Media Event October 14th

A major media event took place today as Apple announced it's new lines of laptops, along with other information. This event warranted a report by itself.

  • Before you do anything, you must watch this video. It discusses Apple's amazing production process for it's new MacBook and MacBook Pro, cutting the laptop base out of a solid piece of aluminum. Here is an article discussing this further.
  • Apple released it's new MacBook! It has an aluminum frame (the old MacBook's were made of plastic), it's a half pound lighter, has a new Multi-Touch trackpad, and the display is now LED-backlit, among other things.

The changes bring the MacBook in closer alignment to the new MacBook Pro with an almost identical appearance. The two share the same aluminum casing, LED backlit display, glass trackpad, and most of the same ports; the MacBook is just smaller and lighter.

The former firm notes that while the metal notebooks are more attractive, and boast features such as glass trackpads and better graphics hardware, the $999 system is Apple's first notebook under $1,000, which "could be a key psychological threshold," according to UBS' Maynard Um. Many Windows notebooks are priced between $500 and $1,000.

Some analysts had been expecting new models from Apple at around $800, targeting the fast-growing market for lower-end devices. Gene Munster, an analyst at Piper Jaffray & Co., said the pricing could indicate that Apple feels confident about demand despite economic concerns.

At first glance, Apple's new MacBook Pro is clearly a new professional laptop, sporting the company's first significant case redesign since the middle of the PowerBook G4 era. Apple has applied the manufacturing process invented for the MacBook Air to the rest of the laptop line, bringing a strong, unibody aluminum design that allows for more environmentally friendly manufacturing, and a stronger case that doesn't weigh significantly more.

  • Apple made a few changes on it's new MacBook Air. The two biggest changes are an updated graphics card and the addition of a new Mini DisplayPort.

As expected, the MacBook Air remained largely untouched during Apple's refresh of the rest of the MacBook line, receiving only a few small but welcome upgrades that improve the svelte laptop's specs.

  • Apple will be releasing it's Q4 earnings on October 21st. This is extremely important because it will allow us to see Apple's sales over the past quarter, and it will be interesting to monitor Apple's stock price. Early news rumors around the Web report that Apple had a very good fourth quarter.

“The new LED Cinema Display is the most advanced display that Apple has ever made,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “It is a perfect fit for our sleek new line of aluminum MacBooks with its 24-inch LED-backlit screen, aluminum and glass enclosure, integrated camera, mic and speakers, MagSafe charger, three USB ports and Mini DisplayPort.”

Overall, the media event received a positive response!

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