Intel iBooks with Front Row?

[MacRumors]

http://www.macrumors.com/images/macrumorsthreadlogo.gif

Appleinsider reports that Apple will be extending Front Row to be included with the iBook this spring.

According to the rumor site, Apple will be upgrading the iBook with a 13" wide-screen display alongside Front Row and the Apple Remote. Much like the recently released Intel iMac and MacBook Pro, the iBook will incorporate a built-in iSight and also come bundled with Photo Booth.

The iBooks are said to retain a similar design as currently shipping iBooks, and will retain Firewire 400 connectors contrary to previous reports. The 13" model is expected to consolidate and replace both the 12" and 14" form factors that are presently shipping. The name of the final product remains up for debate. Previous comments raised speculation that the iBook may adopt the "MacBook" name.

A previous report had placed the release of the iBook in the 2nd calendar quarter of 2006. All recent iBook rumors can be reviewed at http://ibook.macrumors.com

[mcarnes]

I'm buying one. iSight iBook = bargain! Too bad front row won't launch VIDEO_TS files...

[yankeefan24]

I WANT A NEW iBOOK DESIGN. but it might be nice.

[rickvanr]

Sounds reasonable enough. If the price is right they'll be a smash.

[Viewtiful Rich]

I'll be getting my first laptop later this year and those revisions would make it a pretty sweet first purchase.

.... well except the MacBook part.

[dansgil]

Hopefully, they'll use Core-Duo chips rather than the upcoming Core-Solo chips. Also, Apple should put a higher-rez screen and allow extended-video rather than just mirroring.

[hyperpasta]

While I love iSights and want them built in to all Macs/displays over the course of 2006, I think that Apple should have other priorities for the iBook (MacBook). Which would you rather have: an iSight or 128MB of VRAM? Or a SuperDrive standard? or a brighter-higher res screen?

Front Row makes sense, since its so cheap to add.

Don't forget the MagSafe adaptor!

[otter-boy]

Originally Posted by mcarnes

I'm buying one. iSight iBook = bargain! Too bad front row won't launch VIDEO_TS files...

Just use Handbrake to convert it to an .mp4 file. The file will be smaller and still look great, you just won't be able to skip to chapter markers. You can put that file in your "Movies" folder and play it through FrontRow.

[surroundfan]

I've got two friends waiting for the iBook updates - I guess I'll be telling them to wait a while longer. The update sure sounds tasty, and it makes the MBP look a smidge underspecced by comparison (for the price)...

[MacTT]

YES!! I knew it was gonna have an iSight. Wonder what the specs are gonna be though, the most important part.

[Josh396]

I'd love to see a 13 inch widescreen iBook with an iSight built in. Can't wait.

[nagromme]

One "in-between size" makes sense to me--and AI's rumor record has been good lately.

I expect it will be called some kind of MacBook and use Core Solo (it's Apple's entry-level laptop after all). And considering how well the iBook G4 keeps selling at Amazon even while Core Duos have taken over their top-10 best-selling computers list... I think a new Intel iBook-replacement could be the best-selling Mac ever.

iSight would be cool--but would surprise me a little: again, this is the entry-level line. But maybe iSight costs little enough and attracts enough buyer attention to be worth it even so. The Front Row remote surprises me less--it can't add that much cost and the software's already done.

I think it makes sense to cut some features in the VERY bottom model to keep the price low--in fact, it makes sense to me to give it NO VRAM: a lot of users have no real need for that. Just make the machine cheaper when you take the GPU away, and it becomes a nice new option in the lineup. (And yes, there should be some mid-range laptop options too--cheaper than the 15.4" MacBook Pro but still with decent GPUs/VRAM.)

Hopefully there will still be a small high-end (Core Duo) MacBook on the way as well! And of course a larger (17-20") model too. I'm sure more options are coming.

[angelneo]

It sounds pretty lame - Macbook, Macbook Pro. Argh, I just cannot get over the names.

[kcmac]

I like the 12 inch form factor. I also use my laptop for business. Ain't no way I'm buying a white a$$ iBook as it looks today. (The icebook was okay but aluminum is much better).

Hopefully, Apple will either change materials, come up with a slightly smaller powerbook (that would be cool) or have a MacBook and MacBook Pro 12 inch (oops 13 inch).

[GrannySmith_G5]

You would really think NOW would be the time to redesign the look of the ibook. Current look just seems so long in the tooth. ibook is fairly thick as well. Come on Apple make it sleeker and just all around more bodacious, tubular, and radical.

