Apple to Commission New Vessel in MacBook Pro Fleet?
| by Joe Leo, Columnist | January 3, 2007 |
COMMENTARY: (1.03.07)-- With every Macworld comes the infamous rumor mill with predictions on what Apple's next big thing will be and this year is certainly no different. And while PBCentral.com is not a rumor site, we do discuss some of those rumors published on other sites that we think will interest our readers-- especially if it has to do with something central to those who visit our site. After all, this is your Mac notebook resource!
Case in point, we touch base on the rumor of a 12" MacBook Pro possibly being unveiled at Macworld 2007 next week. (Let's fan the winds of those rumor mills, shall we?).
Rumors can be fun when it comes to product announcements and/or innovations from Cupertino. It leaves the field wide open, never knowing if it's true or not, and what will eventually become of it. Some rumors can be dismissed as just that, people waiting for the day, saying "yeah, we'll see about that!" While some rumors yet are based on facts and highly credible sources/info that lead one to say, "I'll place my bets on that one!"
Though that's not exactly what people say, of course. And in the end, it's the rumor sites themselves that either win or lose--some getting it right, some taking the bite--when they gain stature among the masses, from being able to say in the end, "We told you so."
Then Apple gets into their own battle, wondering who within their ranks leaked the info. But that's another story.
For the premiere article we wrote on this site back in September, we lamented in a sense, over the loss of the 12" PowerBook G4, since it was the smallest notebook computer Apple had ever made (and are the proud owner of said model). We criticized the Mac-maker for their decision to get rid of the 12-incher along with both models of the iBook in favor of the new consumer line of MacBooks.
All of a sudden, pro users lost a vessel in the line. Three flagships reduced to two, and the one most missed being the foot long sub-- the small, sleek, and compact vessel in the mighty Apple notebook fleet.
Not that there's anything wrong with the MacBook Pros, but they seem too big for some pro users. And the MacBook, coming in at 13 inches, seems like Godzilla when placed next to a 12" PowerBook G4 or even the 12" iBook. (Though the non-pro MacBooks are no slouches either! It's just that "Size Does Matter" thing).
A week after we wrote that opinion piece, as if we had taken a trip into the future, we reported right here that news/rumor sites AppleInsider.com and MacRumors.com were predicting that Apple was working on bringing back the "ultra-portable" line early next year, just in time for the big event.
"Next year" is now this year, "early" is now this month, and the big event is..? Macworld 2007. And instead of pulling a vessel out of drydock, Apple is apparently commissioning an entirely new one by making it smaller than ever before. Or, might be commissioning a new one according to more recent reports--rather, recent rumors--just surfacing on the web.
So we're definitely looking forward to seeing the Apple "sub" break the surface at Macworld next week. (How's that for a metaphor? No, we weren't talking about a Subway sandwich folks. Silly). But the question is, just what will this sub-compact notebook look like in terms of features and size, and which rumor mill site(s) have it correct?
Let's raise the anchors and set sail on the voyage!
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