widescreen ibook will look like this

[jhar257]

Check this out, http://www.trustedreviews.com/article.aspx?art=1204

i look forward to the new widescreen ibooks

[PlaceofDis]

widescreen iBooks would be nice, and they seem due for a form factor change, i just wonder about the 12" powerbook not being widescreen then?

[jer446]

when has it been rumored that ws ibooks will come out?

[brap]

Damn... that is gorgeous.

With this, and the ASUS notebook from a couple of weeks back... PC hardware manufacturers are seriously catching up.

[tech4all]

Why exactly is wide screen better than the normal 4:3 screen? I mean I know it's wider, but at the same time you loose in height at the same size between wide screen and 4:3.

[jared_kipe]

Why exactly is wide screen better than the normal 4:3 screen? I mean I know it's wider, but at the same time you loose in height at the same size between wide screen and 4:3.

I believe the only real reason is because widescreen is closer to how our eyes work.

[mkrishnan]

Why exactly is wide screen better than the normal 4:3 screen? I mean I know it's wider, but at the same time you loose in height at the same size between wide screen and 4:3.

In this case, the computer has a 12" screen that is 1280x800, so it's got bettter resolution in both directions than the iBook. But I guess, for me personally, I'd agree with you that, if the choice were between 1024x768 and 1280x580 (or some similar number smaller than 768), I would also go for the normal screen over the widescreen. Widescreens are nice for movies, and they're nice in that you have more room for your buddy list on the side, and extra windows hanging under the sides of your window, but for most of my use, seeing more of a page vertically would be much more useful.

[Kwyjibo]

you can't automatically assume a higher resolution ... the 15" powerbooks only run at 1280x854 .... so I would doubt the 12" would automatically begin using that without an upgrade in LCD quality

[PlaceofDis]

i would prefer widescreen because you do get a slightly better resolution

but because its wider you can fit that much more across, scrolling down is no problem or hassle for me

i would rather to able to fit two docs (even slightly squished) side-by-side than be able to see more vertically

but thats just me

[mkrishnan]

you can't automatically assume a higher resolution ... the 15" powerbooks only run at 1280x854 .... so I would doubt the 12" would automatically begin using that without an upgrade in LCD quality

I was referring to the MSI notebook reviewed in the link at the top of the thread. If they're selling it, then "it isn't physically possible" seems like an unlikely explanation. ;) Of course I have *no idea* what Apple will do. For all I know, they'll drop it down to 800x600, and sell millions of them under the "Life is Blocky" campaign. :D

[Demon Hunter]

Widesceen iBooks... not going to happen.

[miloblithe]

I'd like to see it happen, but I'd expect the 12" Powerbook to go widescreen first. Should be part of the mega-overhaul for whatever processor Powerbook that succeeds the current G4s.

[Daveway]

The next iBook update (maybe August) should bring a new form factor. The current design is great, but it's getting old. I think the current iBooks hold the record for keeping the same form factor.

[aafuss1]

The next iBook update (maybe August) should bring a new form factor. The current design is great, but it's getting old. I think the current iBooks hold the record for keeping the same form factor.


A possibility of a widescreen iBook was mentioned in this thread :
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=116393


Charles Moore also wrote about a possible widescreen iBook:
http://www.macopinion.com/columns/roadwarrior/05/02/08/index.html

[ericssonboi]

A possibility of a widescreen iBook was mentioned in this thread :
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=116393


Charles Moore also wrote about a possible widescreen iBook:
http://www.macopinion.com/columns/roadwarrior/05/02/08/index.html

Just like this forum.. Mac Rumors... :p

[mad jew]

Side by side the widescreen notebook does make the regular iBook's screen look a little cumbersome but Apple leaves it for dead in every other aesthetic facet IMO. :)

I can't see widescreen iBooks happening any time soon though. :(

[musicpyrite]

I don't think we'll see wide screen iBooks... that has always seem like a Pro feature. Except for the 12" PowerBook, that thing is more of a ramped up 12" iBook.

[mad jew]

I don't think we'll see wide screen iBooks... that has always seem like a Pro feature. Except for the 12" PowerBook, that thing is more of a ramped up 12" iBook.

I don't think it's necessarily a pro feature. What about the iMacs?

[virividox]

that looks good!!!

[jessica.]

I seriously doubt they'll bring out a WS ibook. It'll start to come close to closing the gap between the two which would be the downfall for one of the product lines.

[Abstract]

Why exactly is wide screen better than the normal 4:3 screen? I mean I know it's wider, but at the same time you loose in height at the same size between wide screen and 4:3.

Because we take in more info when placing things side-to-side rather than top-to-bottom. When you compare 2 things, you usually place them beside each other, not one above the other. Its just the way your eyes and brain work.

You can also scroll vertically if you need to.

Plus, I'd rather have a widescreen laptop and slightly better resolution because I need to keep a Word document and a PDF file beside each other, I can. It would be great to have a 15" widescreen, but I always said it would be great if Apple redid the 12" and made it widescreen. Dell already did it, and so have Samsung and apparently MSI does as well. Or make it a 13" like Sony did. A 13" Sony Vaio is basically the same size as my 12" PB, or at leasts it looks like it.

