Major iBook Upgrades?

[Abstract]

Firstly, you won't see a completely new case design. It may be a different plastic, or they may go back to using the transparent case instead of the opaque, but they're not going to do anything drastic. How do I know? Because if something major was planned, SJ would just wait until MWSF in January and give a Keynote. Also, since the chip is being manufactured in December, the chip won't be ready for a few months after that.

If the update is at the end of October or beginning of November, then SJ isn't going to give us a drastically different iBook.

Also, they should stick to plastic, although not necessarily the "hospital white" plastic casing. Give me a grey case, or a blue one. At least sport several BTO case designs for a small fee, say $50.

Originally posted by pivo6
I'm hoping that they can add these newer features and still keep the price where it's at.

They have to. If they raised the price, they may as well call the iBook a "plastic powerbook". The prices can't be the same.

Originally posted by Dont Hurt Me
lets just hope apple throws in the 1 gig g4 of course they will give it a crappy video chip so it dont compete with powerbook, same crap they have done to imac for years untill the g5.

What other video cards can they use? The Radeon 7500 used in the current iBook is better than most notebooks, especially PC notebooks, and the Nvidia 5200 in the 12" PB is a bit better. What's in between that's so much better than the Radeon 7500?

Originally posted by dstorey
..... I think it would be nice to reduce the size to 1 inch like the powerbook line. Even though it looks nice, the iBook just seems too chubby next to powerbooks.

The 12" and 15" PB's aren't at 1 inch. The iBook really isn't much bigger than the PB's. Heck, the difference is 0.1 inches, which isn't an issue.

 

[dongmin]

Originally posted by dstorey
I quite like the design as it is, looks quite sleek, however as well as adding bluetooth (surely a must as it will allow apple to sell more mice/keyboards), AE etc I think it would be nice to reduce the size to 1 inch like the powerbook line. Even though it looks nice, the iBook just seems too chubby next to powerbooks. A reason why I wouldn't buy at the moment is the screen. the 12" is far too small and low res (though great for ultra portability if it was thinner) and the 14" is a no brainer, the res is exactly the same as the 12 -wack, whats the point. If they could increase the resolution of the 12" a bit without increasing the price and change the 14" to be based on the iMac's 15" screen (like the 17" powerbook) or even used a 15" widescreen (would be great but unlikely unless they can get cheaper ones than the one used in the powerbook) . The typical tablet swivle screen thing would be cool for education but unlikely as i guess they would have added this feature to the powerbooks if they were gonna do it.

for all those complaining about the design of the current iBooks, well, you're obviously in the minority b/c the current design is one of Apple's best sellers, ever. I've owned mine for 2.5 years and I still get comments from people (average joes and design professionals) on how slick, efficient, and functional the design is. It's one of the most stable designs Apple has had (virtually no change since it debuted). I trust Apple's design team to come up with something even better, but don't knock the existing design: people like it and it works.

The only major change I can forsee is Apple making this a wide-screen design. I think the width will stay the same (it's the narrowest you can get with having a full-sized keyboard) but it might get a little less deep. The screen can get stretch wide a bit, maybe another .75 inches. I'd love to see the 1152 x 768 resolution in the original TiBooks.

 

[murak]

iBook iBook iBook - Man do I whant one. Gimmey´ 1 ghz Gobi and Radeon 9000 and I will buy it. Perfect for me - Durable, long batterylife, greate OS and good enough for light gaming/retro gaming. About the formfactor I could care less, it´s still more atractive than most pezze laptops and there are no known issues about it. 1 mb cache... wow...


- quote -
Like every other site take it with a grain of salt (does anyone know what that cliche actually means/where it came from?)
- end quote -

My (swedish) gues is that if you ad a grain of salt, you dont get a specific result. So if you take Insiders rumor with a grain of salt, you´re not sertain what the truth may look like. My gues anyway..

By the way, I like this forum

 

[Kalvin]

Optical Drive Upgrade?

