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…And we’re back! Let the MacBook madness begin!

Well after a round of server problems, I’m back up and running.  Just in time it seems as we are awaiting the beginning of the Stevenote which will announce all new laptops.  What are we expecting?  It seems John Gruber of Daring Fireball has gotten together a pretty comprehensive look of all the rumors and put together the likely scenario for today’s release:

 

Engadget just posted the first real picture and accurate description I’ve seen in public of the new 15-inch MacBook Pro, set to be announced later today. It’s the real deal. Major visible changes from the previous MacBook Pros:

• A new iMac-style black border around the display.
• A single-piece aluminum frame. No more chintzy plastic trim along the edges and seams.
• No more physical latch.
• MacBook Air-style black keyboard.

And good news for those of you who’ve been bitching about Apple’s laptops having a single button: the single-button trackpad is gone. Which is to say there is no button at all. The new trackpad is similar to the Air’s, in that it is bigger and supports additional multi-touch gestures. But unlike the Air’s, the MacBook Pro’s new trackpad is made of glass, and is a button itself. You just press and it clicks. This is not like the current software option where you can enable “Tap to Click” in the trackpad preferences, but instead a glass trackpad that acts as a physical button, with a click you can feel. Sounds odd, but I hear it’s very cool in practice.

The new MacBook Pro is not available with a matte-finish display. If you don’t like glossy, you can suck it. (I bought a matte-finish display for my MacBook Pro back in March, so don’t shoot the messenger.)

Engadget is also correct that there is no new 17-inch MacBook Pro. I don’t know if the 17-inch revision is simply forthcoming, or whether it’s being phased out. My hunch is that it’s being phased out. The current 17-inch model will remain for sale for the time being — albeit with a larger 320 GB hard drive and 4 GB of RAM instead of 2 — but there is no 17-inch model with the features or appearance of the new 15-inch Pro.

I have some educated guesses as to what else will be announced.

The new regular MacBooks look like 13-inch versions of the new MacBook Pro. Another single-piece all-aluminum chassis, the same black border around the display, and the same new no-button multi-touch trackpads. The displays are backlit LEDs, like the 15-inch Pros. (Engadget, which is reporting that the regular MacBooks aren’t being revised, is wrong. They’re not just being announced but should be shipping by the end of the week.)

The updated Airs look the same as the current Airs, but now offer larger hard drives: a 120 GB disk in the low-end model, and a twice-as-large 128 GB solid-state drive in the high-end model.

CPU performance remains more or less unchanged across the board: 2.4 / 2.53 GHz for the MacBook Pro; 2.0 / 2.4 GHz for the MacBook; and 1.6 / 1.83 GHz for the MacBook Air. What is new with regard to performance are the video cards: all these new MacBooks — regular, Pro, and Air — ship with the new Nvidia 9400M GPU. It’s apparently a screamer performance-wise, especially compared to the Intel integrated graphic chipsets that shipped with previous MacBooks and MacBook Airs, and it is capable of driving the 30-inch Cinema Display as an external monitor.¹

In addition to the 9400M, the MacBook Pro sports a second GPU, the Nvidia 9600M GT. I have never heard of a notebook with two graphics processors, but that’s the deal for the new MacBook Pros, and presumably there are huge performance advantages to this configuration.UPDATE: Via Twitter, Stuart Maxwell writes, “The Lenovo Thinkpad T500 has two graphics cards. One is used on battery to conserve power.” Apparently some Sony Vaios use dual graphic cards like this, too — a low-power one for battery, a high-power one when plugged-in.

(Recall, too, that taking advantage of GPUs for system-wide performance gains is one of the main focal points for Snow Leopard. Snow Leopard’s OpenCL allows applications to offload general computing tasks to the GPUs. Or, I guess, the GPUs, plural.)

Keep your eyes peeled for jackassery in post-event news coverage, much of which, I predict, will focus on the fact that none of these new machines sell for under $1299. The reality is that these new machines are all steps up, but the rumors that caught the most attention in the past week were the ones regarding $799 and $899 laptops. None of these “$800 new MacBook!” rumors came from anyone with any credibility, but that won’t stop some people from holding it against Apple that they didn’t pan out.

