I know they just updated the iBook not to long ago, but how long do you think until they update it again? I am hoping for the 750vx line of chips, which means higher speeds, and a little better video card. Just curious because I may be in the market once they update them!
Comments
they're not that much more expensive and i believe i has more features (but i forget which ones, sorry at this point i would just grab a 12" PB over any ibook...)
EDIT:
sorry i just took a peek at the site. Powerbooks are a terrible value now!!! geez...you're not getting much for 500 bucks more!!!
geez...apple laptops need some serious attention. by the second quarter of this financial year, i think they will be a crappy value/performance ratio. i think something has to go on with the PBs (like g5 action) so i think a few months after that the ibook line is gonna get destroyed or go dual..
What's wrong with the current iBook?
Originally posted by Amorph
What's wrong with the current iBook?
nothing,
what's wrong is the low-end powerbooks.
Originally posted by OldCodger73
I really wouldn't expect to see a iBook upgrade until after there's a powerbook upgrade.
Exactly. Hit the nail right on the head here. Like everyone has been saying, the low end power books are too low end. If the iBooks get a speedbump now the high end performance will surpass that of the low end PowerBook...big mistake. Once the G5 finds its way into a PB (hopefully by April, but most likely August) the iBooks will get the new 750vx IBM chips and huge speedbumps and better graphics, more memory. The iBooks are being held back by the PBs right now.
2004 WWDC PowerBook G5 @ 1.8Ghz
iBook 750vx @ 1.4Ghz
I dont care if you tear it apart, this is my opinion
Originally posted by tfworld
Here is an idea I just had based on needing to update PowerBooks and then iBooks. When the G5 came out, we went from dual 1.42Ghz to dual 2.0Ghz. That is a considerable jump. I think that when the PowerBook G5 comes out, there will be a considerable jump as well. Max right now is 1.33Ghz in a 17" and 1.25Ghz in a 15". It would be really cool to see a G5 @ 1.8Ghz max in the PowerBook. This would allow the iBook to use the 750vx running at up to 1.4Ghz, also a really nice jump. That would still make the PowerBook better then the iBook and keep the value there as well. It would also make for killer portables compared to the wintel world. I will make the prediction of:
2004 WWDC PowerBook G5 @ 1.8Ghz
iBook 750vx @ 1.4Ghz
I dont care if you tear it apart, this is my opinion
You've got to thin in terms of what can happen, not what you want to happen. I don't know, but I believe that a G5 would be too hot to go into a PB @ 1.8. I know they have clocked the 750vx at speeds that are much higher than the current Moto G4s in there now. But even if the G5 is introduced @ 1.4 in the PBs you can still clock a 750vx @ 1.4 and have a big speed difference. Remember, Apple hasn't always been about the mhz. The dual 2.0 is as fast as any 3.5ghz P4 out there. Clock speed isn't everything.
Although, I hope you are right, I hope they can put a G5 into the PBs @ 1.8 (for the 15 or 17, thats too fast for the 12) so that they can clock the 750vx iBooks higher.
The current iBooks were introduced October 22, 2003; about 3 months ago. I think waiting another 6 months for the 750VX is a bit long... Especially since a "tentative introduction" doesn't necessarily translate into "immediately available in iBooks." My quess...we won't see a 750VX notebook before August.
So, depending upon the noises Apple hears from IBM regarding the state of low-power G5s (for the Powerbook) and the introduction of 750VX, I think we could see any number of upgrades to the g4 iBook. For example, the iBook could easily adopt the Motorola 74X7. More radically, we could see a FSB bump from 133Mhz to 167Mhz or even 200Mhz. I'd also like to see a higher resolution on the 14" iBook.
As an aside...how confident are people that the 970 will ever show up in the Powerbook. For example, IF the 750VX could hit 1.8 Ghz while consuming fewer watts then a 90 nm, 1.6 GHZ 970, might not that be perfectly adequate for the Powerbook? Especially when the 750VXe is rumored to "greatly surpass" 2 GHz. Speed is nice, but Apple's notebooks distinguish themselves, in part, by their commendable battery life.
Originally posted by Ompus
As reported by Appleinsider: "The 750VX is tentatively scheduled for an introduction in quarter 3 (Q3) of 2004, though it is unclear if this date pertains to Q3 of the 2004 calendar year or Apple's fiscal Q3."
Fiscal Q3. Should be enough quantity by early March that Apple could feasibly ship new machines using it by late March/early April - pretty close to coinciding with a six month update on the iBook and a little more than six months on the PBs.
The current iBooks were introduced October 22, 2003; about 3 months ago. I think waiting another 6 months for the 750VX is a bit long... Especially since a "tentative introduction" doesn't necessarily translate into "immediately available in iBooks." My quess...we won't see a 750VX notebook before August.
It's possible, but only if Apple chooses to delay it for reasons unknown. IBM will deliver them in March - and maybe beforehand. They are ahead of schedule on just about everything at Fishkill right now.
