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Portables (Apple) Businesses OS X Operating Systems Apple Hardware

Apple Updates iBook Line With G4 Processor 632

Posted by timothy from the curse-you-apple dept.
Kyro writes "Apple today upgraded their iBook notebook range across the board to G4 processors, Airport Extreme, bluetooth, USB 2.0, and slot-loading combo drives. All models ship with Mac OS X 10.3, and the 12" model gets a 800Mhz G4 while the 14" models get a choice of 933Mhz or 1Ghz. Prices largely remain the same as the old G3 versions." Mwongozi adds "Although not announced on the front page, the Apple Store was updated just a few minutes ago to show the new iBook."
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Apple Updates iBook Line With G4 Processor More

Apple Updates iBook Line With G4 Processor

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  • Dont (Score:5, Informative)

    by AnonymousCowheart ( 646429 ) on Wednesday October 22, 2003 @08:24AM (#7280191)
    dont forget if you are going to order one of these, to get your student discount! [apple.com]
    it takes the $1099 12inch ibook down to $949. Hey thats 1/2 an ipod!:)

    • Re:Dont (Score:4, Informative)

      by SlamMan ( 221834 ) on Wednesday October 22, 2003 @08:37AM (#7280263)
      Also there's a pretty nice discount for government employees (federal, state and local).

      • Re:Dont (Score:3, Funny)

        by BlackBolt ( 595616 )
        Also there's a pretty nice discount for government employees (federal, state and local).

        I'm "technically" a federal government employee (for the next 3-5 years with good behavior). I make license plates and package Microsoft products, but I can't find a discount structure that applies to *me*. What should I do? And would it be possible for some kind soul to hide an iBook in a cake and hand-deliver it to me?

        Also, I *may* be eligible for the student discount. I'm learning a trade in here, but I can't rea

    • Re:Dont (Score:5, Informative)

      by An Anonymous Hero ( 443895 ) on Wednesday October 22, 2003 @08:52AM (#7280389)
      student discount! it takes the $1099 12inch ibook down to $949.

      Actually I think it's only a $100 rebate across the board, but the edu store (here, anyway) has an extra $949 moder with only a CD-rom drive, and the RAM downgraded to 128 MB (clearly not enough).

      The eMacs were also upgarded -- both models have 1GHz processors now. Specs:

      Combo Drive model
      1GHz PowerPC G4
      128MB SDRAM
      40GB Ultra ATA drive
      $799.00 ($749 at edu store)

      Super Drive model
      1GHz PowerPC G4
      256MB SDRAM
      80GB Ultra ATA drive
      $1,099.00 ($999 at edu store)

      • Re:Dont (Score:5, Informative)

        by Gilmoure ( 18428 ) on Wednesday October 22, 2003 @09:09AM (#7280521) Journal
        Get your RAM elsewhere. Apple about doubles it's RAM prices. I just ordered a bunch of Macs for my college and minimized all the RAM in them. Saved me about $1200 on 30 odd Macs.

        Check out datamem.com. Been using them for about 6 years and only had one bad chip. I called them and they next day'd a chip out to me. Didn't even wait for me to return the bad chip.

        • Re:Dont (Score:3, Interesting)

          by Jeremy Erwin ( 2054 )
          Some macs are equipped with two DIMM slots, a dealer slot and an user accessible slot. Downgrading the RAM may decrease the maximum memory the computer can hold.

  • End of the G3 (Score:5, Informative)

    by An Anonymous Hero ( 443895 ) on Wednesday October 22, 2003 @08:25AM (#7280197)
    Didn't see it coming -- saw them on apple.com a few minutes ago, and at the time neither MacRumors [macrumors.com] nor ThinkSecret [thinksecret.com] had anything. (Macbidouille [macbidouille.com] did, however.)

