October 14, 2008 was the ‘Spotlight on Notebooks’ event, where Apple announced new MacBooks and MacBook Pros, an updated MacBook Air, and a new 24-inch Cinema Display.
Two common themes permeated the announcements: new manufacturing technology that Apple is using to produce strong, lightweight notebook cases, and Apple’s new fondness for graphics chipsets from NVIDIA.
Together these new technologies are creating some stunning new products that will once again raise Apple’s market share.
A Case for New Technology
Courtesy of Apple
As expected, Apple unveiled a new series of MacBook products, plus a new 24-inch Cinema Display. But what really took center stage were the technology used in the manufacturing of the notebook cases and the technology being placed inside these new lighter, thinner notebooks.
Learn about the new unibody case design, the multi-touch trackpad, NVIDIA graphics processors, and the new Mini DisplayPort.
Review: MacBook Pro late 2008
Courtesy of Apple
The new 15-inch MacBook Pro offers superb graphics performance for its price level. By utilizing two NVIDIA graphics chips the MacBook Pro is able to use the single GeForce 9400M for routine graphics, such as working with office documents, browsing the Internet, or viewing a few photos. When you need pedal-to-the-metal graphics performance, the MacBook Pro kicks into higher gear by enabling the second graphics processor, the GeForce 9600M GT.
Review: MacBook late 2008
Courtesy of Apple
The late 2008 version of the MacBook offers impressive new graphics capabilities that will run circles around earlier versions of the MacBook. But in addition to adding capabilities, Apple also took one away. The new MacBook lacks a FireWire port, and Apple didn’t offer a replacement, such as an eSATA port, to ease the loss of this important connection.
Market Share Rises 17.6 %
Courtesy of Apple
Steve Jobs kicked off today’s ‘Spotlight Turns to Notebooks’ event by reporting on the state of the Mac. Taking his time, Steve seemed to relish talking about the sharp uptick in Apple’s share of the computer market.
