Apple Announces New MacBook Pro, MacBook, and MacBook Air

Guys,I still believe that prices will go down...soon,after high prices and econ. crisis hits apples sales

 

My logics says exactly the economics crisis will make apple not going down with the prices.. So they can compensate the losts All on all, Apple macbooks are never been best-selling Apple product, I guess they don't care that much if it's lower price+bigger sells instead of lower sells+bigger prices. That's bad for us. So they can compensate the losts

But we can remain cool and wait for lower prices and ATI GPUs for example

 

For the macbook pro, you now have to spend an extra $100 for their mini DVI to dual link DVID cable. Before the normal DVID connector was built into the case, no more , they could at least give it to you for free, nope another $100 that you pay that a user probably wont notice until you open up your new box and cant connect to an external monitor, wonderful.

 

No blu ray option
no hdmi option
no sd/mini card option
9600M GT

200 dollars more

Epic Fail

 

It is not epic fail-just..well...fail

 

It's unbelievable that they could have produced a new machine with no firewire and no HDMI.

Again, I'm not willing to spend twice the amount for half the computer just so I can have the Apple logo light up on the cover.

 

but if this ends up with very low sales+high price,they ll have to lower the price!

 

Agreed. Very similar to Vaio NR.

I wonder how long we go before we start reading about manufacturing defects and sloppiness in engineering. I lived through that with my Macbook (purchased December 2007). I was lucky that I got a good production batch, but I held my breath when I was purchasing it due to all the reports of major manufacturing inconsistencies, such as excessive heat caused by sloppy application of thermal paste internally; cracking cases (which thankfully we will not see with this new case); and general manufacturing inconsistencies.

For the price premium we pay for a Mac, the quality control should be better.

 

I agree. I think they will have a very tough time in this economic climate to get people to justifiy forking out so much more just for the Apple name, when there are some really amazing machines and deals out there for other manufacturers.

 

Yeah, they'll have to, but many things had to happened. Ofc you are right!

I r'ly hope this will become reality. Otherwise-as @built said at least this time they will have rough times in the sellings.. because we all know the facts with taking a quick preview at the Clevo/Sager NP8660 for example with it's 9800M GT(almost twise faster than 9600GT), P9500, 4GB DDR3 1066etc. for 2K $ and Apple's specs for 2K.

The Apple's desighn/quality/name and so on wins, but now the stick is much higher, plus the econom. crisis. They are always a bit more expensive, but the difference became too big(huge, awefull? )

They rly must think again about the deals

Ah, we are so good in the notebooks marketing!

 

So how will people differentiate between new and old release of same model?

Is there a title for the new one like Macbook Pro II for example?

 

I'm a little disappointed with this refresh, maybe I expected too much from apple. No Hdmi, firewire, blu-ray? and $200 more? I guess hard times call for desperate measures.

 

Here`s a mini-review of the new macbook:

http://blog.laptopmag.com/mini-review-of-new-13-inch-macbook

What I´m really waiting is a proper one from you guys here.

 

thx for link,in fact,one of our members will do a review very soon!

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=4035927

 

Look ok. But nothing surprising or special about these notebooks. Apple die hards will buy them...but that's about it. Apple doesn't seem to want to appeal to new customers.

 

Someone said that the mini display port supports hdmi and the sound part for it, 7.1, but I see absolutely no indication of this anywhere on apple's site. Can anyone clear this up? Thanks.

 

They do appeal to me...in fact only the new lower end macbook appeals to me....disappointed with the price though (especially for a back-lit keyboard) and the lack of firewire....but very happy with the shipment (shipped the day after the order).

 

Not trying to blame Apple (maybe more so on Nvidia), but I found it a bit cheesy for Steve to announce it was using the first 9400M GS in their new refresh of macbooks/mbp. The 9400M GS was in fact released a few months ago and have been available in laptops including the Asus U6V-A1. IMO Nvidia simply just changed the name of all the current 9400 to 9300 just to give Apple the name of being the first to have the 9400 GPU.

