iBooks on Tuesday...

[arn]

After quite a few false starts... MacMinute is reporting that iBooks are due Tuesday.

New iBooks have been rumored for the past few weeks, from various sources. Expected upgrades seem to be relatively small speed bumps.

 

[Ensign Paris]

I just hope this isn't a non-starter, it would be really annoying if they didn't update

Ensign

 

[djniche]

I have been waiting for this... I hope is true
so what are we looking at G4?s with 14" across the line?
redesigned I would hope .. maybe new casing color at least?

what do you guys think?

 

[Mr. Anderson]

MacMinute said the details were not available on what was in store for the upgrade, but they mentioned that it would probably be a speed bump and some new components (graphics card). I would have to agree with that, to see the G4 in the iBook at this point just doesn't make any sense.

D

 

[teabgs]

personally I dont buy it. It sounds too good to be true. There is no info, and no basis for a rumor I've heard many times in the last few months. I want to know where the info came from...and of course there would be a speed bump...

I'll believe it when I see it.

 

[drastik]

G4 iBook

Well, the g$ sould make sense, if the price can be kept down, why not. I would love a faster bus, but whats the odds on that.

 

[johnpaul191]

Originally posted by djniche
I have been waiting for this... I hope is true
so what are we looking at G4?s with 14" across the line?
redesigned I would hope .. maybe new casing color at least?

what do you guys think?

i doubt we'll see a G4.... 99% of ibook users won't really see speed gains from a G4 vs G3, and G3s are a bit cheaper. i hope the 12" screen stays. i plan on buying one later this year, and if i have to i'll find a refurb 12" before i buy a 14". i want portability, and i have a desktop machine at work and home. i can understand them making a 14" model for people that want/need the screen and do not want the expense of a TiBook, but Apple faithful were crying out for a small notebook for years.

as for case redesign, who knows, but i do not see a need. i would think something that drastic would be for a well attented event. colors? who knows. i guess the ibook is the thrifitiest Mac right now (barring the crt imac or the emac). if we were going to see colors again in the lineup, i would think it's the line to start with. there have been rumors of an SE model for the imac and ibook. who knows if that is true. it could have refered to the 14" ibook, who knows.

 

[jelloshotsrule]

the better the ibook gets the more i'll want one without being able to afford/reason it...

i doubt g4 now, but then again... they won't update now and at mwny so i don't know...

let's hope it's a decent boost though... if it goes to 7 or 800. it could create that problem with the tibook being the same mhz and consumer's inability to recognize. of course, the tibook is pro model so pros should know better.

will be interesting to see what steve has up his sleeve.

 

[TyleRomeo]

it does make sense that a new iBook would come out, they've been discontinued in the stores and most places are selling the current ones at a huge discount. Plus apple said that now they release an item once its ready and arent going to wait for a MacWorld to release it. (except the new PMs)

 

[ftaok]

Originally posted by johnpaul191
i doubt we'll see a G4.... 99% of ibook users won't really see speed gains from a G4 vs G3, and G3s are a bit cheaper.

Users of OS X will see gains from the G4. As far as I know, Apple has been pushing Consumers and Pros alike towards OS X. And who's to say that the 750FX G3 (the ones that go to 1Ghz) would be any cheaper than the G4s that they use in the LCD iMac?

My guess is that if iBooks are released on Tuesday (may 21), they'll be 550 and 650 G4s running on a 100mhz bus. They'll sport ATi Radeon Mobility 16MB and 20GB HDs.

Both the 12" and 14" size remains.

550 iBook, DVD-ROM, 256MB --->$1300
650 iBook, Combo, 256MB ---> $1600
650 iBook 14", Combo, 512MB and maybe 30GB HD ---> $1900

All using G4s.

 

[MM2270]

New iBooks

As much as we would all love the iBook to go to G4, I have a feeling we won't see that just yet. It WILL happen of course, at some point, since the iBooks are the only line left with G3's (except for the classic iMac). I disagree that consumers would not get the advantage of a G4 chip in the iBook since OS X is now the default OS on all Macs. G4's just handle X better than G3's, even at the same Mhz.

What would be great is to see a small speed bump, to say... 700 Mhz, but with a G4, and a bump in bus speed. I know it's probably dreaming, but that's what would get me to buy an iBook for sure.

As for case redesign... why?? The current design is a huge hit. I don't see any reason why Apple would change that, at least right now.
And colors?? Not a chance! I think Apple's days of offering colored Macs are long over. I know when the iBook was first intro'ed, there were rumors flyin' arund about color models coming out, since ordering one on the Apple Store would get you to a page that said in the summary "Color: White". Anyone know if that still happens? I haven't looked for that in a long while.

Anyway, should be interesting to see what they'll release. If it does happen (new iBooks), then we'll know for sure that Apple's strategy for releasing new products when they're ready is true!

