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pmg4lktan · Mar 21, 2007, 09:30 PM

hi guys ...

i guess this is a quite common question, but it finally became a problem for me ...

ok, i do need a portable now as my Acer is dead ... i can bring it for warranty and it will take few months before it will be back in action ... before this, it works HOT like HELL ...

so, despite having assignments to pass up this week and next week ... i borrowed my uncle's laptop as temporary replacement ... but it wouldn't be a permanent solution ... i'll be doing industrial training starting from 30th April, so a laptop is a must ...

i'll either get a MacBook or MacBook Pro (please do not advice on the "Pro" matter) ... and i'm still unsure whether to wait or buy now ... it's only about three months until the WWDC ...

my question is, will the next release worth waiting? if it worth it, i'll try to get something to work temporarily until the new updates are out ...
- will new one implement Intel's Santa Rosa a.k.a Centrino Pro (either MacBook or MacBook Pro)
- will it implement LED backlight? (even for MacBook Pro ONLY)
- the update major enough to justify the wait?

i wouldn't need the sub-notebook which is a smaller MacBook Pro nor the bigger 15" version of MacBook as speculated ... i'd probably want something like current series with some update ... so, any advice on to wait or not? thanks in advance ...

peeb · Mar 21, 2007, 09:50 PM

The wait or not game is all voodoo - if you can possibly wait, do, for the Leopard update if nothing else. Buy at the last possible moment you absolutely need it would be my advice.

Zeeb · Mar 21, 2007, 10:53 PM

It's not a good time to buy. Wait if you can. With regard to whether the items on your specific wish list will be included, (Santa Rosa, LED etc) no one could possibly know that here.

Mac Buyer's Guide: Know When to Buy Your Mac

mduell · Mar 21, 2007, 11:28 PM

Robson will be the big new feature for the new portables; huge performance gains for some tasks. Maybe HSPDA too, which will let laptop users be more mobile instead of being tied to buildings with wifi.

But they're not going to be out earlier than May 8, so you're screwed. Buy the current generation and be happy with it.

peeb · Mar 22, 2007, 12:07 AM

Or lease for a while.

CaptainHaddock · Mar 22, 2007, 03:21 AM

There's always something better ahead, so that's rarely a good reason by itself to wait. If there's something specific you need that current models don't have, then wait.

pmg4lktan · 06:39 AM

Originally Posted by Zeeb

It's not a good time to buy. Wait if you can. With regard to whether the items on your specific wish list will be included, (Santa Rosa, LED etc) no one could possibly know that here.

Mac Buyer's Guide: Know When to Buy Your Mac

wow ... an awesome guide ... thanks for the link! Zeeb ...

thanks everyone for the advice ... i'll buy if i'm really desperate since new series seems promising ... but well, i may get a temporary one to use even if i'm dersperate ...

TailsToo · Mar 22, 2007, 07:06 AM

If you wait until the new models are out, you can get a savings on the old, if the new isn't that much better, or get the latest and greatest - unless, like you said, you must have one now...

glypht · 08:36 AM

Do it! Buy it now!

Rumour has it they'll announce an eight-place table at WWDC, but if you only need four places then this is the one for you...

agentmouthwash · Mar 22, 2007, 12:33 PM

Originally Posted by mduell

Robson will be the big new feature for the new portables;

What is Robson? is this a feature that is part of Santa Rosa?

mfbernstein · Mar 22, 2007, 12:56 PM

Robson is the codename Intel has for using flash memory to as high-speed disk-cache to speed up booting and application launches.

Still, given that Apple took 2+ months to get a shipping Core 2 Duo laptop out after the release of Merom, I doubt we'll see a Santa Rosa-based Mac laptop on May 9. I'd love to be proven wrong though.

mduell · Mar 22, 2007, 03:29 PM

Originally Posted by mfbernstein

Still, given that Apple took 2+ months to get a shipping Core 2 Duo laptop out after the release of Merom, I doubt we'll see a Santa Rosa-based Mac laptop on May 9. I'd love to be proven wrong though.

On the other hand they were one of the first (if not the first) to get Core Duo out the door.

SierraDragon · Mar 22, 2007, 05:14 PM

Upgrades come out routinely. Some are worth waiting for, others are not. The current C2D MBs and MBPs are excellent solid (not equal!) boxes at their respective price points. IMO the next laptop update will not be that big a deal unless someone is waiting for a Macbook Thin.

-Allen Wicks

peeb · Mar 22, 2007, 06:29 PM

And Leopard, of course.

osiris24x · Mar 22, 2007, 09:53 PM

I wouldn't bother waiting. No significant upgrades are in the pipeline right now. LED backlights and new chips will be coming up in a year or so, and of course Leopard.

