Certainly a nice little surprise this morning, I must say.
Great new price to get a sweet little G4-powered laptop, and it looks as if they have gone away from the white around the keyboard area. Big plus.
I am interested to see how this 12" vs. 14" thing plays out though. There was always such a hate-on for the "ugly big POS" 14" model, but I wonder how many people are going to want to get that 933MHz or 1GHz model. A lot of people are going to be angry that they are stuck with an 800MHz G4 when they go for the 12". I guess it keeps recent 12" PowerBook buyers from getting too upset.
If only that screen resolution was a tad higher on the bigger models...
And we now have AirPort Extreme in every computer Apple makes. Sweet.
But damn, like someone here said, the new Apple knows how to execute!
That was me.
I have a serious eye on the 12" iBook now. I just wish there was a SuperDrive option. But I suppose we'll have to wait until the PowerBooks get a little more distance on the iBook before that happens. *grumble*
Maybe MCE will come forward with an aftermarket solution?
I was just looking at the Quicktime pics of the new ibook and i think the new finish is neither the old (500-600mhz) silver finish, nor is it the newer (800-900mhz) ivory plasticky finish. It almost looks like they tried to combine the two, in almost darkening the ivory plastic finish. On the outside it looks like the opaque polycarbonate has stuck rather than the clear. And the hinge still has the plasticky look, when will apple learn. Well I'm still getting it.
I was just looking at the Quicktime pics of the new ibook and i think the new finish is neither the old (500-600mhz) silver finish, nor is it the newer (800-900mhz) ivory plasticky finish. It almost looks like they tried to combine the two, in almost darkening the ivory plastic finish. On the outside it looks like the opaque polycarbonate has stuck rather than the clear. Interesting. I'm still getting it.
Yeah, that's what I'm seeing too. It appears to be not as slick as the original silver but certainly a lot better than that two-tone ivory look of late.
This all grey looks like it wraps the whole keyboard and track pad...looks promising. I hope they went back to the non-opaque white top, but I doubt it.
I'm going to be ordering the 12" iBook (800MHz, etc.) this afternoon then. As someone upthread stated, this makes a snazzy little "holdover" product until a) the 15" PowerBook is a Rev. B and I can actually buy one in confidence or b) a G5 PowerBook actually makes an appearance sometime in 2004.
I was THIS CLOSE to getting a 12" PowerBook, but you know what? I'd much rather drop $1099 rather than $1599 on something that I KNOW is going to be a stopgap, 4-10 month purchase for me.
I'll order it online and get the 60GB hard drive and the Bluetooth thing so I can use that mouse.
What a cool thing to wake up to. I've been struggling so hard the past month or so, not feeling good about getting the 15" (the troubles AND the price), but not feeling partiularly nuts about the 12" PowerBook either, especially dropping $1599 for a "holdover" purchase.
This little 12" iBook today was like a gift straight from heaven.
I was actually lying in bed two nights ago with my calculator, getting all frustrated and not feeling particularly good about much in the PowerBook area and said to myself "man, why don't they just humor me and back a G4 iBook so I can do this on the cheap?"
Still got 800MHz (like my iMac had, and I was totally pleased with its performance), still got the same resolution, 32MB graphics, hard drive capacity, etc. I'm gaining USB 2, AirPort Extreme, Bluetooth, cool-ass slot-loading drive, etc. A total no-brainer. I'll be happy to make this purchase this afternoon!
I'll have enough to get the base station, AirPort card, JBL Creature speakers, 20GB iPod, Bluetooth mouse, extra power supply, sleeve case and 512MB RAM...and STILL have money left over! This absolutely ROCKS and came at a PERFECT time!
What a cool thing to wake up to. I've been struggling so hard the past month or so, not feeling good about getting the 15" (the troubles AND the price), but not feeling partiularly nuts about the 12" PowerBook either, especially for a "holdover" purchase.
Apple must have been feeling your anguish and reading your thoughts!
The thing that strikes me is that they seem to have purposely crippled this 12" iBook in terms of processor speed. This is obviously so it doesn't tread into PB territory. But I think it also has to do with trying to push the 14" model which has historically not been a big seller.
Price wise, it's not bad, but I only wish they had bumped the resolution a tad.
I am interested to see how this 12" vs. 14" thing plays out though. There was always such a hate-on for the "ugly big POS" 14" model, but I wonder how many people are going to want to get that 933MHz or 1GHz model. A lot of people are going to be angry that they are stuck with an 800MHz G4 when they go for the 12". I guess it keeps recent 12" PowerBook buyers from getting too upset.
