Apple signs delivery agreement with Freescale

[AmigoMac]

Ahh, Paris...

The Eiffel Tower...The Arc de Triomphe...The Louvre...The Rue de Rivoli...The PowerBook G4 intègre un processeur Dual-Core PowerPC G4...

Drolling once more on the topic... yeah, it's been Casablanca month for me.
Have seen the movie 4 times in the last weeks!!

 

[irobot2003]

Kind of interesting, I guess.

This is just a though but ever since the Intel announcement was made and Jobs said the transition would be done by 2007, I figured that although it seems far off for an entire line of computers to make a transition like that it's not really THAT far off and that the completion date could be pushed back to 2008 -- not that Apple signed that with Freescale necessarily because of that but you know how computer companies work.

It'll be interesting to see how things pan out in the next few months.

Actually I believe at one point in the announcement Jobs said the transition would be *mostly* complete by 2007...

 

[AmigoMac]

Actually I believe at one point in the announcement Jobs said the transition would be *mostly* complete by 2007...

Jobs says too many things , G5 3 GHz in 1 year... anyone?

 

[canadosurfer]

Jobs talks too much !

Jobs says too many things , G5 3 GHz in 1 year... anyone?

I agree, Jobs talks too much, he's like a mumbeling parot. Constantly making fake promisses.

 

[Analog Kid]

Just looks to me like Apple needed to extend their agreement which was probably set to expire before 2007. No sense in setting the end date of the new agreement to the exact time you expect to have the transition complete... Better to give yourself some insurance.

Nothing about this says "new products" to me. By the same token nothing says "no new products" either...

 

[Stella]

By the sounds of it, this deal is so apple can continue with G4 computer repairs, into 2008, and not for new Mac machines up until that date.

Bloody well hope not, anyway. At the progression of G4 processors to date, by 2008, G4s will be dinosaurs.

 

[oskar]

Aren't Power Books and Power Macs supposed to be last in line for intel chips anyway?

No. That's what many have come to believe due to misinformed opinions.

No one's mentioned that Apple isn't only worried about it's PowerBooks. The iBook, the eMac and the Mac mini, all still use G4's. The thing about AppleCare seems likely, but then again, how many G4 processors would Apple expect to replace in comparison to other computer parts? Doesn't Apple keep full systems' components in case of future repair or replacement protected by AppleCare?

 

[JFreak]

this agreement means nothing to us. apple is just securing their spare parts and that's about it. how old the G4 is by 2008? no new products for it anymore actually, i was amazed they still wanted to use the chip for mini mac as they would very well have been able to underclock the G5 for it should they needed to...

 

[iCraig]

this agreement means nothing to us. apple is just securing their spare parts and that's about it. how old the G4 is by 2008? no new products for it anymore actually, i was amazed they still wanted to use the chip for mini mac as they would very well have been able to underclock the G5 for it should they needed to...

Why would you want to put your top end CPU in the very bottom end consumer computer?
Its like shooting yourself in the foot!

OK, maybe Apple put the G5 in the iMac, but I see that as the top end consumer model and Apple probably expected to sell loads of them.
Also by using the G4 in the Mac Mini, I think it may keep costs down as they can use cheaper RAM and other components etc.

Also long live the G4!

 

[JFreak]

i'm just guessing, but i believe one G4 chip costs as much as one G5 chip, and if apple ordered a bunch of lower-spec G5's, they would very likely be a lot cheaper. the one really good reason for using the G5 would be 64 bits, which imho is what apple should push forward as the rest of the industry is also preparing to dump 32bit chips in a next few years.

so imho cost is not an issue. if the issue would be heat generated by a G5, i believe underclocking should solve it and be a feasible alternative for a lower-spec consumer box. these are minor issues that could be solved if they wanted to. the only real issue i can see is that while apple has had a good many years' experience of building G4 motherboards the G5 is still a rather new thing and they might not have been able to design a small enough G5 motherboard.

 

[rosalindavenue]

I agree, Jobs talks too much, he's like a mumbeling parot. Constantly making fake promisses.

Thanks for your input-- it really moves the thread along. Let me help you with your spelling; mumbling; parrot, and promises. Let me offer the observation that the only "false promise" of which I am aware Mr. Jobs has made is the 3Ghz promise, which came from IBM. I (and I suspect most members of this site) happen to think Mr. Jobs does not talk enough; thus we come here to talk about his company and about rumors about what Apple may do next. Good luck with your ninth post!!

 

[iGary]

I just want a dual-core PowerBook in PPC form. Now.

