New iBooks Next Tuesday?

[finalcoolman]

I sure as hell think so. Why? Lets see here when I went to BestBuy all they had of the 12" iBook which is the size I want was a demo model. And when the clerk checked stock he said none of the other Best Buys in my province had any (demos excluded). So I think that a new revision is coming to fill up the empty holes. This is besides the fact that the iBook is overdue for an update according to the buyers guide. Plus it makes sense, one week release new PowerMacs along with Tiger, next week release new iMacs and eMacs and then the next week hopefully release new iBooks and... iTunes 4.8? And after seeing the specs on the new iMac I'm pretty confident these will be the new base specs on the new iBooks:

1.33Ghz G4 (1.5Ghz on the 14")
512MB DDR RAM
40GB hard drive up from amenic 30 on the 12"
64MB of VRAM
802.11G as is now
Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR
OS X Tiger

Now all I have to hope is that this will come next week cause I can't wait no more!

 

[macbaseball]

I doubt it. They probably want to save something for WWDC. You never know though. It could happen.

 

[audiovox]

*crosses fingers*

Seriously though, I think these specs will be unlikely, even if the updates are soon, cos that will mean the iBook will be crossing over into PB territory, which would be the last thing Apple would want to do.

Still hoping, though Looking to get an iBook soon.

 

[admanimal]

There's no chance. The current models still are shipping same day. Apple always delays the shipping times a week or so in advance of an update, so that an old model doesn't show up on someone's doorstep after a new one has already been released, at which point the person could just ship it on back and get the new one. They also wouldn't have gone through the pain of preinstalling Tiger on all of the current models if they were just going to release new ones next week.

Just buy a current iBook. They are already great and wouldn't be getting that big of an update anyway.

 

[buryyourbrideau]

HAHAHA NO


buy one now. they are fine

 

[zasjoh]

Here's to hope.
Earlier in the week I gave up waiting, but somehow seeing the new i/eMacs gave me some renewed faith.
I can't say the same for my friend, who ordered his on Monday.

I know that I don't need any better specs than are on the current iBook, but it seems worth it to hold out for the standard 512 ram (i think this is fairly certain) and some manner of improved graphics (less likely, but worth waiting for, in my opinion)

I'll give it another two weeks. If it's not announced, and no new "insider" rumours come out in that time, then I'll just go for it. After all, I can't wait forever.

 

[BKKloppenborg]

1.33Ghz G4 (1.5Ghz on the 14")
512MB DDR RAM
40GB hard drive up from amenic 30 on the 12"
64MB of VRAM
802.11G as is now
Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR
OS X Tiger

Now all I have to hope is that this will come next week cause I can't wait no more!

Damn i hope so then i would buy a ibook so damn fast their heads would be spinning lol... That is the only reason i wanted a Powerbook compared to a ibook was because of 64mb Video Ram and little faster Proccesor.. I wanted at least a 1.5 ghz one with 64mb Video if they don't update them soon or like this then it looks like Save up Pennys off the street and get a Powerbook..

P.S. i am waiting anyways to save monney so i will be getting one in T MINUS 28 days and counting damn can't wait!

 

[finalcoolman]

HAHAHA NO


buy one now. they are fine

No there not. 32MB VRAM is not fine, it is a waste of money. That will be so outdated within a year. I will NOT buy a computer with 32MB of VRAM.

 

[buryyourbrideau]

No there not. 32MB VRAM is not fine, it is a waste of money. That will be so outdated within a year. I will NOT buy a computer with 32MB of VRAM.

let me remind you of the apple line.

i = cheaper, economy line products (ibook)

Power = nicer, more expensive, gets more s*** done

if you need more than 32 then buy a damn PB

 

[ZildjianKX]

let me remind you of the apple line.

i = cheaper, economy line products (ibook)

Power = nicer, more expensive, gets more s*** done

if you need more than 32 then buy a damn PB

When is the PowerPod coming out then? Also waiting on PowerLife

J/K

 

[admanimal]

No there not. 32MB VRAM is not fine, it is a waste of money. That will be so outdated within a year. I will NOT buy a computer with 32MB of VRAM.

The only down side to not waiting for the upgraded video card is that you won't have CoreImage support. I'm not sure what the implications of that will be in the future, but right now the only thing I can think of is that you don't get the ripple effect in dashboard. Big whoop. And as for games, 64MB isn't going to do much for you anyway, and the iBook in general isn't powerful enough for most modern games.

So, the current iBooks are in fact very nice computers. They may not support all of the graphics effects that we might see in the future with CoreImage, but I have one that I bought last november, and it works perfectly for everything I use it for, and I expect to continue using it for many years.

 

[e²Studios]

The only down side to not waiting for the upgraded video card is that you won't have CoreImage support. I'm not sure what the implications of that will be in the future, but right now the only thing I can think of is that you don't get the ripple effect in dashboard. Big whoop. And as for games, 64MB isn't going to do much for you anyway, and the iBook in general isn't powerful enough for most modern games.