MacBook Pro prices will remain the same, at $1999 and $2499. Same for MacBook Airs: $1799 and $2499. Regular MacBook pricing is interesting, though. In the old (plastic) MacBook lineup, there were three standard configurations:

• $1099: 2.1 GHz, white, 1 GB memory, 120 GB disk
• $1299: 2.4 GHz, white, 2 GB memory, 160 GB disk
• $1499: 2.4 GHz, black, 2 GB memory, 250 GB disk

In the new (aluminum) MacBook lineup, there are only two standard configurations:

• $1299: 2.0 GHz, 2 GB memory, 160 GB disk
• $1499: 2.4 GHz, 2 GB memory, 250 GB disk

Which is notable in that the new $1299 model sports a CPU that is 16 percent slower than the old one. That is not to say the system itself is “slower”, Apple’s argument will apparently be that the new Nvidia GPUs more than make up for the difference. What we’re seeing may be the beginning of the end of CPU hertz as the rule-of-thumb metric for system performance.

Also notable is that the 2.1 GHz white MacBook remains in the new lineup, at a new price of $999 — technically breaking the $1000 barrier, but nowhere near the $800 price point some financial analysts have been whacking off to.

 

I’m disappointed that the rumor I had been hearing of line consolidation was untrue.  Considering that the MacBook and the MacBook Pro will look nearly identical to each other in every detail except screen size and ports, it’s strange to see them continuing with a naming system that doesn’t really fit anymore.

I’m also disappointed to see the removal of the 17″ notebook from the lineup.  As a digital photographer, and retoucher,  having that extra screen real estate was something I was looking forward to as I planned to upgrade from the MacBook to a 17″ MacBook Pro.  Something tells me it isn’t quite gone forever though time will tell.

The biggest problem with the announcement though, is the fact that despite an extreme economic downturn, Apple has not only NOT made their products less expensive,  in the case of the MacBook, they have become MORE expensive,  moving from the opening price of $1099 to $1299.  I’m sure this has to do with the aluminum manufacturing process that we’ve all heard so much about lately,  and that when the economies of scale are met, the prices WILL be reduced.  Needless to say though, it’s a disappointment.

On the plus side, the design of the new MacBooks and MacBook Pro’s are ABSOLUTELY STUNNING.  They are easily the most beautiful computers Apple has yet designed, and I can’t wait to get my hands on one.

Stay tuned at 10am Pacific/ 1pm Eastern time while we meta-liveblog the event!  Who knows what could change between now and then..

Tags: Apple, Macbook, macbook air, Macbook Pro

Is Apple planning to ditch the MacBook pro?

Rumors are beginning to swirl that yet another SteveNote might be on it’s way quite soon.  October 14th soon if you believe what is being said.  Add to that the rumors that brand new MacBooks are on their way to stores as we speak, and you have the idea that we might just have a new MacBook event on our hands.  Since there is a keynote presentation planned, you can bet that there is new hardware in the mix.  Apple wouldn’t call the press out for a processor upgrade.  So what’s coming?  New designs for the MacBook?  Or new designs for the MacBook Pro.

I’m going to make a bold prediction and say that MacBook pro is going away, and that these are new designs for the MacBooks.

Yes,  I said it.  It’s rampant speculation with no basis in reality, and I could very well be wrong, but  I think it’s a good possibility that they will indeed remove the MacBook Pro from the line entirely.

That isn’t to say that there won’t be 15″ and 17″ notebooks with the former CAPABILITIES of the MacBook Pro though.  I think it just might be possible that Apple will consolidate the Macbook and the Macbook Pro into one line of notebooks with three screen sizes  13″, 15″ and 17″.  Since the design is rumored to be all aluminum anyway,  I don’t think there would be enough of a differentiation between the two to be able to call the MacBook Pro … well.. Pro.  The processors are nearly the same,  and as of now, the only real advantage the MacBook Pro has, is it’s more powerful graphics chip and larger screen size.

