Mr. Blurrycam reveals the updated MacBook Pro, $899 laptop model shows up in Apple inventory systems (Updated)
By Nilay Patel 
posted Oct 13th 2008 10:37PM
posted Oct 13th 2008 10:37PM
Update: Our source just hit us with another pic, this time from the side -- it's after the break. We're also told that there's not one, but two NVIDIA GPUs inside --
Update 2: Our source just hit us again to say that it's two full-on NVIDIA GPUs -- sounds like a hybrid SLI setup to us, which is pretty wild. Wilder still, they say the MacBook and 17-inch MacBook Pro aren't getting refreshed tomorrow, which we find hard to believe, but we'll see when we see.
Update 3: John Gruber over at Daring Fireball, the first to accurately predict today's launch event, has confidentally chimed in with many more details. The button-less trackpad is indeed glass, and "is a button itself" which opens the door for a few hours of trouser-heated speculation about the trackpad doubling as a BlackBerry Storm-like display (Gruber doesn't say and it doesn't appear to be in that image above so don't count on it). Gruber also claims that none of the new laptops will reach the rumored $899 price point -- the part number spotted earlier seems to be associated with a new 24-inch LED Apple Cinema Display with DisplayPort according to MacRumors, not a low-end MacBook. To support this, Gruber says that the aluminum MacBooks will indeed be announced in $1,299 (2GHz, 2GB memory, 160GB disk) and $1,499 (2.4GHz, 2GB memory, 250GB disk) configs and will ship by the end of the week along with new 120GB HDD and 128GB SSD configurations of the MacBook Air. While CPU clocks will remain pretty much the same, all new MacBooks -- regular, Pro, and Air -- will feature the new NVIDIA 9400M GPU -- the 15-inch MacBook Pro (the 17-inch will remain unchanged albeit with 4GB of memory and bigger 320GB disk) will feature a second 9600M GT GPU making it a true graphics powerhouse as previously speculated. Lastly, the current 2.1GHz white MacBook remains in the line-up but will be cut to $999.
where's the click button? there's a trackpad but no actual button
That's what she said!
Sorry, I couldn't help it...
Speaking of which, where's the power button?
multi touch perhaps?
Do you guys notice that the screen has a clear ~1/4 inch border?
steve jobs doesn't like buttons...
I agree with the multi-touch comment. who needs buttons with multi-touch?
maybe you push down the trackpad or double tap to click
Power button is on the right hand top corner. It's one of those flush kind of buttons.
I would agree, it's probably touch. except I find the really annoying with any windows laptops i've used and I always turn it off. maybe the whole thing physically clicks down. that wouldn't be too bad. My guess is that power is either on the side or more likely, integrated within the keyboard. oh, and for the record, I checked the photo out in ps...
[IMG]http://i38.tinypic.com/dx1atf.jpg[/IMG]
Not only that but I doubt that would use glass over the screen. even if they have a glossy model they wouldn't use glass because that'd b 2 different manufacturing processes. And Apple is smart enough to know that pros want matte screen.
It's on the FARRRRR right hand corner of the thing. Farking hard to see (Thanks J.R.) but yeah. It's there.
The screen border thing reminds me of my Zune, although I must say, it looks pretty good.
buttons are not toys
These renderings are so fake it hurts. Even if Apple did "forget" to include a power button and a track pad button, glass on a laptop screen is just dangerous. Plus, the first image is obviously an iMac display Photoshopped together with a Macbook Air keyboard and some other nonsense. The aluminum in bottom case gets mysteriously reflective in the top right corner, the "hinge" is magically one shade of black, the dimple in the front that allows one to open the display is too bright for that lighting, and the shadow from the display does not look right at all. And that's just the top image...
glass on a laptop is not dangerous. what are you, like 8 years old?
@Zach G:
I hope they do release these soon so you can eat your words. If you're right, then congrats. If you're wrong, then you are basically completely discredited as an image authenticator.
Craig, have you ever played a game with tap-to-click on?
It is no longer a game, just frustrating. You make a subtle adjustment in counter-strike and suddenly you're spraying everywhere.
Forget the buttons, am I the only one to observe that only the laptop is blurry while the surroundings are not?
You just hump it and it turns on.
Tap-to-click or multi touch?
Clearly this is retribution for us complaining about the one button...
Please do not tell me they removed my manly DVI port and put one of those stupid Mini-DVI ports in instead...
It wouldn't bother me as much if they sold a Mini-DVI to DL DVI-I adapter, but of course that's WAAAAAAY to easy...
The whole thing will be controlled with a simple Zune Pad.
Yeah. What's up with that? Screen glare is hideous.
no, I don't play games on laptops, so that may be a valid concern. I do know that I use tap to click exclusivity if it is supported
@ ridestp
I think that the clear "bezel" of varying thicknesses may be a protective plastic screen sticker thing....like on new cell phone screens...ya know what i'm talkin' about?
John Gruber reckons the whole pad works as a button, allowing you to push the pad to click.
Screens a bit blurry - also not so sure about the big light in the top centre, that would interfer with my blurry movie watching.
