After a few weeks of quiet and no news, the brakes came off the rumour mill this morning as several sites talked up the imminent announcement of revised Mac Pro and MacBook Pro models. One site said that Apple Stores worldwide were off-line Friday morning, usually a sure indicator that something is afoot, but by the time I’d typed in the URL the store was back to normal. Same old stuff.
The story goes that updates for the MacBook Pro are now well overdue and, according to pundits, the Mac Pro is definitely a candidate for revision in the very near future. Talk is of i5 and i7 processors in the laptop range for the first time and even more wondrous updates for the Mac Pro. Of course, March is often the month for such announcements but there is no doubt that Apple is giving priority at the moment to the iPad launch. So it could be that hardware updates will be put on the back burner for the time being.
I have a vested interest here. Cash is waiting for a shiny new 13in MacBook Pro. I desperately need to get my hands on one for the summer travelling season but I’m not about to part with the cash until the next update, however long I have to wait. I have my 15in Pro (late 2008) and I've been happy with it except in terms of size and weight. Some years ago I made the mistake of buying a 17in model and that was a real monster. Even the 15incher is more than I want to heft around airports. At the time I bought the current laptop the new unibody aluminium 13in model hadn't been announced, but I wish I'd waited.
Waiting does no harm. It extends the anticipation and makes the eventual arrival of the box that bit more exciting. But I've been waiting such a long time and that cash is burning a hole in my pocket. Maybe next week. Apple?