PowerBook Updates -- As Early as Next Week?

[MacRumors]

Deciphering Mac rumors is as much an art as it is a science. Unfortunately, clear and direct information is rarely offered. Instead, pieces of information must be collected and interpreted. Over the past week, a number of common themes have intersected from a collection of smaller sites and sources.

This common thread between them appears to predict across the board PowerBook updates as early as next week. With 12", 15" and 17" Powerbook models finally seeing updates. The rumors all seem to point towards a thinner 12" PowerBook and a high end PowerBook with speeds up to 1.33GHz. Reports include backlit keyboards and FW800 throughout. Next week is the earliest date provided, otherwise timeframes are described on the order of weeks.

This information has been spread by MacBidouille, MacOSRumors, Kodawarisan, MacNews.net.tc, a Mailing List posting as well as a number of anonymous reports.

Due the nature of the internet, it is very clear that information is often repeated and spread without crediting the original source. As a result, some of the listed "sources" may simply represent a common source... however, enough seemingly independent sources have echoed the same data to report this information.

[DrGruv1]

make it so...

[edenwaith]

Sorry, but I'm going to have to rate this one as a no-go. Considering that the 15" line is around the 8-9 month marker, it is time to see that model make the Aluminum transition, but Apple might just wait long enough to bring them all up to speed at once.

Personally, I'd like to see the iBooks get a nice boost, even if that meant getting a sub-$1000 iBook with a CD-RW drive.

[maradong]

dunno if i should believe it or not.
thought i m definetly waiting for those powerbooks to be updated

[NicoMan]

Originally posted by DrGruv1
make it so...

Please, please,please....

I bloody need to replace my iBook: watching divx on it is not very convenient. But I could very well see the update next week and me having to find an internet cafe on holiday to check on monday or tuesday... (last november I was on holiday when they updated the 15" and I had to check in a hotel in the Seychelles on what felt like a 14.4k modem: about 2 to 3 minutes per page at best. Talk about being sad...)

Anyway... It's about time we saw an update on the PB line.

[AndrewMT]

Is anyone as unexcited about the revisions in the powerbook line as I am? I have never been impressed with the G4s performance in notebooks. I for one am eagerly awaiting the G5 powerbooks and will not even be tempted by the modest speedbumps coming to the notebook line soon.

Is it possible that we could see a G5 powerbook by the holiday season? Yah, guess not

[markseaton]

All i realy want is the 15" to get the same updates that the 12" and 17" have and the new case i don't need to see any more speed boosts or any new features but i hope they make the glowing keyboard in all the models maybe with better controls for the diming and color, my buddy has a back lit car tac and he can turn a nob and ajust the color a bit from blue to teal and purple i and the brightness i think i would be cool to have a control panel to do this

[nagromme]

No G5s until next year.

But the G4 has always been a strong performer for laptops, and that should continue--especially if new PBooks use the 7457. (Which is probably the delay: Motorola's fault.)

As for timing... I have seen reports of next week, but I bet they are all repeating whatever site said so first. And the details, like lit keyboards and thinner 12", sound even more in doubt.

It would be nice if it happened, though!

[mvc]

noo nooo don't listen to the sirens, what they are singing are sweet sweet nothings to snare you with FALSE HOPE

Actually I heard a rumor that the 15" Powerbook has been discontinued. Steve said: "Well we can't bring it out now, its so freaking late we are just gonna look like a whole bunch of wobbly asses.…"

[Squire]

Originally posted by AndrewMT
Is anyone as unexcited about the revisions in the powerbook line as I am?

I'm not too excited. I don't intend on buying a notebook in the next six months. Although seeing the cool keyboard and a thinner case on the 12" would be neat. Maybe they've decided to make it a real PowerBook this time instead of an aluminum iBook.

I really feel sorry for the people who HAVE been waiting.

Squire

[stefman]

Originally posted by mvc
Actually I heard a rumor that the 15" Powerbook has been discontinued. Steve said: "Well we can't bring it out now, its so freaking late we are just gonna look like a whole bunch of wobbly asses.…"

Yeah! It's getting to a point that it's embarrassing!!

I guess we'll know on Monday or Tuesday and if not I'll buy the current 17" (I'm still trying to convince myself that the size is not too big, so I go everyday to the Apple Store and look at it and lift it to make sure I can live with it).

[AndrewMT]

Originally posted by nagromme

But the G4 has always been a strong performer for laptops, and that should continue--especially if new PBooks use the 7457. (Which is probably the delay: Motorola's fault.)

I was always displeased with how slow everything was on my 550mhz Ti from adobe to macromedia applications. The new powerbooks at the apple store do not seem that much faster. Compared to windoze laptops, Apple's powerbooks are really starting to lag behind. I think Steve Jobs knows this too. Unfortunately, there is nothing he can do about it right now and Apple will be forced to speedbumb the current powerbook line.

Us Apple fans finally have a desktop that will make peecee fans drool with its raw power. Now we need a notebook(s) that can do the same thing.

In addition, I would also like to note that the 12" still only has a 16mb video card which is one reason why I did not purchase the powerbook when it was released. Apple needs a solid graphics processor with abundant memory in each computer they make. It would also be nice, but not necessary, to have 128mb of video memory on the 15" and 17" as a bto option.

[AndrewMT]

Originally posted by stefman
Yeah! It's getting to a point that it's embarrassing!!

