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Buy an iBook now, or wait?

C

Chris1127

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 9, 2003
21
0
Jackson, MS
OK, folks. I'm looking at buying the 933MHz iBook, but I'm trying to decide if I should go ahead, bite the bullet, and order it now or if I should wait for the next update.

There have been some indications that a new PowerBook update may be coming soon, which (maybe) means that iBook updates won't be too far behind. Things like the new 1.5GHz G4s from Motorola reported on Monday, and starting today Apple is offerring a discount with preinstalled RAM on their desktops and Xserves, but not notebooks. Both of these tell me that the notebooks are getting updated soon. How soon is up to debate, though.

But back to my original question. Would you guys and gals recommend buying now or waiting?
 
Buy now!

i just got a 12 in ibook g4 in late jan and i love it. you could wait for updates, but i doubt the next round will be anything drastic. maybe an increase in the standard ram or hard drive size. The ibooks won't see the the new g4's from motorola until after they've been thrown in the powerbooks.

everyday day you wait is a day lost. there is always something better around the corner, it might be a good idea to wait for powerbooks, but right now is a great time to buy an ibook.
 
The next iBook update will probably be more than a month away and probably won't be a very big update. I'd go ahead and buy an iBook now unless you'd want to wait until the PowerBooks updated and get an old model powerbook.
 
I expect G4 powerbook updates in March and ibook updates in May/June.

I figure the G5 powerbook will decend from heaven about Sept./Oct. and a new form factor ibook will be seen in Jan 05.

I never buy a Rev 1 product so waiting for the G5 powerbook is not an option for me. Since I can not wait till Jan 05, August is my target date for a new mac.

Generally, I avoid buying until I can read the first reviews on the latest revision of a product. I consistently wait 1 month after release. This saves me from impulse buying and beta testing Apple products at my expense.

Of course everyone has their own buying philosophy.
 
they are not gonna give g5 to ibooks..so what the heck ..buy one..I have one..they are pretty sweet now..at most they would upgrade the video card..which isnt too bad right now..so,,....
 
Re: Buy an iBook now, or wait?

Originally posted by Chris1127
OK, folks. I'm looking at buying the 933MHz iBook, but I'm trying to decide if I should go ahead, bite the bullet, and order it now or if I should wait for the next update.

There have been some indications that a new PowerBook update may be coming soon, which (maybe) means that iBook updates won't be too far behind. Things like the new 1.5GHz G4s from Motorola reported on Monday, and starting today Apple is offerring a discount with preinstalled RAM on their desktops and Xserves, but not notebooks. Both of these tell me that the notebooks are getting updated soon. How soon is up to debate, though.

But back to my original question. Would you guys and gals recommend buying now or waiting?
Click to expand...

Buy now.

Practically EVERYTHING else in the Apple line is due for an upgrade of some sort, and likely this will all occur before the ibook gets revamped. You have PowerMacs, iMacs, eMacs and PowerBooks updates, which are unlikely to all happen for 4-6 months. Maybe then you'll see an iBook upgrade.
 
i'm in the same boat. i want the 12 in ibook, but i will be waiting until mid-march... what's the probablility of an update before or around then? NOBODY KNOWS... which is why, when the time comes for me to buy, i will see what the "mood" of the rumormill is and buy when I plan to (unless something really suggests that i wait). if NOW is your time to buy, buy. i think we all feel the tug of anticipation for new upgrades and want to wait, but as stated before, another day waiting is another day lost. buy now.
 
win95sux

Originally posted by ThomasJefferson

I figure the G5 powerbook will decend from heaven about Sept./Oct. and a new form factor ibook will be seen in Jan 05.
Click to expand...

I don't see a g5 powerbook for at least another 12-18 months.

but, I am planning to buy an 933 ibook in the next month.

BTW, Amazon has $100 mail in rebate for the 933
 
Re: win95sux

Originally posted by smllpx
I don't see a g5 powerbook for at least another 12-18 months.

SNIP
Click to expand...

Whoa, 18 months. If that happens these forums are going to be filled with lots of very disgruntled Mac users. :p
 
Re: Re: win95sux

Originally posted by aswitcher
Whoa, 18 months. If that happens these forums are going to be filled with lots of very disgruntled Mac users. :p
Click to expand...

Just given the size and heat of the g5 and the usual cycle from desktop cpu's to laptop cpu's. 18 months is on the outside, but I still don't see one this year.
 
the macrumors buyer's guide has now changed to adjust for the impending release of a new iBook. March 23rd is the nearest Tuesday to the "average" date of release. I would recommend holding out until then, because a March update doesn't sound odd, it's happened before. Also, the iBook was rumored to have a case redesign in october of 03, but it ddin't happen. so maybe in late march we'll see an updated iBook!

