Tue 7/27: NEW iBooks!!!!!!!!!!

The 1.33 GHz PowerPC G4 iBook, weighing 4.9 pounds is available for $1000:

* a crisp 12.1-inch (diagonal) active-matrix TFT display;
* 512MB DDR SDRAM expandable to up to 1.5GB maximum memory;
* a 40GB Ultra ATA hard drive;
* AirPort Extreme 54 Mbps 802.11g WiFi wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR;
* two USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 400;
* VGA video out, S-video and composite video out support;
* 56K v.92 modem, Ethernet (10/100 BASE-T); and
* a slot-load Combo (DVD-ROM/CD-RW) drive.

The 1.42 GHz PowerPC G4 iBook, weighing 5.9 pounds, is $1,300.

* a brilliant 14.1-inch (diagonal) active-matrix TFT display;
* 512MB DDR SDRAM expandable to up to 1.5GB maximum memory;
* a 60GB Ultra ATA hard drive;
* AirPort Extreme 54 Mbps 802.11g WiFi wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR;
* two USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 400;
* VGA video out, S-video and composite video out support;
* 56K v.92 modem, Ethernet (10/100 BASE-T); and
* a slot-load SuperDrive (DVD+/-R/CD-RW) drive.

 

Rather a boring update. No Widescreen on the 14" model, and then only 512MB's of RAM and Airport Extreme & Bluetooth that's really big. The Sudden Motion Sensor is a cool idea, but really, how many of us plan on dropping our laptops? The trackpad scrolling was also long overdue. Don't get me wrong, I am a Mac guy, I'm typing this up on one, but their laptop offerings suck now, which is why I bought the HP L2000.

BTW, today is the 26th, not the 27th.

 

I love macs, but paying a premium for mediocre hardware is getting old. maybe a widescreen would turn my head, but a processor jump and FINALLY providing the minimum required ram is hardly enough to make me overpay for a system that doesnt have a DVD burner or a HDD thats big enough to be useful. Id love to dump PC's for my laptop choice but until they start giving reasonable prices then i have no choice.

Macintels are going to be huge if they can realize that their pricing structure just plain sucks.

 

yea..today is the 26th...lol...i'll wait a few years to get a Macintel computer..those will like rock...lol

 

i agree, this update is a sleeper. 2006 will be the next time it's worth upgrading an iBook.

 

yea..i agree...but it's the company's choice to update their iBooks now...lol

 

These "upgrades" look rather as an evidence of deep innovation crisis inside Apple,
at least on the side of the processors and, I would say, the design too. The marketing strategy which they pursue with this "upgrades" during the last year (at least) looks pretty unfair and disrespectful regarding the potential customers. However, maybe some fans like just that.

Think different, Mackeys!

 

i do. i plan on dropping it twice per day. three times on sundays.

i wonder if they improved the screens at all. just because it's not widescreen doesnt mean it's not a new panel.

 

i went back in time to make the post and i forgot to ajust my watch

 

What I like is the switch to a MR 9550 GPU. That's a substantial boost over a 9200, espeically given the 9550's overclocking opportunities, even if the VRAM is still limited to 32MB. Doom 3 should actually be quite playable on low-ish settings on a 12-inch iBook; how many 12-inch PC notebooks can claim that?

 

yes, this is the best part of this upgrade. however, what was preventing them from putting this card already last year? This is what I mean by the nastiness of their marketing strategy. They imitate progress being actually backwards of it.

 

lol...it's alright...we all make mistakes...computers make mistakes even "sumtimes"...i mean come on...if computers were "perfect" we wouldn't b around..and mayb vice versa...lol

 

This maybe a noob question, but I would like to know how will you be able to overclock the new GPU in the 14" IBook? :gateway:

 

There were reports about overclocking mac mini (up to 1.8GHZ?) earlier this year. i was not interested in the issue since then. Maybe it gives you a hint.

 

well it uses the same cpu as the G4 emac; and that was able to oc to somwhere between 1.7-1.8 via flipping pins on the mobo right near the cpu. not sure if the iBook has the pins though. even if it did it would be quite the task disassembling and reassembling the whole notebook, also you would have to use some primo thermal compound like arctic silver ceramique & a better cooling solution to reach those speeds.

for a good performace boost just adding more memory would be better. OSX responds very very positively to lots of memory. manages it extremely well.

 

dude a few years they are saying next spring

 

In support of my criticism of Apple's "upgrades" let me refer to two reviews
of two different versions of BENQ 14" laptops. This shows what the real upgrade is,
unlike the progress imitations by Apple:
Mid 2004
http://www.hardwarezone.com/articles/view.php?cid=14&id=1237
Mid 2005
http://www.hardwarezone.com/articles/view.php?cid=14&id=1558