It seems almost obvious to bring them all into one line, with the MacBook air in it’s own category for business users.  The general consumer tends to like larger screened laptops, but would more likely be turned off by a device that would seem to be aimed at professionals.  Professionals however probably wouldn’t care as long as the device is powerful enough for the tasks they would want to accomplish.

I have a feeling that these new MacBooks will also be dramatically less expensive than the previous generation as Apple starts to make more inroads into the general public and continues to grow its notebook marketshare.    I’ve heard rumors of a starting price of $799.  Though I think that might be a bit low for Apple.  I could see them starting at $899 though for the 13″ and then moving up in both price and capabilities as you go bigger.

I could be way off, but somehow, A new MacBook line in 3 sizes without the pro moniker just seems right to me.   Either way, we’ll find out on October 14th.

Tags: Apple, Macbook, Macbook Pro

Could this be the new MacBook Pro?

Well. No.  It’s a mockup from Flickr user elchinocudeiro.  But I have a feeling it’s not too far off from the truth.  In fact, if Apple wanted to build me one of these, I’d be happy to buy it!

The Macbook air thin-ness, coupled with the black trimmed screen from the iMac makes for an absolutely gorgeous combination.   This mockup also shows what a MacBook Pro would look like with the rumored glass trackpad and lack of mouse button.    The only part of this mockup that I don’t buy is a keyboard with the style of the one from the current MacBook Pro.   I’m definetly expecting Apple to move the MacBook Pro to the keyboard style it uses in it’s iMac, MacBook, and MacBook Air keyboards.

All in all though, This is probably pretty damned close.   Good job!

Tags: Apple, Macbook Pro, mockup

The Apple rumor mill starts in earnest. iPhone rumors abound!

Ahh It’s that time of year again. The summer months are upon us once again. The weather grows warm, beaches are opening, love is in the air, the blogosphere is happily twittering, and it’s time for his holy Steveness to come out on stage and restore a child-like sense of wonder to our lives.

That’s right, Apple’s WWDC conference, and it’s coveted Stevenote is just a few short days away. On June 9th the press will descend upon the Moscone Center for what will of course be a hotly speculated-upon event. As per usual the rumor mill has already started going and speculation is running rampant for what we might see.

So, I figure, why not throw my hat in the rampant-speculation ring?

Let’s get the obvious out of the way: The an updated iPhone is coming. That much is pretty obvious at this point. We’ve seen mockups, and accessory templates, and alleged “leaked” photos left and right. So, what’s new about it?

Well the most widely confirmed fact is that it is indeed 3g. That’s right, expect the new iPhone to have some seriously sexy, battery-killing, super-fast data service. That is, if your AT&T area supports it. This is one of those things that was an obvious omission from the original iteration of the iPhone, though I can figure out why. 3g is a serious battery killer. You think your iPhone with wifi on is bad? Wait till you see this! Apple left it out of the original phone to see if it was really necessary. If the EDGE data was okay, they wouldn’t have to worry about critics crying that the phone had terrible battery life. Now that we’ve collectively demanded it, Apple is giving it to us knowing all well that we can’t complain if it kills our battery life. We’ve brought it upon ourselves. Of course I have a feeling you’ll be able to shut it off when you don’t want to use it and go back to the slower, but battery conserving EDGE connection.

Another recent but widely reported rumored feature is GPS. Now this would be interesting. With a real GPS solution built into the phone, Apple could absolutely take a big chunk out of the third-party auto GPS market. The iPhone has a big beautiful touch screen and an external speaker. Put some beautiful Google built GPS mapping software with a 3d turn by turn view like other GPS devices, have a holster that you can suction to your windshield, and you have a device that makes even the sexiest Garmin Nuvi look kind of lame in comparison.

Having a GPS module would also allow for a lot of really interesting location aware pieces of software. Imagine if you will, a location-enabled Flickr application for this new iPhone. You could be touring a monument or museum, and Flickr would automatically pull up any other highly rated photos taken from your location. It would give you an opportunity to see places from a different point of view.

