[satchmo]

Rumour has it that there will be a G4 iBook at 733 w/L3 cache and a low end G4 600 w/o cache.
There was also word that it will have a slightly different form factor.

But my guess is that the form factor will essentially look like the current one but will come in a 13" wide screen display.
It will also come in one new colour...black with a chrome apple logo. Although a matte stainless steel or clear one might look better.

No insider info, but the colour change just makes sense from this perspective. There needs to be a differentiation from the current ones but Apple will not go back to fruity colours. That leaves neutral colours like black or silver. And we know the silver is for Powerbooks.
Demand for a black again laptop is also great. Not sure if it will look that good, but I remember someone customizing one and it looked pretty good.

[PCTek]

I had a black iBook once...

It was called a PowerBook G3.

But seriously, these are consumer portables. They need to appeal to the consumer market. A black laptop won't exactly make a soccer mom "Ooh! This looks nice!"

[satchmo]

Originally posted by PCTek:
I had a black iBook once...

It was called a PowerBook G3.

But seriously, these are consumer portables. They need to appeal to the consumer market. A black laptop won't exactly make a soccer mom "Ooh! This looks nice!"

Hey, I had one too.
No, black may not make a soccer mom go "ooh!" but it will make all those university students go "sweeeeet!!"

Bear in mind that while it's a consumer product, it's price point make it a very popular item with small businesses. Small one or two person companies would love a "corporate" looking laptop in black without having to mortgage their homes to get a Powerbook.

[Captain Obvious]

Nope, it wont be black. Steve would never go for it. It goes against all the design schemes that he has been making. Its just too passe for him to do. You might get a quicksilver-like iBook but never ever a black.
It doesn't matter if every company in the world would buy some, Steve's ego and need to do things his way won't allow it.

PS- what rumors? and Silver is not the same as metallic.

[rustyclockwork]

"sweeeet" is for that dell dude....

I'm a college student.... converted to mac back in December, though I've respected the mac since day one (I'm 27, first computer was a Timex Sinclair).

The current art of the mac, silver, clear, white makes college guys like me say... "never a beige box PC, ever again."

even the girls that come over want to touch it....

[rustyclockwork]

(I was talking about my dual G4 quicksilver)

[sntxch]

haha - good one

Well all this speculation about new ibooks is making me more anxious :/ How much do u think the price will differ by if new ibooks (g4) are brought out??

[blindemboss]

Originally posted by Captain Obvious:
Nope, it wont be black. Steve would never go for it. It goes against all the design schemes that he has been making. Its just too passe for him to do. You might get a quicksilver-like iBook but never ever a black.
It doesn't matter if every company in the world would buy some, Steve's ego and need to do things his way won't allow it.

PS- what rumors? and Silver is not the same as metallic.

I don't think black is passe. Especially if the finish is in the same smooth and shiny material as the current iBook.
I think the rumours are based on a Powerbook thread here on macnn.

[rustyclockwork]

I wouldn't think they would be any more than a hundred dollars in difference to their "slightly" obsolete counterparts they are replacing.

I'm basing this off the experience I had a couple of months after I purchased my dual G4... The replacements weren't too much more... besides, this is not the world of Detroit. This is the computer world. Prices come down over time. Remember when laptops used to be 5000?

[superlarry]

i think they should make a beige laptop, wot

[appledude83]

Hmm I'd be up for a black iBook, especially with that G4, that'd be awesome. And yes I'd think the price will remain pretty much the same across the line.

[Eug]

If they made a G4 1 Ghz iBook, I wouldn't care what colour it is. I'd buy it immediately.

Bring on the pink iBooks with purple polka-dots!

[rustyclockwork]

well....hmmmm..... yeah, I guess black would be cool, being under a clear polycarbonate glossy shell... before it get's it's scratches and scuffs, it's probably as close to black chrome as you can get...

but apple's current design easily tells us that this is the 21st century, simply beautiful, even the way the mechanicals work on the cases... I could never find a PC case that could half-way compete with my G4 case.

I'm even taking apart some peripherals, and replacing the green lights (on my scanner and KDS lcd monitor) and replacing them with either blue or white LEDs.

[Captain Obvious]

Originally posted by blindemboss:


I don't think black is passe. Especially if the finish is in the same smooth and shiny material as the current iBook.
I think the rumours are based on a Powerbook thread here on macnn.

