[quattrokid73]

now that the sweet new mbp's have come out, i wonder what is next for the mb. im going to wait till just before the schoolyear to get one, that way i have the latest i could have gotten before i NEEDED to purchase...

but what to expect? the processor and drive upgrade were nice, but i think the LED display has just as much purpose on the MB as the MBP. im also expecting an update to the graphics chipset, and maybe 3gb max? i can live without those, but id be interested in the LED deal....

what do you all think?

[butterfly0fdoom]

The school year starts in September; Don't expect to see any MacBook updates until October.

[mduell]

The recent MB upgrade took nearly zero engineering/design effort spec bump; just tell the guys on the line to put in more memory and bigger drives (which they were doing anyway for BTOs) and a faster CPU (same family, same TDP, again, no real changes).
Will Apple consider it a "full revision" and wait another 6 months to upgrade it? Or will they refresh it in a couple months with Crestline (what people have been calling Santa Rosa) and friends? No one (outside the company) knows.

But when they do upgrade it to Crestline and friends, expect:
2.2-2.4Ghz clockrate at the top
4GB memory support (still 2x512MB stock)
GMA X3100 graphics (hardware T&L, much faster than the current GMA950 on paper)
Marginally larger hard drives
Maybe an HDMI port or flash card reader
Maybe an LED backlit screen

[tiger]

I think apple is taking the same ol' iBook G3 approach again.. handicapping their consumer products to make their professional line look more appealing.

[iDaver]

See y'all in October/November because nothing is happening until then.

I'm thinking about buying a second generation MacBook while they're still on sale at Macconnection. A friend has offered to buy my 1G model. Third generation can't really even be considered a "generation."

[butterfly0fdoom]

Well, if they bumped the MB to MBP levels, the gap would be too small. A lot of reviews of the Core2 revisions for both said that the MacBook was a better deal for most people since is was pretty much just as powerful unless you were talking in terms of graphics-intensive games and pro applications (which the MB can still technically run, but I don't think anyone would WANT to). A lot of reviewers actually even recommended the MB OVER the MBP. Which is a sign Apple closed the gap a tad too much in terms of capabilities.

So, naturally, the gap needs to widen a bit. They couldn't let the MB go without revisions, but giving the MB Santa Rose would probably close the gap even more because of the GMA X3000. But the current gap between the MB and the MBP is nowhere near the gap between the iB and the PB, regardless of how "handicapped" the MB is.

Now, if the MB stays with the Napa platform even through the late 2007 revision, then it'll be pretty unreasonable. But the current MBs are still plenty capable (especially compared to my Core Solo Mac mini and especially my iBook G4).

[seivad]

Originally Posted by tiger 

I think apple is taking the same ol' iBook G3 approach again.. handicapping their consumer products to make their professional line look more appealing.

2.16ghz isnt really handy capping, its the graphics card and aluminum case that your talking about.

In Australia, the "connect guide" (Hearald Sun) had a Sony ad with a few of their vaios, the equivalent to my macbook specs were;
Vaio
13.3" screen
2.16ghz
2gb ram
160gb hdd
dual layer burner
black
total cost $3699

Macbook
13.3" screen
2.16ghz
1gb ram (upgradeable of course)
160gb hdd
dual layer burner
black
$2250

even with its graphics, its the best bank for buck bargain laptop that can use linux, osx & windows at once!

[imitchellg5]

LED screens are obviously the next step. 3Gb of RAM could become optional if they put a graphics card in it. We should get a Santa Rosa chip in the top of the line white MacBook and black MacBook as well.

[tiger]

Apple may use the LED screens to differentiate their pro line from their consumer. I do not think we'll be seeing 3gb ram since the integrated graphics work best with matched pairs. Perhaps the severely downclocked x1600 in the black model as a CTO now that the iMacs and MBP's will be getting an upgrade. Just a thought.

[tavin64]

Who knows maybe apple will introduce GM965 macbooks with the release of leopard. They cant keep on sitting with the current macbook specs especially when all the other manufacturers have almost deployed santa rosa across their entire laptop lines.

[imitchellg5]

But not on their base consumer lines. The MacBook is very comparable to other Core 2 Duo notebooks at this point, and even cheaper than a few models.

[mduell]

Originally Posted by imitchellg5 

But not on their base consumer lines. The MacBook is very comparable to other Core 2 Duo notebooks at this point, and even cheaper than a few models.

Dell has several base consumer lines, priced well below the MacBook, that come with X3100 or even discrete ATi/nVidia graphics.

[ginoledesma]

I doubt the LED option will be exclusive to the Pro line to serve as a distinguishing factor. If anything, using LED backlights in all their LCDs improves their bottom line (good for environment, good for PR, potential power improvements = good for user). The 15" has traditionally been either "first" or "last" of anything when introducing stuff (e.g. 15" TiBook first but 15" AlBook last).

If anything, I think Apple will just make hardware difference on the motherboard itself + add-ons be the differentiating factor (beefier specs, expansion ports, and extra "niceties" such as lit keyboard).