Hi, based upon everyone's knowledge of mac I would like to know how people think the new powerbook will look like. Will it be completely new, outside and inside or will it just be a weak update of the CPU? What do they mean with appoaching the end of a cycle at the buyer's guide?
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next powerbook
- Thread starter likosoad
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likosoad said:
i don't think we'll see an update till Intel PBooks, in which case it will be many more months without any updates, but culminating in a massive redesign of everything.
i don't think we'll see the aluminum case past the end of the G4s.
believe it or not, i believe we have one more update of the powerpc powerbook, i think we will see maybe by november(announced at paris expo) either a dual core g4 pbook, or a pbook g5(1.4ghz) available only in the 15" and 17" config, i would personally prefer to see a dual core g4 because they pack some amazing technology, use less power, create less heat and can fit in a 12" pbook, i am guessing more along the lines of an update to combat this recent ibook update, look at the memory of the 12" pbook and 12" ibook, it should be the ibook with 256+256mb dimm, not the pbook. Come on apple.
That is why i think we will see a new pbook by the end of the year, before the intel pbooks come out. dont forget said "we have several new and exciting powerpc products in the pipeline" i dont count this upgrade as new and exciting, though he might.
That is why i think we will see a new pbook by the end of the year, before the intel pbooks come out. dont forget said "we have several new and exciting powerpc products in the pipeline" i dont count this upgrade as new and exciting, though he might.
likosoad said:
My guess is a G5 PB around Oct or Nov of this year and Intel PBs early 2007. I doubt the external design will change much, if at all for awhile. Its pretty much impossible to make the PBs any thinner and the screens determine the width and depth. Apple certainly wouldn't make them any bigger. The only thing to change right now would be to make them out of a different material, they would probably be a different color if that happened. But I think the design is set in place for another year or two.
mpopkin said:
Damn a dualcore, do you mean 2 CPU's like the new G5 powermacs or something else? Cause if you mean what I hope you mean, double CPU's, that would be so ****ing sweet ! I am definitely doubting now, I think I'm gonna wait a little longer now, it seems to be worth it.
But wouldn't that take more fan power and thus more battery life?
hmm now i'm stil doubting. 
Let's say the next powerbook within a year is infact an intel based one. Wouldn't that mean that all the software from mac would have to be changed to work better with the new CPU's. Because if that is so I would think it is better to wait a while with such a big investment..
Let's say the next powerbook within a year is infact an intel based one. Wouldn't that mean that all the software from mac would have to be changed to work better with the new CPU's. Because if that is so I would think it is better to wait a while with such a big investment..I think that PowerBooks will probably be one of the first to get Intel chips and I would expect a new look too. I don't think that there will be any major changes until then, perhaps a small bump, but nothing worth waiting for.
If you need a PowerBook now, buy one now, if you have a Laptop that will last you another 12 months, it might be worth waiting.
If you need a PowerBook now, buy one now, if you have a Laptop that will last you another 12 months, it might be worth waiting.
I'm in agreement here. I would bet that there will be an update that will be relatively more significant than the ibook update this fall. That way apple can prolong the designing of the Intel Pbook, and make sure to get it right for release in late 2006 or early 2007.
Heb1228 said:
Whatt?? Intel Powerbooks will happen long before 2007. I'd say before end of summer 2006, perhaps several months earlier. I thought this was the general consensus. Apple announced Intel earlier in the summer and said they'd start working them into the line in 12 months, with completely transition in 24 months.
likosoad said:
dual core refers to a single chip with two 'cores' on it. takes the space of one processor but has two processing units on it. the dual G5s have 2 seperate chips.
as for my predictions, i think there will be one more speed bump for the PBs . . . they are way to close in speed to the iBooks and iMacs. i would imagine this would happen at the paris expo. i dont think dual core will come until the intel chips. i think this will be something big, dual core intel with a redesigned case for the PBs. but i do think PBs will be one of the first to get the intel chip since they have been most anticipated for a significant upgrade for such a long time. ie the G5 PB (which will never happen b/c the G5 is WAY toooooo hot) i think at the same time of the intel PB release will be an upgrade to the PowerMac line. with something crazy like 2 dual core chips. or just 2 chips. because i assume two chips runs better than a dual core b/c the dual core would have a much more concentrated amount of heat which would be a limiting factor in the chips. i could see the PB having a portable version that can run off of a single core when running on the battery. but yeah, enough of my thoughts
savar said:
um. . . look at what you said "before summer 06 " but 12 months after summer 05. . . i agree with the 12 months after the summer 05 anouncement. but that means no earlier than summer 06. i also imagine this will just be an anouncement of the line. lets look at apple and past major anouncements. how long was it until the first 30" monitors were shipping? or the dual 2.5 G5 powermacs were shipping? i imagine they will announce the first macintels during summer 06 but wont ship until the end of summer or begining of fall 06.
witness said:
I agree...
