iBook Updates... Details?

[MacSA]

The 12" looks pretty poor compared to the 14", the only thing to get excited about would be a price drop - if that's confirmed of course.

 

[SurfinSHELL23]

So we think pricing is going to remain the same for the 12"?

 

[Cheap-Chopstix]

wow suddenly my 1ghz, 12inch pbook w/256mb and 60 gig hd seems so slow. . . o well at least mine still has the silver finish ^_^

 

[crazzyeddie]

Apple can't continue to sell a machine that won't run CoreImage natively... unless this means that Tiger release won't be until next June/July.

 

[Freg3000]

wow suddenly my 1ghz, 12inch pbook w/256mb and 60 gig hd seems so slow. . . o well at least mine still has the silver finish ^_^

How do you think the Rev A 12" PB owners feel? 256k L2 cache, 128 MB memory built-in, less than stellar video card. But oh, what a great computer nonetheless.

The iBooks seem in line with what I would expect for an update. Hopefully a core image supported video card is included. I don't think screen resolutions will change.

 

[AoWolf]

Hmm no GPU upgrade. There better be a new form factor or this a "meh" update.

 

[MacSA]

Apple can't continue to sell a machine that won't run CoreImage natively... unless this means that Tiger release won't be until next June/July.

I wouldn't be surprised if the next iBook update sometime next year came with Tiger pre installed

 

[SurfinSHELL23]

Hmm no GPU upgrade. There better be a new form factor or this a "meh" update.

It's still a nice upgrade... 200MHz is a good amount on a machine like this. It would be quite negligible on some P4 3GHz... but we're talking about a large chunk of the processing power here.

I hope there's a price drop on the 12"er, too!

 

[shidoshi]

IF (notice the IF) you are using your computer only at home (not to and from work) and do not have wifi (which is what started the whole argument) then it is foolish to get a laptop, both of you have wifi and move your computers around alot so he was not referencing you, just the person who thought it was stupid to have wifi built in standard into the unannounced ibook because s/he has no use for it in his/her house, then someone replied with "you can use your laptop elsewhere" and i believe s/he replied with "i don't take mine anywhere"

In your opinion, yes.

When I was studying in Japan, I met a ton of people who had a laptop that (a) didn't take it anywhere and (b) didn't have wireless internet. They had a laptop because it hardly took up any room and could be put almost anywhere. Even the new iMac can't go "anywhere," and still takes up quite a bit of room. A laptop, when closed, is almost nothing.

As well, even if you don't take your computer outside of your house, if you are somebody who ends up moving a lot, a laptop is a great thing.

I went from having a beige G3 MiniTower to a TiBook, and I've never been happier. Even taking out most of the reasons for owning a portable, just for the fact of the different in room it takes up and ease in which I could move it if needed alone, the extra money was worth it.

 

[AoWolf]

It's still a nice upgrade... 200MHz is a good amount on a machine like this. It would be quite negligible on some P4 3GHz... but we're talking about a large chunk of the processing power here.

I hope there's a price drop on the 12"er, too!

200 Mhz is nice but look at the comparisons of the current 12 and the 14. It not that much.

 

[quagmire]

1.33 Ghz G4 for the mid and high 14" ibooks. Well apple you better have a major revision for the pbook coming January because you killed the 12" Powerbook. You killed it. Are you happy?

 

[swissmann]

Those specs seem about right to me.

 

[AoWolf]

1.33 Ghz G4 for the mid and high 14" ibooks. Well apple you better have a major revision for the pbook coming January because you killed the 12" Powerbook. You killed it. Are you happy?

No because it has a 64 meg GPU.

 

[Sabbath]

I don't think we should all be going so crazy about the GPU and particularly the VRAM. Lets remember the iBooks have 1024x768 screens (with mirroring not spanning capabilities, by default official spec) 32MB of vram is enough for the iBook and I expect we will see the radeon stay unless Apple has agreed to give nvidia a bigger slice of the pie or the 12" PB is going to an ATI or both. A lot of the iBooks competitors especially the 12" models don't even have proper graphics chips.

These look like good (keeping reality in mind) updates to the iBook and I expect we will see a respective PB update reasonably soon. I'm hoping they are going to do something special with the PBs (not meaning G5) but I just don't feel it is going to happen in the near term. I've had a 12" iBook and a 12" PB, the powerbook will always have advantages over the iBook, the keyboards just don't compare the DVI out is essential for me and I love the feel of the metal, I know the iBook is physically tough but it scratches up way too much. I wish the 12" PB would move to a position where I could spec it as highly as the 15" and 17" PB (heat constraints considered), I like to have my 12" PB as a super portable laptop and then hook up to my 20" cinema and have a desktop. I fear I may have to move to an iMac G5 and a 12" iBook if Apple can't find a way to really improve the 12" PB.

 

[mms]

IMO, CD RWs should be standard for low end models. Even though the price is ok, I still think Apple should include CD RWs now and just get rid of standard CD ROM drives. again, IMO.

They are standard, even on the lowest model. A Combo Drive = CD-RW/DVD-ROM.

Even the new iMac can't go "anywhere," and still takes up quite a bit of room. A laptop, when closed, is almost nothing.

