Yesterday, for Apple’s portable lineup, there were massive changes.
The Macbook Pro and MacBooks were all updated with new Penryn processors. I don’t really care what that means except that they run faster and using less heat and power so there’s apparently a modest increase in battery life.
The MacBook Pros have new multi-touch trackpads like the MacBook Air but other than incremental speed and hard drive capacity, there’s not much difference between the new models and the last revision. So if you have a recent MacBook then there’s likely no reason to upgrade. I’d certainly not rate upgrading for the sake of the multi-touch trackpad.
Also, the iPod 1.1.4 update has been released in anticipation of the Software Development Kit (SDK) being released in the next few days (though rumours say we will have to wait for another two weeks or so). I’ve not downloaded the update yet or tested it at all but reports from the Net say that there are only bug fixes and no visible new features. It’s also not clear if this is a ‘pay-fer’ update like 1.1.3 was for the iPod touch owners.
I’m sure we’ll discuss it in the forums.
5 Responses to “Apple’s Portable Lineup updates”
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February 27th, 2008 at 1:57 pm
It’s always good to see upgrades but i was hoping for a bit of a design change, rather than just fairly minor hardware upgrades. The macbook pro has hardly changed (on the outside) since the powerbook G4! I also don’t see why they didn’t include multi-touch on the macbook.
Think i’ll wait until the next revision before i upgrade by ibook - Why can’t they just make a 13″ macbook pro, or a macbook with a proper graphics card!
February 27th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
Trust me, the multitouch trackpad is nothing to write home about.
Another thing: the usefulness of the MacBook eclipses the MacBook Pro consderably in terms of price. Most people I would guess could probably survive fine with a Macbook rather than a Pro.
They’re just differentiating the line.
I’d like a MacBook Air with a graphics card. Then I’d be all set.
February 29th, 2008 at 6:02 pm
I purchased a Macbook Pro on the 18th February, it still hasnt arrived yet (should be here 3rd-6th March) as I had a few modifications to the usual, but it will go back as the graphics card is now 512mb which will make a difference.
Recent reviews show that the new MBP is not really as fast as the old one.
In some tests it was slower.
February 29th, 2008 at 6:56 pm
I’ve not seen anything to suggest that the speed increases will make any difference. Reports do say that it runs a LOT cooler however.
March 4th, 2008 at 9:14 am
Macworld says that the new Macbook Pros are faster and cooler.
http://www.macworld.com/article/132330/2008/03/macbookpro_bench.html