    Just got myself a 12' PowerBook, oh well :-) Today I'd be hard pressed to choose -- one big plus on the PB is the *digital* video out, which lets you attach a Studio display. The new iBooks are discounted $100 at my University's edu store, versus $200 on the PBs. Specs and Euro prices from Macbidouille:

    - 12" / 800MHz
    PowerPC G4 a 800 MHz
    256 Ko de cache N2 (a 800 MHz)
    Ecran TFT 12" (1024 x 768)
    256 Mo DDR266 / 30 Go
    Lecteur combo DVD/CD-RW
    ATI Mobility Radeon 9200 (32 Mo VRAM)
    1.199 euros

    - 14" / 933MHz
    PowerPC G4 a 933 MHz
    256 Ko de cache N2 (a 933 MHz)
    Ecran TFT 14" (1024 x 768)
    256 Mo DDR266 / 40 Go
    Lecteur combo DVD/CD-RW
    ATI Mobility Radeon 9200 (32 Mo VRAM)
    1449 euros

    - 14" / 1GHz
    PowerPC G4 a 1 GHz
    256 Ko de cache N2 (a 1 GHz)
    Ecran TFT 14" (1024 x 768)
    256 Mo DDR266 / 60 Go
    Lecteur combo DVD/CD-RW
    ATI Mobility Radeon 9200 (32 Mo VRAM)
    1699 euros

  • Powerbook premium (Score:4, Interesting)

    by wazzzup ( 172351 ) <astromac@@@fastmail...fm> on Wednesday October 22, 2003 @08:26AM (#7280200)
    If pices are the same, why would I pay the premium for a Powerbook? Obviously, with the 17", the screen of course, but for the 12" and 15" I'm not sure if a $500+ markup is worth it.

    • Re:Powerbook premium (Score:5, Informative)

      by gsdali ( 707124 ) on Wednesday October 22, 2003 @08:36AM (#7280253)
      remember 15" widescreen is not the same as 14" at 4:3 ration, but you are quite right regarding the premium.

    • Re:Powerbook premium (Score:5, Informative)

      by jhatch ( 681315 ) on Wednesday October 22, 2003 @08:36AM (#7280255)
      Here's why the 12" powerbook is more expensive and why someone might choose it over the 12" iBook: BTO SuperDrive bigger hard drive faster processor higher maximum RAM bigger L2 cache slightly lighter extended desktop video (rather than simple mirroring) DVI port rather than VGA port If those are features you want/need, then the markup would be worth it. But the new iBooks are clearly very attractive and well-priced alternatives.

    • Bus speed and backside cache (Score:5, Informative)

      by kriegsman ( 55737 ) on Wednesday October 22, 2003 @08:36AM (#7280256) Homepage
      I just checked out the specs, and with the exception of the 12" model, the G4 PowerBooks all have a 167Mhz bus, and 512K of backside cache.

      The G4 iBooks have only a 133Mhz bus and 256K of backside cache.

      The faster buses and larger caches in the PowerBooks are going to keep them running faster than the new iBooks in real-world tasks, even if the CPU speed is the same.

      -Mark
      • The faster buses and larger caches in the PowerBooks are going to keep them running faster than the new iBooks in real-world tasks, even if the CPU speed is the same.

        All kidding aside... how will this impact my gaming? (No, seriously)

        I've wanted a newer Mac for a while. I would also like to play Warcraft III and maybe some other 3D games and would LOVE to tote an iBook with me to LAN parties instead of my PC. Is the bus speed going to have an effect on gaming? It looks like they include a (fairly) dec
        • I have a 15" 1.25 and play WCIII and NWN both at full detail. I would hazard a guess that you should be able to play WCIII very will on any of the G4 iBooks. You might have to bump the detail down a notch, I don't think you will even notice the difference. It may not even be necessary at all.

          -Spyky

      • Re:Bus speed and backside cache (Score:4, Insightful)

        by sootman ( 158191 ) on Wednesday October 22, 2003 @09:41AM (#7280821) Homepage Journal
        The slowest PB-G4 is 1 GHz, and the only way to get above 800 MHz is to go up to the 12" model, so there's not much overlap in the 12" units at all. And since the 14" units still only have a 1024x768 screen (same as the 12" *books) that's the big difference between the 14" iBook & 15" PB. They did a pretty good job of no overlap.

