New iBooks Next Tuesday?

[lasuther]

I expect a iBook update to come at WWDC. After seeing what Apple did with the iMac, I am very hopeful. The PowerBooks will still have a few things to differenciate them from the iBooks: widescreen, FW800, PC card slots, ect. As long as PowerBooks have widescreen, there is going to be a difference between them. I expect 64mb VRAM, Bluetooth, scrolling touch pad, bigger hard drive, more RAM. Sure it puts it right into PowerBook range, but I don't think Apple has a problem with that. Look at what they did to the iMac.

lasuther

 

[cooknwitha]

I'm wanting to get an iBook but even the optimistic side of me thinks it'll be June at the earliest now. Now that they're shipping with Tiger, I think it shows Apple thinks they can handle Tiger so no immediate rush. But an update has got to happen soon. It seems a little weird if the entire line gets updated but iBooks.

 

[Ryon]

Bah. I just want a new PB before college...pretty please, Apple?

I am getting a PowerBook for college, too, probably in June. An update at WWDC would be nice, but I'm not holding my breath. I just hope they don't make some HUGE improvment at Paris just after I buy it.

But I have to disagree that the iBooks and PBs are almost the same. If I remember correctly from when I was comparing them, every spec on the PB is higher than the iBook. Plus there are the extras like the ones already mentioned (widescreen, PC card, FW800), the Sudden Motion Sensor, backlit keyboards, scrolling trackpads and dual monitor support without hacks, extra software, etc. Plus I prefer the metal to the plastic, in terms of look and feel

 

[buryyourbrideau]

All the people who are telling you to buy it now are the folks who feel a bit duped cause they bought their stuff right before an update

Wait dood, an update is coming soon! and it'll be worth it. I waited for my powerbook, and its WAY better than the 1.33... now i'm waiting for a ibook for my g/f...

be patient my friend!

use a 1.33 and a 1.67 with the same ram and hd and you wont be able to tell that much of a difference or at all

 

[mcgarry]

This is just silly:

This whole debate always gets old quickly. PowerBook users are always quick to start in on the pro v. consumer machine distinction and typically state ... they wouldn't possibly update the iBooks without doing something with the PowerBook line first. It just couldn't happen. While it is true from a buisness perspective that it wouldn't make much sense to do something like this, I tend to detect a hint of jealousy from PowerBook users who don't want their machines to be surpassed by the little white iBooks. It's almost an internal superiority complex. Who freakin' cares? These are laptops. [snip]

There is no debate: PowerBooks are the faster, more powerful, more fully-featured Mac laptops. iBooks are cheaper and drink less battery. That's it. End of story. There are no meaningful arguments to be had about this. Why people insist on pretending that there's more to it is beyond me.

Current-model PowerBooks will never actually be "surpassed" by iBooks, they'd sooner be eliminated as a product line. While at various times the gap might get closer, and one of those times very well might be around the corner, that probably only means a PB update is imminent. The last period of a gap that was too close for some lasted only 2 months. Big deal. And all older PowerBooks will eventually be "surpassed" by iBooks, because iBooks get the specs of older PowerBooks. But by then the PB line will have moved on.

All of you waiting for the iBook update, keep waiting if you want, it might not be a bad idea, or-- unless you have strong aesthetic revulsion to silver-- hunt down one of the previous rev. PBs on sale, as reported in this forum and elswhere. They are, quite simply, tomorrow's iBooks today. ... barring a massive form factor change, that is.

 

[Danzsupreme]

I am getting a PowerBook for college, too, probably in June. An update at WWDC would be nice, but I'm not holding my breath. I just hope they don't make some HUGE improvment at Paris just after I buy it.

But I have to disagree that the iBooks and PBs are almost the same. If I remember correctly from when I was comparing them, every spec on the PB is higher than the iBook. Plus there are the extras like the ones already mentioned (widescreen, PC card, FW800), the Sudden Motion Sensor, backlit keyboards, scrolling trackpads and dual monitor support without hacks, extra software, etc. Plus I prefer the metal to the plastic, in terms of look and feel

If powerbooks get updated i bet your the 12" spec remains, take the hint in the Powermacs, the duels got bigger and badder, but the Single stayed the same and didnt even get updated. Any change to powerbooks in WWDC is gonna be big prob duel core (i doubt G5), they cant sell dual core with G5 so why make money in one shot when they can make it in two. And there will not be any dual core 12" i dont think its phsycially possible

 

[chasingapple]

*SIGH*

From what my friend at Apple told me, iBooks are getting a minor revision.

G4 1.33Ghz 12" / G4 1.4Ghz 14"
Radeon 9600 64MB
30GB Drive (Low End)
512MB Ram (Still 266mhz)
4200 RPM Drives

Thats it. Compare that to the Powerbook which might see a new revision at WWDC

G4 1.5Ghz 12" / G4 1.67Ghz 15/17"
Geforce go 64MB / Radeon 9700 64-128MB (Soon to be Radeon 9700 128MB across the board)
60GB Drive (Low End)
512Mb Ram (333Mhz)
And 5400RPM Drives

Of course all the other extras that the PB's have in them that the iBooks do not. That is your lineup soon.

