What changes to next 15" PB?

Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited January 2014
It looks like there will definitely be a Powerbook 15" update by April if not sooner. Will the Powerbook reach parody with its big brother, Lapzilla? Or will Lapzilla be eclipsed? It seems likely that the next PB 15" will have faster than 1ghz speeds, because the current TiBook is 1ghz. What about ATA/100? Or DDR 2700? Will these come to the 15" to support its lack of novelty that the 12" and 17" have? I do hope for the backlit keyboard.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 28
    fran441fran441 Posts: 3,715member
    [quote]It looks like there will definitely be a Powerbook 15" update by April if not sooner.<hr></blockquote>



    There will not be a 15" PowerBook update until you can buy a 17" PowerBook in stores. Why take away sales from your most expensive (and long anticipated) laptop?



    [quote]Will the Powerbook reach parody with its big brother, Lapzilla? Or will Lapzilla be eclipsed? It seems likely that the next PB 15" will have faster than 1ghz speeds, because the current TiBook is 1ghz. <hr></blockquote>



    No. Apple will not 'eclipse' the 17" PowerBook with the 15" PowerBook. The 15" PowerBook will remain at 1 GHz.



    [quote]What about ATA/100? Or DDR 2700? Will these come to the 15" to support its lack of novelty that the 12" and 17" have? I do hope for the backlit keyboard. <hr></blockquote>



    It's not hard to guess that the 15" AlBook will feature just about the same specs as the 17" AlBook. That includes memory, bus, Firewire 800, Airport Extreme, internal bluetooth, SuperDrive (1x), NVIDIA graphics card, and backlit keyboard.



    If you are expecting anything more than a 17" PowerBook with a 15" screen, you are expecting too much.



    There is no way that Apple will 'bump' the 17" PowerBook so soon after its release and there is no way that Apple will make all of it's 17" PowerBook customers who have been waiting months for their computer angry by releasing a cheaper PowerBook with a faster CPU. It wouldn't (and doesn't) make sense.



    So here's the potential timeline:



    17" AlBook ships to customers who have been waiting.

    17" AlBook is available in stores.

    15" AlBook becomes available.



    Later this year:

    12"/15"/17" AlBook bumped.



    Let's look at the clock guys. It's March 4th. Let's guess that people start getting their laptops on March 16. That is exactly 4 months from the MWNY keynote where we can guess that we will see the Power PC 970.



    We can also guess that all backorders for the 17" AlBook might be filled by April 16 and that is when stores will have them to sell (and I'm not just talking Apple Stores). That paves the way for the 15" introduction, so let's say it is released around then.



    That gives the current 1 GHz 15" TiBook only a 5 month life. So an introduction then is a little optomistic as well as few Apple products have only a 5 month shelf life.



    So we're looking at an April/May introduction of 15" AlBooks at the earliest. Expecting anything before that is being very optomistic, as Apple won't want to take any attention away from the 17" AlBook, and even then, do not expect a huge speed bump.



    Then we can realistically expect a PowerBook with a Power PC 970 in November at the earliest That would be about 6 months from the launch of the 15" AlBook, putting the life of the 12" AlBook at 9-10 months (which isn't so bad).



    Just my thoughts on the matter.



    [ 03-05-2003: Message edited by: Fran441 ]</p>
  • Reply 2 of 28
    os10geekos10geek Posts: 413member
    Sorry, but I think that adding FW 800, a backlit keyboard, and a change in the style of enclosure doesn't sound like a worthy update to me. <img src="graemlins/hmmm.gif" border="0" alt="[Hmmm]" />
  • Reply 3 of 28
    fran441fran441 Posts: 3,715member
    I'm sorry but to expect more is being overly optomistic.



    I guess with your line of thinking, Apple should just wait until the next revision (of all 3 machines) to update the 15" TiBook to an AlBook. After all, 11 and 12 months between updates is not out of the ordinary for Apple.



    But also remember that Apple has gone years without dropping a faster processor into a machine. The features around the computer other than the processor are important too. With this being the year of the laptop, I expect to see the improvements found in the 17" AlBook in the 15" TiBook as well. But a faster processor? I don't see that coming.



    [ 03-05-2003: Message edited by: Fran441 ]</p>
  • Reply 4 of 28
    os10geekos10geek Posts: 413member
    I dunno...No one is gonna buy a 15" PB until the update. And Apple knows that. <img src="graemlins/hmmm.gif" border="0" alt="[Hmmm]" />
  • Reply 5 of 28
    fran441fran441 Posts: 3,715member
    Every person who wants a laptop and the ability to boot Mac OS 9 disagrees with you.
  • Reply 6 of 28
    [quote]Originally posted by os10geek:

    <strong>I dunno...No one is gonna buy a 15" PB until the update. And Apple knows that. <img src="graemlins/hmmm.gif" border="0" alt="[Hmmm]" /> </strong><hr></blockquote>



    I don't agree with this. I think Apple will be able to get rid of the supply line fairly quickly on the 1Ghz Ti Books. A lot of people, myself included, want a larger screen than the 12 Albook and are very nervous about wouldbe problems the non-shipping 17 Albook might have. I think Apple has worked most bugs out of the Tibook (encasing wise). I am very much considering buying a Tibook now and not waiting.
  • Reply 7 of 28
    escherescher Posts: 1,811member
    [quote]Originally posted by Fran441:

    <strong>So here's the potential timeline:



    17" AlBook ships to customers who have been waiting.