 

The GS is a discrete part. This is an integrated part, rolled into a new northbridge on the mobo. Based on similar tech, but integrated into a different package at significantly reduced size/power consumption is a vast improvement over the discrete parts.

 

I don't think I can see myself buying a notebook in this day and age without hdmi port and blueray, without 1080p resolution on 15" and up scale, with only two usb's.

Just look at the site of apple when you configure the notebooks, the entire thing is a list of dongles, dongle after dongle after dongle... I think it's kind of funny myself. I guess that is their idea of customization and feature richness.

Apple's motto should be; "we build computers with no functionality whatsoever in mind, but hey, they are so **** thin and sexy!" That should count for something shouldn't it? lol...

 

The DisplayPort will support HDMI, Dual DVI, VGA...it's supposedly going to be a new standard that will be replacing all the the above, except maybe HDMI. It's supposed to be a super-high bandwidth that supports upto 30" displays with a single cable. But it will have a converter for HDMI, DVI, etc...

As for the BluRay, that's a bummer.

In terms of style, everything looks great except for the keyboard. I hate the black. Should have made it silver.

To me, I think they took HP's infinity display look, which is a smart move. I really love the no bezel look. However, Apple one ups HP because of the LED display.

 

Apple is not using the standard DisplayPort, it is using their own mini-DisplayPort, which is not industry standard at all.

Apple controls what you can do with this port. Apple provides the adapters and converters they feel will gain them.

I wish people would stop talking about DisplayPort, because Apple doesn't even ship or support a mini-DisplayPort to DisplayPort adapter. That should say something about Apple's intentions.......

 

Okay lets talk cpus.. the $1,999 MacBook Pro has either the T8300 or P8600..I’m guessing the P8600.. confirm someone? $2,499 MacBook Pro has either the T9400 or P9500… Don’t know what’s in the Macbook :\ I've always found it annoying they don't just tell you what's in there.

 

From the clock speed, I believe they are offering P9500 (2.53 GHz) and P8600 (2.4 GHz) for the Macbook Pro and they are offering P8600 (2.4 GHz) and P7350 (2.0 GHz)

 

Only the MacBook has no firewire so if your getting a MacBook Pro, there should be a firewall installed to its system.

 

This port does not support hdmi and I do not see any converter for it at all. Please stop with the lies. hdmi has audio and video all in one, and this stupid display port apple has is purely a display port no audio involved. Job's did not even mention hdmi at all and there is no mention on apple's site whatsoever.

Oh and by the way, any computer with hdmi port is compatible with vga, dvi, svideo, etc. for business class users' vga is most important, they do not want to deal with dongles like idiots. This state of the art display port needs a dongle for any and every application, how stupid is that?! Oh I forgot it's super thin, lol...

 

I love it how apple fanboys gloat about LED screens which is great I like it a lot too don't get me wrong. But I see nothing great about 1400x900 res. What happened to options for the consumer? 1680x1050 and 1920x1080p, oh that's right, there are none for the 15" macbook pro. But there should be and many others agree. macheads always feel that macs are the media kings but they do not have media rich features, figure that out...

 

Actually, DisplayPort supports 7.1 audio (as seen by Apple's new monitor with integrated speakers via Mini DisplayPort). It also supports single link DVI and HDMI through adapters, and dual link DVI through a different adapter. I don't know how you would think it would support DVI but not HDMI, considering theire specs are very similar.

Also, DisplayPort is an open standard, meaning anybody can create their own adapters and cables for it, provided it meets the spec. Check your sources before you comment:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DisplayPort
http://www.displayport.org/white-papers/
http://www.displayport.org/open/Interoperability.htm
http://www.displayport.org/FAQ/default.htm

 

You are not listening. The whole point is that you need adapters, that sucks in my book and in the minds of professionals. You need adapters for any and every sort of port, and that is not convenient.

