Ultra-thin and Ultra-light Mac Notebook in 2007

Nice I hope this version would top the ultraportables from SONY

http://macscoop.com/articles/2007/07/10/ultra-thin-and-ulra-light-notebook-coming-end-year-sources

 

DANG IT! I was planning on getting the macbook pro, but now the 12" looks mighty fine!!!! It might even have a better battery life.. Up to 12 hrs?

What should I do??

 

Not gonna lie... I'm impressed.

 

When and if this is released, the only question is "what took them so long"?

It's clear there is a huge, gaping hole in the portable lineup from Apple, a 12" ultra portable. It's very clear that there is a large demand by looking at how many people still run around with 12" Powerbooks and also by looking at the prices for used 12" Powerbooks.

So my guess as to why it took them so long is typical Apple - they needed to make it perfect. So when it hits the market, it will stun everyone

 

12 hours? Not a chance. Battery life will be comparable to current models, at best. You just can't fit that many cells into a 3 pound laptop. Think about it.

 

As with all of these rumors, this must be taken with a grain of salt. I think they will eventually release an ultraportable, but it may still be a ways off. One thing that is really frustrating me with Apple is that they don't seem to care about the computer side of their business anymore. iMacs are long overdue for an update, yet they have not gotten one, probably so they don't steal the iPhone's thunder. I think Apple made it clear in January when the renamed themselves Apple, Inc, that computers are taking a back seat.

 

For the time being I agree with you. They're trying to reproduce the iPod effect in a big market with the iPhone.

What's key is the fact that the iPhone is running a stripped down version of OS X. Apple won't forget about the Macintosh computer line anytime soon, but I see it as more a larger part of the Apple scheme. Imagine if they could eventually move even a small portion of iPod, iPhone, etc etc buyers to go Mac?

 

i would hope it had a discrete video card but i kinda doubt it considering its size.

 

I agree. And what a mistake that is, computers are much more profitable then the iPod or iPhone. Sales of Macs are really high right now! It is NOT the time for them to let up or let their computers be neglected. They should be pushing and updating, etc more then before!

 

im not sure if computers are really more profitable than the ipod or iphone. With apple computers they were pretty limited to their own fanbase where when it comes to the ipod/iphone everyone would buy it. They seem to be targeting a new market outside of computers because before the ipod their computer division was only doing so-so.

 

Very Cool. I love my 13" Macbook and after getting used to a 24" iMac I fear my next notebook will be larger rather than smaller, but the untraportable is a definite hole in the Apple notebook lineup and will be welcomed by many.

 

"The 12 inch PowerBook weighted 4.6 pounds" It is heavier than a Dell XPS M1330.

 

I agree.

Wait.

 

Completely different time periods though. For its time, the 12" PowerBook was actually quite impressive for its weight and size relative to other typical laptops.

-Zadillo

 

I really am not sure I agree with this.

Just because Apple isn't making as many public displays about the Mac line right now, it doesn't mean they aren't hard at work on updates to them.

You mentioned the iMac, for example. Just because Apple hasn't yet updated the iMac doesn't mean they aren't working on it. It seems very likely that the updated iMacs are coming next month, and it sounds like they are getting a complete re-design, for example (I know its still officially just a rumor, but the rumors have been strong enough that it would be very surprising if they didn't pan out).

And of course, the Mac part of the business isn't just the hardware, but also Mac OS X, and that certainly isn't taking a backseat.

If anything, Apple is positioning OS X itself to become more prominent than ever. We've already seen a stripped down OS X on the iPhone, and Jobs basically confirmed that the next iPods will also be running a version of OS X.

And he's hinted at what's in the pipeline for the main Mac computers as well.

Plus, we do have Leopard coming out; aside from its surface features, the underlying core frameworks in it, including Core Animation, are setting the stage for major advances in what Mac apps will be capable of.

So really, I absolutely don't believe that computers or the Mac itself are taking a backseat at Apple. I just think Apple is extending the concept of what a Mac is.

-Zadillo

P.S. I do agree though that I would take these rumors with a grain of salt; rumors of an ultraportable Mac have been swirling for a long time. I don't think this means they aren't working on it though (we already know that the genesis of the iPhone's multitouch interface was in fact an internal project at Apple to create some sort of slate/tablet-like computer, which does seem to confirm the earlier rumors of a TabletMac, so we now know where that project went).

I do think it will eventually come out, but as others have said, Apple is working on it to make it really something special.

 

It may be a bit high, but with an LED screen and a solid state hard drive, I don't think 7-8hrs would be unrealisitic.

 

The Sony TX gets around 9 hours, doesn't it?

 

I call shenanigans.

 

I will get my broom.

 

And doesn't that have a Core Solo? I doubt Apple would put something less than a dual core processor. Even the cheapest Macbook currently has 2.0Ghz C2D.

 

bah, just rumors. I would love an ultraportable macbook/pro but I just can't see them introducing a whole new machine at this point, at least not for a while anyway.

 

I think so, but its screen is smaller (11.1" I think?) and as mentioned its processor is a low-power core solo, which I highly doubt Apple would put in a Macbook Pro.

 

Is that thing made out of cardboard? It can't be so thin...

 

Before they release this model, PLEASE, oh please, make better batteries that actually have some chance of getting up to 6 hours of battery life!!!! I'd appreciate 4.5 too.....I can only get 3 for some reason.

 

If Apple was making an ultraportable though, there's no reason to think they wouldn't use the same kind of CPU used in machines like the TX/TZ, Asus U1F, etc.

Heck, Apple uses/used Core Solo processors in the Mac mini, for example.

 

That would really suck, but in a way thats the only way it will last 4-6 hrs.

 

What's the alternative? No-one can magically change the thermal properties of the full Core 2 Duo mobile processors........... there is a reason every laptop in this class generally uses ULV chips.

Aside from that though, performance-wise, its not like people are buying sub-3 pound ultraportables to do 3d rendering and Photoshop. For the kinds of tasks these machines are normally used for (office apps, web browsing, e-mail, etc.) the ULV processors are perfectly fine.

 

no ultraportables have dedicated video cards, it defeats the purpose of prolonging the battery life and keeping the size small.

 

Exactly why I stated earlier in this thread that the idea of 12 hour batteries was utterly fantastical and without basing in reality. There is *no* way they're going to fit all of this into that computer:

Core2Duo.
4h+ battery life.
Independent Video Card.
Sub 5lbs weight.
Sub $1500 starting price.

Pick TWO.