I don't understand the lighting in this photo. The screen is angled back and it's brightly lit from above as shown in the reflection, so why is there such a clear "shadow" on one half of the keyboard?
More fundamentally, how can they stick a sheet of GLASS in front of the screen and still make the lid so thin? In the second picture the lid is clearly no thicker than the current MBP. That couldn't happen. It's either a sheet of plastic (based on the "warping" of the reflection in the first photo it might be), which would probably look cheap/awful in the flesh, or it's fake, based on an imac.
@Gojulas: I would just be annoyed if they created a THIRD connection type in addition to the regular DVI and MicroDVI. I work A/V at a college campus and it was annoying enough to have to stock DVI/MicroDVI adapters for the handful of people that insist on using Macs on a PC campus (and not having the sense to have their own adapters) where all the projector ports are VGA. If Mac ends up creating another connector type, well, people on campus on going to be on their own at that point. Just make something STANDARD for a change. Geez.
dude, READ the article. it explains it.
Not too shabby. I hope they're available at Apple's store tomorrow for closer inspection :)
rod, i disagree.
no mouse buttons? to me thats not a problem. i don't use them anyway, i just tap the pad.
no power button? well thats doubtful. there is probably a touch or heat sensitive button that is flush and we just cant see it, like on the ps3. the only thing that marks the ps3 on/off button is a power symbol.
glossy screen? well that is annoying. however, it does make the colors just pop off the screen.
no copy and paste? since when? i'm using leopard now and it has copy and paste. i use it all the time...
non removable battery? who said? if it was non removable, that would piss me off, but we don't know. i hope it is removable.
personally I think it is a very stylish machine, and the glass looks good, even if it is very glossy.
A touch- or heat-sensitive power button would be a horrible idea. In order to use a touch- or heat-sensitive button you need to have power supplied to it in some form constantly. While this could be reduced to almost nothing, it still represents a constant power draw on the battery even when "power" is off.
damn!
Yeah, watch out microsoft!
Microsoft doesn't make laptops.
apparently 899 pricepoint is probably gonna be for a display...
You mean iDamn!
First word that came out my mouth too! It looks real slick.
I'm liking the duel gpu.It's just what I've been asking for.But what about the cpu?Please tell me they are using the centino 2 chipset.That's a big dealbreaker for me.
Bigger FSB = win.
I hope the $899 one is a nice little netbook by Apple.... Or else I would have to go for an EeePC or something.....
EWW, i dont like the new keyboard...
black keys do not go well with the aluminum... Ill hang into my 15'' MBP i have now :)
I second that
That's funny, I thought specs and price might have something to do with it. Is this a computer or a fashion statement?
I'm currently in need of a laptop. It might be one of these if the price isn't horrible. I could care less what color the keyboard is.
i agree. i won't be in any hurry to buy one if they do look like this. i am pretty sure they will all end up looking like the imac and macbook air. shame. i hate multi-colored computers.
It's an apple computer, of course its a fashion statement...
I understand what you're saying, but aesthetics have always been important part of Apple's designs.
This, on the other hand, is a tawdry abomination and it makes my current MBP and even the ThinkPad tablet look handsome.
It looks more cheap than the worst of the Vista laptops from HP.
Black goes great with aluminum.
Careful, you risk making the "Apple fan" persona worse!
You mean the old keyboard? (Look a the Macbook Air)
new keyboard? it practically looks identical to the Air's.
@CraigJ - I wouldn't take it too personal. Rod seems like the kind of person who needs something for everything--like buttons to click mice, or turn things on, or open doors. Hell, he's probably upset his toilet didn't come with a button to wipe his ass.
@Ron - Who are you kidding here buddy? If you don't like the laptop, don't look at it, or buy it, or get your blood pressure worked up about it. It's not like someone forces you everyday into a room with this thing for hours on end (either way, heaven forbid right?). But of course we all know the real reason you come here to complain about something COMPLETELY out of your power is because the anonymity of a tech blog masks the fact that you're completely powerless to care in real life. If you think you could design and make a better laptop and sell it to a wider consumer base, then fuck, go for it! Take a 3D design class, learn about electrical engineering, take a computer programming class, or maybe even business (this one is a plus!). Put something into production and then see if it shows up on Engadget. DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT instead of putting down someone else for liking it because your inhibition only reaches as far as a tech blog.
@Rod - Maybe if Apple wasn't do so insanely well right now everything you said would make sense. I mean you guys have been making the people-just-buy-them-for-a-statement argument for a looong time right? Maybe if this was like their 5th year in existence you could keep pushing it but come on man.. They're obviously a successful company and a lot of people would be faking a lot of interest for absolutely no reason for a looong time now. I'm sure if they're products were as bad as you're implying the hype wouldn't still be so strong before EVERY SINGLE PRODUCT THEY RELEASE. You need to have SOME substance behind it regardless of how well you push it (Segway) or people will forget about it and move on to the next flavor of the week. Maybe for some people with certain requirements and expectations in a computer they really are superior? Maybe some people just prefer them? Do you roll the window down at every stoplight in your Ford and get mad at the guy next to you if it looks like he's enjoying his GM? Do you get pissed when you see someone wearing different kinds of clothes? Just shut the fuck up already.
