We all knew
this day was coming. Apple's previous MacBook Pro revision was certainly getting long in the tooth, a MacBook spec bump never hurt anything, and hey,
Penryn isn't getting any younger. Still, it's pretty obvious that quite a few of the Apple faithful feel like the MacBook Pro and its cute little MacBook sidekick are in some serious need of a form factor refresh, and perhaps a little bit of SSD. We can understand Apple not wanting to steal the
MacBook Air's thunder, and to be fair most major manufacturers put the new Penryn chips inside existing form factors, but that doesn't mean it's wrong for you to be upset. So, how do you really feel?
posted Feb 26th 2008 11:04AM
The updates where pretty pathetic, but I suppose they have to *look* like there keeping up with technology...
still a p*ss take that they dont bundle the remote =/
Yeah, upgrading to the most current Penryn chips is only "looking" like they're keeping up with technology. If this were a PC laptop you'd be slobbering all over it while extolling its many virtues, one of which no doubt would be how well it keeps up with technology by upgrading to the latest Penryn processors. Right?
1. $19 for the remote is totally lame after dropping $2,000-3000 on what PC Mag calls 'the [best] laptop in the world'. LAME.
2. Since when does the MBP 17" have to get upgrades? $250 for the 2.6 GHz processor!!! It has always come with the fastest available chip. LAME.
3. 15" MBP 2.4 GHz vs 2.6 GHz = $2,050 vs $2,750 (a difference of $700 for what? 256 MB extra video ram and .2 GHz) LAME.
In summary, the 2.5 Should not even be there. the upgrade should be from 2.4 to 2.6. Who is going to pay $500 for .1 GHz increase? Also, whoever decided to lose the remote should be fired (granted many people probably don't use them at all). At the very least there should be a $20 price DROP given they took the remote out of the former package. MultiTouch is cool, but I still feel bummed. Where is the love Apple? $18,000,000,000.00 in the bank and you can't throw in a remote that costs you $1.00 to make?
Sincerely,
A Very Unsatisfied MacHead
you know, i'm not sure the remote thing is as big a deal as everyone else seems to think.
out of the few dozen people i know with MB/MBPs, only a single person ever uses his remote, and only when he has his MB hooked up to his TV. (and he's the kind of person Apple wants to sell an AppleTV to...)
it just doesn't seem like it'll actually effect many people, but i'm sure the internet echo chamber will make those 5 really pissed off people sound like hundreds of upset buyers. :\
@ antimatter, "A very unsatisfied dochebag",
The processor changes are price for price over the Santa Rosa models. Should Apple just throw in a processor that Intel is selling for hundreds more for no price increase because your limited knowledge of performance is based on the GHz? You didn't even notice that the 2.4 and 2.5GHz options also come with 3MB L2 Cache while the Santa Rosa models had 4MB. Of course, you probably have no idea how that functions anyway so why mention it.
The fact is, these are the chips that Intel has created and priced to replaced the previous models that Apple has replaced, right down to the penny. I am waiting until the performance reviews come out before making a decsion, but I'll probably wait until Nehelam, which should require a new case design and will have a more revolutionary chip design. Also, despite Penryn having SSE4 it will be awhile before apps utilizing SSE4 will be in effect.
Agreed, I just bought a Macbook a couple months ago after the Leopard/Graphics update... I ain't crying over this little boost.
@Jeff
Oh, so Apple is trying to save me from myself? Well that's sweet of them.
@ BENDER
QUOTE:
"dochebag"
REPLY:
How old are you? The proper spelling is Douche Bag or Douchebag.
QUOTE (Bender):
"Should Apple just throw in a processor that Intel is selling for hundreds more for no price increase?"
"The fact is, these are the chips that Intel has created and priced to replaced the previous models that Apple has replaced, right down to the penny."
REPLY (antimatter):
1. Well here is the deal Bender, in case you hadn't noticed computer prices (at least w/macs) pretty much have stayed the same for the last few years while the speed of processors has increased, the amount of standard RAM has increased, hard-drive capacity has increased, etc. It is in fact the expectation of the computer buying public that updated models cost the same (or less even) as the outgoing lesser performing models.
2. For instance, the 17" Powerbook I am typing this on cost $2700 four years ago when I bought it in grad school and still today the 17" Macbook Pro starts at $2700. Yet, my laptop has a meager 1.5 GHz single processor, teeny-tiny 80 GB hard drive and came standard with 512MB of RAM, etc.
