what will these powerbook price drops bring?

[whoami]

12" PowerBook w/ Super Drive ($1999 -> $1799)
12" PowerBook w/ Combo Drive ($1799 -> $1599)
15" PowerBook w/ Super Drive ($2799 -> $2599)
15" PowerBook w/ Combo Drive ($2299 -> $1999)

i'm sure you guys all saw these drops this morning,
so now what's your predictions for the "year of the portable"? :D

[Gizzmonic]

June Powerbook price drops bring...

May flowers? No, that's not right...

[Macmedia]

Maybe this has something to do with it:

-------
Motorola Delivers Volume Shipments of Low-K Microprocessors
Monday June 2, 6:01 am ET

Advanced Low-K Process Helps PowerPC(R) Microprocessors Improve Performance And Reduce Power Consumption

AUSTIN, Texas, June 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT - News) has delivered some of the first volume shipments of microprocessors produced using a low-k insulating dielectric during the metallization process. Motorola has applied this process to PowerPC microprocessor products including the G4
PowerPC processor, Motorola's MPC 7455 and the recently introduced 7457. Products manufactured with this method run up to 20 percent faster and at lower power than those made without it while maintaining high yields and reliability. This manufacturing breakthrough is a part of Motorola's ongoing commitment to high performance products. Motorola has led the industry in volume shipments of Silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology since fourth quarter 2001.
Link (http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/030602/nym082_1.html)
----------
Chas

[XiaXin]

Originally posted by whoami
12" PowerBook w/ Super Drive ($1999 -> $1799)
12" PowerBook w/ Combo Drive ($1799 -> $1599)
15" PowerBook w/ Super Drive ($2799 -> $2599)
15" PowerBook w/ Combo Drive ($2299 -> $1999)

i'm sure you guys all saw these drops this morning,
so now what's your predictions for the "year of the portable"? :D

predictions? the year of the portables will be slaughtered by Centrino microprocessor.

[Bioflavonoid]

Originally posted by XiaXin
predictions? the year of the portables will be slaughtered by Centrino microprocessor.

I hope you're being sarcastic... :rolleyes:

[Jared]

I do not think these price drops indicate a way to clear inventory. If it was, I think Apple would be having a promotion or a sale until such and such a date. These price cuts, with whatever new replacement, will remain intact with the new product.

[whoami]

nice one Macmedia!
thanks for the link!

[Matsu]

They had better. And that new product will be SOI/low-K .13u G4's with low voltage (ie laptop) top speeds in the 1.33-1.5Ghz range, scaling to 2Ghz in '04. NO 970 laptops for quite a while yet.

[XiaXin]

MPC 7457 uses the same bus, MPX/60x bus, so the bottleneck is still there, not being able to provide sufficient bandwith from main memory bus to CPU. However, the low power usage might amliorate the uncomfortable heat problem of the current 12" and 15" powerbooks.

[whoami]

Matsu...
i'm sure that you're right!
this seems like a move to buy them some time until the moto chips are plentiful.
can you say july/aug?
i wonder if the "year of the laptop" is gonna be smothered by 970 sales?
i know i'll be buying a 970 before i replace my ibook/700!

[Clive]

I think that, if anything, these price cuts indicate that there's no replacements or speed bumps imminent for these machines.

From my observation it's not Apple's usual procedure to cut prices, then bump them up again upon the release of upgrades. Rather, they tend to cut the prices when they introduce new machines.

So I think it means not to expect upgrades for at least six weeks or so, perhaps not until August.

[Clive]

Originally posted by XiaXin
However, the low power usage might amliorate the uncomfortable heat problem of the current 12" and 15" powerbooks.

Let's put it this way, my 12" is going in for a "repair" because of the heat. if it doesn't get "fixed" then it'll be going back permanently (much as I love it, it's just "too hot to handle", literally fries in closed lid mode).

[gar]

Originally posted by Clive
I think that, if anything, these price cuts indicate that there's no replacements or speed bumps imminent for these machines.
...
So I think it means not to expect upgrades for at least six weeks or so, perhaps not until August.
damn, i was thinking the same thing.
all this talking about 15" powerbooks with ppc970 processors in june filled my head with a big pink cloud, it was totally stuffed with pink cotton-wool flakes...i want one of these.

