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So, when will we see new 15" Powerbooks?

K

KBFinFan

macrumors 6502
Original poster
May 30, 2003
283
0
Connecticut, USA
I have been quietly waiting and anticipating a new Powerbook, and now the WWDC keynote has come and gone and I am left a little saddened.

So, do we still expect to see a 15" update before Summer's end? Or shall I just 'downgrade' and get a 12" Powerbook?

I'd really like to switch from my PC (which I admit, hasn't really given me much trouble and fufills my needs) but a mac seems to be more of a friend than a machine.

-Trying to make the switch, Kyle
 
I need to buy a laptop by the end of July and I've pretty much decided on the 15" PB even if it isn't updated. I just wish it could get at least a facelift.
 
One of the rumors from the last week or two was that powerbooks would be updated Tuesday, June 24th.

The other reasonable expectation is that powerbooks and possibly displays will be updated at MWNY/Creative Expo/Whatever the name is.
 
MacExpo

Ya, I was also thinking that maybe the MacExpo may be the time to announce some more goodies. But, there is no official Apple keynote, is there not?

I just hope we hear something sooner than later.. I'm happy w/ a G4 I just want an updated case, airport extreme, etc.
 
The waiting game...

Well, not having the Powerbook G5 available now kinda works in with my wife's "Approval to buy a Laptop-thingy" which would grant me access to buy a Powerbook mid August, but I must admit I really do want to wait on my iBook 600 (14"/640ram/rage) until the G5 is available. I don't want to be caught out like I did with my iBook.

Being a dev, I needed the best I could get. Unfortunately the Aussie Dollar was about 45c US at the time - this meant that an iBook cost about $4k AUD and powerbooks were in the 5500-8000 range.

I have nothing against the iBook - I love it and it's enough for most people - just not for me :) Next upgrade I want to get 2 years out of it before feeling the pinch of lag, rather than the feeling I got 9 months after buying the iBook. I know any upgrade I buy won't be super-fast in 2 years compared to the latest models that will be around, but I do want some "future-proofing"

Now, I'm planning to slip into something like the 17" ($6300 AUD), but I don't want to find myself 9 months down the track in the middle of a 32/64 bit divide with Steve proclaiming "32bit is dead"

Me wannum powerbook, me ready to spend money on said powerbook, however I want it to at least have the low end G5 in it...

-- Dan =)
 
i was really sure that the PowerBook G5 would be released today, especially after seeing all of the rumors from the past month. now i've already sold my TiBook (which was a 667 anyway...) and i'm using a PC for the time being. i think that the chances of a PowerBook coming tomorrow sometime are slim. i also don't think that they will come at the Create Conference, that would take away from the impact of the conference itslef.

i'm guessing a special release day in the next couple of weeks.

of course the new PowerBooks will have to have the G5... i doubt that they could sell any PB's if they just put in speed-bumped G4's.

i just hope they're here soon... while the Aussie dollar is still strong.:rolleyes: :)
 
You expect them to show up quick?
attachment.php


Didn't you just see what Apple did with the G4 towers?

If not the Legacy OS 9 bootable Rev. A MDD PowerMac has survived the day (so far), the Rev B machine was EOLd.

So something odd is happening in Apple Marketing .... :eek:

---

And the size of the G5 heatsinks.
attachment.php
 
of course the new PowerBooks will have to have the G5... i doubt that they could sell any PB's if they just put in speed-bumped G4's.
Click to expand...

Did you catch the keynote today? Did you see all the cooling it takes to run the G5 right now? No way in hell do they get a G5 in a PowerBook this year.
 
Originally posted by Sun Baked
And the size of the G5 heatsinks.
attachment.php
Click to expand...

Hmm, they still generate less heat than the P4s (correct me if I'm wrong)... And they managed to put P4 desktop procs in Lappys before the P4m came out...

Besides, a 17" Albook would be one gian heat sink ;)

... But a good point on the heat dissapation - doh! =(

-- Dan, BrisVegas yea! =)
 
Right now the PowerBooks have the low power 7457 processor coming soon and the chipset is basically a single chip.

The PPC 970s have higher power usage and are running 3 chips in the chipset. No telling how much power the chipset sucks down.

Look at BadAndy's report on the Design Forum...
June 18th IBM 970 Design Forum Report

* In response to a question from the floor, Jim Rogers stated that current 970s consume 20W at 1 GHz, and 50W at 1.8 GHz. These numbers drew gasps from some of the embedded-oriented PPC engineers in the audience (who are accustomed to simple integer cores like the 40x and 44x series... and expect single-digit watts... and not too many of them). These are creditable power levels for this performance and 0.13 micron.
Click to expand...
So it looks like a 2GHz G5 would nuke your nads and shackle you to an outlet, but still be a desktop machine you can take home at the end of the day.
 
jobs pointed out that despite the many things they have done, "it's only the first 6 months". so by that i assume that he'll ahve more goodies for us. :D
 
Re: The waiting game...

Originally posted by Aciddan
Well, not having the Powerbook G5 available now kinda works in with my wife's "Approval to buy a Laptop-thingy" which would grant me access to buy a Powerbook mid August...
Click to expand...
Lucky you. I am quickly leaving the "Approval to buy a Laptop-thingy" window of opportunity, and thought that I would be placing an order for a new PowerBook G5 this afternoon. :(
 
My opinion? Glad you asked...

Apple was getting ready to release the new 15" PB, too many confiming reports. Probably a G4 1 Ghz. Then along comes IBM with the 970, sooner than expected, and PowerMac sales being in the dumps, Apple pushes the PM G5 forward. Good move.

