RSSJobs-less Macworld offers up 17-inch MacBook Pro, variable iTunes prices
By Scott M. Fulton, III | Published January 6, 2009, 1:23 PM
Expectations were moderated after the king of the keynotes stepped aside for what he admitted yesterday to be health problems. But at a quieter, gentler Macworld, the crowd did get something to take home.
For perhaps any other company than Apple, the expectation of a world-changing product at least twice per year, if not more frequently, might be too much to ask. At what appears to be the final Macworld conference with which Apple will directly participate, Steve Jobs' stand-in, Apple SVP for Marketing Phil Schiller, showed off some software updates -- specifically, to the iWork and iLife software suites -- before premiering a new widescreen edition of the MacBook Pro.
As CNBC's Jim Goldman was the first to report from the scene, the new 17-inch model will be not as thin as the MacBook Air, but still thin enough -- less than an inch thick and weighing in at 6.6 pounds. It promises 1920 x 1200 resolution, as well as a new battery technology that should extend its running life to about seven hours on a single charge, for what Schiller described as a 60% increase. Apple has had some investments in lithium polymer battery cell technologies, so this could be what Schiller was referring to.
The new device will come standard with a Core 2 Duo processor clocked at 2.66 GHz, with 4 GB of DDR3 (not DDR2), a 320 GB hard drive (not an SSD), and dual Nvidia GPUs -- one 9400M, and an extension 9600M GT with 512 MB of dedicated GDDR. Pricing for the new MacBook Pro will begin at $2,799.
Apple is just now coming off of its very successful launches of its iPhone 3G and new MacBook lines. Maybe only the very faithful will be severely disappointed by the lack of any world-changing innovations.
As Schiller demonstrated (according to multiple live blogs on the scene), a new version of iPhoto shipping with the iLife suite for Macs will share functionality with Facebook and Flickr, enabling users to transfer photos directly. That functionality has been available up to now for both services, though only through plug-ins. A revised front-end for iPhoto is said to have functionality that looks more familiar to iTunes users.
And in a further demonstration, a completely rewritten version of iMovie looks to bury Windows' nose deeper into the dirt, for not having anywhere near a comparable movie editing utility for the everyday user.
As the conference was drawing to a close this morning, nearly everyone has been expecting Schiller to add "one more thing." That thing could very well be what Reuters reported early this morning, and what BetaNews tests appear to have validated: Many more iTunes tracks appear to be available without DRM, in the iTunes Plus department.
Jobs' absence may perhaps be felt in more venues than Macworld this morning, as the "one more thing" extended to a new three-tier pricing scheme for iTunes tracks: Some songs will be offered for as low as 69¢, with many remaining at 99¢ and some selling for $1.29. This may indicate a concession that the otherwise unshakable Jobs may have made to the record industry, which reportedly wanted a way to implement promotions and needed pricing flexibility in order to accomplish it.
In return, it appears, iTunes Plus will have access for far more songs without DRM, including from Sony Music (formerly Sony BMG) and more from EMI, Apple's charter partner in iTunes Plus. Tracks have been sold there for $1.29 since the new service's grand opening in May 2007.
A new feature of iTunes will enable customers to (finally) purchase music wirelessly, through Wi-Fi or 3G connections. We knew that 3G feature on those iPhones was there for a reason.
So. If I get this straight, the following is to be true about iTunes music files:
.69 Cents US = Some AAC With DRM (128 kbps)
.99 Cents US = Remaining AAC With DRM (128 kbps)
1.29 = Most AAC With OUT DRM (256 kbps)
If you purchase tracks for $1.29 US, you have to have a player that plays back AAC or you have to convert to a format that is compatible with your player.
Are there ANY portable hardware players besides iPods that handle the AAC format?
If not, you pay $1.29 for a file you have to convert from AAC to MP3. Will there be noticeable quality loss if you do choose the lossy MP3 format at 256 kbps?
All of this versus Walmart (.74 to .99) and Amazon (.79 to .99) MP3 without DRM at around 256 kbps (some VBR is in use, some CBR) that you DO NOT have to convert.
Not so sure that the iTunes store will be that great a deal, unless it has an exclusive to more available tracks than either Walmart or Amazon can provide.
Something to chew on...
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As usual, it's a great day in Apple land. :) My goodness, have you guys seen the new iLife 09 & iWork 09? That alone is enough reason to run out of your homes at break neck speed to you nearest Apple store and get a new shiny Mac!
Without question, the new 17" aluminum MacBook Pros are the most gorgeous and advanced notebooks in the world. Wow I just love Apple. I'm so glad I own a Mac.
By the way here is the streaming video of the whole event:
http://events.apple.com....abdcaw/event/index.html
(Brace yourselves guys, this stuff is not for the faint of heart)
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Can someone kick this idiot's @ss outta here?
Anyway Jobs will die sooner or later after Windows 7 is released that means you will have no gay partner so am sure we will get rid of this moron.
