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iBook Updates... Details?
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PBG5, what for it , what for it and its running at 1.4GHz and 1.6GHz 
I believe it is quite possible that they can put a 1.6 or a 1.8GHz G5 into the PB line, yeah yeah heat and battery issue. I mean what have they been doing for over a year both IBM and Apple sitting on they hands. Come on people PowerTune will help this to only rev up if needed.
Honestly if this doesn't come to market at least a dual-core Power5lite at MWSF05.
I believe the Colour 60Gig iPod will be the who invite with U2.
I believe it is quite possible that they can put a 1.6 or a 1.8GHz G5 into the PB line, yeah yeah heat and battery issue. I mean what have they been doing for over a year both IBM and Apple sitting on they hands. Come on people PowerTune will help this to only rev up if needed.
Honestly if this doesn't come to market at least a dual-core Power5lite at MWSF05.
I believe the Colour 60Gig iPod will be the who invite with U2.
This is more realistic...
It was a bit soon to expect a complete overhaul I guess. The new iBooks haven't been out that long. I am curious about what the next gen ones will look like though. I like the price drop idea though, iBooks are definately getting better and much more competitive, they are still no match for the PBs though, even at 1.3ghz. I think the real surprise is going to be what is done with the Powerbooks.
When the eMac update rumor came out, there was also something mentioned about an update to one of the products in the existing lineup, so the iBook may have been that item.
The U2 iPod sounds like a bargain at only $30 more though, the U2 catalogue is huge and would cost much more than that to purchase.
I doubt I would ever spend $50 for someones signature on my iPod though, that's kinda lame, especially at $50!
It was a bit soon to expect a complete overhaul I guess. The new iBooks haven't been out that long. I am curious about what the next gen ones will look like though. I like the price drop idea though, iBooks are definately getting better and much more competitive, they are still no match for the PBs though, even at 1.3ghz. I think the real surprise is going to be what is done with the Powerbooks.
When the eMac update rumor came out, there was also something mentioned about an update to one of the products in the existing lineup, so the iBook may have been that item.
The U2 iPod sounds like a bargain at only $30 more though, the U2 catalogue is huge and would cost much more than that to purchase.
I doubt I would ever spend $50 for someones signature on my iPod though, that's kinda lame, especially at $50!
The only problem with making the iBook look like the iPod is that it already does. They both have the classy white-plastic look (and, in fact, I think the iBook had it first). The only thing the iBook doesn't have is the mirrored metal back ;-) and that might be a little strange.Porchland said:
It might be interesting to see an iPod mini-looking subnotebook/tablet, as some have mentioned in other threads, but I don't know what else from the iPod line can be ported over to the iBook's style.
I admit though that the iBook has probably gone the longest without any serious changes to its look. Mine is from January 2002 and it looks almost identical to the new ones. They changed the way they do the white so it doesn't look as translucent on the new ones, the font for where it says "iBook" under the screen has changed, and the new ones have a slot-loading optical drive. That's about all they've changed aesthetically in a LOOOOONG time.
And I Agree, Apple needs to upgrade they LCD technology. It's getting way to old, might have worked with OS9 however with OSX that menu bar looks cramped up on a small screen. And the Dock looks retarded as well. Lately Apple has to include a HDLCD on the top line of the PB's or all three that will make a great difference to the iBook. Plus they are marketing these mobiles to video pros. So why not HDLCD's.
Apple seems to be sleeping on they PB line.
Apple seems to be sleeping on they PB line.
achmafooma said:
Why tamper with perfection?
The iBook look good, for it's price range yet it's performance it surprisingly good as well.
The design is minimal (with a optical drive). It's also built to be rugged, which one can't say for many metals since they scratch and it is quite obvious unlike the plastic that is used on the current where unless you look at it close up and at an angle will you notice scratches.
The first iBook were too playful, the new iBook design hits the perfect balance. The few things Apple can experiment with is in the future removing optical drive and having a flash based card system (when flash storage is cheap) think about it a movie or software on a 4Gig Flash card
With that it will become thinner. Make the frame around the screen a little thinner. Keyboard needs some work as do the speakers. I hate the track pads on the iBooks and PBG4's I like the Pismo track pad better its not as large and awkward.