(I will be waiting till then)
 
I bought a 12" iBook two weeks ago and it is amazing. Since the 14" and 12" have the same resolution, I think the 12" is a better buy. However, if you are set on getting the 14" I might wait. The big complaint on that is the resolution needs to be higher. I wouldn't be surprised to see better resolution in the next revision. But they might now change it.

lasuther
 
lasuther-

what kind of computing do you do with your ibook? do you ever use photoshop, indesign, illustrator? also, what computer are you upgrading from?

yours is the machine I am looking at so a real report on the laptop would be much appreciated !
 
Originally posted by michaelrjohnson
lasuther-

what kind of computing do you do with your ibook? do you ever use photoshop, indesign, illustrator? also, what computer are you upgrading from?
Click to expand...

I was wondering the same thing. I'm looking to do some general computing with maybe a little dabbling in Photoshop, Dreamweaver, and the like. How well/badly does the iBook handle such apps? Also, since it affects the performance of the computer, how much RAM did you get?
 
Originally posted by michaelrjohnson
lasuther-

what kind of computing do you do with your ibook? do you ever use photoshop, indesign, illustrator? also, what computer are you upgrading from?

yours is the machine I am looking at so a real report on the laptop would be much appreciated !
Click to expand...

Well, I don’t do any major computing. Mainly web surfing, Microsoft Office, iTunes, iPhoto, and War Craft 3. So I can’t talk about the programs you mentioned. This is my first Mac, I was upgrading from an old Dell desktop. It’s just the basic 12” with AirPort Extreme. First thing I did was put in 512MB of RAM from Crucial bringing the total up to 640MB. I definitely recommend doing this immediately. It’s said that you can use 1 Gig RAM now, but it’s very expensive. And I’m not sure if there are any potential problems with that.

I would recommend a larger hard drive than the stock 30 gigs. About 13 gigs are used on included software. I’ve already added 2 more Gigs of music and pics. That’s half of my hard drive gone and I haven’t done much with it yet. You might also want to consider Bluetooth as it doesn’t cost that much and you can’t add it internally later.

As far as a review, it’s been perfect. The small size makes it ideal for portability. My best friend has a 17” PowerBook and that is huge in comparison, but it’s more of a desktop replacement. More importantly he paid $2000 more for his machine. That’s the best thing about the iBook, the cost. You can take the money saved any buy a G5 desktop to do some heavy computing. I plan on buying a G5 next year. The graphics card on this iBook was able to handle WC3 at full graphical levels, so that’s all I need from it. I recommend buying the iBook as soon as you need it. There should be no major updates soon. There will always be rumors of upcoming upgrades. You’ll have to bite the bullet sooner or later.

That’s it for me. Good luck and have fun.

lasuther
 
Chris-

I recently decided to go ahead and buy a PB. It certainly presented itself as a bit of a dilemma.

The thing is I don't really understand your dilemma as much. You are looking at the 933 MHz iBook, right? It doesn't seem that you want to spend the amount of money that the newer (and always rumored to be right around the corner) PBs are going to cost. If you feel that you need a bit more out of your notebook, there are already a number of solutions available to you from Apple.

I guess you are going to have to figure out exactly what you need out of your system. You hinted at doing some photo editing, which would benefit from a PB over an iBook. But it is your money that you will be spending.

To answer the RAM question I would say to try for at least 512MB. As others around here mention, crucial.com is a far more economical choice that upgrading the memory when you buy the system from Apple. If there is a choice to have all the memory on 1 DIMM that is a good idea, so that you don't have to throw away one, or both, of them (like in a 256x2 or 128x2 configuration that makes upgrading in the future a pain).

Good luck, and let us know what you decide.

Jay
 
I'm casting my vote for 'buy'.

The next laptop line to be significantly enhanced will be the Powerbooks, no question. The iBooks will be a good 6-10 months after that, and even then it'll probably be last year's model with free Cheese n' Sour cream Pringles.

I'm not dissing the iBook, I have one and am chuffed to monkeys with it. I just think now is a good time to buy cos the step up will be a while.
 
I think that the iBook is the best VALUE available in a mac laptop, 2nd only to the emac in the whole of apple products. But the difference between the PB and the iBook is so negligable, that it's hard to justify extra $. Especially with the iBooks battery life significantly higher. I vote for iBook, I vote for Buy.
 
I'm looking to do some general computing with maybe a little dabbling in Photoshop, Dreamweaver, and the like.
Click to expand...

I have dabbled with Macromedia Fireworks in the viewing/manipulation of USGS quadrangle maps on my G3 800 iBook with 640 RAM and found it to be a little slow when handling them (3-20 MB each), especially when trying to stitch two together. As a result, I'll do graphics on my girlfriend's 15" TiBook. The extra screen real estate definitely helps along with the processor and 1 gig RAM. However, the iBook is a fantastic little machine, and significantly less $$$ than your other alternatives. I can't speak on the battery life of the G4 though. Nonetheless, you could pick up the iBook and some other goodies and still save $$$.
 
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