No G5 PowerBook?

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  • Reply 61 of 178
    frank777frank777 Posts: 5,839member
    Because the rumor is the PB 12" sales are not going too well.



    They desperately need distance between the 12" models. An artificial pricing scheme is keeping them from offering a Superdrive option on their most popular laptop model.



    The 12" iBook G4 will get a Superdrive option only when the 12" Powerbook gets either G5, illuminated keyboard or PC card slot.



    Otherwise, the 12" PB sales will tank, and Apple wants the higher margins.
  • Reply 62 of 178
    Currently, there is a large supply of Powerbooks and eMace in stock with very little demand. Apple is having a hard time selling them. The main reason for this is probably educated buyers. People are more educated today (thanks to "education on demand" in say, 2 minutes of "googling" on the internet) than they were at any point in history concerning consumer products.



    People shop around. Honestly, the Powerbooks were a good deal 6 months ago. They had great hardware and software all rolled into a sleek and durable package. Now, the hardware looks very aged compared to the PC world (except the form factor, which will always look fresh).



    The G4 processor is good, but it is thoroughly outclassed by its competitors now and the OS can only do so much to compete with the competition. Hardware has to hold its own too. Sadly, for my beloved Powerbook, it is showing its age in the CPU/GPU/HDD rotational speed/screen resolution depts. The whole industry is moving toward 64 bit, including Apple, and it is high time the Pro series notebooks got their share of high performance goodness with the G5. A new report that eMac G5s are on hold seems to lend even more credibility to the idea that new G5 Powerbooks are on the way. Will 1.8 GHZ be enough? At the very least, it will be far superior to the current offering.



    Apple needs to ship G5 Powerbooks wit improved subsystems ASAP. End of story. That should provide some more momentum for the stock market/iPod "halo effect".
  • Reply 63 of 178
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Frank777



    Apple has to upgrade the whole range if there's a new processor.

    They can't have two G5 models and 1 G4.




    Nah. Remember when they announced new 12" and 17" aluminum PowerBooks while leaving the 15" titanium model to rot for almost a year? They can do anything they want.
  • Reply 64 of 178
    only six weeks left till MWSF



    when new models ship is another matter entirely...



    i'll buy whatever comes out in jan... don't want to order at wwdc and not receive until after i've already left for university.



    the current ones are more than fast enough for me: i just wouldn't want to buy right before any kind of update - more future-proof.



    i mean, i'm happy with my 600mhz g3 imac running photoshop cs in panther, and final cut 3 when booted into os 9. i just need a laptop, and if it's way faster, that's a bonus.





  • Reply 65 of 178
    as long as i have the finances in order i too will be waiting with my mouse hand on the buy button come MWSF. I am worried however about the possible destruction of the beautiful slim aluminum\
  • Reply 66 of 178
    709709 Posts: 2,016member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Frank777

    They desperately need distance between the 12" models. An artificial pricing scheme is keeping them from offering a Superdrive option on their most popular laptop model.



    The 12" iBook G4 will get a Superdrive option only when the 12" Powerbook gets either G5, illuminated keyboard or PC card slot.




    Personally, I think the 12"PB is dead and will be replaced with a 13" widescreen model (1152x768?). This would add a bit more internal space without making the PB *too* much bigger. Maybe 3/4" wider at most. Backlit keyboard is also a MUST for pro models.
  • Reply 67 of 178
    if they dont get a G5 into a 12"...



    17" why dont these ppl just buy a dual processor G5 and two 30 inch displays instead of lugging around that monster...i love it and would cherish it, but it comes close to defeating the purpose of a portable



    15" nice size but its just the middle sibling...no real wow factor...



    12" a definite...the ultimate pro portable...small and light and as always much easier to work with then a huge monster...



    i have my eyes on a G5 12"...





    btw: wasnt the widescreen issue resolved in anotehr thread...it would actually be less screen space and less component space unless of course they made it wider...to me, the 12" is at its peak in width...
  • Reply 68 of 178
    Quote:

    Originally posted by ineedag5pbnow

    if they dont get a G5 into a 12"...