So, the current iBooks are in fact very nice computers. They may not support all of the graphics effects that we might see in the future with CoreImage, but I have one that I bought last november, and it works perfectly for everything I use it for, and I expect to continue using it for many years.

I have a iBook G3 900, when i bought mine the G4 800 had just been released and i was able to get a really sweet deal on it from my then local apple store. My friend has a G4 800 and tbh i dont see a difference in performance at all. The only advantage i saw was that i had a Airport card and he had a Airport Express card, but unless we were transferring files even that was negligable. I use my iBook for writing word docs, browsing the internet, IM, and basically to beat boredom during really bad lectures. I have Sim City 4 installed on it, and although it does lag a bit, it in general runs really smooth just as my instance of VPC 6.1.1 running Windows 2000 when it used to work (damn MS for not having a tiger patch) runs pretty damn good too The only real upgrade i put in to it was to max out the ram at 640mb, Overall im happy with my iBook, it has the same video card that was in the G4 800 model Radeon something or other with 32mb of ram, and it serves it purpose just fine As far as ripple effects go it would take me a lot more than one really tiny detail to get me to upgrade my hardware, Tiger runs faster on my iBook than it did with Panther and it kinda gave me a feeling of having a faster machine I have done some minor PS stuff on the iBook after i took photos or whatever you have it, while its not a speed demon it will do the job I love my iBook and I am happy that i purchased it, for what i do with it i am sure it will serve my purposes for a while to come

 

[finalcoolman]

Once again, if you purchased that computer in November thats fine. When you brought your iBook it was a fresh update. Buying it now would be a stale purchase. It will be like buying the upcoming revision in December 05. It will be stale too in that time and a lousy purchase. Remember, time=money. Because the thing is I wont pay the same amount of money that you paid in November 04 for the same computer in May 05 when an update is immenent. That's years in the computer world. And damn, I feel like people here are undercover salesmen just buy now, buy now and forget about getting the most value for your money. Buy now was what people were saying about the iMac last week and look what happened.

 

[BKKloppenborg]

Once again, if you purchased that computer in November thats fine. When you brought your iBook it was a fresh update. Buying it now would be a stale purchase. It will be like buying the upcoming revision in December 05. It will be stale to in that time. But I wont pay the same amount of money that you paid in November 04 for the same computer May 05 when un update is immenent. That's years in the computer world. ANd damn, I feel like people here are undercover salesmen just buy now, buy now and forget about getting the most value for your money. That's what people were saying about the iMac last wek and look what happened.

wait 2005 for ibook?!!! To update it? ****** i just will buy the Powerbook then...

 

[finalcoolman]

Wait what in 2005? All I'm saying is that buying an Apple near the end of its cycle is a bad idea. Just like the upcoming revision I'm waiting for, although a very good value when it comes out, if you buy it 6 months after it comes out it would be a bad deal because the price is the SAME.

 

[e²Studios]

Once again, if you purchased that computer in November thats fine. When you brought your iBook it was a fresh update. Buying it now would be a stale purchase. It will be like buying the upcoming revision in December 05. It will be stale too in that time and a lousy purchase. Remember, time=money. Because the thing is I wont pay the same amount of money that you paid in November 04 for the same computer in May 05 when an update is immenent. That's years in the computer world. And damn, I feel like people here are undercover salesmen just buy now, buy now and forget about getting the most value for your money. Buy now was what people were saying about the iMac last week and look what happened.

It sounds like youre comparing the PC market to the Mac market, PC's tend to outdate themselves rather fast and become worthless in a year or even less time. Mac's on the other hand usually have staying power and over time have less of a depreciation value than your common PC would. Hell my G3 500 iMac runs OS X fine for basic tasks, but i guarentee its worth more than a PC in the same generation, Macs tend to have a longer lifespan hence they also have a lower depreciation rate than a PC would. Would i pay the smae now as i did in November, probably not, but tbh if you looked around they arent selling for much less right now, Mac's hold their value failry well and thats another selling point if you may for them.

So as for value for your money any Mac will have that, as far as waiting, sure if you want to wait till possibly the end of summer then wait it out, but if you bought a current revision one you wouldnt be dead in the water. In PC land it may make more sense to wait since M$ tends to alienate users with older hardware, but the current revision iBooks are great value for the money, and they will hold their value and usability even with the possibility of a upcoming revisions OS or otherwise. Apple in my opinion does a better job of supporting their harware be it a new revision or a older revision on OS/application releases, i think the fact that a iMac G3 can still run OS X is proof positive of that.

Ed

 

[jonomo]

HAHAHA NO


buy one now. they are fine

All the people who are telling you to buy it now are the folks who feel a bit duped cause they bought their stuff right before an update

Wait dood, an update is coming soon! and it'll be worth it. I waited for my powerbook, and its WAY better than the 1.33... now i'm waiting for a ibook for my g/f...

be patient my friend!