Does anyone think the standard cd-rom in the $999 model will be upped to a combo or atleast dvd drive? I think Apple would sell alot more iBooks.

 

[punter]

Originally posted by the_dalex
This is a no-brainer... the iBooks need to be brought up to speed,

Hrm a lot of speed tests have the ibook900 as fast as the powerbookG4 867. Excluding altivec tests of course. (http://www.macspeedzone.com/html/hardware/machine/comparison/portable/powerbook/index.shtml)

If the ibooks went to 1.1GHz then I personally believe they would be well faster then the new 12"PB... which I ordered, but still hasn't arrived.

If it ends up having good dual screen support then I'll be kicking myself!

 

[QuiteSure]

No G4 Almost Certain

No, the updated iBook won't have a G4. Apple just upgraded Final Cut Pro so that it won't run on a G3. For that reason alone, Apple will keep the iBook away from its "professional" market. If I could run FCP 4 on my current iBook I wouldn't even be thinking about getting a Powerbook.

BTW, somewhat OT: is there anyone out there running FCP 4 on a 12" PB? How do you like it? Is the screen/resolution expansive enough?

 

[arqsagi]

why today?

why this news today, i just get my new powerbook 15 from a 12 inch. ibook 500.
I think the design of the iboook is great but it needs something new to keep the buyers interested in this items of course bluetooth is a must in order to use apple wireless mouse and keyboard.

Just hope they dont get g4, if they do I dont know how am i going to feel after buying this expensive notebook.

I love my ex-ibook and my powerbook is just that apple must continue to focus them on different people ibook for students and home users and powerbook for pros and experience users

 

[legacyb4]

Due to time constraints, I went ahead and bought a new 12" PB with Superdrive.

In an nutshell, absolutely no regrets! This puppy is such a sweet machine and I can easily see myself holding onto it for a while. Wide-screen iBook is intriguing, but the size of the PB12 just can't be beat!

Cheers.

Originally posted by joephish
Arrrrg just as I buy the 12" iBook!

Hmm, might use that 7-day guarantee thing

 

[macphoria]

1.1 GHz G3 with 1 MB L2 Cache!

The performance on this iBook is going to be quite decent.

 

[windwaves]

what a joke !

I mean the G4 is barely capable of running OSX and its apps decently, now Apple hopes to renew appetite for the iBook with a G3 !

Dudes ! I have an iBook 700mhz (or something around that) and it is a joke and I am not exagerrating, can barely handle a few pics in iPhoto ahahah.
Thank God i have a desktop and I only use the iBook for emergency .
I know some of you disagree: I WANT TO HEAR YOU ALL.

 

[flukewurm]

Re: what a joke !

Originally posted by windwaves
I mean the G4 is barely capable of running OSX and its apps decently, now Apple hopes to renew appetite for the iBook with a G3 !

Dudes ! I have an iBook 700mhz (or something around that) and it is a joke and I am not exagerrating, can barely handle a few pics in iPhoto ahahah.
Thank God i have a desktop and I only use the iBook for emergency .
I know some of you disagree: I WANT TO HEAR YOU ALL.

wow.. your ibook must be seriously ****.

i can handle reason 2.5 in OSX on my friends ibook 500 - maxed ram EASILY....

 

[Jesus on OSX]

Re: Optical Drive Upgrade?

Originally posted by Kalvin
Does anyone think the standard cd-rom in the $999 model will be upped to a combo or atleast dvd drive? I think Apple would sell alot more iBooks.

I agree with this. The base model is just incomplete without CD-Rec capability.

The sad thing is, Apple is charging 200 extra for an upgrade of CD-RW/DVD component + 100mhz extra. Who needs the processor speed that little anyway? I had an ibook 800 and it didn't really differ in speed from my friend's 900mhz model.

It's 2003, they should realize that having the ability to record CDs and watch DVD media on the portables should be standard.

