G5 notebooks 'to ship Q2 2005'

[thequicksilver]

Apparently both the Powerbook and iBook will go G5 soon, ready to ship in the second quarter of 2005.

http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20050114A7040.html

[ezkcdude]

That's hard to believe given all the prior speculation that a G5 Powerbook (let alone iBook) won't be announced until June. Maybe that other thread here had it right, afterall. If this is true, I hope Apple announces it soon. I desperately want a PowerBook.

[dsellers]

some body open a door Hmm.. :eek: or what it G4 hehe..somebody is going to get the Trumped "fired" :lol:

[Lancer]

I have read that article and i think that that it is a typo, because they refer to previous sales of the Powerbook that isn't even out yet.

[rasmits]

some body open a door Hmm.. :eek: or what it G4 hehe..somebody is going to get the Trumped "fired" :lol:
What did you just say? I seriously didn't get any of that.

[defaultmike]

might be a typo, I'm personally not expecting G5s in Apple laptops anytime soon... but I'd totally buy the fact that WHENEVER apple decides to release G5s in laptops, they'll put it in both of them. After all, the powerbook is smaller, and it probably heats up a lot more...

[DeathMetal]

do a google search, everyone is talking about this. if this is true, it's worth the wait. it can't hurt to wait

[DeathMetal]

but then again, even if they (pb g5s) do come out around april, the first generation will have heating problems. and then there's the problem of back orders. just screw it and get a powerbook g4... 1.5 ghz... anyway, contrary to popular belief, DOOM 3 will run on a "PowerPC G4/G5 or later." Not just G5: http://www.aspyr.com/games.php/mac/d3/ :cool: It'll run fast as Hell

[FearlessLeader]

It's a typo. It's going to be an expensive exercise fitting G5s in a Powerbook, much too pricey for iBooks, particularly given the life that there is left in the G4 for iBook level users.

Assume this points to Apple increasing production of iBooks, changing supplier to address recent quaility issues with its laptops, or both. Apple is a very shrewd, vertically integrated business. It'll happily shop around for suppliers that give it what it wants.

[torifile]

OMFG!!!1111! I can finally run DOOOM 3 on my powerbook!!!11

Yeah, that's the reason people want G5s in their computers. :rolleyes:

[Dave J]

There is a disconnect here with Apple saying a G5 in a PB is thermally challenged and also, 'look for two more G4 updates with newer G4 chips BEFORE any G5'.

This in spite of several news feeds on 2Q delivery/announcement as noted in this thread. What could be happening is that this news is absolutely correct and Apple is just saying the above to keep current sales (of G4's) strong.

[Michiel_E]

Hello folks,

Just got a reply from Digitimes where I asked the following simple question:

Powerbook and ibook G5 in the 2Q of 2005? Are you sure?

This the answer I got:

Dear Michiel,

We believe our sources are reliable. We appreciate the concern that our readers may have about the validity of this information and hope to follow this story up later this week.

Thank you for reading DigiTimes.


The DigiTimes Team

It's just a matter of time....

[ezkcdude]

If they're not even following up the story until later this week, then certainly there is no update coming tomorrow, as some here have suggested. Just thought I'd point that out.

[LudwigVan]

We believe our sources are reliable.

Frankly, that raises a red flag for me. I've read one too many "news" (read: rumor or regurgitation) sites that say as much and nothing pans out. And I have also read the Digitimes is generally less than reliable anyway.

So put me in the "not gonna happen according to this article's timeline" camp.

[Franz Josef]

Frankly, that raises a red flag for me. I've read one too many "news" (read: rumor or regurgitation) sites that say as much and nothing pans out. And I have also read the Digitimes is generally less than reliable anyway.

So put me in the "not gonna happen according to this article's timeline" camp.

Digitimes have form for getting it wrong. And given the well documented technical difficulties in getting a sensibly-sized heat sink to work for the new CPU, the story looks wide of the mark. But if I'm wrong, I'll be pleased.

[vickertj]

And I have also read the Digitimes is generally less than reliable anyway.

Are you sure your sources on the reliability of Digitimes are reliable? Does anyone know if Ludwig is a reliable source of reliability source information?

Dude...This is so f'in meta...

[SonOfSylvanus]

Heh heh. Lets all just wait for the follow-up article.

