iBook Updates

chelseasian · Mar 23, 2005

Since the current iBook is almost nearing the end of cycle (according to the buying guide) what are the updates that can be expected other than the Tiger to be bundled with it?

The previous generation had Airport built-in, do you think that the iBooks will follow the trend of the PBs with 512MB RAM as a standard?

What about graphics card?

timmyb · Mar 23, 2005

I would say 512 RAM should be a certainty after a previous article from Appleinsider about a week ago (on Apple boosting standard memory across the board.)

I would like to see BT 2.0 but apart from that, not much else can be changed as it would tak iBooks too close to the PBooks.

Therefore I think a reasonable price drop would make sense, (£75-100,) as this would help in Apple's attempt to crack the mass market, (started with Mac Mini,) especially when you consider how cheap the bog-standard Dell laptops are.

XIII · Mar 23, 2005

I still think apple should've taken the whole line of PB's to ATI, with a 128mb option, and then they can drop the 64mb nvidea into the iBooks.. Meh..

CaptainCaveMann · Mar 23, 2005

I agree on the better video card for the ibook. Id also like to see price drops and the 12 inch come standard with AT LEAST a 40 gig hdd.

mcgarry · Mar 24, 2005

chelseasian said:
Since the current iBook is almost nearing the end of cycle (according to the buying guide) what are the updates that can be expected other than the Tiger to be bundled with it?

The previous generation had Airport built-in, do you think that the iBooks will follow the trend of the PBs with 512MB RAM as a standard?

What about graphics card?

The buyer's guide is a guide. Cycles fluctuate and wild variations have occured on occasion. The guide has no insider knowledge. There has been no rumors-ish buzz about an iBook update, and there is little reason to expect one anytime soon... not that you were saying it would be soon. I'm just cautioning; I too have no insider knowledge.

lasuther · Mar 24, 2005

mcgarry said:
The buyer's guide is a guide. Cycles fluctuate and wild variations have occured on occasion. The guide has no insider knowledge. There has been no rumors-ish buzz about an iBook update, and there is little reason to expect one anytime soon... not that you were saying it would be soon. I'm just cautioning; I too have no insider knowledge.

Well, there have been updates in April 2003, Oct 2003, April 2004, Oct 2004, so it isn't to crazy to assume another update in April 2005. Plus rumors have been going around of Apple wanting to move RAM to 512MB for Tiger. eMac and iMac rumored to update in April, I would expect to see the iBook follow.

I think it is reasonable to assume a 512MB RAM upgrade.
Probably a processor upgrade, possibly to 1.33GHz for 12" and 1.5GHz for 14".
Hopefully a hard drive upgrade. Possibly 60 gig minimum on the 12" and 80 gig on the 14", but probably 40 gig and 60 gig.
A graphics card upgrade to 64MB would be great, but probably be to close to the powerbooks.

lasuther

JzzTrump22 · Mar 24, 2005

I think they will move the iBook up to a 1.5 when the powerbook gets updated/changed to a G5. But that is going to be a while. I really think Apple should give 1 stick of 512 ram as the bare minimum for all their machines. Not 2x256, but 1 stick of 512. I mean we pay so much money already as it is, especially if you buy a powerbook. I mean the least they can do is give you 1 stick of 512.

miloblithe · Mar 24, 2005

I wonder if they'll go to a 167Mhz system bus like in the Powerbooks. If they don't, I can't imagine the small processor speed increase will do all that much, which would leave standard memory, standard HD size, and price as the update possibilities.

iGary · Mar 24, 2005

I own a 12" 1.2GHz REV "?" iBook.

Here's what I'd like to see in the 12" line:

64MB VRAM (Core Video)
512 MB RAM Standard
Better LCD
Faster Bus

I'd even be willing to pay a bit more for that stuff, too, but I don't expect them to drop prices from $999.00

I wouldn't hold my breath till after WWDC, personally, when we see what is up with PowerBooks.

vouder17 · Mar 24, 2005

iGary said:
I own a 12" 1.2GHz REV "?" iBook.

