Apple has 13.3-inch MacBooks on the way?

It's always hard to judge these leaks from Apple suppliers, but according to AFX news, Taiwan's Asustek Computer has supposedly just won a bid for an initial run of around 1.2 million "iBook" computers with Intel processors and 13.3-inch LCDs. We've been operating under the assumption that Apple will call their new consumer line of laptops MacBook, as opposed to the pro line of MacBook Pro. Maybe we just spend too much time thinking about Apple's naming schemes, and this probably doesn't change anything. We should hopefully know for sure before long, though, since it is claimed that Apple will start selling these new laptops in June. (Image by William W from our WWJD 3 contest.)

[Huge Market @ Apr 4th 2006 3:52PM]

There are a lot of Mac users chomping at the bit for the MacBook. If they price it at $999 with a dual core processor I would definitely buy one over the Pro model. However I bet they disable it with a core solo. They'll sell even more with a black model ala the Nano.

[c_taylor @ Apr 4th 2006 3:53PM]

I don't care who makes it, just as long as it has at least a 1.8 core duo processor, 100gb hd, be under 4lbs, have 4hrs of battery life, and a dedicated graphics card (doesn't have to be fancy). I'll be first in line to buy it.

[Science @ Apr 4th 2006 3:55PM]

I want ipod cell phone!!!

[Huge Market @ Apr 4th 2006 4:00PM]

Just to add... probable specs: white core solo running at 1.5 ghz (basically same as the core solo mini) and black core duo running at 1.6 ghz (basically the same as the core duo mini). Priced at $899 and $1099 respectively.

[adam @ Apr 4th 2006 4:09PM]

omg, whats that sound? that is a moan of despair from the pit of my wallet as my credit card is about to be unleashed. what would be nice is if it had specs in line with the mbp, just in a smaller package, but i woild rather have a few specs suffer in place of great battery life and a smaller package

[TK2K @ Apr 4th 2006 4:09PM]

uhh, the picture say macbook on it :p

this is gona be a hard move for apple, they cant make it better designed then the macbook pro, so all they can really do is put front row in it and put it in a similar ibook style case.

[Silver @ Apr 4th 2006 4:16PM]

I say bring on the ultra-thin Apples with flash RAM storage. I personally don't need 100G in a laptop (that's what my desktop machine is for). Give me 10G in flash RAM, an ultra-thin (and light) enclosure, and long battery life and I'm there.

[idesign @ Apr 4th 2006 4:21PM]

#4 you're on crack.

These probable specs come from where? The low end iBook and low end G4 Mini were $500.00 apart. Considering they raised the lowend Core Solo Mini by $100.00 I seriously doubt they'll drop the new Macbook by $100.00.

#2 It's already out... It's called the Macbook Pro. Good luck getting that in an extremely less expensive consumer model anytime soon.

[Huge Market @ Apr 4th 2006 4:38PM]

It's not unreasonable to see Apple release a $899 core solo MacBook. Basically take the internals of the current core solo mini, transfer them to laptop enclosure, add a battery and 13" lcd. Processor and lcd prices continue to fall so it's not un-reasonable. Apple also needs to stay competetive in this market. I see that Dell is offering a 15" core duo laptop for $800....

I agree, the core duo would probably be more expensive than $1099. But not excessively so. We might even see a 13" MacBook Pro fill in the gap and take the place of the 12" Powerbook.

[Slartibartfast @ Apr 4th 2006 5:00PM]

Shipping in June? WOW! It's kinda like that big announcment they had back on April 1st isn't it?

[Glancing Aft @ Apr 4th 2006 5:05PM]

I had the money set aside for one of these but then some stupid teenage girl hit my car...

[Gordy @ Apr 4th 2006 5:09PM]

Think iMac.

[constantnormal @ Apr 4th 2006 5:25PM]

And no built-in iSight? Surely there will be an integrated iSight, as in the iMac and MacBook Pro models.

[European Vacations @ Apr 4th 2006 5:28PM]

Yeahhhhh i been waiting for the new ibooks for a long time.