3. Additionally, in no time in the last four years has there been any OPTION to upgrade the processor on the 17" PB/MBP. It has been a de facto standard for years that the 17" was fully decked out. My question is why? Why is Apple nickel-and-diming people who drop nearly 3K on professional equipment? It seems out of character and it is a CLEAR departure from their previous convention, that is all I am saying.
Sincerely,
A Very Unsatisfied* MacHead (*though in general very satisfied and happy w/regards to this particular macbook pro update)
MacHead: Someone who has been using Macs since 1987 or earlier and thinks 'apple fanboys' are greenhorns.
What is everyone talking about? Sure their not as fast as others but I loved that they dropped $200 off the macbook that I was to buy for $1401. I'm going to go off and buy it now, cya...
No ESATA?!?! I'm heartbroken.
I'll second that one!
I was so waiting for eSATA. I guess I'll wait for the next revision. Nothing compelling enough to upgrade from the original MBP.
The sad part is that they all use SATA HDDs, so all that is lacking is the external port. The chipset to drive it is there. I bet that a Dremel Tool and a DigiKey catalog could get it done. It's just sad how Apple drags their feet.
I finally gave in today and turned to Craig's List for a Nokia N95. I was waiting to see the iPhone SDK, but seeing how Apple did this update and knowing how the tried to cram AT&T down our throats... I figure it's not worth dealing with the Jail-Break crap for T-Mobile. By the time Apple comes back down to Earth, I'll be using Android.
They can spend millions shrinking an outdated chip to drop into the AIR but they can't put a fire under Intel's ass to get a Quad Core MBP on the shelves. As someone else already said, pathetic.
Yeah, that is the one thing that really makes me sad. Apple has been with firewire 800 for soooooooo long (doesn't take a genius to figure out why that is). I don't have one device that uses firewire 800, just a cable that converts it to 400. Compare that to the number of devices with ESATA...
Oh well, I guess that just means that I will be happy with my current MacBook Pro that much longer. Besides, $39.99 for two ESATA 3.0GB/s ports on a Express card isn't bad. I always cringe when that first update comes after buying an Apple product... This one has come and gone... meh
That last option definitely needs to be stripped.
But I'm glad they didn't put an SSD in there. That would definitely hike up the price.
Reworded I mean.
Yeah, ssd's are exspensive, but what would stop them from making them an option? One that you can, opt for. Maybe somebody wants to pay out the wazoo for small, reliable, storage. Now, if your comment meant "I'm sure glad that Apple didn't force ssd down our throat by making it the ONLY option" then yeah, I'd probably have to agree with you.
"That last option definitely needs to be stripped."
Yeah! Silence those that don't agree!
I'm happy that Apple's aren't PCs anymore.
ugh, these comments are still broken?
Why can't Apple upgrade battery life or put another hole for hot air to come out? Real state-of-the art improvements, I mean.
does anyone else think that engadgets fixation with apple is a bit excessive(and kinda a turnoff)? Aka I know it's Tuesday because every Tuesday at engadget is apple Tuesday. (apple paying supporter of endgadget maybe?) It's not that I don't like them reporting the latest apple news (as they should report any tech news) it is that every apple store update gets five post to its name (rumor, rumor, apple store down, updated product, another updated product). One or two posts would suffice for me (rumors, updated products). For example why does there have to be two posts for two updated products? (its not like any other site is so closely watched anyway)
Actually I feel that Engadget is definitely more anti-apple than most. And before everyone jumps on me, they demand more (as we should) from apple as they are definitely NOT the underdog anymore, and Engadget, like many others (including myself) think the Apple hype has gone a bit far. The iPhone (even though I have one running on Tmobile) is a complete travesty save for its GORGEOUS UI and browser - if it wasn't for the independent developer community it would be an iPod with a lousy phone antenna.
The Macbook Air? Thin, and completely underpowered compared to today's relative alternatives.
Engadget team, sorry if I am mis-representing your views, just my .02.
I love how every time Apple is mentioned, there's always at least one person who suggests the writers are being paid off. This website is about technology, and Apple is one of the major computer and technology companies. Engadget wouldn't be doing their job, if they ignored the MacBook Pro updates, along with any other Apple news, just to satisfy a bunch of disgruntled trolls.
@Rohit Garewal.
