Intel iBooks in March? Media Center and Cell Phone Rumblings

[BlizzardBomb]

This is ThinkSecret we are talking about, though.

Couldn't believe that they got EVERYTHING wrong last time. But this story is mimicking AppleInsider's so maybe they're playing it safe.

 

[gnasher729]

Why would Apple use a Celeron only to lose battery life? Celerons do not utilize Intel's SpeedStep technology. If Apple was to use any older chip, I think it is more likely it would be P-M Dothan leftovers. However, this would be a disappointment considering Dell's Inspiron line is going Dual-Core for the same pricepoint.

You are confusing Celeron with Celeron M.

Core Duo is the same technology as Pentium M, but in 65 nm instead of 90 nm technology, and with two cores per chip. Celeron M is the same technology as Pentium M, but with smaller L2 cache.

Celeron on the other hand is the same miniature oven, high clock rate / low performance technology as Pentium 4, but with smaller L2 cache.

 

[puuukeey]

iSaac.

A: the only place apple can logically take the iPOD is to the iPDA. JUST BRING BACK THE NEWTON ALREADY! Apple iSaac. Stop being so impressed with yourself and start innovating again. Apples going to need their accesories to carry them through this intel junk. (even if I resent them)

B: ibooks have consistantly been ugly ugly ugly. change em. clamshells blew. white plastic is good in comercials but horridly ugly in life. for the past 4 years,at least, apple has focused on branding itself in white plastic and titaneum finish, and aqua.

its time to wow me again. lets hear it for the mood-finish ibook with a roll out OLED screen from universal display corp.

 

[Kelmon]

A nice iBook would be an option some time in the future for my wife when the old G4 PowerBook I'll be donating to her later this year finally throws in the towel or we sell it.

The part of the story that I am most interested to see what happens is with the iPod Shuffle. I bought one for my wife for Christmas and it's great. The price was nice, they perform pretty well and they aren't very delicate (unlike the other iPod models) so they are perfect for taking everywhere. A low-priced MP3 player really needs to toughly built and I just see the addition of a screen, if that happens, to be asking for trouble.

 

[puuukeey]

ok heres my "explain-why-they-haven't-done-it-yet" product.​

two pieces communicating via wifi/bluetooth -ish stuff.

PART1 GLASSES:
built in earbuds, mic, iSight/camera, hmd, (eye tracking?)

PART2 PocketPack:
mini TREO-esque keyboard, usb port. 40GB HD. does most of the work for the glasses.

functions as:
PDA, MP3, Video, phone, voice-dialing, (vid)camera, text messaging, mobile web-searching. built in remote start unit. REPLACES EVERYTHING EXCEPT MY WALLET

I'd gladly pay 1300 bucks.anyone?

ok now for the self awareness comedy:
now we need oleds, fingerprint scanning, RGB LEDs for the teenies and teledildionics. stereoscopics and "wave cancelling technology" oh yeah maybe some amp modeling too.

 

[MacQuest]

...i'd expect the iBook to be the 30th anniv mac...

I dunno. The MacBooks are a given, and although it may be released at an anniversary event or sooner, I just don't think that the MacBooks are ground breaking/innovative enough to be the product that Apple would spotlight to celebrate their 30th anniversary.

With the patent and illustrations that were released yesterday, I'm really starting to think that the MacPad [tablet, whatever] is gonna steal the show. At least in announcement form. Maybe it'll be a "here's what to expect from Apple" type announcement for a product that migth not debut until MWSF '07. Obviously, sooner is better though.

It would be great to market it as the Mac that's not a computer, but is a grounbreaking technological product for everyone.

It would spotlight Mac OS X's elegance and user friendliness, Apple's spirit of innovation, show how they're expanding into the home, and cause an even greater "halo effect" than the iPod by having so many more features.

You know why the intel machines are coming out faster than originally announced?

Because we are still waiting for a 3 GB powermac that is now nearly 3 years late based on Steve Jobs' promise.

Yeah. I'm sure it wasn't that SJ was told by IBM that they could reach their goal of 3Ghz [you put 3 GB - LOL ] by June of '04 and he simply relayed it. Considering how much control he had over IBM's fabrication of the G5's [hint: none], I can't believe he would blatantly lie like that.

Sarcasm aside, he got his payback a year later [IBM still hadn't reached it's goal] by switching to Intel and not letting IBM know until 3am the morning of the announcement.

DON"T F*** WITH THE STEVE!!!

