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PowerBook & eMac EOL'd?
- Thread starter Diatribe
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Next Tuesday
Well, EOL is here. What's next? You know they won't launch a G5 PB without hoopla. And they definitely would release it so close to MWSF without saying something there.
I, like most of you, can't wait for the G5. But believing the above, is why I think the most logical outcome is the speedbumped G4 (maybe a dual core??).
Bring it on. The EOL is the first sign.
Well, EOL is here. What's next? You know they won't launch a G5 PB without hoopla. And they definitely would release it so close to MWSF without saying something there.
I, like most of you, can't wait for the G5. But believing the above, is why I think the most logical outcome is the speedbumped G4 (maybe a dual core??).
Bring it on. The EOL is the first sign.
mkwilson68 said:
I highly doubt it. They only announced the specs 4th quarter of '04. I could be totally wrong but even samples in 1st quarter of this year would be something like a new record.
To put it another way I'm betting cash Apple and IBM have been working on a mobile G5 longer then any Freescale chip has been a glint in the eye of Moto Engineer.
geoffism said:
Wouldn't have thought even Dual core...that would give sinificant speed boosts and would almost give a 'dual processor powerbook' which i would have though Jobs would have shouted about at Macworld.
If stores aren't recieveing any more PBs though the Update has to be relatively soon. Apple wouldn't suspend the PB line
Whatever the updates include, the graphics card for the new PowerBooks had BETTER be AT LEAST a mobile 9800, if not the new mobile X800.
hmmmm....
I think the phrases are 'modest' and 'speedbump'....
They've just missed the ideal opp to announce the PB G5... All I (,who's in the market for a new book, to replace my aging iBook 600,) want is a reasonable price reduction... right now, the £500 jump between iBook 12" and PB is a bit extreme...
Does anyone know, with exception to WWDC, when the next high profile announcements are likely to be made?
I think for now though, 'modest' and 'speedbump' are the key words here....
I think the phrases are 'modest' and 'speedbump'....
They've just missed the ideal opp to announce the PB G5... All I (,who's in the market for a new book, to replace my aging iBook 600,) want is a reasonable price reduction... right now, the £500 jump between iBook 12" and PB is a bit extreme...
Does anyone know, with exception to WWDC, when the next high profile announcements are likely to be made?
I think for now though, 'modest' and 'speedbump' are the key words here....
I'd say Apple releases a G4 Freescale PowerBook and discontinues the eMac entirely.
eMac and Mac mini are specs-wise too close and upgrading the eMac to G5 and TFT (c'mon, Apple can't release a new revision with a CRT) would make it too similar to the iMac.
eMac and Mac mini are specs-wise too close and upgrading the eMac to G5 and TFT (c'mon, Apple can't release a new revision with a CRT) would make it too similar to the iMac.
io_burn said:
Remember when the PowerBook G4 was first announced at MWSF in 2001.... it was HUGE! Everyone talked about it, and EVERYONE noticed it if you happened to unleash one in a bar, on a train or even to advertising professionals before it had got into general circ and had become familiar, you'd literally stop people in their tracks regardless of whether they knew anything about computers or not.
The PowerBook G5 is even more anticipated than that.... by millions of designers and advertising creatives the world over, I just can't see Job's the consummate showman letting this pass on a sly homepage update at Apple.com.
Didn't MacBidouille declare, sometime after the announcement of the original g5s, that they were no longer in the rumor business. Have they recanted on that statement, or have they decided that they have reached the next level of rumor-mongering (i.e. Our word is something you can take to the bank)?
Fiveos22 said:
Read this?
"PS: this is not a rumor, simply a fact. We let you draw your own conclusions."
Doraemon said:
How about apple just releases a cheap CRT, ie the one in the eMac, that you can mount the mini on, effectively making an eMac.
Actually on second thoughts they'll probably do something no one expected
g5 pbook - not yet
give them a chance to ramp up g5 pbook/ibook manufacturing to around a hundred thousand and ship them here... may looks good
ship by boat in april - hit in may
g4 speed bump now
The above is contingent upon the digitimes rumor being true...
give them a chance to ramp up g5 pbook/ibook manufacturing to around a hundred thousand and ship them here... may looks good
ship by boat in april - hit in may
g4 speed bump now
The above is contingent upon the digitimes rumor being true...
DrGruv1 said:give them a chance to ramp up g5 pbook/ibook manufacturing to around a hundred thousand and ship them here... may looks good
ship by boat in april - hit in may
g4 speed bump now
The above is contingent upon the digitimes rumor being true...