[JayReding]

I might buy a G5 PowerBook, but there's no way that Apple would be able to produce a G5 iBook without jacking up the price.

Personally, I wouldn't be surprised if we don't see a G5 laptop this year. Apple's designers a good, but even they can't break the laws of physics. The heat-disappation you'd need to run a G5 in a small enclosure is just too much for conventional cooling systems. The iMac is really pushing the limits of how tightly you can pack a G5 into a system.

If there is a G5 notebook this year, it won't be until at least Q4. I'd expect another CPU and GPU bump before the G5 PB hits. The iBooks probably will never get G5s unless they substantially change the process - I'd guess that the next processor in the iBook line would be a low-power Cell processor. Besides, a G4, especially if it's a dual-core G4 has more than enough oomph to handle the tasks an iBook would be charged with.

[CharlesS]

Are you sure your sources on the reliability of Digitimes are reliable? Does anyone know if Ludwig is a reliable source of reliability source information?

Dude...This is so f'in meta...
Just do a Google search for some of their older rumors. You will find that pretty much all of them have turned out to be BS.

They predicted a 15.4 inch PowerBook (http://www.macrumors.com/pages/2003/06/20030613080326.shtml) - didn't happen.
They predicted an Apple tablet PC (http://www.macrumors.com/pages/2003/04/20030414102926.shtml) - didn't happen.
They predicted a 19-inch iMac (http://www.macrumors.com/pages/2002/05/20020531185518.shtml) - didn't happen.
They predicted the discontinuation of the 17-inch iMac in June 2004 (http://www.digitimes.com/NewsShow/Article.asp?datePublish=2003/01/02&pages=04&seq=20) - didn't happen.

MacRumors listed them as the single least accurate source of Mac rumors of 2003. (http://www.macrumors.com/pages/2003/09/20030917033706.shtml)

Have these guys ever got anything right?

[edit: fixed URL]

[LudwigVan]

Just do a Google search for some of their older rumors. You will find that pretty much all of them have turned out to be BS.

...

MacRumors listed them as the single least accurate source (http://www.macrumors.com/pages/2003/09/20030917033706.shtml) of Mac rumors of 2003.

Have these guys ever got anything right?

Thanks for pointing to specifics to back up my generalization.

I didn't know MacRumors kept a rumor site reliability log (outdated though it may be by now).

[CharlesS]

Thanks for pointing to specifics to back up my generalization.

I didn't know MacRumors kept a rumor site reliability log (outdated though it may be by now).
Unfortunately, I was fixing that link, which seemed to be broken, just as you quoted it. Perhaps you could fix the link in the quote as well?

BTW, for those who don't want to visit the MacRumors page, here's the text of it:

Beyond all the sites that offered premature predictions of PowerBook updates, one site in particular stands out as a source of misinformation.

Digitimes.com claimed in January 2003 that Apple was going to start production of a 15.4" PowerBook in the "near future", and later claimed that 15.4" PowerBook production was ramping up in June. It turns out, that these reports were wrong... and, in fact, may have sparked off all the (inaccurate) speculation and rumors of PowerBook updates over the past 8 months.

Digitimes has previously had other inaccurate reports, including 19" iMacs, termination of 17" iMac Production, and an Apple Tablet. As a result, future reports from Digitimes should be met with skepticism.

Don't get me wrong - no one would be more delighted than I would be if this turned out to be true. I want to believe - unfortunately, I just can't. :(

[LudwigVan]

Unfortunately, I was fixing that link, which seemed to be broken, just as you quoted it. Perhaps you could fix the link in the quote as well?

The URL in my quoted response is correct now. Thanks again.

[Messiahtosh]

I don't think a G5 will go in a portable with a smaller screen than 15'' (possibly 14'') when it is unveiled this year.

We're probably a year off from a 12'' PowerBook G5, though, you never know. This is Apple... :)

[adam_tj]

Apple's designers a good, but even they can't break the laws of physics. The heat-disappation you'd need to run a G5 in a small enclosure is just too much for conventional cooling systems. The iMac is really pushing the limits of how tightly you can pack a G5 into a system.
I don't think a G5 will go in a portable with a smaller screen than 15'' (possibly 14'') when it is unveiled this year.