But it does not matter what you like or what I like. Jobs decides it all. And there has not been one single computer that stayed with the traditional color scheme since the G3 Powerbook. That was 2 years ago.
Its clear he isn't trying to be traditional and that the color schemes are made to stand out from the other computer manufacturers.

No Black. And no G4 iBook until we see a G5 desktop.

[blindemboss]

Originally posted by Captain Obvious:


But it does not matter what you like or what I like. Jobs decides it all. And there has not been one single computer that stayed with the traditional color scheme since the G3 Powerbook. That was 2 years ago.
Its clear he isn't trying to be traditional and that the color schemes are made to stand out from the other computer manufacturers.

No Black. And no G4 iBook until we see a G5 desktop.

Perhaps you're right about the colour scheme, but not about the G4 processor. You just have to follow the history of the iMac to get an idea of where the iBook is going.

[SupahCoolX]

Originally posted by satchmo:
Rumour has it that there will be a G4 iBook at 733 w/L3 cache and a low end G4 600 w/o cache.

A G4 with no cache is worse than a G3. Additional cache and AltiVec is, for the most part, the only "real" difference between a G3 and G4. Well, besides multi-processor support, but that's not a laptop issue anyway.
Anyway, whatever processor it has, it can be no lower than the current level of 700mhz for marketing purposes. Telling people (esp. in the consumer market) that this 600mhz (G4) iBook is faster than the old 700mhz (G3) iBook won't fly, regardless of actual performance numbers. On top of that, widening the Ghz gap won't appeal to potential Switchers, either.

Oh, and I think they'll stick with white/silver for now. Everyone else (IBM, Dell, etc) already do black.

[skalie]

In the sun a black iBook would run hotter than a white one or not?

[nelliott]

Originally posted by satchmo:
Rumour has it that there will be a G4 iBook at 733 w/L3 cache and a low end G4 600 w/o cache.
There was also word that it will have a slightly different form factor.

But my guess is that the form factor will essentially look like the current one but will come in a 13" wide screen display.
It will also come in one new colour...black with a chrome apple logo. Although a matte stainless steel or clear one might look better.

No insider info, but the colour change just makes sense from this perspective. There needs to be a differentiation from the current ones but Apple will not go back to fruity colours. That leaves neutral colours like black or silver. And we know the silver is for Powerbooks.
Demand for a black again laptop is also great. Not sure if it will look that good, but I remember someone customizing one and it looked pretty good.

You are joking, right?

There is no way there will be a black iBook in the near future. The colour / design is what differentiates the consumer and professional product lines - it is part of apples ethos.

White polycarbonate for the iBook / iMac / eMac
Silver / Metallic for the Powerbook / Powermac / xServe

And a G4 iBook without cache is almost as ridiculous. No cache = no performance.

[euphras]

Quote:

"In the sun a black iBook would run hotter than a white one or not?"

Noone uses a notebook in direct sun, because one wants to see something on the screen. In the shade (rooms) a black enclosure would definetely improve the capability to dissipate heat (via infrared radiation).

Pat

[satchmo]

Originally posted by nelliott:


You are joking, right?

There is no way there will be a black iBook in the near future. The colour / design is what differentiates the consumer and professional product lines - it is part of apples ethos.

White polycarbonate for the iBook / iMac / eMac
Silver / Metallic for the Powerbook / Powermac / xServe

And a G4 iBook without cache is almost as ridiculous. No cache = no performance.

I hear what you're saying but it doesn't hold water.
Why can't there be a consumer line of black (or other colour) iBook/ iMac / eMac.

A colour change would have to start somewhere. You can't just introduce all three in one new colour.

[scaught]

there is no way the ibook appearance or form factor is going to change anytime soon.

in case you didnt notice, apple just spent a good amount of time revamping every product so they all look similar in the "silver/white" spectrum.

and the captain is right. no G4 ibook until a G5 (or serious further revision) powermac.

[bencurtis]

"Noone uses a notebook in direct sun, because one wants to see something on the screen."

I spent 3 months photographing cricket in 100-120 degree heat sending back pictures in direct sun off a wallstreet via a mobile phone...

Yeah, it was a real pain viewing the screen but I had no choice - granted most users won't be using it in these conditions.

The black wallstreet got very hot from the sun - so much that the edges of the lcd screen faded from contact with the hot black surround.

Keep 'em white and silver I say... :-)

Ben