 

[Abstract]

Thanks for your input-- it really moves the thread along. Let me help you with your spelling; mumbling; parrot, and promises. Let me offer the observation that the only "false promise" of which I am aware Mr. Jobs has made is the 3Ghz promise, which came from IBM. I (and I suspect most members of this site) happen to think Mr. Jobs does not talk enough; thus we come here to talk about his company and about rumors about what Apple may do next. Good luck with your ninth post!!

No need to jump on people's backs.

Here's a falsity by Jobs: Year of the laptop. Year of HD. The man does talk too much. Maybe he should learn to keep his big mouth shut until he actually sees these products when they are ready to start the testing phase, or a bit after that.

A few more HD products before the end of the year would be great, Jobsy.

 

[Dont Hurt Me]

God please no more agonizing years of more Moto Stagnation, Its sad enough they had to design the G5 because of NOTHING from motostink but now more years of motostagnation? I dont think i can bear it. Imagine if Powermacs were G4s, imagine a new dual 1.67 powermac because thats what we would be stuck with. I think this contract is for motophones or other doohickies cause G4 just doesnt cut it when compared to anything else. Waiting on moto is like waiting for the cubs to win the series.

 

[Draelius]

And one more

Thanks for your input-- it really moves the thread along. Let me help you with your spelling; mumbling; parrot, and promises. Let me offer the observation that the only "false promise" of which I am aware Mr. Jobs has made is the 3Ghz promise, which came from IBM. I (and I suspect most members of this site) happen to think Mr. Jobs does not talk enough; thus we come here to talk about his company and about rumors about what Apple may do next. Good luck with your ninth post!!

The whole year of the notebook thing. Of course, I guess he could have been talking about any year.

 

[lopresmb]

yep, it these processors are for anything other than replacement parts for their current G4 lineup (or unless they actually do have some sort of dual core think cooking in the kitchen) it seems that sticking with G4 is shooting yourself in the foot.

I just keep on thinking, IF Apple does announce a dual - dual core PM G5 at Paris, just imagine how slow you G4 based products instanly start to feel. I mean 4 G5 cores running at 2.7 GHz, verses a G4 at 1.67 Ghz, ehhh

 

[BenRoethig]

Sounds like either shoring up Applecare or a contingency plan if the move to intel turns out to be a complete C.F.

 

[Fender2112]

My impression, which I'm sure others have already mentioned, is that this is for warranty purposes. If a person purchases a G4 computer today along with Apple's extended warranty, that machine must be covered through 2008. I would expect a similar agreement with IBM for G5 chips.

I read this as a sign that G4 Macs are about to be EOL. Which means Intel products are just around the corner. I'm guessing eMac or Mini will be the first ones.

 

[jwhitnah]

God please no more agonizing years of more Moto Stagnation, Its sad enough they had to design the G5 because of NOTHING from motostink but now more years of motostagnation? I dont think i can bear it. Imagine if Powermacs were G4s, imagine a new dual 1.67 powermac because thats what we would be stuck with. I think this contract is for motophones or other doohickies cause G4 just doesnt cut it when compared to anything else. Waiting on moto is like waiting for the cubs to win the series.

Well said.

 

[KA2357]

Why would apple want chips till 2008?

To cover all of the 3-year Applecare agreements on current G4 products... even if Jobs announces a PowerBook upgrade to the Freescale 7448 next month.

 

[KA2357]

Ahh, Paris... The Eiffel Tower...The Arc de Triomphe...The Louvre...The Rue de Rivoli...The PowerBook G4 intègre un processeur Dual-Core PowerPC G4...

A dual-core G4 in a PowerBook? Highly doubtful. Much more possible is the 7448.

 

[Tom P]

They will supply the chipset for Apple's DVR "iHome"

 

[jiv3turkey748]

so apple is covering their butts, good job, although i can't say that i want the G4s to stick around any longer than they absolutely have to.

ya g4s are gettin a little outdated but hopefully there is a dual core model or at least one with higher fsb coming soon

 

[hob]

They will supply the chipset for Apple's DVR "iHome"

Yes please!

There was talk of a 900MHz G3 device as the last G3 iBooks were being produced...

 

[mrgreen4242]

this agreement means nothing to us. apple is just securing their spare parts and that's about it. how old the G4 is by 2008? no new products for it anymore actually, i was amazed they still wanted to use the chip for mini mac as they would very well have been able to underclock the G5 for it should they needed to...

Clock for clock the G4 is faster than the G5. Yes, the G5 has more potential than the G4 to go faster eventually (as it did), but if they were to underclock a G5 to, say, 1.5ghz is wouldn't be as fast as the G4 1.42 in the mini now, would generate more heat, and would cost more.

Also, the while 64bit-ness of the G5 would be absolutely wasted on the mini. It has ONE RAM SLOT. Even if it had two, it is IMPOSSIBLE for it to have more than 4gb RAM, which is the main/only advantage of a 64bit CPU.