[JustinD]

Anyone care to speculate why the new 15" Al gained .1" in thickness? =)

(it looks purdy, but man I was hoping they'd also cut the 12" down to 1" thickness. oh well.)

[kikkoman]

It gained some weight too. The TiBook was 4.9 lbs. The 15" AlBook weighs in at 5.6 lbs. The battery life is slighly reduced from 5 hours to 4.5 hours. We lost the L3 cache but doubled the L2 cache.

I think I'll hold on to my TiBook a little longer. The thing that's holding back the G4 is the slow FSB. If Apple can get Motorola to put that in I'll upgrade. At the very least Apple can give us back the L3 cache.

[mattyd]

it's also both longer and wider than the TiBook.

[Commodus]

That weight figure for the TiBook is incorrect. It actually weighs 5.4 pounds. The iBook weighs 4.9 pounds, and the 12" PowerBook weighs 4.6. So in effect, the 15" isn't much more heavier at all.

[lawgeek]

Anyone else a bit disappointed by the dimensions and the weight of the new 15"? I really had hoped that if anything the size would be smaller, not be bigger. It almost makes me want the TiBook. Hopefully I'll take a look at it in person to see it it still looks as sleek as the TiBook.

[stevekstevek]

Originally posted by Commodus:
That weight figure for the TiBook is incorrect. It actually weighs 5.4 pounds. The iBook weighs 4.9 pounds, and the 12" PowerBook weighs 4.6. So in effect, the 15" isn't much more heavier at all.

Ahh, well, we're still bigger, though, and have a lower-capacity battery?

[pbjudge]

Could the slight increase in thickness be due to addressing the heat issue?

If that's the case, it'll be worth the exta girth!

[clf8]

It's also .2 inches longer. 13.7 instead of 13.5. Whooptie do.

[DeathMan]

you guys are seriously complaining about .1 inches? You got to be kidding me. Have you looked at a dell lately? Its .2 lbs heavier! OH NO! Duh, its not made of titanium anymore.

Also, why complain that they got rid of L3 cache when they doubled L2 cache. Get some understanding of what these technologies are, rather than getting caught up in the marketing crap that apple has been feeding you. Then you'll realize how much better this powerbook is compared to the last one.

[pbjudge]

Originally posted by DeathMan:
you guys are seriously complaining about .1 inches? You got to be kidding me. Have you looked at a dell lately? Its .2 lbs heavier! OH NO! Duh, its not made of titanium anymore.

Also, why complain that they got rid of L3 cache when they doubled L2 cache. Get some understanding of what these ter this powerbook is compared to the last one.

Mellow out Deathman. I am not complaining. In fact I was just hoping it was an indication that the heat issue had been delt with. For my dollar, I will happily accept a slightly larger form for the improvements they have listed.

[wtmcgee]

too many numbers!

[imago dei]

Regarding the battery life change (5 hours to 4.5 hours), is it possible that these PowerBooks, being OS X boot only, can only afchieve 4.5 hours, where under OS 9, they could get 5?

-imago dei

[yticolev]

I can give some hints on why the Al powerbook is thicker based just on the materials involved. Titanium has a higher modulus (stiffer) than aluminum so everything else being equal, the aluminum has to be thicker. In addition, titanium has much higher tensile strength. For aluminum to have any ability to resist dents, it also has to be thicker.

So when you multiply this thickness increase (I'm going to guess half again or double the size of the titanium used in the last 15" model) by the four walls of the screen and the computer, it is easy to see how it gained a tenth of an inch.

For the record, Apple used both materials only for marketing/style reasons. From an engineering and production and cost viewpoint, plastic wins.

[SEkker]

The Al has a 'feel' to it that plastic is totally lacking. And my big Al has already suffered a traumatic 'crash' that would have split my plastic Pismo.

But from a pure computer performance issue, I suspect plastic if by far the best price/performance material.

[beefstu01]

I gained a little girth by seeing it.

(Sorry, just had to say it)

[todrain]

Originally posted by lawgeek:
Anyone else a bit disappointed by the dimensions and the weight of the new 15"? I really had hoped that if anything the size would be smaller, not be bigger. It almost makes me want the TiBook. Hopefully I'll take a look at it in person to see it it still looks as sleek as the TiBook.

Personally, I'd rather that the screen be a little bit thicker. The screen on the TI is so thin that it's almost scary!

[Synotic]

Originally posted by yticolev:
I can give some hints on why the Al powerbook is thicker based just on the materials involved. Titanium has a higher modulus (stiffer) than aluminum so everything else being equal, the aluminum has to be thicker. In addition, titanium has much higher tensile strength. For aluminum to have any ability to resist dents, it also has to be thicker.

So when you multiply this thickness increase (I'm going to guess half again or double the size of the titanium used in the last 15" model) by the four walls of the screen and the computer, it is easy to see how it gained a tenth of an inch.

For the record, Apple used both materials only for marketing/style reasons. From an engineering and production and cost viewpoint, plastic wins.

Excuse the dumb comment... But I had read that the AlBooks were a lot more sturdy material-wise. As in you can't squeeze the case or anything. Is this just because there is more aluminum?

Speaking of metals... Does anyone really realize that they're using a computer made out of titanium? A lot of people don't even believe me... Is it pure titanium anyways?

[StiZeven]

The TiBooks were painted over titanium. From what I remember with mine, the bottom seemed to have been plastic. It was well built, but no where as solid or sturdy as my 12" AlBook felt (IMHO).

[nobitacu]

I'm glad I bought the 17inch book instead of waiting for the new updated 15inch Powerbook, because for one think, I was a bit Disappointed with the updates.

Ming