iBook Updates?

[TWinbrook46636]

2002

January 7th, 2002
- New 14" G3 iBook

April 29th, 2002
- Updated 15" Titanium G4 PowerBook

May 20th, 2002
- Updated 12" and 14" G3 iBooks

November 6th, 2002
- Updated 15" Titanium G4 PowerBook
- Updated 12" and 14" G3 iBooks

2003

January 7th, 2003
- New 12" and 17" Aluminum G4 PowerBooks

September 16th, 2003
- New 15" Aluminum G4 PowerBook

October 22nd, 2003
- New 12" and 14" G4 iBooks

2004

April 19th, 2004
- Updated 12", 15" and 17" Aluminum G4 PowerBooks
- Updated 12" and 14" G4 iBooks

 

[Dave_B]

I'm a believer.

JohnLewis.com (UK department store chain, and Apple dealer) are out of stock of iBooks. Fits with an update.

 

[aswitcher]

2002

January 7th, 2002
- New 14" G3 iBook

April 29th, 2002
- Updated 15" Titanium G4 PowerBook

May 20th, 2002
- Updated 12" and 14" G3 iBooks

November 6th, 2002
- Updated 15" Titanium G4 PowerBook
- Updated 12" and 14" G3 iBooks

2003

January 7th, 2003
- New 12" and 17" Aluminum G4 PowerBooks

September 16th, 2003
- New 15" Aluminum G4 PowerBook

October 22nd, 2003
- New 12" and 14" G4 iBooks

2004

April 19th, 2004
- Updated 12", 15" and 17" Aluminum G4 PowerBooks
- Updated 12" and 14" G4 iBooks

Thanks for this summary.

Makes me think the next iBook might be more than an internal upgrade...

 

[Zaty]

Yeah, thats right. A friend I helped switch found her 12" and Lacie external burner would not work with iDVD. That was really disappointing because Toast doesn't do anything like iDVD for menus etc. In the end I moved the project to my PB and set up a master for her. I hope Apple remove some of these artificial limitations soon...

It's a bit off topic but the reason why iDVD doesn't support burning to external DVD burners out of the box is not a technical one, (there is an Easter egg in iDVD that enables burning to external drives as well as the creation of image files). According to David Pogue (iLife 04 Missing Manual, p.467), it has something to do with royalties: Apple has to license certain technologies from the Motion Picture Engineering Group (MPEG). Apple decided to include those fees into the price of a Superdrive and not into the software. Sorry for getting off-topic but it seemed to me that this is not well-know fact for some reason, so I guess it's worth mentioning this little fact in an unrelated thread.

 

[Skiniftz]

Ok - I just talked a friend into buying an iBook that she's now received. She doesn't have a lot of money and if she sees a new iBook come out and what she just spent her money on lower in price, she is going to be pissed.

I seem to recall someone saying something about Apple allowing users to upgrade to the newer model so long as they purchased their Mac within a certain time frame - anyone know what this is?

Also for orders very near a new model, don't they normally hold it back a while then upgrade your order?

 

[Dave_B]

Ok - I just talked a friend into buying an iBook that she's now received. She doesn't have a lot of money and if she sees a new iBook come out and what she just spent her money on lower in price, she is going to be pissed.

I seem to recall someone saying something about Apple allowing users to upgrade to the newer model so long as they purchased their Mac within a certain time frame - anyone know what this is?

Also for orders very near a new model, don't they normally hold it back a while then upgrade your order?

I don't know about any special policy from Apple but I think UK consumer law lets you return anything within 28 days of purchase. Check your receipt and if you return it buy the new shape iBook via johnlewis.com - they give a two year warranty.

CORRECTION

Sorry, I was wrong. You have 7 days from date of delivery.
http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/nm/index/your_world/consumer_affairs/consumer_fact_sheets_index.htm

Apple offer 10
http://promo.euro.apple.com/promo/help/uk/consumer/salespolicies.html#Anchor-46919

 

[AidenShaw]

connect the poles to the UPS, and the UPS to the XServe

yeah.. how do i hook up the poles to the xserve and the monitor???? ... ive been at it for like an hour now...

