Apple Releases New PowerBooks

[Tux Kapono]

No iWork?

Since the iBooks are consumer/life and include iLife, I would think the Powerbooks - business/work would include iWork. It sure works branding-wise - "If it's for work, get the Powerbook" rather than, "If it's for work, determine your needs and then choose between the iBook and Powerbook."

The only reason I see Apple not including it yet, since it's only $79, is because it's not truly iWork until it has a spreadsheet of some sort. How they're going to do the equivalent for Excel what they did with Pages for MS Word has got me totally stumped, but rather excited at the new ground that may be broken.

 

[Zaty]

Nice upgrade, especially the 512 MB RAM and the sudden motion sensor plus a nice price drop.

 

[Diatribe]

so they can get people who really want the optical audio to buy the most expensive powerbook. hah

Hmm, Apple has never really differentiated the 15" from the 17" so i wonder if it might be a size issue...

 

[atlantic]

About Time Apple!

The price drops are nice. AU$300 off on the 15" Superdrive 1.67 GHz. Now $3200 for those with education discounts. I'm heading down to my local Apple Centre sometime this week.

At least I now stand a chance at convincing my parents to buy me a PowerBook. Even though I know these things don't matter, at least the processor clock speeds (1.67) are on-par with mid-range Centrinos (eg. 1.5GHz to 1.8GHz) and the RAM is now up to scratch with PCs (eg. 512 MB)... So is the Hard Drive at 80 GB. And now 8x Superdrive! yay!

Unfortunately the price drop blows on the lowend 15" model. Less than AU$90 off the 15" Combo. But I'm not interested in that one anyway.

But the question I want to ask is why so long for a crappy speed bump and stupid Bluetooth 2.0 that no one will use? The rest were all available as BTO options before, except for the new features on the 17" of course...

 

[darkwing]

I sure love watching all this drooling over Apple's latest round of outdated technology. I'll be keeping my rev C powerbook and be waiting for the second generation of something better. I saw no difference at all going from a 1ghz to a 1.5 ghz, and I doubt I'll see anything else with 1.67. I was hoping maybe we'd see an FSB speed bump, and then I would go for it. Oh well.

Back to pretending my laptop's ass isn't being kicked by the Dothan.

Steven

 

[JonHimself]

Don't forget the ability to use it with the lid closed, with an external monitor and keyboard.... which is what I do about 90 percent of the time. You can't use the iBooks with the lid closed. The PowerBooks also have the PCMCIA slot - and are a much better buy in my opinion.

Is this true? I've only had my iBook for like 3 months or so and was planning on hooking it up my LCD with a BT mouse and KB and keeping it closed... if it is true is there a way around? (Similar to the Screen hack)

PB updates still look nice though, I'm somewhat regretting getting the 14" iBook fully loaded such a short while ago when I could have gotten a nice 12" PB for about the same price...

Hey, also... I'm in the process of converting my friend over to mac because he needs a new computer and I've pretty much got him hooked on getting a PB. Should I tell him to go with these or to wait and see what happens with the G5 or the dual-core freescaling thing? He's not in a hurry (doesn't need it until September) and money is probably not an issue for him. I'm leaning towards telling to wait and see when and how much the big update to the PB is...

 

[maclamb]

Apple Site broken or being upgraded?

I tried to get into the specifications page under support on apple.com yesterday - but it kept timing out or coming back "page contains no data".
I figured they were updating products - looks like I was right (it works fine today).

 

[carebear427]

Backlit Keyboard

What? No backlit keyboard for the 12"??? What's that all about. I'm very surprised about that! How cool it would be to have a BTO for a backlit keyboard, I'd pay $99 extra just to have it!

 

[Bear]

...
But the question I want to ask is why so long for a crappy speed bump and stupid Bluetooth 2.0 that no one will use? The rest were all available as BTO options before, except for the new features on the 17" of course...

