Apple's MacBook and MacBook Pro quietly updated
By Thomas Ricker 
posted Nov 1st 2007 5:19AM
posted Nov 1st 2007 5:19AM
Update: The MacBook Pro can now be configured with an optional 2.6GHz Core 2 Duo for a $250 premium over the previous 2.4GHz flag-ship configuration.
[Via MacRumors, thanks Sam]
Wow!
Finally!
Im pissed I just brought a new Mac 4 days ago. I want to turn it back in a get the new hardware. This is BS!!!!!!!!
So, precisely when should they have released these new models such that they never upset anyone? Never?
pkilla,
Talk to the Apple store about returning your machine. I imagine that you'll be able to return it and possibly get a free upgrade to the new model.
It really, really pays to read the rumor sites before buying a new computer, esp. a Mac. The companies are under NO obligation to pre-announce new models for the enlightenment of prospective buyers. In fact, those who have pre-announced in the past lower the number of sales before the release because everyone's waiting for the new models.
And the Mac rumor sites have gotten pretty good about finding out when new computers are coming out, so you can rely on them. Ultimately though, the same rule of thumb applies to all PC manufacturers as well as almost all retail sellers: "caveat emptor" ("let the buyer beware").
Yeah, I bought a mac roughly a month ago, I would've waited longer if I could but I couldn't. In my country it's a lot better a deal (for students, it £100 off, free iPods, you get leopard, and of course new integrated graphics). I got the £100 off, but it absolutely pales in comparison. But I don't think I have a reason to be angry at apple, and I've got a great laptop.
From: Steve Jobs
To: Apple Memo
Subject: Release for New Macbooks
Message:
I have been informed that user "pkilla" on a blog called Engadget FINALLY bought his Macbook. I would now like to move forward on upgrading the platform. Please see attached procedure and spec sheets for details. Thanks!
Love,
Steve
I bought my MacBook on the release day of Leopard. I called my local Apple store and they exchanged it for the upgraded one with no hassle.
If you bought your laptop less than 14 days ago, give your Apple store a call and they will probably switch it out for you with a new Macbook.
I was the first one to leave the store with the new, upgraded Macbook.
I try to tell as many people as I can about http://buyersguide.macrumors.com. It tells you whether you should or shouldn't buy any apple product based on release dates.
I guarantee if you pay attention to it, you will never have the "crap I should have waited" blues again.
-p-
Thanks everyone for you comments, I called and will be able to return it. But i ordered the new one online so i could customize it.
........comes with Tiger???!!!
it comes with Leopard, even with the firewall sttings the same as 9A581
the reason that they updated to Santa Rosa is because OS10 uses the graphics card alot
were yoou in coma the past 4 weeks?
Check out the speed bump on the MacBook Pro - 2.6Ghz.
Comes with Leopard!
Any word on whether this will happen in Europe (specifically Ireland). I just configured a MacBook on the Irish Education site and didn't see a mention of 2.6GHz anywhere.
macbook PRO gets 2.6Ghz... and the extra 200Mhz is really really NOT worth the price unless you charge and do hours and hours of encoding or rendering daily.
I know somebody with a Vostro. It's much thicker and heavier than a Macbook.
When buying a laptop, look at more than just the processor and ram... size and weight are a premium in this field.
Hi,
You can get $100 off in Canada if you buy it through the Apple Education store. You "must" be either a student or staff member. Rumor has it they do not check:)
No Mac mini update??!? How sad. :(
The Mac mini was updated at MacWorld.
it'd be nice to see the mini upgraded to the specs of the mb/mbp.
They should replace the mac mini with something different like something better and have more space or they should take the Mac Mini off the Market
I just went to dell and tried to configure the options above and came out to $1149. Note that the options they list on the first few pages are really scams. They'll say "up to 2.x GHz", and list a low low price. But when you go to configure, you find that the low low price is actually for 1.4GHz.
When trying to match feature for feature, the prices came closer together. Although the Vostro was still lower than the Mac.
Where is the Mac pro update!!!!
Hasn't been upgraded since August 2006... YEESH... Same year + innards for the same price.
