apple news/media reports
04/19/2004, 8:45am, EDT
Monday, April 19th
Apple updates iBook G4, PowerBook G4
As anticipated last week, Apple today updated its line of iBook G4 and PowerBook G4 systems. The iBook G4 line now supports a maximum of 1.25GB PC2100 DDR SDRAM, while all PowerBook G4 systems now ship with built-in AirPort Extreme. iBook graphics are powered by an ATI Radeon Mobility 9200 with 32MB of DDR SDRAM, while PowerBooks are driven by either an NVidia GeForce FX Go5200 with 64MB of DDR SDRAM (12.1" models) or an ATI Radeon Mobility 9700 with 64MB of DDR SDRAM, configurable up to 128MB (15" and 17" models). Both feature upgraded optical drives as well. System specifications follow:
Both iBooks and PowerBooks feature upgraded Combo Drives (capable of burning CD-R at 24x and CD-RW at 16x, and reading CD-ROM at 24x and DVD-ROM at 8x) and upgraded SuperDrives (capable of burning DVD-R at 4x, CD-R at 16x, and CD-RW at 8x; and reading DVD-ROM at 8x and CD-ROM at 24x).
- iBook 1GHz/12.1"/256MB RAM/30GB HD/Combo Drive - $1,100
- iBook 1GHz/14.1"/256MB RAM/40GB HD/Combo Drive - $1,300
- iBook 1.2GHz/14.1"/256MB RAM/60GB HD/Combo Drive - $1,500
- PowerBook G4 1.33GHz/12.1"/256MB RAM/60GB HD/Combo Drive - $1,600
- PowerBook G4 1.33GHz/12.1"/256MB RAM/60GB HD/4x SuperDrive - $1,800
- PowerBook G4 1.33GHz/15"/256MB RAM/60GB HD/Combo Drive - $2,000
- PowerBook G4 1.5GHz/15"/512MB RAM/80GB HD/4x SuperDrive - $2,500
- PowerBook G4 1.5GHz/17"/512MB RAM/80GB HD/4x SuperDrive - $2,900
Both iBooks and PowerBooks feature upgraded Combo Drives (capable of burning CD-R at 24x and CD-RW at 16x, and reading CD-ROM at 24x and DVD-ROM at 8x) and upgraded SuperDrives (capable of burning DVD-R at 4x, CD-R at 16x, and CD-RW at 8x; and reading DVD-ROM at 8x and CD-ROM at 24x).
The new iBooks and 12" and 15" PowerBooks models are available immediately. The 17" PowerBook G4 is slated to ship in early May.
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Looking qat the specs, I'd say in early may. There's nothing I can see that would constrain the 17" any more then they are constrained now. They use the same processors in these as the 15" which are supposed to be available immediately. So the only thing different is the 17" display, which they were already selling powerbooks with.
(Technically I guess I should say they should be available at the same time the old version of a 17" laptop would be availale, which might have a two or three week backorder, for all I know). There's nothing here that should delay these laptops 6 months like the xserves.
Umm, june at the earliest. In case you didn't hear, IBM is having huge problems making chips in their new fab process. They even admitted it.
I would think a dual 1.5G G4 would be quite a bit cheaper than a dual G5, and would handle my needs.
OK, not sure where the thought of a dual 1.5 G4 came from (these aren't duals here). But you can get a dual-1.25 G4 for 1599 at the apple store. Buy that.
And regarding the superdrives, assuming these are still made by Pioneer, it's been fairly common that their DVD burners generally feature slower CD burning performance.
When I bought my last laptop, it was a choice between the 12" iBook and the 15" Titanium. I liked the compact form factor of the iBook, but the high screen resolution of the PowerBook, and I ended up getting a good deal on the Titanium.
If I had to do it over, I'd probably consider an iBook next time, for the amount of real work I do on my laptop; except that I'd rather spend the money on the faster processor but with the smaller 12" form factor, since screen res is the same anyway. I don't think the faster processor requires a larger casing.
Just my own pet peeve though. :)