As for the absense of bluetooth, it's a BIG mistake. If you think about it, who uses iBooks for the most part? That's right, college students. What do 3 out of 5 college students have? Bluetooth enabled phones. (At least where I am.)

This is a huge marketing mistake. Doesn't take a genius to realize that sales are hurt by not having this kind of functionality standardized on one of the most important portables. If Apple doesn't integrate WiFi and Bluetooth in 12" one step above base models, I'll completely lose faith in them. Or maybe just add one of the optional values to the base model. Combo Drive or integrated WiFi.

 

[revenuee]

Originally posted by the_dalex


A new form-factor? I imagine they aren't going to stray too far beyond using a new material and making it thinner, but they need to keep it differentiated from their pro line of Powerbooks. It can't be lighter or smaller.

Why not smaller and thinner... the 12" PB is advertized as the being the worlds smallest full feature notebook. a smaller iBook would not be full featured.

1. i could see them throwing in a G4 in there
2. making it only expandable to 1 gig
3. throw in a better graphics card, but don't support dual display
4. USB 2.0 but no Firewire 800 - they did this in the 12 PB
5. bluetooth? maybe as an adaptor not build in
6. combo drive accross board?
7. Cache upgrade? probably
8. I could see them leaving out Gigabit ethernet
9. throw in airport extreme

pretty good specs for the consumer, but still not full featured when compared to the 12" pro line

sony released a smaller notebook, but it lacked many features. why not apple

 

[jefhatfield]

Re: Major iBook Upgrades?

Originally posted by Macrumors
AppleInsider reports that the iBook will see major changes "in time" for the holiday season.

Updated iBooks are rumored to support the expected upgrades: Bluetooth and USB 2.0 which would bring the iBooks in line with the remainder of Apple's lineup. Other features noted include brighter displays, and improved graphics.

Most interesting are hints from AppleInsider of a completely new form-factor for the new iBooks, though details are scarce.

As previously reported, the most likely candidate for the upcoming iBook processor is the IBM 750GX, which features a top speed of 1.1GHz and 1MB of L2 Cache and is targetted for production in December 2003.

usb 2.0?
i sure hope so

bluetooth?
take it or leave it

1.1 ghz?
now we are talking

new form factor?
i guess we will have to see it and i hope it's lighter in weight to keep with sony and others with a light form factor

maybe this will be my next upgrade

 

[IlluminatedSage]

Want Xmas sales - Get it out soon!

Well, as everyone knows in order to get xmas sales companies plan earlier and earlier each year.

My thoughts are that if they really want xmas sales they should get the new ibooks out by the end of Oct, when they have the Itunes Windows Launch. and definitely by Nov 12th.

Apple, consumers buy these things BEFORE xmas, not within just that month.

Just want to get them moving. they have been sitting on their hands most of the year without much new product.

 

[thehuncamunca]

if they added USB 2, bluetooth, an airport extreme option, a 1GB max ram, perhaps a better graphics chip, a higher res screen or perhaps a 13 inch rather than 12, along with a slight speed boost and cost cut then i'd definately buy it when i hopefully get a laptop around x-mas
if not i don't see why not to spend the extra 200 as i have the educational discount to buy a much more featured 12" powerbook
i would think most people can see the powerbook is a much better value and i think apple knows this and will update the ibook's features and price according or have their ibook sales suffer

 

[jefhatfield]

Re: Want Xmas sales - Get it out soon!

Originally posted by mdntcallr
Well, as everyone knows in order to get xmas sales companies plan earlier and earlier each year.

My thoughts are that if they really want xmas sales they should get the new ibooks out by the end of Oct, when they have the Itunes Windows Launch. and definitely by Nov 12th.

Apple, consumers buy these things BEFORE xmas, not within just that month.

