[nooon]

Quoting Powerpage :
---
EXCLUSIVE: PowerBook 2004/2005 Roadmap and iSight 2 Update

We have been getting many questions about when the next crop of PowerBooks will arrive, including the fabled PowerBook G5. The PowerPage has long maintained that we will see one more round of PowerBook G4 bumps before the announcement of the PBG5. The good news is that the PowerPage has secured a copy of Apple's PowerBook Roadmap for the next 12 months.

The road map looks like this: (subject to change)

The full release of Mac OS 10.4 ("Tiger") will take place in January. This was supposed to be September. Apple is trying to time the Tiger release with the PowerBook G5 introduction. It is unclear if one will happen without the other.

One thing's for sure though, there will be NO PowerBook G5 deliveries until February or mid-February 2005 at the earliest. If the PBG5 gets introduced in January it won't ship until at least 30-45 days later.

As for the upgrade to the current line of PowerBook G4s, there are already 1.8 and 2.0GHz models in the same shell walking around Apple's Cupertino campus. One model has 256MB of video RAM. Chip suppliers are getting pretty good yields on the faster G4 processor, so Apple may take it to market, but given the manufacturing costs, this could push the PowerBook G5 announcement to the end of the first quarter 2005 instead of January. It appears that bus speeds on the video side are increased as well.

There is a new fan system for the faster PowerBook G4s. The current model (Rev. B) Aluminum PowerBook G4s have been having problems with fan noise (because it wears out prematurely), so engineering has spec'd a different supplier who provides a higher MTBF, and the unit is physically larger and quieter.

It is unknown if this machine will be produced, but since inventory is low on the 15 and 17-inch PowerBooks most in Cupertino think the speed-bump will happen. Some claim the production line is already ramping up with the new 1.8 and 2.0GHz models (Rev C).

The PowerBook G5 will be cooled with a combination of active and passive cooling. Core temps are currently running pretty high, causing some lockups during testing, in the new, smaller, and lighter enclosure. The fans, are also new, high volume, slow turning units. The keyboards get hot, so they are trying a new type of insulating tape (used on the Space Shuttle electronic components) covering the underside of the keyboard, and protecting the fingers from the burn.

In other news, the new iSight 2 camera hardware is ready, however the software is not yet fully de-bugged. They may hold off on the new camera until Tiger, because there is an adequate supply to last well into the next quarter. As we previously reported, the iSight 2 will take full advantage of Apple's new H.264/AVC video codec, and other features to be found in Tiger.

Happy Friday from the PowerPage.

---

Link

[Randman]

yeah, right.
I can see the PBs going to 1.8, a 1.5 to 2.0 jump would be pretty big. Secondly, the story says no G5 PB before January. That's 3 months away, 4 to the end. I don't think the G4 line would be updated and the G5s released within 4 months.
The "article" made no mention of numbers on the G5. And iSights have just been tweaked, a third revision is doubtful so soon.
Finally, I've never heard of this site. Is this some clone of MOSR?

[Parky]

Being an owner of a G5 iMac I can't see Apple fitting a G5 into a PowerBook for at least another 9-12 months.

Ian

[im_noahselby]

MacWorld January is all about Tiger and iLife 2005. I bet ya Steve will spend an hour discussing each and that will wrap up yet another exciting keynote from Apple.

Noah

[Randman]

Originally posted by im_noahselby:
MacWorld January is all about Tiger and iLife 2005.

Fixed.

[iREZ]

9-12 months sounds rather far away. What I don't understand is once the 1.8 G4 does get released, what does the G5 go to? I don't think they could get a 2.0 in a notebook enclosure just yet, I've always thought that they would go with a 1.6 and 1.8 lineup but if the next G4 does get a bump to 1.8 I really wouldn't see any significant step up except for the fact that it's a G5. Unless of course the next G4 bump would still have a 9700 and the G5 ended up with the 9800, then that would be a bigger deal.

[buffalolee]

This does sound entirely plausible. If Apple had problems with the iMac G5 coming out time, it surely would have problems with the Powerbooks.