Don't forget the shock sensor and the scolling on the touchpad. It may be a while before some people need BT 2.0 for whatever devices they have, but it's nice for Apple to include it before people are clammering for it.

Remember Apple is at the mercy of the processor developers (Freescale in this case) as to when and how much the can increase the speeds on the systems.

Oersinally, I think that with the larger base memory, the larger hardrives and the noticable price drops (especially on the RAM) I feel that Apple did okay with what they had to work with.

 

[Porchland]

Well there is nothing that makes me want to upgrade my 1.33Ghz Powerbook (they even use the same graphics cards as before). Although that new trackpad looks nice, I wonder if you can update the trackpad software on the older powerbooks to support those new features?

I'm guessing not. I noticed when the 4G iPod came out and had the shuffle feature on the same menu level as the playlist that Apple didn't do the same for previous generations. It makes sense from a marketing standpoint, I suppose, but it would still be nice to get things in firmware updates that Apple can actually do. I don't expect the 1.5 GHz to be as fast as the 1.67 GHz, the iPod 20 MB to be as large as the iPod 15 MB, etc., but would it really hurt new sales if I could two-finger scrool on my ancient, 6-month-old 17-inch PowerBook?

 

[ExoticFish]

Now every PowerBook G4 is equipped with Apple's Sudden Motion Sensor to help protect your most valuable asset: your data. The Sudden Motion Sensor senses change in axis position and accelerated movement. In the event of a drop or fall, the Sudden Motion Sensor instantly parks the hard drive heads so they won’t scratch the disks on impact, lessening the risk of damage and improving your chances of retrieving valuable data. When the Sudden Motion Sensor senses your PowerBook is once again level, it unlocks the hard drive heads automatically.

that technology has been shipping with IBM laptops for a little while now. sounds awesome.

 

[rdowns]

Still a little bit too pricey for their performance and features compared to some on the peecee side of things. The 64 video card part is smart as it'll help Tiger along better and 512 base memory deserves a "is Apple finally getting it?!?" comment (answer: probably no). Top model should be $2499 and the lowest one at where the 14" iBook left off IMO. Not bad, but not great. Maybe at WWDC they can drop the dual core G4s in there then we'll really be leaping ahead speed-wise and vs. what the peecee lusers use.

Must you use the term "peecee luser" in every reply of yours? Really puts you in a bad light.

 

[Chaszmyr]

I know a lot of people are disappointed about the processors, but it seems like a really good update to me. Correct me if I'm wrong about any of this:

-More standard RAM in the 12''
-Bigger hard drives
-Bluetooth 2.0
-Trackpad Scrolling ability
-Sudden Motion Sensor
-Upgraded SuperDrive
-Dual link in the 17''
-$100 price drop

 

[propropro]

Does anybody knows if they have higher capacity batteries?

 

[mkwilson68]

Finally!

A great relief. Could have been better of course - at least an X700 graphics chip would've been nice. But as I'm waiting for the X800 desktop card (not available in the uk yet) to buy a 30" display, the ability to drive a 30" display is a big plus.

So I just ordered one - I guess I'll be in line for a rev 2 or 3 PB G5 now.

Ti PB now being laid to rest... it has served me well. Hope this one is as good.

 

[Logik]

I'm glad I bought my PowerBook when I did, right after they came out last April... these updates are really pretty minor. If I had waited for a G5, I'd STILL be waiting!

agreed. i kinda figured the G5 wasn't coming. plus i heard horror stories about revision A systems so i figured i wouldn't buy a G5 or equivalent until at least revision B.

Everyone kept saying G5 powerbook.. not happening guys.. i don't think you'll see it honestly.. at all. at least as you know the G5 in the PM and iMac, you'll get dual core chips probably at MW06 with a completely new system. until then you're probably stuck with what they're offering now until then.

