Apple: New Notebooks!

It's official. I'm not going to say anything that hasn't already been said, but Apple has refreshed its MacBook line as well as the MacBook Pro 15.4" and MacBook Air.

The old MacBook soldiers on as a slightly reduced cost base model, with rumors of an $899 model coming in below the current base model's $999 price.

The new MacBook is still in 13.3" flavor, but sports a new billet aluminum body & frame with an all-glass, no button touchpad. The touchpad is capable of up to 4-touch sensitivity and supports gestures. At least as importantly for the MacBook, Apple is going with an nVidia GeForce 9400M mobile chipset with integrated GPU. The non-legacy MacBooks now have a 'real' video solution that's acceptable for basic to moderate 3D use! Other nice features include LED backlighting and a backlit keyboad, but gone are the Firewire ports.

I'm not sure what the video output options are, but it looks like a DVI port is out, replaced by Apple's mini-DisplayPort. A breakout box here should do the DVI, VGA and possibly regular DisplayPort and HDMI connectors. We'll see as these start shipping as to what's available in the box.

This model is almost a bridge between the current MacBook Pro and the older MacBooks. They look much more similar and are in much closer parity in terms of design and content. Pricing should reflect this, as the "new" MacBooks are a little spendy relative to the models they replaced, and the older design is already discounted.

The MacBook Pro 15.4" shares all of the features of the MacBook, adding an option for a 9600M GPU for more serious graphics and FireWire is back, but only in FW800 flavor.

The MacBook Air was all-new this year already, so the changes are less dramatic. Options for bigger hard drives, faster CPUs and a speed-reduced 9400M have been announced. A mini-display port is available as well, but the Kensington lock port appears to still be MIA.

A 24" Apple Cinema Display LCD monitor to match the MacBook was also announced. It looks slick, sporting an LED backlight. Unfortunately, it's a bit rich for the current 24" market, coming in at $899.

What wasn't announced was a replacement (or price adjustment) for the current 17" MacBook Pro. For now, it soldiers on. A replacement is sure to be imminent.

Unsaid in all of this is what matters most to me: manageability! Easy replacement for hard drives, RAM, etc. remains up in the air. I suspect the new cases will still be a bitch to open and work with; the current MBPs are the bane of techs everywhere. The lack of Firewire leaves the Migration Assistant and Firewire Target mode in doubt. The Migration Assistant can work via other means, but I'm curious to see what 10.5.6 and beyond will offer to mitigate the loss of Firewire as a management and recovery tool.