Ars has reviewed the new MacBook Pro. “The latest MacBook Pros are a solid upgrade from their predecessor, thanks to the new Santa Rosa platform. If you already have a 17″ MacBook Pro and aren’t dying for the higher-resolution display, don’t bother upgrading. If, however, you have been sitting on the fence with an old G4 or Core Duo laptop, this is a worthy upgrade. If you like your laptops large and in charge, I strongly recommend the 17″ MacBook Pro.”
Then you will get the latest software (Leopard) at no cost.
Thats what I’m going to do. Why should I spend my hard earned cash now and then have to pay for what looks like a major software upgrade in 4/5 months.
IMHO, Apple have dropped a bit of a marketing clanger here.
There is a _lot_ you can achieve in 4/5 months. And if the Mac is used for work, I’m sure it could generate $129 in just saved time, efficiency, hassle et al.
The difference in money is not simply $129 for the retail box. The retail box of OS X does not include iLife. That’s another $80. If you buy a new Mac, it will have iLife programs installed and ready to go.
I had this problem about 3 months ago when I bought Tiger. I had lost my original Panther DVD disc that came with my iBook, so I tried to backup the Garage Band application folder onto a firewire HD (it was really the only iLife program I cared for). That didn’t work because it needed certain files that were installed into the Library folder, I didn’t realize this so now I don’t have GB anymore. Bummer.
$80 just to get Garage Band? I’ll just wait until October and get it all done in one go.
Not to mention that the longer you wait, the better the specs are likely to be (including possible LED backlighting and therefore better battery life across the whole lineup).
$80 just to get Garage Band? I’ll just wait until October and get it all done in one go.
While you make a valid point, GarageBand is worth $80 or even more, when you compare it to other entry-level DAWs.
Will there be an iLife07?
Basically what you have to ask yourself, is having a new laptop for 4 month worth $120 to me? For most people in the need of a new laptop the answer to that question is easily yes. I mean it’s not as if 10.4 is useless or anything, or that upgrading is is either hard or expensive (compared to the price of the laptop).
If you expected that there would be a $100 price drop in 4 month, would you also put off buying the new computer?
Clanger or not: it is standard Apple practice. There comes a point where sales decline ahead of a new OSX edition. At which point they agree to provide the new edition at minimal cost as part of the deal.
It would appear to be at strategy that allows a smoother, calmer pattern of demand which is easier to supply and better for cash flow.
My G4 PB was bought just before 10.3 came out … timing was the key. So if there is a clear reason to buy now then do it. If your existing kit will stretch a bit longer then do that.
Story of my life. Buy when the machine is newly released? You get a new machine with an OS that will be updated in a few months time. Buy when the OS is newly released? You get a brand spanking new OS (with all the v.0 bugs!) and a newish machine that will be updated in a few months. Decisions, decisions, decisions…
If you need it now, buy it now. And don’t read slashdot, OSNews, Macslash, etc for a year. You’ll enjoy your purchase more that way.
At october the hardware is older and not worth as much money instead so.. then you better wait to next hardware update aswell.
Just got my glossy 15″ 2.4 two days ago and I am amazed at how crisp and BRIGHT!! that new LED display is. I really wanted the 17″ MBP but at the end of the day i just thought it would be way too large to haul around and I was right. The 15″ fits me just perfect and that’s what i recommend if you’re gonna be out and about all day long. 4GB of ram on the way ($299.99) compared to apple’s price no thanks
These really are solid machines I would not wait, this is the longest amount of time you have to enjoy your new machine before updates come out and make you feel bad 
Edited 2007-06-13 12:33
why would you upgrade already if you have a core duo laptop? i’ve been using the same g4 powerbook for almost 4 years now. is the core duo that outdated already?
Well, there went my desire to get the new 17″. No LED backlit screen yet. I’d rather have the 17″ too than the 15″ due to the faster hardware.
For those with a Core 2 Duo 2.33 GHz MacBook Pro there isn’t anything really special about the 2.4 GHz model. I’ll be more impressed when Apple can release a more improved MacBook Pro for professionals. Such as having a 17 inch HD display which uses L.E.D., has a minimum 200 GB HDD @7200 RPM, upgradable SLI graphics (i.e.: dual NVIDIA Geforce 8600M), Dual Layer HD superdrive, upgradable Core 2 Duo processor, OS X Leopard, internal memory card reader (handy for photographers), dual firewire ports, 3 MP camera, iChat which supports Audio/Video chat with MSN Messenger and Yahoo users not just Mac users for increased client/colleague networking.
I’m looking to buy new one in the next 3-4weeks; still have not decided on whether to get 2.2 or 2.4.
this would be my first apple machine ever, and I expect to use it for 4-5 years as my main computer. is the extra $500 worth it?
Depends if you are going to need every last ounce of speed.
If you’re doing 3D renders that are going to take days, then yes. If you’re doing heavy video editing, possibly – as long as your disk is 7200rpm as well.
Otherwise generally, no.
thanks for the reply; but I’m a typical technology nut; going for the highend product (17″ is too big).
I’m not going to use it for video editing regularly, but maybe here and there; but I wonder if 256MB video memory is going to the minimum for video editing 2 years down the road; since I’m planning on keeping it for about 4 years.
Ideally? You would have more than that. In my opinion, especially given the acceleration technology that Leopard will have, the more video memory, the better.
Agreed, I think what we need is a Dell XPS laptop running OS X to be the ideal laptop really in terms of shear graphics horsepower. That thing is a beast.