I guess the more I think about it the more I'm not surprised. By switching to Intel, Apple is in a funk for awhile as far as updates go. The mobile line will not see much until the Intel processors get out there for Apple mobile units. The powerbook, if it sees an update, will likely have one similar to the iBooks horrible update today. Apple is stuck right now and there is nothing we can do about it. I guess if you are a die-hard Apple fan then get the update and be happy. For me, my work prefers I work with PC anyways so I'm just gonna go that route for awhile... but when the Intel machines come out, Apple here I come!!!
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Apple Releases New iBooks
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Good enough for me, I've switched
eyeTV for Digital Terrestrial TV £84.25
iWork '05 £41.70
iBook 12 1.33GHz £594.89
Tucano Second Skin red for iBook 12" £15.28
Total: £736.12
Shipping Cost: 0.00
Discount: 0.00
VAT @ 17.50%: £128.82
Order Total: £864.94
I've been hanging on for a month to get an iBook, and this means I don't have to get a 1GB DIMM immediately to fix the anæmic 256MB of the previous version. I like the idea of being able to watch Freeview on the move, at work, at home, anywhere, hence I got the eyeTV (I'd need a new aerial at home to receive Freeview, this comes with one, so it costs less than a Freeview box + Aerial, and also gives me recording facilities).
The Radeon 9550 looks reasonably good for a laptop, you can even play reasonably modern games on it at a decent resolution. I'll be hitting Macgamefiles next week! 32MB is meh, 1024x768x32 is 3MB of memory, so enough for desktop use. Better than 64MB 9200 or 64MB FX5200 in my opinion.
And 12", nice and portable.
eyeTV for Digital Terrestrial TV £84.25
iWork '05 £41.70
iBook 12 1.33GHz £594.89
Tucano Second Skin red for iBook 12" £15.28
Total: £736.12
Shipping Cost: 0.00
Discount: 0.00
VAT @ 17.50%: £128.82
Order Total: £864.94
I've been hanging on for a month to get an iBook, and this means I don't have to get a 1GB DIMM immediately to fix the anæmic 256MB of the previous version. I like the idea of being able to watch Freeview on the move, at work, at home, anywhere, hence I got the eyeTV (I'd need a new aerial at home to receive Freeview, this comes with one, so it costs less than a Freeview box + Aerial, and also gives me recording facilities).
The Radeon 9550 looks reasonably good for a laptop, you can even play reasonably modern games on it at a decent resolution. I'll be hitting Macgamefiles next week! 32MB is meh, 1024x768x32 is 3MB of memory, so enough for desktop use. Better than 64MB 9200 or 64MB FX5200 in my opinion.
And 12", nice and portable.
I didn't think we'd see updates until after the student iPod deal was over...
Maybe I'm just dreaming, and maybe it won't be much of an upgrade, but anyone think we may see a powerbook update soon now? based on the buyers guide...
Maybe I'm just dreaming, and maybe it won't be much of an upgrade, but anyone think we may see a powerbook update soon now? based on the buyers guide...
Apple may have succeeded in upgrading their iBook line without undercutting their PowerBook line. All I know is that I am glad I bought my PowerBook 6 months ago and I am pissed that Apple didn't include 512 MB of built-in RAM on the 12 inch PowerBook... 
Nonchalant
Well, I wanted to be a switcher so badly, and now I finally am. This will be my first mac.
I'm not overly estatic though, I've been reading these 'next Tuesday' threads for ages and I was certain the vram would be doubled with this upgrade. Especially after nine damn months! I was also hoping for a superdrive option on the 12 inch model. Couldn't see spending an extra $235 just for .10 Mhz, a superdrive, and a heavier screen at the same resolution.
It's not all bad though I'm a government employee so I was able to jump to 60 gigs on the 12" for $987... still less than the base model
The only really serious downside to all of this is I have to spend the difference anyway on rehab, now that I'm addicted to 'next Tuesday' threads.
Well, I wanted to be a switcher so badly, and now I finally am. This will be my first mac.
I'm not overly estatic though, I've been reading these 'next Tuesday' threads for ages and I was certain the vram would be doubled with this upgrade. Especially after nine damn months! I was also hoping for a superdrive option on the 12 inch model. Couldn't see spending an extra $235 just for .10 Mhz, a superdrive, and a heavier screen at the same resolution.
It's not all bad though
I'm a government employee so I was able to jump to 60 gigs on the 12" for $987... still less than the base model The only really serious downside to all of this is I have to spend the difference anyway on rehab, now that I'm addicted to 'next Tuesday' threads.
stop whining, j00 bastruds!
I for myself think this upgrade was fine. If I had ordered iBook last month as I first intended but realized that it's old model and due for a upgrade I'd had wasted money. Now I get all I had thought BTO as a standard, plus I can up ram to 768 with couple of euros. 256 sticks cost nothing when compared to 512!
Come on people, now iBooks have all the major PB featurettes:
- Sudden motion sensor
- Scrollpad
- BT 2.0
- 512 RAM standard
And all of those built in...
