The MacBook - and Apple’s new portable strategy
Posted on Tuesday, May 16th, 2006 at 6:55 am under Mac Geekery.
So here they are. The iBooks get the Intel treatment along with a slick new design that comes in black and white flavors. For an Apple geek, days like this, when Apple releases new products, is like like a holiday. It usually means I spend countless hours dissecting specs, reading commentaries online and discussing it with friends to no end. But since I am busy with some projects at hand, today I am doing a concise version of it.
The most obvious change in the new lineup, other than the new MacBook name is the fact that they come in black and white. I’m sure the success of the black iPod had much to do with this. Apple knows these will be hot and are pricing them at $200 more with a slightly larger hard drive. They new laptops come only in 13″, as opposed to the iBook’s 12″ and 14″. The Pro laptops on the other hand comes in 15″ and 17″. When the Pro laptops came out earlier in the year, it was assumed that the 12″ was not released probably because of part supplies, similar to the Powerbook when it first came out with a 15″ only. But I have the feeling that the 12″ MacBook Pro is never coming. There are three quotes from Philip Schiller that stand out “We have now completed our portable transition and we’re incredibly excited about the new MacBook,” “Nobody should feel like they have to step down when you buy a MacBook” and “You don’t trade-off much in features between the MacBook and the MacBook Pro” - via MacWorld. This leads me to believe Apple has a new strategy with their portables.
Choosing between a consumer and pro laptop always meant some serious compromises in speed and features. But that is just not the case with the new line up. If we look closer at the specs we notice they both have 2MB L2 cache, 667MHz System Bus, built in Airport, built in Bluetooth, built in iSight camera, are an inch thick, have a 2Gig max ram, have aMagSafe power connector, DVI/VGA, video mirroring, support for cinema displays, brighter glossy screen, super drive, combined optical digital input/audio line in, combined optical digital output/headphone out, huge hard drives and remote control for Front Row. The only features, that I could notice are not in the consumer model are the Express Card slot, the massive 256mb dual DVI video card, backlit keyboard and a few extra usb/firewire ports available only in the 17″. On the other side, the MacBook is now the only one offering composite s-video output and also all models come with the new glossy brighter screen which are optional on the pro models.
I love this new approach Apple is taking on the portable line. Getting a consumer model should not equal getting an inferior machine, it should just lack a few things that are not essential to the consumer. I’m sad to see the 12″ go away but a 13″ might be a welcomed upgrade. We’ll have to see how it feels. Although support for cinema displays is a welcomed overdue feature, the 32mb video card which is the one in the mac mini, is a bit skimpy and there’s no option to upgrade.
May 16th, 2006 at 11:47 am
Well, they’re not quite the same. The MacBook Compromise
But I do agree, the closeness between the two is definitely a step in the right direction for apple.
May 16th, 2006 at 12:09 pm
I’m so excited to check these new laptops out.. Gonna be letting go of my powermac Dual 2.0 for either a MacBook or MacBook Pro very soon.
May 16th, 2006 at 12:33 pm
Do you recommend the new MacBook for web designers? Why?
I bought a PC because I have Dreamweaver and Photoshop for Windows. I have heard a Mac would have been a better choice but I’m not exactly sure why.
Does it include software similar to Photoshop or Dreamweaver?
May 16th, 2006 at 2:11 pm
Nothing is better than reloading applestore.com half an hour. I’ts like christmas eve.
May 17th, 2006 at 12:27 am
Months ago an Apple reseller told me: “When Apple will upgrade the iBook line I hope that also the graphic card will be considered…” I don’t think that the intel 950 it’s a great update expecially for gaming performances, maybe Apple could release the black MacBook (that would replace the PowerBook) equipped with a better graphic card…
May 17th, 2006 at 3:50 am
I’m Sad that you have to get them with a Glossy display.. :( I was pumped to upgrade the old G3 iBook… However my desk is near a window and it causes enough glare on my Matte screen… I don’t think I’d be able to use a glossy one at all… I guess I’ll be going for the MBP which is too bad seeing as the MB fits my need perfectly… Boo-urns…
May 18th, 2006 at 7:29 am
Albert, both Photoshop and Dreamweaver are available for the mac. Most designers use macs because they are cool and have a far better interface than windows, allowing you to be more productive. Thats in my opinion anyway
May 18th, 2006 at 9:55 am
I’ve heard Dreamweaver does not run as smoothly on a Mac than it does on a PC. I did not want to have to buy the software again for a Mac since I already have it for PC.
Does a Mac include any software out of the box comparable to Photoshop and Dreamweaver?
May 21st, 2006 at 7:22 am
I ll buy a macbook soon. The 32mb graphic card is enough to play WoW with low details.
May 23rd, 2006 at 3:09 pm
“Does a Mac include any software out of the box comparable to Photoshop and Dreamweaver?”
No and niether does any other PC you can buy.
Jun 2nd, 2006 at 9:34 pm
If you want to switch from PC to Mac, check to see it they provide a cross-grade, most software manufacturers do, so it will ease the transition.
Jun 15th, 2006 at 12:20 pm
I bought the BlackBook (amateur) two saturdays ago. I need to decide whether to switch for the Pro by the weekend. I love it so far, but I can’t run Final Cut with the current video card. Can I upgrade the video card, and how much will that set me back? Would it make more since just to trade it in for Pro (considering price difference and restocking fee.) It might be shallow, but I just love that black. Thanks.
Oct 23rd, 2006 at 3:08 pm
“I bought the BlackBook (amateur) two saturdays ago. I need to decide whether to switch for the Pro by the weekend. I love it so far, but I can’t run Final Cut with the current video card. Can I upgrade the video card, and how much will that set me back? Would it make more since just to trade it in for Pro (considering price difference and restocking fee.) It might be shallow, but I just love that black. Thanks”
you can run final cut, its just not as fast, more rendering
Oct 23rd, 2006 at 8:23 pm
I’ve been using the BlackBook Amatuer since it came out. I maxed the RAM, and it has been an amazing work horse for me. I run Flash, Final Cut, After Effects, I render, upload and download all at the same time and it does everything I ask without a crash. I later became one of the unlucky few who had to have my heatsink replaced, and now my battery burned out. Even so, I am very happy with it. The Macbook really saved me and helped me get my company going!
Mar 14th, 2007 at 8:01 pm
Hello everyone, well, I finally got my MacBook. I really like it. Still learning all the new features. Any tips you can share will be helpful.
Mar 15th, 2007 at 6:30 pm
Nice job, and it only took 10 months to decide! Mine is still solid, but the camera quit working recently. No more video chats til I get that fixed. I don’t know another consumer laptop that makes video conferencing so easy. It’s been awesome. For anyone else still deciding, I would advise you only to get one if you live convient to an Apple store. If you do, and you are new to the Mac experience, get ready for a step in the right direction. I swear noone is paying me to write this. I can’t wait for the iPhone. Maybe you should do another blog on it. Is it really worth the price tag. Without hesitation I say yes. Talk about your “Portable Strategies.”
Jun 18th, 2007 at 3:08 am
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