Apple has anounced faster Powerbooks. The 12″ gets up to 1.5GHz with a 64Meg GeForce 5200 and the 15″ and 17″ get an upgrade to 1.67 with a Radeon 9700 with 64Meg for the 15″ and 128 for the 17″. They all now come with 512 MBs of RAM, a laptop-drop sensorand a scrolling trackpad. For almost a year now *Book users used SideTrack’s solution for scrolling, read how this new Apple announcement affects their company. Regarding the new Powerbooks, the screen resolutions have remained the same throughout the board. Elsewhere, the WashingtonPost reviews the Mac Mini.
Faster Powerbooks Out; SideTrack Comments
About The Author
Eugenia Loli
Ex-programmer, ex-editor in chief at OSAlert.com, now a visual artist/filmmaker.
Follow me on Twitter @EugeniaLoli
they make my powerbook look old, even though its the 1.3ghz 12in. ;-p
Although the G4 is pretty decent, I’d have loved to see G5 powerbooks!
I have the first generation 12″ powerbook: 867 Mhz. Works well, not reason to upgrade.
My only peeve on all 12″ Power-iBooks (as I call them
is the low quality screen (as I wrote in my review 2 years ago). It’s the same quality as the one found in the iBooks and it really shows when next to a 15/17″ Powerbook. The angle visibility thing is terribly bad and it’s not my unit in fault, all 12″ powerbooks I have seen are the same lcd-wise.
But other than that, I don’t need more from it (and Apple has fixed the too-hot problem since 10.3.3 by kicking the fan a lot more via their driver).
I will upgrade when this laptop dies or OSX doesn’t run on it anymore, hopefully not before a few years from now. If the same bad quality LCD is still used on them, I will go for the 15″. If they would have upgrade that LCD part, I will again go for a 12 incher, I like laptops to be really portable.
Regarding the resolutions offered with ALL the powerbooks, they are too low IMHO (for a powerbook). The high end PC laptops come with huge resolutions on the same diagonial inch sizes. The 17″ should have had a 1600 or 1680×1024 screen, the 15.4″ should have had 1440, and the 12.1″ should also have been 16:9 and be 1280×854 or 1152×800 or whatever (like the AlienWare/LinuxCertified.com 12″ laptop which I test-drove a few months ago).
Let the iBooks be XGAs, they meant to be cheap anyway. But I do expect higher resolutions from the Powerbooks, because for these prices they should have used these modern hi-res LCDs in the OEM market, like the high end PC laptops do.
I am happy to see the approach that sidetrack is taking to the new trackpad driver from Apple. It’s not whiney and it seems that he has a good vision about what he wants to do.
The 12″ Powrbook is still a poor cousin. Lesser CPU, graphics and hard disk and missing the backlit keyboard.
There are two interesting things about these new Powerbooks, that relate to owners of other Mac hardware.
One, is the mentioned “sidetrack”-like functionality. As the developer of Sidetrack himself mentions, this is most likely just implemented in software, and if Apple doesn’t release this for current PB owners, it’s probably hackable.
Second, these babies have 8x superdrives. Now, what do you want to bet that they’re the same hardware as the firmware limited 4x superdrive in the Mac mini. If it is indeed the same hardware, flashing the mini drive w/ the firmware from the drive found in the PB will make it 8x (and still supported!).
Of course, it’s possible that neither of these things will work out, but both seem to be software rather than hardware differences, and software is always changeable.
Darn… They could have put those nice G4 CPU inside a mini!!
1.42Ghz MAX for the mini….
Yup… it’s indeed a power-ibook rather than a powerbook. From what I understand, Apple’s line of thinking was: “it’s a small laptop, let’s make it cheaper for those who can’t afford a ‘powerbook’ and yet they want to boast that they have one“. While it should have been “it’s just a smaller powerbook, it should be full-featured like the big ones“.
I fully understand the first line of thought, it has market value. But Apple should not have forgotten that there is always another market: real power users with enough money, that simply want the smaller laptop because it’s more portable, without having to sacrifice the features.
Apple had to make a decision, and they did one. It’s just that you and me are part of the of the market described on the second line of thought. Apple might have made the right decision in the long run though.
>1.42Ghz MAX for the mini….
The point of the Mac Mini is to be cheap. If they had put these CPUs in it, it would have been more expensive. Duh.
Apple had to make a decision, and they did one. It’s just that you and me are part of the of the market described on the second line of thought. Apple might have made the right decision in the long run though.
Also remember that there could be other issues at play affecting this decision, such as an inability to pack sufficient cooling for the faster CPUs into the 12″ PowerBook (the previous versions were pretty hot already)
Also, the link to the PowerBook page is broken (should be apple.com/powerbook instead of apple.com/powerbooks)
You can’t always shove the high end features into a smaller form factor(at least right away). Look at hard drive sizes over the past 20 years. Heck compare your desktop drives to your notebook.
