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Apple PowerBook and iBook Updates - Next Week?

buying time...

I think Apple is just buying time.

They know if the G5 powerbooks are out, the G4s won't be selling anymore... G5s are still being worked out... almost done I believe, in terms of technical difficulties.

My predictions... new G4 faster chips BUT,
the important thing is that the battery life will be increased hopefully by at least 1.5 hours. (to catch up to pc laptops' centrino hours at least)

faster graphics and the rest won't change much.

oh and SLIMMER form factor for sure!!! THINNER for teh powerbooks is almost 100% going to happen! they are a little bit thicker than need be right now. They can probably cut 1/3 of the thickiness or close to it.

perhaps a different material for the pbs. they did titanium, aluminum...now maybe another alloy that gets the best of the two? light weight and durable? who knows?!

just my thoughts...

in any case, I'd save up for G5 pbs...and be happy with the G4s now. it won't be that much faster I don't think, if it's still a G4.

post more info ppl!!! share your sources!!!
 
Try Cancelling your Order you might get cash back or hardware for free!!!

micvog said:
I just cancelled my eMac order and they offered me a free wireless keyboard and mouse if I kept it. I declined since I prefer the wired variety anyway. I just want a cheap Mac (iBook or eMac) and if the iBook gets updated I will get that instead (come on 1280x1024!).
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I just did try cancelling my eMac order and me to keep the order they offer me $73 off and gave me express shipping instead of ground shipping. I take it. Trying to cancel really does work!!! :)
 
aswitcher said:
MMM. Thats pretty interesting. A sign or is it just snowing allot and the boats and trucks are having trouble getting through :) Ok lets watch the other Apple shops.
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Traffic does not exist at Sweden...
 
I want an apple version of this...

Brother Michael said:
And those L Store Laptops have got nothing on Macs. To date I have seen any laptop that is:

a) more visually appealing to look at than a Mac
b) thinner than a Mac
c) as quiet as a Mac
d) as light as a Mac

Mike
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Visually appealing is to each there own, but here is the current laptop I am using while I am waiting for a more appealing powerbook.

http://www.sharp.co.jp/products/pcmt1/

It is thinner, as quiet, lighter, runs cooler, and is build much better than any powerbook. And this laptop is over 2 years old! Though it doesn't run OSX, but straight hardware, I have never owned a better machine...The battery is the weakest part, lasting only about 2.5 hours of real use, but that is ALL that far behind the 12" powerbook in real life. I wish they were a little easier to get in the states though...
 
Nemesis said:
Not a rumor, this is the latest report that I've got from one very reliable source!
- The 17" model will utilise 1.6 GHz G5 processor!
- Top 15" model will utilise 1.4 GHz G5 processor!
- Other models, plus iBooks, will run on updated G4s ...

17" and 15" PBook case is redesigned to fit new G5.
12" model slightly redesigned too, but won't go for G5 for more than year ...

Yeah!! ;)
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And we have a contender for the Title of ORACLE. Will Jimmy have his newly won belt taken by this new comer. Is this indeed his nemesis ;) Or will Nemesis prove to be a paper tiger, and in less than five days be driven from the boards with redicule and laughter ( :D Ok we're not that nasty).

Fight, 9am PST Monday. Be there!
 
musicpyrite said:
Yes! This must mean G5 powerbooks and dual 3.0 GHz PowerMacs!!........ :rolleyes:
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I have an idea; give iBook an g5 and u, leave the powerbook as it is and the other Powerbook geeks will shut up. :rolleyes:

Or mayby buy an iBook :D
 
I think there is a market for G4 PowerBooks. I've had my 12" 1GHz for 6 months and it is more powerful than our new cheap 'n' cheerful Dell P4 2.4GHz. It does everything you need it to do, espcially with RAM and it's a great computer.

I'm hoping for these updates because my sister is ready to buy an iBook (12") and I don't want her to get a machine that was new in October last year. Plus, my brother will be getting one at the end of the summer, so the sooner this update, the sooner the next. I can see this being a real posssibiliy, along with Power Mac updates next week too (they must have at least 8x Superdrives, as the eMac now does).
 
I think this rumor pretty much guarantees G5 powerbooks next week and G5 iBooks by the end of summer, especially since the dual core G6 will be in desktops by the end of the year at speeds of 3GHz+. I think it also supports the widely held belief that by this time next year, the powerbook will also be sporting a G6 near 4GHz on the high end. Go Apple!
 
ibook_g4_user said:
I have an idea; give iBook an g5 and u, leave the powerbook as it is and the other Powerbook geeks will shut up. :rolleyes:

Or mayby buy an iBook :D
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My personal opinion is that the powerbook should be able to stomp the iBook. It IS supposed to be a professional laptop. I have no hate for the iBook, I even considered getting one over the powerbook, but the fact is I'm a power user and I shouldn't have to be asking myself that. The iBook should not compete with the Powerbook, even though at the moment it is.

I just forsee an interesting civil war between the Powerbook Geeks and the iBook fanboys.
 
johnnyjibbs said:
I think there is a market for G4 PowerBooks. I've had my 12" 1GHz for 6 months and it is more powerful than our new cheap 'n' cheerful Dell P4 2.4GHz. It does everything you need it to do, espcially with RAM and it's a great computer.
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If Nemesis is right then we could see cheaper upgraded G4PBs and hi end 15 and the 17 as G5...

I can see reasons for this based purely on cost if the G5PBs jump significantly in cost...or maybe the G4PBs will drop in price.

