[Satchmo]

I said earlier in another thread that I doubted there would be any major changes to the iBook since today's PB revisions help to differentiate the two lines.

However, I stumbled on this Compaq laptop with a 14" widescreen.
http://www.hp.ca/products/static/pre...40ca/index.php
(It even has a brightview screen!)

So that got me thinking, maybe an iBook revision is in the cards. With most notably a widescreen version of the 14" model. This time, to help position it apart from the 12" iBook.

[Luca]

Well, the fact that a 14" widescreen actually exists helps the case, for sure. It would indeed make a great way of differentiating the 14" iBook from the 12", and I don't think it would cut into the PowerBook line either. The iBook would be less powerful and less portable than the equally-priced 12" PowerBook, and would only make up for it with the nicer screen. Meanwhile the 12" and 14" iBooks occupy very different spaces.

The 14" iBook has been lame since its introduction. It's fairly big and heavy, and it costs more, but there's nothing to offset its disadvantages. Apple's been trying to promote it recently by making it faster than the 12" iBook and giving it things like the Superdrive option, but that's the cheap way out of actually making it better.

Oh yeah. Pscates, get in here.

[Akumulator]

I also think this would help differentiate the two considering they both have the same resolution. I have trouble getting people to understand this..... they don't seem to get it when they're looking at the 12" vs. 14", it's the same resolution, yet a larger screen. The pixels are just bigger.. the widescreen would offer more realestate and would be a nice addition to the ibook lineup.

[psmith2.0]

I've wished for a widescreen iBook for ages now.

In fact, I always thought a 14" wide one with the resolution of the first TiBooks (1152x768, give or take) would be a great product.

I'd like to see the big square 14" iBook change to something more like the 15" PowerBook's size, simply in white plastic and with the above resolution. Only the 12" models from each line would stay with the 4:3 displays.

[LudwigVan]

Originally Posted by Luca The iBook would be less powerful and less portable than the equally-priced 12" PowerBook...

Luca, what do you mean by "less portable"?

[Brad]

Originally Posted by LudwigVan Luca, what do you mean by "less portable"?

14" > 12"

Larger -> less portable.

[LudwigVan]

Originally Posted by Brad 14" > 12" Larger -> less portable.

Ah, gotcha. Thanks, Brad.

[wuf]

Well, not to argue with anyone, but I have a 14" iBook. The resolution might be the same at the 12", but the screen IS bigger. Being a photographer and constantly have to deal with large photos, a small screen just isn't in my best interest.

Here is a question for ya'. If they made a 9" iBook with the same resolution, would that be better because it would be smaller and more portable?

I've traveled in cars, buses and planes with my 'book', and I really don't think that the difference in physical size makes one more portable the other.

Just my 2 cents worth.....

-wuf

[JayReding]

I have a 12" iBook, and while the screen is small, it's also the right balance between screen size and portability. Try using a conventional laptop while sitting in the coach section of an airplane and you'll understand why bigger isn't always better.

[wuf]

I was just saying the physical size between at 12 and 14" isn't that big. My main point was that resolution isn't everything, and neither is screen size. A 7" laptop with a resolution of 1024X768 is about as useful as a 17" powerbook with a resolution of 640X480.

And I have traveled in coach while using my comp. What is hard is when you need to hook up and external hard drive!! It fits nicely between my feet, but I might not be able to get it off the floor till we land!

[Robo]

I think it's good that they have a 14" model, because some people want a bigger screen. Still, in my book, smaller is better when it comes to laptops.

Actually, I'd rather see the 12" Powerbook go widescreen first. No chance in hell, though, right?

The iMac is widescreen, but the eMac isn't, correct?

[Brad]

Correct. The eMac has a standard 4:3 ratio CRT.

[madmaxmedia]

Originally Posted by wuf I was just saying the physical size between at 12 and 14" isn't that big. My main point was that resolution isn't everything, and neither is screen size. A 7" laptop with a resolution of 1024X768 is about as useful as a 17" powerbook with a resolution of 640X480. And I have traveled in coach while using my comp. What is hard is when you need to hook up and external hard drive!! It fits nicely between my feet, but I might not be able to get it off the floor till we land!

It's a tradeoff either way. I chose the 12" because I preferred the somewhat smaller size and weight. If the 14" had offered higher resolution, then I might have gone with that. Either way the 2 models are pretty close.

The 12" screen is supposed to be inferior to the larger screens though, I remember reading something about that. Or maybe it was that the larger PowerBooks had higher quality screens, but that the 12" screens were the same in the iBook and PowerBook.

[SonOfSylvanus]

I think the 12" PowerBook model should go widescreen—to 13". Sony does some models like this, and it really is the perfect mix of screen real estate and portability. I would not buy a 4:3 G5 PowerBook nor a 12" G5 PowerBook, I would buy a 13" one over a 15"one.

[pennstaterandy]

I do not know if I should post this in here, but here it goes! I want to know if Best Buy will have the new powerbook upgrades. Best Buy did have the old ones , and I am curios because I have a gift card from there and would like to purchase one. If any one knows yes or no let me know. Thanks

[BarracksSi]

BACK to the iBooks...

