Update: Commenters point out that our tipster pulled the Best Buy inventory screen image from this thread on the MacRumors forums (he did provide independent confirmation of the SKU deletion). I was not aware of the forum thread at the time the post was written, and there was at the time no corresponding post on the main MacRumors site (although there is now). My apologies to the forum poster for the lack of credit for the image; I should have double-verified where it came from before running it.
In the world of retail computer sales, nothing is quite so deterministic as the disappearance of model SKUs (
stock keeping units, store jargon for "the numbers that correspond to the widgets we sell, and how we track our inventory and sales") from a chain's price list or database system. When that happens, no additional orders can be placed for the deleted item(s), and it's a pretty safe bet that something new is right around the corner.
Dovetailing nicely with the
rumor I noted early Saturday morning regarding benchmark results showing up for a mystery
MacBook Pro, we now have a tip that existing MacBook Pro SKUs have been deleted from Best Buy's sales system. The picture above (which was posted in the
MacRumors forums) shows the screen display for the 13" model, no longer orderable. It's now dramatically more likely that we'll see new MacBook Pro models in the immediate future -- possibly as early as this Tuesday, just in time for Apple to show them off on the
Macworld Expo show fl--
Oh.
Right. Drat.
Thanks Jose 
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
ollie said 7:41PM on 2-08-2010
Thanks appleisgod of macrumors.com !
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celinecheiler said 10:10AM on 4-13-2010
Actually there was a leaked brochure on January that suggests this macbook pro running on i5-i7 cores is for real. More Details: http://bit.ly/macbook-pro-core-i5-details
Although, this one is a bit more concise with some benchmarks from geekdom. The only question now is, How many grand should we shell-out?
THJ said 7:49PM on 2-08-2010
An i3/i7 13" MBP w/ SSD = drool.
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Seth said 6:10PM on 2-10-2010
I would love to see TRIM support (to prevent SSD performance degradation), USB 3.0 port (external drives at full speed with no separate power adapter!) and SATA 6 Gbps support (the new Micron C300 SSD coming out this month is bandwidth capped at Sata 3Gbps, as will many new models later this year), although those are all probably a pipe dream.
I REALLY don't want to invest in a new MacBook that is going to lock me out of these features for another 18 months. Same reason I didn't get a 27" iMac, although with all the issues those are having that was a good thing.
cleteblackwell said 7:56PM on 2-08-2010
This was stolen from appleisgod of MacRumors Forums.. Please give proper credit.
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A said 8:03PM on 2-08-2010
Drat!!! just when I thought TUAW was actually reporting on something instead of rehashing....
Michael Rose said 8:43PM on 2-08-2010
Sorry, clete, the tip came in independently and without any reference to the MR forums -- I had no idea there was an open thread there with the images. Adding a link.
walt.atwood said 8:04PM on 2-08-2010
The only thing I want to hear is whether the new MacBook Pros will have USB 3.0 and FireWire 3200. I work with video, and the performance bottleneck with hard disks and other peripherals is frustrating. I have a 2.33 GHz MacBook Pro, so even if the new pro laptops have CPUs with double the speed, it's not enough without faster USB and FireWire.
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Tango Charlie said 8:18PM on 2-08-2010
Or eSATA. That would be nice.
fishbert said 12:18AM on 2-09-2010
I'm still waiting for Apple to support SATA II in their MacBook Pros.
(they don't; and it's broken in the current generation of 13" and 15" unibodies)
Jason Stiles said 9:49AM on 2-09-2010
eSATA would be nice, but I'd venture to say that port is too ugly for steve to let it be on an Apple. Just like they invent MiniDisplayPort, I'd say they'd invent MiniStorage port before the implement eSATA
bigphaty said 10:38AM on 2-09-2010
I work in television, and I have lots of these problems. The newer MBP's seem to offer less connectivity, not more. That is particularly frustrating. I got Duel adapter to work with P2 cards, and Snow Leopard bricked it. I'm hoping for a new MBP with at least 2 firewire ports and something more than a SD slot, which is useless for me. Everything seems to boil down to a USB connection, which is slow compared to most other options.
Unknown said 10:08PM on 2-08-2010
Of course the MB990LL/A is about to be discontinued... they have been showing up with increased frequency in Apple's refurb store. That's a dead giveaway.
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onemanarmy said 8:11PM on 2-08-2010
How about you link to the original thread on macrumors forums instead of ripping off other people's finds and posting it as yours?
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Michael Rose said 8:43PM on 2-08-2010
As I said above, the tip & image came in via email with no reference to the MR forums.
SummerBoy said 9:20PM on 2-08-2010
Way to plageroze others work !!
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madmax said 9:30PM on 2-08-2010
Not sure about this one...they are still available for purchase via Best Buy online..something doesnt add up..
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Scott said 10:43PM on 2-08-2010
My store has seen no stock of 15" MBP's also, I had to order one CTO, which has not been processed yet.
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Steve said 11:05PM on 2-08-2010
Scott, Best Buy might still have some in stock but the picture shows that Best Buy can no longer order that SKU from Apple pointing to the fact that there may be new Macs being releases very soon.
Scott said 11:08PM on 2-08-2010
by my store, i mean the reseller that I work as a technician at. my supplier has no MBP's in stock and has not for a week or so. I ordered a CTO for a client of mine and it was stuck in a sent to manufacturing stage. So my vote is that these rumours are true
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