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iBook: Wait or not?

S

STBK

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 10, 2006
2
0
Ypsilanti, MI.
So I'm a student who has a good desktop that runs all the power-applications perfectly. I've been saving up for a laptop so I can work on my writing when I'm nowhere near my computer. I've had the money since late fall and played the waiting game, and lost. So, my question is what would you do? Buy the iBook (which, mind you, hasn't seen an upgrade in the longest time; I rekon even a spec upgrade on the iBook would have been nice at MWSF) or wait it out for the rumored consumer MacBook/iBook upgrade?

Please tell me what you think, I'd appreciate what help I can get.

Needs: A small (12-13 inch is optimal), light notebook that can run word applications (MS Word, Final Draft 7) fine and store photos and (much) music.

Wants: A small (12-13 inch is optimal), light notebook that can run word applications (MS Word, Final Draft 7) fine and store photos and (much) music that can also play World Of Warcraft (128 in video memory, not available in any iBook).

So based on that, what do you think?
 
I expect it to be around June, that's when the single core yonah will be ready. So get a macbook pro if you can't wait that long because the ibook is pretty underpowered and overpriced IMHO.
 
Buy now! I was in the same boat, hoping for an intel move for the ibook. Since that didn't happen, I ordered one yesterday. If you wait, you will be waiting 6-9 months at least, during which time you could have a nice 12" ibook. WOW plays fine on it afaik and you'll be getting all the advantages of it for those 6-9 months after which you can sell the iBook for a good price (macs dont depreciate as much as PCs) and upgrade to an intel book. It was a pretty simple decision for me.
 
Who the hell made you "official apple source" to say, with such conviction, that the new ibooks will arrive in "6-9 months at least" ?? Who says it isn't out by march or april...? Jesus, it's this "certain facts" that make rumors go wrong!
 
I'd say buy now, if you need it. I bought mine in late december 05 with the full knowledge that new ones may come out on jan 10, 06. I had several reasons to do it:

1) Most important reason: the current iBook 12" fulfills my needs. I run Final Draft 6, burn CDs, surf, email etc.

2)the iBook has reached the tech level I want: plenty of RAM expansion, scroll trackpad, very good battery life and airport reception, bluetooth 2.0. Sure, it would've been nice if it had a dvd burner, but I never had to burn a dvd on the road, so an external is just fine.

3)So for this nice iBook that has everything I need, I got a fantastic price: $785 AR, brand new, free shipping, no tax (from Amazon). I do not believe the new mactel iBook will be cheaper, and I do not believe the current 1.33Ghz 12" iBooks *in new condition* will ever fall lower in price (than $785) when the mactel iBooks come out.

4)I am not in a hurry to try out a rev A of the new iBooks especially after such a huge transition - too much chance of serious bugs. Meanwhile, the current 12" iBooks are very stable (see Macintouch reliability report), and whatever problems exist are at least known... meanwhile who knows about the new ones

5)How do we know that the new iBooks will have as good a battery life and airport reception... current powerbooks have both worse than the iBook!

6)You will certainly be waiting for the new iBooks until the earliest April - that's 4 months away. I've been enjoying my iBook already. Think how disapppointed you'll be should the iBooks not turn up in April because the chips are not available until June/July? Look what already happened at the MW yesterday - no iBooks!

7)I love the current form-factor - it is small, light, I like the design and sturdiness. Who knows if the new iBooks will have as pleasing to me a design.

8)I am quite sure that since the install base for PPC is 100%, PPC software will be supported for years to come, as well as the hardware (Applecare must run for 3 years minimum).

9)By the time I'm ready for my next upgrade, the mactels will be a stable platform and way better than the rev A that's coming out now - meanwhile I'll be running a very stable machine.

OK, so those were my reasons. Maybe some food for thought. You should examine your needs and see how they stack up against the options of buying now, or waiting.
 