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Overpriced, already out of date, end of lifecycle upgrades. Evidently Intel has a bunch of left over Core2 CPUs they were willing to dump cheap and Apple was waiting!
Compare the puny MacBook Pro with the Lenovo W700! And the W700 has had a stated upgrade path for the quad core CPUs from inception!
I like OSX, but the current MacBooks SUCK!
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No one has mentioned the NON-USER-REPLACEABLE battery yet. I'm surprised!
That's a s*** move.
Once the battery is dead (or fails) the whole ****ing machine has to go back to Apple.
Nice.
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Wrong - its simply more difficult!
This is an OLD topic dealt with in much more depth on other sites already!
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I'll be damned surprised if taking the screws out the bottom of your Mac doesn't void your warranty.
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Wait - you mean this laptop does NOT have user swappable batteries?
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The new battery is soldered to the motherboard. Lol.
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all the apple fans get to pay to have their DRM removed, isn't that a deal. DRM-Free, well about time apple played catch up with consumer demands...
worst macworld ever, 8 hours of battery life on that pro eh? yeah, sitting there doing nothing, idle, which i can nearly get out of a dell XPS i own, 7+- hours anyhow.
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Yawn.
Yup, your Dell is definitely state of the art.
But then your world is oriented around MP3s! So maybe it is in your mindset...LOL!
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Pretty pathetic offerings. You'd think that they could have at least tried to pass off a few minor hardware upgrades as cause for celebration.
Not that I'm a Mac fan, but has their marketing department fallen asleep at the wheel? Not much of a move to instill confidence after announcing the end of the Jobs keynotes and pulling out of Macworld entirely (bizarre!).
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Ahh no doubt about it, there's no way you can jazz this up with flowery words - this is a big disappointment. I think this quite obviously shows there's no super-duper whizzo all singing all dancing iPhone on the immediate horizon. I think reports of an expanded iPhone family are greatly exagerated, hey Steve?
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MacBook with Intel Core 2 Duo and 4 GB of RAM? we will soon see laptops with Intel Core i7 processors and by the time we will probably see MacBook with Intel Quard core processor, so that's not a big news. Mac sucks!
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LOL!You can't even parrot a post intelligibly!
In reference to your whine - So do the myriad PC laptops - most of which are running even less impressive AMD CPUs!
Not to mention new whizbang (HP Voodoo) desktops STILL using Core2 CPUs when the Nehalem i7 CPUs ARE AVAILABLE and have been available en mass to the public for 2 months!
And the low power i7s won't be available for a quarter or two! So you don't even have a clue what you are talking about.
With Apple's restricted offerings, the point is they shouldn't shouldn't even be releasing anything new until the availability of the new low power i7s as they are just around the corner. There is little point to make a claim to innovation on the tail end of a product's lifecycle as new superior alternatives already or will shortly exist.
Meanwhile the PC world is falling over themselves to create toy net computers.
So when you get your head out of your @ss and have something of substance to say, try again.
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I've seen laptops with 1920x1200 screens before - Sony Vaio I think - it was utterly stunning. I wonder how cool this one will look.
I guess the iTunes pricing change is ok, though I still don't think I'd want to pay 69 cents for a track that has DRM.
You can go to the Walmart MP3 store and pay 74 cents for most of their top 30 songs and it is in a standard, non-DRM format.
I do hope Mr. Jobs gets well soon. I've always enjoyed watching his key notes online and hope to see him when the next one comes due.
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Sorry, but the MacBook is simply more style over substance in anticipation of the forthcoming low power Nehalem i7 CPUs, as well as Lucid's Hydra real-time GPU loadbalancing technology and real increases in RAM support for multiple VMs on a real quad CPU....as well as an upgradeable GPU.
Like the other MacBooks, its worthwhile to wait for real technological advancements which are on the horizon.
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While this is the case, the new ones are extraordinarily rugged and well built.
They can easily be kept for 5 years or more I think.
Alas, it would seem they are the first and indeed last model that will be.
Non-user-replaceable batteries is just silly. And we all know it'll be in the 15" come May.
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Sure, if you want to spend a premium for a machine you will quickly grow out of instead of one with new technology you will have plenty of room to grow into!
Especially as most hold onto a laptop for at least several years!
Paying a premium to upgrade to a Core2 Duo at the end of its lifecycle with the readily available new Nehalem/i7 and the forthcomng low power i7 that is dramatically cheaper for great performance where the cheapest i7 literally trounces the highest priced Core2 Extreme is simply silly.
This is like buying into the Detroit's marketing in the late 70's where it tried to push folks into "buying the last of the BIG gas guzzlers while you still can"... Why pay a premium for a stylish latecomer featuring yesterday's technology when in several months you can get a truely significant advance for the same price? (Or you can invest in a Lenovo W700! What the MacBook Pro SHOULD be!)
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