... but after some speculations on these boards about some delay for the 15" Al pb and the stuppidity to introduce it with a 1Ghz G4 in june etc. i got a little worried. and now after this price drop it made some sence to me. we still have to wait till augustus or september or even, like clive mentioned in another thread, earlier this year, till mwsf 2004, before we see a ppc970 being dropped in a 15"pb.

the longer apple waits with a speedbump the more my hopes are up for a 15"pb970 (i wished i never read that article about faster and more energy efficient moto G4's, makes me sleep bad at night)

[Marcus]

Originally posted by Clive
Let's put it this way, my 12" is going in for a "repair" because of the heat. if it doesn't get "fixed" then it'll be going back permanently (much as I love it, it's just "too hot to handle", literally fries in closed lid mode).

if you don't mind me asking, what exactly is the 'heat related' repair?

I have been running my 12" Pb for over 2 months now, 24/7.

Compiling, graphics, editing, dv, development etc etc all with bluetooth and cds running...

Whilst I noticed a great deal of heat to start with, once I installed 10.2.6 and the 'fix' on the Apple support pages, I can honestly say that no-matter what I do, heat isn't really a problem.

The loud fan kicks in fom time to time when compiling, but apart from that, it is a non-issue.

Maybe you just got a bad machine?

[keyboardf12]

'fix'

???


please explain. i've thought about picking up an extra pb12" but the heat thing has turned me off.

[Stoo]

Clive: does the fan come on when it is closed?
Marcus: what's the fix?

[Marcus]

Originally posted by keyboardf12
'fix'

???


please explain. i've thought about picking up an extra pb12" but the heat thing has turned me off.

Back in April, a friend sent me a link to a post on the Apple discussion forums which intimated, that removing a few files in the OS X system folder would help...

It was somewhat esoteric, as no one knew what would the file actually did!! details are here (on MacNN Powerbook forum) (http://forums.macnn.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=153426&highlight=heat+fix) I did it, and it improved things quite a bit.

However since 10.2.6, things are much better for me anyway...

Don't get me wrong, it still gets pretty 'hot' after heavy usage, but not 'scalding' as it did pre 10.2.6. If you're a left hander, and don't use an external mouse, I can still see it being an issue, as the left side of the machine (HD) produces most heat, but the right side of the machine remains cool enough for it not to be an issue for most.

I would in no way let it put you off, as the problem really has been exagerated a fair bit... The 12" is easily the best mac (in all areas) I have owned in 8 years! In fact, I came to it from a dual 867, and I am still very impressed with how it performs!

Peace,

Marc

[Lucy]

Well MacWorld CreativePro Expo and Conference is a bit over six weeks from now, so that is a possible date for the updates, so if Clive is right this would be the earliest opportunity for them to update the PowerBooks.

This lower price WILL remain after the next update whenever it is.

But I would not expect PowerBook updates much later than CreativePro: It would probably be too long to wait for the updates (or at least announcement of coming updates) to the twelve and seventeen inch PowerBooks, let alone the fifteen inch which will be over eight months old by then.

[keyboardf12]

thanks.

[jante99]

I don't know if this means anything but MacMall is offering 50 dollars off al 12" Powerbooks and PowerMacs up until next Tuesday.

[Junkyard Dawg]

I think there are two important points to consider about Apple's portable lines:

1. The expansion of the Powerbook line leaves two "low end" models very near the iBook line, namely, the 12" and 15" models, vs. the 12" and 14" iBooks. The remaining 17" Powerbook is still the flagship model.

2. The G3 is going to be painfully obsolete very soon.

And then this point to consider about Apple:

1. Steve Jobs hates complicated product matrixes.

Consider that the current Powerbook + iBook lineup totals nearly 10 laptop models, and it seems like an awfully confused lineup just now. How does someone know, without poring over spec sheets, whether a 12" Powerbook is better than a 14" iBook? And who the hell will want a G3 when the PPC 970 comes out?

Thus, I predict the following:

Apple will very quickly migrate their entire laptop line to the Powerbooks after the 970 is released, while introducing perhaps one new model to fill out the low end. The current price restructuring is helping to position the Powerbooks for such a lineup. Furthermore, the move from Titanium to Aluminum helps because Al is cheaper, hence it will be easier to preserve good margins on the low end. Also, the PPC 970 is the ideal chip for low end Macs, since it actually costs LESS than the true low end G4. Apple can underclock the 970 and spread the goodness throughout their entire Mac line, all while giving Moto a foot in their ass long deserved.

