Will next Powerbook be more rugged?

satchmo

So Apple has addressed some of the past concerns of the PB, notably the paint, Superdrive, and speed. Prices could still be $500 less but I won't go there now.



One of the reasons many choose an iBook instead is that the PB is too delicate and prone to dings. The older Pismo's were extremely robust and scuff resistant. I'm hoping the next PB redesign will take this in consideration while still retaining a sleek form factor.

strobe

Oh really, and what magical material would it be made of? Love?



I would rather have a lighter PowerBook, with TWO firewire ports. Perhaps fuel cells can lower the weight of the battery.

satchmo

[quote]Originally posted by strobe:

<strong>Oh really, and what magical material would it be made of? Love?



I would rather have a lighter PowerBook, with TWO firewire ports. Perhaps fuel cells can lower the weight of the battery.</strong><hr></blockquote>



What a clever response

If you've been on this forum at all, you'd see most are concerned with speed/price of course, paint issues and durability. But rarely does anyone complain about weight or number of firewire ports.

wrong robot

I remember a post not to long ago about Liquid Metal, and how its incredibly durable and retains something like 99% of its kinetic energy. Someone suggested that the Powerbooks could concievably be made out of some liquid metal alloy, once the prices have gone down enough(though Liquid metal isn't incredibly cheap, it is still pretty cheap relatively)



Other than that....its hard to make the powerbook more durable cause that would probably mean adding more width, and one of the landmark achievements of the Ti powerbook was putting a g4 in a 1 inch big notebook.

thats impressive, and it would deinfatly be less flattering if apples next powerbook was 2.5 inches, even if you could run over it with a tank(though that in itself is quite a marketing gimick)



I don't see the price dropping much, maybe 100 or 200 dollars tops...hopefully hte performance will increase to such a degree that it will warrant the high pricing.



on a side note relating to price/performance

did anyone catch that article posted on Macnn?

it said that Infoworld said that the Ti Powerbook was worth the price and then some they even were so bold to say that at 2500 dollars it was a steal :eek: :cool: <img src="graemlins/hmmm.gif" border="0" alt="[Hmmm]" />

definatly out of left field that one.

brendon

[quote]Originally posted by Wrong Robust:

<strong>I remember a post not to long ago about Liquid Metal, and how its incredibly durable and retains something like 99% of its kinetic energy. Someone suggested that the Powerbooks could concievably be made out of some liquid metal alloy, once the prices have gone down enough(though Liquid metal isn't incredibly cheap, it is still pretty cheap relatively) </strong><hr></blockquote>



Think Mercury

kidred

Style over rugedness always for Apple. Their products are functional works of art. I know, laptops are portable, but come on, the PB is simply awesome and beautiful. As for the $500, no, the price is fine and a former PC writer feels the same, even says the price is a steal-

<a href="http://macnn.com/rd.php?id=2170"; target="_blank">http://macnn.com/rd.php?id=2170</a>;

lemon bon bon

It will be if it's made out of Liquid Metal!



You'll be able to bounce it down stairs...and it will bounce for 121 seconds! Ten times longer than current metals?



The difficulty will be in catching up with it as it bounces around the house...



Lemon Bon Bon <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" />

belle

I have reliable information that the next PowerBook will be made from Mithril.

matsu

The price is most certainly NOT fine. The price is never fine! Just because one writer said the price is fine does not make it so. It is about $500 (Can) too much. How do I know? In about 1-2 months sales will fizzle, as have all the recent powerbook updates. The update doesn't have staying power, and the price isn't agressive just because it's lower than the obscene 2499 entry they had on it for far too long. It STILL has not returned to the 2199 entry price of earlier models. So progress is a relative thing, they've almost reached a step of zero progress as opposed to their previous state of rapid regress. It looks good in part because it's OK (in the relative Apple-laptop world) and becuase what went before it was actually pretty bad. But, even though it was recently updated, it will need another update in 1-2 months to keep sales from fizzling out. It's basically outdated already when you consider what you pay and it's professional target. The powermacs, themselves struggling, offer up over twice the performance for less money, and they are the ONLY macs on sale that won't feel old and tired in 12-18 months time, everything else, inluding the TiBook has only half or less the power and is or will soon struggle under demanding applications. Considering the TiBook's target, they still cost too much. Only a very pressing need for mobile DVD-burning can recommend them. In that light they're a competitive offer, but the entry point is much too high, still.



Belle, mithril eh? So the black pit of Moria lies under Cupertino now?



[ 12-17-2002: Message edited by: Matsu ]</p>

lemon bon bon

Ah, the transparent and gravity defying pricing regime of the Apple balloon is utterly punctured by the dashing Rapier of Matsu.



Personally, I think the way Apple hikes prices up (like on the 'power'Macs/'Power'Books) and then pretends to 'cut the price' on the models six months later because Motorola's G4 is on 'sleep' revisions...well...it kinda SUCKS!



Feel better now do I...