How is the MacBook Air underpowered? Most thin laptops (ultraportables) have 1.2 Ghz processors. The Air has 1.6. You have a right to dislike anything you want, but at least get your facts straight.
I don't see anything wrong with them reporting apple's updates it just seems a little excessive (every Tuesday is apple Tuesday) No other company gets that kind of priority.
On the subject of engadget being paid to give apple more press, its not like it is uncommon in this business. And a possibility till I see an official statement.
I wouldn't say the macbooks are underpowered. Over priced for my taste, yes.
chrise, um because the tuesday thing is unique to apple perhaps? or maybe, GOSH, people read it and there's more traffic?
of course, and i know this is so very hard for you to believe, but you could always just SKIP the apple posts and go right back home to another post. or better yet to blogging at whyihateapple.com
Wow I never said that I hated apple. I enjoy reading any tech news, no matter what the company. I was just making an observation. It's not that I can't skip them its just that they seem to cover Tuesdays headlines. (aka "apple store is down" is "breaking news" even though it is not, the updates would be closer to breaking news) I would just like to see less post about the same topic together. Just my opinion. And the reason I comment is because, if adjusted, I think that it would make to a more efficient news site (everyone should be looking for areas of improvement, even big news sites).
Anyone keeping a tally for the number of topics for the same subject?
"New MacBook Pros..."
"In case you didn't see the first topic, here's the new MBPs..."
"By the way, did we mention the MacBook Pros?..."
"What do you think about the MacBook Pros?.."
Do you guys get paid every time you say "MacBook Pro" in a sentence?
I for one and glad they didn't change the keyboard. While the MBP keyboard is the worst misfeature I've ever seen on a laptop, if they changed it then I would be forced to buy one which would sadden me since I just bought a new laptop.
Engadet is a shameless populist: it lists items it knows will be of interest, rather than taking us into seriously new territory ('crapgadget' is evidence of veiled thinking and devisive politics).
These posts are designed to solicit comment and thus views and ad revenue. It seems there are enough fanatics to keep it going, though it is getting tired. I'm glad you were keeping track.
Judging by the Sony splash, you can get some face time on Engadget if you have enough gadgets to deploy, one after another. So there is hope, since Apple now only owns Tuesdays.
No iPhone SDK...damn you apple!
seriously, now we have to wait until friday to be told the SDK has been delayed 3 weeks? (and then we have to wait 3 weeks to find out it will be an extreme beta release with no real native programs for 2 months?) super... and i was all ready to buy a brand new redesigned pro to plug into my iphone...
Yeah, Steve said it wouldn't be released until February...Hello? February has almost come and gone!! "Until" to me means the same as "by", like "you have until tomorrow to file your tax return." That means by the stroke of midnight of that night I better have my taxes filed, NOT the following night. Follow me?
Got that right. I'm seriously thinking about jailbreaking my baby. As scary as that is . . . i'm friggin fed up with all the cool apps that Jailbroken people get to use and we're SOL.
I had mine jailbroken and it was awesome. I un-jailbroke it because I wanted to start developing and installing apps legitamitely. If I have to wait any longer I'm going back.
PS. Don't be reluctant - Jailbreaking is easy.
No multi touch and LED backlighting on the macbooks is pretty dissapointing.
I agree. I would be buying one.
same here. they're probably diverting all the 13" LED screens to the precious Air right now. still, you'd think they'd be in more of a hurry to get greenpeace off their backs.
Oh, come on. It's called MARKETING, dude.
If the MBP didn't have exclusive features not available on the "entry-level" MacBook, why would anyone buy it?
@Thunderbuck
I didn't ask why, I said i'm dissapointed by it.
And I think they're trying to differentiate between the Macbook and the MB Air.
The whole charging for the remote thing is BS. But, I still spent $4,000 this morning on the corporate card. Hell, its not my money, I just need to come up with a BS excuse why I spent it.
Just say you were doing your part to help our struggling economy.
Where's the "I just bought a MacBook a week ago and I'm thrilled that they didn't make my purchase completely worthless" option.
I choose that!
Amen! I just bought a MacBook 2 months ago, so for the moment I'm pretty psyched about the lack of change.
14 day return policy :)
A colleague took delivery of his MacBook last Thursday, phoned Apple Customer Care today and they refunded him £150.
