Anyone else wish 14" iBook was better?
The recent speed bumps and price drops were welcomed and needed.
The Titanium Powerbooks now pack some serious punch and the 12" iBooks are very competitive given their low price.
But the problem is with the 14" iBook line. My guess is there's a huge market who just needs a solid 14" laptop. No 15.2" widescreen. No need for a diminutive 12" portable.
But a 14" laptop with solid performance and mostly a sharper screen resolution. Perhaps even a slightly faster processor to disguish it further from the 12".
After all, this should be Apple's cash cow in it's laptop line.
The Titanium Powerbooks now pack some serious punch and the 12" iBooks are very competitive given their low price.
But the problem is with the 14" iBook line. My guess is there's a huge market who just needs a solid 14" laptop. No 15.2" widescreen. No need for a diminutive 12" portable.
But a 14" laptop with solid performance and mostly a sharper screen resolution. Perhaps even a slightly faster processor to disguish it further from the 12".
After all, this should be Apple's cash cow in it's laptop line.
Comments
OS X is heavily optimized for Altivec, and many apps are now coded to take advantage of the G4. There is really no excuse for ANY Apple computer to use a CPU lacking Altivec.
The lack of Altivec is readily apparent by scanning through any thread about OS X's performance. Those who complain most loudly and consistently all own iBooks. It's clear that OS X doesn't run well on a G3 system (of course it doesn't help that most iBook also have lame video chipsets and slower HDs).
The 14" iBook needs a higher display resolution of 1280x960. Currently the 12" iBook puts the 14" iBook's display to shame, because of the high resolution of the smaller display.
Those are the only complaints I have, otherwise the iBook is a sweet laptop. I'll probably buy one within the next year G4 or not, since I'll be needing a laptop and there's no way I could afford a Titanium. An 800 MHz G3 is ok, but I suspect that even my 400 MHz G4 will be faster at many tasks than an 800 MHz G3.
<strong>The 14" iBook needs a higher display resolution of 1280x960. Currently the 12" iBook puts the 14" iBook's display to shame, because of the high resolution of the smaller display.</strong><hr></blockquote>
I think that's a BIT much. Perhaps 1152, but 1280 is just too damn tiny; not even the PowerBook has DPI that thin.
I don't think the iBook is ready for the G4 yet. The iBook is designed to be not only a consumer portable, but a super-mobile one: its role is to be the lightest, coolest, cheapest most silent portable that the company makes, with the longest battery life. This isn't yet possible with the current iteration of the G4, which is still better suited for the Ti, where there is a concern to have enough power to emulate their desktop counterparts. When the less expensive, smaller, more efficient G4's come around sometime in mid-2003, then the iBook will finally be ready to make the transition. Until then, though, the Sahara is pretty much the only chip for the job.
People looking to export QuickTime movies into DIVX, finish Photoshop gaussians in a half-millisecond, and plow through entire SETI@home units in just a few hours will probably want to opt for the PowerBook, which will sterilize people who use it on their lap too long. For the student who wants their battery to last for quite some time, not disturbing anyone with a super-loud fan while they take notes, and for the soccer mom who just wants to check her email and perhaps browse the web, maybe importing some digital photos or burning a CD every now and then, the $999 iBook is what they need.
It surprises me that the same people evangelizing that Apple needs to reduce prices are the same ones that want them to add cost to their consumer lineup with excessive features that don't fit the product's target market.
[ 11-11-2002: Message edited by: Steve ]</p>
<strong>
I think that's a BIT much. Perhaps 1152, but 1280 is just too damn tiny; not even the PowerBook has DPI that thin....It surprises me that the same people evangelizing that Apple needs to reduce prices are the same ones that want them to add cost to their consumer lineup with excessive features that don't fit the product's target market.
]</strong><hr></blockquote>
I agree the resolution doesn't need to be that high, but there needs to be better distinction between it and the 12" model. I don't think this would alter the target market much, rather fulfill one that dearly needs a sharper 14" laptop.
Having a G4 processor would be nice, but it doesn't look like it's in the works. If it was, it would have been in there by now. It seems Apple will stretch the G3 through to it's 1Ghz capacity.
<strong>...There is really no excuse for ANY Apple computer to use a CPU lacking Altivec...</strong><hr></blockquote>
I can think of one....
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
also...
think apple could...ney, think apple WOULD pull a 999 notebook with a g4...also what are they gonna do, give it 400, 500, 600MHz? They arn't going to attack PB G4 sales silly. If they make the speeds too close to the PB then sales from the PB will suffer...so they would have to give it an impediment like the MHz i showed
Think its good for PR to go from a 800MHz to 600?...or 700even?
G3 iBooks have more to do with typical consumer v. pro orthodoxy than with any real technological obstacles.
[ 11-11-2002: Message edited by: Matsu ]</p>
My guess is that they'll try to give the PB a major enhancement that will allow it be sucessfully differentiated from the iBook once it gets a G4 (new PB CPU? DDR? multiple processors?). After that, Apple will be content to have a G4 iBook, since the iBook and the PB will share the same consumer/professional dichotomy that the G4 iMac and the PM's have.
Just my $0.02 (value may vary due to Cdn-US exchange rates and inflation)
With laptops, though, it's harder to differentiate. Neither one is really expandable, and they can't put dualies in the PowerBook yet, so they have to stick to what they already have - a G4 to differentiate. They've done a few things to make PowerBooks more expandable, such as putting a PC card slot in it and making it easy to replace the HD, but generally neither one is truly upgradable. One option would be to put the PowerBook's processor on a daughtercard, allowing for future upgrades. At the same time, just like in the iMac, the iBook's processor would be built in.
They'll have to find something to differentiate them once the iBook moves to a G4 (which it'll have to do sometime). Maybe by then they will have found a way to put dual processors in the PowerBook. They also have the superdrive, but it's not quite enough of a difference, especially when it's only available on one model.