I think the just released Powerbooks were supposed to out in July, but Moto delayed it.
This isn't a huge redesign. The FW800 controller already did USB2, the graphics were on a daughtercard and G4s are drop in. Sure it has been refreshed extensively but motherboard redesign is as easy as dragging components in a CAD tool. It's the same architecture.
After the shock PB17/PB12 last Jan, I can see a PB G5 being announced at MWSF and shipping in March. Dropping Moto must be high on the agenda at Cuppertino.
As for a G4 laptop upgrade, I don't count on much of a speed increase. The MPC7457 has 58 million transistors and generates significant heat. Most likely a modest speed bump and addition of L3 cache and if lucky a bus speed bump to 200MHz(processors @ 1.4GHz/1.5GHz).
On the other hand there's those desert monikers floating around Gobi, Mojave etc. When will they be ready and what of IBM's stated goal for transitioning rapidly to a 0.09µm process @ Fishkill?
Well, programming is just a matter of typing a few characters.
My comment is based on a colleague who does m/b and ASIC design. V1 is hugely complex, revisions are much simpler because the software ensures everything still works when you move components around. You do of course still need knowledge of it all.
But my point stands, this was not a huge redesign, it was a revision of of the Alu17 m/b mainly, so it doesn't mean we won't see G5s in 6 months.
They'll be one more update of the G4 PowerBooks then MWSF 2005 we'll see the PowerBoook G5 probably around 1.6-1.8Ghz.
I imagine we'll see a silent G4 PowerBook update in about 8 months. I imagine 1.25 will become the base Ghz and the top will be 1.6ghz. Then 6 months later we'll see the PowerBook G5.
They'll be one more update of the G4 PowerBooks then MWSF 2005 we'll see the PowerBoook G5 probably around 1.6-1.8Ghz.
I imagine we'll see a silent G4 PowerBook update in about 8 months. I imagine 1.25 will become the base Ghz and the top will be 1.6ghz. Then 6 months later we'll see the PowerBook G5.
I'll be the first to order it too.
i think if it will take apple 15 months to get a G5 in a powerbook. they'll have a hell of a time to sell any powerbooks in the last 6 months of that timeframe. announced at wwdc 2004 (or earlier).
i think if it will take apple 15 months to get a G5 in a powerbook. they'll have a hell of a time to sell any powerbooks in the last 6 months of that timeframe. announced at wwdc 2004 (or earlier).
Metoo, that chances of Moto keeping up are very slim so in Jan '05 Apple still sells 1.3GHz Powerbooks? I doubt it. Who'd buy?
G5 PBs are needed ASAP. Moto needs dropping entirely.
MacMinute first reported on an article at 5dias.com (Spanish) with hints from Steve Jobs about G5 laptops.
The most pertinent quote from the 5dias.com article:
Afterwards [Jobs] admitted that the decisive revolution will be the introduction in laptops of the new 64 bit chip, the G5, that the company has developed along with IBM, with an investment of 3 billion dollars. 'We are working on it and what we'd like is to have it by the end of next year', he said.
Translation by microrario and VladDracul.
A caveat: An offhand interview comment by Jobs should not necessarily be taken as a literal product release timeframe.
That's kinda what I've been calling for a while now: standardize on some common sizes, which in the case of the laptops would be 12" and 15".
When/if the PowerBook goes to G5 in the 1.6-2.0GHz range, you can make G4-based iBooks in the current 12" form and replace the 14" with the same 15" screen used in the PowerBook.
People scream at me for saying this (mostly 14" iBook owners, it's usually revealed ), but honestly...if you could get a 15" widescreen iBook for the same price as the current 14" (maybe even lower at some point?), who WOULDN'T dig this development?
iBooks: 12" and 15"
No DVI, No FireWire 800, etc. A sort of mixture between today's current iBook and current PowerBook...useful, practical features but not necessarily higher-end "pro" features (to help keep the cost as low as possible and help with the marketing angle of the iBook being a consumer/student/everyday machine for the masses.
An iBook that - in a year or so time frame - that was essentially the same, power-wise, as today's PowerBooks would be awesome.
Because I'd imagine a G5-based PowerBook would just be ridiculously full-featured and...EXPENSIVE.
At that point, I'd venture to guess that an iBook spec-ed as described above would sell to more people than a G5 PowerBook. If the towers are any indication, is there any reason to think that the migration from the G4 to the G5 in the PowerBooks wouldn't be accompanied by a hefty price increase?
In any case, it'll be funny to watch: those of you screaming loudest for a G5 PowerBook (paging Dr. Holistic...) will probably be the ones bitching the loudest when you can't get a G5 PowerBook of ANY size for less than $2199 or so (that's the 12"!)
Er, didn't the price of a Power Mac tower go up to $1999 upon the intro of the G5? And we all know that portables are more expensive than desktops, so if the cheapest laptop is currently $1599, taking into account all the engineering and all involved in the G5 (again, just using the towers as a reference), wouldn't you imagine the PowerBooks skootching up a bit when they're announced?