        That aside, it would be interesting to see how the 133 MHz/1 GHz G4 with 256k cache in the iBooks compares to the 167 MHz 1 GHz G4 with 512 in the PB. (barefeats, are you listening?) I was also wondering how long Apple was going to make G3s, G4s, and G5s. Now they're back to just 2 CPUs.

    • Re:Powerbook premium (Score:2, Informative)

      by marnerd ( 3934 )
      SuperDrive is only available on the Powerbooks, plus dual monitor support instead of just mirroring. My wife cares about the first feature, I care about the second, so I guess we are saving our pennies a bit longer.

    • Re:Powerbook premium (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward
      DVI out, Gigabit Ethernet, FireWire 800, SuperDrive. Plus, you know, the PowerBook is faster.

    • Re:Powerbook premium (Score:5, Informative)

      by EricWright ( 16803 ) on Wednesday October 22, 2003 @08:58AM (#7280442) Journal
      The PB line has:

      Availability of superdrive
      Max 1.25 GB RAM, compared to 640 MB on ibook
      Built-in bluetooth
      512 K L2 cache, compared to 256 K for ibook
      Mini-DVI out, not Mini-SVGA out
      Allows for monitor spanning, not just mirroring

      The 15" and 17" models also have gigabit ethernet, FW800, widescreen aspect ratio, and backlit keyboards...

      Of course, it's up to you to decide if these features are worth it or not.
      • The 15" Powerbook also features factory defects, such as a poorly designed casing behind the LCD panel, causing pressure on it to form white splotches in the middle of the screen.

        Right now, I think anyone would be a fool to buy one. People who just received theirs are having these screen problems in as little as the first few days to 1 week of use. Apple was doing warranty replacements, but so far, the replacements had the same issues as the originals.

        (To Apple's credit, though, many of the Apple suppor
    • The 12" PowerBook looks like an endangered species. I can defend the 15" model because it has the wonderful large screen, but the 12" PowerBook screen is identical to the iBook screen. This was always a bit of a disappointment to me since the iBook screen is a distinctly inferior piece of work compared to the gorgeous screen they use on the 15".

      The specifications of the 14" iBook is superior in every respect (speed, drives, etc) to the 12" PowerBook, and it's $100 cheaper. I think it's a pity they didn'

      • Re:Powerbook premium (Score:3, Interesting)

        by jtrascap ( 526135 )
        Yeah - 1099 for a laptop is a deal-breaker.

        Especially since it comes with a DVD/CD-RW drive, 1 FireWire & 2 USB 2.0 ports, 30GB drive, decent 32MB video ram, 10/100 & modem all built-in.

        So - were you just looking to troll, or were you actually trying to make some kind of informed point?

  • I doubt this will be the end of the G3 (Score:3, Informative)

    by gsdali ( 707124 ) on Wednesday October 22, 2003 @08:31AM (#7280222)
    The next IBM 750 series of processors will have faster main cores and Altivec extensions so G3s will be back even if they don't get called G3s by apple. What is a G3 with altivec if not a G4 (ish, sort of).

    I will interested to see how this will affect lower end powerbook sales.
    • I'm wondering if that's actually what these G4's are. "G4" is really a marketing term, not a designation for a single chip; and I remember the "Road Warrior" guy on MacOpinion predicting a few months ago that Apple would eventually stick IBM's 750+Altivec chip inside an iBook and call it a G4. Is it possible that this has already happened? IBM and Apple are both pretty good at keeping their mouths shut these days.
  • the one standard 12inch model is 800MHZ and the two 14inch models are 933MHz and 1GHz....... i wonder if it's a heat issue of the G4, or if they are trying to make the 12inch an entry model? Personally if i bought one i would go for 12inch just because of the portability factor. The slower processor makes me wonder though. I guess we will have to wait to see what actual G4 chip they have? That being said they seem like a decent upgrade and stay in the same price brackets. This seems to blur the line between
  • Too bad. I really liked the all-white design, it made all the difference from the gray mass [dell.com].

