[tritonus]

I am thinking about replacing my PowerBook G4 17" 1GHz Rev. A with the new MacBook Pro 17". To me, the new MPBs seem to be rather an evolution than a revolution (no really new technolgy besides Intel processors). I assume there will be new models at MWSF 2007. Can you tell me what you (realistically) expect to be part of the next revision of MBPs, based on a release in January 2007? Questions/guesses:

- 19" display?
- HD resolution?
- Merom processors?
- AirPort ... "n"?
- BlueRay drive?
- Hard drive sizes?
- New enclosure? Color?
- Mac OS X 10.5 "Leopard"?
- iLife '07?
- Other?

What's your consensus here? Thanks for replying.

[Simon]

Originally Posted by tritonus

- 19" display?

No

- HD resolution?

HD as in 1900x1200? Nope.

- Merom processors?

Certainly

- AirPort Extreme --> AirPort ... "n"?

Maybe

- BlueRay drive?

Maybe

- Hard drive sizes?

160 GB max

- New enclosure? Color?

Probably. I'd expect the metallic case to stick, but the design to change somewhat.

- Mac OS X 10.5 "Leopard"?

Dev prerelease at WWDC in Summer. Final release MWSF Jan 2007.

- iLife '07?

MWSF Jan 2007.

[tritonus]

Thank you, Simon. Other opinions?

[masugu]

Back in Blac!

[fisherKing]

i know it's unlikely, just wishful thinking, but...
a pro replacement for the 12" powerbook.

ie state-of-the-art, small, light, powerful.

backlit keyboard!


the macbook is nice, but i'm holding on to my revC 12" pb, at least until fall...

[Oneota]

On the 15", I'd like to see:

* Return of Dual Layer SuperDrives
* Return of FireWire 800

On both the 15" and 17", I'd like to see:
* Return of S-Video port (so I don't have to buy and carry an adapter for that - I actually use it on my current PB!)

Depending on how the 802.11n ratifications go, it might be ready for the next revision of the MB - I sure wouldn't complain!

I'd expect 1 GB RAM and 256 MB VRAM to become the new standard. Hopefully the same perpendicular recording techniques that allowed desktop drives to go to 750 GB will come to the laptop space, too, allowing 200+GB in the 2.5" size.

[NateEssex]

Originally Posted by fisherKing

i know it's unlikely, just wishful thinking, but...
a pro replacement for the 12" powerbook.

ie state-of-the-art, small, light, powerful.

backlit keyboard!


the macbook is nice, but i'm holding on to my revC 12" pb, at least until fall...

Yup, a PRO 13" solution with a real video card. Yup, that's the ticket. And the backlit keyboard would be a nice bonus

[shabbasuraj]

Built-in airconditioner

[tritonus]

How about the probabilities (x %) of options mentioned in my original post? Good night from Switzerland

[NateEssex]

Originally Posted by tritonus

Can you tell me what you (realistically) expect to be part of the next revision of MBPs, based on a release in January 2007? Questions/guesses:

- 19" display?
- HD resolution?
- Merom processors?
- AirPort ... "n"?
- BlueRay drive?
- Hard drive sizes?
- New enclosure? Color?
- Mac OS X 10.5 "Leopard"?
- iLife '07?
- Other?

What's your consensus here? Thanks for replying.

- 19" display---0%
- HD resolution---10%
- Merom processors---80%
- AirPort ... "n"---60%
- BlueRay drive---75%
- Hard drive sizes---100% that they will get bigger
- New enclosure? Color---50%---with black being a likely favorite if it happens
- Mac OS X 10.5 "Leopard"---75%
- iLife '07---95%

[jhonizzle]

wasn't the Merom chip supposed to come out this august?i thought that was why apple was holding off on the powermac intel

[shabbasuraj]

- 19" display? 0
- HD resolution? 0
- Merom processors? 0
- AirPort ... "n"? 2
- BlueRay drive? 5
- Hard drive sizes?120
- New enclosure? Color? 0
- Mac OS X 10.5 "Leopard"? 20
- iLife '07? 0
- Other?

[danengel]

Better GPU?

