Concerning future PowerBooks

Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited January 2014
Most seem to think there shall be a relatively minor speed bump of the PowerBook within the next 4 months, perhaps to 867 or 933MHz along with the usual drive and memory augmentations.



Other than this, what can we expect from Apple's flagship portable?



Wider and larger screens? Higher PPI resolution? 800Mbps/1600Mbps FireWire?

SuperDrive(if possibile)? A DDR memory bus? Dual processors?



<a href="http://www.NVidia.com/view.asp?PAGE=geforce2go"; target="_blank">GeForce2Go?</a> <a href="http://www.NVidia.com/view.asp?PAGE=quadro2go"; target="_blank">Quadro2Go?</a> Or perhaps NVidia's next generation Mobile GPU, the <a href="http://www.NVidia.com/view.asp?PAGE=nv17m"; target="_blank">NV17M?</a>



And then there's the question of aesthetics and ergonomics. What can we expect in these areas? Thinner, lighter, and cooler?

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 20
    bill mbill m Posts: 324member
    Current form factor and screen size seems about right to me. Speed bump would be obviously welcome, but better/faster graphics would be my top request. I am using it more and more as a desktop replacement now a days... better graphics would mean almost full time use.
  • Reply 2 of 20
    dtohdtoh Posts: 13member
    Upgrade to graphics card seems to be a given (look at the high-end lap top competition).



    Dual proccessors seems unlikely to me based off of heat/battery concerns.



    I expect large advanges in battery lifetimes (which I guess nullifies half my 'no dualies' concern above).



    Superdrive seems a bit of a stretch.



    I just hope they fix the dang graphics, and tone down the heat (I'm beginning to despise my Ti 667's howling whenever I watch a few QT clips).



    As for enclosures, with the exception of diminished airport reception, they have a winner on their hands w/ the current Ti enclosure, so no need to change that part.
  • Reply 3 of 20
    emaneman Posts: 7,204member
    [quote]Originally posted by DtoH:

    <strong>Upgrade to graphics card seems to be a given (look at the high-end lap top competition).

    .</strong><hr></blockquote>



    Don't hold your breath. They just upgraded the graphics in the last revision. It'll be a while.
  • Reply 4 of 20
    Not necessarily. The Radeon Mobility 7500 or NV17M were not available at the time of the last Ti revision so Apple could've been waiting for this chip. They could easily offer a revision soon since these chips are now beginning to ship in PC latops (the 7500 at least). Maybe they are waiting for nVidia's new mobile GPU?
  • Reply 5 of 20
    neutrino23neutrino23 Posts: 1,561member
    I would like to see an iBook with longer battery life and less weight. The 600MHz version seems fast enough for portable use.
  • Reply 6 of 20
    emaneman Posts: 7,204member
    [quote]Originally posted by TigerWoods99:

    <strong>Not necessarily. The Radeon Mobility 7500 or NV17M were not available at the time of the last Ti revision so Apple could've been waiting for this chip. They could easily offer a revision soon since these chips are now beginning to ship in PC latops (the 7500 at least). Maybe they are waiting for nVidia's new mobile GPU?</strong><hr></blockquote>



    Could be. I didn't think of that.
  • Reply 7 of 20
    Apollo is next... low power means less heat, longer battery life, and/or higher speeds.
  • Reply 8 of 20
    Envision the following:



    1.0GHz G4 Apollo w/256KB on-die L2 cache

    133MHz Bus DDR supportive

    512MB DDR RAM @ 266MHZ

    60GB IBM TravelStar @ 5400rpm on ATA100

    32MB DDR NV17M GeForce Mobile graphics on 4xAGP

    DVD/CD-RW Combo drive

    Lithium Polymer cells to give 8+ hours battery life

    Same screen along with the standard compliment of IO ports

    OS 10.2

    $2999.99

    Introduced at WWDC in early May 2002

    Coming soon to an Apple Store near you.
  • Reply 9 of 20
    jasonppjasonpp Posts: 308member
    Higher pixel density.



    The price/perfomance gap between a 14" iBoook and a Ti PB is really not that much. To seperate the lines I would:



    1600x1280 or there abouts screen



    512MB standard



    Superdrive



    Poylmer battery (I've heard this is a go, and adds an extra 2-3 hours of use)
  • Reply 10 of 20
    logan calelogan cale Posts: 1,281member
    I just want something 867 MHz or faster with 5 hours of battery life.
  • Reply 11 of 20
    cdhostagecdhostage Posts: 1,038member
    I want a new battery based on the iPod's technology. 10 hours of word-processor use, 5 hours of DVD playing time. I want to be able to watch the Godfather Part I without switching batteries in the middle!