    Oh well, off to buy one I guess.
  • ..that the new iBook ships with 10.3, but I keep checking the Apple store to see when they're going to start shipping the G5s with 10.3. Right now, they're still shipping with 10.2, but they'll send you a copy of 10.3 when it gets released on Friday. Thanks and all, but I'd rather not have to bother getting my new G5, and then waiting a couple days, and then upgrading my OS. Apple, my credit card is burning, scarring my hand waiting to buy a G5!!! Start shipping them with 10.3 and I'll hemorrhage cash f

  • Only G4 by apple's marketing (Score:5, Informative)

    by Amiga Lover ( 708890 ) on Wednesday October 22, 2003 @08:40AM (#7280292)
    These aren't the same G4 chips you're used to in Powerbooks, they're IBM manufactured "PPC 750GX". Yes, that's a G3 with AltiVec.

    Previous PPC750s (the fx and so on) were called G3s. Add an AltiVec unit to it and Apple call it a G4

    Remember Apple's marketing is perfectly justified in calling a chip anything it likes, and it looks to be using AltiVec as the demarcation between G3 and G4, rather than the rest of the core. It's still a PPC750 in these new iBooks however.

    • Re:Only G4 by apple's marketing (Score:5, Insightful)

      by HeghmoH ( 13204 ) on Wednesday October 22, 2003 @08:47AM (#7280353) Homepage Journal
      AltiVec really is the only significant difference between the G3 and the G4 anyway. There are some other minor differences, but the "bolt on altivec and call it a G4" story is not new.
      • then the G3. So the Powerbook should still be significantly faster.

      • No Velocity Engine !!! (Score:4, Interesting)

        by javaxman ( 705658 ) on Wednesday October 22, 2003 @03:42PM (#7284223) Journal
        If you look at the "Technical Specifications" page for the new iBooks, you'll notice there is NO mention of the "Velocity Engine". Same for the new "G4" eMac.

        Any other Technical Specifications page for any other "G4" Apple offers, they say "with Velocity Engine".

        I am afraid the iBook and eMac may not *have* a "Velocity Engine", or Apple would advertise it, wouldn't they ? These might be IBM chips, but they are not IBM chips with "Altivec". They may be "G4" in name only, i.e. we're marketing guys, we're willing to call it "G4" just because it's over 800 Mhz... this totally sucks if it's the case. I hope I'm wrong and Apple updates the Tech Specs to include mention of Velocity Engine, but I am afraid that Apple might have just stooped to the level of other hardware companies here.

    • These aren't the same G4 chips you're used to in Powerbooks, they're IBM manufactured "PPC 750GX". Yes, that's a G3 with AltiVec.

      How do you know? Personally, I doubt it. The last few generations of G3 iBooks had 512kb of L2 cache, and these iBooks only have 256kb.

      This points more in the direction PPC7450/PPC7455 (i.e., the G4 used in the eMac/iMac and previous -not current- Powerbooks) than in that of a PPC750GX (successor of the PPC750FX used in previous iBooks, supposedly with up to 1MB of L2 cache a

    • These aren't the same G4 chips you're used to in Powerbooks, they're IBM manufactured "PPC 750GX". Yes, that's a G3 with AltiVec.

      You wouldn't mind disclosing your source for this tidbit, would you?

    • USB 2.0 (Score:3, Informative)

      by mblase ( 200735 )
      Browsing Apple's pages [apple.com], I noticed that USB 2.0 support was added to these iBooks. USB 2.0 was first supported by Apple in the new G5 towers (although unlike the G5s, the iBooks don't support FireWire 800, only FW 400).

      It also ships with OS X 10.3 Panther [apple.com], although this should surprise no one as Panther is set to ship within the week anyway.

    • Re:Only G4 by apple's marketing (Score:4, Informative)

      by Jesrad ( 716567 ) on Wednesday October 22, 2003 @09:43AM (#7280839) Journal
      Hardmac.com identifies the chips as PPC7455 [hardmac.com]. There go the Gobi / Mojave theories of MacOpinion and AppleInsider.
    • These aren't the same G4 chips you're used to in Powerbooks, they're IBM manufactured "PPC 750GX". Yes, that's a G3 with AltiVec.