I for myself think this upgrade was fine. If I had ordered iBook last month as I first intended but realized that it's old model and due for a upgrade I'd had wasted money. Now I get all I had thought BTO as a standard, plus I can up ram to 768 with couple of euros. 256 sticks cost nothing when compared to 512!
Come on people, now iBooks have all the major PB featurettes:
- Sudden motion sensor
- Scrollpad
- BT 2.0
- 512 RAM standard
And all of those built in...
It's not the kind of update I was expecting (curse the widescreen rumors ) but it's still a nice one nontheless. They've bumped up the speed a bit, included some more memory, increased the hard disk space and added Bluetooth support. Not too shabby. I don't mind the 4200 RPM HDD all that much. If anything, it helps conserve battery life, which is already a lot better on the iBook than on most PC laptops.
BTW, don't let the numbers fool you; the 9550 is more closer performance-wise to the 9200 than it is to the 9600. Not that it would matter all that much, seeing as how the iBook isn't meant for gaming anyhow.
On an even better note, Amazon is now selling the previous gen 12" iBooks for $999.99 with a $100 mail-in rebate. They don't charge tax for some states and offer free shipping to boot!
) but it's still a nice one nontheless. They've bumped up the speed a bit, included some more memory, increased the hard disk space and added Bluetooth support. Not too shabby. I don't mind the 4200 RPM HDD all that much. If anything, it helps conserve battery life, which is already a lot better on the iBook than on most PC laptops.BTW, don't let the numbers fool you; the 9550 is more closer performance-wise to the 9200 than it is to the 9600. Not that it would matter all that much, seeing as how the iBook isn't meant for gaming anyhow.
On an even better note, Amazon is now selling the previous gen 12" iBooks for $999.99 with a $100 mail-in rebate. They don't charge tax for some states and offer free shipping to boot!
After reading more comments and taking this in more. Is this a disappointement? Yeah, sort of.
My take:
Negatives:
32MB Video!!!!!!!!!
No 5400 RPM drive or option for it
Positives
512MB soldered RAM! Cool!
BT Standard
The update is about what I expected with the exception of the VRAM slap in the face. The speeds are fine. I hoped for a better bus speed, didn't expect it, but hoped. I could care less about the widescreen. If it had been there I might have thought about it...This just made my decision easy->12".
My take:
Negatives:
32MB Video!!!!!!!!!
No 5400 RPM drive or option for it
Positives
512MB soldered RAM! Cool!
BT Standard
The update is about what I expected with the exception of the VRAM slap in the face. The speeds are fine. I hoped for a better bus speed, didn't expect it, but hoped. I could care less about the widescreen. If it had been there I might have thought about it...This just made my decision easy->12".
Good enough for me
I have had an iBook on order since last week. Just an hour ago I received an email informing me that my order had been upgraded. The same stuff that I ordered (60 gig HD, 768 ram, etc) is all there and the price dropped due to the upgrade of the iBook. Instead of paying 1151 for the system, the price is now 1061 for the same bto options plus the faster processor, bluetooth, motion sensor, scrolling trackpad, new video card, etc. So in my case it is great! I pay less and get more!
I have had an iBook on order since last week. Just an hour ago I received an email informing me that my order had been upgraded. The same stuff that I ordered (60 gig HD, 768 ram, etc) is all there and the price dropped due to the upgrade of the iBook. Instead of paying 1151 for the system, the price is now 1061 for the same bto options plus the faster processor, bluetooth, motion sensor, scrolling trackpad, new video card, etc. So in my case it is great! I pay less and get more!
bchreng said:On an even better note, Amazon is now selling the previous gen iBooks for $999.99 with a $100 mail-in rebate. They don't charge tax for some states and offer free shipping to boot!
Ahh, so that's how they stop the Student Union people from getting a better deal....
eliamx said:The gap between Microsoft and Apple is closing. I'm started to feel shame for speaking so much Apple to anyone.
But Microsoft doesn't make laptops.
MacHamman said:
Cancel! Cancel! Seriously, go cancel and reorder with 512MB of RAM. The current config gets you 512MB *built in* and 256MB in the RAM slot.
That is a total waste. No sense spending your money on a $75 256MB chip. You can at least pot a 512MB chip in that slot for that price.
And yes, I realize you may lose a spot in the queue. Well maybe if you call them up you won't.
Chrispy said:
Don't underestimate the value of Mac OS X, especially for someone like me who hates Windows XP because he finds it frustrating and irritating. I also like having a combination of Unix and easy Desktop system. I've put a value on that of £100 a year. So that turns £699 into £399 over three years! Bargain. I'll probably use it for 5 years too.
Radeon 9550 will compete well with Intel 900GMA graphics, probably even with 950GMA. 32MB of dedicated memory? Better than having to share system memory.
1.33GHz? Meh, so its slower than the 1.6GHz Celeron M you'd find in a windows laptop. Of course that laptop is doing a lot more of the graphical work on the processor, and will suffer Windows Slowdown after 2 months.
Price increase
Here (Spain), from 979 eur. to 1029 eur.
erickg said:Didn't have time to read all of the posts in this thread, but did any of the other international members notice a price increase for the iBooks? In Sweden the 12" iBooks went up by about 800 SEK (or a bit more than 100 USD!)!!
