MacBook Pro purchase decision

Yesterday I did some side-by-side comparison of:

1. my current laptop - a PowerBook G4
2. the possible Q3 MacBook Pro release
3. the current MBP line

Conclusions:

worth waiting for in a Q3 (Intel Montevina platform) release:

• (very unlikely) radically new display technology, like XO laptop - readable in direct light
• (very unlikely) solid-state drive (SSD) as in the Air
• (possible) hybrid SSD/HD storage
• (possible) BluRay optical drive
• (possible) native WiMax
• (likely) lower power consumption
• (likely) case redesign: lighter, slimmer, novel look

available now and unlikely to improve noticeably:

• Penryn processor
• 2G DDR2 SDRAM
• 512MB Video RAM
• 250GB HD
• 802.11 - our friend Ann had her newish MPB here in our apartment and was able to pull in AirBears - my PowerBook can't do that.
  

I'm down to less than 5% free space on my PowerBook G4, so buying now is urgent, really.
The only things worth waiting for are the lower power consumption (utility) and the case redesign (vanity). I confess the last is compelling, though.

Here is a table I adapted from Apple's site. I used strong emphasis to highlight salient differences.

	My PB G4	Montevina??	15.4-inch: 2.4GHz (MB133LL/A)	15.4-inch: 2.5GHz (MB134LL/A)	17-inch: 2.5GHz (MB166LL/A)
Display	1280x854 TFT widescreen	1900x1200?	1440x900 TFT widescreen	1440x900 TFT widescreen	1680x1050
Processor	PowerPC G4, 1.5 GHz	Penryn	2.4GHz Penryn	2.5GHz Penryn
Memory	1GB DDR SDRAM	DDR3-800 ?	2GB (4G max) (two SO-DIMMs) 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (PC2-5300)
PCI Express graphics	ATI Mobility Radeon 9700, 64MB	?	NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT, 256MB GDDR3, dual-link DVI	512MB
Hard disk drive	75 GB ATA	Hybrid or Solid State ???	200GB Serial ATA; 5400 rpm	250GB Serial ATA; 5400 rpm
Slot-loading optical drive	DVD±R CD-RW	Blu-Ray ??	8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
Expansion	-	-	One FireWire 400, one FireWire 800, three USB 2.0 ports, and ExpressCard/34 slot
Video	no iSight	?	Built-in iSight camera, DVI, VGA (DVI to VGA adapter included)
Audio	-	-	Combined optical digital input/audio line in, combined optical digital output/audio line out, stereo speakers, microphone
Ethernet	-	-	Built-in 10/100/1000BASE-T (Gigabit)
Wireless	802.11x; built-in Bluetooth	+ WiMax (802.16)?	Built-in AirPort Extreme (802.11n); built-in Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
Modem		-	Apple USB Modem (sold separately)
Input		Air style?	Full-size, illuminated keyboard with ambient light sensor; Multi-Touch trackpad
Weight		less?	5.4 pounds		6.8 pounds
Footprint			14.1 by 9.6 inches		15.4 by 10.4 inches
Thickness		less?	1.0 inch
Video accessories		-	DVI to VGA adapter (other adapters sold separately)
Hardware accessories		-	85W MagSafe Power Adapter, AC wall plug, power cord, lithium-polymer battery

More on MacBook Pro purchase decision

What would make a Q3 update worth waiting for?

Do I care much about the new

Intel Montevina Platform

Montevina consists of the Penryn 45nm procesor, the Cantiga (GM45) chipset, Intel X4500 graphics, 1066MT/s FSB

1066MHz FSB	Why not? (Though FSB is not the bottleneck on the MBP as I use it.)
15% lower Thermal Design Power (TDP) - <29w>	Yes! See environmentally-efficient
1900x1200 display	sounds good...
BTO Blu-Ray Burner	Hmmmm, 2 years from now this might look good
chipset native Wi-Max	Yes!
conversion to Micro-DVI or displayport to make chassis thinner	thinner sounds good...
DDR3-800 RAM (Up to 8 GB)	faster RAM sounds good...
environmentally-efficient	Yes! Yes! Yes!
Hybrid or Solid State disk drive	Yes! But unlikely...
MacBook Air style keyboard	???
magnetic latch	eh...
NVIDIA's new Quadro FX 3600M	???
Radeon 3800 Mobility 512MB
Redsigned Case	Yes!
smaller and lighter	Yes! Yes!
Support for WiMAX (802.16)	Yes!
Up to 2.93GHz Penryn	Why not? (Though CPU is not the bottleneck on the MBP as I use it.)
Magsafe connector	sounds good...