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"?

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

----------

Chas

xiaxin

Quote:

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"?

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

bioflavonoid

Quote:

Originally posted by XiaXin

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

I hope you're being sarcastic...

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

Quote:

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

Quote:

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

Quote:

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

Quote:

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) 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.