    17" why dont these ppl just buy a dual processor G5 and two 30 inch displays instead of lugging around that monster...i love it and would cherish it, but it comes close to defeating the purpose of a portable





    actually the 17" is amazingly slim and small for having a screen so large. It is very light too. I was first looking at the 15" awhile back until I saw the 17" next to it and it hardly looked bigger. But the screen was gorgeous. It is very portable and leaves room to not have to sacrifice like you would on the 12". If air travel is your thing, get the 12". Otherwise, the 17" fits the bill nicely. power+portability, that is what the 17" is all about. I want a mobile Powermac. sure some corners will have to be cut, but I want it to be as close, power wise as possible. The 17" makes this happen, all the while maintaining the portability of a slim and fairly light notebook.
  • Reply 69 of 178
    smirclesmircle Posts: 1,035member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by 709

    Personally, I think the 12"PB is dead and will be replaced with a 13" widescreen model (1152x768?).



    I am looking to upgrade from a 400Mhz 15" and I'd buy this 13" in a second. If Apple could cram a modern CPU into this, it would be selling like hot cake.
  • Reply 70 of 178
    seems to me it would be just as hard to cram a G5 into a 17" given it is the thinest of the models. I think hey all have an equal engineering challenge being they were all made as small as possible...
  • Reply 71 of 178
    maccrazymaccrazy Posts: 2,658member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by wizard69

    Your fear is justified!



    First you need to reevaluate you needs. You do realize that just about all hardware on the market now will be a significant improvement over you current 7 year old machine? It may very well be that a iMac will meet your needs, only you can decide that, but your decision needs to be rational.





    The iMac G5 is faster than the current PowerBook G4, the only thing it can't do is firewire 800 and external monitors. Surely the current iMac will be faster than any PowerBook G5 as well?
  • Reply 72 of 178
    maccrazymaccrazy Posts: 2,658member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by farve

    The next PowerBook will be a G5 but i don't think it will ship janauary.

    Updating the PowerBooks to G5 will be an inceadible leap and i think we will also see updadted displays at the same time. Higher resolution displays will only be entroduced when the OS is resoltuion indipendent.



    Conclution:

    New G5 PowerBooks and Tiger will be introdused at the same time... It would be optimistsic to think this will happen in January, but not impossible.



    Viktor




    I originally thought this, but Tiger (i may be wrong) is supposed to ship in June at developers conference isn't it (although developers don't want to see an OS they've been working on for a year)??? April is another possibility, but that is too late for the PowerBooks. They haven't seen an update since April this year, and that was minor. Apple can't wait a year to update their professional laptop. I would love to see Tiger and PowerBook G5 together, it'll be like panther and PowerMac but either tiger will be ready very early or PowerBook very late. (Although if it is a G5 it'd probably be worth the year wait).



    I'm also worried about the beautiful aluminium case, hopefully they don't change the form with their new PowerBooks. PowerMacs and Monitors match perfectly so I doubt they will change it from its minimalist elegance.
  • Reply 73 of 178
    maccrazymaccrazy Posts: 2,658member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by tismfu

    I don't understand what logic stops Apple from debuting a new PBG5 in only the 15" and 17" models...



    If the market wants it, and sales of G4s are hurting, it makes no sense to wait until all metal-clad books from Apple are G5'd.



    They could simply designate a (one-model) PBG4 line and a PBG5 line.




    Or a lower priced PowerBook range the the mid-consumer, and a high-end PowerBook G5 range.
  • Reply 74 of 178
    I tend to be wrong in every guess I make - last January I thought the PM upgrade would be in March with a G5 iMac in April. Oooops.



