Apple Releases New PowerBooks

[djpedro]

Don't you mean roar? :-D

According to the Apple Rep Tiger will make the G4 Powerbooks scream.


Seriously tho, one of the interesting things about the newest powerbooks is that apple is offering scrolling technology *for the first time ever*
With any luck they will extend this to a mouse! Although right click may never come...

 

[mox358]

If they would just be upfront as to when they see G5's or D-core coming out... I think people could make better call on rather to buy now or not. I think if they came right out and said, no G5's until 06 they would sell a bunch of this line. But having everyone clueless is keeping buyers away!

Or the opposite - if you KNEW a new revision was coming in a few months would you honestly buy this revision? By keeping release dates secret Apple sells FAR more Powerbooks from people who don't know what's coming in six months or so.

Look how many people are holding off already on this board because there *might* be a revision coming. Give them an exact date, and you're sure to sell NOTHING between now and then, effectively killing your sales until you ship this promised product. Doesn't sound like good business to me.

But just my 2 cents.

 

[KrysBaz]

I'm confused.
I thought it was going to be a new powerbook tuesday week
I know today felt like the longest day in the world at work, but really, did I miss a day?

 

[erroneousuk]

No need to do research. My argument still stands and is valid. They use entirely different connectors. You'd need a different cable than the one your device most likely shipped with, which is something that is not Apple-like.

Good thing they don't already include a mini-to standard DVI adaptor with the 12" PB, or a mini-DVI to VGA adaptor... that'd very unApple.

 

[shane-o-mac]

Killer-The New Powerbooks

I for one am very pleased!

Was anyone really expecting a G5 with all the heating issues. And dual core seemed a bit of a reach too. Basically apple did the smart thing: they updated a line of proven winners!!! THis is a much better move then hastily putting out a G5 that could of been a repeat of the 15" powerbook in 2003 with the numerous screen display issues.

I personally just want to buy the best ( meaning the most well equipped apple w/o any hardware issues) for my money...and lets face it even with the price cut it is still a lot of money. The Ram, HD, and G4 uprgrades the powerbook line worth the their weight in mmm..aluminum. I admit Apple made us wait along time for what seemed like not that impressive of an update. For me a soon to be new mac user and a poor college student, if I am going to shell out $2,000 for a new apple I def want a sytem that has no issues and is as well equipped from out of the box as possible. With the upgrades I now feel I am comfortable enough to do that........here comes my new 15" powerbook.....yeehawww!!!

 

[Grip]

Well, it looks like this will be the final update before the rev. A G5 PBs so what the heck? I'll bite.

 

[djpedro]

Yes, but if they "announce" a brand new powerbook and not ship it for 3 months, they are going to TANK sales of their existing ones.

Just because they "announce" something does not mean it's going to be ready to ship. Add another 3 months to that and we could see G5 PB's in 8 months.

 

[secret_G_man]

What are some of the better place to buy...

I got my credit card in hand and ready to buy. What are some of the better places to buy, without having to pay sales tax in CA? I'm trying to find the 15 inch with the 100 gb hd.

Anyone already bought it from someone other than the Apple Store?

Any help, much appreciated!!!!

 

[aap]

brwgh

New powerbooks blegh,
I had such high hopes for a little nice powermac update, but no no no

 

[quackattack]

meh.... as much as I am sad that my PB is finally out of date, i don't have upgraditis nearly as bad as i thought.

8x superdrive and 100Gb HD are the most tempting things.

drop sensor is cool, but i'll count on just not dropping mine

optical audio out is amazing on the 17", but thats still too big for me, put it in the 15" and we'll talk

i dont think i need BT 2.0 for my one BT mouse, still cool, however.

don't have or want a 30" display, don't care

how much better is the scoll thing over sidetrack? not much i'm guessing not much.

finally a speed bump is always appreciated.

all in all fairly yawn-worthy. sorry to bah-humbug. lets just count on the next revision blowing us away!

-quack

 

[bredlo]

Hopefully they come out with a cool new PowerBook at MacWorld 2006. I bought my current 12" PB after it was announced at MacWorld 2003. I got it with Applecare. So, one year from now, my Applecare will expire and I'll be ready for a new PB.