Now they can't hype a G4 PowerBook when the G5 is out, so back to the drawing board...

Whole new design, heat issues...don't hold your breath. But I'll be first in line when they are announced. You'd be a fool to buy a G4 machine now. OS X likes horsepower, and Panther will be no exception.
 
Wow, it has been almost a month past average upgrade time for the 15" PBs... now honestly, there is no way I'd buy a G4 PB after waiting 6 months for an upgrade and G5 towers coming out. I'm definately holding off until the G5 15.4"... and they better ship this fall (my prediction is after the ipod college deal ends, and maybe even a newer ipod by then).
 
Originally posted by jpmack
My opinion? Glad you asked...

Apple was getting ready to release the new 15" PB, too many confiming reports. Probably a G4 1 Ghz. Then along comes IBM with the 970, sooner than expected, and PowerMac sales being in the dumps, Apple pushes the PM G5 forward. Good move.

Now they can't hype a G4 PowerBook when the G5 is out, so back to the drawing board...

Whole new design, heat issues...don't hold your breath. But I'll be first in line when they are announced. You'd be a fool to buy a G4 machine now. OS X likes horsepower, and Panther will be no exception.
Click to expand...

If your right, apple needs to pull something out of their ass soon. The 15 inch pb hasn't been updated for 6-7 months now. I know of a lot of people who have been holding off to buy a 15 inch pb since they released the 12" and 17" pb release. I am on of those persons.
I sure hope apple pulls something up in the next couple of weeks before I go to school. I really need a laptop before September.
 
I'm in the same boat with these other people who are rapidly approaching the "need-to-know" date. I desperately don't want to be caught on the wrong side of the divide caused by the new huge jump in performance and features that Apple has promised, but would really love something portable for college. I can't complain that this is bad - after all I'm glad that Apple's started to really pull itself out of the bucket, but now I have to decide between G5 or portable. Nobody ever said the choices in life were easy, I guess, and there are bound to be harder ones than this.

But still...!
 
after my last post i thought some more about the possibility of a G5 PB coming out soon (being announced in the next month).

now i'm starting to think that there will have to be some cut-down version to get into a PB, considering the amount of heat they generate. but they'll need a 64-bit PB soon. just about everything from now on will be 64-bit optimized, just like when OS X came out, no one was still making OS 9 apps.

so for that reason not many people will want to get a G4. i'm startig to think now that i may have to get a 1GHz TiBook if nothing else comes out... but then that would be pretty much obsolete in 6 months time when all the apps have gone over to 64-bit. (i'm guessing that Photoshop 8 and other apps will be written for the G5, and won't be backward compatible with the G4?)

also, (from a marketing point of view) there's no reason why the G5 PowerBooks wouldn't be shipping with the PowerMacs. after all, the PowerBooks would be something like a 1.4 or 1.6GHz max, right? and Apple has a higher margin on the PowerBooks than on the PowerMacs.

i really hope they do something soon, because they will have virtually no G4 PowerMac sales anymore, and everyone in the know will be holding off waiting for the G5 PowerBooks.
 
To re-comment, I have to say I am in a similar situation. I need rather want no wait.. desire a new Powerbook before I go back to school in the fall. Honestly, I would be happy with a G4 15" Al Book. However, investing so much in a computer I only want the best which may make me hold off until the G5 PB.

I have a PC desktop setup now that has lasted me well, so I guess I can last me some more. But I want to make the switch.. I guess only time will tell

-KB
 
This is extremely frustrating. In one month, if a new PB isn't out I'll be forced to spend thousands of dollars on something i know will be obsolete within the year.
 
The Powerbooks have been known to have product cycles as long as nine months. Hopefully by August we'll hear something new about them.
 
Waitin' for a new PowerBook

I am yet another soon-to-be college student who could use a nice new 15" PowerBook by the fall (G5/G4, I don't really care if they just UPDATE the thing). I can't really afford even the low end G5, don't think it's worth getting a G4 PowerMac, and don't feel like getting an iAnything. I like the portability of having a laptop, but with impending updates, I'm growing impatient. Isn't there some thing with Apple, if they update the product within a certain amount of time of you buying it that you can send yours back and upgrade (paying the difference if there is one). How long is this period?
 
I don't think you guys have proper respect for the engineering difficulties of laptops. Take the 12" PB as an example ... all I hear are whines about either 1) the heat of the machine or 2) the relative slowness of the machine. Well, these issues are interelated. You can't cram L3 cache and a 1 gHz processor into the 12" without making it even hotter ... and you can't lower the surface temperature without making some design compromises (and design, especially when it comes to the keyboard, is what makes this computer so great.)

Okay, so that's dealing with a G4 processor ... now you guys want Apple to immediately cram a G5 into a 15" PB aluminum case, never mind the fact that no computer company has ever introduced a new generation desktop and laptop chip simultaneously.

Stop blaming Apple for the processor issues ... Apple has done an amazing job the last two years keeping the ship afloat while Moto screwed them. It's probably going to take another year to get everything right. If they did a half-assed job and rushed out a G5 PB just to get it out there, they could end up with another flammable PB fiasco on their hands.
 
Now they can't hype a G4 PowerBook when the G5 is out, so back to the drawing board...
Click to expand...
I really doubt the validity of this statement. If you stop and think about it the iBook is still a G3, the powerbooks, iMac, and eMac are G4's, and the tower is now a G5. I think that they will make the 15" PB into an Aluminum machine before long, prob at the MWNY or something, it makes sense or if not at just an apple press conference....
 
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