Member
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Republic of Geneva
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So it sounds like we're about to get a new PowerBook line pretty soon... ( next tuesday?... http://www.thinksecret.com/news/0501briefly2.html )
And despite recent rumors ( http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20050114A7040.html ) the long-awaited G5 PowerBook is apparently not ready yet. If we look at the speculated details about the upcomoing PowerBook line ( http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20050114A7040.html ), we can be quite disappointed... 9 months of wait for a speed bump of 170 MHz!... and they don't even think about a 7200 rpm HD or any better graphic card option... Let's refresh our memory: -First G line PowerBook was introduced in november 1997 with a G3 processor at 250 MHz. Then, there was no iBook and no iMac either. At its time, it was the fastest notebook in world! -First iMac appeared in May 1998 with a G3 processor at just 233 MHz, that is to say the slowest clockspeed available in the PowerBook line wich was available from 233 to 292 MHz. Nevertheless, as you may know, it was a real bestseller. -First iBook line only appeared in July 1999 with G3 processors at 300 and 366 MHz, when iMacs where G3 at 266 and 333 MHz, and PowerBooks where G3 at 333MHz and 400 MHz. The iBook line was a real revolution making Apple laptops affordable at a respectable clockspeed. -First PowerBooks G4 400 and 500Mhz where introduced in january 2001. In the meantime iBooks where G3 366 or 466, and iMacs where G3 from 266 or 333 MHz, then (from february 2001) from 400 to 600 MHz. -First iMac G4 line came up in january 2002, with clockspeeds at 700 and 800 MHz, while iBooks where G3 at 500 and 600 MHz and PowerBooks where G4 at 550 and 667 MHz, then (from april 2002) at 667 and 800 MHz. For three months, the iMac line had faster processors than the "pro" PowerBook line for the first time! -First iBook G4 line was introduced in october 2003 at 800, 933 MHz and 1 GHz, when iMacs where G4 at 1 and 1.25 GHz and PowerBook where G4 at 1, 1.25 and 1.33 GHz. Since then, the fastest iBooks stay close to the slowest PowerBooks. -In August 2004, Apple introduced the first iMac G5 line at 1.6 and 1.8 GHz. Now, for the first time, there is a clear gap between the iMac line and the PowerBook line wich stays until now with G4 processors at slower clockspeed... making the iMac the second choice in term of performance after the PowerMac line. Let's take a look at the Apple's Q1 2005 conference call ( from AppleInsider: http://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=837 ): "-Apple shipped 456,000 iMacs and eMacs (combined), up 101% year-over-year to $620 million in revenue. -iBook shipments totaled 271,000 iBooks, up 35% year-over year to $297 million in revenue. -The company sold 152,000 PowerBooks, down 29% year-over-year to $307 million in revenue." Now, if Apple comes up next tuesday with the expected speed bump mentioned above, I'm afraid this situation is not about to change. My question is: why the hell didn't they upgrade there PowerBooks when they did for the iBooks, last october? After 9 months, the disappointment caused will just be an illustration of the lack of prospect concerning their PowerBooks. ... Aleks. |
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Join Date: Jan 2005
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Passing by
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: London, Europe
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Member
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Looking for Moose and Squirrel
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The late update probably reflects that there were simply no faster chips for Apple to put in new machines.
A G5 won't go into a PB form factor right now, and it has taken Freescale until now to come up with a "bump" to the G4 chip (the 7447b). I'm not sure Apple could have updated it any earlier ... (except by maybe a week or two) |
Selfish Heathen
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Zone of Pain
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Yeah, there's already that big thread about PowerBooks and the gripes and speculation about them. Read through it to see if what you have to say has already been said. Post in it if you have something genuinely new to offer.
The quality of this board depends on the quality of the posts. The only way to guarantee thoughtful, informative discussion is to write thoughtful, informative posts. AppleNova is not a real-time chat forum. You have time to compose messages and edit them before and after posting. |
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