Alternatively, and perhaps more likely, we will see Apple EOL the G3 iBooks when the Powerbooks go 970, and an entirely new G4 iBook will be introduced at lower price points. Lowering the Powerbook prices helps buffer the impact of readjust the price of ALL laptops when the G4 iBook arrives. The only problem with this scenario is that the product matrix remains confused and complicated.

[musicaltone]

Hows about a price drop followed by new 3 new models on Tueday: 1.25 ghz 12" 15" and 17"?

[DHagan4755]

Could this have been the catalyst for the price drop?

Intel slashes Centrino prices by up to 30%

By Tony Smith

Posted: 02/06/2003 at 13:11 GMT


Intel yesterday introduced a 1.7GHz Pentium M processor, as expected. It also cut the prices of the rest of the range by up to 34 per cent, which we'd suspected but had no firm evidence for.

Intel also introduced a Low-voltage 1.2GHz Pentium M and a 1GHz Ultra-low Voltage part, again as we reported last week.

The new chips are priced at $694, $341 and $319, respectively, in batches of 1000 and bundling the 855 chipset and Pro Wireless 2100 mini-PCI 802.11b card. So says Intel's press release, but its official price list, has the 1.7GHz part down at $725, $372/$367 (depending on whether you choose an 855 with integrated graphics or not) and $350/$345.

According to the price list, the processors alone cost $637, $284 and $262.

At the same time, Intel has cut the price of existing Pentium Ms. The 1.6GHz plus other Centrino chips now costs $511 and $506 (with integrated graphics and without), a cut of 30 per cent from $725 and $720. The equivalent 1.5GHz packages fall from $511 and $506 to $382 and $377, both a reduction of 25 per cent. The $382 and $377 1.4GHz packages fall 14 per cent to $329 and $324. The 1.3GHz versions stay where they are, at $297 and $292.

On there own, the processors prices have fallen even more steeply. The 1.GHz chip fell 34 per cent from $637 to $423. The 1.5GHz part went from $423 to $294, a cut of 31 per cent, and the 1.4GHz part dropped 18 per cent to $241 from $294. The price of the 1.3GHz Pentium M remains unchanged at $209.

In a nod toward last week's highly publicised VPN bug, Intel promised "updated networking software that delivers additional support for security features designed to protect information transmitted while connecting to networks using wireless technology". The software in question is Intel Pro Network Connection, which will be upgraded to version 7.1. The software works with the Centrino platform's Pro Wireless 2100 802.11b card.

Intel is adding support for the Wi-Fi Alliance's Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) security scheme. WPA is a cut-down version of the yet-to-be-ratified 802.11x WLAN security protocol. It will also add Cisco LEAP and CKIP security support, a move geared toward improving the Centrino platform's appeal to corporates. ®

[Leonis]

No matter what. I am glad that I sold my Ti 400 two weeks ago. If I sell it now I am going to lose at least $700 CDN :wow:

[Matsu]

JYD, not exactly. The 970 won't be seen in a PB for at least 12 months after the PM's, maybe longer, maybe sooner, but not this year at any rate, and to the chagrin of many, expect Mot to deliver faster low power G4's for the PB. Apple really doesn't have another choice right now.

What the price drops mean is that the iBook will get cheaper still. Expect the next major revision of the iBook to drop a large screen (14" mebbe widescreen) intot he 899-999 range, and a loaded version with the same screen size to go for no more than 1299.

iBooks exist to be CHEAP, not neccessarily fast, to remain competitive they have to continue to drop in price, and they will -- current PB price structures virtually guarantee it.

[kupan787]

Originally posted by Matsu
JYD, not exactly. The 970 won't be seen in a PB for at least 12 months after the PM's, maybe longer, maybe sooner, but not this year at any rate, and to the chagrin of many, expect Mot to deliver faster low power G4's for the PB. Apple really doesn't have another choice right now.

Any info to back this up? Or maybe at least explaining why you think this way?