 

[aswitcher]

With the patent and illustrations that were released yesterday, I'm really starting to think that the MacPad [tablet, whatever] is gonna steal the show. At least in announcement form.

Innovation like this would really make the 30th anniversary something special If this device is also designed to be your multimedia station wireless remote (when that comes out), your video ipod, your casual web browsing interface, your itunes controller in your network etc...4-8GB of solid state internal memory, touch screen, real OSX and a decent battery life... It could really rock.

 

[AidenShaw]

You think they were the driver when they were tied to MOT/IBM's processors?

Well, Apple has been releasing G4 and G5 processors that are faster than anything Moto or IBM claim to ship.

Maybe it's just overclocking - maybe IBM and Moto have been doing something special for The Steve.

 

[slu]

probably a tablet, that is half the thickness of the current iBook... which may or may not ship with a special designed portable wireless keyboard/ trackpad or mouse... wireless version of the mighty mouse

Can you please pass whatever you are smoking in this direction?

If, and that is a big if, there is a Mac Tablet it will not take the place of Apple's consumer laptop. That would be crazy. It will be it's own product.

Just to be clear, Thinksecret don't know jack. They've been off the mark the last few go-arounds.

I wouldn't put much faith into this report, especially the bit about Core Solos which they're simply speculating on. As many have noted on this forum, the Solos are pretty expensive. If Apple is to hit the $999 price point, a full grand less than the least expensive MBP, they're gonna have to save a lot more on the processor. We're looking at a Celeron, folks.

Anyways, what I found interesting in the story is the UBS analyst lowering their Mac unit shipment estimates for the quarter, while upping the target stock price to $100(!!!). So, based on their research, customers are holding off on their purchases until the software is ready. "It's the software, stupid!" is basically the message.

Good post. I have little, if any, faith in TS since almost all their recent predictions have been off the mark. And I could predict that new iBooks were coming as well; it is just common sense. I have my own prediction: By the end of 2006 we will see new Mac minis and Mac Pros! Give me a cookie!

 

[Spanky Deluxe]

If they go with the Celerons (of any flavour) I will have to rethink my whole iBook buying plan. The Celeron line has always been pants, simply aweful. I don't ever want to use a computer with a Celeron in it again, they make my skin crawel.

BTW I don't think they're gonna be aiming for a $999 price. The 12" iBook costs $999 now while the 14" iBook costs $1299. Its slightly bigger than the 12" model and is replacing *both* models so the price will probably be somewhere in between both. I'm guessing $1099-$1199. That gives more money to the processor with a 13" MacBook Pro coming in at about $1499-1599.

 

[Poff]

I'd gladly pay 1300 bucks.anyone?

ok now for the self awareness comedy:
now we need oleds, fingerprint scanning, RGB LEDs for the teenies and teledildionics. stereoscopics and "wave cancelling technology" oh yeah maybe some amp modeling too.

That company used to make their own glasses without that dorky black attachment.. Now THAT would have been something..

It could be fitted with whatever glasses you needed (for those who've needed glasses before video came). it was 320x240 only, though..

 

[puuukeey]

That company used to make their own glasses without that dorky black attachment.. Now THAT would have been something..

3 years ago we would have said these bluetooth headsets were dorky. with oleds happening I'm not sure this is so dorky. certainly cooler than talking to yourself walking down the street. least now your looking at something.

 

[macdong]

[off topic]

* inhale *

But the tuesday before at the soonest and the tuesday after at the latest, and obviously I say tuesday because that seems to be there "day" and I think they'll keep with the tradition although a different day would be a suprise although they generally save the other days of the weeks for minor announcments these days it seems and do the big ones (which I would considor this to be, new MacBooks and all...) happen on tuesdays.

* exhale *

cough cough... need some... cough cough... water... cough...

 

[EricNau]

I would expect the new iBook to look something like Sony's...

________________________...Very portable, durable, and good-looking.

 

[AidenShaw]

that's probably why....

If they go with the Celerons (of any flavour) I will have to rethink my whole iBook buying plan. The Celeron line has always been pants, simply aweful. I don't ever want to use a computer with a Celeron in it again, they make my skin crawel.

That's probably why The Steve had a conversation with Intel that went something like:

SJ: You know, the Celeron M would be perfect for the iBook and MiniMac - but too many Apple fanatics have an irrational hatred for the name "Celeron". Any chance of a different name?

