DigiTimes Reports PowerBook G5 and iBook G5 Contracts

[dicklacara]

Hmmm I believe the original comment was directed towards Apple's Xserve and PowerMac lines.

I think it would be just the opposite -- I see IBM marketing (or at least recommending) XServe as an entry level server to business.

Think about it:

1) Same/compatible CPU as IBM' servers

2) Very similar OS

3) Non-Intel based (consistant with IBMs future Server hardware)

4) IBM cannot sell PC class machines (desktops, laptops) but could certainly recommend IBM CPU-based machines for admins/developers interfacing IBM' servers.

Several times in its history, when IBM was confronted with competition in a market segment, it implemented the following strategy:

"If we are going to have competition, it might well be US!"

The server/developer/admin market segment is a natural for this strategy.


Dick

(16 1/2 years with IBM computer marketing & development)

 

[deputy_doofy]

I really don't see the big deal in bringing the G5 out for both. The relationship really would not be any different than it is now. Both have G4's.
The G5, I believe, lets them really play with different bus speed options as well.
So, the iBook can have a slower G5, with a much slower FSB (333MHz, 400MHz, perhaps), and a lesser video card. Really, we still have plenty of people that would buy the Powerbook because of the power.
Now, don't get me wrong. If, by "G5," we mean a dual-core G4, I'm all for that as well. The dual-core G4 has many advances over the current G4, including a much needed FSB update.

 

[Barham]

I'm in the camp that believes this rumor (all accept the Pbook ibook at the same time. I prefer the theory that we see ibook's slightly later than Pbooks). Here's why.

Tiger is optimized for the G5! That's all you need to know. Apple is not going to leave it's pro users hanging. I see it like this:

Powerbook G5 production starts ASAP to build up supply.

Tiger is the focus of and released at WWDC.

Steve starts to walk off stage...

Oh yeah, one more thing.

(it's classic Jobs)

-Hasta

 

[dodonutter]

You know you're just jealous.

'Sides, I could afford all that… if I didn't mind making significant sacrifices (pretty much no other luxuries in a given year or very few in two). How much are you willing to give up for your fandom?

~J

I'm VERY jealous!!

I'm a student so i have no money but managed to scrape together enough for a 1.5GHz 15" 512RAM/128VRAM/5400rpm etc and i sat in Regents Street for 19/20 hours so i class myself as a member of the Apple fan club, just don't have £10500 (bout how much io_burn's Apple gear is worth)

I would want to buy a G5 PB if they came out but no way i could afford that for a while. Mite get a G6 or high G5 PB when i leave Uni

 

[SiliconAddict]

According to various threads like http://forums.macosxhints.com/archive/index.php/t-17183.html, the new IBM compilers make the G4 much faster as well.

Bring on the dual core G4 PB running software built using IBM's XL compilers!

Good to know. Thanks.
I think the biggest draw of the G5 is its FSB and the much higher system clock speed, along with various architectural differences. If Freescale can come out with a chip with a solid FSB (Or do their voodoo with a built in memory controller which makes a FSB less important) that benchmarks close to the G5 I think everyone who is pro G5 in the *book line, including me, will shut up.
The problem is that many, again including me, have lost all faith in Moto, no matter what name they are carrying now, and would rather seen a transition over to IBM. IMHO there is NO excuse for what happened to the PowerMac over the last few years. I will chock it up to lack of forward momentum by Moto, and again IMHO, there is zero excuse for that. If I was running Apple I would be biding my time with Moto but long term I would want to flick off the head of their chip division and tell them all to go to hell. Once the transition is done of course.

Heck does anyone even know if Moto has transitioned over to a 90nm process yet?

We keep seeing these grandiose plans by Moto. It has been said before and deserves being said again: I will believe that Moto has a working product the day Jobs announces it on stage. Until then its all smoke and mirrors on the part of Moto AFAIC.

 

[3Memos]

The problem is that many, again including me, have lost all faith in Moto, no matter what name they are carrying now, and would rather seen a transition over to IBM. IMHO there is NO excuse for what happened to the PowerMac over the last few years.

Will IBM ever get the G5s up to 3Ghz? It's starting to look like it'll be another year before we reach the "promised" speed. Damn you Steve for getting my hopes up.