Also I said that Jobs and apple site did not once mention or talk about hdmi as if it does not exist, that is a bad marketing move/business mentality.

I just found out from the apple store that you need to have a converter to dvi plus a converter to hdmi together, and that still you need another cable or cables for audio. So don't tell me I need to do my research. Apple needs to do theirs and not keep screwing up as they have really screwed up in this dept.

 

Personally, I don't care about HDMI. That's what's connecting TV sets to BD players. Ok. How quaint. Not relevant to my computing experience in any way. HDMI is chock full of digital restriction management so to me it has no place in a computer.

DisplayPort obviously supports DisplayPort capable LCD monitors. Admittedly there are not many of those around at the moment, but it's not hard to see how DP will become the standard port for everything. DVI is messy because there's DVI, and DL-DVI, and the plug is humongous. The move to DisplayPort is the right one. You already needed a VGA adapter on previous MBPs.

That said, I am somewhat miffed that Apple doesn't include a DVI and a VGA adapter in the price. They are $40 each, DVI is needed to connect to my existing monitor, and VGA for projectors. And my current MBP had a VGA adapter included.

If you look at the new all-in-one docking-station-like 24" monitor it should be obvious that the DisplayPort adapter delivers audio as well. Fact 1: There are three cables, power, USB, and DP. Fact 2: There are stereo speakers on the monitor. Conclusion: Sound is transmitted over the DP adapter.

 

About pricing: They are not going to get cheaper. Apple apparently took a hit on margins making these solid-aluminium-block machines. That's pretty astounding because as cool as it is, not many people buy their machines for general build quality. Apple is dead set on their path as a premium computer manufacturer and consequently, they have made their computers (a lot) better rather than cheaper.

Apple is going to go down with their prices when BMW and Mercedes go down with theirs. I.e., never.

A brand new Dell notebook is a lot cheaper than a MacBook Pro. But then, how many innovations were introduced in the Dell? None. Dell is going for the cheap and the masses. Its a good strategy, but it's not Apple's.
Apple makes the most compact high end notebooks, now with the most rigid body, and with a completely new innovative trackpad, and a completely new display connector. I don't think anyone had a full glass panel LCD before either - I am pretty excited about that because it's the end of scratching. I can finally scrub my display!

 

Yeah. It's officially called MacBook Pro (Late 2008).

Yup. Lame. For all the combined Genius of Apple's VPs, naming isn't their big strength. Except the iPod, that was, in hindsight, ... genius. Reportedly Steve Jobs one day came into the office and said "It's going to be called the iPod." and that was it

 

wow....steve jobs really know how to manage his sheeps by putting such a hefty price tag..for a black box with 2 usbs..good job(s)
i dont see any reason for ppl buying MBP other than he/she had too much money to spend or a fanboy
go..make him richer...lol

 

How can they demand a hefty price like that when they don't even have much to offer like pc's do? I am so confused. All they have done was play catch up with pc's, that's how I see it. Oh they made the uni body all once piece of aluminum. big deal, it's a freakin laptop, not a exotic sports car! Instead of touting to me about your stupid unibody, talk to me about hdmi, BD, 8 GB of ram like hp has in some notebooks, 1080p resolutions, more than two or one usb ports, firewire, sd, express card 54, docking port, more hd options, etc... Then maybe, just maybe, it will be worth the premium pricing, even though it has that disgusting os x in it that is so limited. Oh yeah, I forgot, I can buy windows and install it for a few hundred more dollars. lol... What a joke!

Sooon they will make a computer that has absolutely no ports on it whatsoever and tout it to be the thinest laptop in the world. Then when people complain, they will say go buy a hub, oh yeah, you can't hook that up either since there is no port for that too. so you will have to buy a PC for the functionality purposes and keep the Mac around for showing off purposes. hahahahaha!


