Alright Who is Still Going to Buy a PowerBook now?

I for one am gonna buy a powerbook 12 in over the ibook. Gonna wait for the update though to take the plunge.

I am buying a 12" i believe superdrive model powerbook on the 13th of august (tax free day in MA)

i still might...im still debating on if i should wait and save for the 15" or just buy the ibook now.

Just ordered one two hours ago. I got an iBook to test from CompUsa. But, I found it too slow and was really dissapointed with the hack. So, I'm going to return this one when my shiny new 12" Powerbook Superdrive comes in. 5400 RPM hardrives, finally something that isn't from 2001.

And whats that......you said it has a front bus over 150 Mhz. No offense, I nearly bought one, but they seriously are just too slow and outdated to pay a grand for.

KindaSlowJohnny said:

Just a little poll, I want to see who else, other than me, still feel the PowerBook is a good buy. (mostly the 12") Specially now with the new iBook and the small possibility of a PowerBook update during MacExpo in Paris......

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I'm trying to figure out if I should buy the 17" powerbook or not... when is that Paris Expo?

In September I belive is Macworld Paris

why wait though? you know they aren't going to do any really huge updates before mactel time and if they do it will just be a stopgap maneuver. Buy now, have a great computer for a year and sell it when the new mactels come out. perfect timing i say.

I am for the pbook, better keyboard, faster processor and superdrive(could use a memory fix) and hoping for an update

KindaSlowJohnny said:

Just a little poll, I want to see who else, other than me, still feel the PowerBook is a good buy. (mostly the 12") Specially now with the new iBook and the small possibility of a PowerBook update during MacExpo in Paris......

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I won't. But I might sell my current iBook G4 14" and get a new one. I want the superdrive!

Apple Expo Paris runs from Sept. 20th - 24th. Hopefully they will shed some light on whether the PBs will be updated. I leave for college on the 25th of Aug. so a month without a laptop.
Hoping for:
7448 processor
16X DL Supderdrive
ATi 9800 256MB


This is going to be my first Mac and I want one before Apple switches to intel. Probably the first mactel will be Intel PowerMac for me.

I decided to hold off on the PB purchase. In May, I was all geared up to get a 17" PB and then the Intel announcment came out. For me, this would be largely irrelevant, but I need to run some Windows engineering programs at work, and Lotus Notes really bites-big-time on the Mac. Seriously, when an email comes in, the sound chime sounds like some badly orchestrated video game sound effects from the 1980s and the graphics and fonts - normally superior on a Mac - are absolutely awful. Lotus apparently has been slow to bring up their Mac support. Personally, I could care less for Lotus Notes but I'm stuck using it at work. So, the possibility of running Windows on an Intel Mac natively rather than through Virtual PC is a huge attraction.

The funny thing is that I was still, despite all this, ready to drop $3000 Cdn on a PB but when I sat back, I realized that I didn't want to spend a few grand on aging hardware. I mean, the hardware and design are great, but I have a Windows laptop that is nowhere as elegant, but the screen blows away a Powerbook that I had a few days but had to return because of keyboard problems. And the iBooks just don't do it for me. I mapped out the various PC and Mac choices I had, and I quickly realized:
- PC laptops: great up-to-date components; not so great OS.
- Mac laptops: great OS; aging hardware.

Take your pick, eh? In the end, I think what most people have been saying is true: if you need it, buy it; if you can wait, then wait. I'm waiting for Apple to release a 13.3" widescreen powerbook tablet. That would rock for what I do.

I ended up ordering an up-to-date HP tablet. Go figure.

5,400 RPM Hard Drives... nuff said haha

$900 for an ibook or $1775 for a pb with the edu discounts....lol not too hard of a decision I'd say. The difference in performance isn't huge...and once i toss in my 7200 rpm hd and an extra gig of ram in there....shes gonna soar while still getting great battery life.

I still want a PB, but will stop by my Apple store to check out the new iBooks and see how they perform. If they feel alright, I will buy. If not, will wait for next PB update.

I just hope the new iBooks have better keyboards.

eva01 said:

I am buying a 12" i believe superdrive model powerbook on the 13th of august (tax free day in MA)

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Just be aware that you can buy a significantly better external DVD burner for the 200 bucks that Apple charges for its Matsashita drive. Not as comfortable as an internal drive, but you can have Dual Layer and a much faster drive for half of the money.

KindaSlowJohnny said:

Also, who here honestly believe there's the possibility of a product update during the Paris MacExpo?

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I don't know if they will, but they really SHOULD update the 12" Powerbook. Somebody will probably come and say now "It's not Apple's fault, Motorola and IBM don't supply better processors", but it's not the processor that sucks. They could

1.) Use a decent display.
2.) Build in a DVD burner that deserves the name SUPERdrive
3.) Give it a Firewire 800 interface
4.) PCMCIA
5.) 512MB RAM soldered in, make one slot available (as in the new iBooks)
6.) Throw in a few extras like Quicktime Pro. Come on, I paid 1750 Euro and I can't watch videos in fullscreen?

Just that it looks better and has a slightly better keyboard doesn't justify the price difference.

KindaSlowJohnny said:

Also, who here honestly believe there's the possibility of a product update during the Paris MacExpo?

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Honestly - I don't believe any updates during the Paris Show. Here is why:

Steve will not go on stage an tell the audiance:
You won't believe what we have now! This new Powerbook has a 1.8GHz CPU! That is incredible 0.13 GHz faster then the last version!!!

WOW!

No no. It will be a silent tuesday morning update. When? Between now and January.

Cheeers
LaForge

I agree with LaForge, Paris will see powermac Updates......The Powerbook updates will almost certainly come silently in the coming months.....

ShadOW

Something has to come out in September's Expo, otherwise what's the point of a keynote speech. It's not as if they can show off leopard, as that'll kill Tiger sales.

I'm thinking dualcore PowerMacs, and perhaps G5 PowerBooks (as IBM just released low power ones, making me very cynical over apple's decision to turn Intel).

I'm going to buy an iBook now tough... although, 20th of September is 6 days before I start uni ... I may pop to Paris

i just bought a 15 inch superdrive pb...

last week. had it sent to my in laws house and yesterday they put it in the mail for me to get it here.

hope to see it next by next tuesday.

dhc

SpaceMagic said:

Something has to come out in September's Expo, otherwise what's the point of a keynote speech.

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It will be yet another iPod..

weg said:

Throw in a few extras like Quicktime Pro. Come on, I paid 1750 Euro and I can't watch videos in fullscreen?

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Yes you can.

Typing this on 4hr old PB 15 inch 1.5Ghz....finally....couldn't buy the ibook the sad updates were just sad...anyway the Pb came at a premium but at least it will look and feel like a 21st century laptop next year and probably in 2007 too then probably break the piggy bank and go intel ..with MAC os of course...

the PB is sweet...sweet... sweet....rippled widgets, 80GB HD, backlit keyboard...64MB Vram......1280x854 WIDESCREEN crisp clear beyoootiful screen

if you can stretch the budgie...get the PB.....you won't regret it..only your wallet will just for a while...

just my 2 cents