Shouldn't apple make another laptop line?

jobsen_ski

jobsen_ski

Daily Player
Now that lap tops account (preety much) for 50% of the mac shipments (49% for first 9 months and 53 for the last quarter) shouldn't apple launch a new (third) laptop line?

I dont know weither it would be better to be above or below the ibook line but a cheaper laptop (with just the basic features) would go along way to compete with the cheap Windoze laptops wich many people seem to head for. What do you guys think?
 
jobsen_ski said:
Now that lap tops account (preety much) for 50% of the mac shipments (49% for first 9 months and 53 for the last quarter) shouldn't apple launch a new (third) laptop line?

I dont know weither it would be better to be above or below the ibook line but a cheaper laptop (with just the basic features) would go along way to compete with the cheap Windoze laptops wich many people seem to head for. What do you guys think?
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Exactly which features would you remove from the iBook or PowerBook?
 
Well, the iBooks are really good value compared to similarly priced Windows laptops. For £799, you get a 12.1 inch notebook with fantastic battery life and is built very solidly.

You won't get anything close to the iBook for the price you pay in the x86 world. Sure, you could pay less, but you get a lot less as well. Most x86 laptops feel very 'plastic' and they bend in places where they shouldn't.

The only area where the iBooks fall short is in processor speed. But that's not really an issue for most users who are mainly interested in word processing, email and web browsing. Having a faster processor and better graphics card would do well for Mac gaming.
 
I still hope that the 12" PowerBook will be replaced by a 13" widescreen version, which would set it a bit more apart from the 12" iBook. 1024*768 doesn't cut it for most pro users.

But a third line... A subnotebook would be great - and not only for the Japanese market. My dream-subnotebook-by-Apple:

- 10.4" widescreen display at 1152*768
- 900 MHz G3 or G4 processor (battery life!)
- 60 GB Toshiba 1.8" drive (slow but small and low-power, i.e. battery life!)
- 512 MB RAM (1024 max, one slot occupied by default RAM)
- No optical drive, software can be installed with a FW drive or by hooking the subnote up to another Mac via FW in Target-Mode
- 7h battery life

And all that for a low-enough price. (Whatever that means, exactly, I leave up to Apple.) ;)
 
Isn't one of the biggest uses of subnotebooks to play DVD's on long plane flights? Wouldn't it need a DVD drive?

People use subnotebooks in places where no other computer exists... So I would not make it so dependant on other machines...
 
I thought they wouldn't let you use any electronic devices during a flight since it messes with the navigational instruments?
 
you can use all electronic devices that do not transmit wireless signals on a flight a few mins after take off up until a few before landing

so basically you have to turn your airport card off *shrugs*
 
Viro said:
I thought they wouldn't let you use any electronic devices during a flight since it messes with the navigational instruments?
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You are not allowed to use some electronic devices at altitudes below 10,000 feet. Others, you are not allowed to use at all. Laptops fall into the former group. Your airline magazine lists the devices that you are allowed to use.
 
jobsen_ski said:
Now that lap tops account (preety much) for 50% of the mac shipments (49% for first 9 months and 53 for the last quarter) shouldn't apple launch a new (third) laptop line?

I dont know weither it would be better to be above or below the ibook line but a cheaper laptop (with just the basic features) would go along way to compete with the cheap Windoze laptops wich many people seem to head for. What do you guys think?
Click to expand...

The answer is NO!

To many lines are confusing and drive away buyers.
 
I would greatly appreciate a subnotebook. Mostly with a widescreen.No need for DVD.
 
i would like to see a subnotebook with a dock option where you can have more port options (2 FW, 3 USB, DVI, etc) and an optical bay. Thats just me.
 
chevy said:
I would greatly appreciate a subnotebook. Mostly with a widescreen.No need for DVD.
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I would bet that the cost premium to Apple of a combo-drive or even a SuperDrive over a plain CD is negligible. At the same time, Apple software, including the OS, increasingly ships on DVD. Eliminating the DVD would actually increase Apple's manufacturing costs. There are really only about two ways to produce a cheaper laptop. One is to use lower-quality parts. The other is to use a smaller LCD panel.
 
fryke said:
no, what chevy and I mean is without an optical drive.
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Without an optical drive, you can't install commercial software. You can't update your OS to the newest point release. Without an optical drive, your computer is not reduced to a disposible appliance, but almost.
 
If you had read the _thread_, you'd see what I've said above. Software could be installed either using an FW optical drive or by using the subnote as an external harddrive on another Mac using FW Target-Mode.
 
And that would require a second Mac or some other computer. Apple would be crucified by the general public for releasing a notebook that requires another Mac to be updated!
 
I personally didn't crucify companies when they released handhelds that needed computers to install software on them...
 
Indeed, they are... different prices ! But one can always have, included in the notebook price, an external DVD reader.
 
subnotebooks do very poorly here in the US and everyone knows, the US is Apple's target market, everyone else comes second. :D

now with that said, the reality is, its just not gunna happen anytime soon.

APPLE, are you LISTENING?! i want my Apple mp3/PDA/mobile phone hybrid NOW.

you admitted to working on a PDA so you KNOW you wanna DO IT! :D mark my words, i think its gunna happen, and i think it'll be the biggest surprise from Apple since the Mac.
 
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