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Apple announces new PowerBooks, but liquid nitrogen shipment didn't arrive

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Chittagong

Gold Member
Didn't see this posted yet. Ah shit... they are based on G4, so I'll have to wait atleast to Q2/05 with replacing my home laptop. I guess the chatter on the heat challenges of a PowerBook G5 were not without basis.

G5 would be really needed, since Doom 3 requires it. The new double finger touch scrolling is damn cool, however.

I say - try harder.

apple.com said:
Whether you prefer the ultra-compact 12-inch model, the coveted 15-inch powerhouse or the high-resolution 17-inch stunner, every new PowerBook G4 features faster PowerPC G4 processors with speeds topping the charts at 1.67GHz. Want power to burn? The new PowerBook models offer 8x SuperDrives. And each PowerBook comes standard with 512MB of memory and a 5400-rpm hard disk drive. Starting at just $1499.

Form Favors Function

Housed in a sleek, lightweight aluminum alloy enclosure, the PowerBook G4 resists stains and scratches. It’s also perfectly smooth on all surfaces, with no doors, protruding latches or levers to break, and no sharp edges to catch on your clothing.

Ready to Scroll

Scrolling through web pages or large documents on a trackpad can challenge even the most nimble fingers. That’s why every PowerBook G4 features a new trackpad with scrolling capability. Just drag two fingers over the trackpad to scroll vertically and horizontally or pan around any active window. Change this feature to suit your needs: Customize your trackpad settings or turn off scrolling completely via System Preferences.

Takes the Fall

Now every PowerBook G4 is equipped with Apple's Sudden Motion Sensor to help protect your most valuable asset: your data. The Sudden Motion Sensor senses change in axis position and accelerated movement. In the event of a drop or fall, the Sudden Motion Sensor instantly parks the hard drive heads so they won’t scratch the disks on impact, lessening the risk of damage and improving your chances of retrieving valuable data. When the Sudden Motion Sensor senses your PowerBook is once again level, it unlocks the hard drive heads automatically.

Featherweight Champ

Light enough to carry around all day, the three new PowerBook G4 models start at just 4.6 pounds. And, thanks to the PowerPC G4 processor with Velocity Engine, every PowerBook packs a tremendous punch for doing everything from crunching numbers to editing video and designing show-stopping presentations. You’ll marvel at the way so many high-end features fit into such a remarkably thin and light frame.

Connectivity to Go

Built into every configuration of the PowerBook G4 family: fast AirPort Extreme technology. Based on the 802.11g standard, AirPort Extreme delivers — at 54Mbps — the fastest wireless connection available. And with thousands of wireless “hot spots” in hotels, airport lounges, coffee shops and bookstores around the world, you’ll be able to use your PowerBook G4 to get online from practically anywhere.

Gigabit Ethernet comes built into the 17-inch and 15-inch models (10/100 Ethernet on the 12-inch model) and a 56K V.92 modem in all models, which means that if your ISP supports the V.92 standard, you can put your Internet connection on hold while you answer an incoming phone call.

Massively expandable, the PowerBook G4 includes high-speed USB 2.0 and FireWire 400 —the gold standard for high-speed data transfer — built in. Meanwhile, Apple ups the data-throughput ante for those of you opting for the 15-inch and 17-inch models, providing double the data transfer speed with FireWire 800 as well. So you can connect any of hundreds of compatible printers, scanners, DV camcorders and digital cameras, as well as such must-have peripherals as iPod, iPod mini, iPod shuffle and iSight.

Buy any PowerBook G4, and you get Bluetooth 2.0+EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) wireless peripheral connectivity built in. Combine Bluetooth with iSync to keep your contacts and schedules up to date and fully synchronized between your PowerBook and your Bluetooth-enabled cell phone and PDA. You can also use your Bluetooth phone as a wireless modem if you’re out and about and find no WiFi connection available. And, as an added bonus, Bluetooth even lets you enjoy a cable-free desktop with the Apple wireless keyboard and mouse.

Fast Family

Speedier than ever, PowerBook G4 computers all feature faster PowerPC G4 processors with Velocity Engine that provide robust performance for complex multimedia or data intensive applications. The 15-inch and 17-inch models boast processor speeds of up to 1.67GHz, and the 12-inch model now offers speedier performance with its 1.5GHz processor.

