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No PowerBook Updates Before 2005
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Nermal said:The Buyers' Guide still says not to buy, updates soon. Somebody might want to change it
So hard to decide what to do.
I want a 17 inch powerbook.
Do I buy now, wait a few weeks or possibly into next year???
I don't want to wait until next year - I want my powerbook now!!!
The way I see it is that Apple have to release a upgrade within a month surely - even if its only a small one.
And I would happily buy a 1.5 to 1.75 inch thick G5 powerbook, maybe they could chuck in a 6 hour battery possibly?
I want a 17 inch powerbook.
Do I buy now, wait a few weeks or possibly into next year???
I don't want to wait until next year - I want my powerbook now!!!
The way I see it is that Apple have to release a upgrade within a month surely - even if its only a small one.
And I would happily buy a 1.5 to 1.75 inch thick G5 powerbook, maybe they could chuck in a 6 hour battery possibly?
blizzard_nz said:
Ask yourself whether you'd need the power of a G5, if not then get the Powerbook now. It's an awesome machine and will last quite a while, even IF(and I still doubt that) G5 PBs come out at MWSF '05.
Go ahead, buy it and be happy.
Yeah - i know. I don't need the power of a G5, but it would be nice of course.
Guess I can buy a G4 17inch knowing the all the bugs are sorted out and I will get a good run out of it, and that in 3 years powerbooks will be lucky to be twice as fast anyway.
Like everyone, I would be pissed off if a G5 comes out in Jan 05 after forking out so-much money for a end of the line model. I believe they should bring the price down, much like how a auto-manufacture has a clearance sale for the about to be out of date model.
Maybe, just maybe I can get it in wrting when I buy it that "if a G5 or dual processor model comes out within three months, that I can then return my model for a automatic upgrade".
Guess I can buy a G4 17inch knowing the all the bugs are sorted out and I will get a good run out of it, and that in 3 years powerbooks will be lucky to be twice as fast anyway.
Like everyone, I would be pissed off if a G5 comes out in Jan 05 after forking out so-much money for a end of the line model. I believe they should bring the price down, much like how a auto-manufacture has a clearance sale for the about to be out of date model.
Maybe, just maybe I can get it in wrting when I buy it that "if a G5 or dual processor model comes out within three months, that I can then return my model for a automatic upgrade".
blizzard_nz said:
i see you have the powerbook fever
there's no way current powerbook design will have a 6h battery life and there's very little possibility of a speed bump within a month. more likely they will announce powerbook update in january, and even then it might take few months to actually begin shipping.if you want a powerbook and are happy with current line, just buy it and never look back. if you are afraid of powerbooks being updated right after you buy one, well, then just wait for the next update and be the first one to order the new one.
but know this: there will always be the next version, so even if you waited for the update, you could easily begin waiting for the next generation powerbook because you listen to the rumors of "imminent release" or whatever - and then you being to wait for the next generation revB model because someone assures you never to buy a revA product.... it goes on and on
just buy it when you NEED it.
JFreak said:i see you have the powerbook fever
if you want a powerbook and are happy with current line, just buy it and never look back. if you are afraid of powerbooks being updated right after you buy one, well, then just wait for the next update and be the first one to order the new one.
but know this: there will always be the next version, so even if you waited for the update, you could easily begin waiting for the next generation powerbook because you listen to the rumors of "imminent release" or whatever - and then you being to wait for the next generation revB model because someone assures you never to buy a revA product.... it goes on and on
just buy it when you NEED it.
true true. OK - thats it, I am buying one now. If one get release in Jan, who cares cause I don't wanna wait till March for delivery anyhow.
5-6 hour battery life, well you never know. If they made a phat powerbook, with a G5 at 1.75 inchs thick, there might be space left over to almost double the battery size - I know I would buy one. But I agree with many, that apple are about design and being sleekness, but somehow they have to have to G5 in there in 2005.
Good luck with that.blizzard_nz said:
General rule with Apple: Buy as soon after an update as possible because generally they bump each line every six months or so, with a major bump (i.e. G3 to G4 or G4 to G5) every few years. I don't think the elusive G5 PowerBook will be THAT much of a step up from the G4, because they will have to cripple it somewhat to get it in there and they're hardly going to make them much thicker, shorter battery life, etc.
Obviously, sometimes you have to buy something - therefore if you NEED it, just get it now. But if you can afford to wait, you might want to.
It's a bit tricky with the current PBs. They've been out since April so are due for an update. But the new iBook speed bump and the comments by Apple that started this thread suggests there will not be an update in the coming weeks. However, this then suggests that there will be something BIG in the next update - proabably MWSF in January.
So, my advice: if you NEED it, buy now and enjoy. If you don't, wait 'til January. But whatever you do, don't wait a month then buy.