    I actually decided in April, when the new PBs came out, to go ahead and upgrade the old 667 for a new one. I figured that I could then relax in the notebook area. When the G5 PB is released and initial deliveries are caught up I'll take a look. The 1.5 G4 PB will get a reasonable amount on ebay when I'm ready and I've had the benefit of the faster PB since April.



    Truth be known, the G4 PB with a gig and a half of memory has served me very well. I attach it to a 23" AL display at work and have no problems with accounting or any other app. There is a new 20" G5 iMac at home for digital pics, etc. so I'm really not suffering!



    Right now I believe that the engineering work has been finished on the G5 PB. The only question would be the availability of components that meet the specs, and that's not just the G5 chip from IBM.
  • Reply 75 of 178
    Quote:

    Originally posted by kenaustus



    Right now I believe that the engineering work has been finished on the G5 PB. The only question would be the availability of components that meet the specs, and that's not just the G5 chip from IBM.




    so you think an announcement at mwsf but no shipping till feb-march?
  • Reply 76 of 178
    Quote:

    Originally posted by 709

    Personally, I think the 12"PB is dead and will be replaced with a 13" widescreen model (1152x768?). This would add a bit more internal space without making the PB *too* much bigger. Maybe 3/4" wider at most. Backlit keyboard is also a MUST for pro models.



    That would be a VERY NICE Powerbook! I would certainly be interested.
  • Reply 77 of 178
    pbpb Posts: 4,255member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by MacCrazy

    April is another possibility, but that is too late for the PowerBooks. They haven't seen an update since April this year, and that was minor. Apple can't wait a year to update their professional laptop.



    They did it in the past, back in the Pismo days, just before the Powerbook G4. I would not be surprised to see the same again, an April update with the latest (7448?) from Freescale. Shipping of course in May-June, when the chip production will be smooth.
  • Reply 78 of 178
    Quote:

    Originally posted by MacCrazy

    Or a lower priced PowerBook range the the mid-consumer, and a high-end PowerBook G5 range.



    Exactly. Apple's not going to lose $$ over the desire to have one PB range.
  • Reply 79 of 178
    PowerBooks are included in Apples pro range and considering the iBook/PB gap has closed without a PB revision suggests they are holding out for a major change in the PB line-up.



    I also, have heard that most of the issues with the G5 portable are done and dusted they have had a long time to figure these issues out and they have been experimenting with new and exisiting technologies for quite a while (revised process of liquid cooling for a portable machine?).

    (How long have they been working on G5 PB now, anyone got the figures?)



    Tiger will be released slightly earlier than expected (Early April) as will the PowerBook G5 after a mid/late January announcement.



    64-bit will be present in a PB in early 2005 (how many times does it have to be said)!!!!!!

    iMac G5, eMac G5 next year, Tiger OS...

    and a pro-line PowerBook with a G4 processor and other minor revisions (don't think so).





    Cheers.





    ALSO:

    In some of these forums I have been hearing some very negative comments on Apples market share and their strategies for the future. I would just like to say that Apples death/extinction has certainly not been building up over the last 5 years as posted by one ridiculous AI Forum user. They are stronger than ever and it is down to products such as the iPod that link their new customers to the great iMac G5 (a computer which is good enough to contend with the average home users PC). Along with the introduction of more retail stores/mini stores this is a very exciting time for Apple.



    With future technologies such as multi-core processors in the works 2006 is going to get off to a great start too.
  • Reply 80 of 178
    I forgot to say the G5 line doesn't rely on IBM processors... Motorola and their long awaited G5 chip?



    Cheer up guys, Apple will see you alright over the next 6-12 months.



    PowerMac 3Ghz finally (not using existing chip)

    PowerBook G5 2ghz top end

    Tiger OS 10.4

    Quicktime 7

    Minor Pro-Line Software Revisions

    GarageBand with Audio Interface

    eMac G5

    New Device (NYA)

    iPod revision (mid/late 2005 with video/WiFi)



    WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT?

    Last time I checked Apple are creating very exciting products that happen to make a shed load of cash at the same time.
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