Apple to take notebook lines larger and smaller

Stephen Withers
Monday, 19 February 2007 13:23

Your IT - Home IT

Rumours abound that Apple is preparing to launch a new, intermediate-sized MacBook as well as a sub-notebook model.

The 15in MacBook is tipped for the second quarter by DigiTimes, citing (anonymous) sources in Taiwan.

Apple's range currently consists of the 13in MacBook (with either a 1.83 or 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo CPU) and the 15 and 17in MacBook Pro (with 2.33 or 2.16GHz Core 2 Duo CPU).

The MacBook Pros also include more memory, higher-performance graphics and (depending on the stock configuration selected) bigger hard disks and faster optical drives.

A 15in MacBook could either replace the existing black MacBook ($2399) or sit between it and the entry-level MacBook Pro ($3199). While there's a big enough price gap to accommodate another model, it's not obvious how it could be configured to maintain the separation between the regular and Pro models.

Presumably FireWire 800, ExpressCard/34 and the illuminated keyboard would remain exclusive to the Pro models. But what about the graphics controller? Apple's use of the Intel GMA 950 controller on the MacBooks has been criticised, but other vendors use it at a 1440 x 900 resolution so we suspect Apple will stick with it for the 15in model. This would retain a very clear distinction between the MacBook and the MacBook Pro.

The trick for Apple is to discourage as many potential 15in MacBook Pro buyers as possible from moving down to the cheaper and presumably less profitable 15in MacBook, while at the same time capturing the extra dollars from MacBook buyers that want a larger screen but aren't prepared to pay for a MacBook Pro. Changing only the screen size would be the best way of achieving these aims.

The black MacBook is already positioned as a premium model (it costs $50 more than the same configuration in a white case), so we wouldn't be at all surprised to see it dropped in favour of a black 15in MacBook with otherwise similar specifications and a slightly higher price.

So what about the sub-notebook?