Powerbook RIP OFF

[Counterfit]

I've seen this before, and yet it still makes no sense to me.

Surround sound.


Built into a laptop.


Complete with subwoofer.


WHY?! 😕

 

[Jalexster]

you could think of this laptop a complement to Apple.

The biggest form of flattery is copying someone else.

Thinks of Windows.

The biggest form of flattery is copying someone else. NOT.

 

[Jalexster]

I've seen this before, and yet it still makes no sense to me.

Surround sound.


Built into a laptop.


Complete with subwoofer.


WHY?! 😕

Because it's made by a company that isn't Apple. And companies that aren't Apple or iRiver, are nuts.

 

[JeffTL]

Looks pretty good for a Windows (and hopefully Linux as well) laptop.

But you know what that means in plain English -- if it looks good and works well (and can run Windows) it'll cost at least as much as a Mac that can run OS X, if not more. I've seen quite a few overpriced Windows laptops in my day; there is no beating the iBook on value, though the PowerBook comes close 🙂

 

[mr_mac]

Sorta heavy for a 15"!!

7 pounds

and it does not have the same specs as the powerbook.

Mrmac

 

[Abstract]

Christ I was at compusa today and I saw 3 laptops that were "thin" and 17 inch, and they all looked like that.

How else would you make a 17" laptop!?!

And finally, the backlit keyboard was in an http://alienware.com notebook way before Apple had it.

Give me a break. There are only so many ways one can put a trackpad, keyboard, monitor, and computer in the form factor of a laptop.

" O mY Teh GoSh ThE NoTeBoOk A rIpOff oF MaC pOwErBoOk"

It's just another laptop...

I don't think it's that much of a rip-off. You know, just because something looks good, it doesn't mean it's a total rip-off from Apple. Apple laptops look good and so does this one. Yes, there are similarities, and Apple may have been the inspiration, but I don't think this is blatant ripping off. There are enough of differences to show that these guys took the idea in their own direction.

You are the only 3 gentleman who have any sense. 😱

How many other ways are there to make a laptop? Yes, they mention that the widescreen is more natural to look at, as well as providing room for 2 documents side-by-side. Big deal. That's the benefit of having the widescreen on a laptop to begin with. Apple didn't think this up --- the manufacturer and R&D people who made the first widescreen for laptops did. Apple used them in their laptops either because they had the same idea, or they were pitched this idea.

This laptop is beautiful. Actually, its nicer than either the 15" or 17" Powerbooks. I was never a fan of the speakers beside the keyboard. It doesn't look good the way it's designed. The hinge is similar though. Well, not the hinge, but the way the LCD drops below the keyboard at the back.

Like Apple users say: Everyone else tried, but it took Asus to come along and do it right. 😉

 

[Counterfit]

Because it's made by a company that isn't Apple. And companies that aren't Apple or iRiver, are nuts.

Is that sarcastic or not? I can't tell... 😕

Anyways, I couldn't imagine it sounding even halfway decent. I would hope that it has some sort of digital audio-out...

 

[gekko513]

It just looks like a regular laptop with a metal case and a big screen to me. They all look that way.. Or perhaps I just don't "see" it.

Recent laptops have started to look that way.

But two years ago, before I discovered Apple. I used to think of Laptops as the ones Dell made at the time (plastic, big, bulky and with lots of strange curves, edges and things that could fall off or be knocked out of place) and IBM thinkpads which looked like a landing vessel.

I actually thought my Dell looked OK until I saw a PowerBook. Now I own a PowerBook and just recently the new Dell laptops and most new PC laptops are starting to follow the trend.

This is the way I see it, but I, being just a consumer, see only part of the picture i suppose.

 

[Nspace]

It is indeed a very nice laptop I agree. I don't really think it is a rip-off either. Okay maybe the backlit logo but as other said theres only so many ways to design the overall look of the laptop, size of the screen, and placement of the touchpad.

Counterfit is right though, how do you acheive surround sound in a laptop!? Unless little arms pop out of the side and suspend speakers behind me, I am not buying into surround sound on a laptop.

I am sure Apple will make something even thinner and lighter for the PBG5 and blow us away again. More importantly I think Apple needs to step it up a notch with the resolutions the screens support.

 

[macsrus]

Had a history with this, huh? 😉

Anyway, I don't really think an Asus laptop is much by way of current events.

I agree but I couldnt seem to start a new thread anywhere else...

Some people here seem to think I was dogging ASUS when I called their new laptop a PB rip off...
But I really do like their new machine....
And If I was in the market for a new PC laptop I would give it a serious look

 

[Earendil]

I am sure Apple will make something even thinner and lighter for the PBG5 and blow us away again. .