      The PowerPC 750GX [ibm.com] has a 1MB Level 2 cache and no AltiVec. I doubt that these are in the Ibook.

    • You're very wrong! (Score:3, Informative)

      by MarcQuadra ( 129430 ) *
      The 750GX DOES NOT include a SIMD/AltiVec unit, and these machines DO NOT have IBM 750GX CPUs in them.

      the 750GX, due soon at a fabrication plant near you, is essentially a 750FX with additional L2 cache (1MB vs. 512K), and some minor reworking to accomodate higher clocking and better caching. Expect it to run in the 900MHz-1.2GHz range over it's lifetime.

      The 750VX, which nobody has even claimed to have seen yet, is the rumored IBM 750+AltiVec CPU. It would be IBM's answer to Motorola's G4 chip. Specs are

  • Screen resolution questions (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Can someone explain why a 14.1 in display would have the same resolution (1024x768) as the 12.1 in display? I would expect to see a higher resolution as the screen gets bigger. Can you see the difference when comparing the two side by side (clarity of the icons, etc)?
    • Your misunderstanding is simple: "resolution" is a optical term that used to describe resolving power. Applied to computer displays, it would correspond to how many pixels there are per inch.

      Nowadays people use the term "resolution" when they really mean screen size or dimension.

      You can have a screen that's 1024 X 768 and is only 2-inches wide... or 2-feet wide.

      Get it?

      Anyway, since most people sit closer to their laptops and portables than they do when they are working on desktop computers, smaller scre
  • Needless to say, they had the G4 iBooks ready to go, but held off announcing them until my 15" AlBook had arrived.

  • G3 support? (Score:3, Funny)

    by metatruk ( 315048 ) on Wednesday October 22, 2003 @08:45AM (#7280331)
    How much longer can we see OS X support for the last generation of iBooks with G3 processors? The current version of OS X 10.3 (Panther) does not support the beige G3 model.

    • Re:G3 support? (Score:2, Insightful)

      by SofaMan ( 454881 )
      When you consider that the beige G3s are now around 5 years old, I don't actually think it's too bad that Apple are only now withdrawing support from a current operating system. It may not be unreasonable to expect that current or near-current G3 models would be supported for a similar timeframe.

      Why would you want to try and run Panther on a 233-300 Mhz G3 machine anyway? I can't imagine the performance issues on that slow a processor would be worth it.

    • Re:G3 support? (Score:5, Funny)

      by OccSub ( 572282 ) on Wednesday October 22, 2003 @09:07AM (#7280504)
      I know! I mean, this company is a flock of ravenous vultures... just forcing those people who just bought their brand new Power Macs [lowendmac.com] only 6 f**king years ago to upgrade, just to run the latest OS! I mean, if Microsoft ever dropped support for my 90MHz Pentium in Longhorn, I'd be so ticked, I'd have to slit my own wrists and cry, on my bed, in the dark.
    • The beige G3 isn't officially supported because of it's overall architecture - the processor is a minor part of that. The main difference between that G3 and current G3's is speed, but the differences in the motherboard, standard graphics, ports, harddrive, etc. is far greater. When you throw in the fact that people still using those machines have almost certainly upgraded most of those factors QA goes out the window. From what I've heard Panther will probably work, they just haven't tested it and won't

  • thank god i hesitated (Score:3, Interesting)

    by 514x0r ( 691137 ) on Wednesday October 22, 2003 @08:45AM (#7280341)
    i was minutes away from buying a g3 ibook for my wife yesterday, but decided to wait. by this morning i'd talked myself into it and went to the apple site. holy jebus, for an extra $100, she's [i'm] getting a g4 with twice the memory and the combo drive built in!

