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15inch PowerBook Problems

Sorry, but what does engineering problems mean? It can't mean what I think it means (can't get DDR Ram, AE, Bluetooth, etc. in there) because they have had it in the 12" PB for 7 months now. Do they not have stable prototype models?

They have had so much time to get this right. I expected Moto to have problems on their end, but I never thought Apple would have problems like this after all this time.
 
Things not looking good

Well, it seems that things aren't looking good for the AlB 15". From processor delays to engineering problems it seems that we might be waiting even longer for this revision. Like everyone else I am waiting for the new powerbooks to be released.

Once again, disappointing news...
 
Originally posted by GrizzlyHippo
Why page 2 Arn? Do you have info contrary to this or think it to be wrong??

Grizzly
Click to expand...

er... sorry, perhaps I should put the reason things are page 2'd regularly.

Basically, PowerPage hasn't been especially accurate lately, and this article doesn't provide any substantial new info.

arn
 
Originally posted by Freg3000
Sorry, but what does engineering problems mean? It can't mean what I think it means (can't get DDR Ram, AE, Bluetooth, etc. in there) because they have had it in the 12" PB for 7 months now. Do they not have stable prototype models?

They have had so much time to get this right. I expected Moto to have problems on their end, but I never thought Apple would have problems like this after all this time.
Click to expand...

If I'm remembering correctly the 17"pb was delayed due to engineering issues also.

But i agree, that this should have been sorted out already since the 12 and 17inch powerbooks have been in production for a while.
 
Maybe the engineering problem is that the 7457 isn't in the socket...

... or there's some erratum that makes it not able to talk to the RAM or something worse (argh).
 
Re: 15inch PowerBook Problems

Originally posted by Macrumors
They also report that the PowerBook 17" as been End-of-Life'd (EOL'd).
Click to expand...

This is what caught my eye. The 17" has been selling well, so (if true) this could mean an update around the corner. Apple wouldn't EOL a model unless they're either killing it off or have a replacement in the pipeline (not just theoretically planned).

So either the PB problems have been ironed out, or whatever is affecting the 15" redo isn't a problem on the 17" and we'll see an update to that sooner.

The "year of the laptop" is moving along rather slowly!
 
maybe the G5 is not going into the 12" and the 17 needs a case mod before accepting the new hardware? This could explain the EOL and the 15" delay.

Far fetched...
 
Re: Re: 15inch PowerBook Problems

Originally posted by bignumbers
This is what caught my eye. The 17" has been selling well, so (if true) this could mean an update around the corner. Apple wouldn't EOL a model unless they're either killing it off or have a replacement in the pipeline (not just theoretically planned).

So either the PB problems have been ironed out, or whatever is affecting the 15" redo isn't a problem on the 17" and we'll see an update to that sooner.

The "year of the laptop" is moving along rather slowly!
Click to expand...

If you read the article, they claim that the current 17" has been EOL'ed with a Rev. B expected shortly.

My question then is, why hasn't the 12" also been EOL'ed?
 
Re: Re: Re: 15inch PowerBook Problems

Originally posted by Lord Bodak
My question then is, why hasn't the 12" also been EOL'ed?
Click to expand...

It's strange, because the 17" was the only PB not included in June's price reduction. They must be selling well if Apple didn't see fit to take the price down; 12" and 15" machines went down in price about $200...

Perhaps it was the 15" that was EOL'd (pretty please)? 😕
 
Sounds like BS to me. They wouldn't invest in the 17" only to EOL it 6 months later, just as the PC competition starts to roll out similar gear. The comment about the 15" doesn't make much sense, either.
 
Originally posted by daveL
Sounds like BS to me. They wouldn't invest in the 17" only to EOL it 6 months later, just as the PC competition starts to roll out similar gear. The comment about the 15" doesn't make much sense, either.
Click to expand...

If you read the article, its not that they are discontinueing the 17inch model they are just eol'd rev a and a revision b will surface.
 
15" Problems

Keep in mind the 12" doesn't have all the features the 17" has or the 15" should have. They may be having engineering issues fitting everything that is already supposed to be in the 15" along with the new technology added.

They've got a lot of things they have to fit on that one logic board. Perhaps the engineering problems are creating a stable logic board that has everything built in.

They have to fit everything they had fit in, plus they have to replace the old airport with the new, fit in bluetooth, and keep it from shorting out. They got the 12" small because they basically made it a glorified ibook. No PC-slot. No bottom ram slot...

Interesting that the 17" is EOL but the 15" and 12" are not.

Jaedreth
 
Can we second/third/fourth source this 17-inch EOL business? Anyone work at CompUSA or an Apple Store care to anonymously comment?
 