I say Apple does have another choice, the 970! The 1.2GHz 970 chip runs cooler than a 1GHz G4. So Apple could easily use those in laptops right now. And the 1.4GHz 970 only runs a bit hotter than the 1GHz G4

G4@1.0GHz dissipates 21.3W
970@1.2GHz dissipates 19W
970@1.4GHz dissipates 24W
970@1.8GHz dissipates 42W (just for reference, not that it would go into a laptop)

So I could see the 1.4GHz part slipping into a 17" perhaps (or 1.2 if that is too hot). The 15" gets a 1.2GHz, and 1GHz (if the 970s clock that slow). And the 12" gets either a 1GHz G4, or a 1GHz 970. Then once the move to 90nm is done (which from all sources is supposed to be quick), the 970 will become even more laptop friendly.

Don't get your hopes up for the 7457. I am still sticking by my bet that we will never see it in an Apple product. Plus, with only a 200MHz bus (not DDR even, that wasn't until 7457-RM!), would you really want a a faster G4 on that? What does the mythical 7457 offer besides a die shrink to 130nm? Why do people still want to grasp on to this chip?

I am also willing to bet that the iBook (if it is still around) will never see a G4. Rather it will move to GOBI (which is an enhanced 750 I believe), and then the 850 (SIMD, rapid-io, super G3).

[cycle]

Originally posted by kupan787
Any info to back this up? Or maybe at least explaining why you think this way?

I say Apple does have another choice, the 970! The 1.2GHz 970 chip runs cooler than a 1GHz G4. So Apple could easily use those in laptops right now. And the 1.4GHz 970 only runs a bit hotter than the 1GHz G4

G4@1.0GHz dissipates 21.3W
970@1.2GHz dissipates 19W
970@1.4GHz dissipates 24W
970@1.8GHz dissipates 42W (just for reference, not that it would go into a laptop)


nahh...the 21.3W 1ghz g4 is desktop...these are not in powerbooks right now...its more like 15W or lower...

i could see 1ghz 970...which is a vast improvement over any g4...in a powerbook..but thats not ok for the typical customer....no matter how they market it...they have to make it different from 1ghz...i think

1ghz=1ghz for the average customer

BUT...i dont care...put an 800mhz 970 in it...and i would buy it immeadietly :D

[kupan787]

Originally posted by cycle
nahh...the 21.3W 1ghz g4 is desktop...these are not in powerbooks right now...its more like 15W or lower...

So the desktop and the laptop have different G4s? Are you sure?

I know the older ones were different (7440 vs 7450 or whatever), but i thoguht the most recent laptops had basicly the desktop chips (7455?) in there (I could and probably am way off here...)

[Junkyard Dawg]

I still think it makes sense for Apple to go 970 in Powerbooks. Even if it's only 1-1.2 GHz, they can count on a low power variant of the 970 within a year (after all this is IBM, and I've heard things). Drop a G4 in the iBook for a year, then migrate the iBook to 970s as well.

Technically, it would suffice to use 1 GHz 970s for the powerbooks, and 1 GHz G4s for the iBooks, but we know Apple won't do this because of the marketing problems it would create.

It's not an easy decision to make, at least not with the info we have. IF Moto could deliver a low power G4 with a FSB that supports DDR, and IF they could scale it over 1 GHz, and IF it were cheaper than the 970, yeah, it would make sense to use it in iBooks. But I simply don't see Moto rising to the challenge.

Regardless of Moto, I'm fairly convinced that at least 2 Powerbooks will be getting 970s this year. It's the "year of the laptop", and the 15"-17" are screaming out for the PPC 970.

[Barto]

It's even more dramatic in Australia

12" Combo $3999 > $3099
12" Superdrive now $3499 (forget what it was before)
15" Combo $3799
15" Superdrive $4899 (wtf?)
17" Superdrive $6999 > $6299

[Clive]

Originally posted by Marcus
Maybe you just got a bad machine?

Quite possibly, that's why I'm letting them repair it rather than just asking for my money back.

What happens is that in "closed lid mode" the internal fan never comes on, and I mean "never". Pop the lid up and it comes on straight away and stays on for 15-20 minutes - by which time the machine is safe to touch again. :-)

Originally posted by Stoo
does the fan come on when it is closed?

No, that seems to be the crux of the problem. I prefer to use it with an external screen when I get the chance, I don't really like monitor spanning when you've got two completely different screens and they're at disparate heights too.

[Clive]

Originally posted by Junkyard Dawg
Apple will very quickly migrate their entire laptop line to the Powerbooks after the 970 is released,

If you mean that they're all going to be called "PowerBooks", then I think you're wrong. There will still be a iBook/PowerBook division. If you mean that iBooks will get G4s, then yes, probably, but PowerBooks will have 970/980 by then or quite a bit faster G4s - so I don't thing that's going to happen until 2004.

