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Apple Releases PowerBooks and iBooks

jxyama said:
it *may* still happen at WWDC, though i personally doubt it. (i just think they are having technical problems putting in G5.)

apple upgraded Ti to 1 GHz back in Nov. 2002. two months later, they introduced brand new form factor 12/17" Al PowerBooks. so if G5 PBs are ready, apple will not shy away from releasing them and pissing off a lot of people who buy these G4 PBs. :D

this is a good upgrade. if you've been waiting to get a PB, this is not a bad investment... hmm.. my AC adapter broke yesterday on my 1+ year old PB... time for a new PB for me? :p (yeah, right. :rolleyes: ) (i sure hope it's the AC adapter and not my PB... :eek: :( )
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People bring this up as an example, but to me it is not accurate. Here's why (imho),

Apple udated the 15" Ti PB in November to 1GHZ, then released the 12" and 17" Al PB in January at 867 and 1GHZ speeds.

So, really, all apple did in January 2003 is to add to the line. There was no faster PB in January 2003 than there was in November 2002, there were just 3 options in sizes. It wasn't until 9 months later (almost 11 months since the 15" 1GHZ Ti PB) that the processor speeds were upgraded. If they had also come out with the 15" Al Book in Jan 2003 then I would agree with you.

Now, having said that, what the hell do I know? :p
 
mgargan1 said:
I wonder which G4 this is. At Chip Geek they show the higher end G4 having 512k of L2 cache, and up to 2MB of L3 cache. If this is true, that would make this a very fast G4. But on Apple's website, it doesn't mention any L3 cache, so I guess it's only pipedreaming...
Click to expand...

I'd suspect they are using the newer Motorola G4 7447A which is the only chip they do at 1.5Ghz. The previous generation had the 7447 which also had 512K L2. Apple didn't put L3 in the AlBooks as they reckon the 512K L2 is a match for the old 256K L2 and 1MB L3 cache in the old TiBooks. Mostly this is true.

The 7447A also gets more advanced power management so if you're not doing much on the laptop it'll step down the CPU speed to get longer battery life and run cooler.

Read more about the 7447A at http://e-www.motorola.com/webapp/sps/site/prod_summary.jsp?code=MPC7447A
 
mxpiazza said:
the book has 2 slots, one stick is soldered in to one slot, so only 1 slot accessible, which in the stock book has 256 already in it, meaning if you bough a 512MB stick upgrade, you'd need to pitch 256, effectively only upgrading 256 to a total on 768MB RAM.

spend the extra $90 or whatever it is to put the 512 RAM in one slot, it's $90, but you'll be thanking yourself later, trust me.
Click to expand...

you are in fact incorrect about this... the 15" PB has two slots, none of them are soldered... if you ever changed RAM in a 15-inch PB, you'd know. they are stacked one on top of the other... and both of them can be changed.
 
Ordered

My 15" Combo will be with me in a few days.

£1286 with Education discount is wicked.

I just sold my 17" 1GHZ for £1700 with some software ;)

Smile all the way to the bank :D
 
iChan said:
better graphics card, fast processors... larger HD's, more RAM, PCMCIA Slot, monitor spanning(hack available)...

SuperDrive in the 12-inch models...

backlit keyboard. Alumium v. polycarbonate(plastic)

built-in Airport Extreme and Bluetooth in PB's.

larger screens in PB's. DVi Output...
there are many distinguishing features, all very well documented...
Click to expand...

It's trickier than that if you are considering the 12" PowerBook. It does NOT have a PCMCIA slot, no backlit keyboard and after this update, supports the same amount of RAM as the iBooks do. Also, a Superdrive is now available as an option in the 14" iBook. It is also arguable which graphics chip is faster...the Radeon 9200 Mobility or the GeForce FX5200 Go. From my reading, I'd say the Radeon 9200 Mobility actually wins, making the graphics potentially faster in the iBook than in the 12" PowerBook.

Of course, if you're not looking at the perennial 12" enigma of the PowerBook family, just go with what the original poster said...it's pretty much correct.
 
The irish store is now up and the stock SuperDrive 15-incher went from €3024 to €2781 - a €243 saving!!! at todays exchange rates, that is over $290... there's an ipod mini right there...
 
FinnishFlash said:
600 euro price drop on the 17" Powerbook.

I'm starting to drool.
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Well get the drooling out of the way before you order. Don't want to mess up your new toy. :D
 
Ok, I must go to bed but before I do for those interested what's your opinion on the following.

So my dream 17" (ignoring fears of G5 anytime soon)

Views...