It doesn't help that you're passing judgment on something based off of two cell phone pictures. You'd hate it if it cured cancer just because it had an Apple logo on it, just admit it.
@ Eddie
APPLE is a fashion statement. get over it.
Unlike Hall and Oates, I can go for that.
That's one of my favorite songs EVAR! And i think its damn sexy.
LMAO LMAO LMAO LMAO
omg SO CUTE
SO KAWAII
^_^
ENOUGH
no u
SUPER KAWAII DESU NE~
also that screen is glossier than the back of an iPod. can you say 0 visibility in sunlight?
You dont get glare on glass when the screen is lit up. There are several laptops with glossy screens already, where have you been?
I don't know about you, but I *hate* the glossy screens on my wife's Macbook, my Vaio, her Vaio, and every other glossy notebook that I see. Give me the old Powerbook matte screen, or the matte screen on my T42 (which I still use on occasion). Not nearly as bright, but more readable in lit environments.
If they're all glossy, I'll have to seriously consider clearance or refurb. That, or I'll just get a Vaio Z like my wife's. That notebook pretty much rules (despite the glossy screen). Still, I was waiting for the Macbooks. This leaves me pre-announcement bummed.
Andrew,
Yes you do. I have a laptop with a glossy screen. My new laptop is a MacBook Pro with a matte screen. Matte is much better in sunlight.
Like anyone here will be exposed to sunlight.
There isn't a day in hell where I am going to buy a laptop with glossy screen, so I hope there is a matte option. Which would suck, cause I've awaited this release.
899 Booms a few hours : D
no button to click for the trackpad?
You can price it at $200 and I still won't buy it with that glossy screen!
Not quite their target customer then are you
As someone who's laptop is on it's deathbed and is interested in making the switch, I think I am the target customer.
I'm also someone who wants to be able to see the damn screen.
Well you told HIM.
We'll have to see about how glossy it is tomorrow. That screen isn't even on so there is no way of knowing how bright it can get.
This screen looks just like an iphone. The only time I have ever had to turn my iphone's brightness on full blast were a few times on a really bright day when the sun was directly overhead. If that's any indication then this screen will be just fine. It's not like this screen will be facing the sun as often as the iphone would.
Have you been living under a rock? There are several laptops out there with glossy screens.
You dont get glare from a glossy screen when the screen is lit up.
This is so fucking true. If they don't have a matte option, going to by the old version on the cheap.
come on.... 200 bucks i'd buy it with a cracked glossy screen for that. I'm no fan of glossy either in a pro machine. Looks great on mom's iMac, but a pro machine needs a matte screen.
This pic actually looks legit…except that it does not have a trackpad button as pointed out above. Otherwise really nice. I can't wait!
Note the absence (or misplaced) power on/off button. Seems like the keyboard is similar to the current MacBook and MacBookAir; a step backwards for the Pro.
You can't fake that!
Pic taken with iPhone lol
Glossy screen on a Macbook Pro means no more new macbook pro's for me. How are you supposed to get true colours from that?!
Glossy screens have been an *option* on MBPs for ages now. This doesn't mean they won't still offer the antiglare.
But you never get true colors with the MacBook Pro's anyway, because they're cheap TN panels.
They need to put the option on the macbook.
the option IS on the macbook
Ok, go to the apple website and configure a macbook not a macbook pro with a matte screen right now.
hongkim
Please get off the internets and stop feeding people with erroneous information.
I don't know about the Air, but on both the MacBook and the iMac, glossy (crap TN also) screens are the only options available and therefore the trend is clearly moving towards all glossy, all crap TN, all the time.
option=choice
no choice != option
"The MacBook's only option is a glossy screen" should read "Glossy screens are necessary on the MacBook to mask the crappy, dithered, low-resolution, color-blind display."
DO WANT!
kinda looks like the HP's...need better pics, back to waiting for tommorow
Yes, that was my initial reaction as well.
What's up with that?
yeah it reminds me a lot of my HP DV7-1025NR. Frameless screen, same amount of gloss, idk it seems really similar... Maybe it's a fake, because like other people pointed out, no power button or mouse buttons. Or maybe Apple got rid of/moved those, which would be weird.
It looks exactly like a new iMac. If you squeezed it into a notebook, and added the Air's keyboard, that's what you'd get. I have been waiting for a MBP with a black keyboard for years. Can't stand the silver-painted plastic that's supposed to look like Al. If it was real Al, that's different - but painted plastic? No.
I have a MBP - even though I don't notice the keyboard much anymore and even though it's really a fantastic keyboard otherwise, I'd rather have it in honest black.
Yep, I am going to get myself one of these, can't wait until they're out ;)
hmm i like the design but wheres the dvd drive and the click button for the trackpad?
Some insight into how long we've had to wait for these updates:
The longest ever wait for MacBook or MacBook Pro updates: 229 days
http://switchtoamac.com/site/the-longest-ever-wait-for-macbook-or-macbook-pro-updates-229-days.html
maybe multi touch interface negates buttons?