    17" AlBook is available in stores.

    15" AlBook becomes available.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    Fran: Don't forget updates to the iBook in your timeline. I can't imagine Apple dragging along the aging iBook/800 beyond a 15" AlBook intro. In other words, an iBook needs to ship before or simultaneously with a 15" AlBook.



    Escher
  • Reply 8 of 28
    Having decided to switch to the Apple Powrbook G4 15" I finally got to see one today and had a good long play on it. WOW! That is one very cool bit of kit.



    Having read a lot of the rumours about an upgrade to 15" Aluminium and having seen the 12" AlBook in the store, I must say that IMHO, the Ti book is way way sweeter than the Aluminium. I think the 12" is a sweet bit of kit, and certainly suits the smaller size, but for sheer beaty that Ti book wins hands down. I hope they dont get rid of it.



    Antonio
  • Reply 9 of 28
    fran441fran441 Posts: 3,715member
    [quote]Fran: Don't forget updates to the iBook in your timeline. I can't imagine Apple dragging along the aging iBook/800 beyond a 15" AlBook intro. In other words, an iBook needs to ship before or simultaneously with a 15" AlBook.<hr></blockquote>



    Of course Escher. After all, the 1 GHz TiBooks and 800 MHz iBooks did launch on the same day. I'm not leaving them out of the big picture, just the PowerBook picture.
  • Reply 9 of 28
    amorphamorph Posts: 7,112member
    [quote]Originally posted by os10geek:

    <strong>Sorry, but I think that adding FW 800, a backlit keyboard, and a change in the style of enclosure doesn't sound like a worthy update to me. <img src="graemlins/hmmm.gif" border="0" alt="[Hmmm]" /> </strong><hr></blockquote>



    Remember that the 15" got a serious update last fall, followed quickly by a price cut. The 6 month update of a 'book is rarely more than a refresh, and the above would count as a refresh.



    Myself, I'm not expecting the TiBook to change until July-ish, which seems to be the end of the line for OS 9 booting machines.
  • Reply 11 of 28
    matsumatsu Posts: 6,558member
    This will be the OS9 legacy product untill all the books are bumped, at least 6 months, considering no has actually gotten a 17" Al delivered yet.
  • Reply 12 of 28
    [quote]Originally posted by musicaltone:

    <strong>Having decided to switch to the Apple Powrbook G4 15" I finally got to see one today and had a good long play on it. WOW! That is one very cool bit of kit.



    Having read a lot of the rumours about an upgrade to 15" Aluminium and having seen the 12" AlBook in the store, I must say that IMHO, the Ti book is way way sweeter than the Aluminium. I think the 12" is a sweet bit of kit, and certainly suits the smaller size, but for sheer beaty that Ti book wins hands down. I hope they dont get rid of it.



    Antonio</strong><hr></blockquote>





    Steeve Jobs reads these boards. Proof in bold.
  • Reply 13 of 28
    wandererwanderer Posts: 10member
    Make of this what you want. I believe it illuminates the situation with the 15 inch TiBook.



    1 GHz TiBook G4 1 MB L3 15inch

    512 MB SDRAM

    60 GB drive

    Superdrive

    Airport installed

    64 MB DDR Radeon 9000 Mobility

    ethernet, modem, etc.



    at Apple Store: $2799

    at Apple Store for Education: $2499

    at my campus bookstore: $1799! (while supplies last)



  • Reply 14 of 28
    os10geekos10geek Posts: 413member
    That raises a very important question: will there be an nvidia or ATI GPU?
  • Reply 15 of 28
    fran441fran441 Posts: 3,715member
    Nvidia.
  • Reply 16 of 28
    os10geekos10geek Posts: 413member
    I most definitely agree with you on that.
  • Reply 17 of 28
    dhagan4755dhagan4755 Posts: 2,152member
    In my opinion, the aluminum 15" PB couldn't come soon enough.



    If only...







    A quickie Photoshop session still didn't do it for me though...



    [ 03-06-2003: Message edited by: DHagan4755 ]</p>
  • Reply 18 of 28
    hledgardhledgard Posts: 265member
    I think Fran is on the mark, and as always, appreciate his comments.



    Dr. Ledgard
  • Reply 19 of 28
    rokrok Posts: 3,519member
    fran, please don't dash my hopes for a 15" pre-mid-april. the wife gets a free computer with her new job, and can get the 15" powerbook within budget, BUT it's the only time she'll get that offer... so it's gotta last. so i really want her to get all the latest doo-dads built-in, like airport extreme.



    i am keeping my fingers crossed.
  • Reply 20 of 28
    fred_ljfred_lj Posts: 607member
    [quote]Originally posted by Wanderer:

    <strong>Make of this what you want. I believe it illuminates the situation with the 15 inch TiBook.



    1 GHz TiBook G4 1 MB L3 15inch

    512 MB SDRAM

    60 GB drive

    Superdrive

    Airport installed

    64 MB DDR Radeon 9000 Mobility

    ethernet, modem, etc.



    at Apple Store: $2799

    at Apple Store for Education: $2499

    at my campus bookstore: $1799! (while supplies last)



    </strong><hr></blockquote>



    Dang!! Go get two!! What a deal...
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