Just buy now, and enjoy your new laptop. If something you can't live without, comes along, you can sell yours and get a new one. The waiting game is generally just annoying and fruitless...

pmg4lktan · Mar 22, 2007, 10:23 PM

Originally Posted by osiris24x

I wouldn't bother waiting. No significant upgrades are in the pipeline right now. LED backlights and new chips will be coming up in a year or so, and of course Leopard.

Just buy now, and enjoy your new laptop. If something you can't live without, comes along, you can sell yours and get a new one. The waiting game is generally just annoying and fruitless...

i'm so tempted now ...

if i get now, i can have the pleasure of MBP immediately, how about the whine problem?

mduell · Mar 22, 2007, 11:17 PM

The whine was resolved back during the Core Duo era.

Originally Posted by osiris24x

I wouldn't bother waiting. No significant upgrades are in the pipeline right now. LED backlights and new chips will be coming up in a year or so, and of course Leopard.

A year?!
New chips will be out in a month an a half. Other OEMs have already announced LED-backlit laptops and some may even be shipping by now.
Leopard will also be out in a matter of months; Jobs said spring, but the rumors point to later-rather-than-sooner.

highstakes · Mar 23, 2007, 02:06 AM

Originally Posted by pmg4lktan

i'm so tempted now ...

if i get now, i can have the pleasure of MBP immediately, how about the whine problem?

The noise? You can barely hear the that in class rooms. Only place the noise is noticeable is if the room is extremely quiet (no other laptop fan noise, people talking...etc). I use my MBP in every class, and I hear other people's laptop fan louder than the whine from my MBP.

pdxdude · Mar 24, 2007, 05:04 PM

Originally Posted by pmg4lktan

how about the whine problem?

I've had both CD and C2D MacBook Pros, and the whine was *reduced* in the CD, but it was *solved* with the C2D. I wouldn't buy a Core Duo personally, but the Core 2's are totally solid.

Tutman · Mar 25, 2007, 09:34 AM

Others have already mentioned it, but a late spring purchase will give you Leopard and likely also iLife '07 -- a $200 value if you want them (I know I do) and Apple doesn't change current price points.

pmg4lktan · Mar 25, 2007, 10:09 AM

Originally Posted by Tutman

Others have already mentioned it, but a late spring purchase will give you Leopard and likely also iLife '07 -- a $200 value if you want them (I know I do) and Apple doesn't change current price points.

should i rather wait for the new series if i'm to wait until late spring?

anyway, if i don't get it before April, maybe i'll wait then ...

peeb · Mar 25, 2007, 05:42 PM

Of course, wait another 18 months, and you can get Jackle and iLife 08!

NeutrinoMan · Mar 25, 2007, 06:01 PM

I am in waiting limbo right now as well... I wouldn't buy right now. IMHO the current Macbook Pros have very iffy displays - I've been checking out as many display units as I can at as many locations as I can and I'm seeing a lot of 17" models with uneven backlighting, and even more 15" models with screen grain and uneven backlighting.

There are some MBPs with great screens, but I'm willing to wait to see if next revision improves things.

KP* · Mar 25, 2007, 10:38 PM

I'm waiting myself right now. Mostly for Leopard and iLife 07, but also it seems like a new MBP is due. I'm incredibly disappointed with the screen grain on every 15" MBP I've seen on display in stores. I recall reading months ago (here?) that Apple had acknowledged the problem and was changing their manufacturing so that current models should no longer have it, but I personally have never seen one fixed. This might be because the stores have never swapped out their display machines, but until I see one, I will be very wary of purchasing. It would be even better if they're coming out with a higher-resolution screen, or one with LEDs.

brassplayersrock² · Mar 25, 2007, 11:27 PM

any chance of apple incorporating a blu-ray drive into their portables??

alex

pmg4lktan · Mar 26, 2007, 01:53 AM

Originally Posted by KP*

I'm waiting myself right now. Mostly for Leopard and iLife 07, but also it seems like a new MBP is due. I'm incredibly disappointed with the screen grain on every 15" MBP I've seen on display in stores. I recall reading months ago (here?) that Apple had acknowledged the problem and was changing their manufacturing so that current models should no longer have it, but I personally have never seen one fixed. This might be because the stores have never swapped out their display machines, but until I see one, I will be very wary of purchasing. It would be even better if they're coming out with a higher-resolution screen, or one with LEDs.

i'd read a UK magazine stating that you can choose either TFT or Super-TFT ... Apple will do it for you without extra charge ... is this what you're saying above?

