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Posts tagged with "macbook pro"

New MacBook Pro Model Numbers Revealed? Launch Next Week?

Two reports posted today by Italian blogs SlideToMac and iSpazio suggest the new MacBook Pros might be released as early as next week, in five different models. The MacBook Pro line is due an update and several rumors in the past weeks pointed to a late February / early March release.

First off, SlideToMac [Google Translation] claims to have received exclusive information that the new MacBook Pros will be available next week, by Thursday or Friday. Five models will be available according to SlideToMac: two 13-inch models, two 15-inch models and one 17-inch model. SlideToMac also reports they’re not completely sure about the 17-inch version and that, according to their source, this won’t be a “simple upgrade” to the existing MacBook Pro family.

Similar information comes from iSpazio [Google Translation], which also posted model numbers received via email from an Apple employee:

  • MC720
  • MC721
  • MC723
  • MC724
  • MC725

iSpazio, however, reports the “new MacBooks” (most likely MacBook Pros) will be available “around the end of this month” and that shipments from Apple to retail stores will begin in the next few days. Currently, Apple is selling two MacBook Pro 13-inch models, three 15-inch models and only one 17-inch MacBook Pro.

Notebook Shipments To Slow Down in Q1, But Apple Is “Doubling Orders”

According to Digitimes, most notebook vendors will see lower shipments in Q1 2011, mainly due to defective Intel chipsets. Apple and Samsung, however, won’t experience this slowdown and Apple is even doubling the orders of some models.

With the exception of Samsung Electronics and Apple, first-quarter 2011 shipments of notebooks from brand-name vendors will be lower than expected, according to sources from Taiwan’s notebook upstream supply chain.

Samsung has been performing better than other brands by taking up deliveries from the suppliers, the sources noted, adding that Apple reportedly is revising upward its orders with the volume of some hot-selling models being doubled.

Do we see new MacBook Pros here, relatively soon? The line is due an update, and reports suggested Intel may be able to ship the Sandy Bridge by the end of February anyway. According to recent rumors, stock of some MacBook Pro models has been running low and a refresh is coming soon.

New Intel Sandy Bridge CPUs To Start Shipping February 20th

The most probable next generation processor for MacBooks will start shipping on February 20th. The new Intel core i5 and i7 processors, based on the Sandy Bridge architecture shown off at CES, comes in flavors ranging from 1.4 GHz to 2.7 GHz, drawing 17 watts to 35 watts respectively under load. The new processors could be used to update Apple’s MacBook, 13” MacBook Pro, and 15” MacBook Pro line, while quad-core Sandy Bridge CPUs would populate Apple’s higher end MacBooks and desktops. Apple’s MacBook and 13” MacBook Pro continue to utilize Core 2 Duo processors, and may receive a Sandy Bridge update later this year.

Why is Sandy Bridge so impressive? Our friends over at The Next Web explain.

[via Macworld]

Marco Arment’s MacBook Pro Speculation→

Marco Arment’s MacBook Pro Speculation

Marco Arment predicts a new MacBook Pro 15” inspired by the success of the new MacBook Airs:

And I’m guessing that the 15” will undergo its most significant change in a very long time: it will adopt the wedge shape of the Air, losing its thick, uncomfortably sharp front edge. Removing the optical drive will free up a lot of space inside, leaving room for a rearrangement that can enable the wedge shape without giving up a significant amount of battery volume.

No glass and SSD by default may end up on the new MacBook Pro as well. The problem with a wedge design is that it leaves small room to “big ports” like FireWire and Ethernet, something users are really used to have on the MBP 15-inch. I agree with Marco when he says there’s little sense to keep the 13-inch MacBook Pro in the line-up now that the 13-inch MacBook Air is so portable and powerful.

Also, Apple’s homepage says it all: MacBook Air is the next generation of MacBooks. We just have to wait to see where do we go from here.

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MacBook Pro Stock Running Low, Update Coming Soon?

According to a report posted by MacRumors, stock for the 15-inch and 17-inch MacBook Pros is beginning to run low suggesting that Apple may be planning to not ship orders to suppliers in order to prepare an update to the product line, expected for the first half of 2011.