Buying quandry
I'd really like a 12" PB (having just switched from Windows, and
using a Dual 2.0 G5 at work and a G5 iMac at home), but I feel like
the price on the 12" PB is way too high now, relative to the 12" iBook.
I hate the idea of buying it now and have a revision come out in
two or three months, since it's not absolutely crucial that I have it
(lots of other new Mac toys to play with).
I feel like Apple's policy of playing things so close to the vest, with
such long update lags is really unfortunate. If I knew, with certainty,
that no PB revision was coming for 6-8 months, I'd buy now (especially
if the 12" PB price dropped by $300). If I knew with certainty that a
new PB was coming in 2-3 months, I'd happily wait. But not knowing
puts me in limbo.
Apple really needs to drop the price on the 12" PB, if nothing else.
I'd really like a 12" PB (having just switched from Windows, and
using a Dual 2.0 G5 at work and a G5 iMac at home), but I feel like
the price on the 12" PB is way too high now, relative to the 12" iBook.
I hate the idea of buying it now and have a revision come out in
two or three months, since it's not absolutely crucial that I have it
(lots of other new Mac toys to play with).
I feel like Apple's policy of playing things so close to the vest, with
such long update lags is really unfortunate. If I knew, with certainty,
that no PB revision was coming for 6-8 months, I'd buy now (especially
if the 12" PB price dropped by $300). If I knew with certainty that a
new PB was coming in 2-3 months, I'd happily wait. But not knowing
puts me in limbo.
Apple really needs to drop the price on the 12" PB, if nothing else.
The question is who would want a Rev. A G5 PB? I for one would rather buy a G4 Rev. C now than wait for that Rev. A
If there is no Rev. A G5 (I would think so, but you never know)... well then there'll be only a speedbump in which case it won't be worth to wait. I'd get it now unless it is really and solely a toy and you can wait for the Rev. B!! that would come out same time next year.
If there is no Rev. A G5 (I would think so, but you never know)... well then there'll be only a speedbump in which case it won't be worth to wait. I'd get it now unless it is really and solely a toy and you can wait for the Rev. B!! that would come out same time next year.
I've recently ordered a 15" Powerbook with SuperDrive.
I decided not to wait for a couple of reasons:
1) It being pretty much an end of line product I'm hoping all the problems will have been sorted.
2) If my old 733Mhz Quicksilver can cope with all the stuff I can chuck at it then a 1.5GHz Powerbook should be fine, so I don't really need a dual core or a G5.
and
3) I've just started a degree course so I got edu. discount and the Cram and Jam offer. (Getting the PB and a 40GB iPod plus a wireless keyboard and mouse I saved a few hundred quid (£s))
I decided not to wait for a couple of reasons:
1) It being pretty much an end of line product I'm hoping all the problems will have been sorted.
2) If my old 733Mhz Quicksilver can cope with all the stuff I can chuck at it then a 1.5GHz Powerbook should be fine, so I don't really need a dual core or a G5.
and
3) I've just started a degree course so I got edu. discount and the Cram and Jam offer. (Getting the PB and a 40GB iPod plus a wireless keyboard and mouse I saved a few hundred quid (£s))
bartelby said:
That reminds me of all the talk about the ending of the Cram & Jam offer paving way for possible PB upgrades....
blizzard_nz said:
If you want one now then go ahead. The PowerBook is an awesome machine, you won't be disappointed. With the problem of heat and getting the G5 in the 1" structure, makes it unlikely that we will see one soon. The dual core is is very likely, maybe at MWSF.
I'm angry. Christmas is on the horizon and this appears to be Apple telling us that once we've bought all the Powerbooks, they're going to give them an update. In other words, better products for the same amount of money. This doesn't really encourage me to buy a Powerbook. In fact, it really puts me off, BIG time. The only way that Apple can counter this and get my money is if they update SOMETHING on the Powerbooks and I don't mean by dropping the prices. For example, a faster Superdrive, Keynote thrown in, even a token speed hike, a larger harddisk or, best of the lot, BETTER GRAPHICS CARD.
They're clearning out old stock. This is the least they can do.
Rich::
They're clearning out old stock. This is the least they can do.
Rich::
This is what has me confused. People are saying buy it if you need it.
I don't need it. Mostly, I want to get off this big heavy plastic computer and get onto a nice thinner aluminum computer that is lighter and has nice little things like light up keyboards and glowing apple logos etc. etc. etc. Also, I want to switch to Mac OSX. No need to talk about the reasons since we already know about that.
Mostly the only thing that is keeping me back is because I don't have a feel about how performance works on an Apple, unlike on the PC. I'm farely sure that desktop apps will run to my satisfaction on the PB (15" 1.5GHz 128MB VRAM 512MB RAM). But I have no idea how the other side of the spectrum will work: the occaisonal game.
