G4 or G5 PB should I wait?

[Atca]

I'm still mulling over the idea of a 12" PB but am in no rush. I am thinking of holding off for a G5 PB.

I'm using an education discount which will expire next June do you think I will see the G5 PB in the UK before June 2005?

Also I know it is a bit early but do people expect the G5 to have a longer or shorter battery life than the current G4?

Would I be better off purchasing the latest rev of the G4 PB with most of the problems ironed out rather than buying a 1st rev G5 PB which may be problematic?

And most importantly do you think we will see a 12" G5, because I will be so gutted if I wait for a 12" G5 and they don't bring one out and stop selling the 12" G4.

Thanks

 

[Godfather]

If you're able to wait for a looong time, please, wait. If not get it now while she's hot!

If the g5 PB is ever coming, then it's going to be liquid cooled I think. This *should* require less battery power then a big fan spinning like a maniac... but then again I don't know how much the G5 CPU uses compared to a G4 CPU... Also, I think every new line of 'books is an update, so it should be updated on batteries too, but you can't be sure.

 

[Stella]

Instead of a PB, have you thought about a 12" iBook..? there isn't a lot of difference these days between the two.

You can hack the firmware to give you dual monitor supports. Can you live without a superdrive?

I'm still mulling over the idea of a 12" PB but am in no rush. I am thinking of holding off for a G5 PB.

I'm using an education discount which will expire next June do you think I will see the G5 PB in the UK before June 2005?

Also I know it is a bit early but do people expect the G5 to have a longer or shorter battery life than the current G4?

Would I be better off purchasing the latest rev of the G4 PB with most of the problems ironed out rather than buying a 1st rev G5 PB which may be problematic?

And most importantly do you think we will see a 12" G5, because I will be so gutted if I wait for a 12" G5 and they don't bring one out and stop selling the 12" G4.

Thanks

 

[netytan]

You are going to be waiting a loooooooooooooong time, from what i've read on here and other forums i dont see the G5 making its way into the PowerBook untill at least next year and even then it might not happen for a while. You also have to remember that when the G5 PowerBooks do finalyl come out, they'll be Rev. A and probably have a whole bunch of bugs! So get the G4 now, i'm sure you wont be disapointed with it . Its a very well refined system!

Mark.

 

[Atca]

Those are my thought get a rev C rather than a rev A. But i will be annoyed if the G5s come out only a month after my discount ends.

I think I'll hold out until my birthday in december and see what announcements are made at the end of the month and in paris.

I have looked at the iBook, but by the time I add on an airport extreme card and upgrade the hard drive and add bluetooth to bring it up to the same specs as the basic 12" powerbook combo it is only £130 cheaper.
For the extra £130 i'd rather have a powerbook, marginally smaller lighter and metal

 

[jxyama]

Those are my thought get a rev C rather than a rev A. But i will be annoyed if the G5s come out only a month after my discount ends.

remember that whenever G5 PBs do come out, you better count on at least a few more weeks it will take for them to ship.

i think making "plans" for laptop purchase a year in advance is kind of useless. a lot can happen in a year. keep up with news, but i wouldn't "decide" on anything now. wait until your "want" for a laptop turns more into a "need."

however, if you are going to get a PB, now is a good time.

also i'd like to dispute this "myth" that G5 PB will make G4 PB "obsolete" or that G5 PB will "last longer." i doubt G5 PB will last any longer than G4 PBs do. they will only last "longer" by the virtue of being newer, not because they have G5s.

G4 PM are still around and performing capably, a year after G5 PMs came out. the last revision of G5 PM was "top of the line" for a year - not any longer than any other models. so if you think G4 PB will be "obsolete" (whatever that means) in 2 years but G5 PB will last you 5 years instead, think again.

even G5 PB will be supplanted by something better in a year. no matter how long you wait and how advanced the technologies are in the computer you ultimately buy, something will better will come out within a year. what matters is what you do with the computer - not what the computer is.

 

[Florida Gator]

I have read a lot about the e600 and e700 chips and it seems like they are the ones to go in next unless IBM is making something specifically designed for laptops, so that is what I am waiting for. I also hope they replace the 12 inch pb with a 13 inch widescreen. I want a small widescreen, and it would be just about as portable.

 

[Atca]

i think making "plans" for laptop purchase a year in advance is kind of useless. a lot can happen in a year. keep up with news, but i wouldn't "decide" on anything now. wait until your "want" for a laptop turns more into a "need."

not really I have 1 year to get one due to my education discount. i'm ready to get one now but i need to plan a year ahead so i know whether or not a G5 is *likely* to be around before my discount ends. Since i am in no rush I have the ability to wait but would like one asap.