 

[SiliconAddict]

Tiger is optimized for the G5! That's all you need to know. Apple is not going to leave it's pro users hanging. I see it like this:

Not really. I'd love to know more. If I'm to believe the other posts on this thread there isn't all that much optimization you can do to a G5 that won't apply to a G4 as well. "optimized" seems to be the buzz word of the day and people have to be careful using it.
You need to keep in mind that even with the sales of G5 PowerMacs and iMacs the G5 still is a very small portion of the systems that are out "there". Consequently Apple would really be hanging themselves if they made too many tweaks to their OS this soon.

It really boils down to this:

Which chip is going to be ready to ship first: A Freescale or a G5 that is sufficiently reduced in power enough to shoehorn into a *Book. You can bet hard cash that Apple is frantic about getting SOMETHING in their high-end laptop line that can compete against the Pentium M. Like it or not Apple’s high end mobile offerings look anemic in comparison to the PC crowd. The low end iBooks are another matter. They are cheap enough that most looking at an iBook aren’t focusing on getting the fastest system possible.
But PowerBooks? If I’m going to spend close to, and when its all said and done OVER, $3,000 on a laptop I want the damn thing to smoke a 1.7Ghz Pentium M Dothan and the reality is that currently that just ain’t happening.

 

[SiliconAddict]

Will IBM ever get the G5s up to 3Ghz? It's starting to look like it'll be another year before we reach the "promised" speed. Damn you Steve for getting my hopes up.

BIG difference. If you look at most of the chipmakers on the market they have all but hit a wall when it comes to clocks and instead are focusing on dual core systems. (Mark my words 2005 will be the year of the dual core CPU.) IBM has at least pushed out a 2.5Ghz chip. Moto is still stuck at 1.5Ghz and has been for some time. Look at performance increases on the G4 over the last 3 years and tell me they are putting a lot of effort into their offerings. IBM's problem can at least be attributed to the transition to the new 90nm fab process, which, might I add, they seem to be getting the kinks worked out. What is moto's excuse? What? Putt, putt golf tournaments were getting in the way of getting a new chip out?
"Bob I think we really should finish off that new 200Mhz FSB G4. "
"Just one more try. I almost got this windmill licked."

 

[adamjay]

The 12" powerbook may seem like a stupid buy, but there are major differences which is in 3 main factors: CPU L1 and L2 cache, System Bus, and Graphics setup. While the iBook G4 runs with a 32kb L1 cache, the Powerbook G4 runs at 64kb cache. Because of the 2x of the bigger cache for the CPU, the G4 processor is able to work more efficiently, hence your applications will feel smoother than the ibook. Another signficance difference is the System Bus which the Powerbook 12" runs at 167mhz as opposed to the 133mhz. One more thing, although the Radeon Card and the Nvidia card ...seems comparable (kinda..), the 12" Powerbook uses 64MB VRAM as opposed to 32MB. With these three things, you will notice a large difference.

actually, the ibooks and powerbooks g4 both have the same amount of L1 cache: 32 kB data, 32 kB instruction, and of course both have 512k L2. Other than bus-speed which both 133mhz and 167mhz are still SLOW, they really are extremely similar beasts. Its great that the ibook is a good deal, but this makes PB's even harder to justify.

i dunno, i guess Apple just needs to do more to differientiate the ibook from the powerbook, and by that i don't mean dumb down the ibook. i mean they need to really spec out the powerbook. ESPECIALLY the 12"'s. Brightview screen , firewire 800, gigabit ethernet on all PB's. the 12" is a powerbook too ya know.. but it seems to be in this overpriced nook of half ibook half powerbook.

i'd like to switch back to an apple laptop, but its going to take alot to get me to ditch this HP AMD64 3700, 1.5GB, 80GB 5400rpm, Combo Drive, 15.4" WXGA, 802.11g - that in the end only cost me $1549 (thanks to a great deal on a 1GB ram stick, that also works in pbooks/ibooks). no it doesn't run OSX but it does run ableton live faster than a 2.5ghz G5. I used to own a 12" 867mhz G4 PB, moving to the HP (though i hate to say it, because i love apple) was like going from a g3 to a g5. And my battery life is just as good too!

 

[AidenShaw]

I think it would be just the opposite -- I see IBM marketing (or at least recommending) XServe as an entry level server to business.

1) Same/compatible CPU as IBM' servers
2) Very similar OS
3) Non-Intel based (consistant with IBMs future Server hardware)

Why wouldn't IBM push Linux on Xeon/AMD for the entry, or the JS20 and/or the entry POWER4/POWER5 servers with AIX?

Most business users care about applications, not CPU architectures. The list of business applications available for OS X is pretty slim....

And Linux is a lot more compatible with AIX than is OS X.

 

[geoffism]

I'm VERY jealous!!