Not really. Sure, you can't take it around the house, but it has a very little footprint (just like the new monitors) so it actually takes less desk space than an iBook. And of course, you're sacrificing that mobility for the extra power and screen.

Sigh. My 800mhz 12" G4 iBook is already looking very outdated. And it's only just over 6 months old.

 

[DTphonehome]

Haven't really been following the iBook lately...this looks like a standard speedbump, right? Anything significant?

--DT

I WANT TO SEE JOHN KERRY'S CELEBRITY PLAYLIST ON iTunes!.

Found it...

Flip Flop Rock 4:35 OutKast, Jay-Z & Killer Mike Speakerboxxx/The Love Below
Caught a Light Sneeze Voltaire Boo Hoo (I think he got a purple heart for that one)
Duck and Run 3:50 3 Doors Down The Better Life $0.99
Wussypuff 3:02 Dynamite Hack Superfast $0.99
The Liberal Ladies of San Mateo 3:06 Sony Holland On a San Francisco High $0.99
I Smell Trouble 6:28 Roomful of Blues There Goes the Neighborhood $0.99
Predictable and Boring 4:11 Todd Solomon Feel It In Your Lymph Nodes $0.99
I Agree 2:20 Broken Temple Psychorock $0.99
Back and Forth 9:16 Willis Jackson Legends of Acid Jazz: Keep On a Blowin' $0.99
Band Aid 3:29 3Dp See Me $0.99
I Don't Understand 3:52 Stephen Now Poets in the Streets $0.99
I'd Do Anything 3:17 Simple Plan No Pads, No Helmets...Just Balls $0.99
The Ketchup Song, (Asereje) 3:31 Las Ketchup Las Ketchup $0.99
Madame Pompadour: Heut könnt einer sein Glück bei mir machen 2:29 Robert Stolz Classic Recitals: Hilde Gueden $0.99
Style Over Substance 6:13 Nonplace Urban Field Nuzzling $0.99

(boy, am I asking for it )

 

[dongmin]

Apple can't continue to sell a machine that won't run CoreImage natively... unless this means that Tiger release won't be until next June/July.

Please stop spreading FUD. CoreImage scales to the GPU. The GeForceFX Go 5200 is officially a 'supported' card, so the bar is pretty low. These iBooks will run Tiger fine.

 

[quagmire]

No because it has a 64 meg GPU.

We do not know if the GPU will be 64 mb. My common sense and gut feeling, the ibooks will get the 5200 64 mb.

 

[joeyboy76]

Of course, we do have to pay a little thing called sales tax here in the U.S. as well. So that $1,099 iBook isn't really $1,099, it's actually $1,189.67 where I live (with 8.25% sales tax included). I know the taxes are even higher in Europe, but just as with the sales taxes here, that's not Apple's fault.

you should all be getting your ibooks in singapore where the GST (Goods and Services Tax) is only 5%

the current price of the 1099USD iBook is 1998SGD (GST inclusive)

exchange rate is around 1USD to 1.7SGD

 

[iDave]

I really don't understand why the 12" iBook is gets a lowly 30GB hard drive. A lot of people actually prefer the 12" screen due to its 106 ppi resolution, but have to settle for a hard drive that's not even as big as a high-end iPod.

I took my iBook 600 apart to install an 80GB drive. It was not an easy job. Due to Apple's decision regarding this matter, apparently, I won't be replacing my iBook for some time to come.

 

[tech4all]

They are standard, even on the lowest model. A Combo Drive = CD-RW/DVD-ROM.

Oh I was talking about a CD ROM that could not write to a CD but only read. Guess Combo drive and CD rom are the samething?

 

[Mechcozmo]

Oh I was talking about a CD ROM that could not write to a CD but only read. Guess Combo drive and CD rom are the samething?

No. CD-ROM is CD-Read Only Memory

A Combo Drive is a CD-RW/DVD-ROM
aka, CD-Re-writer (can burn and re-burn and erase CDs) as well as DVD-Read Only Memory (Read DVDs and play em.)

A SuperDrive allows you to re-burn DVDs. Keep in mind that a CD-RW drive is not always a DVD reader, it must be a combo drive to do that. (The last sentence mostly applies to PeeCees.)

 

[yoda13]

I really don't understand why the 12" iBook is gets a lowly 30GB hard drive. A lot of people actually prefer the 12" screen due to its 106 ppi resolution, but have to settle for a hard drive that's not even as big as a high-end iPod.

I took my iBook 600 apart to install an 80GB drive. It was not an easy job. Due to Apple's decision regarding this matter, apparently, I won't be replacing my iBook for some time to come.

You could do a BTO and get a bigger drive.

 

[VicMacs]

i'll skip this update and wait for powerbooks to be updated... although i'm mighty tempted....

so little money and so much to do!

 

[ThomasHobbes]

eBay

I'm happy because this means the PB will be updated and I can get a previous gen PB on eBay for another 100 or 200 off.

They currently seem to be selling for 1800-2000 Canadian with a combo drive at 1.33 Ghz, which is pretty good counting the fact that theres no tax, and shipping runs around 30-40 US. At 1600-1800 Canadian I'd buy one right off the bat.