That is pretty much it.
I think steamboatwillie's expectations are pretty reasonable. I really hope they upgrade the GPU to 64 MB because 32 just doesn't cut it anymore. 64 is really low-end at this point.
a 1.25 vs. 1.33 difference on the 14"ers is so small it's almost silly, but if you also add that superdrive and bigger hard drive I guess it's a big enough difference to be worth it. I'd rather see only 2 models and the SD and HD be options on the 14".
As others have noted, the problem here is that apple is very likely to step on the PB's toes if they do anything more than a minor update. If you do things like making AE or BT standard, give the ibooks the same GPU as the 12", and make the processor 1.25 or 1.3 Ghz, how is the 12" powerbook any different? Because of DVI and audio in? Not nearly enough.
a 1.25 vs. 1.33 difference on the 14"ers is so small it's almost silly, but if you also add that superdrive and bigger hard drive I guess it's a big enough difference to be worth it. I'd rather see only 2 models and the SD and HD be options on the 14".
As others have noted, the problem here is that apple is very likely to step on the PB's toes if they do anything more than a minor update. If you do things like making AE or BT standard, give the ibooks the same GPU as the 12", and make the processor 1.25 or 1.3 Ghz, how is the 12" powerbook any different? Because of DVI and audio in? Not nearly enough.
A price drop would be excellent news - especially for the Christmas season approaching! AE would be impressive too, but I think that might make the iBook too similar to the current PowerBooks. Which means, will there be PowerBook revision soon as well, and if so, what will Apple do for that? Another minor speed bump probably wouldn't cut it....
Dual Core iBook?
How about a Dual Core G4 iBook and a G5 Powerbook? Simple, elegant, powerful. It would also give power to the low end and differentiate the PowerBook for the high end. Is a 1.33GHz G4 iBook comparable to a 1.6GHz G5 iMac at a similar price point? People may chose an elegant desktop over a weakly powered portable. So, dual core the iBook. G5 the PowerBook.
How about a Dual Core G4 iBook and a G5 Powerbook? Simple, elegant, powerful. It would also give power to the low end and differentiate the PowerBook for the high end. Is a 1.33GHz G4 iBook comparable to a 1.6GHz G5 iMac at a similar price point? People may chose an elegant desktop over a weakly powered portable. So, dual core the iBook. G5 the PowerBook.
Chaszmyr said:
On my old PC laptop the trackpad came with a software option where the entire right 10-15% of the trackpad becomes a vertical scroll "strip", and all u do is slide your finger up or down it. I'm pretty sure there would be a mac version of software that would do the same thing, just check macupdate or versiontracker.com.
I know ThinkSecret is usually pretty good, but I'm thinking there's no more new information here. They cite that same german site about the annoucment and I reckon the rest is just wishful thinking. Think secret didn't get anything right in Feb/March this year when we were waiting for hardware updates and they were saying something was going to be announced every week..
Someone said that anything beyond 10x7 on the iBook screen would look too small.. Well I'll say I wish it would at least do 1280x1024
It won't look too small, I can promise you that. Having worked on PC laptops with hi-res 12" screens and my last employer I can say it's not too small. It's definitely better than the antiquated 1024x768...
On that note all the powerbooks should be shifted up to 1600x1200 screens or 1600x1024 screens, they need to compete with PC laptops and they tend to offer higher resolutions. Besides if you market the PB to pros well then the screen needs to reflect what a pro would want.
As far as updates to the iBook line other than screen size well... here's what I see:
CPU update - 1.25/1.33 G4
Memory (onboard) 256MB ddr266 or maybe ddr333
GPU update - Radeon 9200 64mb or Radeon 9600 64mb
no built-in wifi, maybe built-in bluetooth
if this happens then for the Powerbooks I think something like this would happen:
Cpu update - 1.467/1.5 G4 lowend - 1.7 G4/freescale?
memory - 256MB installed (still) ddr400
GPU update - Radeon 9800 64/128 (128/256 <--dreaming)
That's my .02 cents
It won't look too small, I can promise you that. Having worked on PC laptops with hi-res 12" screens and my last employer I can say it's not too small. It's definitely better than the antiquated 1024x768...