The "recipe" forgot to include a UPS to convert the DC to AC, get one of the APC modules that support external batteries.

 

[dekator]

iBook vs Powerbook popularity

the pb ships same day for free, and the ibook is still free shipping but 3-5 days. The powerbooks are much more populor then the ibooks. Maybe when the new ibooks come out next week the powerbook will move to 3-5 days. in 4 days is tuesday thats when it will be

How do you know? I wasn't able to find any recent numbers of iBook/PBook units sold, but according to Apple's conference call, iBook shipments were up 74%, while Powerbook shipments were up 21%. Do you have any numbers to reference with those latest ?

 

[Zaty]

How do you know? I wasn't able to find any recent numbers of iBook/PBook units sold, but according to Apple's conference call, iBook shipments were up 74%, while Powerbook shipments were up 21%. Do you have any numbers to reference with those latest ?

If I remember correctly, they sold something like 235'000 iBooks and approximately 215'000 PBs.

 

[AidenShaw]

If I remember correctly, they sold something like 235'000 iBooks and approximately 215'000 PBs.

Right - 238K iB and 213K pB (http://www.macworld.com/news/2004/10/13/4qreview/index.php)

Note that the "up 74%" is in reference to a year ago, the numbers declined since the previous quarter of this year.

 

[VAmin]

12" iBook v 12" pBook?

I dunno how reputable this site is, but since a lot of people have pointed out that apple needs to differentiate its 12" pBook a bit more, this seems to make a lot of sense to me (see Oct. 9th):
http://www.macosxrumors.com/articles/

Switching 12" pBook to 13.3" widescreen would make the whole pro line widescreen, and the whole consumer line 4:3. Logical, no?

 

[JSRockit]

What, and have a repeat of that Sony micro-notebook where you had to buy an external optical drive to install or do recoveries? And then, when they run out of these mechanisms, then you've got a paperweight because you can't add or clean the system.

No thank you.

Who needs to do a recovery on a mac? Anyway, you can use an USB or FW drive to reinstall software.

 

[Hattig]

I don't know about any special policy from Apple but I think UK consumer law lets you return anything within 28 days of purchase. Check your receipt and if you return it buy the new shape iBook via johnlewis.com - they give a two year warranty.

CORRECTION

Sorry, I was wrong. You have 7 days from date of delivery.
http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/nm/index/your_world/consumer_affairs/consumer_fact_sheets_index.htm

Apple offer 10
http://promo.euro.apple.com/promo/help/uk/consumer/salespolicies.html#Anchor-46919

No, you were right actually, the 1999 Consumer Protection Act or something like that means that for any non-custom (i.e., you can't return pencils with your name on, etc) product, you can return it *at your cost* within *28* days of purchase if you even decide that you just don't want it - not for any technical reason. So Apple UK are actually breaking the law by only offering 10.

I don't know why that fact sheet says seven, as it is totally incorrect!

I'm sure that there are regulations regarding how used it is though, and the fact that Apple would have to sell it as a refurb, not as new.

 

[firestarter]

I dunno how reputable this site is, but since a lot of people have pointed out that apple needs to differentiate its 12" pBook a bit more, this seems to make a lot of sense to me (see Oct. 9th):
http://www.macosxrumors.com/articles/

Switching 12" pBook to 13.3" widescreen would make the whole pro line widescreen, and the whole consumer line 4:3. Logical, no?

As long as they release a smaller professional laptop to compensate, that will be fine. The PowerBook 12 inch is already bigger and heavier than the competition's small notebooks. With a 13.3 inch screen Apple will completely remove themselves from this important market segment.

 

[JSRockit]

As long as they release a smaller professional laptop to compensate, that will be fine. The PowerBook 12 inch is already bigger and heavier than the competition's small notebooks. With a 13.3 inch screen Apple will completely remove themselves from this important market segment.

Apple can then implement the 12" widescreen that Dell and Alienware uses.

