Potetntial New iBooks in a Month?

[dabirdwell]

Hello all,

I'm realy not one to purport anything I hear as very important, but this was interesting.

A guy I know well who has worked for a local Apple distributer for some time said something to me the other night after having a few drinks. He told me that he had heard from Apple that at a certain point (in the next few days) their store will not be able to order iBooks anymore and that they would be replaced by something else in a month or so. He is selling his G3 iBook now to buy whatever the new book is.

He obviously seems convinced, and is hurrying to sell his machine before it's worth less, but have any of you heard anything to substantiate this?

This would be great for me, as an iBook is going to be my first mac, as soon as the new model is out (whenever that is).

Dave

 

[Falleron]

Sounds interesting. However, I really dont think anyone knows at the moment. They will come at the latest by the January Expo, but could equally come next week.

 

[gotohamish]

Re: Potetntial New iBooks in a Month?

Originally posted by dabirdwell
...said something to me the other night after having a few drinks. He told me...

No disrespect Dave, but EVERY 'public' / 'reader' rumour seems to include this line. Image what we'd know if we could get Mr Jobs drunk! We'd probably wet ourselves...

 

[ddtlm]

I am pretty sure the replacement of the G3 iBook will be another G3 iBook.

 

[shadowfax]

yeah. that'd be hilarious... "buy our G4 iBook for 1800$.... or our G4 powerbook for 3200$!!!!!" hmmm.... i wonder who would still pay that for the titanium....

 

[Hemingray]

The month time frame seems pretty accurate (as it is currently October 20, and as of November 20 it will be exactly 6 months since the introduction of the last iBook models on May 20).

Maybe a new widescreen display that has been rumored (eliminating the 12" model, for instance), but that's the most I would expect out of it. That and bumped G3 processor speeds. Welcomed changes, but not ground-breaking.

FWIW, G4 iBooks I wouldn't expect until this time NEXT year (but one can hope )...

 

[pianojoe]

Originally posted by ddtlm
I am pretty sure the replacement of the G3 iBook will be another G3 iBook.

Well said, mate!

(Especially, because the current mainboard can do 800Mhz.)

 

[rt_brained]

I'd like to see them take advantage of additional screen space on the 12" model and upgrade the speed, but would not welcome a wholesale move to the 14".

I'll repeat what I mentioned in previous posts. First, the layout of the 14" looks clumsy, compared to the 12". Second, the 14" screen suffers from 'the shakes' at the slightest movement...perhaps it's too big for its hinges. And third, while the 12" size is small compared to most Wintel machines, the portability at that size has created somewhat of a cult following among mac users...myself included.

If you really desire more real estate, buy either one of the three 12" models (forget the 14"). Take the money you save and buy yourself a 19-21 flat screen CRT, a standard-sized keyboard and a mouse. Go about town with your new iBook, and when you get home, plug in your BIG monitor, keyboard and mouse.

LCD screens, for all their hype, are a long way from offering as accurate and brilliant range of color as the best CRTs from the likes of Sony, Mitsubishi, LaCie and others. And in my experience, in day-to-day use even the PowerBook screen leaves me longing for my big Sony monitor.

I'm all for keeping the tech ball rolling, but as I also mentioned before, I think Apple could keep one 12" model in the line, price it in the $700-800 range and pick up 'switchers' and students left and right. Perhaps it goes against the grain for a computer company to keep such a low-end product on the line, but Apple has plenty of market share to gain yet.

That's my 'novel' approach.

 

[elohim01]

Umm....I thought the iBook didn't support external monitors....

 

[rt_brained]

Originally posted by elohim01
Umm....I thought the iBook didn't support external monitors....

Not sure where you heard that, but you're wrong. Apple includes an adapter with every iBook. And the iBook's on-board video card has plenty of power to drive a 21" monitor.

Perhaps you've confused that with the iBook's inability to set up dual monitor functionality. I've heard of people cracking that issue, but yes, the iBook has no problem driving large monitors. I wouldn't try that set up without the additional keyboard and mouse...for ergonomic reasons.

Just make sure you turn the monitor's brightness all the way down on your iBook when you have a large monitor hooked up for long periods. It'll save wear and tear on the iBook's LCD in the long run.

 

[dabirdwell]

This same guy told me a few weeks ago that the 14" was the first they (at the store) could no longer order.

 

[kzoonut]

iBook External Monitors

Are you still limited to 1024x768 as a max resolution when driving an external monitor?

 

[Bradcoe]

Yes. 1024x768 is currently the maximum resoultion on iBooks for the built-in display and an optional external monitor. I tried it on my 19" and ew. Horrible looking.

 

[rt_brained]

Originally posted by Bradcoe
Yes. 1024x768 is currently the maximum resoultion on iBooks for the built-in display and an optional external monitor. I tried it on my 19" and ew. Horrible looking.

Are you swapping monitor profiles when you do that? The results are not horrible at all when ColorSync is calibrated properly. I can't vouch for every monitor on the market, but the colors on either of my Sony Trini's delivers more accurate color than on the LCD on my iBook or PowerBook. 10x7 res. is still delivering millions of colors, so if it looks horrible, it may be a function of your monitor, or how it's calibrated.

There are a lot of people now using PowerBooks and iBooks as their primary machines. If you're a designer or A/D or anyone else for that matter who needs to see accurate color on screen, having a quality CRT on hand to plug into for just that purpose is of real benefit.

In my experience, bright colors and colors that lack density tend to fall off considerably on LCD screens.

And the additional real estate of a 19-22" after a couple hours of work hardly feels like a compromise...even at 10x7 res.

 

[shadowfax]

it's not the color at 1024x768, it's the pixelation. i can barely stand it on a 17 inch monitor, let alone a 19 or 20 inch. that's just huge text and everything.

 

[MacJagger]

I don´t expect too much for the Ibook, think about the tasks or people for whom the Ibook is designed.
I´m using the latest 14 inch model and it does absolutely fit my needs. I use it for the Internet or appleworks. Games are rarely runned on this system. I don´t need more than this system can
the powerbook is etablished for people who need more power to run video stuff. I think Apple will keep the gap between those lines. I don´t expect a G4 in it because there should be at least a 200 Mhz Gap between them and I wouldn´t by a 500 Mhz G4 Ibook

 

[ZoodTube]

More grist for the rumor mill...

I saw this in a thread over at Apple Insider. I have been following the iBook rumors pretty closely and this caught my eye.

On the CompUSA website, they are currently listing the base iBook model (600 MHz / CD-ROM) as available only for online purchase (not available in stores).

ibook 600

Also, for some reason, they are selling this model for $1215.17 instead of $1199.97.

What this means -- Who the hell knows?