[theolein]

Originally posted by nooon:
Quoting Powerpage :
---
...
---

Link

I think it's interesting but I somehow doubt some of it. I can imagine Apple releasing speedbumped G4's later this year, but I doubt that they will be at 2.0GHz yet, but you never know. It probably depends on Motorola's ability to get the new 90nm G4's out the door in quantity.

I don't give a flying fu�k personally, as I've just got a 1.3GHz AlBook, after working with a 667MHz TiPB for over a year. So, for me this is good.

As for the G5PBs, I somehow doubt Apple will bring one out until they get a lot cooler. The comments about space shuttle duct tale and what have you, sound like crap to me, since the fingers are not the only things sensiitive to heat. The electronics are too and a lot of heat in such a small space might very well lower the lifetime of components. My guess is that Apple will wait for the G5PB until IBM brings out a special version with much lower heat.

[iREZ]

Originally posted by Theolein:
My guess is that Apple will wait for the G5PB until IBM brings out a special version with much lower heat.

Now the question is how long is it going to take IBM to get this chip out the door.

[rag on a muffin]

Originally posted by iREZ:
Now the question is how long is it going to take IBM to get this chip out the door.

not as long as motorola would if it was up to them.

[machan]

This article has at least 2 errors that make me seriously question the whole thing's validity: 1) Tiger was never intended to ship in September. Apple said flat out, first half of 2005. January would be a welcome surprise, but I'm not going to put money on it. 2) The rev. letters are all screwed up...we're on rev. C now, not rev. B. We're waiting for rev. D.

Both of those mistakes on simple things make me wonder what else is completely messed up in this article....

[iMacfan]

Yes, alot of that just doesn't seem to fit. I think that someone down the line needs to turn round and speak out of their mouth

[Alienex]

i am on the fence about buying one now...
I am not holding my breath for G5 powerbooks but I am wondering if there will be an upgrade to the current line, maybe the model I want to buy will go in price alittle. Back in the day, I bought my ipod 3g in novemeber and in january they were selling 15 gigs for the same price and the 10 gigs went down a bit. So I am on the fence... ahhhh buying from apple in the fall is a bad idea I am starting to see....

[MrForgetable]

Originally posted by machan:
This article has at least 2 errors that make me seriously question the whole thing's validity: 1) Tiger was never intended to ship in September. Apple said flat out, first half of 2005. January would be a welcome surprise, but I'm not going to put money on it. 2) The rev. letters are all screwed up...we're on rev. C now, not rev. B. We're waiting for rev. D.

Both of those mistakes on simple things make me wonder what else is completely messed up in this article....

The 15 inch AlBooks are on their Rev. B.

1.0 and 1.25=Rev. A
1.33 and 1.5=Rev. B

everything else is Rev. C, however.

[Scooterboy]

I hope they're right about the fans. The only complaint I have about my PowerBook is the noise from the fan, which comes on intermittently when doing even minor tasks if the ambient temp is above 75 degrees F.

[RedStar]

256 video ram??? pfffft. Doubt it.

[jewing80]

Anyone who has followed the aforementioned website for the last year or so will know the "reporting" is sketchy at best. Many of the exclusives have been grossly speculative, and some of the daily blurbs have been almost comically inaccurate. Anyone remember their story on Iraqi Police using Powerbooks? Their "reference" picture showing a close up photo of several people using "powerbooks" had one problem: the notebooks were obviously PCs. The idea that a Powerbook site not only couldn't pick one out in a picture, but then "created" a story with no actual base says something. Only after several scathing "comments" did the story disappear.

About a month before Paris Expo last year they ran the "exclusive" specs on the 15" AL; if memory serves they were wrong about the GPU (claimed to be nVidia) and CPU clock. They claimed Apple made a last second change, thus they weren't wrong... in essence Apple pulled a fast one. Same thing in late August. They claimed to have the exclusive release date... when it came and went, a shipping error was blamed. They claimed the PBs were mistakenly left on the dock missing the boat. I guess it was a coincidence that they just happened to arrive and be released corresponding to the Paris Expo.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, take this info with a grain of salt. This site used to be reputable, but I think most who have read it lately will agree: either the editors are guessing or their sources aren't what they once were!