I'm a student so i have no money but managed to scrape together enough for a 1.5GHz 15" 512RAM/128VRAM/5400rpm etc and i sat in Regents Street for 19/20 hours so i class myself as a member of the Apple fan club, just don't have £10500 (bout how much io_burn's Apple gear is worth)

__________________________________________

I wouldn't worry about it too much. People have been yapping about the G5 PB since last July. With the non-announcement this past MW, that puts the wait on for at least another 6 mos. before the real announcement. Let's not forget the normal Apple product cycle - 1st gen are always the "rush" to market, make the fixes on the 2nd Gen. Get your APPLECARE!!!

 

[zen]

Response from Digitimes

Hi,

Sorry if this has already been covered, but I used the comment/question box at the bottom of the Digitimes page and got the following email this morning:

Dear Adam,

We believe our sources are reliable. We appreciate the concern that our readers may have about the validity of this information and hope to follow up this story later this week.

Thank you for reading DigiTimes.

The DigiTimes Team

Which means it wasn't a typo. They think they have info on the iBook G5 and PowerBook G5. I guess we need to watch their site for a few days.

Zen

 

[tfh1013]

which Q2???

is it the fiscal Q2 Jan-March
or the year's Q2 April-June????

I got the same message from DigiTimes

No typo here...

 

[SiliconAddict]

Which means it wasn't a typo.

I think I just soiled myself.

 

[Moxiemike]

Actually with the heat issues that have been mentioned about the G5 in a notebook, could it be that there will be two lines for a short time? A G4 series that is thinner, and a G5 series that are a bit thicker?

Remember, never say never with Apple. Just we have found out this week.

I was kinda thinking exactly what you were:

Esepecially on the "never say never"

How about:

Powerbook G5, $1599-$2999 (12-17 inch)
iBook G5, $1299 (12) $1499 (14)
iBook G4, $799 (12) $999 (14)

Now wouldn't THAT be a shocker???

m

 

[Photorun]

I was kinda thinking exactly what you were:

Esepecially on the "never say never"

How about:

Powerbook G5, $1599-$2999 (12-17 inch)
iBook G5, $1299 (12) $1499 (14)
iBook G4, $799 (12) $999 (14)

Now wouldn't THAT be a shocker???

m

You left off the PowerMac G8 Quad Processor with a pony, your very own flying car, and world peace in your "reality" list there.

Again, why is this RUMOR (and a far far fetched one at that) on the front page of macRUMORS? This is page 2 fodder at best, or page 5 if there was one. Just another G5 rumor to keep the naive and gullible rehashing their delussional dreams. Read with me, NO G5 laptops! This is just another friendly public service announcement to try to remind people to avoid the hype and stay in reality. Thank you.

 

[mrwilly123]

The tech industry and its (and all of yours) obsession with speed is getting ridiculous. it's at the point where the cheapest ibook is way more than fast enough for 90% of people.

I do a considerable amount of hobby audio editing, image editing, video editing (not much though), and web on a 1ghz ibook w/ 768 mb ram, and it is way more than fast enough for me. os x feels completely snappy. i cant imagine what you guys do on your laptops that the current ibooks even are insufficient.

 

[iJWC]

You left off the PowerMac G8 Quad Processor with a pony, your very own flying car, and world peace in your "reality" list there.

Again, why is this RUMOR (and a far far fetched one at that) on the front page of macRUMORS? This is page 2 fodder at best, or page 5 if there was one. Just another G5 rumor to keep the naive and gullible rehashing their delussional dreams. Read with me, NO G5 laptops! This is just another friendly public service announcement to try to remind people to avoid the hype and stay in reality. Thank you.

...and why should anyone believe what you say Vs. Digi Times? Do you have anymore insight other than speculation? Which is what this site is about. Spare me with the heat issues. I'm a double E and well versed in thermodynamics. The issues can/will be solved.

 

[Moxiemike]

You left off the PowerMac G8 Quad Processor with a pony, your very own flying car, and world peace in your "reality" list there.

Again, why is this RUMOR (and a far far fetched one at that) on the front page of macRUMORS? This is page 2 fodder at best, or page 5 if there was one. Just another G5 rumor to keep the naive and gullible rehashing their delussional dreams. Read with me, NO G5 laptops! This is just another friendly public service announcement to try to remind people to avoid the hype and stay in reality. Thank you.

boy. the natives surely are restless.

 

[asphalt-proof]

DigiTimes has a terrible track record. Besides, Apple would never introduce PowerBook G5's and iBook G5's at the same time, they'd at least leave a span of 6 month or so to milk early adopters.

