New PowerBook Model ID's?

[railthinner]

Dropping the 15" is a ************ idea and I hope that's not even being considered, ever. I've got a 15" (Powerbook that is) and carry it everywhere. How is it not portable? Are you a hobbit?

[railthinner]

Sorry if that last post sounds rude. It's not meant to. I just love my Powerbook and would love a G5 in the exact same form factor some day.

[jbomber]

Originally posted by Chomolungma
I'm willing to agrue that the opposite is true. The 15" is too big to be portable, however, I think the 12" ought to be 13" to be functionally portable. The 15" is too small to be a desktop replacement.

I'll bet that they will drop the 15" model.

Sorry dude, that's crazy talk. I'm willing to go along with the logic of some of the other posters, suggesting that the 15 will be very similar to the 17, and therefore the model number got folded into it.

the 15 is too money for them to scrap it.

"Baby, you're so money and you don't even know it!"

[cb911]

at first i didn't think too much of this, since it's a page 2 rumor... then it appeared in an article on TheRegister. this is making me think that there is some accuracy in the model numbers...

now i'm also hoping that either the numbers are just for the Aluminium's (and the new 15" PB is so secret that even Apple people don't know about it yet ), or that the new 15 & 17 will have very similar features.

and if they're drivers or something for new hardware, shouldn't there be the codes for the G5 PM, and other Mac's? or maybe someone hasn't bother posting that stuff?

[two_tail]

This is certainly interesting timing! I had an order in at the Apple Store for Education for a 1GHz 15" PowerBook that was supposed to ship today. I just got an e-mail saying that "due to an unexpected supply delay" they had to delay shipping until 7 July.

[DHagan4755]

Originally posted by two_tail
This is certainly interesting timing! I had an order in at the Apple Store for Education for a 1GHz 15" PowerBook that was supposed to ship today. I just got an e-mail saying that "due to an unexpected supply delay" they had to delay shipping until 7 July.

If you want to go down this route...you could argue that July 8th is a Tuesday...and Apple has released new products on Tuesdays

Edit: The Apple Store has now moved the availability of the Ghz Ti PowerBook from Shipping Same Day -- where it has been for two months now -- to Shipping 1-2 days. Interesting.

[cb911]

yeah, the Apple Store now only has the 12" PB as same day shipping.

there have been rumors for about a month that resellers were low on PowerBook stock. hopefully this can confirm that rumor.

new PowerBooks around 17 July? that's not too far away now...

[tazo]

I think they need to do away with the 17'' and improve the 12 &15. give the 15'' an alu-job and be done with it. I think 15'' of screen real estate away from the desk is more then enough. need more? hook it up to an external monitor.

[tizza]

Originally posted by tazo
I think they need to do away with the 17'' and improve the 12 &15. give the 15'' an alu-job and be done with it. I think 15'' of screen real estate away from the desk is more then enough. need more? hook it up to an external monitor.

It would have been interesting if the 15'' had been upgraded to alu at the same time as the 17'' was introduced, to see if the 17'' models would have sold as well as they are currently. Do people really want a 17'' PB or are they just buying that because the 15'' PB is behind the ball

I would certainly be surprised if the 15'' PB was dropped - but you never know ...

[gopher]

Originally posted by mnkeybsness
how does this fall under the NDA? the NDA is for apple employees...the main post says "a user" meaning someone playing with panther and snooping around that isn't under the NDA

Panther Preview is likely to have an NDA. You just don't see Apple selling Panther Preview on their store just yet. If they did, any budding developer who can't afford becoming an official developer (I don't believe the CD is available to the free developer plans) could delve far into the source code to find this. Apple has not made this public on their website, thus it is NDA material.

[DHagan4755]

I posted this over at the Apple Insider forums, and I thought I post it here too...reactions?

The 12-inch PowerBook is now listed as "3-5 Days" at the Apple online store. If it is truly the "year of the notebook" as Steve Jobs has said, then we should see new PowerBooks shortly. Consider that NECC is this week (June 29th-July 2nd). NECC is the Nat'l Educational Computing Conference, and it's listed as an "Apple Event" on Apple's Hot News page.