C'mon guys. Everyone knows Steve doesnt let something as trivial as the laws of physics get in the way of his plans. Let see a thinner powerbook with G5

The new powerbook. Less than 0.19 microns thin.

[Messiahtosh]

C'mon guys. Everyone knows Steve doesnt let something as trivial as the laws of physics get in the way of his plans. Let see a thinner powerbook with G5

The new powerbook. Less than 0.19 microns thin.You didn't fully quote me. :no:

[colonelforbin]

mmhmm...

or even have a slim, mobile-intended powerbook g4 for the 12" and low end 15" and then a redesigned and slightly thicker g5 for the high end 15" and 17"?

[Bucolic Old Sir Henry]

OK, lets see if we can sum this up. We can assume, I think, that if G5 Powerbooks had been ready, SJ would have announced them last week. We can also assume that Apple have been working on them for a long time. This might suggest that they are waiting for adequate supplies of a new processor/chip set. Another thread in this forum has alerted us to the 970MP and 970GX, and hinted at another "low power" chip in the same family. All were sampling before Christmas, and all should be moving to production. Morpheus?

Which one will the Powerbooks be getting? And if the iBooks go G5, what will they use? The 970FX was designed as usable in laptops (IBM said), and the GX is an improvement on that, so perhaps the Powerbooks will go for the GX with some advanced cooling on the whole chipset, to deliver laptops with some serious grunt for professionals. Over 2GHz? The iBook, in this scenario, would get the low power chip, to allow for less expensive cooling and a cheaper overall build cost. The GX would also make an appearance in the iMac/low-end PowerMac, leaving the MP to take the top end machines to 3GHz and dual-core. This leaves the possibility that in a year or two the PBs could move to dual core.

So: tomorrow, or soon, the G4 PBs get a minor speed bump. Then, in early summer - at WWDC, or if they're ready sooner, at a special Apple event - the G5 PowerBooks will be launched. 15" and 17" first, 12" to follow (as before). The iBooks go G5 at the end of summer, in time for the academic buying season.

If the low-power 970 variant is to go into the PBs, then it's less likely that the G5 iBooks will appear this year.

The Digitimes article doesn't have to be all true to contain some truth. The above scenario is broadly consistent with their report, and fits with what we hear from other sources.

Pip pip!

[ezkcdude]

Bucolic, that's being optimistic. I think we can gather from the Digitimes article and other sources that a G4 speed bump will come by the end of June, and maybe a G5 will be announced at the dev's conference.

[Bucolic Old Sir Henry]

People call me BOSH.

I don't think I'm being unduly optimistic. We have Think Secret's word for a G4 speed bump being in the offing. The rest fits with what we "know" about IBM/Apple's processor road map. They're both rather good computer companies.

But optimism is not a bad thing, y'know...

Pip pip!

[oldmacfan]

The iBooks go G5 at the end of summer, in time for the academic buying season.

By end of summer, I can only assume that you mean August and not September when summer officially ends.

In the US the academic buying season starts in May and ends in August for the most part. Apple would miss most of it. But then again that could be the point, to clear old stock.

[DeathMetal]

OMFG!!!1111! I can finally run DOOOM 3 on my powerbook!!!11

Yeah, that's the reason people want G5s in their computers. :rolleyes:

Don't roll your eyes at me, son. If you were a little more mature, then you'd know a laptop is just for playing games

[LudwigVan]

Don't roll your eyes at me, son. If you were a little more mature, then you'd know a laptop is just for playing games

Huh? :confused:

[scratt]

I don't think we will see a G5 PB 'till the end of the year.

[psmith2.0]

Well, if it gets TOO close to the end of the year, they'll just do it at MWSF 06 for maximum impact, press coverage, etc.

In other words, something this potentially "major", I kinda see Halloween/late October as the cut-off point, otherwise just do it at Macworld and hype the hell out of it, making it the centerpiece of the keynote and the item that's on all the banners and posters hanging throughout Moscone.

:)

So summer, then mid/late autumn, at the latest...IF it's to happen in 2005.

[Noel]

I'll be going to university in the Fall, and hope to God G5 PowerBooks are out by September. If not, I'll hang on to my G3 iBook until MWSF '06 and, if they aren't released by then I'll just cave in and get a PowerBook G4.