In the PC world, a Radeon 9700 in a laptop is rather good (its Pixel Shader 2, its still relatively fast, it has 128MB VRAM, its not integrated, etc. etc.), and the new gen cards are no big deal (no new tech really involved). So to me, that seems like a great card.
And the PowerBook has this. But people tell me that when they play games, they aren't that fast. Others tell me the PB plays games rather good. Others give framerates. But I don't seem to get any specific information about how it really works. That is what is keeping me back from making a decision. I'm not asking for running Halo at the highest resolution with everything cranked up to high with anisotrophic filtering and antialiasing all the way up. I'd be fine with a moderate resolution (something above 800x600, or whatever the widescreen mac equivalent of that is), with no smoothing, with no anisotrophic filtering, and graphics middle or mostly up there.
Now, I have to play all the games that I like (which are on the Mac too or are going to be on the Mac, I already checked) at 800x600, with graphics setting usually moderate. All I need to know is how will a game, hopefully Halo, or whatever, will play on a PB. That's all I would need. Just info from people how it works.
That's it. That's all I need. I'd get if I knew how it performed, since I don't want to deal with rev A hardware anyways. So if anyone knows anything like, or where to find about stuff like that, please let me know. It would be really really appreciated.
I don't need it. Mostly, I want to get off this big heavy plastic computer and get onto a nice thinner aluminum computer that is lighter and has nice little things like light up keyboards and glowing apple logos etc. etc. etc. Also, I want to switch to Mac OSX. No need to talk about the reasons since we already know about that.
Mostly the only thing that is keeping me back is because I don't have a feel about how performance works on an Apple, unlike on the PC. I'm farely sure that desktop apps will run to my satisfaction on the PB (15" 1.5GHz 128MB VRAM 512MB RAM). But I have no idea how the other side of the spectrum will work: the occaisonal game.
In the PC world, a Radeon 9700 in a laptop is rather good (its Pixel Shader 2, its still relatively fast, it has 128MB VRAM, its not integrated, etc. etc.), and the new gen cards are no big deal (no new tech really involved). So to me, that seems like a great card.
And the PowerBook has this. But people tell me that when they play games, they aren't that fast. Others tell me the PB plays games rather good. Others give framerates. But I don't seem to get any specific information about how it really works. That is what is keeping me back from making a decision. I'm not asking for running Halo at the highest resolution with everything cranked up to high with anisotrophic filtering and antialiasing all the way up. I'd be fine with a moderate resolution (something above 800x600, or whatever the widescreen mac equivalent of that is), with no smoothing, with no anisotrophic filtering, and graphics middle or mostly up there.
Now, I have to play all the games that I like (which are on the Mac too or are going to be on the Mac, I already checked) at 800x600, with graphics setting usually moderate. All I need to know is how will a game, hopefully Halo, or whatever, will play on a PB. That's all I would need. Just info from people how it works.
That's it. That's all I need. I'd get if I knew how it performed, since I don't want to deal with rev A hardware anyways. So if anyone knows anything like, or where to find about stuff like that, please let me know. It would be really really appreciated.
Get Over It!
I really don't understand all of the whining that goes on here.
Apple upgraded the iBook line in time for Christmas. Smart move
There is no need for Apple to rush out and upgrade the PowerBook line. And if they did most people who whine in this forum would bitch and moan about XYZ or will post something like "looks good, but I'm going to wait for the revision..."
PowerBooks are not consumer laptops. Missing Christmas means nothing!
The majority of the people who use PowerBook laptops are either:
a. Executives who want the cool computer (I'm not joking here)
b. The Apple user who has G4/G5 tower in the office/home and need to be able to continue to work while on the road.
Martin Sargent said it right the other night on The Screensavers when Kevin Rose was getting a hard on about AMD's latest chip:
Martin was equally unimpressed by Kevins other big news: AMDs new Athlon 64 4000+ processor. Will this allow me to read my email and book my flights more efficiently, Martin asked. Kevin insisted that this was indeed relevant to computer consumers and to those following the computer industry.
I'm writing this on a 17" PowerBook G4. When the G4 PowerBooks come out will I be bummed out. No! I will look at it, but I won't buy one, for the same reasons I didn't run out and buy a G5 Tower. There was no reason to. As long as my apps work (which they all do) and my computer does not get in the way of me doing work (which my old PC laptop did), then why upgrade. I expect a minimum two years out of my computers. If my current hardware became outdated (unsupported) in that time then I would seriously consider a new vender. That's the nice thing about Apple, they allow their products to have a complete life cycle.
How many people here really plan to buy a new computer in the next 3 months? As an Apple Shareholder I would love to see an accurate show of hands.
I really don't understand all of the whining that goes on here.