Intel PowerBooks would probably be the first to recieve an update. The PowerBook is the Mac that is in greatly need of a big update. If Apple can't figure out how to make this low powered PPC970fx processor work in a PowerBook then it would almost have to be one of the first. The processor they want to use is already avaliable for Apple.
As far as looks, well, I'd like it to be made out of something that looks nice and doesn't weigh very much. Apple has some fairly light laptops right now and I'd like to see that in the new PowerBooks. Also, keep the thickness the same as well. A carbon fiber material would be neat. That may better suite the next iBook though....
Roadmap Based Projections
Alright a couple of things....
1. The new 970FX Low power chips announced by IBM will work in a laptop, they are not way to hot anymore.
2. Jobs announced that they will be starting w/ the low end for the Intel migration, during the keynote. That means the "Power" lineup will not be first, but the mini or i-series.
3. Jobs also said they would have a number of exciting updates to the products in the interim.
Major upcoming Intel architectures....
Yonah - iBook & Mac Mini, iMac(?) (dual core, 65nm) Q4CY05
- Expectation: MWSF '06 Announcement
- Current Rev's are last PPC based Versions, or 1 final speed bump.
Merom - Powerbook, iMac(?) (dual core, EMT64, 65nm)Q3CY06
- Expectation: WWDC '06 Announcement, Sept Ship
- 2 More PPC based bumps, Fall '05 & Spring '06. (970FX LV?)
Conroe - PowerMac, Maybe xServe (Desktop Version of Merom) Q3CY06
- Expectation: WWDC '06 Announcement, Sept Ship
- 2 More PPC based bumps, Fall '05, Spring '06. (970MP?)
Woodcrest & Whitefield- xServe (Q1CY07, and Q4CY07 respectively)
- Post MWSF '07 Release
Based on Jobs comment that they are starting at the low end, with the projected migration by '07, the Intel roadmap lines up very well to create a very clear picture.
- Kelson
Alright a couple of things....
1. The new 970FX Low power chips announced by IBM will work in a laptop, they are not way to hot anymore.
2. Jobs announced that they will be starting w/ the low end for the Intel migration, during the keynote. That means the "Power" lineup will not be first, but the mini or i-series.
3. Jobs also said they would have a number of exciting updates to the products in the interim.
Major upcoming Intel architectures....
Yonah - iBook & Mac Mini, iMac(?) (dual core, 65nm) Q4CY05
- Expectation: MWSF '06 Announcement
- Current Rev's are last PPC based Versions, or 1 final speed bump.
Merom - Powerbook, iMac(?) (dual core, EMT64, 65nm)Q3CY06
- Expectation: WWDC '06 Announcement, Sept Ship
- 2 More PPC based bumps, Fall '05 & Spring '06. (970FX LV?)
Conroe - PowerMac, Maybe xServe (Desktop Version of Merom) Q3CY06
- Expectation: WWDC '06 Announcement, Sept Ship
- 2 More PPC based bumps, Fall '05, Spring '06. (970MP?)
Woodcrest & Whitefield- xServe (Q1CY07, and Q4CY07 respectively)
- Post MWSF '07 Release
Based on Jobs comment that they are starting at the low end, with the projected migration by '07, the Intel roadmap lines up very well to create a very clear picture.