Here (Spain), from 979 eur. to 1029 eur.
What's the deal with no SD BTO option for the 12" still!?!? It's the same size presumably as the Combo, but they just won't sell you one? What gives?
Dude, what's wrongs with all of you?
I like what they did. These are computer designed for cheap mass marketing for schools, Powerbooks aren't for you sitting at home surfing the internet, hence the POWER. For the price they were you're getting bigger hard drives, more RAM, the trackpad, SMS hard drive, better graphics card, and bluetooth 2.0
So what if there's no widescreen, these things are great IMO.
I like what they did. These are computer designed for cheap mass marketing for schools, Powerbooks aren't for you sitting at home surfing the internet, hence the POWER. For the price they were you're getting bigger hard drives, more RAM, the trackpad, SMS hard drive, better graphics card, and bluetooth 2.0
So what if there's no widescreen, these things are great IMO.
Here from (I think) ¥110,000 to ¥120,000 incl 5% sales tax.Less than $100 USD.crossblaim said:Here (Spain), from 979 eur. to 1029 eur.
i_b_joshua
macrumors12345 said:
I'd have to disagree with you...
The Dell 700m is approx $800 (Dell posts a 750 off 1499 coupon every two weeks, my friend bought one like that) and it has:
+12.1 1280x800 widescreen that destroys the low res AND low quality 12" lcd on the pb and ib
I compared them side by side at the store, and the apple LCD is weak. If you view it at more than 45 deg angle, it looks like crap, all other pc laptops at compusa had screens with WAAAY better viewing angles, and the ibook compared to the 20" imac next to it showed how crappy that screen was. A screen, including its brightness, viewing angle and resolution is part of the user experience as much as maybe the OS is, and all apples are way outdated in this regard. Hell even the 17" 1440x900 pbook i used at the school computer labs wasnt enough, i felt cramped, because at the time i had a dell with 15.4" 1680x1050 (not anymore, as I'm looking to buy a new laptop, and I so desparately want apple, but i don't pay for crappy processors or LCD screens, which are common across Apple's laptop line)
So let's recap, for $800 you can get a 700m with:
+ 12.1 Widescreen, way better than the 12" ibook or powerbook
+ Pentium M 1.8 GHZ which again destroys any G4, ever...
+ A DVD burner you can't even get in a 12" ibook
+ Better battery life
+ 512 mb of way faster memory, and system bus...
+ 4.1 lbs
+ SD card reader, which is actually very useful with a digital camera
- Integrated graphics (curiously fast enough to play games like nfs underground)
- No Bluetooth
- Cheaper design, but still nice, and way better than dells of a year ago, i'd be perfectly happy with it
- Windows (this is the deal breaker for me and why i'm not buying it right now)
The shock sensor and scrolling trackpad are just gimmicks imo, not that important to warrant mention.
So the moral of the story is: the screen is the dealbreaker for any apple laptop, and windows is the deal breaker for me for any non-apple laptop, I guess I won't be buying a computer until next year, then intel should take care of the "crappy CPU" problem, and I hope apple switches to the same LCD suppliers other PC vendors are using.
The best thing about going with Intel? There won't be any teenagers on here or older people for that matter crying and complaining nonstop anymore.
Does this graphics card work with Core Image? Does anyone know?
Does this graphics card work with Core Image? Does anyone know?
I'm not blown away by this upgrade, but really, should have I expected to be?
Not really too bad. I've been holding out for a 15" PB, but I may actually pick up a little 12" iBook here.
The PB's seem dated, and I think the 12" ibook should be a capable little machine. Much cheaper then the 15" pb, and I'll ebay the iBook if stellar upgrades come to the PB line. They may have just made a sale here with this upgrade.
Not really too bad. I've been holding out for a 15" PB, but I may actually pick up a little 12" iBook here.
The PB's seem dated, and I think the 12" ibook should be a capable little machine. Much cheaper then the 15" pb, and I'll ebay the iBook if stellar upgrades come to the PB line. They may have just made a sale here with this upgrade.
AlBDamned said:OK, if £1 = Euro 1.35 and US$ 1.95
In the UK that means the iBooks are £699 = Euro 943 and US$ 1363
to:
£899 = Euro 1213 and US$ 1753
We get stiffed a lot more than anyone.
Blame VAT.
Without VAT the iBook 12" is only around $36 more than the US value.
We're still getting stiffed, yes. But not as much as when the iBook was £699 and the exchange rate was 1.95.
You'll be waiting longer than Q1 06, Try Q1 07
Dream on! You're setting yourself up for another big disappointment. Yonah PB ain't gonna happen Q1 2006. More like Q1 2007.
Brian Hickman said:
Dream on! You're setting yourself up for another big disappointment. Yonah PB ain't gonna happen Q1 2006. More like Q1 2007.
Evangelion said:
That's because Steve is having visions of Pentiums and Celerons dancing in his head right now...Not G4's! I am sure they could easily install this new technology but why? Intel is going to come and save the day soon anyhow.