10/14/2008, 2:05pm, EDT
Tuesday, October 14thLive from the Apple Event: new notebooks
Check the extended section of this story for as-it-happens updates on Apple's new MacBook event.
New MacBooks and Cinema Displays will be available through the online Apple Store.
2:05 pm ET: No touchscreens as it doesn't make sense yet, and the mainboard is custom-designed by Apple even as it uses NVIDIA's chipsets. PRESENTATION OVER.
2:04 pm ET: New MacBooks are thinner and (mostly) lighter: the 13-inch model goes from 1.08in to 0.95in and now weighs just 4.5 pounds. The 15-inch MacBook Pro is 5.5 pounds. No matte displays: Apple justifies this by saying there's more light being pushed through and that the adjustability minimizes reflections.
2:00 pm ET: 17-inch MacBook Pro being refreshed today, but using older casing for now. Not worried about the 13-inch MacBook cannibalizing the MBP as pros know they need more.
1:58 pm ET: Will Apple have an exclusive on the 9400M? No, just first to market. However, NVIDIA will play a larger role in Apple's lineup.
HDMI isn't there because it can't drive a 30-inch Cinema Display like DisplayPort can. Waiting on Blu-ray for it to take off in the marketplace.
1:52 pm ET: Q&A session with Steve Jobs and Jonathan Ive. Jobs jokes on health: my blood pressure is 110/70.
1:50 pm ET: Showing the actual manufacturing process (clearly proud of this).
1:47 pm ET: Video introducing new MacBooks, their unibody construction. Lighter, stronger, better!
1:46 pm ET: $1,299 (confirms price leak) for 13.3-inch display, 2GHz Core 2 Duo (note: newer generation), 2GB RAM, 160GB hard drive, Superdrive. $1,599 gets 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo, 250GB hard drive, Superdrive. Current white MacBook will sell for $999. New models shipping, should be in stores tomorrow.
1:43 pm ET: New MacBook: a new "sub-range" with aluminum, the glass trackpad, GeForce 9400M chipset, 5X better video performance than the Intel GMA X3100 in current MacBooks. Five hours of battery life. 42% of the parts of the previous model using the new construction technique, also 42% less packaging.
1:40 pm ET: New 24-inch Cinema Display: LED-backlit, includes stereo speakers, built-in iSight and mic, three USB ports. Ships for $899 in November.
1:39 pm ET: New MacBook Air announced: 1.6GHz and 1.86GHz Core 2 Duos (new Centrino 2 tech), 2GB RAM, 120GB hard drive and 128GB solid-state drive options -- $1,799 and $2,499 respectively. Shipping late November.
1:36 pm ET: $1,999 nets a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo, 2GB of DDR3 RAM, 250GB hard drive, DVD Superdrive. $2,499 gets 2.53GHz Core 2 Duo, 4GB of DDR3, 320GB hard drive.
1:34 pm ET: DisplayPort can drive 30-inch Cinema Display (part of the DP spec); solid-state hard drive will be an option, and users can replace the hard drive themselves similar to with the 13-inch MacBook. MacBook Pro will be available today.
1:33 pm ET: FireWire 800 only FireWire option; Ethernet, two USB, and the mini-DisplayPort which will be standard on all new Macs going on.
1:31 pm ET: MBP carries both the 9400M and 9600M GT at the same time; users can switch to the 9400 to get 5 hours of battery life, or use the 9600 for faster video but 4 hours of battery. (Note: this is basically Hybrid SLI, already seen in Windows)
1:27 pm ET: MacBook Pro announced: matches leaked photos. Glossy glass, LED-backlit display, mini DisplayPort output, magnetic latch (first for MBP), backlit keyboard.
1:24 pm ET: New multi-touch glass trackpad (confirms rumor) -- 39% larger than existing trackpads, and the whole pad is the button. Press down to make a physical click. Multiple virtual buttons; four-finger multi-touch gestures, including Expose.
1:22 pm ET: GeForce 9400M is real: new mobile chipset that builds both mainboard chipset and GPU into one, with 16 graphics cores (shaders). Estimated that the 8600M in the MacBook Pro has 55% of the performance of the 9400M [likely exaggerated - ed.]
1:20 pm ET: NVIDIA on stage; they have a new chipset and graphics, but Apple wanted to know if it would work with portable devices.
