Wired News: New Intel Macs Scream, Jobs Says

New Intel Macs Scream, Jobs Says
By Leander Kahney, 11th January, 2006

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SAN FRANCISCO -- Apple Computer CEO Steve Jobs took center stage at Macworld on Tuesday to introduce the first Macs based on Intel chips six months ahead of schedule: a speedy, flat-screen iMac and a slim, high-end notebook with a new name -- the MacBook.

Looking trim and fit in his trademark jeans and turtleneck, Jobs told the enthusiastic audience that the new machines are two to four times faster then the Macs they replace, which are based on PowerPC chips from IBM and Motorola.

"These things are screamers," he said.

Both machines are based on Intel's "latest and greatest" dual-core chips, branded the Intel Core Duo, Jobs said. He said each core in the new chips is faster than the G4 or G5 PowerPC chips they replace.

Available in February, the MacBook Pro will replace Apple's high-end PowerBook G4 notebook. Jobs said the new Intel model is four times faster than the PowerBook G4 it replaces. The slim, "1-inch thin" notebook features a 15-inch screen, built-in iSight video-conferencing camera and remote control. It also has a new magnetic power adapter that detaches easily when the power cord is yanked on, preventing accidental falls. The MacBook Pro will sell in two configurations: a 1.67-GHz model for $2,000 and a 2.1-GHz model for $2,500.

The new iMac, available now, has the same features, design and price as the machine it replaces, Jobs said. What's different? The new model delivers two to three times the speed, Jobs said.

To introduce the new machines, Jobs was joined onstage by Intel CEO Paul Otellini, who was jokingly dressed in a "bunny suit" -- the clean-room garb Apple once used to mock Intel's lagging performance. It was a sly joke that got a hearty laugh from the crowd, which seemed more subdued than in recent years.

A witty new Intel advertisement, which claimed Apple was setting Intel chips free from the drudgery of PCs, got the biggest response. Jobs played the ad twice.

The Intel machines are six months ahead of Apple's announced schedule -- previously, Jobs said Intel Macs would debut in June 2006.

Jobs said Apple will transition its entire product line before the end of the year, updating the hardware month by month.

Rick LePage, president of Macworld, said the new hardware looked good.

"The thing that's going to sell like crazy are the new MacBooks," he said. "Apple's going to sell every one of those they can make."

Jobs made no mention of the living-room set-top boxes based on Intel's new Viiv hardware platform, which many pundits had expected.

Earlier in his speech, Jobs said Apple had sold an incredible 14 million iPods during the holiday quarter, and has moved more than 42 million iPods to date.

Jobs also demonstrated a new version of Apple's iLife software suite, which now includes a new iWeb application for building websites and a "photocasting" feature in iPhoto that allows easy and automatic sharing of photographs over the net.

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