I seem to remember several rumors that came out of a Digitimes article. one was the 19" iMac(a year before the 20" came out.) I can't remember what the other was. I wouldn't trust their track record. Wait till Think Secret comes out and says something . Then I will believe.

 

[SiliconAddict]

You left off the PowerMac G8 Quad Processor with a pony, your very own flying car, and world peace in your "reality" list there.

Again, why is this RUMOR (and a far far fetched one at that) on the front page of macRUMORS? This is page 2 fodder at best, or page 5 if there was one. Just another G5 rumor to keep the naive and gullible rehashing their delussional dreams. Read with me, NO G5 laptops! This is just another friendly public service announcement to try to remind people to avoid the hype and stay in reality. Thank you.

Or on the flip side....why are you so against the idea of a G5 laptop? You are screaming like an idiot about it when at this point it’s well within the capabilities of Apple. You cannot tell me Apple couldn’t put one into a laptop the size of a Pizmo. Obviously not a 2Ghz chip but a 1.6Ghz? Who cares if people want to speculate about a new Apple laptop?!? God knows everyone is clamoring for one what with the craptaculare performance on of the current PowerBook line.
My bet is that they probably have been able to do a G5 PowerBook in some form or another since last year. But G5 chips were already stretched thin as it is what with the PowerMac and iMac lines both using it. Adding the PowerBook lines to the mix would have probably overtaxed IBM's capabilities. That and even though they could have shoehorned a G5 in a PowerBook its battery requirements probably didn’t satisfy Apple. Finally they have obviously been focusing on the iMac and mini line of products. Apple has this inability to focus on multiple products at the same time. They let a product line languish until it actually hurts them and only then do they update it. *shrugs*
At any rate, again, this isn’t out of the realm of possibilities so lay off the anti-speculation throttle will ya?!

 

[Pringolian]

Why the constant negativity.
G4 tooks 2 years to go portable, G5 WONT BE ANY DIFFERENT!!!
and TECHIES WILL ALWAYS NEED MORE SPEED!

G5 - THE BRAND
The G5 brand sells Apple computers and that's why there are a hell of a lot of people out there that want a G5 PowerBook. They are fast (which helps) and they are 64-bit, another buzz word that people want to splash the cash to be a part of, people want to buy into Apple/IBM's new technology. They don't want a rehash of a brand known as 'G4' that has been around for over half a decade! The entire industry is creating a buzz around 64-bit processing and people want to make the transition, regardless.

MOTO may be adding 64-bit extensions but their chip is not going to be ready for a long time. It has been well reported that IBM and Apple have been working towards a portable G5 for quite a while now.

Whatever happens, Apple know what they are doing and the new PowerBook product they choose to release will be the one that is likely to sell more units across the board.

WE NEED THE SPEED
It's 'ADAPTATION'.
You find ways of becoming quicker and working more efficiently.
Use internet connections as an example; if you use 56k for a couple of years you learn to live with it and maximise it's potential but then 512k comes along and a world of new possibilities arrive and you learn to adapt the way you use the connection (downloading larger files, viewing more exciting web content) and then 3Mb SDSL comes along and it happens all over again on a larger scale.

The same goes for computers. You learn how to use a few applications at once. You are watching a film clip you have just edited using Final Cut Pro and then you suddenly have a brilliant idea for a film script. You press F9 on your keyboard and a brilliant/creative animation takes place that allows you to switch to another application so you can write that idea down. That may trigger an idea for a music composition in Logic or GarageBand 2 and this process can go on forever.

The technology allows you to think/move quicker and free up the processes in being productive/creative! It doesn't mean you can't do it with an older machine, but like I said you adapt and learn how to handle and utilize the new increases in speed.

 

[fluidinclusion]

Rumor must be true!

What the... ? How'd THIS make it to front page?!?!?!!? I'd at least have expected pigs flying or monkeys flying out of my butt before something this erroneous and fabricated to make it as front page... I mean, this is MacRUMORS, and clearly this type of BS, total and utterly exquisite BS, is the purist of BS, and any SANE person would realize as completely false as anything uttered here. Rumors... rumors, rumors... reality, sorry kids, no G5 laptop anything. You're wasthing your time reading this thread, it is not happening, not now, not soon, possible not ever, move along. Thanks.

Geeez, you sound like bill palmer! Now it must be true!