Cheers

 

[finalcoolman]

From what my friend at Apple told me, iBooks are getting a minor revision.

G4 1.33Ghz 12" / G4 1.4Ghz 14"
Radeon 9600 64MB
30GB Drive (Low End)
512MB Ram (Still 266mhz)
4200 RPM Drives

Thats it. Compare that to the Powerbook which might see a new revision at WWDC

G4 1.5Ghz 12" / G4 1.67Ghz 15/17"
Geforce go 64MB / Radeon 9700 64-128MB (Soon to be Radeon 9700 128MB across the board)
60GB Drive (Low End)
512Mb Ram (333Mhz)
And 5400RPM Drives

Of course all the other extras that the PB's have in them that the iBooks do not. That is your lineup soon.

Cheers

Cool. Now did your freind say when? Thanks,

 

[buryyourbrideau]

From what my friend at Apple told me, iBooks are getting a minor revision.

G4 1.33Ghz 12" / G4 1.4Ghz 14"
Radeon 9600 64MB
30GB Drive (Low End)
512MB Ram (Still 266mhz)
4200 RPM Drives

Thats it. Compare that to the Powerbook which might see a new revision at WWDC

G4 1.5Ghz 12" / G4 1.67Ghz 15/17"
Geforce go 64MB / Radeon 9700 64-128MB (Soon to be Radeon 9700 128MB across the board)
60GB Drive (Low End)
512Mb Ram (333Mhz)
And 5400RPM Drives

Of course all the other extras that the PB's have in them that the iBooks do not. That is your lineup soon.

Cheers

if apple then he might now

if apple store then he dosnt know jack

 

[BKKloppenborg]

From what my friend at Apple told me, iBooks are getting a minor revision.

G4 1.33Ghz 12" / G4 1.4Ghz 14"
Radeon 9600 64MB
30GB Drive (Low End)
512MB Ram (Still 266mhz)
4200 RPM Drives

Thats it. Compare that to the Powerbook which might see a new revision at WWDC

G4 1.5Ghz 12" / G4 1.67Ghz 15/17"
Geforce go 64MB / Radeon 9700 64-128MB (Soon to be Radeon 9700 128MB across the board)
60GB Drive (Low End)
512Mb Ram (333Mhz)
And 5400RPM Drives

Of course all the other extras that the PB's have in them that the iBooks do not. That is your lineup soon.

Cheers

wow thanks for info not bad at all.... I hope its soon though... If so i guess i will mabye just get ibook compared to powerbook...

Is thier any differences in How many ports they have in back like what do they have? USB?

 

[StarbucksSam]

From what my friend at Apple told me, iBooks are getting a minor revision.

G4 1.33Ghz 12" / G4 1.4Ghz 14"
Radeon 9600 64MB
30GB Drive (Low End)
512MB Ram (Still 266mhz)
4200 RPM Drives

Thats it. Compare that to the Powerbook which might see a new revision at WWDC

G4 1.5Ghz 12" / G4 1.67Ghz 15/17"
Geforce go 64MB / Radeon 9700 64-128MB (Soon to be Radeon 9700 128MB across the board)
60GB Drive (Low End)
512Mb Ram (333Mhz)
And 5400RPM Drives

Of course all the other extras that the PB's have in them that the iBooks do not. That is your lineup soon.

Cheers

I am not saying you're lying... but why wouldn't they update the PB processors? Nothing is new with the Powerbooks you mentioned... at all. It's not a very credible thing .. "My friend".

 

[mcgarry]

I am not saying you're lying... but why wouldn't they update the PB processors? Nothing is new with the Powerbooks you mentioned... at all. It's not a very credible thing .. "My friend".

I think chasingapple meant to say that the iBooks are to get a small bump before WWDC and the PowerBooks may get a more substantial update then. Personally I don't know about either possibility, nor do I know how reliable a source is chasingapple's friend. His spec comparison was meant as next iBooks and current PBs, not updated PBs.

 

[timmyb]

I was just browsing amazon.com and noticed that the ship time for the 12" iBook was 1-2 weeks whereas for the 14" models it was 1-2 days. Does this point to an update very soon and is it plausible for Apple to update only part of the range?

 

[admanimal]

I was just browsing amazon.com and noticed that the ship time for the 12" iBook was 1-2 weeks whereas for the 14" models it was 1-2 days. Does this point to an update very soon and is it plausible for Apple to update only part of the range?

Amazon's shipping times don't mean anything. Gotta look at Apple's for the real story.

 

[bigben334]

cmon......

yo chasingapple, reply to wat people are sayin. i dont wanna be an ****** or anything but wen u post big news like that u gotta follow it up. is ur friend from the apple STORE or from apple??? IF HES JUST FROM A STORE HE DOESNT ANYTHING.



