[8minute]

Someone had mentioned in another thread that because the new 12" iBook is so close in spec to a 12" PB, maybe the 12" PB has reached EOL and will be discontinued.

That got me thinking ... maybe the 12" will be replaced by a new 13" widescreen G5 PB when it comes out .. the extra space is needed to house/cool the G5 processor.

How cool would that be? I'd love to have a widescreen with higher res, possibly speakers on the top of the case so it matches the rest of the PB range, and also differentiates it more from the 12" iBook (ie. Al 12" doesn't equal an aluminium 12" iBook)

Would people currently with a 12" PB prefer to have a 13" widescreen version? I know I would .. bring it on!

[fisherKing]

i can't speak for anyone else, but...
i love my 12" pb; i want smaller, lighter....better.
not a larger screen, but a better one.
better definition! brighter!
lighter, better heat dispersion!
a backlit keyboard.

for some of us, the whole idea is a light, portable monster of a computer.

as of now,
the 12" pb does pretty nicely...

[Ryan1524]

my dad wants a 12" PB, but with the iBook only recently updated (specs very very close to PB now), do you think apple will boost the PBs soon?

[8minute]

Originally posted by Ryan1524:
my dad wants a 12" PB, but with the iBook only recently updated (specs very very close to PB now), do you think apple will boost the PBs soon?

Well the Apple VP of Marketing has said don't expect any new PB before xmas: http://www.macminute.com/2004/10/19/powerbooks/

[tavilach]

It wouldn't have to be 13". It could be a 12" widescreen...

[MrForgetable]

13 inch wide screen with 1280x854??

Hmm,, hard on the eyes, but I'd pimp it still

[iDaver]

I think a 13" 1200x750 (or so) PowerBook is a great idea and would differentiate it from the iBook. As for small and light, I expect it could be made in the same size (cubic inches) as the current 12" model. In my mind, this would make it more worth the current $600 difference between the iBook and PowerBook. And, it would be so cute!

[mgl]

A 13" widescreen would be enough to make me upgrade from the iBook line. There's little reason for me to buy PowerBooks right now, the iBook meets my 12" needs. I strongly prefer widescreen but the 15" is too big for me. A 12 or 13" widescreen would be perfect.

[Randman]

G5 in a 12? ha! It'll be luckily to make a 15 and 17 by 2005.

[cambro]

Originally posted by Randman:
G5 in a 12? ha! It'll be luckily to make a 15 and 17 by 2005.

In its current form.

I wouldn't be surprised if IBM/Apple were partnering on a low-power "mobile" version of the G5 (think Pentium M and Centrino). If you think about the direction of Apple's revenue, a breakthrough in this regard might really be more significant than pushing the current G5.

[Randman]

In any form.
Low-power G5? Why? A G4 running 2.0 would be more attractive than a 1.6 G5. And look at the low-end iMacs. Tell me how you can fit that into a PowerBook?
Sorry, but it's fanboy dreaming for the time being. Now a 13.1-inch model would work. We had a good thread on that not that long ago.

[zubro]

... and Apple dropped a G5 in a "consumer" machine before the "Pro" laptops...
I dont understand why everybody is so heavy on the "heat" issue, I read everywhere that the G5 is consuming the same (less) energy than the G4...
...right?

[iREZ]

I personally believe that Apple is going to drop the beloved 12" PB. I for one think that Apple is going to keep the 15" and 17" models as their "Power"book line and drop the 12" PB now to the "i"book line. The 12" is handicapped all over the place compared to the 15" and 17" such as, GPU, PCI, Firewire, Faster clock speeds, Resolution, and Battery exchange without shutting off the book. I think bumping the iBook right now without bumping the PB line gives Apple the excuse to drop the 12" PB in the next revision and to push the new pro line for pro users, even though the 12" is my favorite PB and in my opinion the best selling of the three, I still believe it's going to get the shaft. Here's hoping that it doesn't, or it will be a sad day for all 12" PB users.