And on another note. Someone said something about there being no use for bluray dvd's on a notebook. well I actually happen to look at the big picture and see the fact that BD carries 25 to 50 GB of storage space so people can back up a heck of a lot of storage on these puppies and copy large amounts of data on to a hard form instead of worrying about an external HDD that may fail. When I think BD, I don't only think of Hi def movies, I also think of what one could do with all that hard storage capability.

 

You know... I rarely ever comment on these things, but some of the comments on here are so ****ed ridiculous that I'm going to make an exception.

First of all... Some of these comments make it pretty clear that a number of you look at these products as nothing more than "run-of-the-mill" to run a copy of Windows on. If you're a Windows person and are looking for hardware to run it on, then why on earth are you even looking at Apple computers, let alone commenting on them? One doesn't buy a Mac to run Windows... if they do, they're as foolish as those who insist on blasting Apple for not being the company they think it should be. Apple is a known quantity... stop wasting breath and webspace balking about how they should do things differently.

Secondly... hardware alone does not make a Mac, the software is absolutely vital to what a Mac is. Do any of you honestly think that Apple can develop its operating system and its bundled application for free? Maybe if they simply threw some components together and slapped a copy of Windows on it like everyone else, they could compete at prices many of you find acceptable... but then they would be a Mac. For all of you balking at how overpriced Macs are... I sure as hell hope you balk at how overpriced the various versions of Windows are as well... do your sub-$500 boxes come with the full-featured, whiz-bang "Ultimate" version of Windows? Didn't think so... Why are there so many versions to begin with?

(And as an aside... As far as the previous posters comment regarding Apple's "disgusting" OS X and how "limited" it is... Would you like to back up such an assertion? I think that comment probably takes the cake for the most purely ignorant comment made on here. Such a comment shows how very little you know about OS X, its features, and its capabilities... I don't think I've ever heard anyone refer to any flavor of Unix as "limited," especially in comparison to Windows. Why some people insist on commenting on things they know next to nothing about always amazes me.)

To address all of the "$200 more" complaints... $200 more than what? The entry level model that's now being sold for $100 less than it was a week ago? The new aluminum MacBooks start at the same price as the old "mid-range" white MacBooks, yet have a faster system bus, faster RAM, and vastly superior graphics. The high-end tops out at only $100 more than the way more overpriced black model it replaces... I disagree with Apple on the greater price difference between the two and feel there is very little reason why anyone should spend the extra for it.

Furthermore... the new MacBook Pros are offered at the same price points as the previous machines.

As far as all of the uber-geek comments concerning dongles, hdmi, etc. are concerned... how many of you even realize that your "needs" are very much different from mainstream computer users? One superficial, yet very telling difference is the fact that the average computer user doesn't spend an inordinate amount of there time on forums reading and commenting about their computers or the computer industry. If any of you could put yourself in someone else's shoes for just one second, you would realize that your high-demands are largely unnecessary to the majority of those who purchase computers.

What is perhaps the most amusing is that there are still those who insist they know better than a successful, multi-billion dollar company. It must be astonishing that even despite the fact Apple refuses to compete at price points or include features that all of you die-hard "power" users (which I think is hilarious in and of itself... cheap and "power user" inherently contradict each other), their sales are still outpacing the rest of the industry and their market-share still continues to grow... those are the cold-hard facts.

The bottom line is this... If you even remotely consider Windows as an option, then stop wasting any of your time with Apple. Again... one doesn't buy a Mac for the hardware - it's all about the software and the OS. Windows stopped being an option for me a long, long time ago and that feeling has only been reinforced over the years. Frankly, I don't want to save a couple hundred dollars on a machine only to have those initial saving eaten up by having to spend money on AV subscriptions each year, by losing productive time having to troubleshoot and/or optimize my system on a regular basis, or by having to consider buying a new machine every 2-3 years just to have a satisfactory experience. With that said, I've also taken issue with Apple many times over the years and I blast them when I feel they've made a mistake... Personally, I won't buy a brand-new Mac... I think doing so is a waste of money, but I think refurbished and used machines offer great value.

