Technology news and Jobs 
Fuzzy Logic New MacBooks, new 24” screen but no $800 netbook - meh
Fuzzy Logic New MacBooks, new 24” screen but no $800 netbook - meh | New MacBooks, new 24” screen but no $800 netbook - meh |
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| by Alex Zaharov-Reutt | |
| Wednesday, 15 October 2008 | |
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Although the $800 notebook rumour was only ever a rumour, it set in place an expectation that Apple was serious about capturing consumers with lower-cost computers, just as it did with its iPod range. Apple has instead disappointed, launching new models that are undoubtedly better than those they replace, but only by finally introducing a decent graphics card that will make playing games much more enjoyable, graphic design a bit faster and by making the larger “multi-touch” trackpad standard across the range, save the “old” white Macbook which is still being sold. Perhaps Steve Jobs is really saving the Mac Netbook or large-screen iPhone Pro for the January 2009 Macworld event instead, missing out on the lucrative Christmas/end-of-year/holiday shopping season. But then perhaps Steve Jobs is really quite clever, because this Christmas is predicted to be one of the worst ever for consumer spending thanks to the ongoing global financial credit crisis. Ultimately, all Apple has done is launch a few new notebooks. As “Fake Steve Jobs”, or Dan Lyons as he is also known has said in his Newsweek article, all Apple have done is to put on a big dog and pony show over a few improvements, while competitors in the PC world just put out a press release. And while Lyons didn’t say it, PC vendors sell millions more units than Apple, too. Aluminum cases, or aluminium as we call it, are nice, but for people that just want to surf the web, do email, do some office-type work, organise and play with their digital media, an aluminium case will make absolutely no difference. Plastic cases would have resulted in cheaper prices for consumers, hard pressed in these economic times. Apple has also focused on its green credentials after having come under attack by Greenpeace in the past, calling its notebooks the “industry’s greenest”, but the person who would have happily purchased a sub-$1000 Mac netbook doesn’t really care about such things – price is the overriding factor, and as always, Apple lives on the expensive side of life. There’s also the issue of Apple’s version 1.0 products. Yes, every time you introduce a brand new model, you’re in some ways back to square one. I’m just waiting for the stories of problems that first-generation buyers will experience, much like the “wheezing noises” of earlier Macbooks and expanding batteries, or dud capacitors. Apple might not experience any of this kind of publicity this time around, but seeing as it always seems to happen, I’d be very surprised if it didn’t this time, too. All of that said, Apple’s new notebooks are the re-design people have been asking for, they do deliver more power, faster chips, the MacBook Air keyboard, nicer trackpads and thinner cases, and with Apple fans they’ll likely be very popular, if a new notebook is on their shopping list right now. And for those that are wary of Apple’s new models and bugs that haven’t yet been uncovered, Apple’s now superseded models will be going cheap, letting some pick up a bargain as Apple and its stores seek to clear out old stock. So, whip out your credit card, worry about how you’ll pay for it later, and click on over to page 2 where we look at Apple’s latest and greatest in more detail. |
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