Apple reportedly (still) readying LED-backlit MacBook Pro

They may not have made an appearance at Macworld, but Apple's rumored LED-backlit MacBook Pros look to be slightly less of a rumor today, with AppleInsider reporting that "faithful industry sources" have confirmed the switch to the brighter, less power-hungry technology. Supposedly, Apple's 15-inch MacBook Pro will be the first out of the gate, getting the LED transplant sometime in second quarter of this year, with the other models in the line presumably to follow soon thereafter, although exactly soon remains to be seen. Not surprisingly, Apple appears to be timing the release of the new-and-improved MacBook Pro to coincide with the spring launch of Leopard, letting them show off the OS's snazzy new features in the best possible light.

[applesucksLeo @ Jan 22nd 2007 1:28PM]

Behind again. Windows powered devices already have LED backlighting and built-in EVDO :)And built-in HDTV tuners and on and on...

[Joseph @ Jan 22nd 2007 1:31PM]

AppleSucksLeo-
I have never heard of a GarbageFanboi, but i guess they exist.

[potato @ Jan 22nd 2007 1:37PM]

Dammit! I just ordered my MBP this morning!

[LittleJoe @ Jan 22nd 2007 1:46PM]

With that mentality you'll never be happy with what you've got because somthing better is always around the corner.

[XGM @ Jan 22nd 2007 1:47PM]

applesucksLeo -
Hmm tell me 5 "windows powered devices" that have LED backlighting. Right now tell me how many laptops have LED backlighting. Exactly theres maybee 2-3 laptops with LED backlighting

So already that the Mac Book Pro is the (or atleast on of) most advanced laptops on the market, this is just one more feature.

When the 15" LED one comes out, id trade my 17" Pro i got a week ago for it :D

[treetrunk @ Jan 22nd 2007 2:30PM]

"So already that the Mac Book Pro is the (or atleast on of) most advanced laptops on the market, this is just one more feature."

That's an awfully positive pro-Apple spin to put on things. Apart from a nicer than average case and a few other gimmicks like a light-up keyboard, the Macbook Pro is just another ordinary core 2 duo machine.

[sturmnacht @ Jan 22nd 2007 4:56PM]

There 6 LED backlit laptops:

Sony Vaio G
Sony Vaio SZ
Sony Vaio TX
Fujitsu LifeBook P7120
Toshiba Libretto U105
Sony Vaio X505

[TheCount @ Jan 23rd 2007 1:49PM]

Does the arguing really matter? You know that when these come out, people will proclaim it as the biggest breakthrough in laptop technology so far this year and then every laptop that comes out after that with no LED backlighting will be bashed for not having it.

Just accept it, I've learned to.

[sfuller @ Jan 22nd 2007 1:49PM]

Good news is that I think all Macbooks and Macbook Pro's have a finger driven interface like the iPhone's gesture based one. I stumbled on this the other day with my Macbook using quicktime. Keep one finger on the touchpad and slide the other to adjust the volume. It's not scrolling up and down, I think it's a feature leaked in Quicktime. So, I think the next big thing that comes out of apple isn't sweet displays, it's Jaguar, which uses some limited gesture based interface with all intel based macbooks/macbook pros. of course, a nice new display will be cool, but the killer app of the macbook line is the ability to use some gestures. Maybe the new macbooks will have bigger trackpads?

[zargon @ Jan 22nd 2007 2:14PM]

This has been in Windows based laptops we use at work for some time now, though not actually embedded in Windows, but rather the driver for the touch pad that comes with the laptop. I wouldn't be surprised if it was in OS X or at least some third party software.

After all, touch pads have been around for some time now. It is just common sense to add that kind of functionality.

[amy @ Jan 22nd 2007 5:40PM]

This isn't something new to the Macbook Pros. It's been on the G4 Powerbook for about a year (maybe more) before the Macbook Pro even came out.

[Jonathan Keim @ Jan 22nd 2007 1:58PM]

Man, I wish like crazy that they had a 30 day free trial program. I am thinking about switching to mac for my college years, but I have a computer business and know my windows very well.
I just don't know if a new interface would be worth another century of learning, especially if I'm suppose to be doing school ;)

[Revels @ Jan 22nd 2007 2:26PM]

I heard you can put Windows on Macs now!

[Razor @ Jan 22nd 2007 5:08PM]

I've been using Windows since at least version 2.0. I recently started a major project for a company that put me in a situation which I needed to get a laptop. The project required me to heavily use Access. When the time came to put down the cash I bought the Mac Book Pro and installed Parallels. I ran XP flawlessly and used it for the project and used OSX for the "fun" stuff at home. It took me all of 4-6 hours (if that) to become an "expert" with the new OS and I have never looked back.

