Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
15inch PowerBooks Ready?
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
What I got out of that article is-
No old PB sales = No release of new PB
If the article is true, do you really think people are going to buy old powerbooks?
No.
No old PB sales = No release of new PB
If the article is true, do you really think people are going to buy old powerbooks?
No.
Originally posted by mactastic
The whole PB line needs to be updated. The new 15in needs to be faster (1.25Ghz maybe), but then the 17in needs that same chip, otherwise who's gonna drop $3200 on it? The 12in needs an upgrade to 1Ghz now that the top iBook is running at 900Mhz. The 15in will have to sport all the best features of the 17in as well. DDR is a given, as is BT and AE. Firewire 800 should also be included. Lighted keyboard is questionable, maybe a BTO or something if it adds much to the cost. I think we are definetly in for one more round of revisions with G4's before we will see 970's in the notebooks.
The 15"PB's have been rumored and rumored for quite a while now, and it's got to be hurting sales since IMHO that is the "sweet spot" for sales. Not that I'm biased or anything, since I'm writing this from a 15" TiBook
Yes, I agree. The whole line is (almost) due for updates. But the problem is that they're up against a wall with the G4. It's just too hot to put a 1.25GHz chip in a PB. So, if they are going speed bump the PBs, they need to go to a new processor. That would mean that they have three options, none of which seem assured.
First, there's the 7457. The problem with this chip is that we are reasonably assured that they won't be ready until much later this year. (And where Moto is concerned, I always believe that rumors of delays are accurate.)
Second, there is the 970. This seems a reasonable option (ducks as people throw things). It is cooler than the G4 at similar clock speeds, and there are significant rumors that the 970 has become available much sooner than previously expected. Of course, this is entirely up for speculation.
Third, there is the 750GX. This chip we know very little about. Presumably, this is a G3 with altivec support, but we don't know that for sure. We know little, if anything, about when this chip will become available, or if it is already becoming available. So, this is a great unknown.
The only other option is that the PB stays at the same clock speed.
I certainly hope that Apple will WOW us when the new 15" is released. And, the longer we have to wait for this release, the more I think that they will...
My predictions...
I hope the new 15" PowerBook will have the following specs:
- 1.33GHz PPC750GX (Gobi) processor
- 167MHz FSB
- 512MB DDR RAM
- ATI Mobile Radeon 9500
- 15.4" 19:10 TFT screen
- Firewire 800
- Airport Extreme built-in
- Lighted keyboard (of course!)
- New Pioneer DVD-RW & DVD+RW drive
- ?!...
EDIT: Of course, 'PPC750FX' was meant to be 'PPC750GX'.
I hope the new 15" PowerBook will have the following specs:
- 1.33GHz PPC750GX (Gobi) processor
- 167MHz FSB
- 512MB DDR RAM
- ATI Mobile Radeon 9500
- 15.4" 19:10 TFT screen
- Firewire 800
- Airport Extreme built-in
- Lighted keyboard (of course!)
- New Pioneer DVD-RW & DVD+RW drive
- ?!...
EDIT: Of course, 'PPC750FX' was meant to be 'PPC750GX'.
what is so cool about the 1.33GHz PPC750FX (Gobi) processor? if it is a G3 with velocity engine, why is the G3 we know stuck at 900MHz?
Is the 1.33GHz PPC750FX in any way better than the G4 1.33?
wouldn´t velocity engine make the PPC750FX hotter?
anyone?
(has someone out there tried to overclock a rev C PowerBook? I know it´s not worth it, but....)
-------------
667-40- 512 wow sexy stuff.
1330-80-1536.............
Is the 1.33GHz PPC750FX in any way better than the G4 1.33?
wouldn´t velocity engine make the PPC750FX hotter?
anyone?
(has someone out there tried to overclock a rev C PowerBook? I know it´s not worth it, but....)
-------------
667-40- 512 wow sexy stuff.
1330-80-1536.............
I'm betting on a Rev B 12" PowerBook around September. Perhaps we'll see the 12" w/ PPC970 in March or April of next year.
They'll upgrade the 15" to 1.25GHz, and then a month later, the 17" will be upgraded to the 1.25GHz G4 processor while the 12" gets a 1GHz G4.
Either that, or they all get a low-end 970, if Apple wants to disassociate from Motorola badly enough.
Either that, or they all get a low-end 970, if Apple wants to disassociate from Motorola badly enough.
Should be the DDR PB 17 shoehorned into the smaller case...
But looking at some of the things it's hard to tell if it'll show along with a Rev. B of the DDR PB 12 & 17, speed bumps, or just be the lone addition of the 15 inch version.
Of course it could be coming along with the switch to the 7455B or the 7457, but I can't remember what people have been saying about the timing of these.
But looking at some of the things it's hard to tell if it'll show along with a Rev. B of the DDR PB 12 & 17, speed bumps, or just be the lone addition of the 15 inch version.
Of course it could be coming along with the switch to the 7455B or the 7457, but I can't remember what people have been saying about the timing of these.
Re: Educational discount is going on
The East Coast took about 2 months to follow the educational price drops out West. UC Davis and UC Irvine had 15" PBs for $1999 since late Feb-early march. The Harvard Computer Store just dropped the price of the 15" Tibook this week. It was $2479 with AppleCare (the price I bought it at in March). On Monday May 19th it nosedived to $2099 with AppleCare.
The East Coast took about 2 months to follow the educational price drops out West. UC Davis and UC Irvine had 15" PBs for $1999 since late Feb-early march. The Harvard Computer Store just dropped the price of the 15" Tibook this week. It was $2479 with AppleCare (the price I bought it at in March). On Monday May 19th it nosedived to $2099 with AppleCare.
Re: Re: Educational discount is going on
Hi, where did you see the 15" PB for $1999 for UC Davis? I looked everywhere but it was way more than that... thanks.
Hi, where did you see the 15" PB for $1999 for UC Davis? I looked everywhere but it was way more than that... thanks.
Re: Re: Re: Educational discount is going on
Whoa..just checked...its $2649 there (same as the online Apple Store).
Dunno....vaguely recalled the $1999 price at UC-D when I was comparing academic prices a couple of months ago......I guess I could have been wrong as I was looking at a bunch of UC stores.
Whoa..just checked...its $2649 there (same as the online Apple Store).
Dunno....vaguely recalled the $1999 price at UC-D when I was comparing academic prices a couple of months ago......I guess I could have been wrong as I was looking at a bunch of UC stores.
Well, even though it may be true, I think it's a stupid move. the TiBook is OS9 compatible, the Albook 15 probably won't. Without any substantial changes it does not give much pr effect. Finally, I think Apple is so dependant on notebook sales, that they really should be focusing on cracking out a '970 PB as early as humanly, and electronically, possible.
regards.
regards.
So if these new 15-inchers are 970's, then all hail Macwhispers?
And if they're G4's, then ... ?
And if they're G4's, then ... ?
I think the 15-inch PowerBook coming out next week is as much a rumor as the previous rumors. Does Arn really have any new info? Everyone's talking now like it's for real. I'd like to hear what Arn has to say...
It was originally thought to be coming out around the time of the OS 9 booting death that SJ mentioned moving to June 2003 when he announced the new computers and left a bunch of old OS 9 bootable machines in the line-up in the following releases.
But the rumor mongers kept announcing a bunch of pending release dates, excuses, titiliting ear candy, etc. as to why the machines never showed up.