[murbot]

Don't roll your eyes at me, son. If you were a little more mature, then you'd know a laptop is just for playing games

Dude, turn down the death metal. I can hear your brain crying.

[+++]

Personally, I would doubt we'll have a Powerbook G5, and iBook G5 release by Q2, considering we just got a PB G4 update. If you look at Apple's track record there aren't many new models released in that short of a time period. If anything, I'd say maybe we'll have PB G5s by January 2006, and iBooks even further on than that.

and plus it'd really be tragic if I got my new 1.5ghz 12" PB and have them release a G5 model. :no:

[JayReding]

The release of the latest PB revision pretty much puts a nail in the coffin of having a G5 laptop in Q2 of 2005. It isn't going to happen anytime soon, and all the rumors to the contrary don't mean anything.

Putting a hot workstation chip into a thin laptop is a major engineering challenge that may require either some novel cooling system or dramatically cooler processors. Personally, I'd be betting more on the latter than the former, which is why I don't see Apple releasing a G5 laptop until at least 2006.

Tiger runs just fine on a G4, and all the old Mac software isn't going to stop working on 32-bit CPUs any time soon. Having a G5 laptop is more about bragging rights than anything else, and Apple isn't going to release a heavy and thick luggable just to say they have a 64-bit laptop. The market isn't there yet and the technology isn't there yet.

[Robo]

There is a disconnect here with Apple saying a G5 in a PB is thermally challenged and also, 'look for two more G4 updates with newer G4 chips BEFORE any G5'.

This in spite of several news feeds on 2Q delivery/announcement as noted in this thread. What could be happening is that this news is absolutely correct and Apple is just saying the above to keep current sales (of G4's) strong.

Apple said that? I'm not doubting you, I just don't recall...

Of course, now, they'red only be one more G4 revision to go...

[del-uks]

Just wait for Apple Expo in Paris... in 6 months.

[Robo]

Yeah, I'm still convinced that the "next generation" Powerbook (G5 or otherwise) will be announced at WWDC or Apple Expo.

[Jason]

Any of guys realise that it's just possible that we won't see a G5 this year at all?

1) Line has only just been updated.
2) Look how long it was since the last update.

This latest 'bump' may well last the same length of time (shudders).
They've just updated the line and could feasibly make this update last quite some time.

Just my opinion but I don't see G5 before next year.

However, I don't believe that the delay is down to cooling, I think engineers (either within the company or out-sourced) have probably already dealt with that issue.

I think it will be getting the IBM plant to give a good enough yield on the chips. Apple don't want to create hype/expectation only to tell their customers there are shortages.

Jobs: "Hey everyone! we've got a new PB for you. A G5! However, the first shipment is limited to a dozen units."


regards

[ragingloogie]

a g5 powerbook? yay:) ive been pondering on if i should buy a powerbook now, or wait til the g5 b/c some places say the g5 wont be out for another year or so... others say july of '05, and the 2nd quarter of '05.. :confused: and i dunno what i should do.. but if its coming out buy june or july, i think i can hold off the temptation til then

[runner91786]

Good God, come on people...if they just hired people to work on this product's design do you honestly think an article published before the last pbook update could hold any truth? Its just something we will have to wait and find out. People were expecting pbook G5s in the 4th quarter last year, they didnt expect to wait until february to get only a bump. It could be a while.

[Corpus_Callosum]

CELL chip goes into production about the same time that this article shows and it has MUCH lower power requirements than the G5. This makes perfect sense, as I believe Apple will move to the CELL chip and probably call it the G6.

So the new Powerbooks could be CELL chip + Tiger, manufacturing to start end of Q2 (just remember, starting manufacturing does not equal volume manufacturing - first they produce samples, work the kinks out and get ready for volume).

It would be announced at the developers conference this summer.

Makes sense to me but I am probably dreaming.

[+++]

So the new Powerbooks could be CELL chip + Tiger, manufacturing to start end of Q2 (just remember, starting manufacturing does not equal volume manufacturing - first they produce samples, work the kinks out and get ready for volume).


I doubt that we'll see that anytime soon. I think it would take longer than that for Apple to fully integrate any new technology and have it be relativley bugless. And if we do get this CELL technology in the future, it'll be the PowerMacs that see it first.