Having said all that, I still think we'll see speed bumps soon. G5s are probably another 8-12 away, just based on the Freescale announcement and Apple's ongoing cooling issues. We'll probably see at least two more revisions with G4s of some sort. I think the next big thing will be a dual core in a new enclosure.

[maxx9photo]

Well I'm still happy with my PB and just add the applecare so new PB won't be in my reach within 1-2 year.

[Randman]

Even if a G5 PB was close, and if the iMac is any indication, it's going to be a while. Plus, Apple's not going to want to have the laptops compete with the iMacs so soon. Not with the good press the iMacs are getting in so many publications.

[cambro]

Riiiiiiiiiiight.

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally posted by Randman:
yeah, right.
I can see the PBs going to 1.8, a 1.5 to 2.0 jump would be pretty big. Secondly, the story says no G5 PB before January. That's 3 months away, 4 to the end. I don't think the G4 line would be updated and the G5s released within 4 months.

While I do doubt the validity of that article: that's what everybody was saying *just* before the 12"/17" alubooks were introduced.

[Phat Bastard]

I don't understand what all these dodgy websites get out of publishing such drivel, speculative articles. One thing the Mac World has is a plethora of ridiculous rumour websites.

[ggirton]

I love reading PowerBook rumors. If you post a rumor, I'll read it. My favorite umor of the past year was how IBM was going to skip directly to 45 nm for chip manufacture. So obviously false! I laughed my head off and so did everyone I told about this rumor. Later, he recanted of course.

If they wrote about triple-processors specially optimized for Photoshop, and rendezvous with an RFID based nearby device detector I'd read about it.

This particular rumor, about Tiger supposedly appearing in September but being late, and a new G5 PB in January, is obviously false, perniciously playing to wishful thinking about the part of the ignorantly faithful processor-part fetishists among us. And the freescale dualcore? Obviously too far out to be a factor in the coming PB release.

So you're not exciting by a speedbump? How about the integration of a truly killer graphics environment, in fully enough time to be completely tested, with no gotchas or hidden suprises, with OS X 10.4 Tiger and Photoshop 9 (CS 2) when they both come out early next year.

Not a G5, not a 20-inch screen on a PD, just a wonderful, fast, solid, well-tested computer that will stand you in good stead for the next 4 or 5 years until cheap and bright organic screens change the laptop landscape (It's starting to happen now with Sony's new only-available-in-Japan Clie)

Am I visionary or what?

what !

[Lancer409]

because we like to entertain idea's ... to ... ponder the possibilities!

[MrForgetable]

..to make up rumors!

[TailsToo]

I would buy a 2ghz PB in a second!!

[olePigeon]

Originally posted by Randman:
Fixed.

Really. Heh. Tiger looks freakin' awesome. Steve's gonna need an entire hour on CoreVideo alone!

[Lancer409]

Originally posted by olePigeon:
Really. Heh. Tiger looks freakin' awesome. Steve's gonna need an entire hour on CoreVideo alone!

i like apple's keynotes ... i wouldnt mind

[riotge@r]

Originally posted by Parky:
Being an owner of a G5 iMac I can't see Apple fitting a G5 into a PowerBook for at least another 9-12 months.

Ian

What does you owning a iMac G5 have to do with whether Apple can fit a G5 into a PowerBook? Now if you said you DESIGNED the iMac G5 I could see your point.

[Lancer409]

Originally posted by riotge@r:
What does you owning a iMac G5 have to do with whether Apple can fit a G5 into a PowerBook? Now if you said you DESIGNED the iMac G5 I could see your point.

ouch .. meanie!

[Dyeus]

Originally posted by riotge@r:
What does you owning a iMac G5 have to do with whether Apple can fit a G5 into a PowerBook? Now if you said you DESIGNED the iMac G5 I could see your point.

Yeah, let's start a rumor about who actualy designed the iMac G5

[Skip Breakfast]

Al Gore designed the iMac G5.

[Link]

Crap or not, you'll still have to explain why there's a Powerbook 7,1 and a Powerbook 7,2, and why both include "neo2" in their description.

