New MacBooks already shipping, hitting stores September 23rd?

If we're to believe a report out today from Citigroup analyst Richard Gardner, Steve Jobs may be taking his "one more thing" to its logical -- and lengthy -- conclusion. According to Gardner (via Barron's) "field checks" on Apple's movements have "confirmed shipments" of "new MacBooks." Gardner goes on to detail stand-out features of the new laptops, saying the currently-en-route devices boast a "very thin aluminum casing, an LED backlit display and an aggressive entry-level price point." Sure, this crazy talk does happen to fall somewhat in line with recent tips we've received suggesting that a new MacBook Pro will be headed onto store shelves come September 23rd, but that doesn't change the fact that all of this information is being reported by lone sources (Citigroup affiliation notwithstanding) with absolutely no evidence to back up their claims. We won't argue that it would be great to see a much-needed update to MacBooks and / or Pros in the very near future, but we don't recommend placing any bets... not until we see some more of those juicy Apple leaks.

[Via Electronista]

[Josh @ Sep 15th 2008 4:03PM]

yes! IR Soo Expensive is back!

[Hush @ Sep 15th 2008 4:23PM]

U.S. economy is in the hole worse than depression. No one can afford gadgets anymore...

[CUBSWILLWIN @ Sep 15th 2008 4:32PM]

I got this pic in a macbook box I got for free, along with a bunch of rocks making it seem like there was a laptop...

[Reader @ Sep 15th 2008 7:53PM]

Ha... read some history for once, or maybe a Great Depression biography sometime. Even if the economy completely collapsed we'd still probably be better off than many in the Great Depression.

[Engadgetier @ Sep 15th 2008 9:02PM]

hey, wait a minute......

[nDee @ Sep 16th 2008 6:48AM]

You can actually see how people ignore the truth.

Small wonder.Macgadget.

[phanbouy fan @ Sep 15th 2008 4:04PM]

that picture made me smile and think about better times.

where have you been, phanbouy? : (

[bartoron @ Sep 15th 2008 4:06PM]

Phaunboy has a phaun? Gasp.

[Almighty- @ Sep 15th 2008 4:16PM]

I bet this Photo is photoshopped !

[phanbouy fan @ Sep 15th 2008 4:19PM]

@bartoron

yes he knows about clothes and science and also uses a thesaurus. he knows about religion too. he hates bloatware! he is the best.

[bob sakamano @ Sep 15th 2008 4:22PM]

Phanbouy hasn't posted in five days... I'm worried about him.... My only guess is that he is in-fact 9 years old and had to go back to elementary school for the fall.

http://www.engadget.com/profile/1772842/

[OneLove @ Sep 15th 2008 4:39PM]

I killed him and buried his body under apple headquarters.

[PM @ Sep 15th 2008 4:54PM]

@ Almighty-

Common, it's obvious its been Paintified, not Photoshopped.

[JJV @ Sep 15th 2008 5:58PM]

@ bob

COUGH STALKER COUGH

[Muhammad-Oli @ Sep 15th 2008 7:11PM]

Or he got banned. Did you not read his last comment?

[nmmalone @ Sep 15th 2008 4:06PM]

That picture is great! So true! If the price drops on the MacBooks, I might actually consider buying one.

[UnixSystemsEngineer @ Sep 15th 2008 7:25PM]

I'd be all about it. The linked site says maybe $999 which would not be all that amazing; low-end macbooks are a decent deal at $1099, and Apple's sold their low-end notebooks for $999 in the past. Something lower like $899 would be more impressive.

I definitely want to pick up a low-end Apple laptop for casual use (personal laptop for business travel, vacation, and surfing from the couch). At $1k+, though, I can't justify it when I could just use my work Thinkpad.

OTOH, if the new Macbooks aren't all that impressive I could probably pick up a lightly-used previous gen one for $700ish.

[KAIKAI @ Sep 15th 2008 4:12PM]

well the words entry level pricepoint and the word macbook
are NEVER seen in a sentence togther sooo
FAKEEE :P

[lolec @ Sep 15th 2008 4:43PM]

Whats the point of captcha and email verification if any idiot can register and post a link in EVERY of his posts without any consequence ?

[lolec @ Sep 15th 2008 4:46PM]

That was for Oliver V

[Sam @ Sep 15th 2008 4:07PM]

Considering today on Wall Street, soon that might be the only computer anyone will be able to afford.

[Curtis Joslin @ Sep 15th 2008 11:32PM]

huh?

[goober_nut @ Sep 15th 2008 5:11PM]

Why I shouldn't be doing this for you, do you mean...

"Because of the 500 point drop on the stock market today, the only computer we'll be able to afford is the one that drawn one that goes with this article."??

[Jeff @ Sep 15th 2008 4:08PM]

Although I'm probably crazy, I'm really hoping this would be my dream of Apple coming out with a MacBook based on the Intel Atom chipset that's small, thin, metal casing and priced around $500-$650.

[Michael Scrip @ Sep 15th 2008 4:15PM]

You described the Macbook Nano. Although I can't imagine paying $650 for a slow laptop. Atom is cool and all... but I'd like a processor that can actually do something. Could an Atom powered Macbook even run iMovie or play a DVD?

[Ryan @ Sep 15th 2008 4:29PM]

@Michael

Can the MacBook Air play DVD? I didn't think so... What could they possibly rip off the Air to make it smaller?

I'm a Mac fan, but I cannot figure out why someone would want a MacBook Air. I would take a regular MacBook over the Air any day. I do love my MacBook Pro though.

P.S. Yes... I know they have an external SuperDrive, but that doesn't count. Who is going to whip out their laptop and external drive on an airplane, or on a road trip?

