Apple Releases PowerBooks and iBooks

[MacRAND]

Welcome, MacEarlybird

...indeed to follow all recent discussions on the eve of powerbook upgrades. located in austria/european community I do follow macs quite a long time and check out especially this excellent site on a regular basis. as a newcomer I just wanna state, that according to my and others experience apple is a great company with outstanding products (design, quality...) especially compared to the windows computer world, ...

I am on the way to become a switcher and will order my first PowerBook (15 or 17") within this or the upcoming week. hope lots of men and women will follow the path to the best solution out there in these days. ...

Welcome to the Mac world and to MacRumors,
earlybird
Mac membership does NOT require that you hate PCs or MS,
but it doesn't hurt your reputation at all.​

Switching from PC to Mac
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=151564
http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APP...QAdJN3xgKhJY11h2hq0q/3.4.0.5.10.11.16.1?51,26
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=153448
http://www.apple.com/support/panther/

 

[Chip NoVaMac]

I called my local apple store today to confirm the 15" superdrive was in stock (it wasn't) but in the course of the call found out the vid ram is not a store-installable upgrade. so if i want it i'l'l have to order it from the online store. bummer, waited 3 yrs was finally ready to do it.

terry

ps: i haven't seen an authoritative answer here: is the added vid ram useful ONLY for gamers (I'm not) or will it help with photoshop, video editing, etc? thanks. TD

the 128mb VRANM is a BTO option only from what I have been told. Unless you are doing games or Exsose", the you might not see the difference from what I was told..

 

[Brundlefly]

128 is major

Sure its faster for gamers, but if you decide to power an extra monitor, having a full 64 a side as opposed to 32 after the split will keep you loving life and Quartz extreme will love you for it....

I can see it speeding things up an extra 10-20% from 64 megs

 

[rtdunham]

availability

When I asked the Apple Specialist he said they were selling them, but they were not out yet on display.

Ummm...did they not not they were going to start selling these today? What gives??!! Are they idiots?
==========================
ahh, the win-friends-and-influence-people approach!

the folks at my apple store are great guys and gals. but when i first called today, they told me they had in stock the new 15" superdrive model i wanted. when i called back just before heading to the store, to make sure it was still there, a different salesperson told me they did not had one, and had not had one.

so are people finding that model in stock at their stores, or not?

terry

 

[starla]

Ok, thanks. I am sure though that some VP or something said May, and I want to know what end of May because if its May 30th or some such, then that's middle of June for OZ which may make me wait it out a bit longer to see what happens...

Dunno if it makes any difference, but when I first ordered my 17", it was scheduled for shipment on or before May 3. When I called to upgrade the VRAM, it changed to on or before April 27.

 

[MacRAND]

Fry's Electronics PHX AZ has the new 15" PBs

When I asked the Apple Specialist he said they were selling them, but they were not out yet on display.

Ummm...did they not not they were going to start selling these today? What gives??!! Are they idiots?

ahh, the win-friends-and-influence-people approach!

the folks at my apple store are great guys and gals. but when i first called today, they told me they had in stock the new 15" superdrive model i wanted. when i called back just before heading to the store, to make sure it was still there, a different salesperson told me they did not had one, and had not had one.

so are people finding that model in stock at their stores, or not? terry

YES.
Watched as a "switcher" bought a loaded new 15" with SuperDrive in the Mac area of Fry's Electronics Phoenix, AZ store.
17" not expected for a week or so.

 

[devman]

Thanks

devman, that's excellent news. I think your gesture is also a good one...everybody should come out at the end happy.

Thanks oingo. Loved your message the other day too. Very funny! (especially the last one - of course)

 

[devman]

10days and DJs

I bet this was david jones' doing. Apple australia do not have any price protection policy like they do in the US. David Jones on the other hand normally give you up to one month to ask for a refund of the price difference if any product suddenly goes on sale in THEIR store. I think what probably caused issues this time is that apple runs and staffs the apple area within David Jones themselves. In a perfect world the updated machine with a refund cheque from apple should have been sent last friday instead of sending out the old product. Were they hoping you just didn't notice?? Well done getting the refund.

Thanks.

There does seem to be some sort of 10 day policy here but it isn't explicit like it is in the USA. My sister bought an iBook a few months ago and it had kernal panics and etc. and the store (reseller) told her that if she got it back to them within 10 days she would get a replacement iBook (and she did).

I don't claim to understand how all this works though. I'm just glad things worked out for me. I think it was a combination of my discussions with them on the Monday (before the new announcements) plus the fact I hadn't taken delivery.

I suspect you may be right about DJs being responsible or playing the larger role in fixing it for me as they said they "could sell the machine I had originally ordered" when I was in there doing my new order. But I don't know if they are "eating it" or if Apple OZ is giving them a price break.

