New PowerBooks/iBooks Next Week?

G

Go3iverson

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According to AppleInsider, this is the case.

They do say that the PowerBook will be powered by G4s yet again...

Now, while this first appeared to be very, very dissapointing to me, as I already have a PowerBook G4, this may not rule out a PowerBook G5 being announced at WWDC. Apple knows people want the G5 laptops and they know that the group that's been holding out will continue to hold out (like me) until they deliver, no matter what they release.

Right now, we're about two months, or so, away from WWDC, which would be a very short cycle, but this could be explained numerous ways. One is, maybe Apple only purchased a limited amount of chips and the these new chips are 100% capable of being used with current cases, power supplies, motherboards, ram, cooling, etc. This would be a great way for Apple to eliminate all of their remaining stock without having to reduce prices. Apple gets people to buy up the products who need a pro level laptop *now* and also maybe break some G5 hold outs.

The other part of this equation is, as we remember from the PowerMac G5 "release", it was months before people received their new Macs. Consider that it may take Apple 3-4 months to actually *ship* the G5 PowerBook after announcing it and your up to your 5-6 month product cycle.
 
Probably no g5's in powerbooks till late 2005. No chance of having a 90mm in a powerbook/ibook possibly though a new beast like a portable workstation weighing in at under 10lbs and maybe 17 inch screen. Heck, my old xserve weighs about 25lbs with one drive. Everyone may say cooling technology can get us there early, very very doubtful. We will see some nice bumps in the powerbook line next week from 1.25 to 1.5 but that's about it... ibooks will be bumped up a week or two later. The imac won't see a g5 again till we get down to about 65mm next year unless they change the design dramatically. 5-6 month product cycles are a thing of the past so we don't have to worry about that anymore. We will see some nice changes to the powermac line in the next 3-5 months. Apple knows what they are doing, it's taken awhile... Apple built a superior highway of thought years ago most didn't use the road back then. Today, people are begining to see the other road across the way and are slowly checking it out. The next 5 years will be great for Apple.
 
That would be fairly horrible if Apple couldn't produce a PowerBook G5 until almost 2006. We're talking PBG5, not Longhorn here! ;)

Seriously though, after Jobs boasted the G5 as being so incredibly better than the G4, who is going to pay $3000.00 for a G4 anymore? I'd expect Apple to see continual reductions in their PowerBook sales numbers and larger sales in the iBook line at that point.
 
mi5moav, is this just conjecture or do you have any information to back this up? I know opinions on a timescale for PB G5s vary a lot but you seem to be pulling numbers out of the air.
 
I am quite positive the alubooks will go G5 till the end of this year. The competition between iBooks and powerbooks are getting bigger and bigger. And I believe IBM will be able to release a low-volt G5 which should run quite cool. They are simply the best! ::love::
 
They HAVE to go G5 this year. The AMD 64 has already debuted in many laptops on the Wintel side, and they don't weigh 17lbs. Apple may need to change the design a little, but they are going to continue to have declining PB sales even with a small speed bump.
 
Worst case scenario is that we WILL see a G5 portable from Apple in '04, but perhaps not begin delivering until early '05. As I said, worst case. However, I think Apple will get something out. iBook sales are up, but have you noticed PB sales are actuall flat or down. They need to go for a pretty major refresh. Besides, portables are now beginning to outsell desktops for most other hardware companies.
 
with the NAB conference on the weekend i think even my grandma can guess that powerbooks will be announced next week... statin "reliable sources" as evidence !!!
its the powerbooks that have been rumoured most for an update... if theres a hardware update it will probably be them...
 
Yeah, but they are currently "rumored" to be still G4 speed bumped PBs. Hopefully by August they will have some better news. However, I pray that I am wrong.
 
I think a PowerBook G5 is realistic within a few months, perhaps at the WWDC. Motorola is unlikely to spend much on further development of the G4 when Apple is migrating to IBM chips for the high-end models and the G4 obviously never will get as fast as the IBM G5. That means the PowerBooks would be stuck at 1.25-1.5 GHz for years if they don't go G5.

Remember the Xserves run at 2 GHz, - the initial PowerBook G5s wouldn't have to be that fast. Portable chips are usually the high-end ones, clocked at lower frequencies and run at lower voltages to use less power and dissipate less heat.
You must've been surprised when Apple managed to stuff a 500 MHz G4 in a 1" laptop in 2001? ;)
 
The chance that Apple releases a G5 laptop next week are about as good as the company finally releasing a G5 laptop the first week of March of 05
 
mi5moav said:
The chance that Apple releases a G5 laptop next week are about as good as the company finally releasing a G5 laptop the first week of March of 05
Click to expand...

Did you get that confirmed by Phil Schiller? :p
 
the chance of apple releasing an apple g5 powerbook next week are minimum... the G5 chip in the x serve did have delays from ibm..

however... who ever expected the Cube when it came out ???
 
I think that the cube was pretty much predicted in advance. If I remember correctly, there were lots of cube rumors about a month in advance. However, my memory is retarded and just popped off to the nearest pub for a drink while leaving me in the office.
 
I'm guessing PowerBook G5 on WWDC, shipping in two months, and 3 GHz G5 at the Apple Expo in August/September for immediate shipping. You owe me a hug if I'm right :p
 
you don't wanna know what I would owe you if you were right, ksv. ;) Am hardly waiting for the G5 powerbook..
 
if g5 powerbooks come out next week, ill have to hurt someone, unless i find a buyer immediately for my really new powerbook 12 inch :p
 
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