The new trackpad rocks, I honestly hope that the sidetrack guy adds similar functionality to the app. i don't like using the corners so much as i'd like to use the whole pad like this works. if he can emulate the same thing, $15 in his hand. i do like the video ram upgrade, i really wish mine had the 128mb but oh well. i don't do a lot of video related stuff and 64mb outta be enough to handle nearly everything in tiger without much fuss though 128mb would probably run things a bit better. I'm contemplating buying a dual 3.0ghz G5 this year if they come out with it. sometime this fall... heck i run my powerbook in reduced mode 99% of the time i'm using it (even plugged in) so speed isn't a big thing for me and i'm happy with the 1.33ghz model i have here.

not a "bad" upgrade, but could've been better i think, though i was totally expecting this.

 

[yellowdog22]

Still gonna hold on

The upgrades are nice but its not enough to make me sell my 17" 1ghz just yet. Like alot of people I know with and without powerbooks who want a new portable, they are holding on for the big one. Roll on WWDC.

 

[BJU1223]

OMG!!! my NEW powerbook is out of date before it even gets here!!! is on the way to my home as we speak yet is alerady outdated before it got here!!! i ordered when the apple store was out of stock on everything and my est ship time was 2/09 thinking i will get the new one fore sure but apple screw me over and shipped my powerbook out all of a sudden!!! d*mn u apple!!!

 

[mrgreen4242]

WOW

But it really was needed

Why not iLife 05+512MB on the PM and iMac as well

Well, I'm not crazy in thinking that if you buy a new iMac, you will get a free update to '05 in the box. '04 is still pre-installed, but you don't have to pay for '05. I can't confirm this first hand, but call up an Apple store and ask if you really are worried about it.

As for 512mb, well, even the low end PMs only have 256mb of RAM, so I don't expect the iMacs to get more until they do as well. 256 is USABLE, just not ideal. If yo udo anything beyond email, web browsing, word processing, etc, they ya, you will want more, but for SOME people it's enough...

Anyways, back on topic, nothing about the new PBs compell me to buy one. I'm not really in the market for a laptop, unless it's a complete desktop replacement. I can't see using one of these machines as my primary computer. For $2700 for the 17" model, I think I would rather have an iMac and a 12" iBook still. (Could actually get a 20" refurb iMac and a 12" iBook for that price).

Hate to say it, but I think the PB line is still overpriced and underpowered.

Rob

 

[jncrow]

Good to see now I just wish my bank account could handle it.

 

[Zaty]

OMG!!! my NEW powerbook is out of date before it even gets here!!! is on the way to my home as we speak yet is alerady outdated before it got here!!! i ordered when the apple store was out of stock on everything and my est ship time was 2/09 thinking i will get the new one fore sure but apple screw me over and shipped my powerbook out all of a sudden!!! d*mn u apple!!!

Are you sure, your order wasn't upgraded? Because usually Apple doesn't ship old models shortly before and after the release of new models.

 

[vtprinz]

Now that that's out of the way, where are the new PowerMacs

 

[maclamb]

Sidetrack for the trackpad

I've been using this:
http://www.ragingmenace.com/software/sidetrack/index.html
for over a year to give scolling trackpad capbility

 

[Chaszmyr]

OMG!!! my NEW powerbook is out of date before it even gets here!!! is on the way to my home as we speak yet is alerady outdated before it got here!!! i ordered when the apple store was out of stock on everything and my est ship time was 2/09 thinking i will get the new one fore sure but apple screw me over and shipped my powerbook out all of a sudden!!! d*mn u apple!!!

Don't open the box when you receive it, and call Apple telling them you want to return it. I think you will be able to do it without penalty, but at worst you should only have to pay a 10% restocking fee... Which will be partly covered by the fact the new ones have a $100 price drop

 

[BJU1223]

Are you sure, your order wasn't upgraded? Because usually Apple doesn't ship old models shortly before and after the release of new models.

i am not sure ... it should be here in an hour ... but i didn't get any email about upgrade of anything ... i sure hope is upgrade because mine is BTO so i can't return it ... i wonder if is wortha try calling them asking for a discount