I know a lot can happen in a year but if I do end up waiting until june and no G5 arrives I will have to get a G4 and will have wasted 1 year of PB use. Swings and roundabouts.

As for needing a PB i doubt I'll ever "need" one since all my work and leisure stuff requires Win32. However I would like one as a luxury to play about with and for mobility to replace my Dell Inspiron Laptop 3kg beast and decided to treat myself whilst I can get a considerable discount.

As for a the "myth" of G5 making G4 obsolete i've not read of this. But no doubt when Apple do release their next rev of PB's they will surely discontinue the old rev. pretty soon although it will most likely still be supported it all depends on your definition of "obsolete".

Whilst hear your point that a G4 will still be a good PB and will still be very competent if I am spending £990 I will want to get the best I can for my money... that's only rational.

Florida I'm really the opposite I'd personally like a 10.2" screen but the only PC laptops with those are either very expensive in comparison to the PB or very poorly made.

At the minute i'm leaning towards a G4 at Xmas, or may be a G4 at the G5 launch if they slash the prices. Do apple tend to drop prices and still sell their remaining stock when they announce new models?

Thanks

 

[amols]

Well..if you can wait till Jan'2005, you'll definitely know if there's gonna be any G5 PBs soon or not. If no G5s, still you'll most certainly see an updated G4 PB, may be a dual G4 PB . I always find it worth waiting for PB updates since they are almost always much different than previous revs. And if you can't wait, I suggest you give a try to 12" iBook. It's really a bang for buck.

 

[jxyama]

Do apple tend to drop prices and still sell their remaining stock when they announce new models?

yes, at least as far as i can see in the US apple.com.

go to refurb section and you will see "new" units of old Rev's being sold at a discount.

 

[James L]

General rule, the PB lineup is updated every 7 months or so (with some glaring exceptions, such as the 10 month wait for the 15" last year). With this in mind, I would say either buy right after an update (which is now), or if you are closer to the end of the life cycle of the machine then wait.

There will be no PB updates at WWDC. Some people think WWDC is a generic apple show, but it is really a show for developers. This means it is about new software, new hardware, etc. Another updated G4 PB is not NEW hardware, but simply a revision to an existing lineup. So, this places the next show in September in Paris, which is where the PB's were updated last year. There is a show in November somewhere, but then the biggie is MWSF in January 2005. If there is going to be another G4 PB revision I would look for it in the fall, if the the next one is a new chip like the G5 I would look for it in January.

So, in short, I would buy now if you really want one as we are only 6 weeks or so out of the recent update. If you wait, wait until January for MWSF.

Cheers!

James

 

[Soc7777777]

I'm still mulling over the idea of a 12" PB but am in no rush. I am thinking of holding off for a G5 PB.

I'm using an education discount which will expire next June do you think I will see the G5 PB in the UK before June 2005?

Also I know it is a bit early but do people expect the G5 to have a longer or shorter battery life than the current G4?

Would I be better off purchasing the latest rev of the G4 PB with most of the problems ironed out rather than buying a 1st rev G5 PB which may be problematic?

And most importantly do you think we will see a 12" G5, because I will be so gutted if I wait for a 12" G5 and they don't bring one out and stop selling the 12" G4.

Thanks

WAIT... you will see that apple wont be able to make the g4 much faster in clock speed so they will bump it to like 1.5 (the 12") then they will HAVE to update other parts of the computer to make up for lack of processor upgrade (and that people are sick of g4 powerbooks and want a g5... not all but alot)... so you might see things such as a better battery and 128mb vram and a 512 chip of ram standard instead of 256

these would be great upgrades to the overall ocmputing experience... and apple wouldnt dare raise the price on a g4 powerbook.... i'd take a souped up g4 over a rushed g5

 

[Steven1621]

if you are considering a 12 inch PB, you might want to look at the ibook line instead. unless you need the ports and a bit more power, the ibook like is quite good and less in cost.

 

[PowerMacMan]

Why don't you wait to WWDC just to be sure, because although it is almost certain the PBG5 WILL NOT come out... Miracles are possible... I just said this in my last post I made in MacRumors, but...

Why don't you wait and see... Why don't we all wait and see...

 

[Atca]

Ok,

I have decided to wait until Jan 2005 for the announcements and will make a purchase in 1st quarter based on announcements.

As for the iBook, its only £130 less and for the cash I'd rather have the PowerBook plus it's white and i can't see it staying white for very long, + a PB should match my Shuttle and is that bit smaller. Thanks for your responses... now hurry up Jan!!!