathan Posts: 1,717member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by solsun

    Interesting that the letters on the keyboard are centered within each key rather than placed on the lower left corner of each key. Anyone else notice this?



    My 2004 iBook G4 is that way too.
  • Reply 14 of 95
    mchumanmchuman Posts: 154member
    I've had a sony TR-series notebook for the last few years that also has flat keys. I love the keyboard on it, and also the XBRITE glossy screen. The fact that the new MacBook has those two things, plus running boot camp, makes it my next laptop!
  • Reply 15 of 95
    woohay, as soon as there in ireland im buying one, white of course but now to get rid of my ibook g4 at a high price before anyone knows about this
  • Reply 16 of 95
    Quote:

    Originally posted by McHuman

    I've had a sony TR-series notebook for the last few years that also has flat keys. I love the keyboard on it, and also the XBRITE glossy screen. The fact that the new MacBook has those two things, plus running boot camp, makes it my next laptop!



    Do you really like those reflective displays? I'm not saying I hate them all, but I certainly haven't seen one I liked...yet...
  • Reply 17 of 95
    copsecopse Posts: 64member
    Where are the photos?



    Edit: Nevermind =)
  • Reply 18 of 95
    vinney57vinney57 Posts: 1,162member
    Beautiful design. Lots of very subtle cues. Want one.
  • Reply 19 of 95
    mchumanmchuman Posts: 154member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by concentricity

    Do you really like those reflective displays? I'm not saying I hate them all, but I certainly haven't seen one I liked...yet...



    Do you only see them in stores, where all of the flourescent lights are reflected in them? At home they have superior contrast, black density, and color saturation. This is because they remove one of the film filters to make the screen brighter, at a cost of additional glare.



    If you do professional color work, it is VERY worth the extra glare, which you don't get at home anyway, or at night in the dark.
  • Reply 20 of 95
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by concentricity

    Do you really like those reflective displays? I'm not saying I hate them all, but I certainly haven't seen one I liked...yet...



    Maybe we're seeing the direction the new iPhone will take...flat keys, glossy screen... lip-reading-to-text option...
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