Francis Robichaud

Apple did release complete Macbook Pro and Macbook revisions based on the Peryn architecture. Unfortunately, beside this expected update, LED for the 17″, larger drives, and the multi-touch trackpad, Apple decided to limit the quality of it’s product line to these minimal updates.

Apple used to have high-end laptops but the Peryn architecture was released months ago by competitors. It was quite normal to expect something more that caused this delay.

The iPhone firmware 1.1.4 was also released today without any clear informations on what it contains, we could expect this version to contain some traces of the upcoming SDK…

In conclusion, no Blu-ray, no SSD, no case redesign. It leaves me wondering why did I give any attention to this laptop. Conclusion: my Dell won’t be sold on eBay.

iPhone SDK was announced for the month of Febuary and Apple has the historical background of launching new products on Tuesday. Tomorrow, Feb 26th being the last Tuesday for the potential iPhone SDK release, I would bet that Apple will surprise a few by releasing more than this simple SDK.

The Macbook Pro systems were “due” for an update at the Macworld event in January but these didn’t show up and Apple’s stock price suffered hard from such miss. Also, Apple lowered their Q1 guidance probably related to the time-to-market delay of these Macbook Pros.

The release combination of these two items could be an effort to encourage developers to create native iPhone applications (or simply an excuse for delaying the MBP). Tomorrow should confirm my guess

What I expect from the new Macbook Pro :

- Integration of the Intel Peryn architecture
- SSD option or drives up to 320 GB
- Blu-ray drive
- New larger trackpad similar to the Macbook Air’s
- 1680×1200 resolution on the 15″ model
- LED display for the 17″ model

I am still unsure if Apple will alter the Macbook Pro design.
They might make it less than 1 inch.

Apple has a great developper network community named Apple Developper Connection (ADC). Joining is usually an important investment unless you are a student. Student membership sells for 99$ and gives you a one-in-a-life discount on any Apple hardware through the ADC store (US or Canada).

For example, the discount gives you over 500$ US (600$ CAN) on a Macbook Pro 17″. After paying the 99$ fee for student membership, such discount is clearly a good option to save on a Macbook.

Please be aware that this discount can only be used ONCE in your life. Also, students need to confirm their identity by sending two official identity cards by fax.