Just want to get them moving. they have been sitting on their hands most of the year without much new product.

getting it out this month would be cool

call them the ibook 1000 and the ibook 1100 to designate the speeds and a way to denote the end of the mhz era for apple

and keep the price the same, or lower if possible

 

[dho]

the new features were to be expected, but i find the "new case" makes it sound like it could be interesting

this could be just in time for my birthday.

i do accept donations

 

[Sol]

12" PowerBook motherboard for new iBook

If Apple wanted to update the iBook to a G4 all they would have to do is design a new case for the current 12" PowerBook. Limitations might be imposed such as no dual displays and VGA out but basically the two would be identical inside.

As for the new iBook case, perhaps now would be a good time to re-introduce colours. iBooks and iPods would definately look better in the coloured plastics Apple used with the CRT iMacs.

 

[bousozoku]

Everything about IBM's timeline says that this processor will not be ready in time for Christmas. They would have to be starting production now or earlier. It would most likely be just before spring before processors are upgraded.

I can see the USB 2.0 and the Bluetooth making it in there. Maybe they'll even make use of their colour-changing patent to give the iBook colour again.

They could really use a better keyboard and an enhanced display would be good. I don't see them changing the display size. The 12 inch is too good of a size for those who have good eyesight and the 14 inch display for those who can't or just insist that bigger is better.

 

[Plutoniq]

What makes y'all think that the 750GX aint ready already? These two CompactPCI companies are alreay selling products utilizing the 750GX;

http://www.momenco.com/products/puma-cgx.html

http://www.otisolutions.com/powerpc.html

You think these guy's would have "built & ready to ship" products utilizing the 750GX.......and apple has to wait until December? That's a laugh.....no way!!!! If Apple is going to release Ibooks for the holiday season, then they would have to be available late November to get the hype built up.

I think it'll be sooner than later

p'z

 

[Bunzi2k4]

what i'm starting to notice is, every one wants a price drop (no duh) much faster computer, super fast, usb 2.0, smaller, lighter , some people want a 13 inch notebook, but seriously guys.. i don' think anything special is comming out like a price drop i mean c'mon i think 999 is a good deal for a laptop, and if u really want a cd/dvd combo drive why not get an external? but anyways, really you can all think what you want, but you know there won't be a price drop, a 13 inch seems stupid to me, but i dunno... i like the 12 inch. Airport extreem seems like that will be there, and a bluetooth will probably be in there too. mayb 1ghz or a 1.1ghz not sure about l2 cache 1megabyte seems too good to be true... but then again maybe not... i just don't think that the ibook will have that many improvements because the g3's are getting too good for the g4's...

 

[Vonnie]

I don't think they will be making it allot thinner. They will probably make it sturdier, after all ibooks are sold allot to students and schools. Not the most laptop friendly environment. Offcourse, it should be compact, so it slides easily in a backpack.

The design will probably be young and hip, instead of the professional look of a powerbook 15".

Other than that, I just hope they improve the sound and the keyboard of the ibook. Add bluetooth, AE and usb2. Better graphics card, more ram capacity.

 

[dstorey]

We all know it's gonna have the standard upgrades (AE, bluetooth, graphics, usb2, processor) and be decked in a choice of white, flowerpower or dalmation

Actually someone said before about I must be in the minority if i don't like the design. I never said I didn't! i said it looked sleek etc, but would look nicer if it was thinner and had a better display on the 14" . For the look of the machine (not counting size etc), the only thing, except for maybe a choice of patterns instead of just white (i don't think solid colours would look that nice), would be to make the inside match the outside of the machine. ie have the insside in white plastic as if it was all made from one piece of plastic. I'd still orefere the white one if they released pattern models, but I could see the likes of teenage girls and the japanese market lapping up them funky designs...how many would they sell in jappan with thomas burbery or hello kitty designs

 

[hvfsl]

A lot of the girls at my Uni have ibooks, they say the ibook looks a lot better than most of the PC laptops out there. I was actually the only one that got a PB G4 (out of the people that got Macs)