I finally took the plunge and bought a new 14" iBook today. I held off until MWSF in case of any updates, but the Macbook is way beyond what I need. So off I went this morning and so far so good! It's amazingly easy to use, was set up in about 10 minutes (including auto download of new Tiger) and now I just keep looking at it and sighing lovingly. This is my first ever Mac and I think I have made the right choice. I hope so anyway!!
 
yogamonkey said:
I finally took the plunge and bought a new 14" iBook today. I held off until MWSF in case of any updates, but the Macbook is way beyond what I need. So off I went this morning and so far so good! It's amazingly easy to use, was set up in about 10 minutes (including auto download of new Tiger) and now I just keep looking at it and sighing lovingly. This is my first ever Mac and I think I have made the right choice. I hope so anyway!!
Click to expand...


Take it back ASAP!
 
Well, WoW when I played on a 64mb VRAM 5200 ran OK... not great, but it was playable no problem. The 9550 is a decent GPU and should be able to run WoW ok, but the low VRAM is a bit of an issue... (related note: they never did update the specs for the mini to show the 64mb VRAM people were getting. Did any iBooks ever ship like that? Are people still getting 64mb VRAM or was that some sort of production shortage that was temporary or something?)

Anyways, as they always say: if you can wait, wait. Other wise the current iBook is a nice computer for sure. Also, have you considered a refurb 12" PowerBook? Better GPU, faster CPU, faster system bus, faster and bigger HDD, and overall slightly better machine for $100, or another $100 if you want a SD (not even an option for the 12" iBook).

If I were to buy something right now, it'd probably be that. Personally, I am holding out for an "iBook like" Intel laptop. Dunno what they are gonna call the consumer class laptops now, but I want a 12" or 13" dual core (moderately clocked of course... I'd be happy with 1.2-1.4 ghz for each core) laptop for under $1000. It'll be awhile, but I am hoping for something next year around this time as a RevB low-end MacBook. In the meantime my mini is just fine... do you need a portable by the way? A mini can be had on the cheap right now if you have an old monitor to use while you wait for an Intel laptop that meets your needs...
 
I'm a student in the EXACT same position.. just sitting here waiting for something to seal the deal on a new mac. As well, I also require the 12-13"..tiny desks at the university--definitely with you on that one. Battery life is a must as well.

I would wait for the new intel macs, simply based on the fact that I will assume PPC architechture will eventually be dropped on the software side. So more innovative/newer software would be only coming out for the new x86... Naturally I'm assuming this would take 2-3 years for a complete phase-out but I would like to own a mac for that long at least.

I'm going to hold out for a macbook with the intel chip myself, possibily even a rev.b after reading reviews of A.
 
If you're willing to drop the WoW, I'd suggest buying an older imac, like from the last gen of G3 (the cream, not the clamshell) or more recent. You can get them factory refurbished for super cheap, and they still run absolutely perfectly (I don't even notice much of a web or basic app difference between my G3 700mHz and my G4 1gHz ibooks)...
 
Thanks Guys...

Well this is for school first and foremost so I did go ahead and buy a refurbished iBook for arounf $700. Anything less than $1000 is money I can afford to spare, even if it does only last for two or so years, it would have paid for itself by then. Also, I got my brother to hook me up with some extra RAM too so I should have just what I need.

Thanks for all your help/opinions.
 
STBK said:
Well this is for school first and foremost so I did go ahead and buy a refurbished iBook for arounf $700. Anything less than $1000 is money I can afford to spare, even if it does only last for two or so years, it would have paid for itself by then. Also, I got my brother to hook me up with some extra RAM too so I should have just what I need.

Thanks for all your help/opinions.
Click to expand...
Good choice. It'll hold it's value pretty well even with a G4, so you will be able cash out AT LEAST half what you paid in a few years and put it towards a new, uber powerful intel based micro sized macbook. :)

All in all, $350 (if you figure 700 now minus 350 absolute minimum resale later) is a pretty small price to pay for a very nice laptop for even a year or two. Heck, ditch it in a year and you'll probably end up only having spend $200.
 