New Vostro, last you a few years if your lucky
New MBP, last several years
Look at the build quality from Dell now, we never used to return machines to Dell but now 1 in 5 are either faulty (things not connected) or DOA
I like(d) Dell and own shares in them but they really are at the bottom on their quality curve just at the moment.
i was looking forward for an aluminium update .... i will buy one on february... but as this has been the update i dont think i will see an aluminium model :(... (a mbp is too expensive for me) anyway... as apple website says... "lovable macbook" i think we dont need to start a poll to see what ppl thinks the sexiest laptop is... jeje
I was planning to put my old MacBook on eBay today in anticipation of this being released next week. Now my MacBook's lost a bit of value, so upgrading won't be quite the near wash I was hoping for. Oh well! Ordered the new one anyway.
5 pounds??!! jeez thats heavy stuff
ultra-portable for me please
They can also now be equipped with 4GB of RAM instead of up to 2GB before. That's great news although typical Apple is charging an arm a leg and your first born for 4GB at 850$... I have never understood those way crazy prices for memory upgrades. I can get 2x2GB DDR2 667MHz SODIMMs with lifetime warranty for less than 250$ !!! And if I sell the 1GB already in there in SODIMMs I will pay less than 1/4 of what Apple charges!
Again, you cannot get it for the price you are listing. Example:
(1) I think you are including the wrong processor. There are two @ 2GHz. The Macbook uses the one with the 4MB L2 cache, not the cheaper one.
(2) The default Vostro uses Business Vista. Update that to Ultimate for a fair comparison.
(3) The Vostro only contains wireless 802.11g. Update that to N.
(4) The Vostro does not include Bluetooth. Add that.
(5) The Vostrol does not include a camera. Add that.
When I do all that, the Vostro comes to $1,117. The Macbook then needs to be bumped to 2GB RAM and 120GB HD for the comparison. That brings the Macbook price to 1,324.
You can argue that you don't want/need those features that were added but it's really not a fair comparison unless you attempt to make both systems as identical as possible.
Also now up to a 250 gig hard drive in all macbooks/macbook pros
I go with what you say and they should put 250gb hard drives in the Mac book Pros
Just bought a black macbook 2.16GHz with 2 gigs of RAM last saturday. Worth it to take it back and get this new one? I'm still under the 14 day policy.
Yes.
In fact it is US$ 125 plus for the black. If you choose to BTO the top-white macbook and add a 160GB HD you will get the same spec of the black for US$ 1,374.
I would spend this US$ 125 + 25 to double the RAM. 2GB is better than black, IMHO.
@Arjy:
Take it back for sure!
Even though it may not make much of a difference, you can, so you might as well!
Do you have to pay the restocking fee for an exchange within the 14 day grace period?
If you opened it, yes. I bought an iMac right before they came out with the aluminum ones, so I went back, returned it, and paid a 10% restocking fee to get the new one.
Yes. 10% if you open the box and return unless it is in need of repair.
No.
Restocking fee does NOT apply.
So I'm in a similar situation as Nicolas, since I was planning on buying a MacBook Pro in February, 'cause that's when I was expecting an update.
Do people think that a bigger update is still in the works for February (or thereabouts) for the MBP?
While it isn't relevance to this piece of news, when will the rumours of the new so-called 'super thin' MacBook surface? It would be a mild shame to buy these recent upgrades to find out that in a month or two, the new MacBook will be released.
Good job on the switch to the Santa Rosa tech though!
These alu-macbooks were rumoured to be either a Macbook replacements or a new ultraportable in the Pro series. To me this Macbook update indicates that the latter is true, i.e. we'll get a new Macbook Pro "Nano" in January, and no new Macbook.
hey! these new macbooks also suport uptoo 4 gigs of ram!
Still shared memory :(
@will
Thats true actually. I put my self as a northwestern medical student and got a benjamin off of a mac mini.
I'll echo the absolute BS that the iBook is still $1249 in Canada. With the US dollar tanking, the Cdn prices should be actually less than the US prices, not a $150 premium. It should be $1049 at best, and par pricing at worse.
Once again, pass. Once they fix their screen issues with the new iMacs, and put the real pricing in place, I may take a jump.
guys, have a look @ intel road map to see what are the next gen chipset, ram support, cpu ... as well as their hardware partners (nvidia, ati...) if you plan to update in the future.coz they cant update if their hardware partners have not released their own yet. usually the site state the release date which means the finish product will be in store 2-4 weeks after thatt.
trusted source wikipedia (they r good, confirmed with 2 years experiences)
Yeah, i was thinking of holding out on getting a MBP until about January, but if there aren't really going to be any changes i have no need to wait.