Here's what I'd like to see in the 12" line:

64MB VRAM (Core Video)
512 MB RAM Standard
Better LCD
Faster Bus

I'd even be willing to pay a bit more for that stuff, too, but I don't expect them to drop prices from $999.00

I wouldn't hold my breath till after WWDC, personally, when we see what is up with PowerBooks.

Then you could just buy a powerbook. But yes i do agree that apple needs to update their ibook line.

Peace
DjVoTeZ

miloblithe · Mar 24, 2005

iGary said:
I own a 12" 1.2GHz REV "?" iBook.

Here's what I'd like to see in the 12" line:

64MB VRAM (Core Video)
512 MB RAM Standard
Better LCD
Faster Bus

What do you mean by better LCD? Would this be something that surpasses the PowerBook line?

I wonder if 64MB of VRAM would be acceptable to Apple as long as the video card were lower spec otherwise, thus retaining the distinction in the lines.

iGary · Mar 24, 2005

vouder17 said:
Then you could just buy a powerbook. But yes i do agree that apple needs to update their ibook line.

Peace
DjVoTeZ

LOL I was thinking that right after I posted it.

iGary · Mar 24, 2005

miloblithe said:
What do you mean by better LCD? Would this be something that surpasses the PowerBook line?

I wonder if 64MB of VRAM would be acceptable to Apple as long as the video card were lower spec otherwise, thus retaining the distinction in the lines.

Never been really thrilled with the viewing angle, brightness or crispness of the iBook or PowerBook screens, but I knew this getting into it. I had a Sony Vaio laptop that was BEAUTIFUL. Miss that. Don't miss Windoze.

tom.96 · Mar 24, 2005

XIII said:
I still think apple should've taken the whole line of PB's to ATI, with a 128mb option, and then they can drop the 64mb nvidea into the iBooks.. Meh..

This is what I thought too - put really awesome graphics chips in the PBs and then have 64mb standard cards in the iBooks. I think it would be wise to ensure all Macs have good enough video cards to run Tiger with core image etc.

I am interested in buying an iBook, can't afford a PB, but still want something with reasonable power.

Just a question - does anyone know how long the 9200 has been in iBooks? It seems like a long time. And does anyone know if ATI has a more up to date budget GPU that could be used, and how it differs?

XIII · Mar 24, 2005

tom.96 said:
This is what I thought too - put really awesome graphics chips in the PBs and then have 64mb standard cards in the iBooks. I think it would be wise to ensure all Macs have good enough video cards to run Tiger with core image etc.

I am interested in buying an iBook, can't afford a PB, but still want something with reasonable power.

Just a question - does anyone know how long the 9200 has been in iBooks? It seems like a long time. And does anyone know if ATI has a more up to date budget GPU that could be used, and how it differs?

ATI's next up is the one in the 15" PB I think..

dsharits · Mar 24, 2005

tom.96 said:
Just a question - does anyone know how long the 9200 has been in iBooks? It seems like a long time. And does anyone know if ATI has a more up to date budget GPU that could be used, and how it differs?

They've been in all of the G4 iBooks, replacing the 7500 that was used in the last G3 iBooks.

XIII · Mar 24, 2005

They really need to replace that, heh heh.

chelseasian · Mar 24, 2005

Here's my wish list of things I would like to see upgraded in the next revision of iBooks:

1. Bigger harddrive (60GB would be great)
2. At least a 64MB Graphics card
3. Built in Bluetooth (I know it is wishful thinking)

mcgarry · Mar 24, 2005

lasuther said:
Well, there have been updates in April 2003, Oct 2003, April 2004, Oct 2004, so it isn't to crazy to assume another update in April 2005. Plus rumors have been going around of Apple wanting to move RAM to 512MB for Tiger. eMac and iMac rumored to update in April, I would expect to see the iBook follow.

