Apple's "spotlight turns to notebooks" event roundup

There were few surprises from Apple yesterday -- MacBooks were in the cards, and MacBooks are what we got -- and the jury's still out on whether these new laptops are exactly what the market needs right now, but there's no denying that Apple's pretty proud of its new all-aluminum lineup. We'll have a full review of the laptops shortly, but in case you missed anything, here's a look back at the mayhem.

The liveblog

Live from Apple's "spotlight turns to notebooks" event

First impressions

New MacBook / MacBook Pro unboxing and first impressions

Hands-on coverage

MacBook Pro first hands-on!
Apple MacBook aluminum and glass super-shiny hands-on
Apple 24-inch Cinema Display hands-on

Product announcements

Apple finally refreshes Cinema Display: 24-inch, LED backlit, $899
MacBook Air gets NVIDIA graphics, storage bump
Apple's MacBook gets a fresh face, NVIDIA graphics, original drops to $999
Apple's all-new MacBook Pro packs new NVIDIA GPUs, glass trackpad

In-depth / details

NVIDIA GeForce 9400 M, 9600M GT get official in new MacBooks
Apple's Steve Jobs calls Blu-ray "a bag of hurt"
MacBook Pro requires logout to switch graphics modes
Intel: MacBook Air sheds custom CPU for 45-nm Penryn "S"
Multi-finger MacBook trackpad gestures demonstrated on video
New MacBook Pro running HybridSLI?

[(Unverified) Posted Oct 15th 2008 7:24PM]

I love the new aesthetic, but I'm unhappy about the lack of a backlit keyboard on the 2.00ghz base model. Surely it doesn't cost the world to put a light inside and a sensor on the front!

I've placed an order on the base model with the intention of swapping out the HDD to a quicker and larger drive and the hope of installing more RAM if it's user serviceable.

I'm also hoping to god there isn't much difference between the 2.0 and the 2.4 so that it'll be easy to swap in the keyboard backlit parts and maybe even do a slight overclock on the CPU.

Anyone know if the 2.0 is just the same as the 2.4 but underclocked/capped?

[convoyBot Posted Oct 15th 2008 11:46PM]

They need to differentiate the two models so people have more reason to buy the more expensive one.

Apple is moving towards a new uniform styling across their products, but they had to change the iPhone back and make the iPod touch back glossy.

[(Unverified) Posted Oct 15th 2008 7:49PM]

"but in case you missed anything"

how did an ENGADGET reader miss that?!

[(Unverified) Posted Oct 15th 2008 7:52PM]

Ironically, I think that what apple has done over the past few "enhancements" to there product line is move away from the users they attracted in the first place. I always used a Mac at work (im a graphic designer) and a PC at home. But they are making this increasingly difficult, the loss of Firewire isn't great and also those glossy screens mean I need to proof work on a secondary screen.

I am not a fan of the way that they are taking away hardware features in order to force people into certain directions. I could just about put up with the complete lack of flexibility compared to PC hardware now days but to remove the basics such as connectors is just beyond me. Im not even taking about these things based on price, I would think it was stupid if they had done it on a laptop half the price.

Aesthetic wise, I think the black keyboard is awful, they should have gone with the same design as the aluminum keyboards, I don't mind the border around the screen, but think that it is pretty badly done. If it was more akin to the iMac it would have been vastly better in my opinion.

[(Unverified) Posted Oct 15th 2008 7:56PM]

The new MacBooks are great. Really great. In a slow economy, this may mitigate the R&D investment that Apple made with the MacBook Pro and all its technology. Lower price than the 15", dedicated GPU, aluminium chassis.

Apple needs a NetBook. Low price, basic functionality. Price mark around $799 USD (max).

The most profitable iPod is the Nano. If I were Steve, I'd ship a NanoBook.

[Charlie W Posted Oct 15th 2008 8:13PM]

I don't understand this update. Yeah the multitouch trackpad might be good (might also be terrible, although Apple has a good track record with these things. The aluminum unibody is a very nice premium feature. The better integrated graphics is a nice feature that will soon be commonplace between this new nVidia chipset and the new Intel Larrabee.

But come on: The old model they are replacing and that has been on sale for ~1 year was $1099 for 2.1Ghz, 1GB RAM, 120GB, and combo drive

Now they're going to charge $1299 and the CPU is actually slower, and there are modest upgrades to RAM and HDD, and optical drive? The actual performances changes are extremely underwhelming, especially given the price boost. I wouldn't be surprised if this isn't one of Apple's schemes where they'll fine their early adopters a couple hundred dollars and wait until they completely sell out of the old models at profitable prices, and then will drastically drop prices on the new MacBooks and bump their specs.

Obviously I have have no evidence of this, but I have this very strong reasoned argument: Apple is officially even on their website clearing out the old base MacBook model (at only $100 off) and I'm sure retail locations are clearing out all the old MacBook and MBP 15" models at similarly light discounts. Apple is not producing any of the old MacBooks anymore, so they will run out. When they do, that will leave their cheapest available laptop at $1299. Which won't happen. Not in this market. If anything, looking at the general trend of decreasing laptop prices and the bad economy, they just can't compete if their cheapest model is twice what the average consumer spends on a laptop. Yeah they could be releasing a netbook line for a lower price range but those aren't fully featured laptops... typically no optical drive and either flash memory or a 1.8" hard drive. I think that they have to be able to offer the base MacBook at $1099 at the very most.