Working with several RAM-hungry applications? All PowerBook G4 models now ship with 512MB of fast DDR memory standard. And if you’re feeling expansive, you can quadruple that to 2GB on both the 17- and 15-inch models. Despite its diminutive size, the 12-inch model still allows you to pack up to 1.25GB of RAM, more than enough to store an entire graphics project in main memory for fast image manipulations.

Graphically Gifted

With its NVIDIA GeForce FX Go5200 processor, the new 12-inch PowerBook G4 offers phenomenal graphics performance. And the 15- and 17-inch models now sport the ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 featuring 64MB and 128MB of DDR SDRAM, respectively, with an option to rev the 15-inch PowerBook up to 128MB of video memory. Kicking 3D graphics performance up a notch with their advanced ultra efficient memory architecture, these graphics processors deliver a dynamic, visually appealing, real-time 3D experience.

Shift into SuperDrive

Order a PowerBook with a SuperDrive, and you have an even more potent optical drive at your disposal, one that allows you to burn DVDs faster than ever: up to 8x speed.

Extremely versatile, the SuperDrive works hand-in-hand with Mac OS X to let you burn data CDs and DVDs — right from the Desktop. And now the SuperDrive supports burning of DVD+RW, DVD-RW and DVD+R formats in addition to DVD-R format. In iTunes, you can easily burn music CDs and really long-playing MP3 CDs. You can also archive your entire music library onto multiple CDs or DVDs with your SuperDrive-equipped PowerBook. And, speaking of teamwork, iDVD was created with a SuperDrive in mind, as it lets you burn DVDs that include multiple iPhoto and iMovie projects.

The slot-loading SuperDrive (DVD±RW/CD-RW) reads DVD titles at 8x and writes to 4.7GB DVD-R discs up to 8x. The 12-inch and 15-inch PowerBook models are also available with the Combo (DVD-ROM/CD-RW) drive.

trackpad20050131.gif
 

Prospero

Member
The small price drop is nice, and the motion sensor is nifty, but I'm still waiting for a G5.

(Also, cue haters who'll point out that the "innovations" this time out are already available in some Windows-compatible laptops).
 

tedtropy

$50/hour, but no kissing on the lips and colors must be pre-separated
My Dell laptop from four years ago had a touchpad that supported scrolling, hot zones, etc. Big whoop. To scroll, you set a tolerance zone along whichever edge of the touchpad you wanted and it acted as a virtual scrollbar. It worked great - loved the touchpad on that laptop. I believe it was made by Synaptics. Also, it not having a G5 processor is really disappointing - the G4 is a quickly aging last-gen processor. I'm not trying to hate mind you, I love Apple's laptops both for their functionality and especially their design and yearn for the day when I can afford one. I just think this new iteration seems like a letdown.
 

Chittagong

Gold Member
tedtropy said:
I love Apple's laptops both for their functionality and especially their design and yearn for the day when I can afford one. I just think this new iteration seems like a letdown.

I think so too.

G5 better be out by E3 or I'll need to come over the Atlantic for the fifth time in H1/05, which would be a bit excessive in my mind.
 

xsarien

daedsiluap
Chittagong said:
I think so too.

G5 better be out by E3 or I'll need to come over the Atlantic for the fifth time in H1/05, which would be a bit excessive in my mind.

I have a feeling that Apple would just love to get G5 Powerbooks out ASAP. Hell, they probably would've wanted to announce them at this past Macworld Expo. But the reality is that there are heat issues to deal with. Unless you don't plan on having kids, I'd let Apple take their time. :p
 

tedtropy

$50/hour, but no kissing on the lips and colors must be pre-separated
xsarien said:
I have a feeling that Apple would just love to get G5 Powerbooks out ASAP. Hell, they probably would've wanted to announce them at this past Macworld Expo. But the reality is that there are heat issues to deal with. Unless you don't plan on having kids, I'd let Apple take their time. :p

Eh, I'm used to having 432GHz PC-based laptops singe my pubic hairs through my pants. Bring it on, Apple. BRING IT ON!!!
 

Chittagong

Gold Member
SteveMeister said:
No G5 is why it was such a quiet announcement.

Quiet is almost an understatement. I happen to have the default start page in Safari and just noticed it on the start page - "whoa, new Powerbooks three weeks after Macworld?!".

I guess they really didn't want to answer the inevitable question.

Intrestingly, however, I recall reading recently that some of Apple's subcontractors listed Powerbook G5 and iBook G5 in their Q2/05 happenings. Not sure if that tells anything really, but I want to believe nevertheless.
 

