MacBooks with Expresscard slots?

I was wondering if there are rumors or any info about macbooks with expresscard slots, because i would really like to get a macbook with an XG station.

 

Nope. Generally, it seems like Apple has decided to make the ExpressCard slot a "pro" feature available only on the MBP.

One of Apple's challenges with the MB and MBP is to differentiate the products, and it seems like the GPU and ExpressCard slot are two specific ways they do that (rather than, say, making the MacBook much thicker, or putting a really low-end CPU in the MB).

I agree that it is kind of odd, as many low-end PC laptops still have ExpressCard slots. But there you have it.

I don't expect to see that change any time soon, so for the forseeable future, it would still be a matter of the MBP for ExpressCard expansion.

 

Oh well...i wish Apple had a broader product range.

 

Actually, it is the lack of broad product range that attracts me to Apple .... at least the choice is easy to decide on!

 

Gonna do a little thread hi-jacking here. What all do you guys use your express card slots for? I just recently got my MBP, and I really haven't found a use for it(when I first saw it I thought it was a storage place for the remote...)

 

Well, that's one thing I think, the need for PC Card or ExpressCard slots has diminished as laptops have more and more things built in. On my old PowerBook I had to use my PC Card slot primarily for an external wifi card, or for firewire and usb port expansion. But of course all laptops have this kind of thing built in right now.

By far it seems like the most popular use of ExpessCard slots is for wireless modems, etc.

Outside of that, there's eSATA ExpressCards.

And also there's Asus's XG Station, which lets you use an external PCI Express video card with your laptop (video is outputted through the XG Station).

 

WWAN card, XU870 to be specific.

Infact I was a little dissapointed there wasn't one built in. Wouldn't be suprised if this is a feature that is added in the next revision, as Santa Rosa includes that option from Intel.

 

i originally planned on getting a creative X Fi laptop sound card that plugs into the expresscard slot but found out the macbook pro has an expresscard 34 slot. the sound needs an expresscard 54, so that bummed me out. Oh well, going to order an external USB one which should do the job.

 

It would've been nice to have a MBP in smaller sizes, e.g. 12" or 14.1".

 

I'm pretty sure that Santa Rosa's WWAN component was removed and moved to Montevina.

-Zadillo

 

There's been tons of rumors of something like this being in the works, so it wouldn't surprise me to see something along these lines sometime this year.

 

Your probably right, I stopped following everything once I was sure there wasn't anything worth waiting for (given my circumstances and requriements). So I wouldn't have noticed that change.

Either way, I got the XU870 now. Just would have been nicer if it was an integrated part.

 

That's still something I don't totally get with how it will work to have WWAN integrated as part of Montevina....... wouldn't it lock you into whichever company happens to use that particular standard?

And heck, even with EVDO, Verizon and Sprint EVDO modems aren't compatible with each other are they?

 

heres a list of Expresscard devices

http://www.expresscard.org/web/site/cons_wtb.jsp

 

Perhaps thats why they have considered delaying it, to see what happeneds when the dust settles.

However, it looks like both EVDO and HSDPA are here to stay in the US. Dual modems are unlikely for the short term, so i'm guessing you'll get a choice when you purchase (or they may strike a deal and support one only).

The outlook is alot clearer in most of the rest of the world. For example in the UK HSDPA is the only option.

I'm not sure why EVDO modems wouldn't be compatible accross networks. I'm not too familiar with whats going on in the US. Are you sure it isnt to do with networks restricting branded devices to their networks only?

 

Yeah, I would assume it is more about networks restricting devices. You are right, I think..... seemingly if you have an EVDO modem it should be able to work with any EVDO provider.

But at least as far as I know, for example, if you get a laptop that has Sprint EVDO built-in, you can only use it with Sprint... you can't use it with Verizon (at least I don't think so).