Like a bat out of hell,
Apple has just shuttled a new,
unibody MacBook in the gadget world's direction. The new model -- which looks like an arctic, glossy version of the familiar 13-inch
MacBook Pro line -- will be landing in stores today (yes, today), with a familiar price tag: $999. In terms of changes, besides the new, high-test plastic casing (built in the same fashion as the aluminum MacBook Pros) the 13-incher boasts a LED-backlit display, new glass multitouch trackpad, and a built-in, "7 hour" battery. Inside the single SKU will be a 2.26GHz Core 2 Duo, 2GB of RAM (upgradable to 4GB), an NVIDIA 9400M GPU, 250GB hard drive and the old standby SuperDrive. We had a chance to play around with the laptop, and it's pretty snazzy for a hunk of plastic. The surface is super slick (AKA super fingerprint friendly), though the base of the laptop utilizes a soft-touch, non-slip surface that's nice to handle. The display certainly is brighter and better looking than the previous model, though the one on the desk we saw was slightly dimmer than we would prefer -- in its defense it was sitting right next to a super bright iMac. As stated, the new model can be picked up
right this very second at stores around the globe, and we'll have a much closer look very soon -- so stay tuned! A full spec breakdown is after the break.
Update: Check out
our hands-on!
• 13.3-inch widescreen LED-backlit 1280 x 800 glossy display;
• 2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 3MB shared L2 cache;
• 1066 MHz front-side bus;
• 2GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, expandable to 4GB;
• NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics;
• 250 GB serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion Sensor;
• a slot-load 8X SuperDrive® with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);
• Mini DisplayPort for video output (adapters sold separately);
• built-in AirPort Extreme® 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
• Gigabit Ethernet port;
• built-in iSight® video camera;
• two USB 2.0 ports;
• one audio line in/out port, supporting optical digital out and analog in/out;
• glass Multi-Touch trackpad;
• built-in, 60WHr lithium polymer battery; and
• 60 Watt MagSafe® Power Adapter.
posted October 20th 2009 12:02PM
I guess I don't understand how it can be "built in the same fashion as the aluminum MacBook Pros" when this is plastic (probably molded) and the MacBook Pros are aluminum (and are machined)?
It's a solid piece rather than several pieces stuck together.
Looks good. Too bad for no black.
What Uncontrol said. Goodbye cracking top cases.
it still looks like all the other macbooks and weighting in >5lbs.
no thanks.
thank god sony n dell still designing good stuffs. did i say dell? yeah, im shocked too.
Damn, nice hardware. Looks good on paper. Would love to dual boot with Win7.
Still, I can't get over $999. That's the deal killer right there, my friends.
Actually, the specs have it dipping down to 4.7 lbs.
Haha, 9400.
Only two USB ports? I usually have at least three things plugged in (HDD, mouse, iPod).
Error in the body...it says 2.6 ghz C2D when it's really 2.26 ghz
You guys released this info before it was up on the site haha. These look pretty slick, but I'll probably wait for another one or two iterations to upgrade my unibody aluminum macbook.
Me too
I might recommend these to someone over the MBP 13's though. All you're losing is the aluminum shell and the SD card slot. Although if the current unibody 13 MBPs are the same as my old unibody MacBook, they're almost indestructible, so probably would last longer.
You should also potentially gain an audio port
Omg, nah they have screwed the ports again...
Urrrr, no FW and a single audio. They only just returned them after the last blasting from the community
You also lose the backlit keyboard.
very very nice.. when will they spec the MBP though... coz this is BETTER than the 13 226 MBP..
I would pay extra for alu, but not that much extra
Well, the specs are identical now. big difference is the backlit keyboard in addition to the aluminum. I just bought a 13" MBP on Sunday (the higher end one) and while it probably wouldn't have changed my decision, I would have liked to know that this was coming...
mmm eye candy...
*drool over glossy plastic
Not that bad, now the wait is on for tablet i guess...
so now there's no firewire 400 port on anything apple makes anymore. fantastic.
Meh. You can have the one on my Thinkpad. I'm not using it.
just get a 800 to 400 adaptor. They're cheap.
This looks better than the unibody Macbook Pros in my opinion, I like the one color scheme.
so in other words this has very similar specs as the 13 inch MPB, but is cheaper?
if thats the case i should of waited a month to get this new plastic "macbook" (Pro)
and boo that built-in battery.