1:18 pm ET: The brick process is (partly) real: build out of a single block of aluminum and remove parts for better strength. Air has some of that and is rough-cut, new process almost works in reverse.
1:15 pm ET: Current systems are "filled" with parts and then attached to a pressed baseplate; needs a support structure for the top and a plastic gasket to join the two.
1:13 pm ET: Discussing the process of how notebooks are made; new ones are a "breakthrough."
1:10 pm ET: Apple has outgrown others for four years and currently has 17.6% retail share in the US; 39% share in education.
1:08 pm ET: Note - there's a (currently single) product covered in a black cloth on the stage.
1:07 pm ET: Jobs says Macs are better due to Boot Camp, but that running Windows "sends shivers up [his] spine" and that Vista is ultimately contributing to Apple's success by letting it market to (and simply win) customers unhappy with Vista.
1:02 pm ET: Steve Jobs takes the stage, says Apple sold 2.5m Macs last reported quarter and growing 2-3X rate of industry.
12:43 pm ET: Press have been let into the Town hall, but are waiting to take their seats.
12:42 pm ET: Ready yet? Visit the Apple Store. It's already down. "We'll be back soon."
12:30 pm ET: Waiting for the keynote to start.
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Boo on glossy, :9
Glossy glass sucks. Wish they didn't do that.
glossy yeah
I like the glossy glass on the screens. My current MBP I got glossy after using one in a store (replacing PB G4 with std matte screen). Greatly prefer the glossy screen on my MPB to my older PB G4 matte screen
Don't like glossy...
Glossy looks good and works okay for checking emails, web and watching movies but for serious graphics work, I'd much prefer a matte finish...
Wait- ONLY glossy?
there are only glossy screens on the MBP? seriously?!!
Wow, that sucks. I don't think a lot of people are going to like that. Maybe that's just the ones they're showing. The apple store doesn't have the new laptops (i mean notebooks) yet... so we'll see if it's an option.
W
Matte? 17"?
No discussion of matte displays is huge. Glossy is fine for consumers but few graphics pros want the display adding contrast and saturation. An absolute deal breaker for me. Also no 17" announcement: something foe Mac Expo perhaps?
OK
Must say, that black border around the screen looks annoying. Must be one of those "In person you don't notice it much" kind of things.
And I guess they couldn't have gone just "50% of the parts" and left on a real video port, instead of another "Apple-invented" port. Didn't we already get enough of that with the ADC?
And...
Waiting on Blu-ray for it to take off in the marketplace.
Gee, and there was a time when people would say that Apple led with new technology, not waited for others so they can follow. Or is that only when they decide to 'lead'.
$1,299 (confirms price leak) for 13.3-inch display,
What? Maybe I'm wrong, but did they actually raise the price of the MacBook? I guess they really, really, really don't want to bother with those people who consider $1000 'expensive'.
And are they selling the white MacBooks "while supplies last" or is it a continued product?
'standard' and trackpad
FireWire 800 only FireWire option; Ethernet, two USB, and the mini-DisplayPort which will be standard on all new Macs going on.
Does this mean mini-display port will be standard on ALL macs, or just the laptops? And are they standardizing on just two USB ports on all macs as well?
As for the trackpad, just what people need. They add four button capability, but you'll have to look at it to make sure you're clicking the correct one.
Die Gloss Die!
Okay, I have always known that Apple is kinda like McDonalds. As long as you want a BigMac the way THEY think you want it, your golden, but you want it special, then tough. However, McDonalds WILL make you a special.
Apple, in their infinite wisdom, is forcing us to down a BigMac (gloss screens) without even offering us an option of something else. I personally am fine with my glossy MacBook, but there is no way I want a 30" glossy screen, and my parents refuse to get a glossy iMac because they can't adjust it enough to deal with reflections and the LED backlighting is too bright for them. Why is it so impossible to offer us a choice? At least with a standalone monitor I have other choices, but not for laptops or iMacs.
More and more I'm finding the limited choices Apple is forcing me to accept if I want their products is becoming a bigger and bigger deal buster.
Yes, MBP cannibalized
[i]"Not worried about the 13-inch MacBook cannibalizing the MBP as pros know they need more.[/i]
Wrong. The forums are replete with graphics users accepting MB compromises to save money. And now with all-glossy, only 17" users can get a true graphics pro laptop anyway.