[Brad @ Jan 22nd 2007 2:14PM]

Jonathan-

Remember that you can also easily run Windows on your brand new Mac.

[Jonathan Keim @ Jan 22nd 2007 2:51PM]

Yes I am aware of that, but I also have to consider cost. For $2k I can get a very nice windows laptop compared to the specs I get with mac.

[getserious @ Jan 22nd 2007 2:34PM]

Revels - yes you can run Windows on Intel based Macs but the question is - why bother?

[greg @ Jan 22nd 2007 2:43PM]

because most software is designed for windows!! windows has the most market share.

[Vanillacide @ Jan 22nd 2007 2:43PM]

Yep, waiting for Leopard before replacing old 17-inch PowerBook with new 17-inch MacBook Pro.

[getserious @ Jan 22nd 2007 2:55PM]

Then buy a Windows computer.

[page @ Jan 22nd 2007 2:50PM]

this looks a lot more interesting:

http://www.fastcompany.com/subscr/112/open_features-canttouchthis.html

[max @ Jan 22nd 2007 7:27PM]

Actually, you can't really get any nicer of a windows laptop for the price. I do price comparisons every day, and there is NO 2.33Ghz core2duo/2GB RAM windows system that is within the mid-level macbook pro 15" price range. Most similar machines turn out to be at least $200 more expensive, if not closer to $500 more. The macbook pro isn't just one of the thinnest, most powerful 15" laptops, it's also one of the most reasonably priced. Yeah, I had a hard time believing it myself, until I did the comparisons:
Macbook pro 15" 2.33ghz stock: $2499
Dell M65 15" configured to match: $3124
Dell Latitude D620 14" configured to match: $2486
HP nc8430 15" configured to match: $2875
Lenovo thinkpad T60P 15" to match: $2738
acer travelmate 8216WLHi preconfigured: $2830
sony VGN-FE790 matched: $2200

So out of all these only the sony beats it, which I'm frankly surprised by. (Yes, I know the latitude was even but it's a smaller screen with inferior resolution)
Same deal for the regular macbooks, it's simply hard to find a better deal any way you slice it, regardless of OS.

[Jonathan Keim @ Jan 22nd 2007 2:51PM]

Yes I am aware of that, but I also have to consider cost. For $2k I can get a very nice windows laptop compared to the specs I get with mac.

[Bad Beaver @ Jan 22nd 2007 2:59PM]

greg, among Mac people it is common to acknowledge the fact that quality and quantity are not necessarily to be associated. It might happen every once in while (iPod) but it doesn't have to (arbitray Win-based product). I will spare you the picture with flies & dung. One may feel a need to run Windows on a Mac if one has a heavy investment in specialized / legacy software that would be very expensive to re-license for OS X or that is simply not available. These cases are likely rare though. Gee, you may even play WoW on OS X if you wish...

[Bad Beaver @ Jan 22nd 2007 3:02PM]

Might be. Does that Win machine include a lot of good software?

[Randy @ Jan 22nd 2007 3:16PM]

Some of you apple fanbois are quick to jump on this but you're forgetting an important bit of info which the article doesn't mention. Specifically, what kind of power savings will the user see compared to the current non-led line of mac books?

[Bad Beaver @ Jan 22nd 2007 3:58PM]

I guess we will know once they are released.

[Davidstarr @ Jan 22nd 2007 4:41PM]

Is there any conversation, anywhere near this intense, taking place related to any product that HP or Dell is about to release? No way - and that is why Apple is going to dictate the market for the forseable future and continue to gain. No one really cares what the other computer makers are doing. The others are just pc.

2 - Its interesting how people make a point of pointing out "apple spin" as if it were a political movement or religion that they're trying to keep in check. Products don't generate great press and consumer feedback out of blind faith. Its because they work.

[oooh @ Jan 22nd 2007 5:24PM]

The Toshiba U105 did not have an LED backlight!

Also, I've been reading that LED backlights actually use more power than the conventional displays and get hotter too.

[oooh @ Jan 22nd 2007 5:28PM]

Oh, and the Sony X505 doesn't have an LED backlight either.

[oooh @ Jan 22nd 2007 6:16PM]

Nor does the SZ...you are right about the latest TX series having it though.