[jojo @ Apr 4th 2006 6:11PM]

I don't think it is unreasonable for the MacBook to be as sexy and thin as the Pro model. Apple will probably carefully keep its specs noticalbly weaker than the pro models. This product should be about grabbing marketshare away from the Windows PC makers.

[Jan @ Apr 4th 2006 6:17PM]

I really like the background image in that picture, ran off to find it the first time I saw it. Oh the new iBook? Yeah, got to get me one of those too :)

[Michael @ Apr 4th 2006 6:41PM]

I hate to admit that I might make the switch from Wintel. I bought a MacBook Pro for my girl friend and love the build. I just cannot imagine such a large notebook for myself because I travel more than she does. Other than fewer virus and security issues, I don't see what's the big deal with the OS. I like navigating in Windows. I am extremely disappointed that Windows has pushed Vista out. It's making switching easier. I do love the size and weight of my Dell X1 but the battery sucks. If Apple can put 4 hour battery on a 13 inch wide screen, I'll make the switch for anything under $1500. (An aluminum finsh would be nice.)

[ryan @ Apr 4th 2006 6:51PM]

i would hope that they would keep the ibook name intact seeing as it has nothing to do with the powerpc chip as the POWERbook did. and besides...they didnt go and change the imac name and loose the "i".

[William McIntyre @ Apr 4th 2006 7:11PM]

June seems a long way away :-(

[Bo @ Apr 4th 2006 7:12PM]

Apple really need to release the new models soon since a lot of educational institutions and corporation have their year-end fiscal in June, causing a huge spending spree on computers and technology. Dell was smart and recently released their new laptop models and its selling like hotcakes due to this reason. I think a smaller MacBook is a more justifiable purchase for educational institutions than a MacBook Pro.

[Luke @ Apr 4th 2006 7:15PM]

I want apple to come out with a iBook with a intel core duo or solo, 13" screen, waighs 4 lb.s, super drive, and a sleeve for the iBook (like they did with the 5G iPod. All in one package for $1199. :)

P.S. Think different.

[sdwells @ Apr 4th 2006 7:42PM]

i agree with #4

just take the mac mini specs and add 300 bucks to compensate for the screen, battery and inclosure

[griz @ Apr 4th 2006 8:20PM]

#19: Steve Jobs said back when he announced the MacBook Pro they, "want the name 'Mac' on all their products." That probably means they WILL change the name seeing as how "iBook," unless I'm mistaken, doesn't have an M, A, or C anywhere in it.

[eric @ Apr 4th 2006 8:47PM]

ROFLMAOMFGWTFBBQ~!?

[Alex @ Apr 4th 2006 8:50PM]

Actually, I wish Apple comes out with something like this:

Intel PowerMac -> MacBook "Quad" (64 bits, 4 cores)
iMac -> MacBook Pro (32 or 64 bits, CoreDuo)
Mac Mini -> MacBook (32 bits, CoreSolo)

Make MacBook as cheap as possible ($799 would be good), Keep MacBook Pro around the same price point (best to go down a bit), and then release a more expensive MacBook starting at, say, $2,799, with 4 cores (either 1 chip with 4 cores, or 2 CoreDuo's).

[Alex @ Apr 4th 2006 8:54PM]

In case it wasn't clear, I meant to say that take those desktops and make them into notebooks.

[Jacob @ Apr 4th 2006 10:04PM]

#1: "However I bet they disable it with a core solo."

That's a really dumb remark, if you stop to think about it. How could you possibly "disable" the iBook by replacing its old and busted G4 chip with a much more powerful, modern Intel Core?

My bet is on something like the Mac mini: a choice between Solo and Duo. (Unless they go with the "ULV" Solo chips.)

[MacLova @ Apr 4th 2006 11:01PM]

Anyone know about these? Looks kinda cool.

http://spungle.blogspot.com/2006/04/booq-foleexl-verdict-fxal-system.html

[TheCaptain @ Apr 5th 2006 3:30AM]

I hope they don't kill the gfx solution, or take down the gfx ram :[

[Converge @ Apr 5th 2006 5:30AM]

I'd say there is a very large chance that we'll see a 13,3 wide MBP BEFORE the new iBook emerges. I base this assumption on the same way i predicted that the intel Powerbook would come before the intel iBook: Why release the consumer product before the pro product? They're still selling PB 12" to my knowledge, and NO ONE would buy one of those if this thing hit the market before a 13,3/12 inch MBP.