[tritonus]

Originally Posted by NateEssex

- 19" display---0%
- HD resolution---10%
- Merom processors---80%
- AirPort ... "n"---60%
- BlueRay drive---75%
- Hard drive sizes---100% that they will get bigger
- New enclosure? Color---50%---with black being a likely favorite if it happens
- Mac OS X 10.5 "Leopard"---75%
- iLife '07---95%

That sounds reasonable to me, too.
About the 19" display:
http://www.powerpage.org/archives/20...ogspotcom.html

[tritonus]

Originally Posted by shabbasuraj

- 19" display? 0
- HD resolution? 0
- Merom processors? 0
- AirPort ... "n"? 2
- BlueRay drive? 5
- Hard drive sizes?120
- New enclosure? Color? 0
- Mac OS X 10.5 "Leopard"? 20
- iLife '07? 0
- Other?

You can't be serious with all the zeros?! What do you think Jobs would introduce at MWSF 2007 then? "Here, our new MacBook Pro: Processor is x GHz instead of y GHz. The End."?

[onlykaria]

Originally Posted by fisherKing

i know it's unlikely, just wishful thinking, but...
a pro replacement for the 12" powerbook.

ie state-of-the-art, small, light, powerful.

backlit keyboard!


the macbook is nice, but i'm holding on to my revC 12" pb, at least until fall...

the bold i believe, will not happen as the old 12in powerbook did not have a back lit keyboard and there is no reason for apple to add it to the 12in.

[Simon]

Originally Posted by jhonizzle

wasn't the Merom chip supposed to come out this august?i thought that was why apple was holding off on the powermac intel

Merom ("Intel Core 2 Duo") will be out by August. But most likely Apple's not waiting for that one for the Power Macs. Merom is the notebook version of the Core 2. I'd expect the Mac Pro (the Power Mac's successor) to sport a Conroe which is the desktop version of the Core 2. Intel's releasing it in July.

[venom600]

Unless something odd happens, I wouldn't be shocked to see bluray drives for all new computers. Sony is releasing BluRay notebooks and desktops as of this summer, and given Apple's commitments to the format, August would be right around the time they would want to introduce.

[tritonus]

My own predictions:

- 19" display? 30 %
- HD resolution? 30 %
- Merom processors? 90 %
- AirPort ... "n"? 50 %
- BlueRay drive? 50 %
- Hard drive sizes? 160 GB
- New enclosure? Color? silver and black
- Mac OS X 10.5 "Leopard"? 90 %
- iLife '07? 100 %

[shabbasuraj]

expect this..

[Simon]

Originally Posted by shabbasuraj

expect this..

Even if Apple actually goes black with the next MBP I highly doubt they'll start putting a Dell logo on the lid instead of the apple.

[slffl]

I would love to see a 19" laptop.

And i don't see a reason for having Blu-Ray drives. They sure wouldn't be writable, so all it would give us is a better movie experience on a non-HD screen. Waste of money.

[slugslugslug]

I think Blu-ray burners will show up first in the top-end configurations (and as a BTO option in other configs) of the first round of Mac Pros, and then maybe as an possibly as an option in the next MacBook Pro update. But I think it'l be close to a year before Blu-ray burning is even an option in Mac minis or the non-pro MacBook. A BD-ROM/DVD-RW combo might show up across the board by early '07, though.

And i don't see a reason for having Blu-Ray drives. They sure wouldn't be writable

There's already at least one Blu-ray writing laptop announced. And I'm pretty sure I read about slot-loading BD-R drives available to OEMs.

[tillin]

if they release a small version of the MBP ( which i dont think they have a reason to do so as the MB is really quite good ) i would be sold in a heartbeat. i am looking to downsize from a 17" powerbook that i currently have, and the size of the macbook is EXACTLY what i was hoping for. after fondling them excessively in the apple store, i even love the new keyboard design. i just wish there was a dedicated or even user upgradable GPU... for my personal use which would be a lot of photoshop i know its not necessary, but there is always that "what if..." situation that comes up. especially since i have a 128MB Radeon 9700 in my current powerbook, which has been certainly capable for my uses.

in all honesty though, i dont see apple making a smaller than 15" MBP, not when the MB is so very close in Spec to it. Ill wait until the merom processors come out in the MB then ill just end up getting one i bet. I bet the REV B macbook will be sweet!