Apple upgraded the iBook line in time for Christmas. Smart move
There is no need for Apple to rush out and upgrade the PowerBook line. And if they did most people who whine in this forum would bitch and moan about XYZ or will post something like "looks good, but I'm going to wait for the revision..."
PowerBooks are not consumer laptops. Missing Christmas means nothing!
The majority of the people who use PowerBook laptops are either:
a. Executives who want the cool computer (I'm not joking here)
b. The Apple user who has G4/G5 tower in the office/home and need to be able to continue to work while on the road.
Martin Sargent said it right the other night on The Screensavers when Kevin Rose was getting a hard on about AMD's latest chip:
Martin was equally unimpressed by Kevins other big news: AMDs new Athlon 64 4000+ processor. Will this allow me to read my email and book my flights more efficiently, Martin asked. Kevin insisted that this was indeed relevant to computer consumers and to those following the computer industry.
I'm writing this on a 17" PowerBook G4. When the G4 PowerBooks come out will I be bummed out. No! I will look at it, but I won't buy one, for the same reasons I didn't run out and buy a G5 Tower. There was no reason to. As long as my apps work (which they all do) and my computer does not get in the way of me doing work (which my old PC laptop did), then why upgrade. I expect a minimum two years out of my computers. If my current hardware became outdated (unsupported) in that time then I would seriously consider a new vender. That's the nice thing about Apple, they allow their products to have a complete life cycle.
How many people here really plan to buy a new computer in the next 3 months? As an Apple Shareholder I would love to see an accurate show of hands.
whatever said:
Yo!
That would be me. The current Powerbook line is nice, but not quite enough. My minimum requirements are 1.8 GHz CPU, 128 MB video RAM, and a 100 GB hard drive. I would drop one wing and run in circles if it also had a WSXGA screen.
MWSF is what, ten weeks away? I'll wait.
-- Bill
Freescale G4 better than G5
The whole G5 vs G4 debate is pretty much following on marketing lines. It seems that the new batch of G4 freescale processors (why not call them G4+'s?)will be faster and cooler than similar mhz G5's. 64-bitness doesn't matter for most people. The G5 label is seductive, but it is arbitrary; real-life performance and usability counts. I just want a fast, energy-efficient processor. The current G4 1.5 is pretty awesome. I think a 1.8-2.0 7448 G4 would be awesome and the dual-core would be blazing, especially with a much faster bus and an extra RAM slot. Maybe they could call it the G4SX so it would have some sex appeal next to the G5.
I don't think a G5 will make it into a powerbook until the end of 2005 until they can get power consumption down. The 65nm G6 or whatever it will be called is supposed to go into the Xboxes next christmas. Think about it: if the 2.5 90nm 970Fx needs huge liquid coolers, how would they get a 2-3.0ghz G5 into a tiny air-cooled xbox without some serious R&D? Something dramatic much be changing at IBM or they got overly optimistic about leakage problems and ability to shrink the die and are in trouble and trying to sort it out--that's what's taking so long. We are definitely pushing against the limits of Moore's Law. Probably slower multiple core processors are the best compromise for processor development in the years to come before a breakthrough in leakage design is made and the next rush in speed and shrinkage comes.
The whole G5 vs G4 debate is pretty much following on marketing lines. It seems that the new batch of G4 freescale processors (why not call them G4+'s?)will be faster and cooler than similar mhz G5's. 64-bitness doesn't matter for most people. The G5 label is seductive, but it is arbitrary; real-life performance and usability counts. I just want a fast, energy-efficient processor. The current G4 1.5 is pretty awesome. I think a 1.8-2.0 7448 G4 would be awesome and the dual-core would be blazing, especially with a much faster bus and an extra RAM slot. Maybe they could call it the G4SX so it would have some sex appeal next to the G5.
I don't think a G5 will make it into a powerbook until the end of 2005 until they can get power consumption down. The 65nm G6 or whatever it will be called is supposed to go into the Xboxes next christmas. Think about it: if the 2.5 90nm 970Fx needs huge liquid coolers, how would they get a 2-3.0ghz G5 into a tiny air-cooled xbox without some serious R&D? Something dramatic much be changing at IBM or they got overly optimistic about leakage problems and ability to shrink the die and are in trouble and trying to sort it out--that's what's taking so long. We are definitely pushing against the limits of Moore's Law. Probably slower multiple core processors are the best compromise for processor development in the years to come before a breakthrough in leakage design is made and the next rush in speed and shrinkage comes.
i'm buying a powerbook. probably gonna wait til January. I want to get it as top of the line as possible because i am spenmding so much money and want it to last.
i've said it many tiimes...i'll take a dual core over a G5 in a second! Hell even a faster G4 would be amazing. I dont want a hot ugly thick laptop that lasts for 30 minutes on a battery