  • no MPC7447 here... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Tomasset ( 26814 ) on Wednesday October 22, 2003 @08:51AM (#7280379)
    It is just curious to see that Apple is not using the latest MPC7447 G4s [motorola.com] (those found inside the newest Powerbooks) but the oldest MPC7445 [motorola.com], which include only 256K cache and generate more heat as they are produced with an 0.18 u technology (as opposed to the 0.13 u of the 47s)

    The only reason I could see is, apart from differentating the models in terms of cache size, the future transition to G5 in the Powerbooks and G4-7447s in the iBooks.
    • Still, there's no question that a G4 of any type beats a G3 under OS X. And now even the cheapest Apple laptop boasts a G4. Dat's da bomb.

    • Re:no MPC7447 here... (Score:4, Interesting)

      by berniecase ( 20853 ) * on Wednesday October 22, 2003 @09:36AM (#7280770) Homepage Journal
      The new PowerBooks use the MPC7457. Apple's CHUD tools report it as a 7457, and I have a 15" AlBook to prove it :-)

      I think it was probably just easier for Apple to shoehorn the older 12"/17" PowerBook design (with the MPC7445 (or are they using the MPC7455?) into the iBook's case, where you've got a little bit more space for cooling.

  • New Power/iBook (Score:3, Insightful)

    by locarecords.com ( 601843 ) <davidNO@SPAMlocarecords.com> on Wednesday October 22, 2003 @08:53AM (#7280400) Homepage Journal
    ...

    I have just bought a new top-of-range Al Powerbook and although I am extremely happy with it I am concerned that Apple has not got enough of a differentiation between the iBook and Powerbook line.

    Bluetooth and a larger L2 cache is hardly a justification and the superdrive is personally neither here nor there. I think the sooner they get the liquid cooled G5 fitted into a powerbook the better. Hey I might even be *forced* to part with even more money for the sheer coolness of it.

    However I think that this market segmentation is crucial for Apple to keep an aspirational difference between consumer and pro lines. And frankly these releases are dangerously close to blurring them...

    I would suggest that plastic vs metal case is *not* gonna be enough if they are both based on the same processor architecture...

  • I just got a 15" PB a few weeks ago, and am just had a "Oh no..." moment when I saw this story.

    Shock: "What? G4s in the IBOOKS?
    Denial: "This must be some poorly researched article on /."
    Bargaining: "Maybe I can return my powerbook and get an iBook..."
    Fear: "What if Apple won't let me return it because its a build to order??"
    Anger: "Those SOBs KNEW and didn't tell me before I spent all that money!"
    Despair: "Now my Powerbook will have no resale value when I have to eBay it for the new G5 laptops!!"
    Acceptance: "Wait a minute - this this Powerbook kicks ass! The girls want to be with me, the guys want to be me, and I consistently get benchmarks higher than a dual 1 ghz G4 Powermac. The Airport Extreme rules, the battery life is lengthy, it runs nice and warm and winter is coming! I guess I did ok..."
    Fast forward one year. "The G5 laptops are OUT?!?...."

  • Difficult to justify the 12" powerbook now... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by iJed ( 594606 ) on Wednesday October 22, 2003 @08:56AM (#7280428) Homepage
    Its difficult to justify buying the 12" PowerBook with the new 12" iBook. I know the PowerBook is slightly faster, has slightly better graphics card, DVI out and a slightly nicer casing but the price difference is so large that you'd really have to need one of these specialised features to justify the purchase of a PowerBook 12".

  • eMac prices lowered too! (Score:3, Informative)

    by milenko11 ( 552134 ) on Wednesday October 22, 2003 @09:02AM (#7280470)
    The eMac has dropped to $799 now and that is for the 1 GHz G4 with a combo drive.

  • Wait until Friday!!! (Score:5, Informative)

    by tuxedobob ( 582913 ) <tuxedobob.mac@com> on Wednesday October 22, 2003 @09:06AM (#7280496)

    If you want to buy one of these, it might be a good idea to go to the unleashing of Panther this Friday at an Apple Store! When Jaguar came out, it was what, 10% off everything in the store?