 

[devman]

Wow! Excellent luck for you!

I bought a 17" previous Saturday (10 April) and Apple this morning told me no go on any kind of change or compensation, the Apple shop in Hurstville where I bought it said the same. I guess my next one will come from David Jones!

Enjoy!

Jeroen.

Hmm, well I certainly don't understand all the rules. It seems like it might differ from store to store. My sister asked the reseller she bought her iBook from what they would do in such a situation and they said if it was a BTO machine then "no way." But if it was a regular machine (not BTO) then they would swap it - but that was just them.

FWIW - I had my sister ask the store this question during my dramas as I wwanted to learn what the policies were before I tried to argue with DJs.

I guess if I were you I might try again. Be nice, but firm and don't take one no for an answer. (I spoke to DJs three times even though each time they said no).

But... at some point you have to ask yourself is it worth the agro. Also, according to some reports, the new 17" are delayed till May sometime.

Good luck to you and best wishes.

 

[devman]

Details

Excellent. Wouldn't mind hearing the extra details if they are relevant.

I don't know if it's relevant. I didn't ask at all why they were doing this for me, I just went in and reordered

The other details are that they said they could sell what I originally ordered. And that I spent a LOT of money with them (about $14K). Maybe this also had an affect - maybe it didn't. I don't know.

 

[swingerofbirch]

Difference Between 15" and 17" Screen Quality

Hello everyone.

I have the opportunity and desire to purchase a new Powerbook. I have previously used a 12" iBook, and I am now interested in either the 15" or 17" Powerbook, with a leaning toward the 15" because of size and cost considerations. While I would imagine that all three Powerbooks have higher quality screens than the iBook I have used, I am wondering if there is a screen quality difference between the 15" and 17" models besides size and resolution?

In general do Powerbooks have good screen quality? Thank you for your time and consideration of my questions.

 

[MacRAND]

Good LCDs

Hello everyone.

I have the opportunity and desire to purchase a new Powerbook. I have previously used a 12" iBook, and I am now interested in either the 15" or 17" Powerbook, with a leaning toward the 15" because of size and cost considerations. While I would imagine that all three Powerbooks have higher quality screens than the iBook I have used,

I am wondering if there is a screen quality difference between the 15" and 17" models besides size and resolution? NO

In general do Powerbooks have good screen quality? YES

Thank you for your time and consideration of my questions. YOU ARE WELCOME

Which ever PowerBook you pick, you will be very pleased.
The 15" is more portable and compact,
the 17" has more screen real estate.
What is your primary need?

 

[swingerofbirch]

Which ever PowerBook you pick, you will be very pleased.
The 15" is more portable and compact,
the 17" has more screen real estate.
What is your primary need?

Thanks for your advice. My primary needs are using the Powerbook for school work (presentations, Word, etc), iLife enjoyment, Internet usage. I don't do any "heavy" production. The most advanced apps I use are GoLive and Photoshop. Buying a Powerbook over an iBook is more of a luxury "gift to myself" purchase. But I am mobile with my iBook, which is why I thought the 15" would be better as far as portability is concerned. I like to watch DVDs on the go, but 15" I think would be plenty for me, I enjoy watching DVDs on my 12" iBook, so I think 15" will be plenty. Thanks again for the input.

 

[MacRAND]

15" PB - good choice.

Thanks for your advice. My primary needs are using the Powerbook for school work (presentations, Word, etc), iLife enjoyment, Internet usage. I don't do any "heavy" production. The most advanced apps I use are GoLive and Photoshop. Buying a Powerbook over an iBook is more of a luxury "gift to myself" purchase. But I am mobile with my iBook, which is why I thought the 15" would be better as far as portability is concerned. I like to watch DVDs on the go, but 15" I think would be plenty for me, I enjoy watching DVDs on my 12" iBook, so I think 15" will be plenty. Thanks again for the input.

Good analysis and choice. (You obviously deserve a PowerBook)
Doing "presentations" is probably a good enough excuse for going with any PowerBook over an iBook, and you will love those backlit keys in a dark room doing presentations. Get Keynote and .Mac, if you don't already have them.

Be sure to opt for the SuperDrive, if not, it's like buying a Corvette sports car and specifying only a V6 engine and automatic transmission

I was surprised at how enjoyable watching a DVD movie could be on a 14" iBook screen during a plane flight, and I am convinced a 12" is about as good for watching movies.

FinalCut Pro video editing is when you need plenty of real estate on a screen to display all those windows and sheets, that the size of the screen becomes taxing. However, at home it's easy to hook it up your PB to a 20" LCD or CRT and have plenty of room to play with.

God, thank you for helping Apple make such wonderful toys for good little girls & boys.

