Apple News Round-up: No Apple Tablet Computer

So this is all the buzz today, and for good reason. It’s funny how Apple can do something as simple as update their product line — not a major overhaul, mind you — and generate so much buzz. Sure, Dell got a lot of buzz with the Dell Inspiron 910 netbook, but not the same kind of buzz. This is tangible and has bunches of sites and grown, adult people trying to figure out what in the world Steve Jobs could possibly have for them. Well, today was product refresh day, so what’s the big news?

Some, of course, will point to the lack of an announcement of an Apple tablet computer as the biggest thing to happen, or not happen as the case may be. There’s been rumors about this happening for years, and even some recent patents that suggest Apple may be working on such a thing, but no dice. Steve even said in a Q&A session today that it’s not something they’re working on, but he’s a cagey devil and not to be completely trusted. Remember, he does have company (and stockholder) interests and secrets to protect, so if Apple is working on something, they’re not going to tell us about it now (never mind that they did just that with the iPhone — sort of).

Anyway, Steve also said not to expect an Apple netbook, but he also didn’t write it off. He mentioned that the netbook market is still pretty new, so while I’m not expecting them to, it’s within the realm of possibilities that Apple could make some sort of Apple netbook, the MacLet, maybe? Or perhaps the Apple tablet computer and the Apple netbook are one thing. Hard to say.

The things that actually happened, however, consisted of minor updates to the MacBook Air, and more interesting updates to the MacBook and MacBook Pro.

As a MacBook Pro owner, I’m a little surprised they didn’t do any bigger processor jumps, and also intrigued at the dual-GPUs they’re packing in. I’m curious if it’s something like the Asus N10 netbook notebook that requires you to reboot to switch GPUs or if it can be done on-the-fly.

The other interesting addition is the glass trackpad which, according to early results, works pretty how the standard one does now, only without the separate button. I admit I’m a little leery of this, but hey, I’m willing to try one out (as soon as I can make it to a Best Buy to see since we don’t have an Apple store around here).

Of course, the big news is that the MacBook is transitioning to an aluminum case, much like the MacBook Air and the MacBook Pro. I imagine that the next refresh/update will see the plastic MacBook removed entirely. The aluminum MacBook is something of an in-between product because it’s more powerful and feature-rich than the current MacBook, but not as powerful as the Pro. Its price point is also in-between (but on the low side), and with the addition of the 9400GM GPU, it’s a very attractive option.

Overall, it’s a nice update that has addressed some consumer concerns and moves Apple in a more environmentally friendly direction (as well as primes them to save money with materials), but leaves me scratching my head.

I was ready to buy the rumored $800 MacBook, but I’m not sure I want a $999 MacBook that has none of the features of the new, shiny (well, the screen anyway) aluminum MacBook. And I have no reason to replace my MacBook Pro because it’s really a desktop computer 95% of the time, so what the hell am I supposed to buy to replace my Acer Aspire One netbook? An MSI Wind netbook?

Whatever the choice, it needs to run OS X, whether natively or otherwise.

Hit up any of the big sites and you’ll find all of the details. Seriously. It’s not hard.