January 6th, 2009
Apple rolls the dice on fixed MacBook Pro batteries
Apple’s Macworld swan song had a little bit of everything–DRM free music on iTunes, iWork.com and Philip Schiller’s first and final keynote–but the biggest item may have been a bet that customers will go for a fixed battery on the 17-inch MacBook Pro.
Jason O’Grady’s live notes on Schiller’s debut (Techmeme) sum up the initial reaction (my emphasis added):
10:22 a.m. PST: Here’s the line on the 17 inch MacBook Pro:
- $2799 2.66 C2D, 4GB, 2 GPUs, 320GB HDD;
- Starts shipping in late January;
- Environmental report card: EPEAT Gold 2009
10:20 a.m. PST: So what exactly do I do after 1,000 recharge cycles. Leave it to Apple to spin a fixed battery. Pass the Kool-Aid. Schiller says the battery lifespan is five years. Schiller gets applause for battery but it’s 5 out of 10 on the applause-o-meter. Schiller says there will be less batteries thrown away.
10:15 a.m. PST: Schiller steals Jobs’ line and says “one more thing” as he mentions a 17 inch MacBook Pro. Schiller said it quickly. The MacBook Pro will be unibody aluminium (no surprise), will be .98 inches (world’s thinnest) and 6.6 pounds (the lightest for 17 inches. it also has a 1920 x 1200 screen with $50 anti-glare option. Death to the glossy and my prayers have been answered. However, there’s the “integrated battery connector” when showing the side ports and referring to the LED battery gauge. Schiller confirms the fixed battery on the 17 inch MacBookPro. Other details: Up to 8GB RAM, 9400M with 512, both GPUs built in, SSD option. Battery is the most important feature though. Battery lasts up to 8 hours and 1,000 recharge cycles without adding to weight or size. There’s a 40 percent larger battery since Apple made it fixed. The battery has custom shaped cells an lithium polymer. The lifespan of the battery is supposed to be three times longer than the industry average.
That live reaction is what a lot of folks are going to be wondering about. Schiller noted that fewer batteries will be thrown away and sure 8 hours is a long time. You can even rationalize the fact that few people are going to lug around a 17-inch MacBook Pro that weighs almost seven pounds.
But if you buy the latest MacBook Pro you’re really betting on a custom battery that will perform well in its first generation. Perhaps these batteries will last five years. Probably not. I’ll reserve judgment on the fixed battery thing, but I’m in no rush to be anything more than a slow follower on Apple’s experiment.
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Larry Dignan is Editor in Chief of ZDNet and Editorial Director of ZDNet sister site TechRepublic. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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