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sworthy · Apr 25, 2003, 04:01 PM

So I know this is amazingly far in advance, but I am planning on buying an ibook for my significant other for her graduation from college, and I thought it would be fun to try to map out where we think the ibook is going. I am a poor college student, so I'm starting to save up now (I'll set aside $125 a month or so, which brings me to $1500 after a year).

So I guess this is more of a prediction thread, what will an ibook look like in a year?

My guess:

G4's up to 1.25 Ghz
airport extreme
bluetooth
50, 60, 80 gig HD's
Radeon 9000 64mb
probably still 640mb ram limit

Peter · Apr 25, 2003, 04:06 PM

Originally posted by sworthy:

G4's up to 1.25 Ghz
airport extreme
bluetooth
50, 60, 80 gig HD's
Radeon 9000 64mb
probably still 640mb ram limit

G4, iBook?!!? no chance, I reckon the 17" Powerbook may be 1.25Ghz though

my prediction:
G3's upto 1.3Ghz
Airport Extreme
Bluetooth
20-60Gb HD
Dunno about graphics
640Mb limit

sworthy · Apr 25, 2003, 04:13 PM

I say the G4 ibook b/c I figure the powerbook will be using 970's by then... I figure they'll be there by next may.

kybernaut · Apr 25, 2003, 06:51 PM

G3 and 1100 MHz (100 MHz every half a year as it always has been).

kybernaut

Peter · Apr 25, 2003, 07:29 PM

Originally posted by sworthy:
I say the G4 ibook b/c I figure the powerbook will be using 970's by then... I figure they'll be there by next may.

wow someones confident

stew · Apr 25, 2003, 08:07 PM

Judging from the past iBooks, it'll be at 1.1GHz (200MHz speed bump per year) and have the same gfx harddware as the current PowerBook....

dampeoples · Apr 25, 2003, 08:32 PM

i think the iBook will match the powerbook line (current), and the powerbook line will be using whatever new chip they come out with

rmendis · Apr 26, 2003, 03:32 AM

Originally posted by dampeoples:
i think the iBook will match the powerbook line (current)

I doubt the PowerBooks moving to the PPC970 in a year. It still hasn't come out yet, so don't hold your breath for it to appear in a PowerBook anytime soon.

I think the iBook will still sport the G3 but running at much higher MHz. The PowerPC970 will almost certainly up the MHz ante for Apple....so Apple could put faster G4s in the PowerBooks.

Apple has proclaimed that this is the year of the portable, so i expect a revolutionary change to occur to the iBook line akin to the introduction of the original iMac. There will be a new enclosure/colours/textured plastics a leap in performance (Mhz not G4) and a reduction in price. The machine will take over from the iMac as Apple's flagship product.

The reasoning for this is now that the transition to Mac OS X is complete, Apple is in a position to agressively push Mac OS X and focus on the consumer line(s) again. For the past few years it was beneficial to focus on the Pro lines (where we saw innovation) beacause of the complexity and ehadaches introduced by the transition to Mac OS X.

Anyway, if Apple wanted to produce an aggressively priced machine - that is G3 processor, 12" screen, etc...the most appropriate form fact for this would be in a portable and not a desktop/iMac.

So that is why i guess that this year Apple will make a big marketing push around a newly designed iBook.

rjenkinson · Apr 26, 2003, 06:40 AM

in a year, the ibook will most likely have the specs of the current 12" powerbook, but bumped slightly. expect marginal clock speed and graphics card upgrades.

-r.

The Placid Casual · Apr 27, 2003, 05:28 PM

I think we may see an IBM G3+ in the iBook running at >1.5ghz with RIO.

I think the relationship with Moto is on it's last legs, and that the Powerbook and Powermac will go 970, and the rest of the line will get a blazing fast IBM G3+ alternative...

I think it would be sweet...

As for the rest of the features...

AE Extreme
Bluetooth
FW800
Radeon 9600.

Peace,

Marc

WizOSX · Apr 27, 2003, 06:26 PM

Originally posted by Marc2211

I think we may see an IBM G3+ in the iBook running at >1.5ghz with RIO.

I think the relationship with Moto is on it's last legs, and that the Powerbook and Powermac will go 970, and the rest of the line will get a blazing fast IBM G3+ alternative...

I agree. I think that Apple may never put out a G4 iBook and here's why:

1) The G4 runs very hot and that's why we constantly hear about the hot 12" and 17" new TiBooks. Trying to put the G4 in a notebook (like the TiBook) is relatively expensive (to get rid of heat) and gives a noisier machine than the G3 does. So the G3 iBook fills the bill perfectly for people who want a very quiet, inexpensive and not hot notebook. Its just not worthwhile for Motorola to develop a really low-heat, low-power using G4.

2) The current G3 is currently comparable to low-end Celeron Windows notebooks. There is a good market for those machines just as there is for the iBook. Apple doesn't need to go to a G4 to sell machines to people who don't really need one (mainly non-Photoshop users). IBM will probably be able to get the G3 over 1ghz soon so I think we will see that in one more iBook iteration, probably in July or August. A 1.2ghz G3 iBook with beefed up video would be a quick machine, certainly quick enough for me and many iBook users, even with Panther.

3) IBM might find it worthwhile to come out with a mobile version of the 970. That is likely what we will see in a revamped iBook, maybe in January but I would guess more likely in Summer 2004.

Krusty · Apr 28, 2003, 12:50 AM

Just for a laugh, I looked up another iBook speculation thread from 1 year ago.

Check it out if you wanna see what everyone was predicting last year.

pyrocat · May 28, 2003, 08:36 PM

Congratulations all you Mac fans. Nobody mentioned Intel in Apple's future! Could make a nice Salvador Dali iBook that way.

pYrOcat

rjenkinson · May 29, 2003, 10:09 AM

Originally posted by Krusty:
Just for a laugh, I looked up another iBook speculation thread from 1 year ago.

Check it out if you wanna see what everyone was predicting last year.

that stupid groundhog!

-r.

radarbob · May 29, 2003, 12:26 PM

The next iBook iteration will be underwelming.

Apple must deal squarely with it's CPU issue and the megahertz myth. The powertower (tm) and powerbook lines must get a new CPU before anything really exciting happens to the iBook line.

A G4 is a G3 with velocity engine, essentially. So if you put the G3 vs. G4 thing in the "eh, whatever" category then things like raw megahertz, buss speed, video resolution & screen size, max HD size, superdrive, etc. are the cachet of the powerbook line.

Thus the iBook is relegated to superficial nudges in CPU speed, cosmetics, minor price shavings on the low end, etc. and will never get significant upgrades in those other areas unless and until the powerxxxx gets a new CPU.

I believe that a new CPU alone (for the powerxxxx lines) would be so significant that once that happens the iBook can then offer some of the same cachet elements as powerbooks.

I say (nay, hope) 18 months before we see a "new" iBook.

Nostradamus
Everyone's got an opinion Dept.
Bob's Fix iT Shop

talisker · May 29, 2003, 09:54 PM

One option for Apple would be to ditch the iBook / Powerbook split. It already seems a bit congested with all the different models out there. Why not just have one portable line? All a similar case design with maybe some different screen options, and different performance options (with a mix of G3/G4/whatever)? At the moment the lines are pretty much defined by ibook=G3, powerbook=G4, which seems a very arbitrary and un-Apple thing to do.