Also, I feel compelled to write that perhaps the 15-inch PowerBook may indeed be history. Could it be that the 15.4-inch screen is not for a PowerBook but for an iBook (pscates are you reading?)??? Also consider these minor details:

1) Recent Panther build shows model IDs for newer 12-inch and 17-inch PowerBooks, but not for 15-inch PowerBooks.

2) Slip up on Tony Hawk page on Apple Store says requirement is iBook G4; Greg Joswiak said this week G4 is in every line.

Given that, could we see complementary systems in both the pro and consumer space; i.e. 12-inch and 15-inch iBooks = consumer, 12-inch and 17-inch PowerBooks = professional? Probably unlikely, but something to ponder...

[wirewyrm]

You may listen to this information or you may ignore it, it's up to you. The Powerbook G4 15" will not be phased out. Since their release in January/February 2003, the 12" and 17" powerbooks have been very high. During this time, the number of orders placed by consumers over the Apple Store, as well as the numbers ordered by resellers for the 17" model has declined. The 12" powerbook however has proved to be popular with consumers and is still selling very well. The 12" with Superdrive, originally a build-to-order option has now been moved into retail channels some months ago. The 15" however is still Apple's flagship laptop, enjoying high sales despite an older case design. The 17" Laptop, while still an amazing laptop, only serves a small demographic percentage of people. Many consumers may not need a subnotebook (12") or desktop replacement (17") so the 15" is just the right combination of power, looks and price for many people. It may even be faster than the 17" on release, taking advantage in the latest in processor technology

[MacQuest]

I've been trying to figure out why the 17" PowerBook was the only PB not to get price dropped.

I had hoped that it was possibly because they might put a 970 in it because of the space available for cooling, but I've been thinking that with so many professionals buying these as FULL desktop replacements, that this demographic would obviosuly require dual processing capabilities for their apps.

My hopes for a 970 PowerBook coming anytime before early 2004 have pretty much diminished with the recent statement from that Apple hardware guy saying that this would not happen anytime soon.

Having just read that previous link from The Register which also speculates on a dual processor 17" PowerBook, I propose the following:

12" Combo = $1,599
12" Super = $1,799

15" Combo [aluma] = $1,999
15" Super [aluma] = $2,299

17" Single Processor Super = $2,799
17" Dual Processor Super = $3,299

The current price gap [$600] between the 15" Combo and Super is unjustified because the usual price difference between these 2 models on most product lines is about $200.

Since I don't think that Apple will raise the price of the 15" Combo, I definately think they'll drop the price on the 15" Super to within $200 - $300.

That would then create an almost $1,000 price gap between the high end 15" and the ONLY 17".

That is why I think the product lineup and pricing will [hopefully] be close to what I listed above.

Here's to dreaming for a 17" dual processor for $3,299 and a single processor option for somewhere between the high end 15" and the speculated dual 17".

[cb911]

Originally posted by DHagan4755
I posted this over at the Apple Insider forums, and I thought I post it here too...reactions?

The 12-inch PowerBook is now listed as "3-5 Days" at the Apple online store. If it is truly the "year of the notebook" as Steve Jobs has said, then we should see new PowerBooks shortly. Consider that NECC is this week (June 29th-July 2nd). NECC is the Nat'l Educational Computing Conference, and it's listed as an "Apple Event" on Apple's Hot News page.

Also, I feel compelled to write that perhaps the 15-inch PowerBook may indeed be history. Could it be that the 15.4-inch screen is not for a PowerBook but for an iBook (pscates are you reading?)??? Also consider these minor details:

1) Recent Panther build shows model IDs for newer 12-inch and 17-inch PowerBooks, but not for 15-inch PowerBooks.

2) Slip up on Tony Hawk page on Apple Store says requirement is iBook G4; Greg Joswiak said this week G4 is in every line.

