Powerbook design starting to look dated.

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
We hear enough about the need for more power, but aesthetically I think it's starting to look a bit tired and needing a refresh.



Sure, it's still an attractive product and it's sleek form factor is classic. But perhaps it's the lack of chrome or white that's found on the other products, but the Powerbook's finish look rather dull and industrial.

That plus the two tone look (black keys, silver body) gives it a cheaper look than the elegant looking iBook.



Just my impressions, don't flame me.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 25
    emaneman Posts: 7,204member
    I totally agree with you. But I got sick of the Powerbook's look a long time ago. Normally I like Apple's designs for a long time, but the Powerbook became dull looking to me quickly.
  • Reply 2 of 25
    lucaluca Posts: 3,833member
    I sort of agree, but then again the PowerBook never really conformed to the rest of Apple's lineup. They were still black when the iBooks and iMacs were coming out, and then they just turned gray, skipping the colored period entirely.



    Besides, I think Apple needs to work more on making high-quality and POWERFUL machines, rather than worrying about how the case looks. It's an inch thin, it weighs less than five and a half pounds, and it has a battery life double than most Wintels while still being a worth desktop replacement with a DVD burner and a top-end graphics card. So you see that R&D money has been well spent on it.
  • Reply 3 of 25
    lucaluca Posts: 3,833member
    P.S. EmAn, what happened to your post count? Aren't you missing a couple of digits there?
  • Reply 4 of 25
    Blasphemy!



    Anyway, the Powerbook G4 is very functional. I can't think of any way Apple can outdo what they've done with the Powerbook. Look at the iMac: I can think of 1000 ways to make it cooler. The TiBook, I cannot. When you start to change things, they just end up looking dumb.
  • Reply 5 of 25
    bradbowerbradbower Posts: 1,068member
    The PowerBook totally needs an update. It's going to be a two-year-old design in January! Of course, we all know that Apple does the 'Books in two-year redesign cycles, so we're coming up for a design revamp for the Ti. Chrome Apple, a unified color, a fixed finish (non-chipping-paint), and a nicer hinge (I never liked the hinge, but then, I dislike most laptop hinges).



    *slurp*



    I want one already.
  • Reply 6 of 25
    trevormtrevorm Posts: 841member
    RUBBISH [IMHO]

    The design is fine, why change it when its already functional. For Example look at IBM there design has really never changed all that much and Dell too.



    I can only imagine apple releasing a new design and all of us complaing that it susx (after the initial wow factor has passed)
  • Reply 7 of 25
    eugeneeugene Posts: 8,254member
    What all the *Books need are better keyboards. The keyboards need more travel, and they need to be more durable. If you're the type of person that hammers keys and doesn't always punch them right in the center, they will eventually break.
  • Reply 8 of 25
    amorphamorph Posts: 7,112member
    [quote]Originally posted by bradbower:

    <strong>Chrome Apple, a unified color, a fixed finish (non-chipping-paint), and a nicer hinge (I never liked the hinge, but then, I dislike most laptop hinges).</strong><hr></blockquote>



    Apple fixed the chipping/bubbling paint issue with the last revision, FYI.
  • Reply 9 of 25
    stunnedstunned Posts: 1,096member
    The greatest plus point of the powerbook is the large screen size. And coupled with a super thin body, the powerbook really feels like a desktop.



    I like it!!



    And I wish I can afford it
  • Reply 10 of 25
    quickquick Posts: 227member
    Just get rid of the dark gray and the borders around the trackpad. And all of a sudden, we have a brand new PowerBookLook.

    But as long as there's a G4 inside, don't change it for heaven's sake.
  • Reply 11 of 25
    I love my Powerbook and don't think it needs a re-design other than the chipping paint. I'd be happy to get another apart from this factor, which really pisses me off after spending so much money.



    Chrome might be nice, but can look tacky! Black rubber, like a pen grip might be nice, but that's just my fetish! <img src="graemlins/bugeye.gif" border="0" alt="[Skeptical]" />
  • Reply 12 of 25
    pscatespscates Posts: 5,847member
    I think the size, weight, thickness (or lack of), etc. are wonderful. Just appearance-wise, a bit of a change would be cool.



    I always kinda wished that the PowerBooks would mimic the look and feel of the G4 towers. In this case, a nice glossy powdered silver with clear acrylic accents.



    Basically, in the way that the iBook matches the iMac (and eMac), same with the pro stuff.



    I think a silver glossy PowerBook would look MUCH better than a Titanium, matte-finished tower.



    But feature/spec/power/"ooh" factor-wise, the G4 PowerBook is really nice. Just a simple tweak/refresh to a two-year-old outward appearance is all I'd like.
  • Reply 13 of 25
    matsumatsu Posts: 6,558member
    Here's the thing, the demands of maximum space in minimum enclosure pretty much lead to the TiBook's shape. If you want it thin, it can't be that curvy, especially not if you want a big screen on it. The proportions are pretty much set. Making the palm rests curvy would make the book thicker, rounding the corners, even slightly, would make the footprint bigger (they've already got the bezel down to nothing), can't really get much smaller now, can it?



