what about the ebook?

[mr.w]

I know i said this in another thread, but i didn't get any response, (people started to talk about the germans and hitler) .....

We've all heard a lot about a new ibook... many say the'll stay with a G3, while most of us hope for a G4, how about a compromise....... both.

How about (G3) 700mhz ebook [256 Ram, 100mhz bus, 20 gig drive, combo drive, 16MB GFX card, 12in screen $1100?] and a revamped (G4) 600-667mhz ibook [256 ram, 100mhz bus, 30 gig drive, combo drive, 32MB GFX card, 12in ($1600) 14in ($1800)... that would be a great marketing plan for Apple (think about it). They would get what they crave (fan approval & income) ... and so would we (2-3 great new computers).

Still $600 from the low end tiBook, but more consumer targeted (like it was designed for)

Do you think this could happen in the near future?

 

[AmbitiousLemon]

its certainly possible. i think we all wondered about an ebook as soon as the emac came out, especially considering how many schools use ibooks.

i want to be sure its clear im saying its a possibility, but here are the reasons i would think it isnt likely to happen:

the emac is essentially a lcd imac without the lcd. this is where the savings comes in. the emac is still a g4.

the only way i can imagine a ebook being possible is if the ibook goes g4 (which goes against all rumors, im still thinking it might happen though)

if the ibook goes to a g4 and the ebook goes g3 what how would apple space the mhz? doesnt seem like there is room.

there is little to no price difference between g3 and g4 (unless you are talking about the very latest g4). so how will putting a g3 in the ebook make it cheaper?

it seems more likely that apple will have g3 ibooks with one g4 se ibook (although the se strategy, was never a profitable one in the past).

the emac seems like a unique situation because apple could cut a few hundred dollars off an already cheap machine simple by replacing a lcd with a crt. i just cant imagine how apple would make an economy class laptop, the ibook already represents a minimum set of features/components.

The emac was also apple's answer to a form factor complaint made by schools. some people just didnt think the lcd imac form factor was appropriate for this setting. again there is nothing of this nature (form factor) in the ibook.

apple has made it clear they want to switch all their chips to altivec (which means g4 as far as we know). even the emac has a g4. if apple puts a g4 in the ibook, the conversion will be complete. would they then want to go and make a new g3 machine?


but lastly i must say apple has the amazing capacity to shock us. all of us who say it cant be done are repeatedly shown wrong. examples, g4 lcd imac. how many people wrote long articles (like this one saying apple couldnt make a lcd g4 imac; the overwhelming majority sure didnt think it would happen). it might seem the g3 is on its way out; but didnt stevce say the crt was dead too? (hello emac). so with apple, nothing is ever impossible...

 

[imacguy]

Go ebook

I think an e-book would be great. This would be a low cost portable way into the internet for schools. Instead of having computers in all the rooms (like eMac) they can have a couple sets of ebooks that get "checked out", like they have with the ibook rack setup they have now, only for a lower cost.

However, to do some of the digital things like what the eMacs can do the ibook would need to get a G4, because it would be a little slower than the consumer version. Like if they consumer version had a 550-600 Mhz G4 (12-14" models) and 32 mb video card and the ebook was like 450-500 Mhz (maybe just 12") with 16 Mb video card. I think they'll be a surprise of some sort on Tuesday as far as the ibooks and marketing are concerned.

 

[iMax]

what about this - the current ibook becomes the ebook to stay at about the price point of the emac, and there is a new ibook G4 released that goes along with the new imac G4, so the new product matrix is:

Education:
eMac G4 999 700 mhz
eBook G3 999 700 mhz

Consumer:
iMac G4 1399 700-800mhz
iBook G4 1699 700 mhz (plus bigger HD, +RAM, 16 mb graphics, Combo)

Professional:
Tibook G4 2499 667-800mhz
New PowerMac G4+ (or G5) 1599 1- 1.6 ghz
Xserve 3999 1ghz or 2x 1 ghz


sound reasonable?

 

[cb911]

firstly, if there was a eBook, it would not get a G4. then what would the low-end TiBooks have? perhaps when the iBook eventually gets a G4 there might be a eBook. it happened with the eMac - a 100MHz solwer G4 than in the iMac. there is definitely a possibility of an eBook.

 

[AmbitiousLemon]

i dont think crowding the powerbook is much of a concern. suppose we have a g4 ibook with the following:

high end
12" screen
700 mhz g4 (NO L3!)
100mhz FSB

low end powerbook
15.2 screen
667mhz g4 (L3 cache)
133mhz FSB

the powerbook would still be considerably faster as well as having all the other extras like the form factor, connections, screen, expandability, etc.

we currently have a 800mhz g4 imac and a 800mhz powermac and the powermac doesnt even have the L3 cache to separate it from the imac as the powerbook does.

no the problem as i see it comes when trying to squeeze a ebook in under the ibook. doesnt seem like they could decrease the cost much. just having a g3 (which i mentioned would be an odd stratedgy to begin with) would not significantly reduce its cost. Apple was apple to decrease the emac, by substituting one very costly part for a very cheap part (lcd for crt), just doesnt seem like they could do anything similiar for the ibook. i mean how do you cut cost a machine already as cheap as the ibook?

 

[cb911]

ok i guess a G4 in a eBook is possible, but it would need the 14" screen. that would just be stupid to have a G4 in a iBook with piddly 12" screen. no L3 cache and 100MHz bus would make a fairly big difference.

 

[AmbitiousLemon]

cb911 - the ibook currently has a 12" screen and people love it for exactly that reason. its nice and small. the 14" screen is actually fairly unpopular, especially since it has the same resolution as the 12". im thinking apple will probably have to up the resolutrion on teh current 14" if they want to keep it, just not a very attractive option.

also im not saying an ebook would have a g4, im just saying there is room for a ibook to have a g4, and that having a g3 in place of a g4 would not produce much of a price reduction.

 

[King Cobra]

Here is the way I see resolution on the eBook.

IF (and in a rather long shot) Apple uses a 14 inch eBook, it probably would be considerably difficult to apply a higher resolution LCD. I assume this since I do not remember any 15 inch monitors having a higher resolution LCD than the current iBook, which is smaller in diagonal length.

As for a 12 inch eBook, there is no way Apple would increase the resolution. Try to imagine how hard it would be to read point 12 font on a 12 inch screen at 1280 x 960. You would hurt your eyes. So 1024 x 768 is fine.
__________________

Any time is a great time for iPod.