Intel has said that the single core Yonah won't be out until about june. And apple will have to wait for Intel, who doesn't keep secrets. So we can quite safely predict apple launch dates from intel launch dates, as I did for macworld and got it right. Unless apple decides to overpower it with a core duo or use older technology in it, which is unlikely as rosetta is using features that dothan does not have.
On the other hand this is plenty of time for a redesign. I hope. So the ibook and mac mini, good chance they'll be out at wwdc... or a little earlier if we are lucky.
Anyway, this is a bad time to buy an ibook, the ibook is slow, overpriced and due for a replacement in 6 months. If you can afford it go macbook. If not, refurb.
 
My recommendation is wait. If the new Intel iBooks see as significant an upgrade as the PowerBooks just saw, you won't regret it. Keep in mind though you'll need to wait a couple mroe months until the single core variant of Yonah is available, so it depends on your timing as well. Just don't buy an iBook now and whine when the Intel one comes out a couple months
later. ;)

Personally, I think it's worth the wait. :cool:
 
I just got a new 12 inch iBook tonight :). I'd just like to thank OldCorpse for a great post earlier, which was a factor in my decision to go with a 12 inch iBook (and right now, instead of waiting).
 
Why are people comparing the iBook to the macbook? Isnt the whole question kinda like "why would you get a ford now? Havent you heard the new ferarris are coming out??"

Fact is the macbook will be obviously better then the iBook or powerbook, but will have a price accordingly.
 
quietmind said:
I just got a new 12 inch iBook tonight :). I'd just like to thank OldCorpse for a great post earlier, which was a factor in my decision to go with a 12 inch iBook (and right now, instead of waiting).
Click to expand...

Good for you. Yeah Old Corpse was right. What I particularly appreciated was his price dissection buy now = enjoy it now = sell it when you are done with it at a good price because who knows what the Macibook will be like and when it is coming.

I envy you guys cause I needed a 14" iBook and it would have been dumb to get a 12" iBook as well, so I have a 12" powerbook as my backup.

Ironic because I'll probably be much more willing to take the larger iBook out on the road than the smaller powerbook, which is more prone to dents and scracthes.

But that was my conundrum; if my eyes were better and my pocketbook smaller, I'd go for the 12" iBook as the best all around Mac available at the best price.
 
What if the next iBook is still power PC?

What are the chances of Apple releasing a PowerPC iBook update one last time? Since Yonah is not available till June, and that the iBook is in need of an update.

Hmmm, but would steve Jobs deal with the disappointment of Mac fans if he did?

If the Notebook line would be trimmed to just MacBooks (std, Pro, etc), does that mean its the end of the apple-white consumer portable?

I do think you should wait, maybe even a PowerPC-one-last-hurrah update to the iBook line may be worth it.
 
yogamonkey said:
I finally took the plunge and bought a new 14" iBook today. ... I just keep looking at it and sighing lovingly. This is my first ever Mac and I think I have made the right choice.
Click to expand...

Your selection seems to be a fine match for you. Enjoy it for years to come. There was plenty of sense in the prior post from Old Corpse ... (not bad from someone located in the compost heap).
 
If you can wait. Then wait. I couldn't wait so I bought my iBook this week. I'm happy with the purchase.
 
LACOSTE said:
What are the chances of Apple releasing a PowerPC iBook update one last time? Since Yonah is not available till June, and that the iBook is in need of an update.
Click to expand...


Its possible. But any update will be minor given the certainty we will see an intel chipped iBook this year sometime - and most of the engineering will be being spent on the intel not the power pc side of things.

I expect the intel iBook in a new form factor is far more important than a slightly update G4 iBook.
 
aswitcher said:
Its possible. But any update will be minor given the certainty we will see an intel chipped iBook this year sometime - and most of the engineering will be being spent on the intel not the power pc side of things.

I expect the intel iBook in a new form factor is far more important than a slightly update G4 iBook.
Click to expand...

I'll tell you, if they update the PPC G4 iBook line, I will sell mine to get the last generation before Intel. Same with PPC PB 12" -- but I don't think Apple has any notion to upgrade PPCs at this point. Their contract with IBM I believe, is only now for three more years -- that should tell us something.
 
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