Ti another day?

Excuse me if this has been discussed before...

But has anyone done a speed test comparing the new TiBooks (867Mhz and 1 Ghz) with 4200 rpm hard drives with the old 800 MHz with (60GB version) 5400 rpm drives? Apple has abandoned the *faster* 60GB drive option for a 25% slower one - probably so they could give people the $200 price cut.
But does the speed bump more than offset the slower hard drive?
The G4 Powerbook promo section on the apple.com site only compares the new laptops with the old 500Mhz model, not the recent TiBooks (which looks a bit suspicious to me). Just curious if anyone had done any research into this...

Finally, I really think that the current generation of TiBooks is actually going to be the last. The TiBook's pricing, the speed bumps, the inclusion of the superdrive, all seem to suggest that Apple is really trying to get this TiBook sold quickly...especially during the Christmas season. The new iBooks and Powerbooks, while they do not attain any unassailable industry standard, are great value for money...almost too good. And apple always gives people a lollipop just before they come out with newer and better products just so they don't grumble too much - such as rebates or that education pricing discount on the last TiBook...or a major price cut (which could also be interpreted as a sale). Note that the high end laptops are still missing (some readily available) vital aspects like BlueTooth (standard in most PC laptops), a higher resolution screen (high end PC laptops win again), a faster spinning hard drive (another point for PCs) and any tablet-like facilities. Basically, the new low-end TiBook is intended to take advantage of all those people stuck in the purchasing bracket between the iBook and TiBook and the high end model seems to be aimed at all those "prosumers" out there. Interestingly, I haven't seen any billboards or TV ads promoting the new TiBook or iBook (unlike second generation releases of the iPod ad iMac)...which probably means that they think the product will sell itself and that they do not want to spend too much money promoting a look that they intend to quickly change. Just idle speculation...but maybe May 2003, or sooner, will mark the end of Titanium as we know it.

 

Thanks for the info!