Likely Feature List of New MacBooks
Pictures: Fantasic mockups by Miguel Suárez
This is guesswork, but here’s the likely feature list of the new MacBooks due October 14:
* Penryn Core 2 Duo chips: 2.4GHz, 2.66GHz, 2.8GHz, and 3.06GHz.
* 2GB of RAM (MacBook); 4GB of RAM (MacBook Pro).
* Hard drives: 160GB — 320GB.
* Glossy widescreen TFT screens. On the MacBook: 13.3-inch (1,280×800 resolution); MacBook Pro: 13.8-inch (1,366×768).
* Integrated NVIDIA graphics system.
* New, all-aluminum enclosures, white, black and silver. (Would love to see multiple colors, but think its unlikely — it’s an inventory nightmare, especially for high-priced products).
* Enclosure is tapered: very thin at the sides, thicker inthe middle, like the iPhone 3G and MacBook Air.
* Magnetic lid latch on all models (replacing mechanical clasps on the MacBook Pro).
* All ports on left side — including FireWire 800.
* Slot-loading optical drive on right (no Blu-ray).
* Extra-large battery pack running full width of computer at the front, under the touchpad.
* Recessed keypad like MacBook Air. Keys are Chicklet style on MacBooks, black and backlight on Pros.
* Price: Starting at $800. This is the mysterious “product transition” that Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer said in July would impact Apple’s gross margins.
“We will be delivering state-of-the-art new products that I cannot discuss today that our competitors will not be able to match,” Oppenheimer said during the Q308 conference call.
Leander Kahney is the editor and publisher of Cult of Mac, and author of three books about technology culture: 
