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Apple PowerBook and iBook Updates - Next Week?

tsk said:
Except you know when the Honda Civic is going to be updated. If it's near the end of the year, you're getting a discount because everyone wants to unload the older cars to make room for the new cars. Here he's (and several others) have expressed frustration because they bought at the tail end of 6 month old systems at full price (which is probably the equivalent of 5 year old cars) and with no warning on updates. I'd be frustrated myself which is why I'm glad I haven't bought one.

Of course, if it's within 10 days you can probably get a cash adjustment, but my guess is the "old" systems won't be discounted all that much.
Click to expand...

OK, what computer manufacturer "warns" the public of upgrades? If they did that, then no one would buy the current inventory. Apple wants to deplete is inventory, so it's not going to "warn" us of coming "refreshes".

A PB G5, given it is such a dramatic leap, and Apple's tendency to build up demand for its new technology, will probably be announced in advance, just as the PM G5's were. The last PB refreshes were done with very little fanfare, except the 15" model (since it was a complete redesign from the TiBook).

So enjoy your computer - if it does what you need it to do, then is the all the hand-wringing and gnashing of teeth that goes on here really worth it?
 
Just got off the phone with a sales rep who was cancelling my order. After I said I wanted to cancel, she came back and said "would you consider keeping it if we offered you a $63 discount?"...kinda weird. Not sure why they would do that, but I'll just throw that out to everyone here - might be trying to push out old stock?

I cancelled anyways...after she said that to me, I told her "no...heard to many viscious rumors circulating that you guys are updating your notebooks soon anyways, sooooo...." She didn't say anything in response, she just said, "Ok sir, I will put in your order cancellation."

The whole time during this purchase, I was wishing that the 12 inch ibook could be bought with a 1 GHz (or even the 933 MHz processor)...I wanted the performance boost, but the size boost!!! I need PORTABLE! I already have a nice, super duper windows desktop :)
 
I tell ya...

:confused:
My patience has worn thin, I have been waiting way too long now for a new powerbook. I hope, but will wait with skepticism, they will finall arrive next week.
then I can kick my wallstreet powerbook to the curb sort of speak...
:rolleyes:
anyone have an idea where i could get info on resale value of the old wallstreet?
perhaps I could just make it a wireless server for various files for my flat-mate and i.
though testiment to apple my 14inch PB wallstreet still can use wireless broadband cards, be a multimedia machine and be better than a few band new pcs out there.
So whatever the price may be for the high end powerbook that comes out next I know I will definately get my milage out of it...
and when and if I order it should I get the apple care?
being a computer savvy person is it a good idea for me or better idea like if My techno-retarded mom bought it?
anyways
thats all the babble for now...
-Bilvox
:eek:



http://www.bilvox.com/blog/index.html
 
DaBuzz said:
OK, what computer manufacturer "warns" the public of upgrades? If they did that, then no one would buy the current inventory. Apple wants to deplete is inventory, so it's not going to "warn" us of coming "refreshes".
Click to expand...

That basically sounds like they want to screw as many people as they can to keep the bottom line. Other companies manage to keep updates coming. You can deplete the inventory afterwards as well selling the old models at lower prices. All industries deal with this.

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.

The main thing is, many people say buy it now, even if it's updated in 2 weeks, you'll love it. I don't think that's necessarily true (and these posts seem to bear this out).
 
i don't even care about speed bumps...

i want a 128 MB ATI 9700 and a 7200 RPM 60 GB hard drive.

please Apple! pretty please!
 
()verBored said:
Just got off the phone with a sales rep who was cancelling my order. After I said I wanted to cancel, she came back and said "would you consider keeping it if we offered you a $63 discount?"...kinda weird. Not sure why they would do that, but I'll just throw that out to everyone here - might be trying to push out old stock?

I cancelled anyways...after she said that to me, I told her "no...heard to many viscious rumors circulating that you guys are updating your notebooks soon anyways, sooooo...." She didn't say anything in response, she just said, "Ok sir, I will put in your order cancellation."

The whole time during this purchase, I was wishing that the 12 inch ibook could be bought with a 1 GHz (or even the 933 MHz processor)...I wanted the performance boost, but the size boost!!! I need PORTABLE! I already have a nice, super duper windows desktop :)
Click to expand...
shouldn't read too much into it. for sure, phone sales reps don't know anything about future releases. perhaps the discount policy is from the top. but i doubt it.

it seems fairly certain that we'll get some sort of updates next week. the question is whether this will be a most G4 upgrade OR something big...
 
dongmin said:
shouldn't read too much into it. for sure, phone sales reps don't know anything about future releases. perhaps the discount policy is from the top. but i doubt it.

it seems fairly certain that we'll get some sort of updates next week. the question is whether this will be a most G4 upgrade OR something big...
Click to expand...


