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MacBook Air's Mult-touch trackpad

17" MacBook Pro
Apple spreads Multi-touch to more members of the family

Apple's MacBook Air was first announced last Tuesday at Macworld 2008. The ultra-thin notebook sparked quite a storm on the Internet over the fine balance of making a thin, lightweight device while at the same time providing functionality and versatility.

While the MacBook Air's thin frame got a lot of attention, one of its other big features got lost in the static:  the Multi-touch trackpad. The multi-touch trackpad gives Air users the ability to use gesture techniques first seen on the iPhone and later on the iPod touch. Users can tap, scroll, pinch, rotate and swipe objects on the screen with the oversized trackpad.

According to AppleInsider, the feature will soon grace revised MacBook Pros within the next few weeks. The new 15" and 17" MacBook Pro notebooks will also feature Penryn-based Core 2 Duo processors according to AppleInsider's sources.

Likely 45nm Core 2 Duo transplants will be the 2.5GHz T9300 and 2.6GHz T9500 on the 15" MacBook Pro. The 17" MacBook Pro will only be available with the latter processor.

The current MacBook Pro starts at $1,999 for the 15" model with a 2.2GHz Core 2 Duo processor. Stepping up to a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo processor causes the price to balloon to $2,499. Users who opt for a 17" MacBook Pro will are greeted with a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo processor and a $2,799 price tag.

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That would be nice...
By GnomeCop on 1/21/2008 5:26:29 PM , Rating: 2
I hope this rumor or at least parts of this rumor are true. The release of the Macbook Air made me apprehensive about buying any of the Macbook Pros because of the imminent updates. :\




By Master Kenobi (blog) on 1/22/2008 10:27:49 AM , Rating: 5
It's usually standard practice following Mac announcements that the entire line of PC's gets refreshed. Just wait a few weeks and let them drop.


Updated MacBook Pros...
By aliasfox on 1/22/2008 10:54:10 AM , Rating: 2
In addition to the new processors, I wouldn't be surprised if Apple decides to incorporate the new GeForce 9600GT mobile graphics chipset - Apple occasionally gets first dibs on CPUs and GPUs (Mac Pros are getting 3.2 GHz Harpertowns early, the original MBP got Yonah before most other tier 1 vendors, and nVidia released the GeForce 4 Ti on Mac first - granted that was a fairly long time ago), and considering the MBP is one of their flagship mainstream products, it would make sense, given the timing.

Given that the machine wasn't announced at MacWorld, I wouldn't expect any major case changes (outside of the trackpad), which disappoints me. I currently use the 12" PowerBook (5 yrs old next month), which has similar physical architecture - meaning a very flimsy latch (mine's broken once), as well as a difficult-to-replace location for the hard drive (not to mention the optical drive). I'd be much more inclined to purchase a MBP if it incorporated the magnetic latch and easy HD access of the MacBook (or if the MacBook incorporated a real GPU and matte display).

Last point - Apple still has a nasty tendency to let systems stay on the line without updates/price drops for too long. Most Apples are introduced with competitive specs/pricing when they come out, but after 6 months with no updates or price drops, they become poor values. Case in point: the current MBP. Upon its release, I don't remember seeing competition (from Dell, at least) at under 6lbs with a comparable or better processor and GPU. These days, a roughly comparable M1530 can be had for roughly $400 less...

Flagship mainstream product - when I say this, I'm stating that the average consumer won't ever look at a $3000+ Mac Pro as a home system, and many have problems paying nearly $2k for a well equipped iMac, even though it may be well suited to the average home user who will use their machines for 3-5 yrs, never upgrade it, and get rid of it after that cycle. I'm pretty sure most people are still willing to consider paying $2k for a nice laptop if they have the need/money.




RE: Updated MacBook Pros...
By SoCalBoomer on 1/23/2008 4:57:47 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
nVidia released the GeForce 4 Ti on Mac first - granted that was a fairly long time ago


Not sure which Mac that was on - the G4 Graphites came with the G4MX, not with the Ti. Macs have nearly always (always in my remembrance) had less capable graphics cards - never the leading edge ones.

The Ti came out in April 2002, but the updated G4s came out in August 2002 - four months after.

While they seem to get Intel procs early (and custom ones as well) - they consistently seem to be behind the curve on graphics - and it would be logical to consider that a driver issue. Which is it more economical to do: Put out a high-end or brand-new graphics card for a Mac (with it's <10% market share) and write drivers for it. . . OR put out that high-end or brand-new card for Dell (with their ~30%) or HP (ditto) and not only get a single card, but a spread of cards and a bunch of third-party distributors . . . you get the idea.

Other than that, I agree with you - they really do let things get long in the tooth.


RE: Updated MacBook Pros...
By aliasfox on 1/24/2008 3:24:05 PM , Rating: 2
Actually, the Titanium was announced with the 2002 Quicksilver Power Macs at the end of January 2002 as a BTO option, with shipments beginning a month later. I tried to look up release history on google, but the best I could find was that it may have been announced first by Apple, followed a week later by nVidia's official unveiling - shipments began at about the same time for both PC and Mac versions.

The ATI Rage 128 was released on the Blue and White G3 very early in its product cycle (January, 1999). Top end for ATI at the time, though still slower than the comparable nVidia offerings (TNT? TNT2?).

Maybe the GeForce 4 Titanium release sticks out in my mind as the last time a high end GPU was released simultaneously on both platforms.

On the other hand, Apple's PowerBook and MacBook Pro machines have generally been fairly current in terms of GPUs, though never with the true top end. The MBP with the 8600GT came out over the summer, and IIRC, was one of the first with the chip...

As a Mac user who breaks out a game a few times a year, trust me, I'm not exactly thrilled at the selection/prices for anything remotely modern.


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