Intel: How about "Core Solo" instead of "Celeron M" ?

SJ: They'll buy that!

 

[Spanky Deluxe]

That's probably why The Steve had a conversation with Intel that went something like:

SJ: You know, the Celeron M would be perfect for the iBook and MiniMac - but too many Apple fanatics have an irrational hatred for the name "Celeron". Any chance of a different name?

Intel: How about "Core Solo" instead of "Celeron M" ?

SJ: They'll buy that!

LOL! Yeah I can understand that thinking. The problem with the Celerons were that they were always handicapped by less on die cache. The Core Solo isn't less powerfull than a Core Duo because of cache sizes, its because of having one less core. The Core Solos are basically last generation Pentium-M chips which are very very good chips indeed.

To me 'Celeron' = poor amounts of cache.

 

[steve_hill4]

I would like to see them stick with two models, maybe a 13.3" and 15.4" in Black or White. I certainly wouldn't believe a single MacBook, (I'm ditching the express suffix as it seems less likely by the day), would be a wise move as consumers want choice. I would like to see something like:

13.3" Core Solo 1.67GHz, 512MB, 60GB, 32MB x300 Graphics
15.4" Core Solo 1.83GHz, 512MB, 80GB, 64MB x300 Graphics

If they expect to sell them in large quantities, (and hopefully they will), they could try and keep the current price points. They would have to keep the modem inside both and possibly add an Expresscard slot to the 15.4" model to compete with other consumer portables, maybe adding iSight to get that advantage. Sure the margins would be much tighter, but they need to get more of a foothold in the market and have equivalent/better processors in their models to compete with their rivals.

For £100 more than the current iBook 12", you can get a 15.4" HP with 1GB RAM, 100GB hard drive, 128MB dedicated graphics and all the ports and expansion you could require. When people look at that and the two iBooks, they don't see a good enough reason to switch I'm afraid. Apple need to add a little more in the way of extras to lure in those potential switchers who are put off by apparent poor value for money.

LOL! Yeah I can understand that thinking. The problem with the Celerons were that they were always handicapped by less on die cache. The Core Solo isn't less powerfull than a Core Duo because of cache sizes, its because of having one less core. The Core Solos are basically last generation Pentium-M chips which are very very good chips indeed.

To me 'Celeron' = poor amounts of cache.

They aren't exactly Pentium Ms as they are using the 65nm process rather than 90nm. Either way, they are ideal for the consumer portables, but the costs sound too high to expect them in MacBooks, for a little more you might as well go Duo is the word on the street.

They have the same 667MHz FSB and same cache as the Duo, just a single core and so cost almost as much to produce. Unless Intel have agreed to sell them to Apple for less than to everyone else, (which is unlikely and more likely to inflame others), they could be far too costly to be in any future Macs.

 

[Spanky Deluxe]

They aren't exactly Pentium Ms as they are using the 65nm process rather than 90nm. Either way, they are ideal for the consumer portables, but the costs sound too high to expect them in MacBooks, for a little more you might as well go Duo is the word on the street.

They have the same 667MHz FSB and same cache as the Duo, just a single core and so cost almost as much to produce. Unless Intel have agreed to sell them to Apple for less than to everyone else, (which is unlikely and more likely to inflame others), they could be far too costly to be in any future Macs.

Well we can only hope that the iBooks have Core Duos inside them and a half decent graphics card. Will they really use an x300? Isn't the current 9550 faster than an X300 (although obviously on an AGP vs PCIe bus.)

 

[mdavey]

Can you please pass whatever you are smoking in this direction?

If, and that is a big if, there is a Mac Tablet it will not take the place of Apple's consumer laptop. That would be crazy. It will be it's own product.

Don't think of MacTablet as a PC Tablet computer running Mac OS X. Instead think of it as a portable iMac with some major innovations that makes the entire industry go "oh yea, that is how a Tablet should look and work!". It will be incredibly usable, very sexy and make everyone comment on how obvious it is to design something like that and why didn't anyone do it before Apple?

 

[AtHomeBoy_2000]

Give me my Apple DVR! lol
SD Version - $500-$600
HD Version - $900-$1000

 

[Spanky Deluxe]

Give me my Apple DVR! lol
SD Version - $500-$600
HD Version - $900-$1000

I don't like the idea of having a DVR. It might be cool for you folks in the US who tend to use Cable which you can use the normal tuners in TVs or TV cards but over here in the UK we use satellite (Sky) way more than cable and the tuners are built into the decoder/receiver box supplied by Sky. An HD DVR that isn't supplied by Sky just wouldn't cut it. A Tivo connected to Sky can only ever access the channel Sky's plugged into and that's one channel at a time.

