An analysis of Apple's notebook strategy
The MacBook is targeted at consumers, the MacBook Pro at, well, professionals–this much we know. There is much speculation that Apple is going to add a new product to their notebook lineup at Macworld Expo 2008 based on a) the age of existing hardware and b) the need to fill a void.
The Mac Tablet The iTablet is probably the most over-predicted product in Apple's history. Although I'd love to have one as an adjunct to my current MacBook Pro, most people probably wouldn't. Tablet PCs are simply too expensive to justify–most people won't cough up US$1,000-1,200 for a tablet computer that would do less than a similarly-priced MacBook. There's no doubt that Apple plans to leverage the wildly popular multi-touch interface from the iPhone and iPod touch at some point I'm just not sure that the market's ready for it yet.
Apple could instead release a mini-tablet (or a bigger iPod touch) with a 4.5-inch grayscale display as a type of eBook/Blog/RSS reader device to challenge the Sony PRS-500 and the Amazon Kindle. Add Over The Air (OTA) book sales and magazine subscriptions from the iTunes Store with a price point around US$299 and they'll have a home run.
The Pro Subnotebook ("The Pro Sub") Currently professional Mac users have to opt for MacBook Pro with a 15 or 17-inch screen while on the road. I know a couple of pro photographers that need pro level performance and features but don't want carry a hefty MBP15 or 17 across the globe–especially the ones with more than a million frequent flier miles.
They want something in a 13 or 14-inch form-factor that's less than five pounds (preferably around four) and they're willing to drop the optical drive provided there's an emergency way to boot it on the road. Apple could easily address this by including a bootable 4GB flash drive with the OS and disk utilities on it.
Make no mistake, this isn't a MacBook. This is a new pro machine with the fastest processor possible (i.e. Intel's new Penryn chip which ships in January), tons of ports, gobs of RAM and the highest capacity hard drive available. While we're at it, give the pros a sporty new enclosure (carbon fiber?) and built-in 3G wireless and we'll buy it in droves. I promise.
The Flash Subnotebook ("The Flasher") This is the notebook has the most sex appeal–and a ticket price to match. Imagine the same 13 or 14-inch notebook as above (the optical drive is dead, folks) but thinner, lighter (~three pounds) and with longer battery life. The flasher would drop the rotating winchester hard drive in favor of a 64 or 128GB Solid State Drive (SSD) and in order to make weight it will probably have a few less ports than the "pro sub." One USB, Firewire and possibly a 30-pin iPod port or a Duo-esque docking connector.
Either way, Apple needs to extend their notebook lineup. The MBP's aluminum enclosure is a holdover from the PowerBook G4 days and its sarcophagus-like box cripples wireless performance. Apple has gone from having the single best notebook enclosures to resting on their laurels and shipping us the same dog food, re-heated year after year.
The MacBook enclosure is also getting tired. The white one looks like something that belongs in the toy aisle and the black one gets so disgustingly dirty that it's embarrassing to use in public. How about making the MacBooks aluminum and moving the MBPs and subnotebook(s) to a brand-new carbon fiber chassis?
What do you want in a new notebook from Apple?
(MacBook mini picture courtesy Maarten Brinkerink)