....

You may be right-- that would be good-- but still, that's just 2 years worth of samples from one relatively young product line, which has itself been atypically regular compared to the rest of Apple's lines with their histories of irregularity. (hey, maybe that means its due for an irregular update!) We usually hear some some sort of buzz/rumor in advance of an update, and there has been next to nothing about iBooks. Compare to the recent buzz on iMacs, for example. Also, the 'bump everything to 512' thing could just refer to the next time anything is updated. True, maybe the recent clamp-down on rumors sites is partly to blame. My point is just that because the dates in the buyer's guide seem to indicate an update should be soon, it doesn't necessarily mean it's going to happen anytime soon.

CaptainCaveMann · Mar 24, 2005

mcgarry said:
You may be right-- that would be good-- but still, that's just 2 years worth of samples from one relatively young product line, which has itself been atypically regular compared to the rest of Apple's lines with their histories of irregularity. (hey, maybe that means its due for an irregular update!) We usually hear some some sort of buzz/rumor in advance of an update, and there has been next to nothing about iBooks. Compare to the recent buzz on iMacs, for example. Also, the 'bump everything to 512' thing could just refer to the next time anything is updated. True, maybe the recent clamp-down on rumors sites is partly to blame. My point is just that because the dates in the buyer's guide seem to indicate an update should be soon, it doesn't necessarily mean it's going to happen anytime soon.

Please Apple at least make 40 gigs standard! Come on, we are in 2005 here.

CalfCanuck · Mar 24, 2005

mcgarry said:
You may be right-- that would be good-- but still, that's just 2 years worth of samples from one relatively young product line, which has itself been atypically regular compared to the rest of Apple's lines with their histories of irregularity.

But education buying cycles ARE regular. Schools don't just order a thousand new computers in August, a week before the next year begins.

Didn't Apple got burned a few years ago in their educational market segment by missing these purchasing windows? I'm sure Jobs read them the riot act, and now they're trying to be as regular as can be.

mcgarry · Mar 24, 2005

CalfCanuck said:
But education buying cycles ARE regular. Schools don't just order a thousand new computers in August, a week before the next year begins.

Didn't Apple got burned a few years ago in their educational market segment by missing these purchasing windows? I'm sure Jobs read them the riot act, and now they're trying to be as regular as can be.

Sure, maybe, but iBooks aren't the only Macs schools buy. And I don't know, but I imagine some institutional purchasers aren't as zealous about buying right after an update as some of the denizens of this board. The point remains, the guide can be good, but I wouldn't set my watch by it.

Lord Blackadder · Mar 24, 2005

My only complaint is the video card. In my ideal world, the iBooks/eMac/Mac mini would go with the Geforce 5200 at least. The 9200 is adaquate, but just barely. Even better would be seeing the Radeon 9600 in these machines - or at least as the base GPU in the Powerbooks. I'm really hoping to see this happen with the next updates, though I'm not optomistic.

09872738 · Mar 24, 2005

Today i took a look on the iBook 12" to determine if the display´s brighness is still as annoying as it was two years ago (i owned a 12" iBook G3 900 MHz). Well, it seems to me s(h)ituatio hasn´t changed, display is still inacceptably dark.

I intended to get one of those 12" babies - but i changed my mind. No way i will buy any book with a display as bad as this.

So, as a conclusion: i really hope Apple´s gonna change to some acceptable display, 1280x800 would be great. Of course, faster bus/CPU and GPU would be fine, but most important to me is the display.

Greez

chelseasian · Mar 24, 2005

09872738 said:
Today i took a look on the iBook 12" to determine if the display´s brighness is still as annoying as it was two years ago (i owned a 12" iBook G3 900 MHz). Well, it seems to me s(h)ituatio hasn´t changed, display is still inacceptably dark.

It can't be that bad? I still use my clamshell iBook every now and then.

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