MacBook update in October?

Hey I know there are a lot of threads going around about this but I have a question. My parents are looking to buy me a macbook for school, however, they're not sure if they want to buy one quite yet. Do you think if I don't get one before school starts then I should just wait til October to get one? What upgrade should I expect to see on the MacBook around October? I'm hoping that the macbooks will ALL come with DVD burners, they'll upgrade to Santa Rosa and then they'll give the MacBooks LED screen which should yield a thinner screen right?

 

if you need it buy it, if not wait.

 

Hmmm...if you manage a month into school without a notebook I'd wait. If the MacBooks are updated Santa Rosa and LED are most likely to be the upgrades. And even if there are no updates in October at least you will get Leopard pre-installed. Normally I would tell people to buy when they need it, but for your case if you can manage a month without a notebook I'd wait.

 

yeah its sort of closing time on leopard, if nothing else. might as well tough it out at this point.

they won't get LED screens though, unfortunately. two reasons: the cost of the screen would force them to raise the price, and apple has price segment things that it doesn't stray from.

the real reason they won't get LED screens is that apple won't put hardware into the macbook line without first putting it in the macbook pro line. ie- the 17" pro machine will need to get LED screens before the macbook.

 

do you think the LED screen will make the macbook thinner overall? See, well all know that LED screens are much thinner than the typical screen but the macbook pro didn't get any thinner after they updated it with an LED screen.

 

I don't the LED screen will make the lid any thinner. The main reason being the iSight camera...they have to keep it there, and that is what will keep the lid from thinning, because Apple would rather have the entire lid thicker than have a bulge near the top of the lid.

 

When people were waiting on purchasing a 15 inch MBP, I understood it. The LCD on the 15" MBP was, widely regarded as, terrible.

On the Macbook, I don't really get holding out for the LED LCD. The Macbook screen is really nice and is not in need of an upgrade.

And Santa Rosa? I really don't think it's a must for a consumer level notebook and there's a pretty good chance the Macbook won't be getting it in October anyway.

Personally, if I needed a notebook for school, I wouldn't wait for something that's incremental, as far as upgrades are concerned. When it comes down to it, there's a good chance that the only upgrade for the Macbook, in October, will be Leopard.

 

That's before even mentioning that Macbooks are incredibly thin already. I don't know that going any thinner would really be a plus.

 

well I mean, if I only have to wait another month x_x that's not that long so I wouldn't mind so much I guess, and I don't see school getting that intense that quickly but then again I do go to a private school so it could... But I would save $70 (I can buy leopard using my brother's educational discount) because it would come with leopard pre-installed. Plus, if the latest and greatest macbook is only a month a way, I might as well wait.

 

I so, so, so hope, you´re wrong! There are plenty of things to upgrade on a Macbook.

Personally I´m in a similar situation as SamsungFTW is. I´m just looking forward to the MBP-line to be upgraded. More USB-ports, HMDI instead of DVI and mostly: 1680x1050 and not 1440x900 anymore. So, after considering the pros and cons, I decided to wait for an upgraded MBP.

 

Oh, you're talking about high school. I assumed college.

Wait it out.

 

You won't be able to take advantage of the back-to-school promo. No free iPod Nano if you wait till October, I believe. [Promo ends in September?!]

EDIT: Since you're not going to college can you avail of the educational discount? Maybe through your brother? If not then just wait it out.

 

I hope I'm wrong too. I'd like to see a complete redesign of the Macbook, especially a different case.

I just don't see this happening. Apple's selling more of these Macbooks, as is, than they've ever sold. Why rock the boat?

 

When it comes down to it, who doesn't already have an iPod?

I guess it wouldn't hurt to have another, but I wouldn't look at it as a reason to make such a large purchase.

 

yeah I'd rather get the macbook from the apple store cuz then I wouldn't have to wait for shipping plus I already have a 30GB White iPod I don't want a 4GB nano...

 

Sell it on eBay and put another $150 or more into your pocket.

Don't forget the $130 rebate on a printer which would make some printers free.

 

I guess I could sell it on ebay but like shipping and handling might reap from the $150

I could that except I'd have to buy a macbook before September ends (haha that Green Day song...) and I really want Leopard pre-installed if I can wait that long.

 

Well, Leopard doesn't cost much, it is expected to be only $69 US with a Student Discount. Selling the iPod Nano that comes with a Mac if you buy now would pay for Leopard as well as some cash remaining.

 

Even though the MacBook's screen is pretty adequate, the LED screen will be brighter, and offer better battery life due to the lower power consumption.

DVD burners will definitely not be standard across the line, the base $999 (edu price) model will stick to the CD-RW/DVD combo.

And it should get Santa Rosa, that more than anything else is holding the MacBook back right now.

 

That's a VERY good point Sam I didn't think of that hmm but I'm pretty sure that I'm gonna wait til October if I don't get a macbook before the summer ends.

 

I don't think LED screens are likely since there just isn't enough availability. The Dell M1330 uses them and there are reportedly long backorder queues right now.

The MacBook will likely be refreshed before Christmas since it's a great seller and Santa Rosa will most certainly be added. I think what's holding them back right now are drivers to activate all the hardware features of the GMA X3100. Even Intel hasn't been able to figure it out yet on the Windows side, but I believe Intel has said they should have full hardware DX9.0c support by the end of the year so Apple likely has the same time frame.

 

The M1330 is the only LED screened notebook that is backordered by a long ways, and all of Dell's most popular new notebooks (M1330, 1520, 1500) are backordered. And I think that the thing that is holding those up is the sheer volume of orders, and they don't know how to paint the notebooks properly.

The MBP uses the LED backlight, and it has not been backordered since day 1.

If the MB had Santa Rosa and the X3100, I would have bought it already, LED backlight or not.