 

[admanimal]

All the people who are telling you to buy it now are the folks who feel a bit duped cause they bought their stuff right before an update

Um, no. I got my first Mac, an iBook, last november right after they updated them (that was just lucky). Recently I was aware that they were going to update the iMacs, so I waited and ordered a new one last week.

The reason I am telling him to just buy now is that there is no good indication as to when the iBooks will be updated, and I can tell you from experience waiting for the iMac updates that waiting gets old after a while. I stuck it out with the iMacs because I had heard of the common problems people were having with the original model, and thought it was worth it to wait. The current iBooks have already been revised several times and don't really have any common problems that I am aware of, so all he is waiting indefinitely for is a marginally better computer that may not do anything more for him than the current model.

 

[CubaTBird]

ive had my ibook for about year almost and it doesn't feel slow or outdated... it runs tiger just fine.. faster than some emacs i have been on runing jaguar for that matter.

 

[aswitcher]

I dont think they will hold onto the ibook for WWDC if they have a new rev. Its a consumer not a pro machine. Best to get it out and keep the Mac hype started by Tiger and continued by the new iMacs rolling.

 

[Cougarcat]

The current iBooks make the Powerbooks look like a very poor deal. Any new iBook bump (which should have a 64 MB graphics card like the new iMac) will make the powerbooks look even worse, as the PB's graphics card is one of the biggest distinctions between the product lines.

So...what about new Powebooks + iBooks w/ new cases at WWDC? Wishful thinking, I know, but steve has to announce SOMETHING hardware-related, and all the desktops have been upgraded. Plus announcing only new iBooks would look weird since they are consumer machines...

Bah. I just want a new PB before college...pretty please, Apple?

 

[MacSA]

The only down side to not waiting for the upgraded video card is that you won't have CoreImage support. I'm not sure what the implications of that will be in the future, but right now the only thing I can think of is that you don't get the ripple effect in dashboard. Big whoop.

Core Image is about more than that damn "Ripple Effect"....its an integral part of Tiger. Applications that take advantage of it are already appearing - GraphicConvertor for example. I think it's going to be an important part of Tigers future an no way would I buy a Mac that doesnt take FULL advantage of it.

 

[TheMdude]

The current iBooks make the Powerbooks look like a very poor deal. Any new iBook bump (which should have a 64 MB graphics card like the new iMac) will make the powerbooks look even worse, as the PB's graphics card is one of the biggest distinctions between the product lines.

So...what about new Powebooks + iBooks w/ new cases at WWDC? Wishful thinking, I know, but steve has to announce SOMETHING hardware-related, and all the desktops have been upgraded. Plus announcing only new iBooks would look weird since they are consumer machines...

Bah. I just want a new PB before college...pretty please, Apple?

I fully agree. Even though the iBook is way overdue for an update, they can't really do much w/ out making the PowerBooks better. $500 more for an aluminum case is not attractive. I'm betting (and hoping, really really really hoping) they will update both of them at WWDC. Most everything else has been updated, and the PowerBook will be at about 135 days by then.

What I really want is a PowerBook w/ the 7448 or MPC8641 proc...even w/ a speed bump, a 167 MHz fsb is just disgraceful. C'mon Apple! Crank that bitch out before college!!!

 

[ldburroughs]

All the people who are telling you to buy it now are the folks who feel a bit duped cause they bought their stuff right before an update

Wait dood, an update is coming soon! and it'll be worth it. I waited for my powerbook, and its WAY better than the 1.33... now i'm waiting for a ibook for my g/f...

be patient my friend!

Did you mean dude? I kind of like dood though.

 

[ldburroughs]

This whole debate always gets old quickly. PowerBook users are always quick to start in on the pro v. consumer machine distinction and typically state ... they wouldn't possibly update the iBooks without doing something with the PowerBook line first. It just couldn't happen. While it is true from a buisness perspective that it wouldn't make much sense to do something like this, I tend to detect a hint of jealousy from PowerBook users who don't want their machines to be surpassed by the little white iBooks. It's almost an internal superiority complex. Who freakin' cares? These are laptops. Either line could use an update. Both are stale machines in terms of performance. I, personally, did not buy my machine because it was cutting edge. If I wanted cutting edge, I'd have to buy a Windows machine. I bought it because I wanted to use OS X and I enjoyed the quality of design. I'm very happy with my system. I can't say I EVER felt this way about any of my Windows based laptops, even when they were cutting edge in the PC world. Macs are generally systems that people hang onto for longer than usual because they are efficient, well designed little machines.

I hope they update the iBook just to fix the video issue. Other than that, I hope they keep the design for at least another version. It fits in well with the iPod line and just looks good. The PowerBooks look too common now. Every other computer maker uses the brushed aluminum look in some fashion. Either way, they are both great systems.