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New PowerBooks on Tuesday.
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thank you macrumors12345, it's nice to hear from someone eho not only knows what they're talking about, but also has factual information to back it up, without being condesending.
Basing hardware assumptions on price is misleading, so all those who doubt the PB G5's appearance because "$2999 seems too low" may be misleading themselves.
In these relatively tough times, computer sales are generally flat, and many people are choosing according to price rather than specs or OS. Sure, releasing the "World's first 64 bit Laptop" (and let's not include those SPARC baesd ones, which only recently fell below five or six thousand bucks) certainly has a nice ring to it, but how many are you going to sell at, say $3500?
Demand and saleability drive pricing, and Apple could easily price itsef out of the market if it's not careful.
In these relatively tough times, computer sales are generally flat, and many people are choosing according to price rather than specs or OS. Sure, releasing the "World's first 64 bit Laptop" (and let's not include those SPARC baesd ones, which only recently fell below five or six thousand bucks) certainly has a nice ring to it, but how many are you going to sell at, say $3500?
Demand and saleability drive pricing, and Apple could easily price itsef out of the market if it's not careful.
yes but
it is indeed true , but the P4 is not running at 3GHz in the omputer, there is a nifty processor clock adjustment system , and at the most the processor will rarely exceed 1.5GHz.
This is why Intel has introduced the P4M, which really means portable, than of course the clock speed goes down seriously...
and still the P4M and P4 centrino have a clock adjustment system to extend battery life
it is indeed true , but the P4 is not running at 3GHz in the omputer, there is a nifty processor clock adjustment system , and at the most the processor will rarely exceed 1.5GHz.
This is why Intel has introduced the P4M, which really means portable, than of course the clock speed goes down seriously...
and still the P4M and P4 centrino have a clock adjustment system to extend battery life
I posted this elsewhere, but I think it may be valid:
It seems to me that the whole PowerBook G5 issue boils down to one thing, more or less:
Apple has a choice. It can
(a) Build them soon, using lower specced 970s (say @ 1.2 Ghz) which dissipate as little heat as a MOT G4 or,
(b) Wait for the process shrink and release faster 970s @ 90 nM.
The decision will be made for financial reasons rather than technical ones, I would speculate. I believe they will wait for option (b) as they are making money on MOT powered 'books at the moment. Also, they may still have contractual obligations to MOT of which we are unaware.
Finally, there may be some advantages to using the 7457 that we are again unaware of.
Whatever, I'm not holding my breath for the G5 PB. I'm not too unhappy about that, as I just changed my mind regarding a PB purchase. I had saved the money for a 17" PB but at the last moment bought an old TiBook on ebay. I tried hard to convince myself the lapzilla was worth $3300, but in the end just couldn't justify it. An $800 TiBook will tide me over nicely to the next Gen PowerBook release.
It seems to me that the whole PowerBook G5 issue boils down to one thing, more or less:
Apple has a choice. It can
(a) Build them soon, using lower specced 970s (say @ 1.2 Ghz) which dissipate as little heat as a MOT G4 or,
(b) Wait for the process shrink and release faster 970s @ 90 nM.
The decision will be made for financial reasons rather than technical ones, I would speculate. I believe they will wait for option (b) as they are making money on MOT powered 'books at the moment. Also, they may still have contractual obligations to MOT of which we are unaware.
Finally, there may be some advantages to using the 7457 that we are again unaware of.
Whatever, I'm not holding my breath for the G5 PB. I'm not too unhappy about that, as I just changed my mind regarding a PB purchase. I had saved the money for a 17" PB but at the last moment bought an old TiBook on ebay. I tried hard to convince myself the lapzilla was worth $3300, but in the end just couldn't justify it. An $800 TiBook will tide me over nicely to the next Gen PowerBook release.
After reviewing all the current G5 Benchmarks I wonder how much faster a 1.25 G5 would really be compared to a 1.25 G4.
It just seems a small point but IBM have had the same amount of time to get a G5 ready for a Laptop roll out as they did for the desktop roll out!
It just needed Apple to say at the time oh by the way we will want a G5 for the laptops as well can you do that?
So by IBM intranet rumor they have had 15 to 18 months to get it sorted and Apple have had the same amount of time to do a new mother board to carry it.
