Apple to detail latest laptops on 14 October

It's official: Apple is updating its MacBook laptop line next week - the Mac maker has mailed out invites to an event at which "the spotlight turns to notebooks". And we turn to what's likely to be announced. Centrino 2-based - but not branded - MacBook Pros are the most likely, as Apple takes advantage of Intel's latest …

[Jerome]

Apple netbook?

Wouldn't an Apple netbook kind of defeat the object? I love my Acer Aspire One partly because it's so cheap and cheerful; I can take it everywhere precisely because I don't have to worry too much about breaking it or having it stolen. I can't imagine an Apple-branded netbook would share this advantage, sexy though it might be. I'd be happy to be proved wrong, however!

[Vincent]

Price

Mainly i'd like to see them reduced in price. For what you get Macs are expensive.

I'd like to see a MacBook Nano, as long as it's actually cheap (£300 or under).

[Mark Broadhurst]

Agressive pricing ?

That doesn't sounds like Apple.

Maybe it will just be a 50% mark up rather than 100%.

Either way fanbois will claim there is no reason to get a PC now.

[Anonymous Coward]

Who made up those prices?!

I will be amazed if they start at £474.

A quick look at the Apple UK store:

£699 for the "old" Macbook up to £2,168.99 for a top-end Macbook Pro, £199 a set top box which doesn't really do as much as it should, £399 for a 20" monitor.

Having said that in these times they may have to reduce their prices a little. I will certainly be buying one as I'm due a new laptop and if they really do start at the suggested price then I might add a few extras!

[Martin]

I want a 12" incher...

The last time I nearly bought a mac laptop was just before they stopped makign the 12" ppc laptops. Bring one out now and i'll probably bite. Would make me feel less bad about running my hackintosh as well....

[Lee]

Here's hoping for more choice

I'm hoping that there is a lower priced entry point Macbook.

It would be nice to offer a better choice, but with a slowdown in Ireland too I am being asked for 500-600 euro laptops - and that only leaves me with Windows

Roll on the 14th and we will see

[Nick L]

NVidia on the macbook

What would be interesting is if they put a decent (ish) graphics chip into the macbook, not just the pro. And maybe offer a non-glossy screen...

The expansion from 8 to 12 pricing points suggests that something new is in the lineup.

Under 500 quid for a good quality notebook (not a netbook) with a decent OS sounds like a good deal to me, but of course people will still claim it's overpriced.

[Torben Mogensen]

Apple netbook

I have for a while been expecting Apple to join the SCC bandwagon, but I think it will be by upgrading the iPod Touch with a keyboard and a larger screen rather than by producing a smaller and cheaper MacBook. An iPod Touch can already do most of what people use SCCs for -- except anything that requires a keyboard. And by using iPhone/iPod technology Apple can avoid competing with their macBook series.

[Hywel Thomas]

Remeber VAT plus a currency buffer

Expect the $800 machine (doesn't include US Sales tax, so that's not what you pay there either), to be $599.

It may even be a little less.

General rule is Dollars * 10% + VAT. then squeeze it to a nearby price point (£605 would be adjusted to £599. £660 woul be adjusted to $549 etc.

[Thomas]

@andy

One of the rumour sites is reporting that a source from a retailer has passed on a new pricelist that has been obtained in advance of the launch, which gives an entry level cost of $800 for a Mac laptop, versus $1099 currently. That source also claims that the number of models Apple offer will expand from 8 to 12.

So, yeah, obviously take all that with an extreme pinch of salt, but it is at least where the numbers come from. Though I think £500 is probably the Apple equivalent of a £350 SCC, though if they're not going to be able to squeeze in the iMovie, iDVD, etc that otherwise make Apple price comparisons moot then I'm not sure how they'll justify that.

Cheaper and physically smaller machines would be great though.

[Ray Bellis]

No mini-tower?

Please Apple - let's have a mini-tower machine that doesn't cost an arm and a leg!

What I don't want is an iMac (with a built-in screen) or another Mac-Mini (which is so tiny that there's no room for a decent amount of memory or graphics card).

When I can build a quad-core machine with a decent graphics card for well under 500 quid the MacPro looks ridiculously over-priced.

[David Kelly]

Apple is overpriced?

Why do people keep saying Apple machines are "overpriced for what you get"? There have been loads of comparisons over the past couple of years which show that a base unit (ie no extras) from Apple is roughly the same price as an equivalently specc'd Dell / HP etc.

Apple charge way too much for extras (additional RAM, external drives etc) but you can easily get those from standard PC component stores. (I particularly like Crucial RAM)

Also, you really should factor in the OS speed in your "value for money" decision. We all know that OS X and Linux run faster than Windows on the same hardware, especially if you are foolish enough to bloat your machine with Vista. You'll also need to buy an anti-virus and firewall for your WinPC at extra cost.

[Jared Earle]

My prediction

a 10" Atom-powered NetBook from Apple for about $800.

What I want though, is an update to the Mac mini.

[Mr Floppy]

@NVidia on the macbook

Definitely could do with a better graphics card. The 8600 is too old now.

The 9800M GT looks promising and the the 9800M GTX is due out this month too. It would be too much to expect dual 9800M GTX though but a single 9800M GT would be a major boost.

Would also be great if the pro also came with dual hardrives in raid 0 and quad core.

Not that I'd get one but it might bring down the costs of Sagers and Clevos etc ..

[Scott Mckenzie]

Price..

..as a few above have said, Macs aren't expensive the OS and built in options make them very favourable in price comparisons - I certainly don't baulk at the cost and would happily pay the asking price for them if it means not getting a PC.

However, I am crossing everything for a higher resolution screen and the backlit, chicklet style keyboard on the new Macbook - then i'll be a happy chappy! Otherwise i'll have to get a new MBP and I don't really need the things it offers over the MB!

Glad it's official now though, I can look forward to tomorrow!