Another colleague is waiting for her MacBook Pro to be delivered (its been shipped) and Apple have told her to return it, postage paid, for a full refund as soon as it arrives, she can order the same again for £200 less.
Give 'em a call, you never know your luck...
I'm with you. Just bought one over the weekend (and picked it up from the post office today - typing on it now). And since it was only 100mhz bump in processor (penryn or not) and a hard drive bump, I'm not too disappointed. This isn't my primary system so the hdd isn't too big of a deal - I have over 1tb on in my desktop.
It would still be nice to see them do something different with them, but I sighed a little bit of relief when I saw the results.
I would have disappointed if they added a pop-out coffee cup warmer, but I'll be content with my current blackbook.
Peetah, just turn your macbook upside down and place your coffee mug on top.
Where is the Blu-Ray?!
Where is the SSD?!
Why no Core 2 Duo Extreme?!
Werd on the Blu-Ray. And werd to the comment on the LED back lighting on the MB. Bah!
I would think they'd update the form factor at an actual event, since its been so long. I bet we'll see them at the next macworld expo.
Yeah, it was pretty obvious that they weren't going to release anything too big without an event, but what's disappointing is that it'll be that much longer until a real MBP refresh.
I, like most people, would have been happy with the previous version of the MBP. This refresh just makes it that much more worth it to me.
Why does the MBP still have hooks? Where is the smooth magnetic latch?
Also want a 12" MBP to upgrade this dying G4 powerbook.
could warp the larger screen.
smeh i am about to buy my first mac (macbook pro) and i can't complain as this update saved me about 500 bux (so i didn't have to get the 2500 option)
so now the dilemma is do i buy a MBP now or do i wait till the i absolutely need one?? hmmm such decisions!
You buy one whenever you want to buy one, because you're going to slowly kill yourself and not have a new mac if you keep waiting for the next refresh.
Seems like the Macbook Air could really end up hurting Apple's other laptops in it's effort to be special.
I'm still not sure why this refresh of the Macbook lines wasn't announced in January at Macworld. I could understand not being "ready" if there were significant chassis design changes, or something like squeezing in a BluRay slot-loader. But these were overall minor updates; even if they weren't all soldered in yet, they still could have announced them. After all, there were other products announced that haven't become available yet (iPhone SDK, Time Capsule); so what's the big deal?
I don't see anything major to announce. They just bumped the specs up a little bit, for the most part. The multitouch trackpad already got its announcement.
I see what you are saying, but that's sort of my point - something so minor that people were wanting so badly could have simply been added as a "footnote" announcement, so to speak. His keynotes always have a few of these minor news bits, such as the bare mention of Office 2008 for Mac in the most recent one.
My guess is they knew they had a bunch of minor updates coming to most of their product lines, and are trying this new "Refresh Tuesdays" marketing strategy to try and keep some sort of momentum going between major releases.
Where's the "Meh." option?
All the poll options are anti-Apple. WTF?
isn't it obvious? it's because engadget is so biased in favor of apple, as everybody knows.
Yeah, I don't get it either. Sorry, Engadget, but I don't want to follow the massive negative groupthink on this one. Just because the hype machine for ZOMG TUESDAY started last Wednesday doesn't mean Apple is committing a crime against man here.
I love it... they just want their little books to look pretty.
It's a freaking computer, go for functionality over looks...god damn sheep...
Yes, because they didn't just get all new Penryn chips.
Oh wait. Yes they did.
You're in the wrong age of technology.
Form over functionality now.
But I -COULD- be biased seeing as how I'm shooting for product design positions =P.
Why do the votes (not percentages) keep going down? The poll is rigged.
I've been waiting muylongtime for the 10"-12" eMate replacement to come out (don't need MBP-level features), so these micro-updates underwhelm me. I expect we'll see a more serious revamp of the MBP formfactor ... soon (June?).
This does lift the mid-level MB to the "quite a lot of power for the buck, esp with ed discount" range, however. I may need to give up my wait for muysmall.. as Pete said, you can kill yself holding out for the Next thing..
In regards to the "maybe I'd care" response, I'd like to say as a devoted PC-fan that the base Macbook Pro looks pretty attractive at its new price point. Tack on an education discount ($200 off, I think,) and you could count me in, if I didn't already get a speed demon lappy a few months ago.
But I won't stop complaining about the lack of a split mouse button. They could totally make it work I think... split it down the middle, but let the user decide if both buttons count as the same thing, or if it works as a left-click right-click deal. It could work, right?
