Chances of a 17" MBP announcement on April 1st?

[BuddhaMac]

So I'm at the mall today with the wife when we happen to go into the Apple Store so she could look at some iPod stuff. I'm playing around with a MBP when the guy tells me that they just got in a shipment of 15" MBP's in all three processor speeds! What luck!

With all the shipping delays for the MBP's, I just couldn't pass it up, so I ended up leaving with the "Ultimate" version: 2.16 GHz, 1 GB RAM, 256 VRAM and a 100GB 7200 RPM drive.

So here's the deal:

The 15.4" inch screen is awesome and big enough for what I do (Logic Pro sequencing), but to me, a 17 inch screen would be desirable as well. It's not an absolute must by any means considering I have a 20" Dell LCD display that the MBP will be connected to 60-70% of the time, but all things being equal, if given a choice between a 15" or a 17" configured exactly the same, I'd take the 17" just for the extra screen real estate. So although I'm EXTREMELY tempted to, I haven't opened the box for my new MBP yet because of the recent rumors of a possible 17" MBP being announced during the Apple Birthday event. The 14-day return period for my MBP ends April 1st so assuming they actually annouce a 17" model by then, I could return the 15.4" unopened for a 100% refund by April 1st and then turn right around and order the 17".

The question:
Given the current MBP supply issues and the availability (or lack thereof) of an 8x SuperDrive to go in it, realistically what are the chances that a 17" MBP is made available in April? What would you do in this situation: don't open the 15" and wait until April 1st to see if a 17" is announced or forget the 17" and stick with the 15"?

 

[mkrishnan]

Not that it's the best predictor of this time around, but....

If I understand correctly, with the Aluminum books, Apple released the 12" and 17" models in Jan 03 and then didn't follow up with the 15" until September of that year.

It might be a shorter lag now, but it seems like the big challenge is keeping the whole fleet sort of aligned. I'd guess personally that internal precedence is going to at least one *cheaper* Intel notebook (i.e. either a smaller MBP or a MacBook) and to the PowerMac successor, just because it seems like those are bigger gaps in the lineup than the PB17" successor.... That's my theory.

 

[ncook06]

17" MBPs are waiting until a small enough 95mm 8x Superdrive is available. If you need the extra write speed, you could always get something like this.

That's what I'm planning on doing if I actually find that I need more speed from my MBP.

 

[macOSX-tastic]

i assume that apple will be bringing out a 17" version of the MBP, but im not sure it will be april the 1st.....

otherwise, they will lose out in the 17" market. it is often difficult to withdraw flagship/popular products with these features, so it would be pretty silly if apple didnt.....

im hoping that the entire line below the 15" portables goes 13" widescreen though, that would be ace

S

 

[celebrian23]

I think it's pretty clear eventually a 17'' model will come out, but I don't think it'll be April 1st. It's not been enough time since the release of the 15'' that I think they would release the 17''

 

[BuddhaMac]

Thanks for the replies. The more I think about it, the more I think I'm gonna just stick with the 15". I've already spent more than I should and like I said earlier, I really don't need a 17" - especially with a 20" LCD to connect to. Further introspection reveals that its just me being greedy again, always wanting the latest & greatest, the biggest & best - even when I really don't need it.

It is for that reason alone that credit card companies absolutely LOVE me. It's hell being cursed with AFFNTS (Always Fiending For New Toys Syndrome).

Oh well. The battle rages on....