Phoenix

Member
Apple laptops generally don't get a lot of press unless there is something major happening to them. People really won't care until the Powerbook G5 comes out. The speed bumps, while useful, don't really provide enough band for the buck with people using 1.25+ Ghz laptops to consider upgrading. The G5 chip is insanely hot and only the latest die shrink, some new cooling system, and a massive battery upgrade will make it viable in a laptop. While I'm sure IBM will get it there, I fear for the batterlife of anything with a G5 and any decent video card in it.
 

Chittagong

Gold Member
Phoenix said:
The G5 chip is insanely hot and only the latest die shrink, some new cooling system, and a massive battery upgrade will make it viable in a laptop. While I'm sure IBM will get it there, I fear for the batterlife of anything with a G5 and any decent video card in it.

That's what I said 6 months ago but Sony proved me wrong with PSP. I'm starting believe now that processors do not actually require electricity to run, hence Apple should put the G5 out already.
 

DonasaurusRex

Online Ho Champ
...Why bother with a dual core G4 its so old, IBM has a dual core PPC 970 in the pipeline im sure, not like it would be cheaper to make the old processor in dual core might as well in the very least get a dual core G5.
 

Phoenix

Member
DonasaurusRex said:
...Why bother with a dual core G4 its so old, IBM has a dual core PPC 970 in the pipeline im sure, not like it would be cheaper to make the old processor in dual core might as well in the very least get a dual core G5.

You'll turn on the machine, the fans will immediately come on, the OS will boot, the battery life warning dialog will appear, the machine will shut down.
 

Tarazet

Member
Damn, that looks like an overall better deal than what I've got. But with Toshiba selling a 64-bit laptop for the same price, I don't see the appeal...
 
It's funny that the liquid nitrogen didn't arrive...there was a train carrying liquid nitrogen that de-railed a few miles from my house. Apparently, a shitload of liquid nitrogen spilled into a stream. That can't be good.
 

number386

Member
Wow thats a significant price drop. I bought the 1.5 ghz g4 15 inch powerbook last summer for $2650 I upgraded it to a radeon 9700 128mb ram, and a 5200rpm hard drive. I knew the dual g4 rumor was not going to happen because with the dual g4 processor there would need to be a huge overhaul in the desing with the extra heatsink, fan, etc... wouldn't really be practical. Overall there isin't much of an upgrade other than the big price drop. I guess it's good for me as it improves the longevity of my powerbook.
 
The new track-pad functionality makes me very envious of future powerbook owners. I got mine in the summer, and I love it. They are great machines.
 

Phoenix

Member
DonasaurusRex said:
haha have some faith by the time the G5 goes mobile and then dual core im sure the heat/power issues will be worked out.


The only problem with that is that the G5 consumes a lot of power as do the mobile 3D accelerating parts - their heat and power usage is going up over time. Meanwhile, battery power is pretty much remaining a constant. I'm sure it can be done, but I'll business lease my Powerbook G5 instead of buying it :)

For me the trackpad feature is a "I would use that maybe a handful of times in my life". Sounds cool, but I never find myself scrolling around with either the mouse or anything else. When I'm on Firefox and I want to scroll down I'm pressing the spacebar (when text editing component not in focus) or pressing shift+space to scroll up. The only usecase I can think of where I'd actually want to use that is when I'm looking at a file of a thousand lines of code.... and in those cases I'm grepping or 'finding' what I'm looking for, not scrolling around.
 
tedtropy said:
My Dell laptop from four years ago had a touchpad that supported scrolling, hot zones, etc. Big whoop. To scroll, you set a tolerance zone along whichever edge of the touchpad you wanted and it acted as a virtual scrollbar. It worked great - loved the touchpad on that laptop.


You can do that on current Mac touchpads. I think the innovation here is that you can use the whole pad, there is no "hot zone" to worry about.
 

shantyman

WHO DEY!?
You know, it seems people are simply complaining about not having a G5 so they can hav something to complain about. My main work machine is a 900Mhz G3 iBook with 640 Megs of RAM, and it is sufficiantly fast for ANY work app. Will it edit HD video? No, not well or at all, but who in the hell is going to be doing that on a laptop if they are doing real work?

