Although they have the dubious honor of being perhaps the most unsurprising update of the day, the new MacBooks are definitely the best of the lot and also mark the return of Jobs’s famous “one more thing”. Sure, a lot of people have been pining for new displays and a MacBook Air update, but it’s the bestest selling Mac where all the action is today. So, what’s new?
Well, apart from a new LED backlit 13.3” display, all new aluminum enclosure, a top-of-the-line NVIDIA graphics card, and a frickin’ glass trackpad, there isn’t much to drool about. That is, if neither of the above is drool-worthy enough for you, in which case, you ought to check your Drool Resistance Levels pronto!
In a departure from normal Apple tradition, Apple has lowered the price of entry and retained one of the older MacBooks—same white plastic enclosure, same processor, memory, hard drive, integrated graphics, and same SuperDrive! The new price for it is $999, down from its previous price of $1,099.
The new MacBooks, which ship in two configurations for prices of $1,299 and $1,599, both borrow their looks from the iMac and MacBook Air, finally making glossy black a staple across all Apple product lines that feature a display. There’s also a brand new “precision aluminum unibody” that unites all three MacBook lines and has such an awesome manufacturing process that Jobs showed actual pictures of the factory in action—when was the last time you saw that happen, huh?
In a nod to gaming aficionados, Apple has finally rid the new MacBooks of the much loathed Intel integrated graphics chipsets and replaced them with absolutely top-of-the-line NVIDIA GeForce 9400M GPUs with 256MB of onboard memory. Now that the entire MacBook line is equipped with these screamers, and with the iPhone and iPod touch already proving to be real contenders in the handheld gaming arena, let’s just hope that game companies finally take note of Macs.
Last, but certainly not the least, both these new MacBooks feature an absolutely sexy glass trackpad—actual, real glass—that you can perform Multi-touch gestures on à la the MacBook Air. Also absent is the single physical button below the trackpad, the one thing that I’m sure Steve Jobs is most excited about. If you still need to be able to actually press something to keep your index finger in shape, you’ll be glad to know that you can now press the entire trackpad—it’s one gigantic mouse button.
Apart from all of the improvements mentioned above, the new MacBooks feature 2.0GHz and 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processors, 3MB shared L2 caches, 2GB of 1066MHz DDR3 RAM (extensible up to 4GB), 160GB and 250GB 5400rpm hard drives, an 8x SuperDrive, built-in iSight camera, microphone, and stereo speakers, and two USB 2.0 ports and, as mentioned above, prices of $1,299 and $1,599 respectively.
But it’s not all additions; the new MacBook have dropped one feature from their predecessor. Fans of FireWire will be disappointed to know that the Apple-created standard is nowhere to be found on the new MacBook model, leaving USB2 as the only connection option for many peripherals. Rest in peace, FireWire.
And there you have it, the new MacBooks—shinier, faster, and better. They’re available on the newly updated Apple online store already and should show up in retail stores shortly, if they haven’t already. If you still aren’t convinced, perhaps a video of the notebook in action will do the trick.
Disappointments: Still a 2GHz processor?...STILL?
No FireWire? DROPPED?
Still 13.3 inches? Well, I wasn't waiting for the Macbooks to go 15' but 14 ain't bad.
Satisfied with:
Everything else.
I'm so glad I got the last rev MacBook Pro.
Glossy display? Completely unusable. And they put in that awful keyboard from the lower-end models, which is also completely unusable. Feh.
"a video of the notebook in action" link is not valid.
@DCJ001: Thanks for noticing that! Fixed.
No Firewire? Lots of teachers and students across the country use iMove HD.
Therefore this will not be the computer for all those students. Is Apple forcing us to use iMovie 08 ? Ugh !!!
There is a good reason why Apple allows iMovie HD to be downloaded onto Macs running iLife 08.
With the new MacBooks, we would be stuck with video cameras we couldn't use - so, we'll stick with our current iMacs and MacBooks.
Despite the glossy screen (which I don't mind at all with my current MacBook) and the lack of FW 400 (I can probably get a 800 - 400 adapter) I still want one.
I guess the RDF really does work, thought it could also be the fact that GeForce 9400 >>>>>> Intel GMA950
Hmm, don't get me wrong, the 9400M is a huge improvement over Intel's integrated graphics, but a "screamer"? Its performance is roughly half that of the 9600M GT.
I was planning on ditching my desktop iMac in favor of a new MacBook, but with the removal of Firewire, I would no longer be able to import video form my DV camcorder. Looks like I'll still be chained to the office desktop...