Originally Posted by brassplayersrock

any chance of apple incorporating a blu-ray drive into their portables??

alex

blu-ray? well ... i really don't think so ...

but Apple always come out with something unexpected ...

agentmouthwash · Mar 26, 2007, 10:09 AM

I'm waiting for leopard, Santa Rosa & iLife 07. The current MBPs are great, but I can wait a little longer and want to for the updated OS. I'll be saving a few bucks as well.

I'm not sure about Blu-Ray being on Apple's mind these days. With the iTV being the main hub for entertainment, I can see Apple eventually releasing laptops with no drives at all. After all, they would of included some sort of DVD-drive on the iTV, but didn't.

All the software will be downloaded from their website. Anybody else seeing Apple going towards this trend?

timewind · Mar 26, 2007, 10:17 AM

I'm in the buy it now, don't play the waiting game camp. Even after buying an iMac just before the Core 2 Duo switch I don't complain. The new machine made all the difference in the world in my being able to do what I wanted and needed to do. (Well really more the things I wanted to do, if I fell into that trench thing one more time in Ironforge because the graphics card in the G4 couldn't keep up with the buisier parts of World of Warcraft, I was just going to run down the street screaming.) So, I haven't regretted the purchase, although I'm glad that by the time I updated my iBook to a MacBook they were to Core2Duo. As for Leopard, sirce I have more than one Mac, and know I would want to upgrade the older machines, I plan on getting the "family pack" which is really a great deal at five licenses for less than the cost of two so I really have no reasons to wait for OS upgrades. Since the only time anyone knows the release date of anything from Apple is when Apple anounces it, I especially don't hold up my buying on software/OS upgraes. Hardware is a little different, as the cheap upgrade route really isn't there; however, as I have already said, the waiting game just isn't worth it, you won't know when Apple has come out with new feature X until it officialy happens. It may be in a big announcement or one of Apple's more and more frequent "stealth upgrades" that you may not notice unless you daily scroll through the specs on the Apple store (or watch RSS feeds like this one where an Apple "speed/feature bump" will make the headliens pronto...

Just don't wind up in the situation where you realize that you have spent months either not getting things done or having to work much harder, wait longer, and deal with other old hardware hastles, than you really need to and you could have had a new machine that would get your work done better/faster for you long ago.

agentmouthwash · Mar 26, 2007, 01:43 PM

timewind,
usually I agree with you 100%, but you have to admit, this is an odd time to purchase a new mac laptop.
leopard is right arounf the corner, as well as iLife 07. Those 2 products right their will save us "waiters"
$200 in money that we can apply to more RAM or a larger HD.

That, plus the promise of LCD and Santa Rosa has most of us scared to pull a purchase trigger with the fear of something better around the corner.

pyrite · Mar 26, 2007, 08:38 PM

wait for santa rosa and the possible screen update... i waited for ages for C2D and i'm very happy i did!

papadopolis · Mar 26, 2007, 09:55 PM

wait.... yes i said it wait.... just a bit longer steave jobs said that some great mac products were coming out in the next few months for the mac at mac world and NAB 2007 is on the 14th of april (or is it the 15th) anyway if you buy today and then in two weeks a new one comes out it will make you sad..... yes it has happened to me........

nycdunz · Mar 28, 2007, 01:12 AM

i am also in the same boat, however probably more desperate in need of a new MBP than ever. I am still using my 1st generation 17" PowerBook G4 1Ghz!!! Surprised I am still using this thing for work everyday for over 4 years now. However I am willing to wait until the MBP comes with the Robonsen, LED screen, Leopard preinstalled, iLife 07 even it I must sacrafice doing work at a slower rate, I am a designer and with the recent announcement of Adobe CS3 running natively on intels I can wait a little longer!

Any idea when the next major overhaul in design of the MBP will be?

Paul Eva · Mar 28, 2007, 01:46 AM

It'll be worth waiting until the new OS is in the machines; also, if you use iLife, I'd wait a little longer (I cannot see Apple releasing both OS and iLife simultaneously!)

The new OS carries Core Animation, something I cannot wait to get my hands on!

vertigociel · Mar 28, 2007, 10:35 AM

I was in the same situation as you just a few weeks ago. I'm going off to college in the fall, and I needed to get a laptop to last me all four years. I was going to wait for a Santa Rosa based leapord MBP, but I decided to go ahead and buy anyways, so I could have a laptop for my two week trip to China in May, and my trip to Paris (which I'm on right now). So I got myself a 15 inch, 2.16 MBP with 2GB RAM. And you know what? I'm in love with this machine. It's absolutely solidly constructed, looks great, and has fantastic performance. Granted, I'm upgrading from a two and a half year old rev A iMac G5, so almost anything is bound to perform better. If you need a computer, go buy it! There is ALWAYS something better coming in development. If you have a need to always have the latest and greatest model, I think that you will be frequently dissapointed with your computer. But if you need a great machine, go grab it now!

darkmatter · Mar 28, 2007, 01:34 PM

Hi,

On a similar situation than you I'm really tired of waiting Apple. Seriously considering buying a wintel notebook. I set deadline to switch to wintel middle April.