[ASZ993]

http://www.mactime.ru/mactime_img/upload/Media/1835.jpg
"...Because You Couldn't Wait" :lol:

Seriously, this is what could happen if the PB G5 is rushed.

Just wait until at least 2006. Then we'll see something that is truly revolutionary.

The G5 could still have heat issues. Then, wait until Rev B PB G5 comes out and then start thinking about one!

The CELL could become the basis for the G6 (if it becomes announced in a year or two),but the G4 will remain dominant until 2006 and the G5 could until at least late 2008. (Just my speculation)

[gjas15]

has everyone here forgot about the dual core (g4?) coming from freescale? with its increased bus speed and low power requirements it could easily be put into a notebook and called a G5. personally though i think they would market it as something else. i know someone will say that moto has never delivered before but hey who knows with this spinoff of the chip division into freescale. everything "freescale" has put out seems to be on time and on the mark, they cant help that they have to work with a processor that wont scale and has a very serious bus limitation. If you ran the company would you really invest resources to improve the current stagnating chip thats 5+ years old or would you invest all of your resources in coming up with something completely new?? I dont think freescale should be blamed or bound to moto's incompetence

[ASZ993]

has everyone here forgot about the dual core (g4?) coming from freescale? with its increased bus speed and low power requirements it could easily be put into a notebook and called a G5. personally though i think they would market it as something else. i know someone will say that moto has never delivered before but hey who knows with this spinoff of the chip division into freescale. everything "freescale" has put out seems to be on time and on the mark, they cant help that they have to work with a processor that wont scale and has a very serious bus limitation. If you ran the company would you really invest resources to improve the current stagnating chip thats 5+ years old or would you invest all of your resources in coming up with something completely new?? I dont think freescale should be blamed or bound to moto's incompetence

What is the bus limitation? :confused:

[ChrisKelvin]

What is the bus limitation? :confused:

wasn't it something like 667 Mhz + RapidIO®?

[gjas15]

What is the bus limitation? :confused:

Its stuck at 167MHz bus which i think equates to about 1.25-1.5GB/s which if you do the math with ddr ram (which the G4 doesnt natively support its a marketing hack right now) its really pathetic and we should have stayed with cheap pc133 but that would be a marketing disaster. Think about it this way.. I built an athlon xp system with a 3200+ and two sticks of 512MB ddr 400 (pc3200) ram. this system had a double pumped system bus (transfers data on the rising and falling edges of the clockcycle... so twice per HZ) running at i think its like 233Mhz(?) which i think transfers upwards of 6GB/s.. the specific motherboard i was using (an ASUS something deluxe) had dual channel memory which means it can read and write to both banks of memory simultaniously so basically doubling the throughput of the memory. I think I tested it at about 6.3GB/s. Do the math pushing a max of 6GB of data through a 1.5GB/s system bus... Thats why people always say the G4 is starved especially when using its vector unit (altivec). Now if it had an ondie memory controller this wouldnt be as big of an issue (like the Athlon 64's & FX's) but thats for another day :p

[intlplby]

is there that much of a difference between the 133MHz bus and the 167MHz bus as far as performance.....

i know my pbook is a 133MHz

[gjas15]

no not really... a little speed improvement but probably not noticable except for the spec whores running their speed tests :P

[Banana]

http://www.mactime.ru/mactime_img/upload/Media/1835.jpg
"...Because You Couldn't Wait" :lol:




That's a good one! It keeps killing me.

The funny thing is- the more I think about it, the more marketing potential I see in it.

I'm dead serious.

I'd call this cute package "iOffice" (if that isn't taken already, attach this thingy to a chair that's a cross between a laz-a-boy recliner and a office chair, comes with a cresent desk that folds away, a drawer cabinet underneath that opens up like a rolodex, and a completely integrated all-in-one printer, along with options for a office lamp, a tilting/swivelable tablet for writing/drafting/reading... and the most important selling point would be this would fit in a broom closet....

in no time, home-spun professionals and budding small businesses will be buying this by masses...

the economy package would go $6599, (keep in mind this is a complete package, computer, printer, chair, office supplies, and necessary software)

mid-size range at $9999, and power user at $14999.

The small business loan would be then be a snap as bank would know who Apple is and know that it will do a lot to get the small business off the ground.

Any takers?