Lemon Bon Bon



I think Apple would help themselves if they had a 'cheapo' model of the Powerbook like they now have for the iBook. The features of the top Powerbook are praiseworthy but it IS overpriced by several hundred as is! Likewise the entry level Powerbook.



The cheap iBook is one of the best value laptops they have right now. If they could reflect that in their desktop policy I may shut up whinging for a while...



[ 12-17-2002: Message edited by: Lemon Bon Bon ]</p>

matsu

There's a gaping hole in the laptop line-up right now. $1999 ??? Hello, that's a major laptop sweet spot, where's the 'book to fit that spot? The custom config iBook doesn't count.



What they should do is take a low end Ti with less RAM, smaller HDD, and slightly lower GPU (7500 vs 9000), but supply the G4, 15.2" screen, and titanium case. $1999, done. Right now it's still a giant leap from the 1599 14" iBook to the 2299 Powerbook, $700USD from one to the other. See the nice price overlaps in the desktop line? Mebbe they can't overlap, but they could make for a nice smooth transition. plunk in a Powerbook LE (something like the outgoing PB spec from the previous gen, just keep making it and drop the price, doesn't cost you anything) or an iBook SE, with a G4, 12.1" screen and monitor spanning enabled.

mrmister

Caw caw caw! Caw caw caw!

satchmo

[quote]Originally posted by KidRed:

<strong>Style over rugedness always for Apple. Their products are functional works of art. I know, laptops are portable, but come on, the PB is simply awesome and beautiful.

</strong><hr></blockquote>



True. And we need not re-invent the wheel here. I'm thinking a simple clear coating over the titanium which would retain the elegant form and but provide greater durability.

kidred

[quote]Originally posted by satchmo:

<strong>



True. And we need not re-invent the wheel here. I'm thinking a simple clear coating over the titanium which would retain the elegant form and but provide greater durability.</strong><hr></blockquote>



I read somewhere that the PB was going to be the bare titanium, but that fingerprints picked up too easily. So Stevie decided to paint it which does not pick up the finger prints. Kind of catch 22, finger prints vs. scratches. This latest round is supposed to have a better paint process, however, I have a tiny scratch on the corner of mine, however, it couldv'e been caused by anything. You just have to treat them like the fragile works of art they are. I don't think Stevie envisioned someone hiking with these.

shawnpatrickjoyce

There's no reason Apple cannot fix the way the keyboard leaves marks on the screen. The screen is so fragile that you have to remember not to "grab" the laptop like you can do with the iBook. The way to avoid excessive marks on the screen is to carry the laptop from the bottom- but this seems like an unnecessary measure, especially when the weight of the laptop itself can leave marks on the screen when in a laptop sleeve in a bag.



I'm not complaining. I love my TiBook, and I would take care of it regardless of its durability. It would just be nice not to have to clean keyboard marks off the screen every now and then.

matsu

.5mm of thickness would fix it, I'd wager.

fred_lj

I would like to see Apple perhaps release a mid-line laptop or upgrade the iBook to include features that the Pismo (which I still use) had -- expansion bays (for two batteries), easily accessible memory/airport card (like the iBook is now but unlike the Ti) and a polycarbonate case. Like the original poster, I would appreciate ruggedness more than astheticly-pleasingly, trendy fragility. I was considering putting in the PowerLogix BlueChip upgrade to bring this Pismo up to speed, but without more video memory, it just didn't seem worth it. Hopefully something interesting will come about within the next year anyway.

aquatic

I'm baffled. How come people who normally have good taste think the PowerBook G4 looks good? It's a lump of grey rectangular metal. Don't delude yourself, it's more like PC than anything else. Without the Apple logo it could be a Vaio. This plus the keyboard marks and slot loader (hello I have lots of 8mm CDs!) is ridiculous. I can't believe Apple is still making the Titanium case after all its problems.



The Pismo was the best case ever of any laptop, hands DOWN.

kidred

[quote]Originally posted by ShawnPatrickJoyce:

<strong>There's no reason Apple cannot fix the way the keyboard leaves marks on the screen. The screen is so fragile that you have to remember not to "grab" the laptop like you can do with the iBook. The way to avoid excessive marks on the screen is to carry the laptop from the bottom- but this seems like an unnecessary measure, especially when the weight of the laptop itself can leave marks on the screen when in a laptop sleeve in a bag.



I'm not complaining. I love my TiBook, and I would take care of it regardless of its durability. It would just be nice not to have to clean keyboard marks off the screen every now and then. </strong><hr></blockquote>





Supposedly that's been fixed as well on the new PBs.

seanm

I'm afraid not, KidRed. Last week I started getting them, so it's back to slipping a paper in between the screen and keyboard. \

admactanium

i don't understand why this comment keeps coming up? what are you people doing to your powerbooks that the titanium is too delicate? i've had a couple tibooks and they're reasonable durable. not as durable as my pismo. but you gotta give something up for the size. it's not like they're made of crystal or anything? i carry mine in my backpack on my motorcycle all the time.