 

[Backtothemac]

There is no way that we will see the G4 goes across the entire line. The reason... Cost. It is just too expensive to put one of those int he iBook, plus, you are now talking about motherboard design, and many other factors. There could possibly be an iBook SE with a 14.1 inch screen and a G4 550 for say 1800, but then you are going backwards in MHZ in a consumer laptop, and we all know about consumers. Maybe a 600 would fly, but I doubt it. I think that the iBook has been very successful for Apple, and will continue to be, so don't look for radical changes.

 

[ankhman]

G3 or G4

I would hope that apple goes to a G4 in the iBook. Some
of their moves in the last few months (tiBook update and
XServe) somewhat suggest that Apple is getting a
bit bolder.

Lets hope they dump the G3. I personally think (and
have read on other forums) that Mac OS X performance
on the G3 iBooks is poor. Some of latest iApps from Apple
get a real benefit from a G4. Newer versions of the GNU
compiller 3.x and beyond will have Altivec extension
support.

Just me $0.02

 

[katchow]

people are still clamoring about colors? though it still would be kinda nice...i think that idea has been played out (way out)...they really needed to move on...i think multi-colored George Foreman grills probably drove that point home. Its not hard to see that apple has moved their entire line to a clean, elegant, art gallery kind-of-look....which i give kudos to.

did anyone hear the rumor from another forum that they will speed-bump the G3 (to who-knows-what), increase screen res, and go ahead and drop a 32 mb video in it...sounds feesible....

tuesday sounds like a pretty good date for me...they dont want to miss all the education sales coming up...

katchow

 

[OSeXy!]

What about built-in BlueTooth? It would make some sense for it to debut on the iBook...

 

[barkmonster]

I don't see how 550 & 667Mhz G4s couldn't be used.

The argument is the cost issue, Apple would be able to order absolutely loads of them, think about it, A Chip fails at 800Mhz, they knock it down to 667Mhz if it works at that speed, if not, they knock it down to 550Mhz. They could pretty much buy all their laptop chips in 1 huge order, using the lower speed ones in the lesser models while saving a fortune with it being such a high quantity of chips.

I doubt they would release G4 iBooks yet though, but it would make sense for something like that to happen if they did.

I think we'll see a speed bump to maybe 600 & 700Mhz and the graphics will be updated to a lower clocked version of the 32Mb Mobile Radeon so Quartz Extreme will work on these machines but the costs will be lower for them and the performance won't be as high as the radeon chips the TiBooks use.

I'd love to see a consumer G4 portable for about £1,100 including V.A.T. at some stage though, I think it would sell like crazy if they used G4s in some but not all models of the iBook, I don't think we'll see a G4 iBook yet though, maybe January at next years MWSF.

 

[scarbrd]

What's the point?

I don't see how Steve Jobs can get to his goal of 5 million OS X users by the end of the year without going to G4's in just about everything. Combine that with the 32 MB video recommendations of Jaguar (10.2) and I do not see much value in a new notebook of any kind that won't run optimally in the OS that Apple wants us to use.
Anything less than a G4 and improved video would just prolong the need for Apple to promote OS 9 even longer.

 

[Backtothemac]

Re: What's the point?

Originally posted by scarbrd
I don't see how Steve Jobs can get to his goal of 5 million OS X users by the end of the year without going to G4's in just about everything. Combine that with the 32 MB video recommendations of Jaguar (10.2) and I do not see much value in a new notebook of any kind that won't run optimally in the OS that Apple wants us to use.
Anything less than a G4 and improved video would just prolong the need for Apple to promote OS 9 even longer.

I couldn't disagree more. My iBook 600 with 384 ram runs very well. In fact I am very happy with its performance, and from what I hear from people that are developers, and have x.2 say that it is better even without QE being optimized. My G3 iMac runs even better because it has a gig of ram. An iBook runing at 750 or 800 mhz would do very well with X. Don't always believe what you read. Go get a hold of one yourself, and you will see.

 

[Mr. Anderson]

Its been posted elsewhere that IBM has made 1GHz G3s, so why not expect these if they're available? I am. To convert the architecture at this point to a G4 doesn't make sense since you would have to totally redesign the mobo. If its just a small upgrade they'll be staying with the G3.

Besides, it would be very hard to justify the cost for performance vs. the TiPB. They'd loose sales. Won't happen quite just yet. I wouldn't be surprised if we won't see it until the TiPB goes G5.

 

[GeorgeC97]

ok, Don't Belittle the "consumer"

hey everyone -

i would definitely consider myself 'the consumer.' I'm a med student, i don't use any graphic intensive apps at all --- basically I want internet and Microsoft Office and a few other things here and there like watching movies and whatnot.

besides that, the big thing about computers now a days is 'the digital hub' that apple has been promoting. mp3 players and digital cameras are huge (or at least they are really gaining popularity in the general consumer market)....

the major programs in OS X iPhoto and iTunes have been optimized for Altivec.... wouldn't it make sense for apple to have the ibook upgraded to utilize programs such as these?

i'm not sure about this -- but do programs like iphoto and iTunes work a lot better with the G4 compared w/ the G3- or are they still 'less intensive.'

my thought - i was looking at the apple website for the emac and the tibook, and they kept on saying, "you wanted this" -- we gave you that , "you wanted more bla bla bla" -- you got it.
Everyone's been wanting a g4 ibook (mostly everyone) -- I hope they do it

thoughts -- specifically about "THE DIGITAL HUB and the Consumer needs?"