But seriously... All of it comes down to honestly evaluating what your really need your computer to do, doing your own actual research, and making your purchases accordingly. Not sitting on some high-horse, needlessly passing judgement on things based on hearsay and secondhand misconceptions.

 

AMGoff, I think what you're saying is a bit harsh. I probably don't qualify as a real "power" user, but I feel the lack of interface ports are quite disappointing. I'm not exactly sure what the "average" user would use, but I typically have an external keyboard and mouse when I use any laptop at home in order to minimize any wear or tear on my laptop. Just these 2 devices would fully occupy all the USB ports on my new macbook. I also have printer and small digital camera - this gets quite troublesome at times when I have to switch between these USB ports. In addition, all external monitors/TVs currently on the market that support HD will have some form of digital output such as HDMI or DVI, and not Apple's proprietary mini display port.
I personally don't think having an extra USB and/or digital output port is overly demanding, but instead will only make people's lives less complicated.

As for purchasing a mac, I based my purchase purely on the aesthetics of the new macbook and not OSX. I personally don't think there's even a single PC laptop that can come close to the beauty of the new macbooks/mbp. Though I am finding OSX very user friendly and extremely fast, I still cannot live without windows, hence I added XP to my macbook via boot camp.
I also don't believe people should be excluded just because they want to run a windows OS on a mac either.

 

Apple just reported Q3 earning, OK number overall, but Mac sales missed badly, price got to drop in Q4.

 

It wasn't my intention to be harsh, but to simply lay things out as they are...

Yes, you do have some valid points... but each also help to further confirm my original musings. For starters, let's take the USB argument with regard to your specific concern... Not to say that there's anything wrong with doing such a thing, but how many people use both an external keyboard and mouse with their laptop? From a design standpoint, especially a minimalist one... how essential is it to include extra ports for use with a keyboard and mouse on a machine that already has a keyboard and mouse? If, as you say, you only do so when you're at home, then is it really that much of a burden to have a USB hub sitting on your desk when using it in such a capacity? Even if doing so is completely out of the question, there are countless number of keyboards on the market that have additional USB ports built-in to them. Apple's been doing that for years, hell... they did it well before USB - their old ADB keyboards had extra ADB ports built into them as well. Again... it comes back to the whole known quantity thing.

The same can be applied to using an external display... If one is doing so, then they're essentially using it as a desktop replacement... which means there's a desk, ie - a place where any required cables and adapters can be kepts without having to carry them around.

I just don't see how its that big of a hassle.

If the problem is with simply having to use an adapter in the first place... Then again, we're back to the known quantity thing. It's not like Apple is coming out of left field with this... What does my 12" PowerBook have? A mini-DVI port, which means I have to use an adapter to use an external monitor... Even on their desktops, Apple has used their own ports in the past which required adapters to use regular old DVI or VGA monitors.

As far as your final sentiment goes... the reality of it is kind of harsh - Apple isn't a Windows PC maker, so they don't cater to all of the needs of a Windows PC user. Yes, with the switch to Intel processors one can now natively install Windows on a Mac... but they make it pretty clear that they don't support it - so I don't see how that would necessarily qualify as excluding those who do so.

If you buy a Mac with the intent of running Windows simply for the aesthetics of the hardware, then that's certainly your choice... and there's nothing wrong with that. However, on the same token, it's hardly fair for those to constantly blast Apple for being overpriced. My point still stands... Apple spends a lot of time, money, and resources developing their operating system and bundled applications, which has to be factored in with the price. So I personally find it slightly foolish to spend the extra money on Apple hardware, just to turn it into a Windows machine. But again, if you choose to do so, then that's your own choice... but your also choosing to pay for those aesthetics and you know what you're getting before you purchase it.

Call me old school, but one buys a Mac because it's a Mac. If you buy one and then run Windows on it... it's no longer a Mac. And it's at that point that it seems many people get frustrated at Apple for not behaving like most other manufacturers. Yet, where are all of the gripes from people concerning Sony and their Vaios? There's a clear double standard.

