[AlexN]

A very reliable apple insider told me that on Feb 28, Apple will announce the new 13-in MacBook 1.67 GHz. This will replace the current 12-in PowerBook. That means there will not be a 12-in MacBook Pro!

The MacBook will feature the same processor as the MacBook Pro, except a little slower. The difference between the MacBook and MacBook Pro is that MacBook uses a less powerful graphics chip. It will use the same iBook 13-in screen. (also means not as bright and not as good as the MacBook Pro)

What's more, it's ready, and will be on sale on Feb 28!

P.S. The MacBook is not the next iBook. He said apple may retain the name "iBook", but he can't be sure.

EDIT: sources deleted.

[Mac+]

I liked the way you started off without disclosing your source and then go on to almost ping him at the end as an old friend who shared a specific class with you, who is now working at apple ... and probably breaking NDAs.

[AlexN]

You don't have to believe me, just thought someone here would like to know.

P.S. No, he didn't break the NDA.

[Brad]

Uh, if he told you, he's either:

1. a liar.
2. in violation of the NDA that Apple employees and developers have.

[Mac+]

No, the story is plausible ... I just thought you narrowed down your informant a bit before the post was out.

[MacRonin]

Originally Posted by AlexN It will use the same iBook 13-in screen. (also means not as bright and not as good as the MacBook Pro).

Uh, current Apple G4 iBooks come in 12" & 14" flavors only...

Originally Posted by AlexN P.S. The MacBook is not the next iBook. He said apple may retain the name "iBook", but he can't be sure.

I think the next iBook is gonna be a tablet, aimed at business/corporate & educational users...

Originally Posted by AlexN By the way, .......

I wonder how hard it would be for Apple to trace your post through you IP signature & find out your identity, and then cross-reference against the college records of their employees...

I hope you are fibbin', 'cause I would hate to see your friend lose his job...

Cheers!

;^p

[AlexN]

Originally Posted by MacRonin I wonder how hard it would be for Apple to trace your post through you IP signature & find out your identity, and then cross-reference against the college records of their employees...

You quoted this before I deleted it... Please delete the source, as I already deleted it. Damn, he is gonna kill me...

Originally Posted by MacRonin Uh, current Apple G4 iBooks come in 12" & 14" flavors only...

Next iBook will only be in 13-in.

[tacvbo83]

I don't get it, he is posting a speculation which is what everyone here wants to see, and all of a sudden everyone starts denying and making it a violation.

YOU PEOPLE MAKE ME SICK!

[AlexN]

Originally Posted by tacvbo83 I don't get it, he is posting a speculation which is what everyone here wants to see, and all of a sudden everyone starts denying and making it a violation. YOU PEOPLE MAKE ME SICK!

I accidentally included my source, so people say it's a NDA violation. I deleted the source, it's all good now. So don't take it seriously, view it as a speculation on my part.

[MrENGLISH™]

Sorry, but I have a really stupid question.... What does NDA stand for?

[Wickers]

Non-disclosure agreement.

But I have to say it,

Google is your friend!

[BlueRabbit]

This rumor does seem plausible, although whether it's true or not is still pretty uncertain to me. It will keep the status quo more or less, with the MB/12" PB having worse specs than the MBP/15" PB, but still higher than the iBook. It also gets rid of the huge gap between the MBP and iBook that would have happened otherwise. Likewise, there's still clear differentiation between the lines. The MBP and MB get the Core Duos, while the iBook gets the Core Solo.

Even though AlexN's source may be full of crap, the idea of a MacBook between the MacBook Pro and the iBook does make sense.

[DMBand0026]

Originally Posted by tacvbo83 I don't get it, he is posting a speculation which is what everyone here wants to see, and all of a sudden everyone starts denying and making it a violation. YOU PEOPLE MAKE ME SICK!

Take a deep breath, calm yourself, go outside and get some fresh air.

That's it...breathe.

We're speculating, some more harshly than others, but it's what we do here in the Speculation & Rumors forum.

Deep breath...

[Wrao]

I hope that the 13-inch macbook is thinner than an inch and very light. I would be very tempted to buy one if that was the case.

[MrENGLISH™]

Originally Posted by Wickers Non-disclosure agreement. But I have to say it, Google is your friend!

I did try Google and made the mistake of typing in "Apple NDA" instead of just "NDA"

After I posted the question it came to me 1 min later.... o well:smokey:

[Franz Josef]

@AlexN: Let's be a little less amateurish about this - if you do have a contact who is an Apple insider, you do him no favours by citing him and then leaving a trail for him / you to be identified. The speculation looks a little strange in places (the iBook doesn't currrently have a 13" screen) and full of staple speculative fare in others (dual core, no 12" MBP). We'll see come 28th Feb

Edit:

Originally Posted by tacvbo83 I don't get it, he is posting a speculation which is what everyone here wants to see, and all of a sudden everyone starts denying and making it a violation. YOU PEOPLE MAKE ME SICK!

I'm sure you love us all dearly so there's no need to shout. Speculation is good (sort of) but there are some limits and inherent rules.

[Mugge]

Well, I would love to have such a 13" MacBook Duo, if actually came true. Souds like just the thing for me.

[Partial]

Originally Posted by Mugge Well, I would love to have such a 13" MacBook Duo, if actually came true. Souds like just the thing for me.

Same here. As long as it's priced 999 or 1099.