Oh yeah, just a question, is buying a G3 TODAY the equivalent of buying a PII? I remember my roommate bought a PII 4 years ago, and my other friend bought a G3 back then too. just a thought.

 

[djniche]

G4 and colors

As far as the G4 I wouldnt want it to back to 550 mhz g4
it would be just a phycological let down.
I think 633 G4 or 733 G4 would make sense still not matching the powerbook.
I would also expect the powerbook to reach a 1ghz to further itself from the ibook if we see G4. This of course maybe by the end of the year.

I brought up colors in the new ibook - I wasn't thiking lime, and the other colors.. I was thinking more of a metallic (PB like) or futuristic darker look to it.

 

[Rocketman]

Re: What's the point?

Originally posted by scarbrd
I don't see how Steve Jobs can get to his goal of 5 million OS X users by the end of the year without going to G4's in just about everything. Combine that with the 32 MB video recommendations of Jaguar (10.2) and I do not see much value in a new notebook of any kind that won't run optimally in the OS that Apple wants us to use.
Anything less than a G4 and improved video would just prolong the need for Apple to promote OS 9 even longer.

I fully agree with this post.

Apple has a long history of selling "crippleware" at the low end do differentiate the higher end machines and encourage up shoppping. But the consequence of this in the iBooks is planned obsolence from day 1. This is the crown jewel of the education strategy.

I would encourage them to sync the iBook with the eMac so all machines can run the same OS, software and admin tools and all with reasonable speed. The practical speed improvement of the G4 over the G3 is indeed significant and with the lower end G4's not being much more than the G3's now it is making sense for them to be used.

Do I think Apple will do it? No! Of course not. They seem to need a crippleware bottom end product.

The iBook is sweet on OS9 but Apple is 100% OSX as of WWDC. Anything else is planned obsolescence at the time of purchase. Something I thought it was Dell's job to do.

Rocketman

 

[popper]

I do not believe it will hit G4, and I do believe the 12 " might die if the previous rumors of low production is true. If the cost of 12 " is higher than the 14", it would be difiicult to make an intelligent price plan without taking a hit on the 12". Knowing Apple: I don´t think so

On the other side, its interesting to see that the eMac has G4 and that Xserve now is running G4. Apple should be able to get a very nice price on their volumes now. Beside eMac is a educational maschine and the iBook has been targeted against that marked in several speeches from Steve.

I do believe we will see G5 in the powermacs to hit MWNY. Several rumors points in that direction and the decission to put G4 in imacs and the low upgrade of the powermacs earlier this year really nails it. (the current G4 can be delivered in 1.6 Ghz with 2.0 later this year. But the G5 starts at 800-1200Mhz but the 1200 mhz bangs the intel p4 2.0 in spec2000!. And this is just the beginning!)

The chip is supposed to have been in production closed to 4 months now with no new rumors in delay, whitch tells us that yeilds should start to improve.

The big problem with G5, which explains why we would not see it in Xserve and laptops in some times, is it need for power and thus the heating problem. This ting will need a _good_ fan.

I think the most problematic part of G5 is the new chipset; there is a new memory access and some other features that need a lot of work, but even if they cant be delivered on MWNY ; I will bet a good solid dollar that it will be presented.

iBook G4 ? best bet; August 02 or if there is now way to bump the tiBook : MWSF 2003

Powerbook G5? Only God knows.

 

[ryan]

No G4

Regardless of the processor used, Apple has to keep the speed of the iBook below that of the TiPB from a marketing standpoint if nothing else. Yes, there are 1Ghz G3s out there but how would it look to Joe or Jane Customer if they saw an Apple consumer laptop that is 200Mhz faster than their pro line? I would suspect we won’t see a G4 in the iBook until the TiPB hits 1Ghz, so probably sometime in early 2003.

I hope that they never move the entire iBook line to 14” screens since that absolutely kills the portability of the machine. While the iBook is only slightly lighter than the TiPB it, in my experience, is far more portable due to its overall smaller form factor. Before the iBook (Dual USB) came out I was very close to replacing my Pismo with a Dell or IBM since I found my PowerBook just too big and would never take it with me. I still think Apple needs a ~3lb laptop but until then I’ll stick with the iBook line as long as they don’t get any bigger.

 

[blakespot]

I hope we see 100MHz bus on the low end. I am buying one of these units. Selling hardware, arranging finances presently.



blakespot