I think Hoffer makes a great point. Apple sells all it's machines with the option of AppleCare, which extends the protection for your machine out to 3 years.

I don't think many people would buy it, and therefore Apple would have to rethink the program, if they were trading their machines up every year or two. Feeling like your 1.33 Ghz PowerBook is slower, or terribly out of date because of this morning's announcements... is pretty silly when you think about it.

The last great leap forward in our operating system was the transition to X. Once you bought a machine that was built with OS X in mind (anything with a G4 in it, pretty much,) I contend that you have a decent machine for general computing, and I think Applecare is proof of that

I'd bet that most Mac users are satisfied with their machines for 2-3 years, which is very different than the people on this forum (myself included) who feel the need for speed everytime Apple gives us a speed bump. It's great to be at the bleeding edge of Apple's latest and greatest... but it's an expensive lifestyle when you can get by quite well with any recent (built within the last year or so) Mac.

 

[Frobozz]

go to apple.com NEW powerbooks!@

These are really nice updates. The G5 PB won't be that much faster than these when they're out, and they'll certainly be more expensive. Basically, you get all the bells and whistles at a low price now.

The new trackpad features are awesome. I'm seriously thinking about getting the 15" 1.67 ... but I'm buying my RAM aftermarket.

 

[geoffism]

all in all fairly yawn-worthy. sorry to bah-humbug. lets just count on the next revision blowing us away!

I personally was counting on this one due to my TiPB on life support.

And I believe the real temptation for any PB user that is "in the market" will be when the G5's come out. How many of you are willing to jump on the first rev? I won't get into the problems that have been discussed. We all know them. That would make me a little trigger shy. This bump was perfect timing for me.

Gotta love MACS, but don't forget to show some love to AppleCare.

 

[BWhaler]

Maybe apple forgot that radio waves barley travel through metal.

Look at the side of the Powerbook display.

See those gray pieces of plastic?

Do you think the antenna is possible behind that?

Maybe Apple knows a thing or two about building computers. And don't forget that the iBook is the best in the industry, the benchmark. Of course it's going to be better than the Powerbook since it is better than everything else.

 

[billystlyes]

These are really nice updates. The G5 PB won't be that much faster than these when they're out, and they'll certainly be more expensive. Basically, you get all the bells and whistles at a low price now.

The new trackpad features are awesome. I'm seriously thinking about getting the 15" 1.67 ... but I'm buying my RAM aftermarket.

I agree the new trackpad scroll and drive lock are great. I would have ordered today if it they would have thrown the G5 in it. Thus I'm going to wait a little longer and see what happens.

 

[erickg]

I got my credit card in hand and ready to buy. What are some of the better places to buy, without having to pay sales tax in CA? I'm trying to find the 15 inch with the 100 gb hd.

Anyone already bought it from someone other than the Apple Store?

Any help, much appreciated!!!!

To the best of my knowledge www.amazon.com offers $150 rebates and you don't pay sales tax, that's where I would go to buy if I lived in the US. However, you would be stuck with an 80 GB HD as I don't believe they to BTO. May be worth the sacrifice?

I just checked and the new powerbooks aren't on the site yet, however the old 15" (with superdrive) have 5 left in stock, so the new ones should come soon.

 

[PieMac]

To the best of my knowledge www.amazon.com offers $150 rebates and you don't pay sales tax, that's where I would go to buy if I lived in the US. However, you would be stuck with an 80 GB HD as I don't believe they to BTO. May be worth the sacrifice?

I just checked and the new powerbooks aren't on the site yet, however the old 15" (with superdrive) have 5 left in stock, so the new ones should come soon.

I hope so, because that's what I'm planning on doing as well. You save an additional $134.00 (at least for the top of the line 15") by avoiding sales tax.
I called them earlier today and they couldn't really give me any concrete info. Just to keep checking the website. One article I read said that other online retailers should be selling them later this week...hope that's correct!