But it's fun to read "into it"!

Whether or not she knows what's going on is irrelevant. I would find it hard to believe that offering discounts is standard practice when a customer wants to cancel. If that's true, then I will try to cancel my next order with apple!!! :rolleyes: Everyone should do it!

And if this is not from the "top" and def not from the phone sales rep herself...then who is it from?

I think they are pushing stock...they probably already had my parts on order from the manufacturer, and now they are thinking, if the buyer cancels, we will have old parts, and have a hard time selling them after a notebook update comes out!
 
DaBuzz said:
OK, what computer manufacturer "warns" the public of upgrades?
Click to expand...
The Wintel guys don't have to. They upgrade their computers pretty much monthly. I know Dell sends me brochures at work every month, and EVERY SINGLE MONTH they have faster processors in their laptops. They're on a hectic schedule of constant upgrades because they have a lot of competition and sell more quantity at lower margins than Apple. With Apple, they upgrade so rarely, it's a very big thing to time your purchase properly. Right now, people buying PBs are paying full price for technology that is 6 months old -- that was mediocre by PC standards even then.

Offtopic: Take a look at this. http://www.sagernotebook.com/pages/notebooks/product.cfm?ProductType=8790. Depressed, I've been researching PC laptops just out of interest. These are originally made by a company called Clevo, you can get them cheaper there I bet. Hopefully, the G5 PB's will have specs along these lines when they finally come out. Crazy powerful.
 
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!! ;)
Click to expand...

Too good to be true. I don't think they would sell a 12" PB G4 for more than year if there was a G5 in the 15" and the 17". They would rather drop the 12" PB and put the features that differentiate the 12" PB from the iBook into those.

Edit: Reading your post for the second time I realised your post can be interpreted as if there will be one G5 15" model as well as one or more G4 15" models. That really dosen't make sense to me. Either they move the 15" to the G5 or they continue using a G4.
 
The 970 FX (G5) at 1.4 ghz actually puts out much less heat and draws about half the power of a 1.4 ghz G4, so it is possible they could go into a laptop. But not at this time. IBM hasn't made enough quantities and they're having problems with some of their related components manufacturers. Apple has committed to Motorola's new generation G4, so we're likely to see this and perhaps one more update in the G4 line. Although this new G4 sucks up twice the wattage than the G5 it does have built in heat sensors and smart technology that monitors how you use the computer and automatically shifts the clock speed to preserve battery life. So it's a decent chip. The real question is what will Apple package with the new PB's? Meaning, how fast is the bus going to be, what kind of video card will they use, will the hard drive be faster and will they use faster ram? If the answer is yes, they can construct an extremely powerful system with the new G4, but don't expect them too. They have a history of releasing ho hum models with modest performance bumps.
 
Nemesis said:
iMac G5 is ready too (it utilises low speed 90nm G5, 1.4-1.8 GHz) but consumer machine will never go for a new processor before Pro machine. Stupid Apple's rule ...

So we'll have an update in PBooks now, and then come the new iMacs ...

And yes, this will be amazing year for Mac users!

;)
Click to expand...

If this is true Apple had better introduce the iMac G5 soon as the new eMac blows the current iMac out of the water. Of course, this could be the answer to question why the eMac got such a big bump. I still stick to my opinion no G5 in neither PBs no nor iMacs for a long time. Thanks for your info anyway. It makes the hole story even more important to follow. :)
 
stockscalper said:
The 970 FX (G5) at 1.4 ghz actually puts out much less heat and draws about half the power of a 1.4 ghz G4, so it is possible they could go into a laptop. But not at this time. IBM hasn't made enough quantities and they're having problems with some of their related components manufacturers. Apple has committed to Motorola's new generation G4, so we're likely to see this and perhaps one more update in the G4 line. Although this new G4 sucks up twice the wattage than the G5 it does have built in heat sensors and smart technology that monitors how you use the computer and automatically shifts the clock speed to preserve battery life. So it's a decent chip. The real question is what will Apple package with the new PB's? Meaning, how fast is the bus going to be, what kind of video card will they use, will the hard drive be faster and will they use faster ram? If the answer is yes, they can construct an extremely powerful system with the new G4, but don't expect them too. They have a history of releasing ho hum models with modest performance bumps.
Click to expand...