Yep, that's partially why I'm not upset It would have a large cannibalization on the 12" PB IMO if there was a 933 MHz option in the 12" iBook, and especially so if the monitor spanning hack still exists.
It does seem like Apple wants to push the 14" iBooks more, which also makes sense to me given that most consumers just see a billion 14-15" notebooks sitting at the local computer store and online, and assume this is how big a notebook should be.
he old iBook low end model was £799. Was going to buy one if the price on the low end fell or at least stayed the same, but now I really can't afford it .
stop whining, you get a slotloading dvd/cd-rw drive + usb2 + better videocard + 33% faster bus for only £50...
be happy, it's a steal for that price.
anyway.
i was right and clive was wrong about ibook G4's before mwsf 2004.
wow, it feels good when a stupid statement makes sence after all
FYI to all - the Radeon 9200 is pretty weak. Don't know about the mobile version, but the desktop version of the 9200 is slapped around by the desktop version of the FX 5200 in the pb 12" see
All this after it was pretty much settled that the Mobility 7500 in the iBooks was at least as good as the FX 5200go in the pb 12"
I really hope this isn't a downgrade in overall performance. And of course losing the monitor spanning hack would be even worse if the new cards can't be uncrippled.
A consolidation of all the major differences I could think of between the $US1599 1GHz 12" PowerBook and the $US1099 800 MHz G4 iBook:
12" G4 PowerBook advantages
Faster by 200 MHz.
Double L2 cache (512K vs. 256K).
10 GB more drive space (40GB vs 30GB).
More expandable memory (1152MB vs. 640MB) -- expandable without throwing 128MB away in order to add more memory.
DVI video.
Better video card (NVIDIA GeForce FX Go5200 vs. ATI Mobility Radeon 9200, both 32 MB).
Monitor spanning (although the new iBook is probably hackable to do spanning too). [Edit: A few people have brought up the fact that the change in video card from the previous iBook might mean the old spanning hacks won't work and that perhaps the new card won't be hackable.]
Bluetooth included.
Midrange-enhancing third speaker.
Analog audio input.
Smaller (0.17" thinner, 0.3" narrower, 0.5" less deep).
Lighter (by 0.3 lb., 4.6 lb. vs. 4.9 lb.)
Nicer looking Aluminum case (although that's subjective), with perhaps better heat dissipation. (I'd imagine the iBook's fan might run a bit more often to get rid of heat that isn't shed as easily through a plastic shell).
12" G4 iBook advantages
$US500 cheaper.
Perhaps more rugged than the PowerBook.
One more hour of rated battery usage (6 vs.5), with a slightly more capacious battery (50 watt hours vs. 47).
Given all of this -- mostly a lot of small differences -- I certainly don't feel bad about having bought a 12" PowerBook rather than one of these iBooks, but I can also see the iBook being a better value for some people, especially if you're considering it something to tide you over until G5 PowerBooks come along. With G4s in the iBooks, I'd say the chances of the next PowerBook rev being a G5 rev are pretty high, perhaps coming along in Summer 2004.
Interestingly, it's not just the 12" PowerBook mobo in a different case: the power socket's on the other side and, since the cooling vent on the left-hand side is higher up, it looks like it's taking a different path.
Now, mine's a Rev A 12" PB, and I'm not disgruntled about this: the audio, case and L2 cache keep my machine ahead in terms of the work I do.
Interesting that updates like this can just slide in under the radar...
Don't be so upset. Apple uses a proprietary card so it can hook into the iBook's built-in antenna. The antenna runs around the entire screen, which gives the iBook ridiculous wifi range. In my experience, it's easily twice the range of a PC card wifi with the little teeny nub antenna sticking out. Our antennas are waaaay bigger than their antennas.
Hmm...well I am glad I got the 15" AlBook or else I'd be pissed right now. I am wondering if I would have paid more for the 15" if I had the option of the G4 iBooks at the time. Those have longer battery life and (I think) are more durable.
Oh well just glad I am not regretting my 15" AlBook purchase (too much anyway)
Just called apple, I was surprised that the bluetooth was a $50 additional charge. It's not something that can be added on later, at least internally. Is anybody else getting the bluetooth?
Someone over in the MacRumors forums pointed out that nowhere on the new iBook pages is any mention made of the Velocity Engine. Since I was looking for a break from getting ready for my dissertation proposal I became intrigued.