CATG
If this is true... My plan will be to buy a new Revision D 17", and wait for G5 Revision B. (Or, I guess Revision A, but I definately will not buy from the first shipment.)
I agree with everyone who says this will just be a speed bumped G4. Think about how hyped the release of a G5 Powerbook will be, Steve won't just let it slip by people with a "silent" release. The earliest one could possibly expect a G5 Powerbook would be WWDC and then MWSF. So get ready to wait an entire year more (I say to my anxious credit card).
kettle said:
It's not inheard of them to 'lie' about future products, remember when squeezing the SuperDrive into the PowerBook was the big topic back in 2002, well in September or October a guy from Apple said not to expect it soon, because of the size limitations etc etc, and that as soon as a SuperDrive is produced that'll actually fit they'll use it.
The following month in November the PowerBook gained the SuperDrive... so they can be slinky if they want to be.
I doubt we're going to see a PBG5.
My guess is speed-bumps. Now that 1.7GHz G4 chips are commercially available (and available as processor upgrade cards right now), I would expect to see Apple use them.
My prediction:
My guess is speed-bumps. Now that 1.7GHz G4 chips are commercially available (and available as processor upgrade cards right now), I would expect to see Apple use them.
My prediction:
- High-end PowerBook (17" and 15" SuperDrive) bumped to 1.7GHz
- Low-end PowerBook (12" and 15" ComboDrive) bumped to 1.5GHz
- eMac bumped to 1.33 or 1.43GHz
roadapple said:
My thoughts exactly... couldn't thus just mean small processor boosts and a different software package or something? Isn't it a little hasty to start pre-ordering the G5 PB or eMac already?
C'mon guys, like most of you said : MW SF is just a couple of days ago and if there were some significant PB upgrades, Steve would have made the most out of it.
No, EOL can just mean : we are not selling any more PB G4's and eMacs because :
a) we don't sell enough of them any more, and want to wait and see what happens for a while
b) we expect to get a G5 in the second quarter (Asus is producing them, or so the rumor goes)
c) we're quitting the mac sales (as they did in Belgium)
d) there's a minor upgrade coming
To be honest : I don't think it's d, as Fnac has never really paid much attention for minor speed bumps and the like (they just keep advertising the old model in their shops)
No, EOL can just mean : we are not selling any more PB G4's and eMacs because :
a) we don't sell enough of them any more, and want to wait and see what happens for a while
b) we expect to get a G5 in the second quarter (Asus is producing them, or so the rumor goes)
c) we're quitting the mac sales (as they did in Belgium)
d) there's a minor upgrade coming
To be honest : I don't think it's d, as Fnac has never really paid much attention for minor speed bumps and the like (they just keep advertising the old model in their shops)
io_burn said:
Wow, can I have what you're smoking?
Let the most advanced, the most powerful, the most amazing, a liquid cooled fuel celled technological marvel, a stunningly impossible engineering feat, the first 64bit laptop, so on and so forth...just slip out!?!!! That is just crazy. A G5 Powerbook will be a HUGE event, perhaps the most important announcement of the year. Jobs will have to go on an on about how they did it. If they have them coming out this year the best place to announce them would be the developers conference, or Macworld in Paris. I predict a modest speed bump and the rumors will be flying fast and furious by June.
One interesting thing to note is that while all PowerBooks are currently listed as shipping "same business day," that only applies to stock configurations. Any modification - whether RAM, hard drive, or video memory - automatically bumps the ship time to 7-10 days. Just a few days ago it was as bad as 10-15 days.
This postponement of all BTO orders until next week seems to be a sign that Apple only has stock PowerBooks left, and is clearing those out this week.
As far as PowerBook G5s (or even MPC8641-based G4s) go, WWDC at the earliest - and I wouldn't be surprised if they shipped in August. However, I do think that's Apple's goal. The last generation of PowerMac G4s went the same route: a modest update in late January just to keep a modicum of interest alive, and then the G5 model at WWDC.
This postponement of all BTO orders until next week seems to be a sign that Apple only has stock PowerBooks left, and is clearing those out this week.
As far as PowerBook G5s (or even MPC8641-based G4s) go, WWDC at the earliest - and I wouldn't be surprised if they shipped in August. However, I do think that's Apple's goal. The last generation of PowerMac G4s went the same route: a modest update in late January just to keep a modicum of interest alive, and then the G5 model at WWDC.