What other reasons could there be for still producing a 15" with a G4?
 
dongmin said:
focussing solely on one number is not very useful considering that the two systems have totally different architectures. don't forget the bus, controllers, etc. which could push the G5 architecture to higher heat levels. also there was talk that the 970fx is difficult to cool b/c the heat is concentrated in a much smaller area (90 nm vs. 130 nm). and we don't yet know how the power management systems compare. finally, the low-power version of the 7447 beats out the 970fx in the low 1 ghzs. there are maybe 10-15 pieces of the puzzle and yet all people talk about is one piece.
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But if the chip sucks up half the power as the G4, it's going to put out half the heat of the G4. Who cares how much smaller it is, that's what heat sinks are for.

I'm assuming here that the CPU is the single biggest source of heat. If you have half the heat from the CPU, that ought to give you plenty to work with on the bus and any controller chips. Also, it's not like they'll put the same FSB as the PM or anything.
 
not sure

iAtom said:
I'm pretty sure that it was just a typo.
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twice a typo mistake on 2 different Apple web site (one from US, one from finland)???
I doubt that it is possible, especially that there related to different information (path is different, different topic)
it could be the same mistake that what we had before the announcement of the PMG5
 
wdlove said:
I don't think that it hurts to be optimistic. Hopefully if his prediction doesn't come true, he will be willing to admit that he was wrong.
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He would be stupid to continue to claim he was right :)

Of course I would love to see him proved correct.
 
tsk said:
If people had a clue though, they could make an informed decision. They don't need to keep things so secret IMO. A little bit of knowledge like the next rev PB will come out in spring and feature an updated G4. For many people they can't wait and so would make the leap. Others are just buying now rather than in 2 weeks because they have no clue if it's 2 days or 2 years till the next update. And many people simply won't care, they'll want it now.
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Tell it to Osborne
 
DreaminDirector said:
My personal opinion is that the powerbook should be able to stomp the iBook. It IS supposed to be a professional laptop. I have no hate for the iBook, I even considered getting one over the powerbook, but the fact is I'm a power user and I shouldn't have to be asking myself that. The iBook should not compete with the Powerbook, even though at the moment it is.

I just forsee an interesting civil war between the Powerbook Geeks and the iBook fanboys.
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well I have to say that powerbooks has a better design and thats it :)
An iBook with 640 ram is a better investment than a pb for 256mb
iBooks have better graphics (Radeon 9200) than the 12 pb, better batteritime and the screen are dot-free :)

well pws mayby looks nicer, but with that price; noway
it would be damn stupid to buy a pb at this point.
Mayby I would by an pb, but with a lower price(no more than 2500$ for a 17 inch), and with a g5.
 
DreaminDirector said:
My personal opinion is that the powerbook should be able to stomp the iBook. It IS supposed to be a professional laptop. I have no hate for the iBook, I even considered getting one over the powerbook, but the fact is I'm a power user and I shouldn't have to be asking myself that. The iBook should not compete with the Powerbook, even though at the moment it is.

I just forsee an interesting civil war between the Powerbook Geeks and the iBook fanboys.
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so why didn't you get the iBook in the end? I think the difference between the ibooks and the 15" / 17" pbooks is sufficiently big already and Apple now needs to improve the ibook specs to help it compete with the PC market. The 12" pbook is a different matter though...
 
Anyone wonder what these G5 powerbooks will look like? considering the big leap from g4 to g5 i bet they will do a nice redesign.
 
BruinJohn said:
That is powerful system, but it weighs 10.5 lbs, that's like carrying around a child! I'm glad Apple keeps their notebooks light and tight. All I want is an upgraded 12", is that too much to ask?!?
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Come on, that's nothing like carrying around a child, a child is warm and cuddly and kind of clings to you, plus a child is much more expensive to maintain. ;)
 
Not to hijack the thread, but . . .

Am I only the only one who consistently has trouble with Apple's slot loading drives? There are three reasons I'm not in a hurry to upgrade my PB: 1) it'll be a G4, which means a minor upgrade; 2) I really need a new desktop, and a new G5 would be nice; and 3) those damn slot loading drives.

I know that slot loading drives allow the Mac laptops to be sleeker -- no question that the design is the best out there. But . . .

Am I alone in this? Would anyone else prefer a tray on the new laptops? (probably not, but I'm curious)
 
numediaman said:
Not to hijack the thread, but . . .

Am I only the only one who consistently has trouble with Apple's slot loading drives? There are three reasons I'm not in a hurry to upgrade my PB: 1) it'll be a G4, which means a minor upgrade; 2) I really need a new desktop, and a new G5 would be nice; and 3) those damn slot loading drives.

I know that slot loading drives allow the Mac laptops to be sleeker -- no question that the design is the best out there. But . . .

Am I alone in this? Would anyone else prefer a tray on the new laptops? (probably not, but I'm curious)
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I agree with you totally!

Though I know it will never happen, apple will never go back now that it has slot-loading drives in all their portable lines now, but I much prefer the tray.

Maybe it's because Both on my 12" powerbook & my new iBook i've had discs jam in them or refuse to eject (and no, i don't abuse my CD's or slam them in or put warped CD's in, or scratched CD's) It's always a gamble, once you hit that sweet spot and the drive pulls the disc in on its own, you can only cross your fingers and HOPE it does what it's supposed to!

Or, at least Apple, put some sort of option (like on the old slot-loading iMacs) to insert a paperclip or something to have it eject the disc.
 
Here are a few questions for the technical whiz kids that frequent these forums:

Given that one of the primary selling points of the G5 is its ability to utilize a freakish amount of RAM, what is the upside of having one in a Powerbook, where RAM slots will be limited by space?

Is it that the 64-Bit processor has other insanely great features that normal human beings will notice?

Is it that the top clock speed is higher on the G5?

Is it that whenever Mac OS goes 64-Bit, those of us with G4s will be left in the dust?

And if so, what, specifically, will we be missing out on?

Are there other factors that I'm not considering?

Thanks for enlightening those of us who just don't get it. :D
 
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