You could also have a location aware social network like Brightkite, letting you know where your friends are at the time and what they’re doing. Imagine if you will that your friends went to a bar that you weren’t familiar with. One of your friends sends you an invite over the network, which is texted to your phone. The service knows both where you and your friends are, and automatically allows you to RSVP and puts together turn by turn directions for you. It also opens avenues for location based shopping tools. You could take a photo of a barcode of an item at a store, which will be identified as a certain SKU. A search of the SKU is done and you will be given the stores in your area that might have a better price.

Going even more advanced, Imagine that there are 15,000 people in your area with GPS enabled iPhones. Many of them will probably be driving. Now if all of these iPhones report their location to a traffic service, you could see real-time data on which roads are moving more slowly than others and the Mapping service could route you to the fastest road in real-time.

These are just a few things that came to my mind when thinking about the possible GPS on an iPhone, and I’m sure there are even cooler things that people could do with it. Needless to say that this could VERY possibly become a killer-app for the iPhone.

Another rumored feature is a possible front-facing camera for videoconferencing. Phones with this feature are already popular with European and Asian cellphone users, but it has yet to break into the American market. But the concept of it is just too cool to pass up. iChat AV on the iPhone would really be the Jetsons’ come to life. Would I use it? Not much, but it’s still neat.

What else will it do? Make my breakfast? Do my laundry? Unlikely. But look for it to be slightly thicker with a slightly curved back to hide the thickness. Why? Bigger battery? Chipset takes up more space? Who knows, but that’s what we’ve all heard.

Also, obviously expect the release of iPhone version 2 software with third party app and exchange support, along with a slew of really neat Apple built apps to go along with it. Price will probably be the same, but AT&T might have a subsidy scheme in the pipeline. Availability? Either that day or VERY shortly thereafter. They want to make this a HUGE launch to get to that 10,000,000 unit goal.

So getting the iPhone out of the way. What else is in store for us?

This is where it gets tricky. There are a lot of strange rumors running about tablets and iphone nanos, and new macbooks, and macbook pros. So what do I think?

Well to me it seems pretty likely that at the VERY least we’ll be seeing a MacBook Pro redesign, but probably also the standard MacBook as well. They haven’t done a significant redesign of the Pro laptop line since the PowerPC days and it’s getting long in the tooth. I would expect the MacBook and MacBook Pro to follow design cues from both the current iMac and the MacBook Air. All having the scrabble tile style keyboards, probably black and backlit across the line. Expect aluminum bodies, and glossy LED screens. Perhaps an iMac style black to the edge screen bezel. All in all, expect to possibly see some new laptops.

Which brings me to the most interesting of the possible releases, the one I think is kind of far fetched. An Apple Tablet computer. Now, don’t get me wrong. they’re working on one for sure. I am a firm believer that the entire line of Apple devices is going to go the way of the iPhone at some point, but somehow I just don’t see this year’s WWDC as being the place to release such a device.

What I think is more likely is an announcement and first look on MacOS 10.6. I fully expect 10.6 to be fully multi-touch capable, and sporting a UI that is more finger friendly. Expect them to do some demos showing off multi-touch iPhoto and Google Earth and it will be all good. get the developers involved in writing really great, really rich multi-touch apps for the Mac, and then they will take care of the hardware end of the spectrum sometime towards the end of the year. Apple is not known for showing off prototype hardware though, and this is where I can’t figure out how they’re going to manage this.

If they do release a device this year, expect it to me much more like a larger iPhone than a Mac, but possibly with more desktop quality apps like iPhoto and Pages for use on the bigger (lets say 9″ for good measure?) touchscreen. This would make sense as long as the SDK will allow these touch apps to run on full OS 10.6 when that is released. It will be interesting to see how Apple makes this transition.

Though like anything else they do, you could even expect they’d throw the baby out with the bathwater, announce OS 11 and the end of the physical mouse and keyboard across the whole line. You just never know. And that is why, we as bloggers and journalists love to speculate. The press train is leaving the station, time to get on board! See you at Moscone!

Tags: 3g, Apple, AT&T, BrightKite, EDGE, Flickr, Garmin Nuvi, GPS, iPhone, Macbook, Macbook Pro, OS 10.6, Tablet