[Clive]

Originally posted by kupan787
So the desktop and the laptop have different G4s? Are you sure?

Of course they do, have you seen the heat sink in a WindTunnel? There's more aluminium in that than in the entire casing of a 17" ;)

[Clive]

Originally posted by Junkyard Dawg
I still think it makes sense for Apple to go 970 in Powerbooks.

Of course it does, if they have 970s at all, if those run cool enough to go in a portable, if they have a new motherboard to put it on, if they've done all the necessary testing etc...

That's a lot of ifs.

But help them out, join the Apple engineering team and the day of the 970 PowerBook may be that much closer... or may be not.

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

Maybe this has something to do with it:

WWDC (http://developer.apple.com/wwdc/)

Steve Jobs does a speech...

Intel launches new chips...

IBM holds a PPC 970 conference...

A coincidence?

[Matsu]

The G4 in the PB's is a lower voltage version. Down clocked 970's could go into PB's but if they do it will be for the 17" version only. For at least one quarter, the 970 will ONLY go into the meat and potatoes margin machines, the Powermacs! Everything else will ive on in G4 form for at least another year. We had G3 powerbooks for quite a while after the G4's came out, and you can expect the same here.

Current G4's are still competitive as far as mobile CPU's go. 7457's will only improve that while taking power consumption and heat dissapation down to extremely low levels.

If IBM had huge quantities of 970's ready, we'd already have them in front of us. If they don't, and Apple has to stock pile for a run of machines, then that surely will not be enough to feed demand for two lines for any substantial period. And this is tricky business, stock piling, stock piles can't build up for too long, or you just get stale product build-up depreciating in your warehouse when you could be selling it. Every day a 970 does NOT arrive, is a day less "WOW" when it finally does. But, go too early and you can't meet demand either, then you get waits, delays, shortages, and more frustration. The only solution is to go after it one line at a time, starting with the most profitable.

Moto will have faster, FRUGAL, G4's because it suits what they do, Apple will use them because it suits mobile and consumer models for the next year or so. After that...

[farve]

Any chance of dual G4's in PB's?

[Marcus]

Originally posted by farve
Any chance of dual G4's in PB's?

I'd like to say that anything is possible... but really, with the 970 'just around the corner', what would the point of re-enginerring for duals be?

[gar]

Originally posted by farve
Any chance of dual G4's in PB's?

what the... go away. only if everything went out to be very, very, very bad.
clive hurt me enough with his "not until 2004"
i want a 15"pb with an ibm ppc 970 processor (don't care how fast) before 2004, so if apple has to put the same processor in a 17"pb to ensure 17"pb sales so be it

[sCreeD]

Originally posted by gar
Re: dual G4 PB
what the... go away. only if everything went out to be very, very, very bad.

:lol:

Yeah.

"No, don't give me a newer, better, faster chip. Give me two slower, more expensive chips and shove them into a one inch thick enclosure."

Screed

[kupan787]

Originally posted by Clive
Of course they do, have you seen the heat sink in a WindTunnel? There's more aluminium in that than in the entire casing of a 17" ;)

Yes but those are duals, and running faster than 1GHz.

The latops are all 1GHz or less, and are running as a single chip. So are we certain that they are different chips? Or better still, can someone find some info on how what wattage they dissipate?

[gar]

Originally posted by kupan787
Yes but those are duals, and running faster than 1GHz.

:err: got yourself no powermac dual for $1499.00 it's a nice and clean 1Ghz machine running on a stinking slow 133mhz bus you can buy yourself for that price. it's called a low end and it replaced the 867MhzDP low end (slower?). (nobody was buying the 1GhzDP and 1.25GhzDP no more so apple killed the DP configuration in the low end)


no man, clive is right about the heat issues concerning DP G4's faster than 1Ghz in a 17"pb shell

DP G4 in a 17"pb is bad news, man

[kupan787]

Originally posted by gar
no man, clive is right about the heat issues concerning DP G4's faster than 1Ghz in a 17"pb shell

DP G4 in a 17"pb is bad news, man

Ok, I think we are confusing each other.

I am not talking about putting dual chips (970 or G4) into a powerbook. What I am asking, is if the desktop G4 chips (7455, right?) are the same as the latest laptop G4 chips. If they are not, what chips are in the laptops, and what wattage do they dissipate.