Value of 5400rpm drive over 4200rpm ($76.40AUD) ??? DV Video, Games

Value of 128Meg over 64Meg VRAM ($76.38AUD) ??? Games, DV Video, iPhoto

1 Gig ram...all I think I can afford, 1Gig sticks are far to exy here
 
iChan said:
you are in fact incorrect about this... the 15" PB has two slots, none of them are soldered... if you ever changed RAM in a 15-inch PB, you'd know. they are stacked one on top of the other... and both of them can be changed.
Click to expand...

well then, i stand corrected, i'll edit my post. as for the rest of it, logic still applies, the soldered thing still dosen't change anything, if you buy a 512MB upgrade of ram, basically the biggest affordable RAM upgrade availiable (unless you want to buy a RAM upgrade that costs more than an iBook), you're still going to have to chuck 256 MB RAM unless you get the 512 into one slot.
 
kudos to apple for finally doing some realistic pricing in australia... powerbooks still seem a little overpriced when compared to the ibooks though..
i mean AUS$950 difference between 12" ibook and 12" powerbook?
 
Graduation gift!

Just in time for CMU grad gift! (I hope).

(I think the 12" ibook with SD is ideal)

BTW- Where are the new G5 Desktops???

I suppose the ipodMini(pad) will drop in price before we see Dual 2.6ghz G5?
 
iChan said:
i am really really amazed and intruigued about the fate of the imac. they are now the least lauded of ALL Apple products in my opinion. a sorry state for what used to be the golden child...

Question... have the imacs ever been actually SLOWER than the Powerbooks in their current forms?
Click to expand...


people who want a sleek looking system with an integrated display get an ibook or powerbook.

the imac/emac need to die. now.

it was a fad revisited, to have all in one desktop system. notebook sales will completely dominate all desktop sales in less then 4 years. (pcs, mac, whatever)
 
ahh nice updates of the Notebooks (i know know no g5 but i'm looking more at the iBooks)

thankfully they dropped the 128 mb soldered in on the ibooks and it now comes with an 256 instead of 2 128 memory sticks ... now you can isntall more ram for the money same money
384 ->512
640 ->768

and the superdrive upgrade on the 14" and those extra 200mhz are nice too...

ahh the EU Stores just gone back online.... somebody saw some price adjustments ?
 
a17inchFuture,

didn't you just buy your new PB recently, knowing there were rumors all over the place about updates? If this is the case, don't whine about it now. You are an adult (I am assuming), you made a choice, live with it. You could have waited to buy if you wanted too.

Though, considering how much you whined on the new eMac thread I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

Mods, I apologize for a completely off-topic post... it just amazes me that a consumer, who constantly reads these boards and was aware of the updates just like the rest of us, now somehow says Apple is in the wrong here.

Faster, more powerful, machines at a lower cost.... those bastards! How could they do that to you? :eek:
 
oingoboingo said:
It's trickier than that if you are considering the 12" PowerBook. It does NOT have a PCMCIA slot, no backlit keyboard and after this update, supports the same amount of RAM as the iBooks do. Also, a Superdrive is now available as an option in the 14" iBook. It is also arguable which graphics chip is faster...the Radeon 9200 Mobility or the GeForce FX5200 Go. From my reading, I'd say the Radeon 9200 Mobility actually wins, making the graphics potentially faster in the iBook than in the 12" PowerBook.

Of course, if you're not looking at the perennial 12" enigma of the PowerBook family, just go with what the original poster said...it's pretty much correct.
Click to expand...

you are right, the 12-pb is quite an anomaly in the grand scheme of all things PB... i find it hard to recommend now, other than it's looks, which is what my GF was attracted to.
 
updated batteries in pbs

Not sure if anyone else has mentioned that the powerbooks also have updated batteries. The 12" & 15" now have a 50W battery. Apple claims 5hrs for 12" and still 4.5hrs for 15".
 
1.2 Ghz iBook, no typo

I looked on all Apple's pages including the spec pages, store pages, and ibook pages it is indeed 1.2 Ghz.

http://www.apple.com/hardware/

took me for a spin, but then I realized that's a 1.25 GB of RAM you can put in an iBook now, and still 1.2 Ghz. So it would seem that it can't be a typo unless all those pages got it wrong.
 
gopher said:
Honestly, do you want more resolution? The higher the resolution, the more blurry the fonts on most PC notebooks that go higher. People think the existing lineup is blurry at the existing resolution. Wait till they see 2000 x 1024 on a 17" Powerbook, and only those with perfect vision will be able to read anything.
Click to expand...

Huh? I thought fonts generally looked crisper at higher resolutions...more pixels available to draw the same fonts. If people are having trouble seeing things on high-res screens, you can scale the font and icon size up to the same physical size as on a lower-res screen...but now you have more pixels being used to draw them, so they are sharper.
 
Don't forget

Many Apple users out there, myself included, are running 600 mhz or slower. Yes faster is great every product cycle, but many of us are on last leg hard ware. People like me will see significant benefit in new hardware.
These are very impressive machines! In a portable! I wanna upgrade! But the office would have to get it before me. :cool:
 
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