I also love when people complain about no G5 when they would never buy one anyway.
 

tedtropy

$50/hour, but no kissing on the lips and colors must be pre-separated
shantyman said:
You know, it seems people are simply complaining about not having a G5 so they can hav something to complain about. My main work machine is a 900Mhz G3 iBook with 640 Megs of RAM, and it is sufficiantly fast for ANY work app. Will it edit HD video? No, not well or at all, but who in the hell is going to be doing that on a laptop if they are doing real work?

I also love when people complain about no G5 when they would never buy one anyway.

So Apple should just keep releasing G4 rehashes? Just because you wouldn't take advantage of the technology doesn't mean that Apple shouldn't advance their own. The Powerbook line hasn't seen a significant upgrade in awhile and I can understand people being somewhat disappointed with this iteration.

I've had the same P3-850MHz Dell laptop for four years or so now and it still does everything I need it to in Windows XP. Were I to get a new laptop though, I'd certainly expect something much more powerful.
 

SteveMeister

Hang out with Steve.
shantyman said:
You know, it seems people are simply complaining about not having a G5 so they can hav something to complain about. My main work machine is a 900Mhz G3 iBook with 640 Megs of RAM, and it is sufficiantly fast for ANY work app. Will it edit HD video? No, not well or at all, but who in the hell is going to be doing that on a laptop if they are doing real work?

I also love when people complain about no G5 when they would never buy one anyway.

Actually a lot of people buy PowerBooks as desktop replacements. Particularly the 17" model. And the G5 PowerBook is LONG overdue -- Windows laptops offer significantly more power.
 

pxleyes

Banned
shantyman said:
You know, it seems people are simply complaining about not having a G5 so they can hav something to complain about. My main work machine is a 900Mhz G3 iBook with 640 Megs of RAM, and it is sufficiantly fast for ANY work app. Will it edit HD video? No, not well or at all, but who in the hell is going to be doing that on a laptop if they are doing real work?

I also love when people complain about no G5 when they would never buy one anyway.

http://kennethahuff.com/

This guy does his work on the go as well as at home and he uses a small, 15" G4 powerbook. This is "who the hell" is gonna use a laptop to do real work.

If you aren't gonna take the time to read about him, his final renders top at around 19,000x20,000 pixels.
 

Phoenix

Member
SteveMeister said:
Actually a lot of people buy PowerBooks as desktop replacements. Particularly the 17" model. And the G5 PowerBook is LONG overdue -- Windows laptops offer significantly more power.

Anyone who buys a laptop as a desktop replacement is beyond nuts - there I've said it :)
 

shantyman

WHO DEY!?
tedtropy said:
I've had the same P3-850MHz Dell laptop for four years or so now and it still does everything I need it to in Windows XP. Were I to get a new laptop though, I'd certainly expect something much more powerful.

This makes no sense. Check out a Powerbook from 4 years ago and get back to me.

I never said you could not use a laptop as a desktop replacement, but would a professional company outfit all of their 3D artists with laptops only?
 
SteveMeister said:
Actually a lot of people buy PowerBooks as desktop replacements. Particularly the 17" model.

This is very true. The 17 inch model is pretty powerful, hence why it's so suitable. But to be honest, it's large and awkward footprint and weight pretty much insures that it's not going to be carted around too much.
 

tedtropy

$50/hour, but no kissing on the lips and colors must be pre-separated
shantyman said:
This makes no sense. Check out a Powerbook from 4 years ago and get back to me.

I never said you could not use a laptop as a desktop replacement, but would a professional company outfit all of their 3D artists with laptops only?

How old is that G3 iBook you mentioned?
 

shantyman

WHO DEY!?
It was the last G3 model they made, I'm thinking 1.5-2 years.

They DID lower the prices too. It's not like they are selling small upgrades at the same prices.
 

tedtropy

$50/hour, but no kissing on the lips and colors must be pre-separated
shantyman said:
It was the last G3 model they made, I'm thinking 1.5-2 years.

They DID lower the prices too. It's not like they are selling small upgrades at the same prices.

It's certainly not what I would consider a significant upgrade, so I should hope the prices would be lower. Hey, it's great that this will result in a price drop across the product line, I'm just saying this new series sounds kind of disappointing on paper.
 

Tarazet

Member
Phoenix said:
Anyone who buys a laptop as a desktop replacement is beyond nuts - there I've said it :)

...Why? I needed the portability, and I'm not losing anything in terms of functionality.
 

Phoenix

Member
sonarrat said:
...Why? I needed the portability, and I'm not losing anything in terms of functionality.