What does everyone think
Intel will release core 2 DUO T8100@ 2.1GHZ T8300@2.4 T9300@ 2.5GHZ AND T9500@2.6GHZ the differences are fsb 800MHZ instead of 677MHZ and CL2 6MB instead of 4MB all coming in jan2008 if you interested to wait and hopefully will come with DDR3 800 9bottle neck) and SSD instead of HDD and ATI HD2900 or NVIDIA 8800GTS and HD-DVD or blueray
Great timing. My Macbook Pro ships today. I just spent 4K on the cutting edge that is no longer the cutting edge. That's technology for you....
Maybe Apple will be kind to me and not just clear out old inventory- but bump mine out the door with the new specs :) (I can dream anyway...)
They don't check. I am a student but my dad bought my mac on his credit card using his details and then used my discount, and while I'm sure it's probably allowed to use it if someone is buying on my behalf, they never asked or anything
*sigh*
It's NOT Santa Rosa. Santa Rosa is a specific name tied to a three-part Intel thing, including the motherboard's chipset, the processor, AND THE WIFI CARD. Since Apple uses Broadcom-based cards, these laptops are NOT Santa Rosa. You can say it has the Crestline chipset, which is accurate, but calling it Santa Rosa is a misnomer. I'm surprised that Intel's not keeping a tighter rein on this misuse of their much-lauded Centrino labeling.
Combo FUUUUNNNN forever!
this is the santa rosa chipset your numbskull!! GMA X3100 only comes in the new intel chipset variation of performancePM965, mainstream GM965, or value GL-600. And 800 fsb is only support with the newer PM/GM965 chipset. Damn i can't believe a noob school'd you.
No, Santa Rosa includes an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, the Intel Mobile 965 chipset (aka Crestline), AND THE INTEL 802.11N WIRELESS CARD.
Look it up on Wikiepdia if you don't believe me:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centrino#Santa_Rosa_platform_.282007.29
It's not Santa Rosa. Santa Rosa refers to Intel's line of Centrino branding. Crestline refers to the chipset. Apple upgraded their MB and MBP to Crestline, not Santa Rosa.
I agree with you that the santa rosa is three-fold. I just meant the Crestline chipset is the new variant they utilize for the processors speed, pathways, and graphics capabilities which is one of the three parts that goes into "santa rosa".
Yes, the Crestline chipset is part of Santa Rosa, but you can't say a MacBook or a MacBook Pro has Santa Rosa, because it doesn't have the wireless card. I don't know what (if any) copyrights Intel holds on the term "Santa Rosa" for the newest version of the Centrino platform, but I can guarantee you that Centrino's copyrighted...and using it to refer to anything other than chipset+processor+wifi is a misuse of the term entirely.
It would be completely accurate to say that Apple upgraded their laptops to the Crestline chipset, but they did NOT upgrade them to Santa Rosa (and will never actually use Centrino terminology on their laptops unless they drop Broadcom and decide to start putting Intel cards in their laptops (which will very likely never happen).
Not only can you get the faster 2.6Ghz but a 200G 7200RPM HD. Now, you can lose much more data, faster! ;)
Finally, serious HD options for the MBP:
250GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm [Add $150]
200GB Serial ATA Drive @ 7200 rpm [Add $200]
That was the only weakness of the previous generation.
btw. all info for intel chipset is on: http://www.intel.com/products/laptop/chipsets/index.htm?iid=chips_body+lap
and the value chipset is GL-960. and excuse my spelling error.. bleh.
1.) Drive to the US
2.) Purchase MacBook
3.) Win
It's not like they search your car for electronics.
the dutch store is not even updated.
and i think the meby still gonna update the macbook this 6 november
well then thats for some stores not all.. long story short, my grad gift was a computer and i had to email a scan of my student ID to my dad so he could have a print out of my ID in order for the Apple to give him the discount on the purchase.
MacBook gets a slightly revised keyboard like the new iMac
I think I will hold out until they update it with the new Penryn chipset, I dont see the point in blowng so much cash on somthing that will get upgraded in less than six months.
why get that when you can wait for nehalem? westmere? or even better sandy bridge.
Because I cant wait forever ;) I need a laptop for freelancing. It seems more than likely that the MBP will be updated in the next 3-4 months, so I may as well hold onto my money, be patient, and get a better specced machine.
So now the macbook has Santa Rosa is like gettin a macbook pro without the extra features? as far as performance wise
And Apple STILL hasn't made the SuperDrive standard on all MacBooks. It's 2007, ditch the combo drive already.