[escher]

Originally posted by fisherKing:
for some of us, the whole idea is a light, portable monster of a computer.

as of now, the 12" pb does pretty nicely...

As always, fisherKing says it best. Apple doesn't need to make the 12-inch PowerBook bigger by adding a 13" widescreen LCD. Apple needs to make the 12-inch smaller (mostly thinner) and lighter. My preference would be to maintain the current 12" size and aspect ratio, definitely increase the quality of the LCD, and maybe bump the resolution up a bit.

In the meantime, the Rev.C 12-inch PowerBook is the best notebook on the block for me. It's perfect for the road, and a great desktop replacement with an external 17" LCD and Bluetooth keyboard and mouse.

Escher

[iDaver]

Originally posted by escher:
Apple doesn't need to make the 12-inch PowerBook bigger by adding a 13" widescreen LCD. Apple needs to make the 12-inch smaller (mostly thinner) and lighter. My preference would be to maintain the current 12" size and aspect ratio, definitely increase the quality of the LCD, and maybe bump the resolution up a bit.

I don't really think it would be bigger. It might be an inch wider, but it would be an inch less deep. The current 12" is maxed out on resolution until OS X and the internet are resolution independent. That's why I think a 13" wide screen would be nice. You could gain maybe two hundred extra pixels in width.

[Valarauko]

Originally posted by fisherKing:
i can't speak for anyone else, but...
i love my 12" pb; i want smaller, lighter....better.
not a larger screen, but a better one.
better definition! brighter!
lighter, better heat dispersion!
a backlit keyboard.

for some of us, the whole idea is a light, portable monster of a computer.

as of now,
the 12" pb does pretty nicely...

Exactly what I want too...

Lighter
Better screen
Backlit Keyboard
Better heat dispersion

[Ruahrc]

Originally posted by zubro:
... and Apple dropped a G5 in a "consumer" machine before the "Pro" laptops...
I dont understand why everybody is so heavy on the "heat" issue, I read everywhere that the G5 is consuming the same (less) energy than the G4...
...right?

I don't think the G5 is producing equal levels of heat than the G4... the new G5's need to be watercooled to work.

I don't think a G5 will appear in a powerbook until they drop it down one more fab step from 90um to like 65um or whatever the next step is. I think the next G4 powerbooks might even get a lower fab (down to 90um?) That would be great too as it would help the heat output that everyone complains about.

Ruahrc

[dwood]

Originally posted by Valarauko:
Exactly what I want too...

Lighter
Better screen
Backlit Keyboard
Better heat dispersion

i've asked this before, in regards to the backlit keyboard but where exactly would they put the ambient light sensors, not exactly a ton of room both inside, and on the top casing for the senors to read light.

[iPoder]

Originally posted by Ruahrc:
I don't think a G5 will appear in a powerbook until they drop it down one more fab step from 90um to like 65um or whatever the next step is.

No way! 65 um process is years away. The whole chip industry is still trying to perfect the 90 um manufactoring process. (Intel canceling the 4 Ghz chip design is a good indication).

Apple will figure out a genius way of cooling the CPU. They have to, otherwise the PB line will be in the dead water for a few years.

[iPoder]

I think 13" PB is a good way to separate it from the iBook.

With the new iBook 12", 12" PB does not hold many advantages over the iBook (SuperDrive option, better GPU, etc).

Even if PB goes G5 in the next update, it is very unlikely that G5 will fit in 12". So Apple has to come up some other ways to distinguish the product from iBook.

[iPoder]

Call me crazy, but I think that Apple should replace 12" PB with 10" wide screen PB, making it super portable.

What Apple can do is to use 1.8" HD (60 GB) instead of typical 2.5" HD. That will probably fit the reduced size of PB 10".

[Wiskedjak]

Originally posted by MrForgetable:
13 inch wide screen with 1280x854??