Usually you are. Laptops that are in the same ballpark as their desktop counterparts aren't all that portable. They tend to be HUGE, heavy, and have battery life that isn't good enough for them to be called portables :) And even still for all the money you spend you don't have as much capability as a desktop machine at the same price. If you need portability, then you need a laptop - but it isn't a replacement for your desktop machine.. unless you have a rather tame desktop machine.
 

Tarazet

Member
Phoenix said:
Usually you are. Laptops that are in the same ballpark as their desktop counterparts aren't all that portable. They tend to be HUGE, heavy, and have battery life that isn't good enough for them to be called portables :) And even still for all the money you spend you don't have as much capability as a desktop machine at the same price. If you need portability, then you need a laptop - but it isn't a replacement for your desktop machine.. unless you have a rather tame desktop machine.

What could I do with a desktop that I can't do with my ASUS S5N? I can play DVDs, burn CD-RW's, there's a flash memory slot, three USB ports, Bluetooth, 802.11g...
 

DarienA

The black man everyone at Activision can agree on
sonarrat said:
What could I do with a desktop that I can't do with my ASUS S5N? I can play DVDs, burn CD-RW's, there's a flash memory slot, three USB ports, Bluetooth, 802.11g...

You don't have as many options in terms of upgrading it... yes I know that's not a big deal to some....
 

Phoenix

Member
sonarrat said:
What could I do with a desktop that I can't do with my ASUS S5N? I can play DVDs, burn CD-RW's, there's a flash memory slot, three USB ports, Bluetooth, 802.11g...

Throw Doom 3 at it and let me know how you fare. Your integrated Intel video processor will probably just print a 3d representation of a white flag and surrender before drawing the first frame.
 

Tarazet

Member
Phoenix said:
Throw Doom 3 at it and let me know how you fare.

Yep, there's the obvious answer. But I don't play PC games.

As far as upgrading, I don't see what I'm missing. Maybe a DVD burner, but since the drive is external to begin with, I'd just buy another drive and I'd be all set. With USB ports almost anything is possible, and it'll usually be automatically supported.
 

Phoenix

Member
Therein is the point. I wouldn't edit video on that box or do heavy 3d modelling and I certainly wouldn't want to have to do a build on that box. If you're doing 'casual user' stuff, then yeah - most any desktop or laptop on the market today will suit you fine. Just find the best deal in the Sunday paper. But if you actually used your desktop for heavy-lifting duties, the laptop you're going to end up with is going to be large, heavy, with pretty crap battery life.
 

Tarazet

Member
Phoenix said:
Therein is the point. I wouldn't edit video on that box or do heavy 3d modelling and I certainly wouldn't want to have to do a build on that box. If you're doing 'casual user' stuff, then yeah - most any desktop or laptop on the market today will suit you fine. Just find the best deal in the Sunday paper.

Thank you. That's all I needed.
 

Prospero

Member
I've used a 15" G4 Powerbook as my only system since summer 2001, and haven't wished for a desktop system once in that time. I'll probably upgrade to a G5 Powerbook once it's released and it goes through its initial hardware revision, but it'll just be for kicks, rather than because I need the power.
 

Chittagong

Gold Member
Prospero said:
I've used a 15" G4 Powerbook as my only system since summer 2001, and haven't wished for a desktop system once in that time. I'll probably upgrade to a G5 Powerbook once it's released and it goes through its initial hardware revision, but it'll just be for kicks, rather than because I need the power.

My story exactly. I got the Titanium PowerBook G4 right when it came out. It was sooo cutting edge. Back then I was doing graphic design besides my studies, print jobs in large formats. I never went back to a desktop computer and won't ever go. The mobility of a laptop is just superb - especially now with my new work PowerBook that has BT + Airport.

I'm not doing design anymore after I graduated, and don't really need that much performance.

So, I don't need a PowerBook G5, but I want one really bad. Just like the Titanium design introduced the G4 to laptops, I'm sure it will be something monumental.
 

shantyman

WHO DEY!?
What you are saying more is that you prefer portability over raw power. That is an perfectly reasonable assessment. That is why I was saying my G3 iBook has met my needs.
 

DMczaf

Member
I was looking for a laptop for school and such, does anyone know if Apple is updating their iBooks too? I don't want to buy one and find out 2 weeks later that Apple is making them cheaper with a faster G4, more RAM, etc :|
 
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