It's going to be embarrassing when Apple releases these speedbumped powerbooks. Apple is basically forced to release these modestly updated powerbooks because IBM is not ready to produce the 90nm PPC 970. So these new powerbooks are basically a filler until some time in 2004.

[vrapan]

I would also like to note that the 12" still only has a 16mb video card which is one reason why I did not purchase the powerbook when it was released.

If you are talking about the 12" PB and not the 12" iBook then it does not have only 16MB RAM it has 32 - not the 64 of the 1GHz 15" and the 17" but does have 32MB. The graphics card is relatively underpowered and I would have preffered an ATI solution with 64MB but I am happy with what it has. Given that it does get quite warm I wouldn't want to make it any warmer by a much faster graphics card.

[abdul]

thinner? they are already 2.5cm thick, it would be nice carying something thinner but i think that would be wishful thinking.

the other thing i want to know is how many watss does the current 1ghz g4 produce, cos the g5 only produces ~16watts at 1.4Ghz (i think). would that be too much?

just move the ibook to an altivec enabled chip, i would be happy as i dont have to upgrade the hardware when the next os come out, that would require a chip g4 or above.

[MattG]

This is just getting pathetic. Maybe I *should* just wait until the G5's are in Powerbooks? At this rate it couldn't be too much longer...

[sacrilicious]

You're all haters. I'm really excited and I think this is plausible. Hello, my first Apple machine.

[vrapan]

thinner? they are already 2.5cm thick,

The 12" is a bit thicker but given the heat problems I doubt it is realistic to get much thinner. Actually the form factor of it is just perfect for me. The bigger ones neet to be thin simply because it reduces their overall "bigness" effect. I mean I saw a week ago the new widescreen 17" toshiba that was something like 2 - 2.5" well it looked like a monster. I would hate to imagine the back problems of anyone trying to carry that around a lot. If you compare it with the 17" PB the PB looks very wide but gives the effect of a much more managable size. But the 12" at 1.18" or 3cm looks just right...

[mim]

Originally posted by MattG
This is just getting pathetic. Maybe I *should* just wait until the G5's are in Powerbooks? At this rate it couldn't be too much longer...

Kinda in the same boat. But if the powerbooks are updated soon, it will be atleast another 6 months after that for an G5 introduction to the line - this ties into what we know of the timeframe for lowpower/90nm process 970's as well.

I'm thinking about just going for an iBook - the wait and see what happens next year G5 wise approach. The only real bummer the the lack of altivec.

[CrackedButter]

Other than the release of the PB's i would like some sort of explanation from Apple as to why it took so long. It isn't a rumour so they CAN comment.

[tduality]

Originally posted by mim
Kinda in the same boat. But if the powerbooks are updated soon, it will be atleast another 6 months after that for an G5 introduction to the line - this ties into what we know of the timeframe for lowpower/90nm process 970's as well.

I guess it's rather the announcement not the introduction of PB G5 one could hope for in 6 months. And then the waiting begins again....Don't think we'd be able to hold such a beast in our hands before a years time.

(Edited for spelling)

[LegionCSUF]

Well, as I've said in other threads, this *better* be why my 12" PowerBook order has been delayed from the 12th to the 19th. Kinda interesting how a PowerBook that was supposed to ship in a mere "1 to 3 days" (even my iPod was/is scheduled to take longer) suddenly turned into over a week wait.

A speed boost and a backlit keyboard would be great. Maybe not limiting the 12" to 640MB RAM?? Would be nice.

[marijn]

Originally posted by tduality
I guess it's rather the announcement not the introduction of PB G5 one could hope for in 6 months. And then the waiting begins again....Don't think we'd be able to hold such a beast in our hands before a years time.

'Ergo': we just have to accept there's always a period of six months in which you stay cool with a *brand new* PowerBook.
I can imagine some may complain about this period compared to the period involved with introduction of PC updates.

Fact is, Apple Computers releases updates less often than any other major computercompany.
Nevertheless, big difference is, when Apple releases new products it's always sump'thing good and really a step foreward.

'guess we just have to accept these things get outdated as time goes by. What's really important for me, is that I keep having something which has and keeps its true value and strength...
After all, it's not a shame newer products are being released (that will always continue), it IS a shame when your outdated computer won't run new software because of so called 'innovative company vision'...


After waiting a long time, i'd finally decided to purchase a PowerBook but now i'll wait (even a few weeks, if neccesary) for updates to come...

[tazznb]

I Love Motorola...... NOT!

I'm happy that it is FINALLY SUPPOSED TO BE HAPPENING.

I'm not happy at all with where we are GOING-TO-BE spec-wise, because we should have been there a looooooooooooooooooong time ago, and currently be waiting for something much better PRESENTLY .

So don't get your hopes up too high on the fact that we're being bumped up to be fives paces behind where we should be.

Desktop-wise Apple needs to take Moto off life support; BTW their phones are not that great either .

[DHagan4755]

Hey Arn,

Is your story on this an almalgm of rumor sites and YOUR sources, or strictly rumor sites? The way the story was written, it sounds like you have your own sources that make the rumor sites verifiable?

On Another Note, if you go to MacPrices, you'll see that a lot of people are out of stock, a clear indicator that *something* is coming. Not at any period between February and Creative Pro in July when rumors of new PowerBooks were rampant, did this chart show many (if any) places out of stock on 15" PB's. So I think something is gelling.