There are two ways to get smaller sized items.
One shrink the parts(not always possible with current tech)
Two reduce the number of parts.
Why does the Mini use a laptop drive for a desktop? Size.
I bought the 12″ Powerbook 1.3 ghz version. The display is as strong on it as any other laptop it’s size that I have come across.
I do hope that Apple releases an update to panther for Powerbook owners so they get the updated track pad features.
Of course compare the Sidetrack guy’s response to Konfabulator’s team. One was practical about it, the others cried to anyone who would listen.
Well, this will probably be the last upgrade to the Powerbooks before they “turn” G5, right? Wouldn’t that hurt the sales of the new Powerbooks? I mean, if people know the G5 is, ie, comming this year, won’t they hold their wallets?
I’m not upgrading either. I just got this iBook, and I see no extra value in Powerbooks for what I use the machine for. I will be upgrading as soon as a G5 iBook is available and after they’ve been upgraded a few times, since then you can get the pre-upgraded machines for a bargain.
Alert me when the G5 Powerbooks show up perhaps then i will take the time to surf over to the apple store to drool.
Second, these babies have 8x superdrives. Now, what do you want to bet that they’re the same hardware as the firmware limited 4x superdrive in the Mac mini.
I thought the minis already had been upgraded to 8x superdrives…? Wasn’t that part of the whole thing where they dropped prices on BTO options?
Why am I the first to bring this very obvious point up? Apple has upgraded their base models on the Powerbooks to 512mb RAM. This means they will probably start giving other models adequate memory at some point in the near future. It’s about damn time.
Anonymous: “I thought the minis already had been upgraded to 8x superdrives…? Wasn’t that part of the whole thing where they dropped prices on BTO options?”
That’s probably a good indication that the only difference between an 8x and 4x superdrive is a firmware flash. I can’t imagine Apple pulling out a bunch of 4x superdrives, replacing them with 8x and then just throwing the 4x’s into a pile somewhere
Anyone knows if the Powerbook’s Bluetooth is Class III, II or I? (1 meter, 10 meters and 100 meters range respectively)
The specs don’t say a thing besides that it’s Bluetooth protocol v2.0. What matters with Bluetooth is the range, not the data rate so much (most phones are slow anyway, so range is more important for me).
You beat me too it….. I was just typing a big long post when my browser crashed (Firefox). But anyway, I noticed this as well. It is about damn time!
You could be waiting a long time. There’s a lot of speculation at the moment that the next jump up for the Powerbook could be the dual-core G4s being developed by Freescale instead of the G5.
This would give them a reasonably fast chip without using too much power and, crucially, generating too much heat. Given Apple’s history of selling dual-CPU systems, most Apple software should be reasonably multi-threaded at this stage, and thus be better poised to benefit from dual-core systems.
Anyone knows if the Powerbook’s Bluetooth is Class III, II or I? (1 meter, 10 meters and 100 meters range respectively)
I have tested a colleagues bluetooth mouse connected to the powerbook at distances greater than 1 meter.
I just want to comment that for a high profile non-techy newspaper, the article is very well written. It’s a nice surprise given how often the big names in mainstream media mess up when it comes to technology. Kudos to the Post!
My 1.25 MHz PB has a Bluetooth range of 7-10 meters, but if that goes for the new ones too, I don’t know.
I often use my mobile phone as a smart remote to rate and control my iTunes music from the kitchen, when the PB is hooked to the stereo in the living room. Salling Clicker rocks!
Eugenia: It is definitely not 1meter. I’m guessing it’s the 10meter one. I know that my ibook will only tell me that my mouse and keyboard have been disconnected when I’m way at the other end of my house. It’d be nice to have 100meters though.
“Regarding the resolutions offered with ALL the powerbooks, they are too low IMHO (for a powerbook).”
The reason is that the primary market for PowerBooks are graphics and creative professionals. At their current resolutions, PowerBook screens are at 100 dpi pixel density. The majority of pro do not like to go higher than that, because it strays too far from how the image will look in print. If you’re doing desktop publishing, you don’t want to be working with a 12 point font at a 110 dpi like a lot of the Dell laptops come in at.
That being said, it’s always nice to have more pixels…but not at the cost of sacrificing a reasonable pixel density. Instead, Apple should figure on how to upscale the PowerBooks’ screens to 13″, 16″, and maybe 18″ while preserving the 100 dpi pixel density.
Either that, or OS X will have to evolve to a completely resolution independent mode of displaying onscreen graphics.
Anonymous: “I thought the minis already had been upgraded to 8x superdrives…? Wasn’t that part of the whole thing where they dropped prices on BTO options?”