[matt merritt Posted Oct 15th 2008 8:32PM]

Um... the $999 white MacBook doesn't seem to be on clearance. In fact it has a big blue new tag on it:

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_mac/family/macbook?mco=MTE3MjA

They're also still selling the 17" MacBook Pro - in the same case as before.

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_mac/family/macbook_pro?mco=MTE4NDY

And just because you buy into the Megahertz myth, doesn't mean that these new processors aren't different.

[Poot Posted Oct 15th 2008 9:06PM]

stores aren't selling the old ones at a discount. apple hasn't stopped making the white or the 17in MBP. and 2.0Ghz 1066Mhz FSB > 2.1Ghz 800Mhz FSB.

I'm not saying the specs are amazing... but have you ever tried to use a computer with a Pentium D processor (dual core pentium)?? My mom's desktop is rated at 3.0ghz and has 2gb of ram, a dedicated video card, and my Mac Mini blows it out of the water at 1.8ghz and 2gb of ram. Admittedly, it doesn't play hardly ANY games, not meaning that, though. I don't play games to begin with.

Hz in computer terms mean almost nothing. It's just a measure of changing voltages.

[matt merritt Posted Oct 15th 2008 8:28PM]

I have to say that as a 15" MacBook Pro owner that wasn't really considering upgrading at all, I am fairly enamored.

From the purely aesthetic point of view, I personally love the black and aluminum design - it looks clean and sharp, if you ask me. Personally, I think Apple should've kept with that theme with the low-end MacBook by doing away with the white one and replacing it with the old 'high end' black case. Also, I think it's a good idea that they kept the 17" MacBook Pro case unchanged - I'm not a photog, nor do I do video work, but I can understand the general dislike of a glossy screen in those markets. If you're doing that kind of work, I imagine you would want the slightly larger screen and slightly higher resolution and the option for a matte finish.

Aesthetics aside, I like the idea of an easily replaceable Pro HDD... I just replaced my Pro HDD, and voided my warranty in the process (a whole week before it would've expired anyway). It was a fairly easy process, but the thought of voiding my warranty did make me a little weak in the knees (my mother's opinions on the idea of me doing the work myself notwithstanding). The graphics upgrade was expected, and I can't complain... the new chipset is a nice idea too - Intel has never made a 'grade A' chipset.

As far as external ports go... The exclusion of Firewire 400 really doesn't strike me - It's an older format that has been replaced (on all of the pro-products) by it's backwards compatible, larger bandwidthed brother. I've always wished for more USB ports, especially now that the iPod is USB-only, but I have a USB hub that I always keep in my laptop bag (both of my laptop bags actually - I have a chronic fear of lack of connectivity whether I'm using OS X or Ubuntu). DisplayPort is nice, leave it to Apple to toss in it's own version of DisplayPort, but as far as computers go DisplayPort is the future. HDMI is nice, but it's a TV and media center format and Apple is trying to push it's other media center options... I suppose I was taken a little off guard by the inclusion of DisplayPort just because it's quite new.

The trackpad seems like a cool idea, but I haven't actually used it so I can't really comment. It seems to be a logical extrapolation of where Apple was going with it's trackpads.

All in all - evolutionary for sure, but not the terrible update that people around here seem to be screaming and raving about. I'm not going to go out and say Apple just called Jesus down from the Cross to walk amongst us in the land of the gadget-nerds... but I don't get the hate either.

[matt merritt Posted Oct 15th 2008 8:53PM]

Also: I wonder if John Ive knows he is going to be a CEO whenever Jobs' time passes.

[(Unverified) Posted Oct 15th 2008 8:52PM]

how come whenever apple releases anything it has a huge conference, and engadget has 30 articles devoted to what the same thing, yet when any other laptop/mp3 player/desktop is released, it may get 1 article on engadget, and no birthday party?

[(Unverified) Posted Oct 15th 2008 10:40PM]

Apple buy lots of pub in this blog...

[(Unverified) Posted Oct 15th 2008 9:30PM]

Steve Jobs looks like at death's door. Apple better pick a successor soon.

[jvalal Posted Oct 15th 2008 9:41PM]

Does anyone have a bead on how easy it is to swap out the memory/drives on these new models??

[troyallen Posted Oct 15th 2008 10:12PM]

For $300 people cry like babies. You get a Mac and OSX. Cut down on the beer, drugs, movies and parties. I'm sure you can save $300 in one week.

[(Unverified) Posted Oct 15th 2008 10:26PM]

Can I get three cheers for the MacBook Air?

[(Unverified) Posted Oct 15th 2008 10:41PM]

I heard mac users mostly listen to black metal... is it true?

[(Unverified) Posted Oct 15th 2008 10:52PM]

Guys, just came finished starting config on my brand new Macbook Pro, I was waiting for this remodeling for 2 years already!
One thing got my attention at the store, the guy told me they are repricing the "old" Pro models, the one that was 2499 now is 1799, you just need to ask them....and you still have the matte screen!!
He asked me if I do not prefer that one.....but I really liked the new one....and I have the old one already...

so, for the ones searching a very good notebook and dont give a s**** for the new design, go to an apple retails store fast!

ah, the new ones are almost all gone.....

seeya

[matt merritt Posted Oct 15th 2008 11:08PM]

Isn't that the standard previous generation clearance price?