Buying questions about the 15" G4 PowerBook

[thomasp]

My dad is considering buying a 15" G4 PowerBook (updated model to mine ) some time around the end of March/Early April to replace his rapidly ageing G3 iBook.

Reading the latest announcements regarding the MacBook Pro's, it got me thinking about how much longer the 15" PB is going to be around for... I've noticed on the US Apple store the 15" PB has a shipping time of 1 - 3 days, whereas the other two have shipping times of 24 hours. On the UK store, all PB's have shipping times of 24 hours.

Is it likely that there will still be stocks left at the Apple shops in the UK at the end of March/Early April, or do you think Apple will have sold all 15" PB's by then? He doesn't really want to get a MBP (mainly because of the price and the fact that Photoshop CS2 isn't currently Intel Compatible...). I realise that nobody here will know the answer for certain, but I'd just like to know your gut feelings


Also, I've read about the horizontal lines on the 15" screens - do you get these on every PB, and is it annoying and/or noticeable.


If the 15" PB's are all gone by the time he wants to buy, he'll probably go for one of the iBooks....


Thanks for the help

 

[Chrispy]

All 15" powerbooks still have the line issue. I was in the Chicago Apple store today and all 6 on display had lines in the screen. Too bad too because I would have bought one if it was not for that.

 

[QCassidy352]

But apple is finally fixing the line issue, so it is no longer something users have to live with. Check the 50+ page thread for details.

 

[sw1tcher]

My dad is considering buying a 15" G4 PowerBook (updated model to mine ) some time around the end of March/Early April to replace his rapidly ageing G3 iBook.

Reading the latest announcements regarding the MacBook Pro's, it got me thinking about how much longer the 15" PB is going to be around for... I've noticed on the US Apple store the 15" PB has a shipping time of 1 - 3 days, whereas the other two have shipping times of 24 hours. On the UK store, all PB's have shipping times of 24 hours.

Is it likely that there will still be stocks left at the Apple shops in the UK at the end of March/Early April, or do you think Apple will have sold all 15" PB's by then? He doesn't really want to get a MBP (mainly because of the price and the fact that Photoshop CS2 isn't currently Intel Compatible...). I realise that nobody here will know the answer for certain, but I'd just like to know your gut feelings

Well, the G4 PowerBook's are end-of-life status now, I believe. I don't believe Apple's manufacturing them anymore, so once they sell off their existing inventory, it'll just be MBPs.

As for whether there'll be any left at the end of March/early April, it's really hard to say.... Depends on how fast they're selling and what the inventory levels are at. Since the MBPs seem to be selling so well, I would say that there'll still be G4 PBs by then. If not, there's always the refurbs on Apple's site.

 

[thomasp]

Thanks for the replies

But apple is finally fixing the line issue, so it is no longer something users have to live with. Check the 50+ page thread for details.

Do you have a link to this thread? I've had a quick look (very quick!) through this forum and can't find it. Thanks.


With a bit of luck, people will be drawn towards the MBP's, rather than the painfully slow and old PowerBooks which will leave a couple left for those who want to keep PPC computers for a couple more years.

 

[thomasp]

Sorry to resurrect this thread...

I've been speaking to my dad again today about upgrading his iBook. He's now considering the MacBook Pro (just exploring all options, I guess).

One question I have for the MR community is: how does the MBP battery life compare to that of the latest 15" PowerBooks? I know you can get 5 - 6 hours out of an iBook battery, and I've got 3.5 hours out of my 1.5GHz PB (last generation of the 1.5GHz's!) with WiFi turned on and using it. Currently, my dad's iBook battery lasts 20 mins with the OS just idling...

Also, how would the speed of Photoshop compare on the MBP to my 1.5GHz G4 PB and a dual 867MHz G4 tower (just approx)? I realise anything will be faster than a 500MHz G3 iBook - even our old 350MHz G3 iMac seems faster!!!


Thanks for the advice!!


Edit:

One other thing: I've been looking at the Apple website, and the MBP has the backlit keyboard like my PB, but does it have the automatically adjusting screen brightness (ambient light sensor for the screen, as well as the keyboard)?

 

[Temujin]

Do you have a link to this thread? I've had a quick look (very quick!) through this forum and can't find it. Thanks.

here you go
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/158751/

I have the lines but don't really notice them. I'll still be getting it fixed. I'll just wait a while hoping that Apple don't have any parts left, giving Apple a welcome opportunity to give me a MBP instead as compensation

 

[Temujin]

Sorry to resurrect this thread...

I've been speaking to my dad again today about upgrading his iBook. He's now considering the MacBook Pro (just exploring all options, I guess).

One question I have for the MR community is: how does the MBP battery life compare to that of the latest 15" PowerBooks? I know you can get 5 - 6 hours out of an iBook battery, and I've got 3.5 hours out of my 1.5GHz PB (last generation of the 1.5GHz's!) with WiFi turned on and using it. Currently, my dad's iBook battery lasts 20 mins with the OS just idling...

I get about 5 hours on my 15"PB DL (last rev.) with wireless and low brightnes.

Battery life: http://mobilitytoday.com/articles/apple_macbook_pro/3

and in this thread as well: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/182033/

 

[tristan]

There will be a supply of refurbs for a while... refurbs are usually good deals and are eligible for AppleCare. My last two Powerbooks were refurbs. Check out smalldog and powermax and the special deals section of the Apple store.