So on Tuesday I am hoping for a G5 laptop and if I don't get it I will wait for it.('
')
You have been warned Apple, you want the money? its in the bank waiting for you.('')
It just needed Apple to say at the time oh by the way we will want a G5 for the laptops as well can you do that?
So by IBM intranet rumor they have had 15 to 18 months to get it sorted and Apple have had the same amount of time to do a new mother board to carry it.
So on Tuesday I am hoping for a G5 laptop and if I don't get it I will wait for it.('
')You have been warned Apple, you want the money? its in the bank waiting for you.('
')
dream on...
The 17" PB design is barely 8 months old; no way is Apple gonna do an overhaul to put in a G5. Sorry.
Plus, as macrumors12345 has pointed out, the 970 DOES dissipate more heat per megahertz than the current 7455. The ONLY chip that let's Apple go beyond 1 ghz in the PBs right now is the 7457.
We won't see a G5 PB until sometime next spring or summer when the dieshrunk 970 is shipping in volume.
So stop with all this G5 powerbook nonesense. Pure fantasy, I tell ya.
The 17" PB design is barely 8 months old; no way is Apple gonna do an overhaul to put in a G5. Sorry.
Plus, as macrumors12345 has pointed out, the 970 DOES dissipate more heat per megahertz than the current 7455. The ONLY chip that let's Apple go beyond 1 ghz in the PBs right now is the 7457.
We won't see a G5 PB until sometime next spring or summer when the dieshrunk 970 is shipping in volume.
So stop with all this G5 powerbook nonesense. Pure fantasy, I tell ya.
It does, but there is some doubt as to whether IBM can currently produce enought to use in PMs as well as PBs.
I guess they would have had to have been producing 1.3Ghz or whatever 970s the whole time they were making the 1.6Ghz to 2.0Ghz 970s... maybe that is a little hard...but it could be the reason IBM hasn't been able to keep up with the demand for the pMac chips.
True, and impossible to prove or disprove at this point.
The only slim evidence in this theory's favor, I would say, is that 1.3 or close to it was IBM's original projection for the first 970s, was it not?
I still strongly believe there will be no G5 PBs on Tuesday.
Could be that the 12" will not be updated yet...then I would agree with you. $2000 for a 12" laptop is not uncommon in the PC world...but Apple would have to include a L3 Cache or a G5 and DVI to ask for that kind of money.
Maybe those prices are just for the 15" pBook.
Ok people, lets get it straight.
Apple and Motorola are basically finished. Motorola can't product processors well at all. They are the reason apple has been behind in clock speed for over half a decade. Now this update probably won't be to G5s, but it IS the end of the line for G4 powerbooks.
Why do I say this? G4s run hot in powerbooks. Granted the 12" problems in heat ARE NOT from the CPU, but from the hard drive and power board. The G5 was in development for a while, and I bet apple has a G5 laptop. It wouldn't be hard to impliment a G5 laptop at this point.
Look at it this way. the powerbooks have DDR (except for the 15") right now, but can the G4 take advantage of DDR ram? NO it can't, and since theres DDR channels already on the boards how hard would it be to put a DDR aware CPU on, new controlers andan ATA bus? Not very in my oppinion. The G5 at 1GHZ and with a DDR 2700 bus would be PREFECT for a low heat, damn quick laptop.
All of you saying the 17" will get a G5 and the rest G4s dream on. Why would Apple do that? It makes no sense at all! Dual G4s maybe, but a G5 in one model and not the others? No way would Apple do that. The 12" is their best seller for a reason.
All that said... Tuesday probably won't bring G5 powerbooks, but I would not be suprised if it did. We have waited a long time, and there has to be something huge in the pipeline. I guess we have to wait it out...
Apple and Motorola are basically finished. Motorola can't product processors well at all. They are the reason apple has been behind in clock speed for over half a decade. Now this update probably won't be to G5s, but it IS the end of the line for G4 powerbooks.
Why do I say this? G4s run hot in powerbooks. Granted the 12" problems in heat ARE NOT from the CPU, but from the hard drive and power board. The G5 was in development for a while, and I bet apple has a G5 laptop. It wouldn't be hard to impliment a G5 laptop at this point.