Clive claimed that they had to be differnt because the heat sink was so huge on the "WindTunnel". My argument was the heatsink was so huge because you have dual processor 1GHz+ chips. A single 867MHz or single 1GHZ woudln't need such a large heatsink.

But I have answered my own question (I think). I ran:

ioreg -l | grep cpu-version

on my 12" 867 and my desktop 867 and got back two differnt results.

desktop = 80000201
laptop = 80010303

So something is different about the chips. So if the ~15 W is correct for a G4 laptop at 1GHz, then 970 based laptops could be held off until the 90nm transition. Well, the 17" could maybe get a 1GHz and 1.2 GHz chip, but would they have a powerbook line that was split chip wise? I doubt it.

[Clive]

Originally posted by kupan787
Yes but those are duals, and running faster than 1GHz.

I'm pretty sure the heatsink is the same on the single processor model. And yes, of course the PowerBooks have a different chip to the desktops!

[Clive]

Originally posted by kupan787
but would they have a powerbook line that was split chip wise? I doubt it.

They already do, don't they? The 12" has different cache to the 15" and 17".

It's still called a G4, but it is different .

[kupan787]

Originally posted by Clive
They already do, don't they? The 12" has different cache to the 15" and 17".

It's still called a G4, but it is different .

If you reread my post, I say chip wise. The G4 in the 12" and the G4 in the 17" are the same chip. The only difference is having or not having L3 cache, other than that the chips are the same. It would be totally different having some powerbooks with 970s and some with G4s.

I doubt they would have different chips in the same product line. Just like I doubt the Powermacs would be split G4 and 970, I don't really see Apple doing this with the laptops. But who knows...

[Amorph]

Originally posted by kupan787
If you reread my post, I say chip wise. The G4 in the 12" and the G4 in the 17" are the same chip. The only difference is having or not having L3 cache, other than that the chips are the same. It would be totally different having some powerbooks with 970s and some with G4s.

Are they? I thought the 15" and 17" sported 7455s while the 12" had a 7445 (smaller, no pinouts for L3).

[kupan787]

Originally posted by Amorph
Are they? I thought the 15" and 17" sported 7455s while the 12" had a 7445 (smaller, no pinouts for L3).

So if the 15" and 17" are 7455, isn't that what is in the desktops? Are are they different?

[Clive]

Originally posted by kupan787
If you reread my post, I say chip wise.

I've no idea what "chip wise" means, do you mean "same family" ie G4, same model, same part number? If you're going to assert that they are the same then I think you should post a reference that states this is so.

As far as the 970 goes I think it's fairly likely that Apple will have a two-tier desktop line-up upon its intro. My guess would be that they'll have "crippled" motherboards in the low end, with the high end getting bells and whistles. It could even happen that you get G4 for the lowest spec machine and a 970 in the upper end.

It would seem logical, that whatever architecture they adopt for the new machines, that it is compatible with both 970 and G4 - so that they can have a common architecture across ranges.

[Matsu]

Yes, the 12" has the 7445 part (no L3 pin outs) on it. There's a pic of the mobo on the web where you can read the numbers. The 15 and 17 do have 7455's, BUT, as I recall, these are not the same 7455's in the PM because they run them at a lower core voltage and generate about a third less heat.

[JRG]

Originally posted by Barto
It's even more dramatic in Australia

12" Combo $3999 > $3099
12" Superdrive now $3499 (forget what it was before)
15" Combo $3799
15" Superdrive $4899 (wtf?)
17" Superdrive $6999 > $6299

12" Combo $3999 > $3099
12" Superdrive $4395 > $3499
15" Combo $4995 > $3799
15" Superdrive $5995 > $4899
17" Superdrive $6995 > $6299

Aaahhh, 30% appreciation in the $Au over the last 6-8 weeks coming through. And just in time for some serious new high end hardware too!

[Telomar]

Originally posted by Barto
It's even more dramatic in Australia

12" Combo $3999 > $3099
12" Superdrive now $3499 (forget what it was before)
15" Combo $3799
15" Superdrive $4899 (wtf?)
17" Superdrive $6999 > $6299 That's just a combination of the price cuts with an adjustment for the stronger A$ now that it looks stable above US$0.60. You'll see price reductions on more things as they are updated as well.

Edit: Ok next time I notice the 2nd page before I post :embarrass