"Slim" MacBook rumors resurface

kaidomac · Sep 21, 2007

via Engadget

An ultraportable MacBook Pro is my dream...hopefully it will be realized within the next year. My more realistic guess, though, is that they will trim the 13" MacBook line down and add a few nifty features like LED backlighting and multitouch on the mousepad.

Sure, you've had the space of a few minutes without Apple rumors, but be honest with us: it felt lonely, didn't it? Well don't worry, because the rumors are back... with a vengeance. According to 9to5mac (who recently nailed news on the iPod nano), Apple is readying a new line of black and sliver aluminum laptops, which might be the slimmer MacBook Pros mentioned previously. Details are, of course, totally speculative and entirely unconfirmed, but it sounds like the systems will be considerably thinner and lighter than current models, will have screens that reach further to the edges (which apparently suggests a smaller footprint), have keyboards in the vein of the new Apple Bluetooth models, and are set to be priced "extremely aggressively." In addition, the report says that there is "something strange about the touchpad," which could mean we'll be seeing some sort of multi-touch functionality, or it could mean nothing at all. We'll keep you posted on what the mill has to say.

knightlie · Sep 21, 2007

"Something strange about the touchpad" is pretty meaningless. What, it had yellow stripes? it was textured like a waffle?

MikeYMS · Sep 21, 2007

mmmm...waffle.

XJ-linux · Sep 21, 2007

Can I have a Dr. avatar too? LOL

fleurya · Sep 21, 2007

Even if they make a "slimmer" notebook, how slim can it really be? Maybe they can shave off .2 inches, but that won't make me run out and buy one, especially considering it probably won't be as powerful. If it was like a half in, then I would get pretty excited. What I would really like is a much lighter notebook. Lugging my bag to classes and back and all over campus is really making me impatient for cheaper SSDs with more memory.

XJ-linux said:
Can I have a Dr. avatar too? LOL

HAHA! There's at least 3 of them around here.

RONE · Sep 21, 2007

God I hope they make a tablet style laptop.

amrk47 · Sep 21, 2007

oh man i cant wait to upgrade from my MB

DonkeyKong · Sep 22, 2007

Yea i too rkn that if they do make it thinner they will take out quite a bit of features to size it down most likely the graphics card the ram and probably the hdd will have to be reduced however, i would see a slim MB being useful for students and people constantly on the move.

the8thark · Sep 22, 2007

XJ-linux said:
Can I have a Dr. avatar too? LOL

Sure thing? And I'm the 3rd one.

*********************

And yeah I think Apple are getting carried away with the "slimness" approach. Everything they are going is about always tiner, always slimmer. I think sometimes like 5 mm difference won't ne noticed that much at all. And also the smaller something is, the easier it is to lose it. The new ipod shuffles especially, they're just so tiny. But that's off topic.

Sure I believe smaller computers are good also. But I think improving the core functions is also useful.

And my last word is if the computer was too light people would not feel it in their bag and forget it's even there. I know I know people who forget they have small valuables in their bags. So overall I think a compromise is what is needed.

caloge · Sep 22, 2007

I have a feeling apple is replacing the macbooks with these aluminum counterparts, it is the only computer (actually its teh only product period) that they have left in carbonite plastic, even teh original ipods are aluminum now, despite the fact that it will blur the lines between macbook and pro.
THe day of White apple computers is passing

Ghostshadow · Sep 22, 2007

A while back they were rumored as mini macbook pro's. I really hope it's true. I don't really like the 13'' macbooks much. I mean, they are nice and all. But the edges are sharp on them, but I don't know, I think a 12'' MBP or something would be hella dope. they can fit bigger resolutions on that screen, or even a 12'' widescreen would be sweet.

I just hope it's rad and powerful all in one.

technologist · Sep 22, 2007

fleurya said:
What I would really like is a much lighter notebook. Lugging my bag to classes and back and all over campus is really making me impatient for cheaper SSDs with more memory.

Lighter is really what Apple's missing.

The 12" PowerBooks aren't that thin--they're thicker, actually, than any current Apple notebook--but they were over half a pound lighter than the lightest MacBook today.

They also had real graphics hardware...fairly good graphics hardware for notebooks at the time.

anmoldagreat · Sep 23, 2007

i dont really care about weight at all
or thickness
but the overall footprint is most important
i dont have the space to lug around a 15in model with me
and thats the only reason i got a macbook instead
if they made a 12in pro then i would get it if the performance matched the others
if not ill just keep the macbook and get a macpro for heavy duty stuff

Sandwichman · Sep 23, 2007

I would go for a 12" MBP if it had a dedicated graphics card. Mobile, but I could plug it in to a nice big screen at home.

I used to think Apple wouldn't make an ultraportable, but now I think it's a possibility.

kaidomac · Sep 23, 2007

One rumor I heard was that it will have dual 32gb SSDs...that would be interesting!

milessthomas · Sep 23, 2007

Thinner is not always better. Look where Sony went, they made them so thin they couldn't fit peripherals in them so they started shipping them with side attached peripherals so when you lugged your laptop around you were lugging around a paper thin laptop almost and external cd-drive, floppy drive, plug bar to plug in all the peripherals, and the laptop wouldn't even stay flat on the desk cause the bottom was too light and the screen would flip it over. These were the circa. 1998 sony vaios...hated that laptop.

Rowe2ry · Sep 23, 2007

I makes since that they'd be offering new Macbooks. think about it, Apple is dropping the "white" scheme. Befor ethat it was clear and another color. We're onto (as Steve Jobs would say) Silicon and Aluminum, or glass and aluminum, or as I'd say aluminum and black.Just look at the other products. iPhone, iPods (no more white, just silver anodized aluminum), the Pro Series has been a bit ahead. Yeah, I see it as more of a style and size (if they can manage to shave away any more mass) refresh only, leaving all internals the same.

yogi · Sep 24, 2007

I hope this happens soon... I cancelled my MacBook order after these numerous rumors... Now I'm on a horrible edge... but I can wait ... a while...

Leukeh · Sep 24, 2007

I like the idea of them being priced a little more aggressively, and it also wouldn't surprise me because they've done it with both iMacs and iPods... I'm going to wait till early-mid next year to buy a Macbook Pro. I don't need one desperately right now, and I don't have the money... plus by then Leopard will have been out for quite some time and most programs that aren't initially compatible will be by then.

kaidomac · Sep 24, 2007

yogi said:
I hope this happens soon... I cancelled my MacBook order after these numerous rumors... Now I'm on a horrible edge... but I can wait ... a while...

The rumor I heard from an insider is a new mini laptop and an improved Mac Mini with some kind of "real" graphics card before Christmas. Guess we'll find out within a few months