Do you not remember the whining by some at the notion of the cheapest G5 being $1999. I do.
In any case, what are you "er"ing about? Towers are cheaper, so that means I'm right. That was the whole point. Expect G5-based PowerBooks to probably not cost $1999 and $2599 for 15" models...
Well, mr Scates, I really don't think that G5 PB should go up in price AT ALL, if they arrive, as Jobs himself has said, by the END of 2004.
That time frame gives them enough time to get to .09u (surely what they're waiting for) and to hav e had a year and a half worth of experience in producing G5 product, along with lotsa time to miniturize it and ever falling component costs (HDDs opticals, LCD panels all go from inexpensive to dirt cheap in that time frame) The shrunken G5 itself will be cheaper to make than the first gen G5's, and IBm will have started paying down the huge investment in fishkill. THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO excuse for raising the price of a G5 powerbook when it arrives at the end of 2004. If a G5 PB came out tommorrow, then I could understand that, but not in 15+ months. NO FIRKIN WAY!
As for the rest, I definitely see a G4 iBook comming out about mid 2004. Combo and superdrive models. Pretty much a repackaged PB G4, hopefully laid out to the new widescreen dimensions once mocked up by our own Pscates. The iBook and PB have typically shared a period of overlap before the next new PB CPU model debuted. A Mid '04 iBook G4 would be right on the mark.
It should be an exciting year for laptop rumor. But once again, I'm am well right in my predictions, and well ahead of the rest of the speculation.
Comments
It's only been out about 8 months, and this is a nice upgrade. I wouldn't expect PowerBook G5s to be out for a while.
Barto
This isn't a huge redesign. The FW800 controller already did USB2, the graphics were on a daughtercard and G4s are drop in. Sure it has been refreshed extensively but motherboard redesign is as easy as dragging components in a CAD tool. It's the same architecture.
After the shock PB17/PB12 last Jan, I can see a PB G5 being announced at MWSF and shipping in March. Dropping Moto must be high on the agenda at Cuppertino.
On the other hand there's those desert monikers floating around Gobi, Mojave etc. When will they be ready and what of IBM's stated goal for transitioning rapidly to a 0.09µm process @ Fishkill?
Originally posted by Blackcat
Sure it has been refreshed extensively but motherboard redesign is as easy as dragging components in a CAD tool.
Sorry, this is simply not true.
Originally posted by bdc
Sorry, this is simply not true.
Well, programming is just a matter of typing a few characters.
Originally posted by Programmer
Well, programming is just a matter of typing a few characters.
My comment is based on a colleague who does m/b and ASIC design. V1 is hugely complex, revisions are much simpler because the software ensures everything still works when you move components around. You do of course still need knowledge of it all.
But my point stands, this was not a huge redesign, it was a revision of of the Alu17 m/b mainly, so it doesn't mean we won't see G5s in 6 months.
G5 powerbooks in january 2005 along with G5 iMacs.
I have never been wrong in predicting Apple Hardware.
Originally posted by Anders
And leave that stuff to monkeys.
G5 powerbooks in january 2005 along with G5 iMacs.
I have never been wrong in predicting Apple Hardware.
Could you try, just this once?
They'll be one more update of the G4 PowerBooks then MWSF 2005 we'll see the PowerBoook G5 probably around 1.6-1.8Ghz.
I imagine we'll see a silent G4 PowerBook update in about 8 months. I imagine 1.25 will become the base Ghz and the top will be 1.6ghz. Then 6 months later we'll see the PowerBook G5.
I'll be the first to order it too.
Originally posted by Algol
yea I agree 2005.
They'll be one more update of the G4 PowerBooks then MWSF 2005 we'll see the PowerBoook G5 probably around 1.6-1.8Ghz.
I imagine we'll see a silent G4 PowerBook update in about 8 months. I imagine 1.25 will become the base Ghz and the top will be 1.6ghz. Then 6 months later we'll see the PowerBook G5.
I'll be the first to order it too.
i think if it will take apple 15 months to get a G5 in a powerbook. they'll have a hell of a time to sell any powerbooks in the last 6 months of that timeframe. announced at wwdc 2004 (or earlier).
Originally posted by gar
i think if it will take apple 15 months to get a G5 in a powerbook. they'll have a hell of a time to sell any powerbooks in the last 6 months of that timeframe. announced at wwdc 2004 (or earlier).
Metoo, that chances of Moto keeping up are very slim so in Jan '05 Apple still sells 1.3GHz Powerbooks? I doubt it. Who'd buy?
G5 PBs are needed ASAP. Moto needs dropping entirely.
Originally posted by Blackcat
...G5 PBs are needed ASAP. Moto needs dropping entirely.
not necessarily... the current crop 7447's fits fine in a next gen G4 ibook: portable superdrives to the masses
Originally posted by gar
not necessarily... the currunt crop 7447's fits fine in a next gen G4 ibook: portable superdrives to the masses
Yes, sure. Assuming a G3+SMD isn't available.