- Kelson
final post about pb
Allright here's the final post. I met someone who's working in an apple store. He heard people talking and this is the final view:
The first intel-base powerbooks will probably NOT come out before 2007, because apple not only needs a new CPU. Apple also needs a new motherboard and power suplly are also needed and probably new ram to match the new motherboard. And apple cannot afford to make there powerbooks bigger and fatter so this means a lot of work. But this is not all offcoarse. Mac software will have to be changed and updated to work well with the new CPU's, wich also takes time. And apple must make sure that all the people with the old apple computers and old software can also run the new software that will be disigned for the intel chip. vice verca apple also has to make sure that old programs will work on the new apple's. Again alot of work. So as you see, it isn't simple to make such a changeover, it takes alot of time. Why the powerbooks will be later is simple, they're just so much harder to build and why the imacs and emacs will be first is simply because there allready exist protoypes off them now. I saw one myself, the first Imac with an intel chip, they don't work perfect yet but they do work. So apple doesn't need so much more time to make those. Powermacs come later simply because they were just hugely updated and are now again the fastest computers.
And then another reason counts for all the new macs, when they come out they should have the least bit of problems as possible. So that means that when ie the first pb with intel exists they still need months of training and tweaking to make it work right.
The two speedbumps are very true, but the CPU will not get much faster because they've sort of reached their limit now. A dualcore would be to hot and a G5 would never fit and would also be to hot.
So expect some minor speedbumps and no more for the pb, but in 2007 a major changeove!!! BUT !!! I still wouldn't buy one then because it would still take years for the teething problems to be solved completely, let's not forget that the present pb has been working on ibm chips for years and the basics of the powerbooks in and outside haven't changed in years. That is why they are so good to trust. Years of little fixes have made this line up of the pb perfect, It'll be another couple of years for the new intel pb's to be this reliant.
Voila there you go, this is the story of a man who knows more then all of us unless if some people here also work at apple, in that case sorry.
Allright here's the final post. I met someone who's working in an apple store. He heard people talking and this is the final view:
The first intel-base powerbooks will probably NOT come out before 2007, because apple not only needs a new CPU. Apple also needs a new motherboard and power suplly are also needed and probably new ram to match the new motherboard. And apple cannot afford to make there powerbooks bigger and fatter so this means a lot of work. But this is not all offcoarse. Mac software will have to be changed and updated to work well with the new CPU's, wich also takes time. And apple must make sure that all the people with the old apple computers and old software can also run the new software that will be disigned for the intel chip. vice verca apple also has to make sure that old programs will work on the new apple's. Again alot of work. So as you see, it isn't simple to make such a changeover, it takes alot of time. Why the powerbooks will be later is simple, they're just so much harder to build and why the imacs and emacs will be first is simply because there allready exist protoypes off them now. I saw one myself, the first Imac with an intel chip, they don't work perfect yet but they do work. So apple doesn't need so much more time to make those. Powermacs come later simply because they were just hugely updated and are now again the fastest computers.
And then another reason counts for all the new macs, when they come out they should have the least bit of problems as possible. So that means that when ie the first pb with intel exists they still need months of training and tweaking to make it work right.
The two speedbumps are very true, but the CPU will not get much faster because they've sort of reached their limit now. A dualcore would be to hot and a G5 would never fit and would also be to hot.
So expect some minor speedbumps and no more for the pb, but in 2007 a major changeove!!! BUT !!! I still wouldn't buy one then because it would still take years for the teething problems to be solved completely, let's not forget that the present pb has been working on ibm chips for years and the basics of the powerbooks in and outside haven't changed in years. That is why they are so good to trust. Years of little fixes have made this line up of the pb perfect, It'll be another couple of years for the new intel pb's to be this reliant.
Voila there you go, this is the story of a man who knows more then all of us unless if some people here also work at apple, in that case sorry.
Heb1228 said:
Nope. G5 PB is never going to happen. That's one of the biggest reason Apple is switching to Intel. Besides, even if it did happen it would have to be such a low end G5 that the current G4s would beat it anyway and it wouldn't be worth it. But like I said, no G5 PB...ever. I do however expect a G4 update. Either a G4 bumped to 1.8ghz or a dual core 1.5/1.6 or so.
BUT WHEN?? I need a laptop for school, and I was going to go with teh 12" PB, but do you think there would be that much of a drastic change within the next mont or two?
joecool85 said:
As said above, IBM already announced a low-power, low-heat version of the G5. It probably won't clock at much higher then the current G4s, but the FSB will be a huge advantage plus I believe it could address much more memory. There would be other advangates as well. They are starting intel macs at the low end, so PBs are going to have to wait awhile. I still think a G5 PB is probable before the end of this year.