Contrary to initial impressions, the white MacBook has not been discontinued entirely, as Apple has announced to resellers that it will continue making it available only to educational institutions at a price of $899. Note that this is for institutional purchases only and the MacBook will not be available to individuals purchasing through Apple's education channels.

MacBook (MC516) is now Available for Education Institutions Only. All backlog for channel and non direct education institution customers should be cancelled effective today July 20th.

The MacBook (MC516) will be available to all channel partners via the Apple On-line Reseller stores and is now intended to be sold out only to education institutions.

This is certainly not the first time that Apple has maintained a product specifically for educational institutions, as the company has long offered products such as special low-end iMac models to its institutional customers.

macbook 2010
The MacBook has been popular with educational institutions for its low price and solid plastic construction able to stand up to the rigors of day-to-day classroom use. Consequently, it makes sense for Apple to continue offering the model to those select customers. The move also explains yesterdays rumor of Apple "phasing out" the MacBook with production set to continue at least into next month as Apple repositions the machine for the much smaller educational institution market.

Related Forum: MacBook

Top Rated Comments

macadam212 Avatar
153 months ago
Yeah they did that with the eMac too for a while.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
zephonic Avatar
153 months ago
LOL, the white Macbook turns out to be the CrownVic of computers! :D



Fleet sales only!
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Doctor Q Avatar
153 months ago
We still have eMacs at school but it worries me when the school buys Macs that are obsolete through other channels. Macs last a long time so I'm concerned about support down the road, for example if we need replacement parts.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mungo2k Avatar
153 months ago
Bizarrely, they're selling it at an inflated price (£931 in the UK compared to £859 for the basic MacBook Pro). I can't think of a reason why anyone who was concentrating would buy one of these anymore.

But then, the educational store is still selling ancient 2.0GHz C2D 20" iMacs for some reason too, so I guess some people just click without thinking...
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
FroMann Avatar
153 months ago
You can also buy one refurbished.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
wordoflife Avatar
153 months ago
I think that was a bad move. The MacBook has a few advantages over the Air for the same price.
Score: 0 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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