 

[pimentoLoaf]

Just priced out an iBook and found there's a bit of a wait (click pic to see):

 

[~Shard~]

Just priced out an iBook and found there's a bit of a wait (click pic to see):

As has been said many times before, I guess we'll have to wait and see Tuesday! It is a little odd that Apple would bump up the estimates dates for apparently no other reason... And iBooks updates have historically happened around this time of year too.

(Oh, and as for your sig, I actually prefer Final Draft... )

 

[belair]

Same here.
I bought my ibook last thuesday, I have the receit the box and everything. Bought it at a reseller, there are no apple stores in Luxembourg.
If they update this thuesday would you think I could return mine and get a new one instead?

Does anyone around here know if this law about the 10 day margin is accurate for the rest of Europe and more specifically in the Benelux countries???

Any information would be very appreciated.
Thanks in advance

 

[dekator]

Right - 238K iB and 213K pB (http://www.macworld.com/news/2004/10/13/4qreview/index.php)

Note that the "up 74%" is in reference to a year ago, the numbers declined since the previous quarter of this year.

Thanks guys (you and Zaty). Wouldn't be surprised if iBook shipments fluctuated some bit depending on the season...

Anyway, looks like iBooks are somewhat more popular. Clearly, Apple doesn't want to miss out on the holidays...

 

[Vespertine]

What does Apple do if you have a current order in...?

Like a couple of other people who responded to this thread, I ordered a 12" PB last week. It said it would be same-day shipping, although I did add a RAM module. I also ordered AppleCare, which has already arrived. Meanwhile my PB hasn't shipped yet. Also I ordered over the phone, and Apple sales rep was trying to convince me to get a refurb PB. This may be the usual practice though since I am replacing a unit I broke and had originally called to get a repair estimate.

What I am wondering is, on those occasions when they announce a new product cycle while orders are processing, are those usually immediately upgraded? And how much time does getting the Mac built-to-order add on? This may be the reason, and not a product upgrade. Still, I ordered my PB on Wednesday and it hasn't shipped yet. That seems like more than enough time to install a RAM module. Any thoughts?

 

[TopCatz]

JohnLewis.com (UK department store chain, and Apple dealer) are out of stock of iBooks. Fits with an update.

John Lewis online are out of stock of all iBooks and PowerBooks except 17" Superdrive - are we due for an update to the lot of them?

 

[Xtremehkr]

iBook styling.

If they do get new andodized cases for the iBooks I hope that they take advantage of the material and really make something that is modern and unique. Aluminum can be molded into sleek designs and something incorporating the old rounded look with a modern update would look cool. I'm curious about the colors that are going to be available as well. I would half expect the new colors to be the same as those of the mini iPods. But those colors may not look as good on a laptop. A titanium finish would be nice, as long as it is not easy to scratch.

 

[~Shard~]

I hope that they take advantage of the material and really make something that takes advantage of the material.

Well said...

I'm curious about the colors that are going to be available as well. I would half expect the new colors to be the same as those of the mini iPods. But those colors may not look as good on a laptop. A titanium finish would be nice, as long as it is not easy to scratch.

I don't think the new iBooks will have color options, but I guess we'll see. The last couple of updates have been relatively minor though, with just basic hardware upgrades, so perhaps it will be time to redesign the iBook's appearance slightly - I don't know if different colors would be a part of that though...

And just because Apple is associating the new iMac with the iPod, that doesn't mean the iBooks will be associated with the iPod minis or something to that effect - lots of people seem to be jumping to this conclusion for whatever reason.

 

[Xtremehkr]

Question?

Why are there always so many negative votes registered? not that they shouldn't be counted but are there a lot of trolls hanging out or do people really think that updating the iBook is a bad idea?

The regular updating of the iBook is a great idea, it won't ever be everything you want it to be, you'll have to save up for the PB if you want that. I think the iBook is a bargain for what you are getting. I wish these people would elaborate more on why they have so many negative feelings about everything Apple does.

 

[iDave]

What do you perceive as negative? All I've seen is a discussion of what may or may not be new features and prices; and questions about what to do if you just got an iBook within the past week.