Hmm,, hard on the eyes, but I'd pimp it still

I recently worked on a 10.6" Fujitsu at 1280x768. The display was so crisp that the resolution didn't bother me at all.

[Evan_11]

Originally posted by iPoder:
Call me crazy, but I think that Apple should replace 12" PB with 10" wide screen PB, making it super portable.

What Apple can do is to use 1.8" HD (60 GB) instead of typical 2.5" HD. That will probably fit the reduced size of PB 10".

I agree. The 12" PB just doesn't stack up to the newest ibooks. I would go a couple of inches smaller and release a paperback size powerbook. Instead of a keyboard though they could put in a touch pad. The touch pad that has a backlit keyboard that would illuminate when needed. pretty cool, eh?

[Mafia]

i would enjoy a 12" widescreen. i like the size of the 12 inch but make it widescreen imo.

[iPoder]

Originally posted by Evan_11:
Instead of a keyboard though they could put in a touch pad. The touch pad that has a backlit keyboard that would illuminate when needed. pretty cool, eh?

Actually, I remember that some company came up with the idea similiar to that. So instead of a keyboard with keys, what you got a touch sensitive pad with key letters projected on it through a laser light source.

I don't know whether the idea is materialized or not, and how practical it is, expecially you don't get the textual feeling of the keys you type.

[Superchicken]

Tactile feed back is important. So we won't see a touch pad any time soon.

As for a 10 inch notebook, don't expect it from the PowerBooks, PERHAPS either a new line, or an iBook mini, but if Apple got into the 10 inch space the HD would be small low power, the battery would be good, the proc would be reasonable IE 1Ghz G4, might have a combo drive though perhaps even an external. And it would more likely than anything be aimed as a desktop companion or an edu laptop.

That said, I think what Apple should head into is splitting the PowerBook line in two. Lets call one the PowerBook and the other the Xbook. If you've seen any PC laptops that have high speed you know the things are massive, some of the guys in dorm have HP laptops, or Toshibas and those things are huge, I'm sure Apple could get away with making 15 inch widescreen laptops that were not an inch thick. They'd simply need some sort of option. They got a 1.8Ghz G5 into a 2 inch thick iMac with desktop parts. At least a 1.6Ghz G5 should be able to fit into a 1.5 inch Xbook with 7200rpm drive and 3 hour battery life. They would market the G4 books as ultra portable, reasonably powerful, and the Xbook as high power, not so mobile.

Apple could do lots of things with four models of Notebooks, the problem is they don't seem to want to address specific markets and would rather concentrate on being a jack of all trades with two lines.

That said if Apple continues to use the G4 they might need to rename it. Consumers are quickly going to start asking why they should buy a laptop that runs nearly half as fast clock wise as a comparable desktop, and why on earth it runs even slower clock for clock.

[8minute]

Originally posted by iPoder:
Call me crazy, but I think that Apple should replace 12" PB with 10" wide screen PB, making it super portable.

Yeah .. whatever screen size the smallest of the next gen PB will be, it should be widescreen, so it is consistent across the PB line.

Whatever Steve and co. bring out next, let's all hope it will be big, heavy and ugly ... that way I won't have the urge to upgrade from my 12" Alu

[OB1]

Originally posted by 8minute:
How cool would that be? I'd love to have a widescreen with higher res, possibly speakers on the top of the case so it matches the rest of the PB range, and also differentiates it more from the 12" iBook (ie. Al 12" doesn't equal an aluminium 12" iBook)

Would people currently with a 12" PB prefer to have a 13" widescreen version? I know I would .. bring it on!

That would indeed be very cool. I'd love one. It seems like such an obvious idea I can't believe Apple aren't already doing it.