Look at it this way. the powerbooks have DDR (except for the 15") right now, but can the G4 take advantage of DDR ram? NO it can't, and since theres DDR channels already on the boards how hard would it be to put a DDR aware CPU on, new controlers andan ATA bus? Not very in my oppinion. The G5 at 1GHZ and with a DDR 2700 bus would be PREFECT for a low heat, damn quick laptop.
All of you saying the 17" will get a G5 and the rest G4s dream on.
Why would Apple do that? It makes no sense at all! Dual G4s maybe, but a G5 in one model and not the others? No way would Apple do that. The 12" is their best seller for a reason.All that said... Tuesday probably won't bring G5 powerbooks, but I would not be suprised if it did. We have waited a long time, and there has to be something huge in the pipeline. I guess we have to wait it out...
I have no idea of what the technical difficulties may be for not releasing a G5 powerbook, but I do know that from a marketing point of view it wouldn't be very clever to come with a little speed bumb G4's for the PB range AFTER the introduction of the G5 Towers, especially if clients know that G5 PB will come out next year.
But then again, Apple doesn't always take the most clever marketing steps....
I cannot remember... did they update the G3 Powerbooks after the introduction of the G4 Desktops?
But then again, Apple doesn't always take the most clever marketing steps....
I cannot remember... did they update the G3 Powerbooks after the introduction of the G4 Desktops?
Intel Mobile Chips and PowerBook Chips
HP, for the most part, doesn't use P4 Mobiles in their laptops; they're the real deal desktop chips but incredibly loud with the fans and hard drive spinning.
So, I surmize that Apple could (and will) place two G4 1.25 chips in the 17 in. model this Tuesday.
Just clarify the naysayers that claim most of the high-end PC laptop makers use P4 Mobiles. Not true -- For their highest end, they offer true desktops in bulky, loud, and unattractive enclosures!
HP, for the most part, doesn't use P4 Mobiles in their laptops; they're the real deal desktop chips but incredibly loud with the fans and hard drive spinning.
So, I surmize that Apple could (and will) place two G4 1.25 chips in the 17 in. model this Tuesday.
Just clarify the naysayers that claim most of the high-end PC laptop makers use P4 Mobiles. Not true -- For their highest end, they offer true desktops in bulky, loud, and unattractive enclosures!
Well, maybe. But as I said earlier, technological reasons are not the only ones driving any company's strategy.
What are you basing all of this on? It seems to me that looking at the actual spec for the chip rather than looking inside the case of a PowerMac would make more sense. People are also talking about a 1.2 GHz 970, rather than a 1.6 GHz 970 (the lowest available to LOOK at). That's a 400 MHz difference.
Originally posted by wood_e
All of you saying the 17" will get a G5 and the rest G4s dream on.
Yes, the 17" pBook is most likely the least popular. The 15" will most likely surpass the 12" in sales really quick. I know alot of people who want the 15" pBook (friends, people in forums etc)...and in the PC world, 15" is the most popular size. The 12" and 17" pBooks would not have done as well if the 15" AlBook was introduced at the same time.
Nope...The Pismos were the last in the series of G3 PowerBooks, released during the summer. Then in September of 2000, G4s were announced. MWSF 2001 brought the Titanium PowerBook G4 at 400 Mhz and 500 Mhz.
I have a Pismo 400 mhz and bought one shortly before the G4s were marketed.
Just to humor some people, here are some more highlights in Apple expo history:
MWNY 2001 - The G4 Cube is introduced!
MWSF 2002 - New G4 towers, Cube is discontinued; TiPB upgrades.
MWNY 2002 - BY FAR -- The worst of the worst expos EVER: iDVD released.
MWSF 2003: PowerBooks 12 and 17 models released! An entire slew of stuff for everyone to enjoy.
WWDC 2003: G5s! 'Nuff said.
s10 I believe they did update the G3 laptops after the introduction. This was cuz G3s were easy to come by, and like i said, the G4 was literally HOT. I remember the MASSIVE size of the G4 heatsink compared to the G3s.....
Apple has an option here. Release something customers won't buy because they brought out a clearly faster desktop, or release something a bit slower than their desktops, but with the technology used in thier new desktops.
I think Apple will be smart and use the latter of those.
Apple has an option here. Release something customers won't buy because they brought out a clearly faster desktop, or release something a bit slower than their desktops, but with the technology used in thier new desktops.
I think Apple will be smart and use the latter of those.