The 8X figure was a simple typo acknowledge by Apple. Probably some web monkey was also entering in info on the new PowerBooks and just assumed the Mini’s drive would also be 8X….it was corrected within hours, but not before the “news” got out over dozens of websites, few of which bothered to correct the error in a follow-up article.
some cool things here but I think a lot of people were waiting for the G5!
Fizzle
123macmini.com
I believe, from rumours that circulated a couple of weeks ago that speed-bumped G4s are the 7447B variety, still running with a 166Mhz bus.
Freescale has 7448 G4s in the pipeline which support up to 200Mhz buses and lower power consumption. This should provide a speed bump using the existing chipsets. (3200 DDR?)
I’d expect one last update to these chips before G5-M or dual core G4s arrive.
If i am not mistaken, now all the models have Airport and Bluetooth, which is something that was optional with the 'old' revisions. I have a 1.25 15” with all the extras and I am happy with it.
My box came with 512 back when I brought it. But that’s because this model (the upgraded 15” always had that, in contrast with the 'smaller' 15” model).
Maybe they are preparing the field for Tiger? Another important thing is the price tag; it seems to be lower.
But I wouldn’t upgrade now because it’s pointless, it’s basically the same box with more cpu power. I don’t know about my bluetooth, it came with the box but never used it. I think its range is about 10 meters (acording to the manual).
Why do people keep thinking the freescale chips will ever end up in anything apple, they aren’t targeted for them. And if they do it will be iBooks since those won’t go G5 for a good year after the Powerbooks.
There is no problem putting the G5 in the powerbooks, the 970fx is a very cool running chip. Stop going off on the “heat issue” issue over and over, it’s not true. Powermacs have huge heatsinks and 9 fans because they have the space to do so, and if you have it, do it. Make things much quieter. Apple has been getting held up by combinations of chip availability, and no reason to push out G5 powerbooks, if the G4 ones are still selling good, no rush. Best to get out more mass market products that are even easier to do, like the imacs.
If you here an Apple person saying “not for a long time” or “it will be one impressive engineering challenge” “look at the heat sink on the powermac” they are saying that for obvious reasons. If they say “sure it will be easy and out in no time” powerbook sales will tank.
We still very well could see G5 powerbooks this summer. This is not a big upgrade, it’s just a making more options standard, and swapping out the graphics chip. Makes for a good way to get some more money out of the G4 powerbooks before their done, give the tooling lines one last good run. Plus get everyone to do another wave of buying thinking no G5 PBs for a long time now. Cause apple knows soon as they come out with the G5s people are going to buy them in droves even if the people bought a PB within the last year.
You can expect the G5 powerbooks to be more then just a new CPU, it will be a whole new design, new style and things like screens and such will probably be completely redone. They aren’t just going to toss it out like any old update.
I would just go for a 15in. no matter what. Its mostly because of the screen I think that there just isn’t enough space. Also because of the features. I thought i wouldn’t need a firewire 800 port and i could live with 400 but i guess i was wrong. Same with pcmcia. I’d like to run linux but if there isn’t going to be any wireless support then there is no point for me. The whole reason i got a laptop was so i wouldn’t be tied down to my desk.
it makes perfect sense.
damn those 12″ are still 2.1 kg! I was hoping for a lighter version.
17 inch with 1920 resolution. 256 mb x800 gpu. g5 processor @ 3 ghz. 100 gb 7200 rpm hdd. bluetooth 2.0 kicka**
Hey, you can get these mini macs for free.
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ipod. I was completely suprised when it came, i really didnt believe it.
Anyways, just follow this link and complete an offer, there are a few free ones
that you should definately choose
Here is your personal referral link:
http://www.FreeMiniMacs.com/?r=14103528
Oh and heres where I found out about these offers.
http://www.gearlive.com
go to the forums section then “free stuff”
Theres lots of discussions on these offers and pictures proving they work.
um, thats about it.. DEFINATELY DO IT
oh and if you know kevin rose from techtv he got his free ipod heres his site
as well.
http://www.kevinrose.com/
Hey, you can get these mini macs for free.
Last fall I completed an offer from this same company and recieved a free
ipod. I was completely suprised when it came, i really didnt believe it.
Anyways, just follow this link and complete an offer, there are a few free ones
that you should definately choose
Here is your personal referral link:
http://www.FreeMiniMacs.com/?r=14103528
Oh and heres where I found out about these offers.
http://www.gearlive.com
go to the forums section then “free stuff”
Theres lots of discussions on these offers and pictures proving they work.
um, thats about it.. DEFINATELY DO IT
oh and if you know kevin rose from techtv he got his free ipod heres his site
as well.
http://www.kevinrose.com/