    In a couple years, I expet it wont't be unreasonable to demand 20 hours of battery life, thus freeing me to watch the entire Godfather series in one sitting.



    Then, when nanotechnological molecular distortion batteries come along, I will watch the entire Monty Python'sFlying Circus series without getting p frm my couc.h
  • Reply 12 of 20
    satchmosatchmo Posts: 2,699member
    Mostly cosmetic suggestions.



    Thin clear coating or something over the existing form.

    Something to make it feel more tactile and not as slippery. The current iBook feels so much better but lacks the G4 chip.



    Change the keys to a lighter colour. The black ones are too much of a contrast with silver casing.
  • Reply 13 of 20
    pookjppookjp Posts: 280member
    Must have a higher screen resolution. The 14-inch iBook is getting remarkably close to the viewable area of the TiBook.



    Aside from that, I see a processor bump, a graphics card upgrade, and HD increase. Nothing else, though. No Superdrive, even though I'd love it. No DDR motherboard, either. I see basically no chance of a larger screen, and I wouldn't want one either. Probably no new FW.



    I'll buy one the moment the screen pixel density is increased.



    - Pook
  • Reply 14 of 20
    What about "When"? Some say March, some say May( )...what's the general consensus? (the above questions may be read as "I need a powerbook but got burned when I bought my beige G3 3 weeks before the blue and white came out and don't want it to happen again, but can't afford to wait too long")



    thanks,

    rr.



    [ 01-23-2002: Message edited by: ricRocket ]</p>
  • Reply 15 of 20
    [quote]Originally posted by Nostradamus:

    <strong>Envision the following:

    (...)

    512MB DDR RAM @ 266MHZ

    </strong><hr></blockquote>



    Hm, do DDR SO-DIMMs exist at all?



    [quote]<strong>

    60GB IBM TravelStar @ 5400rpm on ATA100

    </strong><hr></blockquote>



    Wow, I bet ATA100 really makes a difference on that kind of hard drive



    Bye,

    RazzFazz
  • Reply 16 of 20
    paulpaul Posts: 5,278member
    [quote]Originally posted by RazzFazz:

    <strong>

    Hm, do DDR SO-DIMMs exist at all?

    ....

    Wow, I bet ATA100 really makes a difference on that kind of hard drive



    Bye,

    RazzFazz</strong><hr></blockquote>



    hehe and all this for $3000?? dono about that..
  • Reply 17 of 20
    just read an article on zdnet (too lazy to post the link) that talks about a new via mobile chipset for intel that supports ddr in laptops (also says that via already made an equivalent chipset for amd). All this means is that ddr so-dimms are likely to show up on the market soon.
  • Reply 18 of 20
    mspmsp Posts: 40member
    [quote]Originally posted by RazzFazz:

    <strong>



    Hm, do DDR SO-DIMMs exist at all?



    </strong><hr></blockquote>



    They do now:



    <a href="http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2103008,00.html"; target="_blank">http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2103008,00.html</a>;
  • Reply 19 of 20
    escherescher Posts: 1,811member
    [quote]Originally posted by neutrino23:

    <strong>I would like to see an iBook with longer battery life and less weight. The 600MHz version seems fast enough for portable use.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    Now that's what I would love to see! I agree with neutrino23 here. Assuming that OS X does get a bit more efficient, i.e. that the X interface gets as responsive as the OS 9 interface, a G3/600 on a 100Mhz bus is just fine for mobile use. (I still haven't completely gotten over my May 2001 iBook's lousy 66Mhz bus.) The current 12" iBook has distinct advantages over a true subnotebook, namely a full-size keyboard, larger screen and long battery life.



    5 hours is great, but there's no reason better battery technology could improve on that further. And 4.9 lbs is still quite a bit heavier than my 4.1 lbs PowerBook 2400c. I have no doubt that Apple could shave up to a pound of the iBook. For all I care they could even rip out the optical drive, now that MCE is shipping a <a href="http://www.mcetech.com/lucid.html"; target="_blank">16x version</a> of its Lucid portable FireWire CD-RW.



    Light is right!



    Escher
  • Reply 20 of 20
    [quote]Originally posted by msp:

    <strong>



    They do now:



    <a href="http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2103008,00.html"; target="_blank">http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2103008,00.html</a></strong><hr></blockquote>;



    Actually, all they say is that the new VIA chipset can support SO-DIMMs once they are available. When this will be the case isn't mentioned in the text.



    Bye,

    RazzFazz
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