Different than your needs, I'm considering the Dell Latitude 420, 12", 1280x800, 2 Gb. RAM, battery can be changed, low power processor, external optical recording, perfect keyboard, small, light: 1.36 kg, it's hard but Dell has achieved a really attractive mobile computer

I've being waiting some time Apple to offer a mobile computer like Dells D420 or the VAIO VGN-TXN15P. Just had a look to the D420 and last week a look to the VAIO. While the VAIO has a great pixel dense 11' display the Dell is more solid, great keyboard, great ergonomics and somehow simply and better in design. I will take a look at other manufactures too.

Apple Inc and many Apple users seem to be very comfortable with for what I very personally regard an old and outdated MPB line, common low pixel density displays and all in one what the average computer manufacturer can offer. I agree MBPs offer some cool features that others don't, but as an Apple user I expect evolution and more than average.

I don't know which are the main applications you use; I was afraid of switching but a provisional wintel workstation has given me the trust to switch back and let me on the verge of buying a wintel (sub)notebook. I'm a hardcore developer that loved Apple computers and more specifically it's O.S. but now is fed up and tired of waiting secret features on Leopard, watching the switching campaign, reading with hope rumor sites and seeing wintel users with ugly designed laptops but with great graphical capabilities achieving productivity. This is only my .001 cent opinion.

I think Apple is now more interested in living rooms and phone calls other that research institutes and has forgotten its solid and loyal base of users that liked and waited all the time cool and innovative Macs.

Best Regards

PS1: Take a look at Dell's D620 and D820, great GPU, dense pixel displays (15.4" with 1680x1050 and 1920x1200 pixels), 512 MB dedicated memory graphics memory and a big, flexible and diversified line of mobile computers that could meet your choice.
PS2: Can imagine that the time to recommend buying wintel has arrived...

rach · Mar 28, 2007, 06:29 PM

I sold of my old iBook and my MacBook Pro a while ago and now i do not own a Mac right now. I was trying to streamline down to just one computer and i sold my MBP because i wanted to get the best return that i could to buy a new model MBP when they come out.
I am tempted to buy a cheap Powerbook or G4 iBook but i know i had problems selling of an iBook before so i do not really want to go through that again.
I am using my mothers Window laptop right now but she wants me to sell it of for her so in 10 days or so i will have no laptop to use. She doesn't mind me using it until new Mac's come out but she would prefer the cash now and why should she lose out just because out because of my computer dilemma. I have put her laptop on Ebay anyway and it will sell soon.
So i will need to either buy a cheap Mac laptop to tide me over until Apple release new MacBook Pro's because i refuse to buy one as it is now or i go without a computer until they release new MacBook Pro's which could take months. It seems like it will be back to the internet cafe's for me now lol. I may even be going on holiday in that time so the wait may not seem as bad.

The MacBook Pro's have a 14 month old graphic card in them and that is one reason not to make me buy now. Also, new software is coming out soon. These new Intel Mac's resale value is not as great as maybe the PPC laptops may have been and you incur quite a loss if you buy now and intend to sell it on when a new model comes out. I just hope that the new models do not just take to long to be released.

rach · Mar 28, 2007, 09:10 PM

I see that Santa Rosa will be released in early May so mid May i think that we could be looking at a updated MBP with a Santa Rosa chip maybe with a graphic card update as well.

SierraDragon · Mar 29, 2007, 07:13 PM

Originally Posted by pmg4lktan

should i rather wait for the new series if i'm to wait until late spring?

If one is waiting for late spring anyway that changes things. IMO we will see a MBP upgrade in the May/June time frame. Probably 4 GB RAM available, faster FS bus, better graphics and who knows what else. Existing C2D MBPs are so excellent it is not worth waiting 4 months for, but probably is worth waiting 2 months for. IMO.

-Allen Wicks

rach · Mar 30, 2007, 05:38 AM

I have read that Dell is launching its Santa Rosa laptops the Latitude D630 and Latitude D830 laptops in April. I don't know if they are going to start shipping the laptops then or just formally announce them so that orders can be taken.
It is possible based on this that we may see Apple make an announcement sooner than we may think.