Yeah, I just got my mom the “old” macbook this month. Oh well, its not like she’ll know the difference anyway. If anything the mousepad with no specific right or left click would have confused the hell out of her lol.
Also, what the heck’s with the built-in battery? Does that mean if the battery goes you need to replace the whole computer? Given how that’s the first thing to go in any of my laptops, I’m feeling glad that I got a pro before they started putting these things in.
@ snowleopard233: "Does that mean if the battery goes you need to replace the whole computer?"
No. You just hand over your MacBook (Pro) to Apple and they replace the built-in battery, for pretty much if not *the* same price a new removable battery would cost in an older MacBook.
Phew. Well that’s good. They should probably clarify that a bit, especially considering how many laptop owners have issues with replacing and removing internal components. “Built-in” makes it sound as difficult to remove as a fan or keyboard.
wowwwwwwww... this is what I waited for? I'm pretty dissapointed with this.. how do you even call that an update?
the bottom part of the case is actually pretty cool.. i'll have to hold my opinions until I see some more info
well.. overall, it's pretty underwhelming. and still no matte display on the 13" mbp.. I'm done with apple, I guess I''ll stick with my original windows 7 plan
they completely reworked the case and changed some internals... how is that not an update? they're not calling it a new line of laptops or anything.
the case is the exact same thickness.. still has a huge bezel around the display.. it's glossier than ever.. the bottom of the case looks better than the whole machine.. it's just a shame that I'll never see the bottom since it faces down.. and it's the same price because well, who wouldn't pay $1000 for all those features
I got the Macbook when it first came out in 2006 instead of a Macbook pro.
I regret it because the plastic casing sucks and it's prone to over-heating. I'll never get another plastic computer.
Though I'm sure this model will be very popular.
Apparently you haven't been paying much attention. The MBP's are not immune to the reports of overheating either.
Yeah, my wife's 2007 MacBook doesn't overheat, but my 15" MacBook Pro of the same vintage used to get molten hot. That's improved dramatically since I installed Snow Leopard - I guess it's smarter about how it uses the graphics card or hard drive or whatever the burning component is on the left hand side.
As a mechanical engineer I don't really understand the whole "unibody" hype.
Have you ever held one?
A unibody or as we call them in engineering a monocoque ? Yes
As a side note my Thinkpad is make of carbon fiber and magnesium. Both having higher stiffness to weight ratios than aluminum.
Just that... a hype. There is not so much advantages from the mechanical stand point, but it makes devices look sleeker. I assume they are using a very strong polycarbonate because if not we will soon see people complaining about cracking macbooks all around.
A thinkpad is essentially the complete opposite of a macbook.
Practical, well built, sturdy, very reliable, well specced and fairly priced.
But style wise its... an aquired taste to say the least.
"Practical, well built, sturdy, very reliable, well specced and fairly priced."
In what universe is the unibody MacBook not practical, well-built, sturdy, very reliable (aren't those last three all the same thing)?
Paul, how did you get carbon fiber on your Thinkpad? Mine (T400) is made of plastic.
I don't get unibody either. There is no benefit in build quality, it just makes it a pain in the ass to fix your own computer, not like macbooks weren't good enough at that already.
This is how Apple takes a bad aspect and spins it as a perk.
"Removable batteries are bad." ?!?!?!
Better build quality? I've always found the Apple laptops to be sturdier than most of the competition. My 12" iBook simply didn't flex when you picked it up from one corner. The unibody aluminum laptops are even sturdier.
Unibody construction makes it feel a hell of a lot more solid and sturdy, at least to me. Try comparing the non-uni MBP to the new one and tell me you can't tell a difference in the feel. The new ones have no give to them at all.
The X300, X301, and T400s have carbon fiber reinforced plastic in the roll cage (mainly in the screen structure).
A monocoque can be extremely rigid, but simply being a monocoque doesn't mean it is more rigid than a non-monocoque structure. How you gain stiffness isn't that important to a consumer. It would make more sense for Apple to advertise the torsional rigidity of the chassis or at least give a percentage increase over the previous generation chassis.
"It would make more sense for Apple to advertise the torsional rigidity of the chassis..."
Lol, you should thank Vishnu you're an engineer and not in marketing...
Reminds me of that dodgy Samsung N310 netbook thats meant to be designed by an artist or something but looks more like a child's my first notebook.
So the only difference is that this uses polycarbonate and MBP uses aluminum? -.-