What changes to next 15" PB?
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.
Comments
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>
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>
<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.
<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
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
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.
<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.
<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.
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)
If only...
A quickie Photoshop session still didn't do it for me though...
[ 03-06-2003: Message edited by: DHagan4755 ]</p>
Dr. Ledgard
i am keeping my fingers crossed.
<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...