Sure enough, on every other G4-based system mention is made of AltiVec under Tech Specs. Heck, for the iMac and eMac there is even a special G4 tab that has a little picture of what the VE does!
Propbably this is nothing more than intriguing, but I wonder if there is any chance this means anything (and seeing as how there is no Developers Note up yet, looks like we can't find out until someone gets to play with one of these).
It's not something that can be added on later, at least internally.
You can't get internal Bluetooth with the iBook. It's an external module that you insert into one of the available USB ports.
EDIT - I am adding this here so people don't read the whole page before seeing that I take this post back. It seems an internal BT module is available.
Comments
Great new price to get a sweet little G4-powered laptop, and it looks as if they have gone away from the white around the keyboard area. Big plus.
I am interested to see how this 12" vs. 14" thing plays out though. There was always such a hate-on for the "ugly big POS" 14" model, but I wonder how many people are going to want to get that 933MHz or 1GHz model. A lot of people are going to be angry that they are stuck with an 800MHz G4 when they go for the 12". I guess it keeps recent 12" PowerBook buyers from getting too upset.
If only that screen resolution was a tad higher on the bigger models...
And we now have AirPort Extreme in every computer Apple makes. Sweet.
Originally posted by Aquatic
But damn, like someone here said, the new Apple knows how to execute!
That was me.
I have a serious eye on the 12" iBook now. I just wish there was a SuperDrive option. But I suppose we'll have to wait until the PowerBooks get a little more distance on the iBook before that happens. *grumble*
Maybe MCE will come forward with an aftermarket solution?
Originally posted by beaverclea
I was just looking at the Quicktime pics of the new ibook and i think the new finish is neither the old (500-600mhz) silver finish, nor is it the newer (800-900mhz) ivory plasticky finish. It almost looks like they tried to combine the two, in almost darkening the ivory plastic finish. On the outside it looks like the opaque polycarbonate has stuck rather than the clear. Interesting. I'm still getting it.
Yeah, that's what I'm seeing too. It appears to be not as slick as the original silver but certainly a lot better than that two-tone ivory look of late.
This all grey looks like it wraps the whole keyboard and track pad...looks promising. I hope they went back to the non-opaque white top, but I doubt it.
Thanks to the higher Canadian dollars...the Combo 12" iBook is only 50 bucks (CDN) more expensive than the CD-ROM iBook I bought in July
I was THIS CLOSE to getting a 12" PowerBook, but you know what? I'd much rather drop $1099 rather than $1599 on something that I KNOW is going to be a stopgap, 4-10 month purchase for me.
I'll order it online and get the 60GB hard drive and the Bluetooth thing so I can use that mouse.
What a cool thing to wake up to. I've been struggling so hard the past month or so, not feeling good about getting the 15" (the troubles AND the price), but not feeling partiularly nuts about the 12" PowerBook either, especially dropping $1599 for a "holdover" purchase.
This little 12" iBook today was like a gift straight from heaven.
I was actually lying in bed two nights ago with my calculator, getting all frustrated and not feeling particularly good about much in the PowerBook area and said to myself "man, why don't they just humor me and back a G4 iBook so I can do this on the cheap?"
Still got 800MHz (like my iMac had, and I was totally pleased with its performance), still got the same resolution, 32MB graphics, hard drive capacity, etc. I'm gaining USB 2, AirPort Extreme, Bluetooth, cool-ass slot-loading drive, etc. A total no-brainer. I'll be happy to make this purchase this afternoon!
I'll have enough to get the base station, AirPort card, JBL Creature speakers, 20GB iPod, Bluetooth mouse, extra power supply, sleeve case and 512MB RAM...and STILL have money left over! This absolutely ROCKS and came at a PERFECT time!
And I never knew that there was such a thing as a Radeon 9200 until now.
Originally posted by pscates
What a cool thing to wake up to. I've been struggling so hard the past month or so, not feeling good about getting the 15" (the troubles AND the price), but not feeling partiularly nuts about the 12" PowerBook either, especially for a "holdover" purchase.
Apple must have been feeling your anguish and reading your thoughts!
The thing that strikes me is that they seem to have purposely crippled this 12" iBook in terms of processor speed. This is obviously so it doesn't tread into PB territory. But I think it also has to do with trying to push the 14" model which has historically not been a big seller.
Price wise, it's not bad, but I only wish they had bumped the resolution a tad.
Originally posted by murbot
I am interested to see how this 12" vs. 14" thing plays out though. There was always such a hate-on for the "ugly big POS" 14" model, but I wonder how many people are going to want to get that 933MHz or 1GHz model. A lot of people are going to be angry that they are stuck with an 800MHz G4 when they go for the 12". I guess it keeps recent 12" PowerBook buyers from getting too upset.
