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Apple May Be Planning Overhaul Of Its Laptops

Apple could grab more share by trimming prices, but the more likely option is that it will cram more features into existing Macs or iPods. The smart money is on new iterations of Apple's MacBook Pro notebook line shortly.

MacBooks accounted for about 60% of the computers Apple sold in fiscal 2007 but the MacBook Pro is essentially the same notebook that the PowerBook Titanium was when it first launched in 2001. The most likely place to look for change is in the display screen. Expect a multi-touch display similar to that found on the iPhone and the iPod touch. Apple has a solid set of patents on the technology.

As much as the MacBook Pro could use an upgrade, Apple will probably weave the technology into a smaller-sized notebook first, says iSuppli analyst Jennifer Callgrove. Making the screen on the MacBook Pro multi-touch-enabled would add between 50% and 80% to the cost of the current display, says her colleague, Sweta Das. A small MacBook with a multi-touch screen that measures about 9 or 10 inches could be among the "several wonderful new products" Steve Jobs referred to in the earnings press release issued July 21.

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