    I imagine they could play with the surfaces a bit, but they really are rather clean already. The best improvements they could make would be to move the optical to the side and make it a trouble free tray system. They could play with the surface a bit too, the hinge could be something more robust. For the money, they could be doing something like Panasonic does with their Toughbooks, upgrade the hinge and shock mounting (for the internals) seal the keyboard and ports against water and dust, and spec a wider range of operating temperatures.



    Not an out and out effort to do it in one shot, but a gradual evolution of the internals. Otherwise, Apple would want over 5000 for the machine. But if they just kept making adjustments to make the machine tougher each time, eventually you'd end up with a very strong chassis. Spill proofing it would be a good first step.
  • Reply 13 of 25
    cubedudecubedude Posts: 1,556member
    [quote]Originally posted by pscates:

    <strong>I think the size, weight, thickness (or lack of), etc. are wonderful. Just appearance-wise, a bit of a change would be cool.



    I always kinda wished that the PowerBooks would mimic the look and feel of the G4 towers. In this case, a nice glossy powdered silver with clear acrylic accents.



    Basically, in the way that the iBook matches the iMac (and eMac), same with the pro stuff.



    I think a silver glossy PowerBook would look MUCH better than a Titanium, matte-finished tower.



    But feature/spec/power/"ooh" factor-wise, the G4 PowerBook is really nice. Just a simple tweak/refresh to a two-year-old outward appearance is all I'd like.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    I totally agree with you. The specs are all great, the look just needs a change.
  • Reply 15 of 25
    bellebelle Posts: 1,574member
    It still looks a million times better than any other laptop out there.
  • Reply 16 of 25
    matsumatsu Posts: 6,558member
    Here's the thing, the demands of maximum space in minimum enclosure pretty much lead to the TiBook's shape. If you want it thin, it can't be that curvy, especially not if you want a big screen on it. The proportions are pretty much set. Making the palm rests curvy would make the book thicker, rounding the corners, even slightly, would make the footprint bigger (they've already got the bezel down to nothing), can't really get much smaller now, can it?



    I imagine they could play with the surfaces a bit, but they really are rather clean already. The best improvements they could make would be to move the optical to the side and make it a trouble free tray system. They could play with the surface a bit too, the hinge could be something more robust. For the money, they could be doing something like Panasonic does with their Toughbooks, upgrade the hinge and shock mounting (for the internals) seal the keyboard and ports against water and dust, and spec a wider range of operating temperatures.



    Not an out and out effort to do it in one shot, but a gradual evolution of the internals. Otherwise, Apple would want over 5000 for the machine. But if they just kept making adjustments to make the machine tougher each time, eventually you'd end up with a very strong chassis. Spill proofing it would be a good first step.
  • Reply 17 of 25
    satchmosatchmo Posts: 2,699member
    [quote]Originally posted by Matsu:

    <strong>Here's the thing, the demands of maximum space in minimum enclosure pretty much lead to the TiBook's shape. If you want it thin, it can't be that curvy, especially not if you want a big screen on it. The proportions are pretty much set. Making the palm rests curvy would make the book thicker, rounding the corners, even slightly, would make the footprint bigger (they've already got the bezel down to nothing), can't really get much smaller now, can it?



    I imagine they could play with the surfaces a bit, but they really are rather clean already. The best improvements they could make would be to move the optical to the side and make it a trouble free tray system. They could play with the surface a bit too, the hinge could be something more robust. For the money, they could be doing something like Panasonic does with their Toughbooks, upgrade the hinge and shock mounting (for the internals) seal the keyboard and ports against water and dust, and spec a wider range of operating temperatures.



    Not an out and out effort to do it in one shot, but a gradual evolution of the internals. Otherwise, Apple would want over 5000 for the machine. But if they just kept making adjustments to make the machine tougher each time, eventually you'd end up with a very strong chassis. Spill proofing it would be a good first step.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    I heard you the first time



    But yes, as others have said, a refresh is in order. No curves or flashy stuff but just something that gives it more polish. It may be as simple as putting a gloss urethane coating over the existing titanium to give it a less industrial and more of a jeweled look.



    I don't want to get into so much into the mechanics or engineering part of things, but the hinge should be looked at for the next revision.
  • Reply 18 of 25
    I love the TiBook design (having just bought one, of course). When it was first introduced it was ahead of its time so it doesn't look dated next to the current competition. It may seem dated to us now since we've all been gawking at for a while.



    But if I were to change anything, I'd get rid of the two-tone look and perhaps put a bit of a slight satin shine to it (a very subtle but a durable coating). That's about it. I still think it's an excellent design and it still looks gorgeous yet industrial.



    Whatever the next design will be, I REALLY hope apple doesn't make it part of that dammed WHITE theme! But, to each their own. What's attractive to one is ugly to another.



    ...and I still want a TiPod!
  • Reply 19 of 25
    emaneman Posts: 7,204member
    [quote]Originally posted by Luca Rescigno:

    <strong>P.S. EmAn, what happened to your post count? Aren't you missing a couple of digits there?</strong><hr></blockquote>



    Yeah. Once I hit 7000 it went down to 7.
  • Reply 20 of 25
    maskermasker Posts: 451member
    Two words:



    Carbon fiber.







    or this?







    or this?







    Through some shellac on it and it wouldbe lighter than titanium and stronger.



    Maybe color it grey instead of black???

    And in a monocoque style shell?



    Oh yeah...

    MSKR
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