No pun intended I hope 😱

Tyler

 

[Counterfit]

ICounterfit is right

Get used to that pharse! 😀

 

[the future]

Ok for a PC laptop, I guess, but nowhere near as slick as a PowerBook. The grey (?) display frame just looks weird. Thicker, heavier, useless LEDs. No DVI port. Yawn.

 

[thejazzman10]

too all the copycats: Get An iLife!!! 😀

 

[rueyeet]

It didn't take long after the success of the TiBook that other manufacturers stopped aping IBM's black bricks (admittedly some of the best-built PCs on the Wintel side, if not exactly stylish) and started imitating the Powerbook's silver enclosure instead. I think Gateway was actually one of the first to put out a notebook along the lines of the Powerbook's styling.

Some of it also parallels the transition from black to silver in consumer electronics...ever notice that stereos, TV's, VCR's, and DVD players stopped being black a couple years ago, and are now all silver?

Asus isn't a shameless copycat so much as they're just hopping the same bandwagon as others. Even PC Magazine's back-to-school guide (the same one that has the 12" iBook as one of the the editor's choices) notes that several manufacturers have adopted the Powerbook's looks.

 

[Nspace]

No pun intended I hope 😱

Tyler

nO I was serious. They have built the G4 Powerbooks so nicely, I can only imagine the future designs for their notebooks to get even better.

 

[absolut_mac]

I disagree about that Centrino though

That actually looks really nice. 1.7GHz P-M (Centrino = great battery life, great performance), WSXGA screen.

My experience with Centrino's has NOT been a happy one.

Reduced L1 and L2 cache = reduced price and performance - even if it does extend battery life, who cares.

That's like saying that a 50 HP single stroke engine will get you 200MPG, at 15MPH as long as you weigh under 40 pounds!

I even remember PC Mag lambasting Intel for their latest Centrino chip about a year ago because in order to hold costs and power consumption down, they emasculated it so badly that it was almost less than useless 🙁

 

[Abstract]

Well in terms of performance, its still a gem, right? Well, its better than the other cpus used in laptops right now.

 

[absolut_mac]

Nope

Well in terms of performance, its still a gem, right? Well, its better than the other cpus used in laptops right now.

IMHO the G4 is better. While it may open MS Word a little slower, and run other tasks slower too, it will definitely handle the multi-tasking much better.

It will also crash much less often too.

In other words, get a Mac with a G4 if you want less aggravation and more production 🙂

 

[jxyama]

It will also crash much less often too.

um, CPUs don't "crash" unless you are talking about overheating.

Macs with G4s "crash" less often because of OS X, you mean?

 

[edesignuk]

My experience with Centrino's has NOT been a happy one.

Reduced L1 and L2 cache = reduced price and performance - even if it does extend battery life, who cares.

What are you talking about? They have 1MB L2 cache, more than (most) Intel desktop processors, and that is where some of the Centrinos extra power comes from 🙄

 

[jxyama]

What are you talking about? They have 1MB L2 cache, more than (most) Intel desktop processors, and that is where some of the Centrinos extra power comes from 🙄

perhaps the prev. guy is mistaking centrino from celeron?

i was also under the impression centrinos are quite good chips and that celerons are the dumbed down stuff.

 

[MorganX]

IMHO the G4 is better. While it may open MS Word a little slower, and run other tasks slower too, it will definitely handle the multi-tasking much better.

It will also crash much less often too.

In other words, get a Mac with a G4 if you want less aggravation and more production 🙂

Maybe you're thinking of Celeron. Centrinos outperform desktop P4s. A 2Ghz Centrino kicks dust in the face of a 3.4EE P4. Maybe that's why Intel isn't churning out masses of them and keeping the price, HIGH. THat is until they move the Centrino core to the Desktop or produce dual core P4s. Bastards.

 

[edesignuk]

perhaps the prev. guy is mistaking centrino from celeron?

i was also under the impression centrinos are quite good chips and that celerons are the dumbed down stuff.

He must be, the Celeron is a piece of crap, but the Centrino tech is great!

 

[absolut_mac]

Oops!

um, CPUs don't "crash" unless you are talking about overheating.

Macs with G4s "crash" less often because of OS X, you mean?

Sorry, I meant the Celeron, not the Centrino 🙄

As for CPU's causing the system to crash, I can't pretend to understand why, but when I originally got into computers, my first major uprgrade was from the garbage Celeron to a P4. Nothing else changed, and my system crashed considerably less frequently.

IMHO, for whatever reason, when the CPU is called upon to handle more than it can, it usually crashes. That has been my experience. When my system runs out of memory, it usually freezes, but doesn't crash.

Sorry about the CPU confusion there 😀