 

[gamestriker]

If you look at the table in the article, it says the iBook G5 will start shipping second quarter to Apple, so (as much as I hate to say this since I was hoping to get an iBook G5 before I start college next fall) it likely won't be ready for WWDC or Macworld Paris. However, the table says that the delivery date for the PowerBook G5 will be in "2Q 2005" meaning, we can expect it for WWDC, at the latest.

The iBook G5 looks like it won't come out until after Macworld Paris (and the Back-to-School season), possibly as a quiet release right before Christmas 2005 or Macworld SF 2006 (probably not though), at the latest.

Here is my guess for release calendar*, up to January 2006:

March/April - releases for the educational buying season:
-- eMac G5 - 1.6 GHz on both models, w/ the high-end having similar specs to the low end iMac G5. Improved graphics for future Tiger Core Image support. Now with iWorks and iLife '05.
-- iBook G4 update (in keeping with the upgrade cycles) - 1.33/1.5GHz w/ improved graphics for future Tiger Core Image support. Hard drives go to 40GB and 80GB. Now with iWorks and iLife '05.

May - a quiet overdue upgrade, and tons of speculation...
-- iMac G5 update - 1.8/2.0GHz; otherwise, just speculation about WWDC (if you want some more of updates here, an iPod and iPod mini updates would be nice, w/ 20, 40 and a new 60 GB and a 5 GB model, respectively...15 hours of battery life for iPods, 10 hours for iPod mini, and price drops for across the board )

June - releases for power users, just in time for WWDC
-- Tiger, ready to roar (Hopefully with Java 2 Platform 5.0, also called Tiger, I believe. )
-- PowerBook G5 - 1.6GHz/1.8GHz with 512 RAM base on all models and Tiger. New 13" PowerBook (no more 12"). 128MB Graphics on all models, among other nice new upgrades.
-- PowerMac G5 update - Dual 2.0, 2.5, and 3.0GHz, price drops (hopefully), and some other nice upgrades.
-- lots of high-end HD stuff

July - all about the budget consumer...
-- iHome (possible, still waiting to see some more solid evidence on this rumor); will have support for HDTV w/ Tivo; built-in Airport Extreme so you can connect to your network, and control your TV from your 'Book or 'Mac at home and even possibly load stuff up from your 'Book or 'Mac on screen with a remote control.
-- Updates to software, and accessories for all.
-- Possibly speed bump upgrades, maybe a Mac mini upgrade to 1.5/1.67 GHz
-- Only major update could be iBook G5 (more likely will be an iBook mini, starting at $799), though its doubtful since they will want to "milk" (I couldn't think of a nicer term ) with the PBG5 and the Back-to-School deals with the iBook G4/iPod combo (or iBook mini/iPod combo).
-- more HD stuff, aimed at the budget consumer.

August/September - getting ready for school again...
-- Back-to-School deals, with iBook/iPod combos leading the way.

October/November - finally, in a quiet release...(and coincidentally, just in time for the holiday season...)
-- iBook G5, w/ 1.5 and 1.6GHz models, 512 RAM base (finally!), same graphics probably if they upgraded them in March/April (according to this calendar) and other nice stuff starting at $1099.
-- iHome update (or release if they haven't released it yet, assuming the pictures are true.)

December - the holidays are a time of giving...for Apple employees, Christmas bonuses!
-- 500% Profit increases on all lines, compared to Christmas 2004, with the iHome and iBook G5 leading the way! Apple hits 1 Billion in profits for this quarter alone! (ok a little exagaration but its will be a really good christmas season for Apple ).

January 2006 - a new year, a ton of new Apple products and upgrades
-- Macworld - Jobs keynotes again, with a Mac mini to 1.5/1.67 G4s if it hasn't happened already, and announcement of plans for 2006; updates to iWorks and iLife...maybe something new for both products i.e. spreadsheet for iWorks and something revolutionary for iLife? We'll find out in 12 months ...



* - calendar is based on information/speculation from comments and rumors in websites, forums, and blogs, mainly apple.com, macworld.com, macrumors.com (Buyer's Guide help in speculation), and thinksecret.com, over the past 6 months, as well as, Apple's history about releases, new products, etc.

 

[3Memos]

based on information/speculation from comments and rumors in websites, forums, and blogs, mainly apple.com, macworld.com, macrumors.com (Buyer's Guide help in speculation), and thinksecret.com, over the past 6 months, as well as, Apple's history about releases, new products, etc.

Apple looks to double their profits for 2005, on swift sales of Mac minis and shuffles. A price break on the iPod mini and new collaborations with other musical acts will give Apple a 90%-95% marketshare of mp3 players.