Apple sub-notebook?
It’s been a while since I’ve raved (and/or bitched) about an Apple product. As stated throughout this blog, I’ve been somewhat disappointed with Apple designs for the last few years due to the lack of major cosmetic changes (the MacBook Pro and PowerMac enclosure designs have been around for 5 years now despite having been slightly tweaked here and there) and the fact that the designs have become pretty predictable (there is only so far you can go with ’simplicity’)…
This goes without saying, I’m someone more into Apple’s ‘looks’ of things than how powerful the underlying architecture is (Apple’s usability is never a concern for me - they’re pretty spot on). So yeah, the only times as of late when I would rave or bitch about an Apple product is if the product is new (iPhone, iPod touch), or if something gets a brand-spanking new outfit.
With the heavily rumoured, ultraportable “MacBook Air” notebook, supposedly showing up at the MacWorld 2008 event today, I’m nothing short from crapping my pants with anticipation! Therefore, my next entry will definitely be about whatever Apple shows off at the MacWorld (providing it is indeed a new product or re-designed product)…
The teaser image currently on Apple.com:
There’s something in the air - maybe Apple is implying, the sub-notebook is so ‘thin’ and ‘light’ it can float in mid-air? Whatever… we’ll see…
One of the reasons you haven’t seen any new designs is because Apple wanted to switch over to Intel chips as seemlessly as possible. If they were to introduce new designs during this process, the continuity between old/new would have been broken and people may not have felt comfortable buying an all new machine with a new (to Apple) chip in it.
This is starting to change as Apple is slowly moving towards new hardware in the consumer products and will end with the prosumer/professional products last. We will probably see new mac book pros today, but as you can see from recent announcements, the mac pro/xserve/etc. will remain the same for some time.