One thing a lot of the "It fit in the imac but can never possibly fit in a laptop!" sheep keep forgetting is that in the imac, damn near half the 'thickness' is the screen alone. Granted that, and it's ATX power supply is built in, I'd say they probably can squeeze it onto a smaller PCB, if necessary. If you want to complain about cooling, well what about all those crazy P4 laptops out there?

Then again P4 laptops were never 1" thick. Darn. January *IS* a rather nice time to speculate for, though.

[d4nth3m4n]

Originally posted by Alienex:
i am on the fence about buying one now...
I am not holding my breath for G5 powerbooks but I am wondering if there will be an upgrade to the current line, maybe the model I want to buy will go in price alittle. Back in the day, I bought my ipod 3g in novemeber and in january they were selling 15 gigs for the same price and the 10 gigs went down a bit. So I am on the fence... ahhhh buying from apple in the fall is a bad idea I am starting to see....

last year counts as "back in the day"?

[meatyocre]

Been waiting since late August... Let me tell you, I am getting pretty restless. I just have creeping suspicion that as soon as I plop down the $$$ on a PB 15" 1.5, the next Rev would come around and smack me in the ass.

[himself]

Originally posted by d4nth3m4n:
last year counts as "back in the day"?

In computer time it does.

[nooon]

Originally posted by meatyocre:
Been waiting since late August... Let me tell you, I am getting pretty restless. I just have creeping suspicion that as soon as I plop down the $$$ on a PB 15" 1.5, the next Rev would come around and smack me in the ass.

I just did that, and it didn't.

[MilkmanDan]

Heres a rumor: The new PowerBrick G5. The power of a G5 in a nice 5 x 3 x 4 brick. Made from 100% pure rock.

More likely then a G5 powerbook, just as much fun.

[chris v]

Originally posted by Phat Bastard:
I don't understand what all these dodgy websites get out of publishing such drivel, speculative articles.

Hits, and thus ad revenue.

[runejoha]

Steve Jobs said in a Spanish newspaper a year ago that the PBG5 would be released before 2005, probably this atumn. The PBG5 is allready delayed with the "pathetic" upgrade back in May as a "cover up". I don't think he is lying with more than a few monts. There are no more upgrades left on the G4 - The "upgrade" back in May was not really a upgrade.. Count 9 months after May 2004, and you have your RevA 17" PB15 :-) Because it is so new and special, at latest February 2005.

I would say January or February, depends how much G4 parts they want to sell before they release the G5. This is my opinion, take it or leave it.

From design to marked it takes a long time, maybe a year or so, or even more, like the Pentium CPUs. I guess the PBG5 has been finished for a while. If I am wrong we have to wait a loong time before we see a PBG5.

[Pierre B.]

Originally posted by Link:

Then again P4 laptops were never 1" thick.

You just said it. Thickness is the problem here. It would be not so much of a problem for a G5 to go into a thicker laptop, but in its current implementation it is impossible to put it in a 1 inch Powerbook. However, not all cards of IBM have been played in this game. If I am not mistaken, apart lower voltage parts, SSOI and low-k technologies have yet to appear in the G5 fabrication and perhaps they are critical to bring the G5 in the Powerbook realm.

[Randman]

Originally posted by runejoha:
Steve Jobs said in a Spanish newspaper a year ago that the PBG5 would be released before 2005

He also said PowerMacs would hit 3.0Ghz/ So?

PowerBooks ain't coming out in a G5 anytime soon. Maybe not until 2006. Even if Apple was close, why would they risk losing sales on the iMac by releasing PowerBooks so soon? And look at the size and cooling factors in just getting a G5 into the new iMac form.

[Voch]

I'm just looking for a generational leap above by TiBook 667/DVI...and that could be a nice G4 2Ghz with a 200Mhz bus and a nice video chip. Yeah...I know the current 1.5Ghz PB 15" is probably a LOT faster than my TiBook, but I doubt I'll get more actual work done with it.

Nothing I do is very processor intensive, but I have gobbled up the 768MB of my installed RAM several times, could use a little more hard drive space, and could use some more general oomph. Maybe I'll just get a 5400RPM 60GB HD upgrade for $140...

Voch