The 17” MacBook Pro generally appears to be in the shortest supply at the moment, with Amazon quoting a shipment window of 1-2 months for the base Core i5 model and several popular resellers connected through Amazon’s systems also showing low stocks of the 17” models. For its part, Apple continues to show “within 24-hour” availability of all MacBook Pro models in its online stores, suggesting that the company may be prioritizing remaining stock to serve its customers directly.

An update to the MacBook Pro family could integrate Intel’s Sandy Bridge processors and internal Solid State Drives, not to mention a new thinner design to reduce weight and increase portability like Apple did with the MacBook Airs last year. It is unclear whether or not Apple will also implement USB 3.0 or Intel’s Light Peak, but what’s for sure is that we should be hearing news about the Pro line any day now.

Personally, a lighter and slightly thinner 15” MacBook Pro with built-in SSD and higher resolution screen would be my perfect machine.

Hey, My Fake MacBook Pro Runs OS X

Maybe. Maybe it’s just a Windows 7 skin. Damn, those Chinese manufacturers fooled us again. Thing is – we have seen “interesting” Apple knockoffs in the past, but this one beats them all. It’s a fake MacBook Pro that seems to be capable of running OS X out of the box, even if the website reports it ships with Windows 7. Hmmm. Maybe they just don’t want to get in any trouble with Apple, right?

As for the specs:

For 3100 yuan (about $466), it’s got a 14-inches 1376×768 LED backlit display in 16:9 ratio, powered by Intel Atom D510 1.66GHz processor, 2GB RAM, 320GB hard drive (5400rpm), based on Nvidia ION-2 platform in which you get dual graphics, Intel GMA 3150 and ION 2.

The machine also comes with a fake Apple logo, a Windows key (what?), three USB ports, a 1.3MP camera and a built-in SD card reader. 10 hours battery life. Not bad, right? Right? Come on, it’s basically a MacBook. I think.

Check out more photos below. But don’t ask us where you can get one. We don’t know. [Engadget via M.I.C. Gadget] Read more

Report: Apple Is Shipping One Million MacBooks Per Month

Digitimes has other interesting tidbits to share this morning: according to sources close to component makers (the ones being used in Apple’s computers), Apple is set to ship around one million MacBook units per month in Q4 2010, with the new MacBook Airs accounting to 20-25% of the volume.

The sources cited IDC’s figures and pointed out that Apple’s combined shipments for the first three quarters of 2010 reached about 6.88 million units, and its global notebook market share rose from 3.7% in the first quarter to 5.2% in the third, while its market share in the US market surged from 6.7% to 12.6%.

Rumors have also surfaced in the past few days regarding Apple willing to remove optical disk support and add SSD to the next generation MacBook Pros, which will likely be refreshed next Spring.

With shipments of current MacBooks ramping up to 1 million per month, the Mac App Store opening in January, new MacBook Pros on the horizon and OS X Lion coming next summer – it looks like 2011 will be an interesting year for Mac users.

Intel’s Light Peak Is Coming - Will Apple Use It?

According to an industry source contacted by CNET, Intel’s Light Peak technology development is nearing completion and it should be ready to go public in the first half of 2011 – earlier than initially expected. Light Peak is faster than USB 3.0 and can transfer up to 10 Gigabits per second in both directions simultaneously. USB 3.0 is not supported by Apple and a very few other PC makers have implemented the technology in their computers. Most of all, Intel itself hasn’t released chipsets compatible with USB 3.0 yet.

On the other hand, Light Peak has the chance to be backed next year by two major computer makers in the industry, Apple and Sony. Back in 2009, in fact, Intel stated that they had showed early prototypes of Light Peak to third parties and incorporated the feedback they got into their next designs, adding that Apple is an “an innovating force in the industry”. The demo Intel run on stage was based on a Mac, and Sony showed its appreciation for Light Peak in the past, too.

Even though Intel claims that, actually, they’re committed to the USB 3.0 project, it is clear that the money’s on the table with Light Peak, which is faster and lightweight enough to be implemented in new computers without adding bulk or extra space. Apple is expected to reveal new MacBook Pros in the April - June 2011 timeframe – that would be a good time to announce Light Peak coming to the next generation of OS X, wouldn’t it?

With Lion coming next summer, new MacBook Pros and a developer conference in June, the pieces might be coming together pretty soon.