[Screwball]

Guys, is it possible, that the MBPs driven by the Merom CPUs, will be out by late July, or early August? I'm yearning to get a flawless MBP, so probably in addition to the speed bump, i would no longer have to deal with occassional problems given that the Merom MBPs are going to be Revision B! What do you guys think?

[shawmanus]

I think Apple needs to have enclosures that handle heat much better. They should not try to make "nano" like laptop that has poor thermals. Rev A Macbook pros are too hot IMHO.

[slugslugslug]

Other companies are making 10- and 11-inch sub-4-lb notebooks. Apple should make a little laptop and get the thermal stuff right. Doesn't seem like they have to be mutually exclusive, esp. if they use some of the newer Ultra Low Voltage CPUs. Yes, said chips will drive up the price at compromised performance, but if there's a market for teeny-tiny laptops, it consists largely of people willing to pay a premium for portability.

[greenamp]

Why in bloody hell would you ever need a 19" laptop?

[nJm]

^ exactly. I have a 19" widescreen LCD and I can't imagine carrying anything so big around with me.

[wilburguy]

What I expect is a MacBook Pro that does not:
1. Whine when the CPU is idling.
2. Get burning hot.
3. Have a buzzing inverter board
4. Have a right speaker that does not distort.

[Podolsky]

carbon fiber - its coming.

[mrmister]

"What I expect is a MacBook Pro that does not:
1. Whine when the CPU is idling.
2. Get burning hot.
3. Have a buzzing inverter board
4. Have a right speaker that does not distort."

Amen.

[bloodline]

Originally Posted by Podolsky

carbon fiber - its coming.

Why? If you want a non metal laptop buy a shytie dell.

People who don't like Aluminium should be shot! :-D

[oeyvind]

Wishlist...

- ExpressCard/54 (so one can use CF adapter!!!)
- Dual Layer SuperDrive
- FW800

[drewcifer]

i really cant imagine a major form factor change. The brushed aluminum looks better than anything on the market. hands down. Color? What color would you want besides black or white? And those are for the MB.

Yes i feel fairly certain that the aluminum will stay.

Also, i have my doubts in a smaller mb pro. Here is why. Notice it says "meet the family, now complete" It appears that apple has no intention of adding a smaller mb pro in the future.

I also think Merom will take longer than ya'll think.
Well actually maybe im just hoping that (bought my mbp a month ago). tehehehh.

What i'm really interested in though is 6g ipods!

[Zeeb]

Originally Posted by drewcifer

i really cant imagine a major form factor change. The brushed aluminum looks better than anything on the market. hands down. Color? What color would you want besides black or white? And those are for the MB.

Yes i feel fairly certain that the aluminum will stay.

Also, i have my doubts in a smaller mb pro. Here is why. Notice it says "meet the family, now complete" It appears that apple has no intention of adding a smaller mb pro in the future.

I also think Merom will take longer than ya'll think.
Well actually maybe im just hoping that (bought my mbp a month ago). tehehehh.

What i'm really interested in though is 6g ipods!

I think you're right about the enclosure--its not gonna change much. The reason I feel this way is due to the design of your average Apple store. When I went to the new store in 5th avenue in Manhattan and looked around I saw design elements which "matched" design elements on the Macbook Pro and Powermac. Aluminum colored sheets of metal with holes in them that match exactly the aluminum and the speaker grill on the Macbook Pro. They design the stores to evoke the style of their computers. I'm sure many people have noticed this.

Since even the new stores still have these design elements, it seems to suggest an investment for now in keeping the same design for the Macbook Pro. I wonder if even the new intel Powermac will not look terribly different when it comes out.

Of course, I could be all wrong and a stunning new design could come out at Macworld with simultaneous renovations on Apple stores only a few months old. Perhaps they will focus on the internal design of the computers so they're not so hot and don't whine. I have to say I love the current design but I guess change is good.

[jeebus]

Originally Posted by tritonus

You can't be serious with all the zeros?! What do you think Jobs would introduce at MWSF 2007 then? "Here, our new MacBook Pro: Processor is x GHz instead of y GHz. The End."?