 

[oskar]

eh, not enough of an upgrade...What are the "New Graphics" that Apple is advertising? anyway...pft, the price drop is still not really enough to justify $500 more for the PB vs ibook, plus the powerbooks is STILL not even marginally comperable to the Powermac or even imac!! If they bumped the PM this way (larger hdd, more standard ram, nicer mouse) it might be tempting, but really this BT and some free extra specs are not what I was waiting for...you could have bought this exact 12" in a 15" model 3 mo ago, the only real difference would have been the price...and the 'scroll pad'. I would be interested to see even the 17" run FCPHD or LogicPro effectively...

Plus anyone can get digital audio i/o for >$100, just get a usb adaptor...

AFAIK, Final Cut Pro HD runs fine on an "old" 15" PowerBook. If working with DV FCP is flawless in fact on a PowerBook. If you want to work with HD, of course you can't get as many streams as you can on a PowerMac G5. But it does run the app "efectively".
So this PowerBook update has to run FCP video streams better now that all models come with a 5200 RPM hard drive and a slightly faster processor.
As for Logic Pro, can't say much there except that that's an audio app. So if FCP runs well, so must Logic.

 

[tabbeus]

Look at the side of the Powerbook display.

See those gray pieces of plastic?

Do you think the antenna is possible behind that?

Maybe Apple knows a thing or two about building computers. And don't forget that the iBook is the best in the industry, the benchmark. Of course it's going to be better than the Powerbook since it is better than everything else.

Regardless. My iBook gets a substantially better signal compared to my cousin's powerbook. I know my antenna is under my keyboard, not on the display. Do the new PB have the antenna on the display or something? By the way, it would be perfect marketing for the G5 to come out in summer. This update has enticed so many waiting for the newest update to go ahead and purchase whereas they would not have if they waited for a while. If it the G5 comes out in summer, they can get everyone who is holding out, along with those who just bought one to trade in and get the G5. Anything further than summer would be too long. WWDC is would give them the opportunity for a huge announcement and the next major event is MWSF correct? And that is too long. At least I hope.

 

[mpw]

...i dont think i need BT 2.0 for my one BT mouse, still cool, however...how much better is the scoll thing over sidetrack? not much i'm guessing not much...

These and the RAM upgrade are the big issues for me. In reverse order;

More RAM as standard can never be a bad thing and will hopefully extend through the rest of the ranges soon.

Scrolling trackpad sounds useful in its self and show a willingness for new methods of input. There's now a reason to have two fingers on the trackpads will this translate to two fingers being useful for future mice?

BT2.0 adoption of this tech. agains points toward a better future. Combine this with Motorolas new HT820 BT stereo headphones and you can listen to your iTunes while you run naked round your flat at midnight without annoying your roomies! Hopefully Apple will make a better headset in keeping with their design style and launch it with the 5th generation BT iPods (next Tuesday please)

 

[matticus008]

What? No backlit keyboard for the 12"??? What's that all about. I'm very surprised about that! How cool it would be to have a BTO for a backlit keyboard, I'd pay $99 extra just to have it!

The hardware component that drives the fiber-optic lighting system is a pretty sizeable piece. There's just no room for it in the 12" PowerBook.

 

[appleface]

new mice

apple is offering scrolling technology *for the first time ever*
With any luck they will extend this to a mouse! Although right click may never come...

that'd be cool if they incorporated at touch pad onto the top of a mouse. the touchpad could be for scrolling (vertical or horizontal) and clicking. the mouse movement could be for moving the cursor. just an idea.

 

[wisof]

I'm not sure but didn't the 15.2" powerbooks have 10/100BASE-T ethernet controllers? Now they have Gigabit Ethernet 10/100/1000BASE-T. Maybe I'm wrong, I didn't pay much attention to it in yesterday's models.

And also I thought the Super-Drive can only burn DVD-Rs?
'....And now the SuperDrive supports burning of DVD+RW, DVD-RW and DVD+R formats in addition to DVD-R format.'

Can anyone comment on this? I do not quite remember, but these should be added to the list of updates if they are valid.

 

[wdlove]

Well it seems that Apple is surprising us once again, making an announcement on a non Tuesday. This would seem to mean that there won't be a PowerBook update at WWDC. Although you can never say never.

 

[Trekkie]

Bit of a double-standard, no?

Actually not really, one indicates that product is from the demon itself while the other blames the user who just wanted a computer and that's all they had at the store