So, I was more or less right about the outcome of yesterday's Apple event on notebooks (looking for the keynote video? Check here). Even though I think they should still drop the "Pro" nomenclature to describe a "larger" Macbook, the two notebooks now seem more alike than ever.
The new Macbooks
They now have the exact same aluminium case, glass display and button-less mouse trackpad. The differences come down to screen sizes/resolutions and in the internal components, wherein the Macbook Pro has a more powerful CPU, GPU and RAM. If you're looking for some pictures of the new machines "in the wild", check them here and here.
Regarding the common points, one of the most interesting aspects of the new Apple's notebooks is the multi-finger button-less glass mouse trackpad. With a set of new gestures (check a video here) this trackpad allows greater control of Mac OS X's features, such as picture navigation, zoom and rotation, app switching and access to Exposé. Also, the entire trackpad is a mouse button, which means that this might actually satisfy Greeks and Trojans. For those that don't like buttons in the trackpad...well, they aren't actually there. For those that do...well, it's there :-)
Another interesting aspect is the new case, which besides being made from a new innovative manufacturing process that is "greener", allows the new Macbooks to be lighter, stronger and slightly thinner.
The other aspect regarding the design of the new Macbooks is the choice of glass for the screen display (without a matte finish). This decision, I have to say, is quite disappointing. I've been using laptops for quite some time now and one thing I've learned is that glass displays are quite annoying when you're trying to use your computer outside.
Even though I like the innovation that Apple introduced with these new Macbooks, this one decision would be enough to keep me from buying one of these new notebooks. Well, at least until I have the chance to be face-to-face with one of them and check this new display's performance outside :-)
The older Macbooks and the Air
Apple has decided to still keep the older versions because they know that there are still some fans out there. For the Macbook, they kept the good'old white version (the most best-selling Mac ever) with a $100 price reduction and for the Pro, the 17'' version of the Macbook Pro is still there, which means Apple is still proud of that powerful notebook that is easy to carry everywhere.
The Macbook Air was not forgotten and it also got a boost on speed (new CPUs and GPUs) and storage (120 GB HDD for the cheaper version and a 128 GB SSD for the richie rich version).
About the other rumours
Steve Jobs has also made clear that there are three things that Apple won't step into, at least in the foreseable future:
- Touch-screen notebook - The Mac that we're all waiting for, won't be one of Apple's priorities since Steve Jobs has made clear that "it hasn't made a lot of sense to" Apple.
- Blu-Ray - Don't expect to see Blu-Ray drives in future Macs. Jobs described it as "a bag of hurt." I don't quite understand what this means, but he probably has his reasons for believing that.
- Netbook - If you're into netbooks, be advised that Apple won't be entering this market in the short term. But at least, Steve Jobs has made clear that Apple will "see how it goes" and...who knows, perhaps Apple will finally release a $400 or so netbook.
About Steve Jobs' Health
No, Steve Jobs is not dead...yet. And it's good to see that he can still have some sense of humour regarding all the news about his health.
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