What makes you so sure that there will be any updates to the Macbooks at MWSF? There is definitely a good possibility, but Apple has never given any indication that they are going to update these machines at MWSF. When you also consider Apple's recent tendency to release major products outside of the old MW product release cycle, I would say there's also a good chance that Apple will release new MBPs at a special event when they are ready, rather than rushing them for MW. Especially since Apple has no control over the economics of new Blu-ray/HD-DVD drives, 802.11n etc.

[Velocity211]

Firewire 800, More USB, Merom, DL Superdrive, Expresscard 54, Possibly a card reader

[Simon]

Merom, DL SD, MB's latch mechanism, MB's user-removable HDD, case modifications.

I'd love to see all ports on one side like the MB, but I'm pretty sure that won't happen. At least they could change the location of the lock slot which right now is frankly quite ridiculous.

[real]

Originally Posted by NateEssex

Yup, a PRO 13" solution with a real video card. Yup, that's the ticket. And the backlit keyboard would be a nice bonus

Im in I'd love one of those macbook with a BTO option of a real graphics card yeah that sounds good. Not going to happen but it does sound good

[RevEvs]

Well the consensus is that an update will arrive in August (as Apple cant lag behind anymore while other PC manufacturers include Meroms). I would like the MB latch and HD placement to be brought over to the MBP - i'd be happy with that.

[milhous]

i'd have no objections to high-density high-definition dispalys on a MBP. at the very least, it should be made a BTO option for people who need it.

[Rob van dam]

Anyone believe that implementing LED backlights into the displays will improve battery life. I believe Sony has been doing this for some time.

[shabbasuraj]

Luxeon LED technology would be nice.

Preferably a 5W Lumileds emitter would be nice.

[gperks]

FW800? Maybe. I think external SATA is more likely - thinner plug allows a thinner laptop. Ethernet and DVI are the two remaining fatties; it's hard to imagine how useful a tiny ultra-thin laptop could be without those two ports though.

[venom600]

Originally Posted by milhous

i'd have no objections to high-density high-definition dispalys on a MBP. at the very least, it should be made a BTO option for people who need it.

Indeed. I am constantly jealous of my friends 15" dell with 1600x1050 resolution. I understand that some people don't like high density displays (I am looking at you baby boomers), but some of us would like that.

[Dave Hagan]

As has been proven with the increased rez on the last rev of the PowerBooks & the new MacBook Pro, higher rez NEEDS even illumination (& it just has been lackluster illumination thus far).

[Cross]

Originally Posted by bloodline

Why? If you want a non metal laptop buy a shytie dell.

People who don't like Aluminium should be shot! :-D

I still vote the Pismo as the Best Powerbook yet in design I loved it.

I would love to see The MBP go to black when I saw the MB black I went to buy one until I saw shared graphics.

As for the Alum look. I like it as well, I liked the Ti look to though... esp considering I'm on the last model Ti lol. I think I am just going to wait for everyone to start buying MBP's and try out an Alum first before I jump on a MBP. I need to atleast try them.

On the 19" thats crazy I don't even like the 17" all that much, to big for me. 15.4 is perfect to me.

I have not paided complete atten to HD's in the alum books and mbp but if they are not SATA that would be nice to see.

I really want to see Apple try a good nvidia card, they tried the 440go which was a joke at the time they used it. I want to see the new nvidia chips in a MBP but then I don't like ATI all that much *Shrug*

As for the rest I am still hoping mainly for black. I also do not see why they said it was an upgrade to loose removable drives. I loved running two batterys, two hard drives, any drive I wanted in my Pismo. *shrug*

A Card Reader would be nice though. I liked using that over cable connection to my camera.

[slugslugslug]

You mean you vote Lombard as the best PowerBook design. Pismo used the same one, but Lombard came first.

Of course I'm only being this pedantic because I'm still bitter that I got a SCSI-laden Lombard instead of waiting a little longer to get the Pismo's FireWire.

[Cross]

Plus I remember the Lombard having problems, video card and the screens being different or they just like to ref the pismo's screen when they made the iBook 14".

But yes the Lombard was the first with the design. Either way they were def my pref design. If I could get a Alum MB functional in a Pismo/Lombard that would be my choice in a PB