The reason why the 14" is less portable is that it goes into fewer bags and other spaces that were designed for textbooks and spiral-bound notebooks. The 12" 4:3 laptops are exceptionally handy this way.

[wuf]

Well, to each their own......

I just haven't ever had an issue with carrying a 14" anywhere.......I like a bigger monitor EVEN IF the resolution is the same.......So I will hug my 14", and you can hug your 12", and we'll all sleep happy!

:-)

-wuf

[SonOfSylvanus]

Originally Posted by wuf So I will hug my 14", and you can hug your 12", and we'll all sleep happy! :-) -wuf

And I'll hug my 15". Ahhh... I'm happy.

[Paranoid666au]

What about a 14 inch widescreen PowerBook???

[Messiahtosh]

Originally Posted by SonOfSylvanus And I'll hug my 15". Ahhh... I'm happy.

Same with my 15''. I love it now.

[DMBand0026]

A 14" widescreen iBook I could deal with. But don't mess with the 12" PB. That thing is just too sweet. You can't beat its combo of portability and power. You move it to 13" or a widescreen and that starts to dramatically diminish what the 12" PowerBook is all about.

It's about having a very fast and capable computer encased in something not much bigger than a standard paper notebook. It's thinner than most of my textbooks and I can throw it in a bag with my stuff and not worry about it. I don't want to have to get a huge bag or carry my computer under my arm.

The debate about whether the 15" is portable enough aside, the 12" PowerBook is really the sweet spot of portability. For the price, the size, and the power, you really can't beat it.

[JayReding]

Originally Posted by SonOfSylvanus And I'll hug my 15". Ahhh... I'm happy.

My, taken out of context that could sound rather unfortunate.

In all seriousness, the 12" fits a different market than the 14". If ultraportability is your bag, the 12" is better, if you need more screen real estate the 14" is better. Personally, I find that having only 12" is more than enough to get the job done...

[Luca]

DMBand0026, the 12" PowerBook doesn't have to get bigger to accommodate a widescreen display. There are indeed 13" widescreens out there, and it would basically involve the PowerBook getting wider but not taller. But I just noticed that there are also 12" widescreen notebooks as well, so the PowerBook could use one of those and not get any larger.

[Electric Monk]

The iBooks can't go widescreen because that is one of the ways Apple highlights the difference between iBooks and Powerbooks.
I do think they should offer the 14" iBook with a choice of the current screen res, or the next one up.

A 13.3" widescreen Powerbook would rock. The additional space might allow feature parity with the 15", rather then being a upgraded iBook.

Toss is a 10" widescreen PB sans optical drive and ultra thin like some of those sony laptops and I'd be happy. (from someone who is currently using a 12" Powerbook).


Now if only they would upgrade the screens to xbrite or whatever the nice screens are on PC laptops. You can argue about which coating to use (shiny or matte, right?) but they do look nicer.

[psmith2.0]

To bring the 12" PowerBook truly into PowerBook territory - and putting it firmly in a league with the 15" and 17" models - a backlit keyboard and 128MB graphics option would be really nice. At that point, there would be NO compromise (I can live without FireWire 800 and that PC card slot).



At that point, the 12" PowerBook just became THE laptop to own! Augmented with a 23" Cinema Display, of course...

[DMBand0026]

I agree with Paul. Add the ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 into the 12" and give it a 128 option and the widescreen...<drool> I'd sell my Rev. C 12" and snap that up in a heartbeat. That's been my only gripe about the 12", the lack of screen real estate. Not that it's all that bad, but it's quite the adjustment coming from a 17" display on my Cube.

I'd love the 12" widescreen if it meant the 12" wouldn't get any bigger or heavier.

[Kurama]

I sure hope they put in a new graphics card in the ibook because so far core imaging won't accept the current radeon 9200 in Tiger.

[DMBand0026]

I believe the list of supported cards was dropped from the latest Tiger builds. I could be wrong though. I believe Apple is going to try and make Core Image as accessible to everyone as possible.

[Electric Monk]

Core Image requires programmable GPU's. The Radeon 9200 is not one of those. However Apple is probably working hard to get a subset of features in on older cards which is why they took down the supported card list.


I'm not a fan of 12" widescreens because you sacrifice vertical space. The 13.3" panels have the same vertical height as current 12" PBs but with more horizontal room.

The theoretical 13.3" PB would be wider but I don't know if they could make it skinnier and still go for feature parity. On the plus side wider means there is room on the sides past the keyboard for the backlight So it might increase in weight a bit, plus a little wider. I could live with that in return for a better graphics card, (hopefully) nicer LCD, and backlighting.

Tasty...

[BlueRabbit]

Making the 12" wider and adding a 13" screen would be cool. However, it looks awesome now, since the keyboard goes all the way up to the side of the laptop. If it got ~1" wider, there wouldn't be enough room for a speaker grill, but it would be impossible to extend the keyboard to cover that space at the same time.

However, the 12" has a pretty large bezel around the screen. They might be able to fit a larger screen in by cutting into the bezel, but I'm not sure if that would fit.