Originally posted by Blackcat
Yes, sure. Assuming a G3+SMD isn't available.
of course.
we did already assume we don't have to wait another year for the G5 powerbook.
the current pb G4 mobo can nicely been dropped in a next gen G4 ibook.
it's also possible that the next gen (G4) ibook is introduced before the G5 powerbook. they did such a move before. we'll see
Originally posted by gar
of course.
we did already assume we don't have to wait another year for the G5 powerbook.
the current pb G4 mobo can nicely been dropped in a next gen G4 ibook.
it's also possible that the next gen (G4) ibook is introduced before the G5 powerbook. they did such a move before. we'll see
Now THAT makes sense.
Release a G5 PB March '04 then give the 12 & 15 G4 PBs a white paint-job and lose FW800/DVI. Minimal re-engineering so maximum R&D budget for the G5.
http://www.macrumors.com/
G5 Powerbook by the end of 2004??
MacMinute first reported on an article at 5dias.com (Spanish) with hints from Steve Jobs about G5 laptops.
The most pertinent quote from the 5dias.com article:
Afterwards [Jobs] admitted that the decisive revolution will be the introduction in laptops of the new 64 bit chip, the G5, that the company has developed along with IBM, with an investment of 3 billion dollars. 'We are working on it and what we'd like is to have it by the end of next year', he said.
Translation by microrario and VladDracul.
A caveat: An offhand interview comment by Jobs should not necessarily be taken as a literal product release timeframe.
When/if the PowerBook goes to G5 in the 1.6-2.0GHz range, you can make G4-based iBooks in the current 12" form and replace the 14" with the same 15" screen used in the PowerBook.
People scream at me for saying this (mostly 14" iBook owners, it's usually revealed
iBooks: 12" and 15"
No DVI, No FireWire 800, etc. A sort of mixture between today's current iBook and current PowerBook...useful, practical features but not necessarily higher-end "pro" features (to help keep the cost as low as possible and help with the marketing angle of the iBook being a consumer/student/everyday machine for the masses.
An iBook that - in a year or so time frame - that was essentially the same, power-wise, as today's PowerBooks would be awesome.
Because I'd imagine a G5-based PowerBook would just be ridiculously full-featured and...EXPENSIVE.
At that point, I'd venture to guess that an iBook spec-ed as described above would sell to more people than a G5 PowerBook. If the towers are any indication, is there any reason to think that the migration from the G4 to the G5 in the PowerBooks wouldn't be accompanied by a hefty price increase?
In any case, it'll be funny to watch: those of you screaming loudest for a G5 PowerBook (paging Dr. Holistic...) will probably be the ones bitching the loudest when you can't get a G5 PowerBook of ANY size for less than $2199 or so (that's the 12"!)
But yes, Apple needs to stop this insane consumer/pro model thing based on too many factors.
PowerMac G5
Dual CPU
2x Firewire 800
1x Firewire 400
2x USB2
Airport Extreme
Bluetooth
iMac G5 (tower)
Single CPU
2x Firewire 400
2x USB2
Airport Extreme option
Powerbook G5
15" or 17" screen
Single CPU
2x Firewire 800
1x Firewire 400
2x USB2
Airport Extreme
Bluetooth
iBook G5
12" or 14" screen
Single CPU
1x Firewire 400
1x USB2
Airport Extreme option
All basically the same motherboard differentiated by speed, RAM and ports.
Originally posted by Blackcat
Er, G5 towers are *cheaper*!
Er, didn't the price of a Power Mac tower go up to $1999 upon the intro of the G5? And we all know that portables are more expensive than desktops, so if the cheapest laptop is currently $1599, taking into account all the engineering and all involved in the G5 (again, just using the towers as a reference), wouldn't you imagine the PowerBooks skootching up a bit when they're announced?
Do you not remember the whining by some at the notion of the cheapest G5 being $1999. I do.
In any case, what are you "er"ing about? Towers are cheaper, so that means I'm right. That was the whole point. Expect G5-based PowerBooks to probably not cost $1999 and $2599 for 15" models...
That time frame gives them enough time to get to .09u (surely what they're waiting for) and to hav e had a year and a half worth of experience in producing G5 product, along with lotsa time to miniturize it and ever falling component costs (HDDs opticals, LCD panels all go from inexpensive to dirt cheap in that time frame) The shrunken G5 itself will be cheaper to make than the first gen G5's, and IBm will have started paying down the huge investment in fishkill. THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO excuse for raising the price of a G5 powerbook when it arrives at the end of 2004. If a G5 PB came out tommorrow, then I could understand that, but not in 15+ months. NO FIRKIN WAY!
As for the rest, I definitely see a G4 iBook comming out about mid 2004. Combo and superdrive models. Pretty much a repackaged PB G4, hopefully laid out to the new widescreen dimensions once mocked up by our own Pscates. The iBook and PB have typically shared a period of overlap before the next new PB CPU model debuted. A Mid '04 iBook G4 would be right on the mark.
It should be an exciting year for laptop rumor. But once again, I'm am well right in my predictions, and well ahead of the rest of the speculation.