When it all boils down, this is the basic distinction people have to realize... Just because one can install Windows natively on a Mac nowadays, doesn't make a Mac just another PC. Consequently, there's zero reason why Apple should have to conform to what "traditional" PC users think they should be doing. It's a free market and everyone has a choice with regard to what they want to spend their money on... Apple caters to a certain market and they've been successful at it... Not only that, but they've been more successful as of recent years than most other manufacturers despite continuing to do things their own way.

I suppose I simply have one fundamental question... Why do so many people, especially Windows PC users, spend so much time reading, thinking, writing about and most importantly - condemning a company that makes products they seemingly have no desire to use? I spend absolutely no time thinking about, let alone commenting on Windows PCs and the only time I even comment on Apple products are in situations like these. I just don't get it...

 

Here's another prime example... Where's the substance to this comment? I see an opinion and a personal desire, but the actual numbers don't lend any sort of credibility to them as a matter of reality.

Perhaps I'm just reading this latest earnings report completely differently, because this is what I see...

Apple posted fourth-quarter (not third) revenue of $7.895B, higher than their $7.8B estimate, which represents a 25% YTY growth from Q42007's $6.22B in revenue. Net profit grew from $904M to $1.14B in Q42008 compared to the same period last year.

Mac shipments in particular, were up 21% year over year worldwide to 2.611 million Macs, with US shipments rising to approximately 1.64 million Macs, representing a 29.4% YTY growth. Despite their "high" prices in what was then a slowing economy, Mac shipments grew at nearly six times the US PC market, which now places them third in US sales behind HP and Dell.

This falls into just the kind of stuff that I'm talking about... You read the same exact numbers that everyone else did, so then how can you possibly conclude from them that Mac sales "missed badly," and subsequently prices need to drop?

Where's the correlation?

 

AMGOFF you have to admit that 2 USB ports is unacceptable, especially for the professional model. A portable external drive uses 2 ports on it's own.. and most people I know use a USB mouse instead of a touchpad. So whenever they want to use their external USB drive they would have to disconnect their mouse. IMO 3 USB ports is the bare minimum acceptable for a laptop.

 

I think it is funny how this guy says that Apple is ALL about software and its OS, but yet the company makes computers and not only that, but their software only runs on one type of computer, the Mac. So even if they are only about their software, which they clearly are not as this is about macs, not Operating systems, their software is only as good as the hardware running it and the functionality capabilities. Functionality wise, they have missed a lot of points for one to justify buying and at these higher prices.

Functions missed out on:

hdmi
blu-ray
higher resolutions
lack of usb ports still
no firewire on macbook
no sd
no express card 54
no dedicated vga port

Some of you might say a lot of these ports are older and not needed, but I hate to break it to ya, these ports come in quite handy. And no matter what, one way or another, an individual will be able to hook up his/her peripheral having all those ports and options.

If Apple wants to get more market share and get into B2B and gain more footing, then they need to offer more options and not miss out on function over form. they have great form, but not so great function. None of us are bashing or balking at Apple, we are simply the consumers and customers that are saying there are areas to improve on and areas that lack. Remember, a company moves forward and fast as it is customer focused, don't yell at us when we complain or voice our opinions and suggestions, we should be listened to. No one is saying to be like windows or to bring pricing down really, more so that these prices need justification. Advertising about the uni body is great and all, but no one really will jump up and down over that as much as they would about more ports and function. Apple is concentrating too much in areas that customers don't really care about or look too deep into. Customers want functionality in port selection and in features. That's what sells and that's the bottom line.

I was watching a documentary on Apple, and since they first started till now the entire documentary was stating that Apple was always behind for those simple reasons. Overpriced and offered less function in terms of software and hardware compared to the competition. If they can just improve in those crucial areas, then nothing can stop them.

 

mmmm there are alot of pro apple people around tho, and i do agree they are better for office work/graphics