I don't think Apple will change the name from iBook to Macbook either. It's too easy to mix the two macbooks together. And since the iMac name prevailed the intel switch, there's the chance the iBook will to.

[mike @ Apr 5th 2006 6:32AM]

" And since the iMac name prevailed the intel switch, there's the chance the iBook will to."

Yup.. and Steve never said, 'we want the Mac name on all our stuff'.. obviously.. cuz that just sounds stupid.. what he did say was, 'we're done with the Power name' which was a wink wink nudge nudge reference to the PowerPC family of chips that Apple no longer wants anything to do with.

The casualty in the Intel switch is actually that, the name Powerbook was an excellent name, and a cool brand on its own. It has to go just because they're done naming anything a 'Power---'

[mike @ Apr 5th 2006 6:35AM]

" And since the iMac name prevailed the intel switch, there's the chance the iBook will to."

Yup.. and Steve never said, 'we want the Mac name on all our stuff'.. obviously.. cuz that just sounds stupid.. what he did say was, 'we're done with the Power name' which was a wink wink nudge nudge reference to the PowerPC family of chips that Apple no longer wants anything to do with.

The casualty in the Intel switch is actually that, the name Powerbook was an excellent name, and a cool brand on its own. It has to go just because they're done naming anything a 'Power---'

[Stephen Galinsky @ Apr 5th 2006 10:50AM]

*YAWN*

Wake me when they have a competitor to the Sony SZ series:

Small (13" as a MAXIMUM)
Core Duo
Powerful graphics card
Card slot
802.11
Bluetooth
DVD�RW dual layer / CD�RW drive.

If Apple doesn't get with the programme and make a non-weak small portable, I'm done. The OS isn't good enough to stick around for if the hardware is lame.

[Jake @ Apr 5th 2006 2:41PM]

This + Boot Camp = new convert. I'm totally sold on this if it comes out at a good price.

[M_Mickey @ Apr 5th 2006 5:04PM]

MacBookProBiz:

No optical drive
flash ram 16gb drive
6 hour battery life
ulv core solo

I have 13.3 inch laptop, and i hope they improve the 1280x800 resolution.

[George Penston @ Apr 5th 2006 6:15PM]

Funny, I was ruminating on whether the new iBooks will be called iBooks or MacBooks a couple of months ago. I believe they'll stick to be calling iBooks. Read my post on why I think it will be iBook and not MacBook and please comment if you don't agree with my line of reasoning. Of course, I could be completely off.

[George Penston @ Apr 5th 2006 6:25PM]

Um, sorry, my post link didn't come through last time:
Why It Will Be iBook and Not MacBook
http://www.creative-toolbox.com/2006/02/07/why-it-will-be-ibook-and-not-macbook/

Essentially, the iMac would've had to been called just Mac to follow the naming convention if they called the new iBooks, MacBooks since more than likely the new PowerMacs will be called Mac Pros.

[Nite @ Apr 5th 2006 6:39PM]

About the naming, I don't kn ow why this infuriates me so, but doesn't anyone see the one naming that it most probably will be? As Jobs said that all computers will have "Mac" as part of their name, and, as stated "iBook" very definetly doesn't, the name WILL change. So, we will have (confirmed) names of 'iMac' and it's pro counterpart 'Mac Pro', and a pro laptop 'MacBook Pro', so why doesn't anyone see the most appropriate name for the consumer laptop would be 'iMacBook' ??

I'll vote on 'iMacBook' and have a laugh at you all when they announce it, so there :P

[Steve @ Apr 18th 2006 4:18AM]

what is the name of the wallpaper on that macbook?

[Jay @ May 2nd 2006 8:00AM]

Ooookk....

So that means the 6G iPod will be renamed the iMacPod, right? Yummy... Give me one with fries and a salad.