Well as a devoted PC-fan, you be thrilled with the greatest piece of software officially launched in Leopard....BOOTCAMP!
Finally my fiance can use a version of Office on her Imac that isn't complete and utter crap. Office2004 was a joke, open office was a pain to use, haven't bothered to tried Office2008. Now the Imac is running WinXP Pro and is a useful office business machine until she reboots into OSX to play with photoshop.
as i see it the multi-touch function is better than a two button mouse, one still gets the right click left click functions, it just depends on how many fingers used.
I like Macs as much as anybody - but I stopped reading Gizmodo for being too much of an Apple lacky - is this more of the same?
Oh yea, they're worse here...
God forbid Engadget cover stuff that people actually want to read. Has it occurred to you that technology sites cater to Apple news because it's what gets them the most hits? Say what you want about Apple related articles, but they are never ever ignored. The fact that you feel the need to come into to the comments section and complain about it, is proof of that.
It's somewhat disappointing; After all of the hype, the updates were quite minimalistic. I didn't expect a total redesign, Blu-Ray, or anything of the sort, but I was hoping they'd do a bit more than they did. Oh well.
Keep in mind that whatever "hype" there was, it wasn't generated by Apple, so don't bother blaming them for not meeting your expectations.
i beg to differ with you, Zak. instead of introducing updates when they're ready, apple seems to strategically hold them back so they can have something new come out every tuesday. it's all part of a marketing strategy: nobody else does it this way. i highly suspect they could have introduced a lot more products already this year, if they'd wanted to. it's good PR, but will it hurt them in the end? already many people seem to think they're lagging behind other companies on features.
"I got Steve Jobs number, how do you like them Apples?"
After seeing the Air, the current MBPs look extremely dated. They could really use some trimming and refining. But I guess we will have to wait till WWDC for that. Which I am afraid means I will have to take the plunge and get the Air. I suspect I am not the only one who was waiting for the MBP refresh to make that decision so really it was a smart business decision on Apple's part to hold on the redesign. it will help them push lots of Airs.
The design of both the Macbook and Macbook Pro are dated. They NEED to update the design/form factor. Its nice to update some of the innards, but come on, these designs have been around for 2+ years now, they are long overdue for an update.
Not impressed with this update.
"Maybe I'd care, but I use a PC. How do you like them Apples?"
HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!! Nice one!
MacBook updates? Well this is the first I've heard.
Will the MBPs still scorch my lap?
If you're having heat issues, there's a handy little application out there called smcFanControl. It allows you to set the fan speeds to higher levels, to cool your Mac more efficiently.
Thanks, Andrew.
I wished they would change the MBP's keyboard. Jobs even said that the MacBook Air had the best keyboard they ever made. Why not put that in the Pro version of the notebook?
If they made an optional 1680x1050 for the 15" Pro, and dropped the price $500, then it would be attractive. But I can't see spending twice as much as an equal Dell laptop for less from Apple.
Nothing crazy, but I do appreciate the bump to 256/512mb graphics driver...even though I bought my macpro in november :-)
I like the updates, but I also wanted a keyboard update and a blu-ray drive in the 17" with the high res screen as standard. The form factor is fine. I look at all of my friends laptops and my MBP is still more compact and functional than anything I have seen in a comparable size, except for some of the Sony VAIOs.
Kind of disappointed. I really need to replace my current laptop, so I was hoping for some big changes. However, I don't really have the money at the moment, so waiting a few months for the next update isn't so bad.
Sorry - the Engadget reply gremlin is in full force today... that was meant for an earlier post. I really have to stop using the 'Reply' link as it rarely works correctly.
Hopefully this one will end up in the right place...
Maybe if the guys who run this blog would spend less time grovelling at the altar of all things Apple and fixed their crappy blog software... :)
Jeff, you are so very witty, especially with your double run-on posts and smiley emoticon. How about you think your way over to a different thread instead of being the 5th troll-bot on this one today already.
Pretty lame, and even weaker is the fact that the trackpad update wasn't also a patch for existing MBP owners like myself.
You know what updates mean to me? Even cheaper refurbished models at Apple's site for me to jump on. $1499 minus a $200 iPhone credit (My wife and I each bought iPhones on day one) means a new (relatively) Macbook Pro for me at just $1299. How you like them apples?