And making a widescreen laptop doesn't necessarily guarantee a higher resolution notebook. The screen quality has to be improved as well, which is why this may be more of a pro feature. You can keep more palettes open and such in pro apps.

[AstroManLuca]

Something like this would be nice:

http://homepage.mac.com/pscates/.Pictures/Photo%20Album%20Pictures/2004-06-09%2022.22.05%20-0700/Image-B11EACB0BA9A11D8.jpg

It could use the 1152x768 resolution formerly used by the 15" Titanium before it switched to 1280x854. A 14" 3:2 widescreen would rock. That way, it would provide some incentive to purchase the larger 14" display because it would offer more pixels and a widescreen format, without infringing on the PowerBooks (lower resolution than the 15", much bulkier than the 12"). The 12" would remain the same.

[miloblithe]

Sounds good to me. And nice mock up.

[ziwi]

Actually it would make sense if the OSX is really geared more toward the widescreen experience. Those PC laptops do look nice though - a shame they took all of these years to get them to look like the Apple products - just means Apple needs to press forward and show them the next wave of the evolution...

[bennetsaysargh]

the only thing that's stopping me from wanting a 14" iBook, is the resolution. it is only 1024x768. if they made it 14" widescreen, with 1152x768, i would jump in line right then and there.

[panda]

Why exactly is wide screen better than the normal 4:3 screen? I mean I know it's wider, but at the same time you loose in height at the same size between wide screen and 4:3.


a widescreen equivalent of the 12" in pb or ibook seems a fine idea.
and i agree with the 2 posters (jared kipe and other), who point out the benefits of widescreenin terms of how the eyes see and the mind visualises. that is also the notion between the widescreen format as applied to movies.

agreed, that movies would make far better use of the screen area in a widescreen.


it is however questionable as to the other benefits, as there is one mathematical fact, that is often overlooked. as the ratio increases, the surface area decreases. in other words as a square is compressed to a rectangle, the surface area decreases for the same diagonal (or perimeter for that matter). eventually eventually creating a rectangle with almot no surface area.

therefore, unless the diagonal size of the screen is increased, a 12" ibook widescreen would have less surface area on the screen than our present one.

this is an issue that is independant od screen resolution (pixel size).

personally i would welcome a ca 13" widescreen, but would be hesitant should it be 'only' a 12" screen.

a widescreen 13" would be only fractionally wider than the current 12", might be slightly narrower, but would have about the same sreen area.

we're talking big retooling costs here, of course, which is why it will probably not happen until the whole line(s) is/are changed.

one last thing... on any new form factor... please, please, please, keep the ingeneous hinge! pretty please?!?

http://forums.macrumors.com/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=1347103#

[jimjiminyjim]

the only thing that's stopping me from wanting a 14" iBook, is the resolution. it is only 1024x768. if they made it 14" widescreen, with 1152x768, i would jump in line right then and there.

agreed. at this point, I'm not even considering a 14 inch ibook. If this purely speculative rumor did turn out to be true, I'd definitely consider shelling out a little extra.

[Abstract]

Yeah, but it might mean that Apple sells less 15" PBs if the 14" iBook offers so much for so much less $$$. Heck, I'd consider getting a 15" PB as my next laptop purchase, but not if they had a 14" widescreen. I say keep the iBook line as it is, and make the ENTIRE Powerbook like widescreen.

However, I'd agree that a 13" PB would be fine. It doesn't have to be 12". Sony makes a 13" that looks good.
And yes, I agree that it'll probably happen in the next big Powerbook line introduction. It won't happen in a measly speed-bump update.

[dotdotdot]

iBooks won't get widescreen because I thought Apple was trying to make the powerbook much better than the iBook - the latest iBook updates put it close to the PowerBook for most features - until the 12" powerbook goes widescreen for like 6 months, no iBook widescreen will be used...

WideScreen 12" PowerBook, come before October/November so I can GET ONE!

[mleok]

For what I do, which is using the typesetting language LaTeX, it is nice to have the ability to display two pages on the screen, one with the source code, and the other with the compiled result. This turns out to be a huge productivity boost.

Indeed, although my 17" 1280x1024 screen has more pixels than my 15" 1280x854 Powerbook, I find that the screen area is more productively used in the widescreen aspect ratio of the Powerbook.

[AstroManLuca]

iBooks won't get widescreen because I thought Apple was trying to make the powerbook much better than the iBook - the latest iBook updates put it close to the PowerBook for most features - until the 12" powerbook goes widescreen for like 6 months, no iBook widescreen will be used...

WideScreen 12" PowerBook, come before October/November so I can GET ONE!

Didn't you see what I proposed, though? People buy 15" and 17" PowerBooks for the power and awesome widescreen display. The 12" is for power and portability. A 14" widescreen iBook would be a lot less portable than the 12" PowerBook, and it won't have as good a screen as the 15"/17" models (although the screen will still be very nice). So it won't compete with either - it will fill a gap in Apple's product line.