[QCassidy352]

ooh, yes please! Just make sure that the screen is a lot brighter (higher res would be nice but not necessary - the brightness has to improve though!) and I'll be buying one they day they are released!

[Chupa Chupa]

Originally Posted by surroundfan

makes the MBP look a smidge underspecced by comparison (for the price)...

How can you say this when you don't know the full specs. Say the MacBook (ex iBook) sells for $1199 but has a single core chip, lower rez screen, slower bus, and no ExpressCard slot. We'll what you have then is the same feature disparity you had between the iBook and the Powerbook, and a similar price difference as well.

[skullsplitter]

Hopefully it wont have a dual core processor, only 64mb vram, w/ 512 ram, 13.3 widescreen, superdrive allowing it to be still a fantastic machine but a clear cut down from the macbook pro. I will be surprised if it isnt, however expect the possibility of a pro version aswell in silver with the specs youl hoping for. That will be a very nice book.

[Laser47]

I think the new iBook ... eh Macbook will have a duo processor. After all the imac has one. Doesnt anyone remember when the ibook was suppost to be a 'Portable iMac'. And IMHO there will not be an ibook with another color other than white.

[bit density]

1.67 GHZ G4!! With replacement to core duo, once price comes down and merom is out and in macbook pro. And put a frickin' superdrive in... That and 13 inch wide screen, and the isight, and you have a pretty darn nice ~1200 machine.

Rosetta will absolutely blow with a single core. A core solo, will mean that I don't upgrade this cycle. A faster g4 and I can move my current ibook down the food chain.

[Chaszmyr]

The new iBook (MacBook) will almost certainly have a Core Solo processor, otherwise it will cannibalize MacBook Pro sales. Furthermore, the recent article which I believe was in Forbes about how much Apple is paying for the Core Duo implies that it is a very expensive chip (Probably more than twice as much as the G4 in the iBook), and putting it in an iBook would cut profit margins dramatically.

[Xephian]

Nice to see Apple's entire line of notebooks with iSight's.

[nagromme]

Originally Posted by Laser47

I think the new iBook ... eh Macbook will have a duo processor. After all the imac has one. Doesnt anyone remember when the ibook was suppost to be a 'Portable iMac'.

That's not a literal rule: the iBook can (and does) have specs that are different from the iMac: like having a smaller screen, and having a G4 instead of a G5.

Unlike the iMac (a mid-range desktop), the iBook is an entry-level Mac (like the Mac Mini is). Entry-level means there's really no such thing as specs too low... AS LONG AS the price is low to match the specs. Core Duo would raise the minimum cost of owning an Apple portable, and that's probably not a good idea if Core Solo is also a great chip--and cheaper.

Originally Posted by bit density

1.67 GHZ G4!! With replacement to core duo, once price comes down and merom is out and in macbook pro. And put a frickin' superdrive in... That and 13 inch wide screen, and the isight, and you have a pretty darn nice ~1200 machine.

Rosetta will absolutely blow with a single core. A core solo, will mean that I don't upgrade this cycle. A faster g4 and I can move my current ibook down the food chain.

I don't think enough Rosetta Core Solo tests have come out to judge yet But waiting until the transition to Intel is more firmly complete does have advantages, if you're not in the market for a machine sooner.

Also, one core is MORE than half the speed of two (and sometimes just as fast--depending on usage) so a Core Solo is not a slow chip by any means. Core Solo is faster than the Pentium M, which already fares pretty well against even desktop processors (and against the G4).

[Natron]

I would be surprised to see an iSight and Front Row (more surprised to see an iSight).

And I still think having MacBook and MacBook Pro could provide for some consumer confusion, but I guess it kinda makes sense.

[Danksi]

Originally Posted by skullsplitter

Hopefully it wont have a dual core processor, only 64mb vram, w/ 512 ram, 13.3 widescreen, superdrive allowing it to be still a fantastic machine but a clear cut down from the macbook pro...

I hope this'll be the spec used, as the current spec seems to be getting old for the price. A built in iSight would be nice.

Off-tangent a little - is there a chance that iSight models would be banned in some places?

I've been in a number of places that force you to leave camera phones at the front desk, slightly smaller than an iBook, but same principle/risk. Perhaps a risk for MacBook Pro users, rather than the target audience of the iBook, although Schools have also banned camera devices in the past, due to mis-use.