HEY BURYYOURBRIDEAU, GO PISTONSSSSSSSSSS BABY!!! DEFINITE REPEAT NO QUESTION!!!!!!!! LETS GO BABY!!!!!!

 

[mak_suzu1]

There is no debate: PowerBooks are the faster, more powerful, more fully-featured Mac laptops. iBooks are cheaper and drink less battery. That's it. End of story. There are no meaningful arguments to be had about this. Why people insist on pretending that there's more to it is beyond me.

I have a differnt feeling.
The real battle front of Apple is not at PB line sorry for 'pro'-supporters.
The iBook is more strategic peace rather than PB, becaus it is getting new users.

 

[minton]

It sounds like youre comparing the PC market to the Mac market, PC's tend to outdate themselves rather fast and become worthless in a year or even less time.
Ed

In 2000, you could have had your pick of over 50 different laptops with the PIII chip running anywhere from 450 - 650 mhz. All are more than sufficient to run the latest OS (XP Pro) in 2005. Compared to a 2000 Pismo they are worth maybe $100 less, but given the original purchase price, the pcs have depreciated at roughly an equivalent pace.

 

[StarbucksSam]

yo chasingapple, reply to wat people are sayin. i dont wanna be an ****** or anything but wen u post big news like that u gotta follow it up. is ur friend from the apple STORE or from apple??? IF HES JUST FROM A STORE HE DOESNT ANYTHING.



HEY BURYYOURBRIDEAU, GO PISTONSSSSSSSSSS BABY!!! DEFINITE REPEAT NO QUESTION!!!!!!!! LETS GO BABY!!!!!!

Okay can we try... translating that please? This is not a stadium.

 

[bigben334]

I JUST MADE IT THE PALACE OF AUBURN HILLS!!!

 

[mcgarry]

I have a differnt feeling.
The real battle front of Apple is not at PB line sorry for 'pro'-supporters.
The iBook is more strategic peace rather than PB, becaus it is getting new users.

"battle front"? "supporters"? What are you talking about? Again, this is silly.

It doesn't matter what marketing name is attached to the product, some laptops are more powerful and more expensive than others. Craaaazy, I know.

 

[JonMaker]

let me remind you of the apple line.

i = cheaper, economy line products (ibook)

Power = nicer, more expensive, gets more s*** done

if you need more than 32 then buy a damn PB

So why does the iMac have 128?

Anyway, it's about time we got an iBook update rumor thread: surely I'm not the only person losing sleep at night over this long awaited update.

 

[aswitcher]

Well not long now until we see.

I hope so, as this would help ride the Tiger iMac wave BUT they also might wait until they can move some iMacs through their inventory channels.

 

[jamdr]

No there not. 32MB VRAM is not fine, it is a waste of money. That will be so outdated within a year. I will NOT buy a computer with 32MB of VRAM.

Settle down there little guy. 32 MB of memory does not make the difference between a good buy and waste of money. The current iBook won't be outdated in a year at all, let alone 2 or 3 years. Probably the only thing it won't be able to do at that time is play the latest games, but the iBook is not a gaming machine anyway. If you want to wait, wait, but I seriously doubt we will be seeing updates next week, or anytime this month.

 

[Mord]

the ibook is a funny one to update, the gpu is the main issue, they cant keep the 9200 and they cant put in a 9600 because it's faster than the 5200 in the 12" powerbook the only feasible gpu to put in an ibook would be a 5200 but i dont think they would switch to nvidia. as fro the cpu i think it will go to 1.33GHz and 1.42GHz, i wish they would put a superdrive and a faster cpu in the 12", it's just silly to make people buy a 14" for those features just to make people buy powerbooks.

 

[chasingapple]

WOW, alot of peeps wanting a follow-up. Wish I had more news but at least I can say this. My "friend" is All Apple, not an apple store employee. The Powerbooks are probably going to end up with 1.67Ghz low and 1.8Ghz high before we see them jump to G5. When that happens they will all have Radeon 9700 Pro's with 128MB ram.

Let me try and answer some of these, the iBook will not have any "new" slots in them, same USB and Firewire count. Price should come down another $50-100 on them, and Tiger of course will be pre-installed. There is also the possibility of a new screen in them, or an updated screen. it is possible Apple is going to hold off the announcment of the iBooks til WWDC, cause now my buddy is telling me widescreens all the way. Also possible and very likely is a regular 12", a new wide 12", and a wide 14" so then we will have 3 models to choose from. The regular 12" will start at $899.

Powerbooks are going to be exciting on the next revision, possible new form factor on those as well as the iBooks, I am trying to get anything out of my friend as possible, we have knows each other over 10+ years but as you can understand it is very difficult for him to just come flat out and say.. Here it is and here are the exact specs. He hints well and he is very excited for all the new "books" so I know there are surprises in store.

Stay tuned, I will update when I hear something

Cheers.