Given that, could we see complementary systems in both the pro and consumer space; i.e. 12-inch and 15-inch iBooks = consumer, 12-inch and 17-inch PowerBooks = professional? Probably unlikely, but something to ponder...

i can remember when the Apple Store said the requirements for Tony Hawk was a iBook G4, i just thought of it as a slip up at the time. but thinking about that now, after Joswiak said that G4's are in every line... who knows?

i never noticed about the NECC being mentioned on Apple's site. but to me that sounds more like a time to release iBooks, being an educational event. PowerBooks are more likely to be released at MacWorld CreativePro. but if new iBooks were released before the PB's... then i'd be really mad. although new PB's might follow in a couple of weeks.

edit>> i just checked out future events on Apple's site and NECC is listed as a Trade Show, and so is the MacWorld CreativePro. July is looking very promising.

after that September 16-20 is Apple Expo Paris. probably where they'll announce that the G5 PowerMacs are shipping.

[Roller]

Originally posted by DHagan4755
Given that, could we see complementary systems in both the pro and consumer space; i.e. 12-inch and 15-inch iBooks = consumer, 12-inch and 17-inch PowerBooks = professional? Probably unlikely, but something to ponder...

Apple would be crazy to drop the 15" model in their pro (=PowerBook) line. It's the mainstream size that most business/pro users want.

[DrGonzo]

Yah they're not gunna drop it at this point, it'd be silly and make no sense. As long as my PB goes to 11 and doesn't spontaneously combust into a little globule i'll be happy!

[Custom Pbook12]

I think they will keep the 15" inch Powerbooks Around, if u ask me 17" inches is not very portable (im not knocking it though, if i only had the money). So between the 12 and the 17 the 15 in. rounds out the group in my mind. Its more Manageable than the 17 in. and a bit more powerful than the 12 inch.

However i just got my 12 inch Powerbook, so now it turns into a race to see how fast apple can outdate it!

[herocero]

Originally posted by DHagan4755


2) Slip up on Tony Hawk page on Apple Store says requirement is iBook G4; Greg Joswiak said this week G4 is in every line.

Given that, could we see complementary systems in both the pro and consumer space; i.e. 12-inch and 15-inch iBooks = consumer, 12-inch and 17-inch PowerBooks = professional? Probably unlikely, but something to ponder...

this is similar to a post i put on the moto/g4 article on page one. if u do some hunting on the moto semiconductor site and find the mpc 7457 (the new power-saving g4 at 1.3GHz), it can be clocked down to 1GHz at 1.1V. at first i thought, wow, perfect to speedbump the 12" PB. but maybe they also have a life in the ibooks . . . but then how does apple differentiate the lineups? might essentially look like a 12, 14, 15, 17, all with similar features . . . hmmmmm, interesting.

just update that damn 15" would ya?

[cubist]

The iBooks are not widescreen (and neither is the 12" PB), but the 15" and 17" are.

That being said, if a 15.4" G4 iBook comes out and is reasonably priced, I can see a lot of people buying them...

[ouketii]

if the ibook and powerbook lines matched with the same screen sizes, i think htere would be a little confusion. owever, i can see ibooks with normal screens and powerbooks with all widescreens...

[jbomber]

as long as they put it out soon, i'll be a happy camper. this past week, sans-powerbook, has been one of the longest i can remember....

(rocking back and forth with knees tucked under my chin): Just 2 more weeks, Just 2 more weeks, Just 2 more weeks....

[LimeLite]

Has no one thought about the possibility that these aren't all being released at the same time? Isn't it very possible that they just added the numbers in there for the next revision *and* the revision after that?I mean, we can all hope that there are 4 unique versions, but it's also very possible that there are 2 unique this time around, and there will be 2 more in the future.

[crees!]

Originally posted by cubist
That being said, if a 15.4" G4 iBook comes out and is reasonably priced, I can see a lot of people buying them...

Hands down - I will buy one the second it comes out. No second thoughts on this one.

I want my FIRST Mac damnit.. NOW!

No, really, .... I do have patience.
I'm betting we'll see them during the first couple weeks of July. But that's just me hoping so.

[Lavallster]

Im really nervous about this whole powerbook updates. im going to college in mid-august, and im going to get a laptop before i go: and want the 15" powerbook, but do not want to buy it and then have it become updated a month later. I was hoping it would have been introduced with the new G5 last week, but that was not the case. Do you think they will sell new powerbooks in the beginning of august or is that an unrealistic hope?

[montefuego]

Powerbooks are differentiated from Ibooks the same way powermacs are differentiated from the imac: Extended Desktop.