[oooh @ Jan 22nd 2007 6:16PM]

That Fujitsu 7120 doesn't have it either. i think you are confusing XBrite and all those other useless terms for LED technology.

Is the Sony TX the only laptop with LED backlights?

And MacBook Pro needs to come out in a 12" version and please keep the dual-link dvi head! No integrated graphics junk like that 13.3" macbook. yucky!

[js @ Jan 22nd 2007 6:26PM]

The VAIO G doesn't have an LED backlight....

and you missed the Fujitsu Q2010.

[Eric @ Jan 22nd 2007 5:00PM]

Just, why da heck engadget post comments about rumors regarding a companies unknown future product upgrades? Sure, we see not just apple but sometimes tero and canon here. But for Apple it goes to the highest frequency, and as the authro amitted himself, this is not the first time on a single minor even ... "LED"


god who cares one line of a company's laptop got a screen update? if you care you should be a TUAW reader anyway... Donald, if you are a real friend, talk to the company and let them get you in Tuaw. (or do they pay less per word there?)

[Galley @ Jan 22nd 2007 5:26PM]

Jonathan, don't worry about a learning curve. You'll catch on really quickly. Everything in OS X just seems more intuitive. And like Revels said, you can always run Windows, but after four months I have had zero reasons to. Anyone want a cheap copy of XP Pro? ;-)

[applesucksLeo @ Jan 22nd 2007 5:57PM]

Can`t they come up with something besides that all-white-Chinese-plastic look? Very boring and dated. If you want to see "white done right" look at the new Toshiba R400 shown at CES.Thank God "we" get a choice ;)

[oooh @ Jan 22nd 2007 6:16PM]

The G doesn't have it...okay, I will stop now. hahaa

[Andrew @ Jan 22nd 2007 6:29PM]

http://b2b.sony.com/documents/category/notebooks/sz-series/SZ_Brochure.pdf

"White LED Backlight technology and expertly-designed
display circuitry give the VAIO® SZ Notebook widescreen

displaywith XBRITE™ LCD technology a razor-thin profi le,
while Sony’s original XBRITE™ LCD technology delivers
higher brightness levels than standard displays. "

[Jonathan Keim @ Jan 22nd 2007 8:25PM]

I just got done configuring an HP because I was excited with your comparison, But I found that a better HP (256 video rather then 128) was $1418 (that's not including the $50 mail in rebate). I do realize that the screen resolution isn't as tight, but it's not $600 worth of resolution.
Next I did a dell inspiron for $1592 with 2 gig ram and the same resolution.

Both pcs did lack the 2.16 processor, but 2.0 isn't that far, still not worth $600 more. The only thing that would put me over the edge is the design and OS 10

[AndyCR @ May 2nd 2007 8:37PM]

The HP DV9000t comes close. I got mine, 2ghz core 2, 1GB ram, GeForce Go 7600, 1.5inches thick, 7.5 pounds, 2.5 hour battery life for $1,100.

[max andrews @ Jan 23rd 2007 12:22AM]

Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I was concentrating on the higher end 2.33ghz 15" model, so that limited my comparisons to business-level offerings from most companies.

A few points about the inspirion and dv6000t:
The inspiron is a bad laptop. Do not get it. They are fat, they are ugly, and they break. A lot. Not worth a penny of anybody's money IMO.

The dv6000t is a decent computer, and price-wise is does beat the macbook pro. But the screen is not the same resolution, and the graphics card is far inferior. The macbook pro has wxga+ (1440x900) resolution. The dv600t has xga+ (1200x800). But the screen is the same size, so that means that the dv6000t display is going to be noticeably less detailed. As for the graphics card, the 128MB x1600 in the macbook pro is nearly twice as fast as the nvidia 7400 256MB in the dv6000t (too many numbers! Ahhh!), regardless of the extra RAM (128MB of it is shared with the system memory). And then we can factor in the slightly slower proccessor and see that this machine is not quite at the same level as the macbook pro, but is still a very good deal and will perform fine for most users.

Also, I should mention that you can get the macbook pro direct from apple for $200 off buy utilizing an education discount. Just click "buy now" on this page: http://www.apple.com/education/k12/homeschool/
*note, I don't support using education discount if you are not a student.

So then the choice remains, is a $400 difference enough to justify the higher resolution display, better graphics card, slightly fastor proccessor, and design/OSX? That's for you to decide :)

Oh, also, the keyboard freaking lights up! :P

[docsharp01 @ Mar 31st 2008 9:46PM]

Excellent article and comments about Apple!
http://www.1-satellite-tv-facts.com