(Who do you suppose helps make Intel PCs and Windows to equip the Evil Empire?)

The Mad Gamer himself!​

 

[mxpiazza]

any online orders shipping?

to anyone who ordered from the apple online store:

has anyone's order shipped yet? mine is still on or before 4/26...

15" pb 1.5 ghz with superdrive, 512 MB one so-dimm, 128 VRAM, 5400 RPM drive

anyone have an earlier ship date?

 

[aswitcher]

I don't know if it's relevant. I didn't ask at all why they were doing this for me, I just went in and reordered

The other details are that they said they could sell what I originally ordered. And that I spent a LOT of money with them (about $14K). Maybe this also had an affect - maybe it didn't. I don't know.

That makes sense. They wanted to keep your business and pass on the good word.

 

[Mokona]

to anyone who ordered from the apple online store:

has anyone's order shipped yet? mine is still on or before 4/26...

15" pb 1.5 ghz with superdrive, 512 MB one so-dimm, 128 VRAM, 5400 RPM drive

anyone have an earlier ship date?

There's a thread on the "official" apple discussion forum started by a guy whose Pbook already shipped... It's under Home > PowerBook > PowerBook G4 (15-inch FW800) > Usage > New PB Shipping.

EDIT: Sorry, the guy made a mistake, his 'book ships on 4/26.

 

[EraserATL]

15'' BTO PB SHIPPING!!!!

Just wanted to let everyone know that my 15'' PB 1.5 SD/512MB/128 MB VRAM/5400 RPM HD is SHIPPING!!! I ordered at 9:30 AM on Monday. Unfortunately it wont be here until 10:30 on Monday via FedEX.

 

[raiste]

Just wanted to let everyone know that my 15'' PB 1.5 SD/512MB/128 MB VRAM/5400 RPM HD is SHIPPING!!! I ordered at 9:30 AM on Monday. Unfortunately it wont be here until 10:30 on Monday via FedEX.

I just received my notification as well!

It left Shanghai at 5:37 (EST) this morning. Well, actually it said that it missed the Fedex cutoff time, so it hasn't actually left there yet.

Oh yeah, I ordered mine 9:18 am (EST) on 4/19.

 

[jc7141]

just received notification on my 15"/1.5/5400/128MB as well..giddyup!!

 

[jetlife2]

Shipping!

I ordered a BTO 12"/768RAM/80G/Combo Pbook at 0900ET 4/19. It shipped at 1335 local on 4/22 (from Taiwan) and will arrive 4/27!. Now that's impressive. Can't wait

 

[kbonnel]

Just got my notification. Hopefully it will ship as fast as my power adapter from Taiwan (shipped Monday/Tuesday, arrived Wednesday).... Now that is fast shipping...

Oh Yea, my power adapter said it would arrive on 4/23, but arrived on 4/20.

Samuel L Bronkowitz

 

[rozwell]

I ordered a BTO 12"/768RAM/80G/Combo Pbook at 0900ET 4/19. It shipped at 1335 local on 4/22 (from Taiwan) and will arrive 4/27!. Now that's impressive. Can't wait

i ordered my 12" on Saturday, then it automatically got upgraded on Monday, Shipped Tuesday from Taiwan and I got it 9am on Wednesday. I only ordered 2-3 day shipping but got it 2 days early.

btw. This thing is sweet. it scored 117 on XBench, and everything seems snapier compaired to my old G3 Pismo, and i can actually use all G4 apps now.

 

[Palad1]

I just received my notification as well!

It left Shanghai at 5:37 (EST) this morning. Well, actually it said that it missed the Fedex cutoff time, so it hasn't actually left there yet.

Oh yeah, I ordered mine 9:18 am (EST) on 4/19.

Doh'
you, sir, are lucky.


Ordered mine from Apple Store france on 19/04/2004 02:12 PM GMT
[that' s 09:12:00 Mon Apr 19 2004 in EST ]

Apple's order status webpage says the order is 'open', and I did not get any mail yet...



Let's hit refresh another couple of hundreds of time on this status page thingamaggie...

Am I becoming a bit obsessive there? Damnit I want to switch, now!

Here are my baby's specs:
15'2 Superdrive Powerbook
80Gigs 5400 RPM
Maxed out Radeon 9700 128M
Nickname: Bender... Well, I read here that alu15 tend to have some shape problems

 

[Tomaz]

I ordered mine (15", 180MB VR, 1GB RAM, 5400rpm) Monday 30min after they came out from a Swiss store (not "the Apple store"). They say they don't know really when it'll ship, but probably Mid May ???!!!!!!!!
Ok, I saved a lot cause they had an awesome memory deal (upgrade to 1GB for free), but I have to wait 3-4 more weeks....that's probably gonna kill me! It's a shame, I was so close to having a Mac