On that note all the powerbooks should be shifted up to 1600x1200 screens or 1600x1024 screens, they need to compete with PC laptops and they tend to offer higher resolutions. Besides if you market the PB to pros well then the screen needs to reflect what a pro would want.
As far as updates to the iBook line other than screen size well... here's what I see:
CPU update - 1.25/1.33 G4
Memory (onboard) 256MB ddr266 or maybe ddr333
GPU update - Radeon 9200 64mb or Radeon 9600 64mb
no built-in wifi, maybe built-in bluetooth
if this happens then for the Powerbooks I think something like this would happen:
Cpu update - 1.467/1.5 G4 lowend - 1.7 G4/freescale?
memory - 256MB installed (still) ddr400
GPU update - Radeon 9800 64/128 (128/256 <--dreaming)
That's my .02 cents
The Red Wolf said:
We won't be seeing a G5 PowerBook anytime soon. Sure, it would be great, but there are still too many issues with doing this and I think Apple is more likely to move to a dual-core G4 than a G5 if anything major is updated in the near future. The fact that the Apple engineers managed to fit a G5 into the iMac's enclosure is very promising, but fitting a G5 into the 2" enclosure of the iMac is still significantly different than cramming a G5 into a 1" PowerBook enclosure.
A price drop sounds good.
The only thing I really want is to have the 14" iBook have a screen resolution of 1152x870 or 1152x768.
Having the 12" and 14" at the same resolution is somewhat pointless imo.
The only thing I really want is to have the 14" iBook have a screen resolution of 1152x870 or 1152x768.
Having the 12" and 14" at the same resolution is somewhat pointless imo.
I remember the week after I ordered my iBook, Apple released the new revision with BT, AE, higher max RAM and a Superdrive included in the educational deal for the same price I paid without all of those options. I don't care about gigabit, but in the educational setting, all things wireless and storage are critical.
~Shard~ said:We won't be seeing a G5 PowerBook anytime soon... ...but fitting a G5 into the 2" enclosure of the iMac is still significantly different than cramming a G5 into a 1" PowerBook enclosure.
True, I was on the cusp of wishful thinking. But everyone is pondering at the moment. I do feel the high iBook should carry an innovation that the PowerBook doesn't sport. Much like the iMacs last two incarnations. Unique to the consumer model. Reason why someone would get an iBook over a PowerBook rather than just price. Like an iPod dock built-in on a hinge so the iPod clicks into the iBook somehow after docking. Random sure, but something unique rather than the icy white colour.
The Red Wolf said:
iPod's won't have an inDock in any Mac desktop or mobile. Reason being its an added expenses to place when someone might or might not want to buy an iPod or mini, let along use the inDock. By not having an inDock there will be no added expenses to the product. Besides the iPod HDD is still very slow and has a short life when compared to a mobile HDD or desktop HDD.
It might be possible to put a 1.6-1.8GHz G5 into the PB for reasons is that the iMac has its hugh PU unit in the iMac case. Not so with the PB where the PU Block is external. The problem is that Apple has raised the bar for it portable line and they don't step backwards in this industry.
They have to confirm it to a ~1 inch case, have a minimum of 2 hours battery life and keeping it cool in a usable manner. A long with have a Back-Lit keyboard and all the other neat features they included with the last version. Unlike the PC world where one day its a 1 inch thick and the other is a 3 inch thick portable.
I don't see a lot of room for improvement without stepping on the PowerBook's toes (until it goes G5) so a price drop seems like a good direction to go. The more exposure I have to the G5 the more I am thinking the G4 is pretty much dead.
i have to express my concern that an update in the ibook line without an upgrade in the powerbook line would just weaken powerbook sales