 

[MacQuest]

* inhale *

But the tuesday before at the soonest and the tuesday after at the latest, and obviously I say tuesday because that seems to be there "day" and I think they'll keep with the tradition although a different day would be a suprise although they generally save the other days of the weeks for minor announcments these days it seems and do the big ones (which I would considor this to be, new MacBooks and all...) happen on tuesdays

* exhale *

cough cough... need some... cough cough... water... cough...

"And one day, in band camp..."

Yeah, that was at least a 3 sentence paragraph. Okay boys and girls, today's phrase is "run-on sentence".

That's probably why The Steve had a conversation with Intel that went something like:

SJ: You know, the Celeron M would be perfect for the iBook and MiniMac - but too many Apple fanatics have an irrational hatred for the name "Celeron". Any chance of a different name?

Intel: How about "Core Solo" instead of "Celeron M" ?

SJ: They'll buy that!

Hehe. Yup. I would suspect the same is true about using Pentium in any Apple product as well. However, I don't dislike the Pentium nearly as much as the Celeron which IMO was absolute crap since the late '90's when I remember OfficeMax was selling pc's, before they stopped and then started again This is why the majority of pc's that were selling out of OfficeMax where the AMD X2 powered ones. They couldn't give the Celeron units away.

It's that same irrational hatred [some would call it pride] that keeps the "Intel Inside" sticker off of our stylish MacBooks. We'll see about the Mac Pro towers though.

 

[steve_hill4]

Well we can only hope that the iBooks have Core Duos inside them and a half decent graphics card. Will they really use an x300? Isn't the current 9550 faster than an X300 (although obviously on an AGP vs PCIe bus.)

They could obviously use an x600, but more likely this is one area where they can try to reduce costs. It wouldn't be the first time Apple produce a machine that has lower performance in one area in order to cut costs and use the savings elsewhere.

In an ideal world they would have PCIe graphics though, but at that price point, few others do anyway. However, not only would this be a good point to introduce it, it would be costlier and the x300 would be a good card to implement it.

 

[MacQuest]

I would like to see them stick with two models, maybe a 13.3" and 15.4" in Black or White. I certainly wouldn't believe a single MacBook, (I'm ditching the express suffix as it seems less likely by the day), would be a wise move as consumers want choice.

They're choices will be colors and BTO options [if they want]. I think they'll offer the iPod mini colors plus possibly black and white. And no, it won't be a MacBook Express. It'll just be MacBook and MacBook Pro.

These colors, with a consolidated 13.3" size across the line, and a $999 price point would have the MacBooks flying out of the stores.

For £100 more than the current iBook 12", you can get a 15.4" HP with 1GB RAM, 100GB hard drive, 128MB dedicated graphics and all the ports and expansion you could require. When people look at that and the two iBooks, they don't see a good enough reason to switch I'm afraid. Apple need to add a little more in the way of extras to lure in those potential switchers who are put off by apparent poor value for money.

It'll take awhile for "them" to figure out that just one of the "extras" is an Opersting System that doesn't suck. But it's happening more often and more quickly now, and ever since the switcher campaign started back in '02.

The bottom line is "they'll" learn. =)

Oh yeah, "they" might have to start realizing that the junk software that's bundled with those HP's is, well... junk, when compared to iLife, Front row, etc. and the fact that Apple's applications are seamlessly integrated with Apple's Mac OS which, again, doesn't suck. And all of this runs on Apple's own hardware configuration, which means a much higher level of quality control which equates to reliability and... this is where you read my signature below.

 

[d.f]

agree, but

It would fit perfectly into Apple's plan.

First of all, media center PC's are not a "niche" market; it is the future of computing.

Secondly, Apple has shown great interest in the Media center area, with products like Front Row, iPod Video, and iTMS videos (including several TV series).

Apple would create "a whole new field" with a product like a Media Center iMac. It would be the first Flat-Panel TV with an entire fully-functional computer inside, capable of recording video, and transferring that to an iPod (and much more).

It would revolutionize the entire Media Center market.

i agree, but it won't be the first flat panel with intergrated PC & OS. A few were announced and shown at CES a month ago. very nice they were too - but even better with OSX and Front Row...