I'm pissed, because once again Apple isn't addressing the needs of customers wanting truly portable laptops.
5 lbs doesn't cut it, especially in Japan where most people commute by train.
And should I replace my 12" PowerBook G4 with a stupid big 15" macbook pro?
DAMN!
The MacBook line's significantly more powerful than the Powerbooks of yesteryear, so check if you don't need the extra ports/express card slots (which weren't on your Powerbook anyway) and a 13" screen may do you better.
I just wanted a decent graphics card. You know, I like to play games...
I have to agree here--the 12" PB was really popular, and Apple replaced it with a hole in the lineup.
Everybody just bought a ***** macbook 2.16GHz with 2 gigs of RAM last ####...
Who cares????
Complains at your local parish...
Mac funboys = blasées
@Tiago Bugarin
Did you just question paying a premium based on exterior appearance for a Mac? I'm pretty sure most Mac buyers are not exactly strapped for cash and if I had wanted the black over my current white I would have no issue paying for it. That's not to say I would choose it INSTEAD of said performance upgrades, but instead just buy both. Hopefully they'll just make it an option as it is with the iPods eventually though...
on the pros, the 7200 rpm drive went from 160gb to 200gb.
Ah, the slow wheels of bureaucracy have finally paid off. I requisitioned a MBP yesterday, but they still hadn't actually placed the order so I'm able to switch to a 2.6Ghz proc and a 200 GB HD today>
This argument has been beaten to the ground. Everyone knows Apple hardware is a ripoff. The difference is software and aesthetics. If you think OSX or a pretty case is worth overpaying for, you pay it. Not a smart purchase, but not unreasonable.
I just bought a MacBook Pro (15 inch/ 2.2 ghz) last night (October 31st). I got worried when I first looked at this article, but then I read it again...so only the MacBooks (and not the Pro) got the video upgrade, right? This doesnt effect me, as the only update to the Pro was an optional faster CPU?
p.s. .i am so excited. this is going to be my first Mac.
you can also now get a 200 GB 7200 RPM hard drive for the MacBook Pro!! Your only option when it came to high capacity storage used to be 250 GB 4200 RPM.
Bought my (obsolete) black one late October from Newegg.com
They will return it for a full refund after explaining the situation with the new models. Very cool of them.
Why is the MacBook getting more attention than the MacBook Pro? We Pro users would like to know the new specs for it, too.
While it all looks good, I'm kind of frustrated. Since I was planning to buy a Macbook, I was going to hold out until the holidays, since I assumed the Macbook would have a standard SuperDrive by then. Turns it it doesn't, so now I'll have to hike up my aim for savings to $1300. A SuperDrive should really be on all models by now.
So... Is it possible to upgrade my current MB to these specs? Like take it in to the Apple Store? Mine's only 6 months old. :-P
...if they come with santa rosa cpu, what about the led backlight like macbook pro??
Exactly, the Canadian Dollar is higher than the US Dollar and Apple still hasn't changed their prices on the Canadian website. Come on Apple, when Cabelas, L.L.Bean and others can offer us free shipping across the border and the same prices, why won't you?
These new MacBooks and MacBook Pros don't look updated to me. Where's the iPhone-ish look that was applied to the new Leopard iMac? Nowhere to be found; they still aesthetically look like "ye same olde" iBooks & PowerBooks of the late G4 (pre-Intel) era.
And anyway, I don't like the iPhone either. (Who wants a über-limited, locked, non-upgradable smartphone BTW?)
I just owned my first and last Macbook this week. It was returned 2 days after purchase because of the improved graphics card. However, the store would not waive the restocking fee. The employees spouted robotic answers about not knowing about the upgrade in advance (yet having them onhand two days later -- what did a magic unlabelled shipment arrive??) and store policy blah blah blah. I returned it and went to the local MicroCenter where I found a very superior Windows machine for a comparable price, so I guess this was a blessing in disguise. This bad experience cost me $145 but they have lost a customer for life (and anyone else I can talk out of buying an Mac).
you asked low level cogs to remove a fee instated by a corporation and then got mad when they didn't waive it? you think people have the power to not charge you for things? maybe it wasn't to their discretion.
Does it seem odd to anyone that all-new macbooks would come out in January when macbook was just updated in November. Unless Apple will continute to sell this macbook model along with a new one.
To Buy or not to Buy!
To buy or not to buy!