[bob sakamano @ Sep 15th 2008 4:33PM]

i think youve failed to learn that the point of the macbook air without drive is to encourage the future of entertainment and the fact that it will all be digital... example: you are going on a trip tomorrow so you go to itunes and download some movies before the flight. no need for any cd drives.

People also laughed when they got rid of the floppy but that was eventually phased out.

[Rogue_Genius @ Sep 15th 2008 4:40PM]

Small, thin, inexpensive, APPLE!!?!?

You ARE crazy. :)

[Onetrack @ Sep 15th 2008 5:16PM]

@Ryan..

Yes, and very very well.. Here is a macbook nano, which is atom based.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3CNIO4ZLYE

[Farris @ Sep 15th 2008 5:24PM]

@Ryan - Michael said Macbook Nano, not Air.

Plus, the Air was designed to be thin, not "small." There is a definite difference in those two words. A Macbook with say, an 11 or 12" screen, DVD drive, and optical disk, enclosed in an aluminum case could very well be small, if they were to package it right.

[Michael Scrip @ Sep 15th 2008 6:45PM]

@ Ryan

I was referring to the Atom's processor power... could it handle editing video with iMovie, or playing video?

If a $650 Atom powered Mac laptop could only be used for browsing the web... why get it at all?

[Mike @ Sep 15th 2008 9:14PM]

@Michael: Are you joking? Please tell me you're joking. My 6-year old laptop (with an 867 MHz processor) easily decodes DVDs entirely in software. It doesn't even come close to using the whole CPU.

Let's not forget that the atom processor is still more powerful than the computers that professionals were using for "serious movie editing" mere years ago. The hardware is the same as it always was, but the marketing changes our perceptions of it.

[willyboy @ Sep 15th 2008 10:04PM]

@Michael
"Who is going to whip out their laptop and external drive on an airplane, or on a road trip?"
Who is going to whip out a DVD? Just load a few movies, ripped using handbrake, before you leave and your set. Not to mention the fact that battery life will be better when watching a movie.

[Mez Jr @ Sep 15th 2008 10:49PM]

Yeah, Bob, I mean, lets all get rid of those silly analog CD/DVDs.

[Michael Scrip @ Sep 16th 2008 12:14AM]

@ a few people

The OP said he wanted a Macbook with an Atom. I was just asking if it would be as powerful as a Macbook with the current processors.

A cheaper Macbook Lite with an Atom would be fine... as long as they keep regular the Macbook with a Core2Duo. The only laptops I see using Atom processors are netbooks... which is a far cry from a full Macbook.

Atom is great for small, low cost laptops, but will we ever see Atoms in full sized notebooks?

[Stephen.4 @ Sep 15th 2008 4:08PM]

Finally! This better be real. Day before my birthday too :).

[pina @ Sep 15th 2008 5:02PM]

We have the same birthday!

[Rick V. @ Sep 15th 2008 4:11PM]

If this is true, why wouldn't have SJ announced this last week? It seems like it would have given a little more meat to the yawn-fest of last weeks media event.

I'm just sayin...

[CraigJ @ Sep 15th 2008 6:28PM]

Apple has had iPod announcements every Sep/Oct since 2001. They have never announced anything other than iPod stuff. Apple doesn't mix iPod announcements with Mac stuff.

I think October 14th is more likely than next Tuesday...

[Chris in CA @ Sep 16th 2008 12:42PM]

He didn't anounce this last week because he was DEAD! Geez, don't you read the papers? If he were really alive, do you think iTunes8 would've crashed Windows? Waitaminute...

[Farris @ Sep 15th 2008 4:21PM]

Stop posting links to your website. Seriously.

[Ethan @ Sep 15th 2008 8:17PM]

Are you talking about backlinking?

Uhh.. Welcome to the internet. Every blog does this.

[Jeff Jones @ Sep 15th 2008 4:25PM]

Yup, the price is what has and always will keep me from a mac. That is a very expensive experiment when I can get my computer experimentation fetish fix for free with linux.

[dvsbstrd @ Sep 16th 2008 1:43AM]

Che Guavara?

You sure are hip and edgy.

Sure you're not a Mac user?

[kal326 @ Sep 15th 2008 4:25PM]

Damn those new macs sure are sexy and looks like they are packing blue ray from the image. On top of that they finally have truth in advertising, IRSoo Expensive!

[Rogue_Genius @ Sep 15th 2008 4:46PM]

ZOMG! MPB BRD FTW!! *takes a breath* In all seriousness, an HD format of some sort would be a reasonable addition to the MBP option list, yes? As for the lower price point: I'll believe it when I see it. El-Jobso has never been mistaken for El-Cheapo.

[Patriks7 @ Sep 16th 2008 1:07AM]

I just wish Apple would make a real netbook (not something like the Air)
+- 9" screen, light, some good processor and all that other stuff a netbook should have

[Dan @ Sep 15th 2008 4:29PM]

Out of interest, what's with the HUGE anti- Apple sentiments on this website? on almost every thread with them on, saying you like them/the product means you are instantly a fan-boy and should die :S

back on track, it would be great if they lowered the price, i don't really mind about other specs :P

[AC @ Sep 15th 2008 4:32PM]

you must be new here.

[Aaronage @ Sep 15th 2008 4:43PM]

The problem here is that there are really OTT apple fans that worship Steve Jobs cock and like to bash anything that remotely goes against apple, and those who are sane like to point out how wrong they are. This constant battle has left these two parties on the edge! Now anything related to apple/microsoft gets said reaction before any crazy fanboy statements are made :) Lots of apple hate, plenty of fanboys :)

And those who say the Macbook is expensive, id go as far as to say that price is pretty competitive considering the features/size in the package :)