Yep, that's partially why I'm not upset
It does seem like Apple wants to push the 14" iBooks more, which also makes sense to me given that most consumers just see a billion 14-15" notebooks sitting at the local computer store and online, and assume this is how big a notebook should be.
Originally posted by aldo
Dammit. Low end model is £849. T
he old iBook low end model was £799. Was going to buy one if the price on the low end fell or at least stayed the same, but now I really can't afford it
stop whining, you get a slotloading dvd/cd-rw drive + usb2 + better videocard + 33% faster bus for only £50...
be happy, it's a steal for that price.
anyway.
i was right and clive was wrong about ibook G4's before mwsf 2004.
wow, it feels good when a stupid statement makes sence after all
http://www.neoseeker.com/Articles/Ha...92p/index.html
All this after it was pretty much settled that the Mobility 7500 in the iBooks was at least as good as the FX 5200go in the pb 12"
I really hope this isn't a downgrade in overall performance. And of course losing the monitor spanning hack would be even worse if the new cards can't be uncrippled.
Originally posted by Curufinwe
You cannot use non apple cards with it! There is no pc card slot on the iBooks and the airport extreme card is proprietary.
Damn.
Feels good...
12" G4 PowerBook advantages
- Faster by 200 MHz.
- Double L2 cache (512K vs. 256K).
- 10 GB more drive space (40GB vs 30GB).
- More expandable memory (1152MB vs. 640MB) -- expandable without throwing 128MB away in order to add more memory.
- DVI video.
- Better video card (NVIDIA GeForce FX Go5200 vs. ATI Mobility Radeon 9200, both 32 MB).
- Monitor spanning (although the new iBook is probably hackable to do spanning too). [Edit: A few people have brought up the fact that the change in video card from the previous iBook might mean the old spanning hacks won't work and that perhaps the new card won't be hackable.]
- Bluetooth included.
- Midrange-enhancing third speaker.
- Analog audio input.
- Smaller (0.17" thinner, 0.3" narrower, 0.5" less deep).
- Lighter (by 0.3 lb., 4.6 lb. vs. 4.9 lb.)
- Nicer looking Aluminum case (although that's subjective), with perhaps better heat dissipation. (I'd imagine the iBook's fan might run a bit more often to get rid of heat that isn't shed as easily through a plastic shell).
12" G4 iBook advantages- $US500 cheaper.
- Perhaps more rugged than the PowerBook.
- One more hour of rated battery usage (6 vs.5), with a slightly more capacious battery (50 watt hours vs. 47).
Given all of this -- mostly a lot of small differences -- I certainly don't feel bad about having bought a 12" PowerBook rather than one of these iBooks, but I can also see the iBook being a better value for some people, especially if you're considering it something to tide you over until G5 PowerBooks come along. With G4s in the iBooks, I'd say the chances of the next PowerBook rev being a G5 rev are pretty high, perhaps coming along in Summer 2004.Interestingly, it's not just the 12" PowerBook mobo in a different case: the power socket's on the other side and, since the cooling vent on the left-hand side is higher up, it looks like it's taking a different path.
Now, mine's a Rev A 12" PB, and I'm not disgruntled about this: the audio, case and L2 cache keep my machine ahead in terms of the work I do.
Interesting that updates like this can just slide in under the radar...
Originally posted by aldo
Damn.
Don't be so upset. Apple uses a proprietary card so it can hook into the iBook's built-in antenna. The antenna runs around the entire screen, which gives the iBook ridiculous wifi range. In my experience, it's easily twice the range of a PC card wifi with the little teeny nub antenna sticking out. Our antennas are waaaay bigger than their antennas.
Oh well just glad I am not regretting my 15" AlBook purchase (too much anyway)
Sure enough, on every other G4-based system mention is made of AltiVec under Tech Specs. Heck, for the iMac and eMac there is even a special G4 tab that has a little picture of what the VE does!
Propbably this is nothing more than intriguing, but I wonder if there is any chance this means anything (and seeing as how there is no Developers Note up yet, looks like we can't find out until someone gets to play with one of these).
Originally posted by beaverclea
It's not something that can be added on later, at least internally.
You can't get internal Bluetooth with the iBook. It's an external module that you insert into one of the available USB ports.
EDIT - I am adding this here so people don't read the whole page before seeing that I take this post back. It seems an internal BT module is available.