.. and it would be nice if they could make the bezel around the screen thinner and reduce the overall thickness of the machine to bring it more in line with the 15"/17"

[iREZ]

I don't understand why a 12" owner wouldn't want an extra inch on their screen not to mention wide screen. Even if they have a 12" widescreen, that would be cool as well, but asking for higher resolution on the 12" is like asking to sit an inch away from your television. Things are already small on the 12", why make them even smaller? I guess having that option would be up to the user.

[iPoder]

Originally posted by Superchicken:
Apple could do lots of things with four models of Notebooks, the problem is they don't seem to want to address specific markets and would rather concentrate on being a jack of all trades with two lines.

Four models are too much for Apple to handle. I will vote for Apple to stick with current product lines, but change PB lineup to 10", 13", 15" and 17" (widescreen ratio). And iBook sticks with 12" and 14" (4:3 ratio).

This way, there should be enough product segmentations for each product to find its niche market.

My 2 cents.

[all2ofme]

I'm not sure I understand - that's also four Powerbooks.

Anyway, I'd buy a small Powerbook if it had a higher resolution screen (at least 1280x854) and was thinner than the current ones. I wouldn't buy one that didn't have a built-in optical drive, however.

Originally posted by iPoder:
Four models are too much for Apple to handle. I will vote for Apple to stick with current product lines, but change PB lineup to 10", 13", 15" and 17" (widescreen ratio). And iBook sticks with 12" and 14" (4:3 ratio).

This way, there should be enough product segmentations for each product to find its niche market.

My 2 cents.

[zubro]

Originally posted by iPoder:
Call me crazy, but I think that Apple should replace 12" PB with 10" wide screen PB, making it super portable.

What Apple can do is to use 1.8" HD (60 GB) instead of typical 2.5" HD. That will probably fit the reduced size of PB 10".

like this?

http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTE...U=VGNX505ZPKIT

[iREZ]

I hope it's not at all like that

[fisherKing]

Originally posted by zubro:
like this?

http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTE...U=VGNX505ZPKIT

drool...

all this speculation, but apple will do what it does; improve the line.
ie better specs, battery life (and, alas, more heat).

still, that sony is kinda sexy... (too bad it runs windows).

again, give me: thin, light, fast, bright!

[iPoder]

Originally posted by all2ofme:
I'm not sure I understand - that's also four Powerbooks.

I was refering to the original poster Superchicken's suggestion of four notebook product lines (if I did not misunderstand the message)

iBook mini (thin, and light)
iBook (current form)
PowerBook (current form)
XBook (G5, 2" thick).

I don't believe that Apple needs to create another notebook line, but differentiate the configuration and screen sizes to segment the target markets.

[iPoder]

Originally posted by fisherKing:
drool...

all this speculation, but apple will do what it does; improve the line.
ie better specs, battery life (and, alas, more heat).

still, that sony is kinda sexy... (too bad it runs windows).

again, give me: thin, light, fast, bright!

We are in the speculation sport here, anyway.

My idea of thin and light notebook is to be able to play DVD without booting into OS (such as new Toshiba, HP notebooks), not neccessary to be extremely powerful, but good enough for students' note-taking, web-surfing and business road warrior's presentation use. Price range should be under $1500, not Sony's ridiculous $3000 price tag.

iBook or PowerBook design used to be a model for thin and light notebook, but that title role is taken by Sony, Dell and even some cheap Windows notebook vendors. Apple needs to reinvent and redefine the notebook lines to be sexy and ahead of the industry trend.

[iPoder]

Originally posted by iREZ:
I hope it's not at all like that

If you ever see it in person, you will be impressed.

[iPoder]

Originally posted by zubro:
like this?

http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTE...U=VGNX505ZPKIT

I would say that it should be more like this one

http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTE...ebookComputers

I would be thrilled to have 8 hours of battery life on the PB.

[zubro]

Originally posted by iPoder:
I would say that it should be more like this one

http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTE...ebookComputers

I would be thrilled to have 8 hours of battery life on the PB.

Yep but it would hurt to pay $ 2k for half a comouter... get it smaller and add a phone to it!