October 9th, 2008
New MacBooks and MacBook Pros: $800 and Mini-DVI (updated)
More details are emerging on the new MacBooks, due to be announced on Tuesday.
Inquisitr received word that price lists provided to some Apple retailers in the United States include an SKU for an $800 notebook computer – a first for the Cupertino company.
Apple retail stores have been given price sheets that list 12 price points for the new range, with prices between $800-$3100. Current lines only have 8 price points, 3 Macbooks starting at $1099, 3 Macbook Pros and 2 Macbook Airs.
Engadget posted the above spy shot which appears to be a close-up shot (albeit a blurry one) of the left side of a MacBook or MacBook Pro shell.
In it a seam is visible separating the side plane from the top bezel indicating that this comp/mockup/spy shot wasn’t fabricated from a single slab of aluminum. Rumors have been circulating that Apple has developed a new fabrication technique that uses lasers and wet jets to carve MacBooks out of a solid aluminum block (a “brick”).
The picture (first posted on a MacRumors forum from a Chinese forum) appears to shows a brand-spanking-new Mini-DVI (video out) port located between the USB and microphone ports. This would be a change for the MBP and would most likely mean the end of the full-size DVI port in favor of the MacBook’s Mini-DVI (third from the left below).
It would definitely be a bummer to lose native DVI output on the MacBook Pro. It means that you’ll have to remember to bring a dongle with you to get video out. I have a habit of forgetting dongles at the most inopportune time. The upside is that a single Mini-DVI port can be adapted to four devices: DVI, VGA, composite, or S-video. You can see why Apple would want to consolidate ports.
Three tiny spy shots (below), apparently of the new consumer-level MacBook, cropped up on Apple.Pro.
Picture 1 shows an almost identical keyboard layout and larger trackpad from the MacBook Air. It also lacks speaker grills on either side of the keyboard found on the larger MBP so it’s clearly a 12 or 13-inch model. Is the a woman’s hand?
The ports in picture 2 above appear to be (L to R):
- MagSafe
- Ethernet
- (2) USB
- Mini-DVI
- Audio line in/optical digital audio in
- Headphone/optical digital audio out
- Security slot
Picture 3 shows a pretty standard issue slot-loading optical drive and an interesting pack of smokes and lighter. (I’ll send a PowerPage t-shirt to the first reader that can identify the brand of cigarettes pictured). Any chance that it’ll be a Blu-Ray reader? Maybe in the MBP, but I doubt if they’d put Blu-Ray into the consumer notebook.
Do the new pictures swing you one way or another?