  • Wish they'd do a pen convertible at least (Score:3, Insightful)

    by WillAdams ( 45638 ) on Wednesday October 22, 2003 @09:12AM (#7280533) Homepage
    I actually considered going w/ an iBook (got to use a couple at TUG2003 in Hawai'i and thought the 12" model was a good fit---found the 14" too big, guess I'm still remembering my Sharp PC-6220, the first truly usable laptop (and I had a GRiDCase III plus, NEC Ultralite and Toshiba 1200xe before that)).

    But, I'd have to haul around a separate graphics tablet (at least these days w/ USB you don't need a wall-wart power supply like my ThinkPad and Wacom ArtZ did), and the handwriting recognition is ``merely'' the print recognizer from Newton OS 2.x and doesn't learn, and there's no built-in support for gestures beyond basic editing for other aspects of pen UI.

    Surely Apple could engineer a nice double-hinge setup which was elegant, durable, reliable and innovative (look at recent stories on interesting laptop designs from IBM as examples of what they should surpass).

    So, I got a Fujitsu Stylistic instead, at least I didn't have to compromise and get a convertible, but got a true slate---for Mac OS X, I'd probably compromise though, especially if they added further pen-specific aspects to the UI.

    I really miss PenPoint though (ran it on an NCR-3125), and have always kind of wished that Go had teamed up with HP, and that NeXT had gone w/ PenPoint for their portables (say w/ some kind of synch arrangement like to the Palm Pilot).

    William

  • Differences between PowerBook and iBook (Score:5, Informative)

    by laird ( 2705 ) <lairdp @ g m a i l.com> on Wednesday October 22, 2003 @09:19AM (#7280604) Journal
    My first reaction was "great, the iBook is the same as the PowerBook I bought a few months ago". After a few minutes digging, though, there are some real differences, though they're subtle. So Apple managed to give the core benefits of the PB to the iBook at a somewhat lower price, which is a good thing, even if it does reduce the product differentiation a bit.

    The differences I can see are:
    - Bluetooth is extra (an internal module, like AirPort).
    - No SuperDrive option. This is a big deal to me -- I do backups on DVD-R's (you don't want to back 60 GB onto CD-R's!).
    - No DVI out (also none on my PB, but there is on new ones)
    - White plastic instead of metal case.
    - 0.3 pounds heavier, perhaps 1/2 inch thicker.
    - 10 GB smaller hard drives
    - Plastic probably more impact resistant than metal (but also leads to case being thicker).
    - $500 more for PowerBook.

    So overall, a tradeoff. I'm still as happy as ever with my 12" PB, but now more people can buy most of what I've got, and while that makes it a little less exclusive, that's really a good thing... :-)

  • iTunes (Score:3, Interesting)

    by MORTAR_COMBAT! ( 589963 ) on Wednesday October 22, 2003 @09:43AM (#7280845)
    I actually had my wife considering an iBook for her next laptop, because she wanted iTunes. But now that she's got iTunes on her existing (Windows) laptop, there will be no iminent iBook purchase.

    Thanks Mr. Jobs.

  • Excellent (Score:4, Interesting)

    by FrostedWheat ( 172733 ) on Wednesday October 22, 2003 @09:50AM (#7280893)
    I was considering buying one of these yesterday, but decided to wait a week to see if I can find something better. Glad I did now :)

    One thing I would like to ask those who have an iBook already: What's the battery life like? It sayed 6 hours in the UK Apple store for the pre-G4 12" version, which would be amazing if it was true. They've changed it to the rather vague "extra-long battery life" for the G4 version.

  • price protection (Score:5, Informative)

    by pinpoint23 ( 323490 ) on Wednesday October 22, 2003 @01:48PM (#7283071) Homepage
    having just recieved my 900 MHz G3 iBook in the mail 4 days ago, I was pretty pissed to see that Apple unveiled a new line of iBooks.

    However, I called Apple, and it turned out I qualified for some kind of price protection. I am not allowed to return my iBook and get a new one (since my iBook was "custom built" by having extra RAM and an Airport card added), but they are going to credit my Visa $190.

    Hope this helps anyone else who just bought an iBook. CALL APPLE!!! they may have some money for you....

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