[voch]

I'd go as high as $1499 if it had some "pro" features (Core Duo, if that is considered a "pro" feature, and Gigabit ethernet are the two that come to mind) but retained the iBook's polycarbonite shell. C'mon Apple! (Getting hopes up only to have them dashed)

[Partial]

I would pay 1499 before student discount if it had better than x1300 graphics, backlit keyboard, nice enclosure, and a really nice keyboard/trackpad.

[spotcatbug]

Hey, we only have to wait until next Tuesday to confirm or deny this. I like that.

[psmith2.0]

I never thought about this approach. I like it, I think.

It's kinda what I talked about yesterday, about something taking the best of the iBook (affordable, small, etc.) and 12" PowerBook (better graphics, DVI, spanning, etc.) and combining them into one unit.

Maybe the iBook remains (in a new 13" widescreen form, of course), but with a Core Solo and gets down to the $799-ish range. Super affordable, still a step up in performance (bus, cache, etc.) over the G4, with all the usual, expected ports and features. It can start to go head-to-head with those cheaper PC laptops, but it'll actually have dedicated graphics, etc. Oh, and OS X.



Then, occupying that ~$1299 neighborhood, this "in-between" laptop, simply called the MacBook: definitely a step up from the iBook, but - just like the 12" PowerBook - not packing all the features, ports that make the 15" (and 17") models...well, "Pro"?

I could live with that, sure!

Not saying that I fully buy into the subject of this thread. But the basic idea and gist makes some sense, sure.

Get the iBooks (Core Solo, etc.) as affordable as possible (but still don't skimp on features...still have wireless, combo drives, FireWire, etc.).

Then have the 14" iBook (pricewise) and the 12" PowerBook (features/specs) meld into a 13" MacBook costing somewhere in the $1199-1399 range?

They'd sell like hotcakes, I'm sure. And a worthy successor to the 12" PowerBook. If they were silver, that's all the better for some I'm sure...



I'd kinda like it if Apple kept the iBook name. I know it doesn't have "Mac" in the title, but still. It's short and snappy, trades on the famous "i" thing, its established, etc. (I know, I know..."PowerBook" was well-established too...tough).

[voch]

While it all sounds like a great idea, Apple wants to up-sell as many MBPs as possible, at least in the short term. With the PowerBook G4 they *had* to use nicities like GigE, DVI-out, video spanning, etc. to make the PowerBooks better than the iBooks to obtain the up-sell. Now they have real processor options. While *I* want a 13.3" $1099-$1499 Core Duo iBook-ish notebook I just don't think it's going to happen yet, but will definately jump on one if/when they appear. My pessimism is telling me there's going to be a compromise of some kind (unless such a notebook is dubbed "MacBook Pro", is encased in aluminum, and will start at $1699).

Voch

[MINK]

the naming system is in a total mess now.

things like "ibook" and "powerbook" made sense but until this transition is over i expect the naming to be very confusing.

anyway i am sure there will be 13in duos and solos along with 15in and 17in "pros"
and it means that maybe at last maybe possibly Steve will make something a little bit more affordable. but i doubt he will ever make something cheap.

[Franz Josef]

Originally Posted by MINK doubt he will ever make something cheap.

Not cheap but usually value.

[Rolo]

I heard the same thing Alex posted a month ago. The rumor of a 13.3" iBook has been going around for months now. I also heard verbatim what he said about the name of the thing, the iBook/MacBook ambivalence.

The new iBook is supposed to be completely restyled to be thinner and lighter.

I wasn't expecting this new iBook to be released this soon, though. It certainly could be. The only thing that'd hold it up is Intel's chip availability. I was sort of expecting the iBook to be announced a month hence.

It may make more sense for the new Mac mini, the movie download service, and that rumored iPod Boombox to be announced on Tuesday. That'd keep the even living room-centric. The real widescreen iPod will come a bit later, I think.

[Robo]

I still don't think Apple will keep the "iBook" name, though. Having an "iBook" and a "MacBook Pro" makes no sense.

However, I do like the idea of the MacBook replacing not the iBook, but the 12" Powerbook - that's Apple's true mid-range notebook.

I just don't think their new low-end notebook wil be called "iBook." MacBook mini, perhaps?

$799 - MacBook mini
$1,299 - MacBook
$1,799 (eventually) - Mac Book Pro

I like it. It's like Apple's $999/$1,499/$1,999 iBook/Powerbook line, but with all the prices dropped $200.

[robhawley]

I kinda wonder if maybe apple will more to a three line laptop model lineup.

Perhaps: Macbook Pro, Macbook, and Macbook lite

or: Macbook Pro, Macbook Power, Macbook Mini

or: Macbook Pro, Macbook, Macbook Nano

etc.

I think in the pre-intel lineup that the PB12 filled this midrange. I know for my own use, I would like to replace the PB12 that I am typing on with something a little less than the MBP, abut probably a bit more than what is rumored to be the low end.

Wishful thinking perhaps.

[Mac Donald]

Originally Posted by MacRonin I wonder how hard it would be for Apple to trace your post through you IP signature & find out your identity, and then cross-reference against the college records of their employees...

Apple's crazy, but not that crazy. Not going to go after a message board post which may or may not be correct. . . . . I know about the ThinkSecret thing --- but ThinkSecret has a higher degree of credibility and readership than "AlexN" -- further, Steve was miffed that TS nailed everything on the head for MWSF 2005. So he sued over that [s]Meteor[/s] Asteroid thing -- even though it was wrong.

[wecallitfall]

*puts on Little Britain voice

AI says no

www.appleinsider.com

instead its gonna be mini-time!