I agree with you. It would be interesting how a 970FX at 1.4 GHz compares with the G4 performance wise. I guess some people might be disappointed with the G5's performance. Although a G5 PB would be faster b/c of the faster bus.
 
stockscalper said:
..IBM hasn't made enough quantities and they're having problems with some of their related components manufacturers...
Click to expand...

How accurate is that info? Cause if there's really NO WAY that IBM can ship enough 970 FXs, then we can just forget about the possibility of G5 PBs for now and go back to pre-Nemesis discussions. But if there's a slight chance that IBM might be able to ship large quantities.... :confused:
Anyone got more info on that ?
 
Tomaz said:
How accurate is that info? Cause if there's really NO WAY that IBM can ship enough 970 FXs, then we can just forget about the possibility of G5 PBs for now and go back to pre-Nemesis discussions. But if there's a slight chance that IBM might be able to ship large quantities.... :confused:
Anyone got more info on that ?
Click to expand...

You get your answer right here from MacRumors frontpage:
The 2nd Quarter Financial Conference Call took place today.

In the Question and Answer session, the following information was provided:

- Regarding Best Buy Pilot. It ran its natural course and its performance is undergoing analysis at this time.
- IBM's PowerPC 970 90nm was the sole constrained supply causing the Xserve G5 delays. This supply is expected to ramp up over this quarter.
- HP iPod to start shipments in Summer. Already shipping iTunes on HP computers.
- Some iTunes albums are priced higher than $9.99, but this is due to higher prices charged by record labels.
Click to expand...
 
Unregistered. said:
Offtopic: Take a look at this. http://www.sagernotebook.com/pages/notebooks/product.cfm?ProductType=8790. Depressed, I've been researching PC laptops just out of interest. These are originally made by a company called Clevo, you can get them cheaper there I bet. Hopefully, the G5 PB's will have specs along these lines when they finally come out. Crazy powerful.
Click to expand...

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?!?
 
stockscalper said:
The 970 FX (G5) at 1.4 ghz actually puts out much less heat and draws about half the power of a 1.4 ghz G4, so it is possible they could go into a laptop. But not at this time. IBM hasn't made enough quantities and they're having problems with some of their related components manufacturers. Apple has committed to Motorola's new generation G4, so we're likely to see this and perhaps one more update in the G4 line. Although this new G4 sucks up twice the wattage than the G5 it does have built in heat sensors and smart technology that monitors how you use the computer and automatically shifts the clock speed to preserve battery life.
Click to expand...
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.
 
Nny said:
i don't even care about speed bumps...

i want a 128 MB ATI 9700 and a 7200 RPM 60 GB hard drive.

please Apple! pretty please!
Click to expand...

... and a half hour of battery life? :)

I think a 64 meg card in a laptop is just fine, but 128 would be nice. The hard drive, IMHO, should be 5400. If you want to do hard-core stuff you can always hook up an external firewire drive.
 
pigwin32 said:
Presumably the new PB's will still be somewhat hamstrung by the existing chipset/slow bus speed, and I tend to agree there will be no PB G5's unless Apple manages to poke a G5 into the 17". But right now I think I would upgrade if the 15" screen resolution improved from the existing 1280x854 plus a few hundred extra MHz.

1.5GHz
15.4" 1920x1200 resolution display
Mobility 9700 128MB
1GB RAM standard
8x SuperDrive
etc

I think that would just about do it for me.
Click to expand...

More likely to be 1440*900 and 4*Superdrive, but hey one is allowed to dream....
 
G5 Powerbooks and G5 iMacs in April?

Sounds good to me, Nemesis. Those G5 iMacs should make Don't Hurt Me a very happy man.

Jimsowden, can you confirm Nemesis' statements or give us the specs of these upcoming updates?
 
Oh yeah

...the University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Art, Architecture, and Planning is arming each of its students with individual PowerBook G5 computers....
 
NicoMan said:
Guys check this out:

Apple Education

Read 1st paragraph...

(it's not my discovery it's coming from MacBidouille)

:eek:
Click to expand...

If you click the link it specifically states G4s on Cincinnati's site... sad...
:(

" ...individual PowerBook G4 computers that enable the students to take their education with them on the road."
 
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