I'm not interested in buying a new laptop, i'm happy with my 12'' ibook. But i am getting really frustrated waiting for the new PB's. I like seeing new things come out, even if i wont be buying them. its exciting. I getting really tired of reading the PB rumors. Its a similar deal as the ipod. i waited and waited for that damn thing, reading rumors 100x a day. and when it finally came out, it was like a weight had been lifted. i went out and bought one on the first day possible. then i waited for the next big thing...the g5. ok that came out and i still dont care (Ives dropped the ball IMHO. anyway. now we wait for the PB. I cant begin to understand the pressure you potential PB buyers are going through. Dont dont worry too much. it will be over soon. maybe. i hope so. maybe not.
 
PowerPage, in addition to being inaccurate, has been one of the worst sites (Mac-oriented or not) for the past... year or so.
 
so i take it a rev b 17" would roll at the same time as a 15" alubook? man... i've been in limbo so long. I almost broke down and bought a 17" today after waiting forever for a 15" to surface. Now with news of an impending update to THAT book, I'm torn again.
 
Sad, sad, sad.

Feb. 20 of this year I was all ready to buy a new 15" PB, and my friend said WAIT! THERE WILL BE UPDATES ANY DAY NOW! Actually, he predicted within two weeks... and suggested I start going to Macrumors on a regular basis.

Well, I can't say the tip to check out Macrumors has been unrewarding (I am addicted now), but DANG it has been a long time waiting for this update... and in that entire time, I always thought it was not more than a few weeks-- until now, it is further away than it's ever been!
 
PB 15" Problems

I would take anything these people say with a grain of salt. However, analyzing this closer, the news doesn't look so bad.

1) The PowerBook G4 15" is in Beta. Not alpha. Not pre-alpha.

2) The issues are not significant.

3) Fan noise has been an issue.

Ok, so this means, best case scenario (not worse case):

The only major issue is with fan noise. The fans are running constantly due to greater heat, but not enough to be a technical issue, but Apple knowing its customers, won't be happy with the current level of fan noise. So while they're waiting for Moto to get it in gear, they might as well work on the cooling system more.

If that is the case, that would be good news. And then the 15" may be announced the same time as the updated 12 and 17 inches, but not ship for a month or month and a half later. Big whop. Announce them asap! -- Jaedreth
_____
According to PowerPage sources Apple engineers are still having some problems with some aspects of the new Aluminum PowerBook 15-inch. The issues are not significant but they aren't fixed yet either.

Motorola are trying their best to ramp up production of the PowerPC 7457 processors, but the yields are low, so they don't want to start delivering them quite yet. There are still a few 15-Inch Ti's out there in the channel sitting on shelves too.

The new 15.4-inch screen is really bright, and the nVidia graphics chip is pretty strong. Fan noise has been an issue though. The industrial design is really sharp, it fits right in between the 17 and the 12. It looks so good it will sell it self once the bugs are worked out of the machine.

As previously stated the current 1GHz PB17 is EOL (end of lifed) with revision B expected shortly.
 
What a joke, i thought the 7457s were supposed to REDUCE the need for intensive usage of fans... apparently not. How sad is that, they get a NEW cpu that doesn't even have a yield of 50%, runs hot (or so it seems from this), and is starting to look like it's gunna get used in one revision of powerbooks (hopefully g5 is relatively soon). The thing is only gunna run at like 1-1.3ghz which is essentially what the current g4s run at. So i really can't understand any heat issues. If it was shrinking the die and increasing clockspeed by 500mhz i could understand more. And NVIDIA for display chip? I want the Ati 9600 mobile chip, but i want a 15" powerbook NOW and we know that's not gunna happen 😉 Well this sucks, but it's really nothing we didn't know before, delays, delays, and more delays...
 
Originally posted by JtheLemur
PowerPage, in addition to being inaccurate, has been one of the worst sites (Mac-oriented or not) for the past... year or so.
Click to expand...

What about MacOSRumors (not to be confused with this site, which I love)?

New PowerBooks in late Sept. Possibly early Oct. Blame it on Motorola. And Apple for being a glutton of punishment. Until then, expect to be seeing a ton of these threads.

I'm not getting my hopes up for anything spectacular, so I don't expect to be too disappointed.

Whereas most of you expecting dual G4s and/or G5s, will be.
 
Originally posted by DrGonzo
What a joke, i thought the 7457s were supposed to REDUCE the need for intensive usage of fans... apparently not. How sad is that, they get a NEW cpu that doesn't even have a yield of 50%, runs hot (or so it seems from this), and is starting to look like it's gunna get used in one revision of powerbooks (hopefully g5 is relatively soon). The thing is only gunna run at like 1-1.3ghz which is essentially what the current g4s run at. So i really can't understand any heat issues. If it was shrinking the die and increasing clockspeed by 500mhz i could understand more. And NVIDIA for display chip? I want the Ati 9600 mobile chip, but i want a 15" powerbook NOW and we know that's not gunna happen 😉 Well this sucks, but it's really nothing we didn't know before, delays, delays, and more delays...
Click to expand...

whoa....We don't know that it is a cooling issue yet, so lets not start getting bent out of shape over nothing...

Could be any number of things.... chip supply shortages... motherboard issues... cooling issues.... issues with the new 15.4 inch lcd... various part shortages or problems.....

need i go on?
 
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