So, depending upon the noises Apple hears from IBM regarding the state of low-power G5s (for the Powerbook) and the introduction of 750VX, I think we could see any number of upgrades to the g4 iBook. For example, the iBook could easily adopt the Motorola 74X7. More radically, we could see a FSB bump from 133Mhz to 167Mhz or even 200Mhz. I'd also like to see a higher resolution on the 14" iBook.
The issue with lowpower G5s will be addressed in the next section. I could see the iBook moving towards the Moto 7447 or 7457, though there should be enough flexibility in the mislabelled 750VX (it is not a 750 and will not be badged as such) in clockrate and ability that the iBooks and Powerbooks could be substantially differentiated.
As an aside...how confident are people that the 970 will ever show up in the Powerbook. For example, IF the 750VX could hit 1.8 Ghz while consuming fewer watts then a 90 nm, 1.6 GHZ 970, might not that be perfectly adequate for the Powerbook? Especially when the 750VXe is rumored to "greatly surpass" 2 GHz. Speed is nice, but Apple's notebooks distinguish themselves, in part, by their commendable battery life.
Good point and pretty accurate. I don't see the 970 in the PBs happening, but I do think we could see it's successor, the Power5 derivative (called the 980 by most) early next year. I don't know all the technical details, but other architectural improvements and SSOI technology will help make this chip much more efficient and better suited for a laptop. Couple this with the possibility of incorporating an active cooling system into the PB and it is very likely, although a mobile chip will be available from IBM in early 2005 as well. The first incarnation of the "750VX" will be able to reach 2GHZ, though Apple will likely not use them. By fall, they could go up to about 2.3-2.4GHZ.
My personal feeling is that Apple will introduce speeds of 1.8 and 2GHZ in the PowerBooks with fast DDR RAM (333 at the least). The iBook may be at 1.4 and 1.6, with the 12" version limited to only the 1.4GHZ processor. The iBook may keep DDR266 memory or upgrade. That is what I see happening, though I only know what IBM is doing. Apple can use the chips how ever they want.
Does anyone recall how long it was between the 7457's availability and its appearance in PowerBooks? I think it was at least 6 months... and that's a much less complex change than from the 7447 to the VX, isn't it?
I think your last paragraph pretty much sums up the situation. Apple needs to maintain its favorable on battery performance and that is not going to happen with the 970 running at a reasonable clock rate. It won't happen with the 90 nm 970 either if the current indications about power usage hold true. I would love to be proven wrong about the 970 but that is not likely to happen.
For the power books the vx is the obvious short term performance solution. Even is Motorola where to come through with a faster clock G4 I don't think Apple would really care. A new cpu needs to be more than the G4 to make it into the next powerbook. By more I mean not only clock rate but other improvements such as enlarged cache, vector processing, bus interface, possibly an independant memory interface and the like. These improvements are needed to keep power usage down while increasing performance. Lets face it adramatic performnace increase is needed.
Ultimately what I think we can hope for is a vx based PowerBook running at 2+GHz in the near future. Anthing 970 based would have to be delivered on a different platform. In otherwords a transportable, luggable, suitcase based machine. Such a 970 based machine would see little in the way of market acceptance.
Dave
Originally posted by Ompus
As reported by Appleinsider: "The 750VX is tentatively scheduled for an introduction in quarter 3 (Q3) of 2004, though it is unclear if this date pertains to Q3 of the 2004 calendar year or Apple's fiscal Q3."
The current iBooks were introduced October 22, 2003; about 3 months ago. I think waiting another 6 months for the 750VX is a bit long... Especially since a "tentative introduction" doesn't necessarily translate into "immediately available in iBooks." My quess...we won't see a 750VX notebook before August.
So, depending upon the noises Apple hears from IBM regarding the state of low-power G5s (for the Powerbook) and the introduction of 750VX, I think we could see any number of upgrades to the g4 iBook. For example, the iBook could easily adopt the Motorola 74X7. More radically, we could see a FSB bump from 133Mhz to 167Mhz or even 200Mhz. I'd also like to see a higher resolution on the 14" iBook.
As an aside...how confident are people that the 970 will ever show up in the Powerbook. For example, IF the 750VX could hit 1.8 Ghz while consuming fewer watts then a 90 nm, 1.6 GHZ 970, might not that be perfectly adequate for the Powerbook? Especially when the 750VXe is rumored to "greatly surpass" 2 GHz. Speed is nice, but Apple's notebooks distinguish themselves, in part, by their commendable battery life.
Originally posted by cubist
Thanks, Mr. McPhisto!
Does anyone recall how long it was between the 7457's availability and its appearance in PowerBooks? I think it was at least 6 months... and that's a much less complex change than from the 7447 to the VX, isn't it?
The wait was a long one. I don't know how long you've been checking the rumor sites or lurking around here, but weeks before the intro of the latest revision of the PBs there were a lot of rumors flying that Moto couldn't come up with the chips. In other words, there was a demand, but no supply, Moto screwed up big time. That is the reason that a lot of people think Apple is ditching Moto and may go with IBM as their sole chip supplier, Moto messed up one too many times.
You are correct about the change between chips too. The 7457 to 7447 was not a big deal, essentially the same chip. But the switch from 7447 to VX would be pretty major. It would require the re working of a lot of the "guts" of whatever machine it went into.