28 people says things!

1. As I understand it, no updates are expected on the Powerbooks until the Intel chips are in them. There’s certainly not going to be a G5 PB, which I know most people had held off for, and I can’t think of anything else they might want to do with them until the Intel switchover.

   By Lee on July 21, 2005 11:38 am

2. Don’t quote me on it, but I don’t foresee new Powerbooks for a little while yet.

   The only thing they could really improve much in the Powerbook is the processor. There is no way they will be releasing G5 Powerbooks, and they’ve pretty much maxed out the G4 in that enclosure.

   The next Powerbook update will probably be Intel chips.

   By nick on July 21, 2005 11:42 am

3. Thanks Lee.

   By Scrivs on July 21, 2005 11:43 am

4. There won’t be a G5 powerbook, but they might do something with MHZ and HD space prior to next year - but who knows. If they do not update them this year it would be the longest any Mac product has gone without an update without being a cancelled product.

   I would say buy one, but don’t buy anything crazy. You were asking me about getting the 17″ and I definitely do not recommend that. You have a huge 30″ display at home, on a killer G5 setup, I would use that for main work and use a laptop for ultra portability. Perhaps a 12 is too small for you, but I really really love my 12-inch ibook. 12-inch powerbooks are really nice as well.

   If you can’t live with 12, go with a 15, but remember your laptop is for portability. Oh, and i you do get the 17-inch, consider FedExing me your G5 setup. :)

   Also, something to consider is the consensus, I did a little research before I bought my 12-inch iBook. Chris J. Davis highly recommended the 12-inch, and so did a mess of others. Check out this link:

   http://flickr.com/groups_topic.gne?id=52665

   Overall, the 17-inch is not that portable, and uses massive amounts of battery. Its cool as hell though.

   By Colin D. Devroe on July 21, 2005 11:57 am

5. I’m not much of a crystal-ball gazer, but I — like others — would expect no more than a processor and drive bump to the Powerbook line during 2005.

   That aside, I also recommend you avoid the 17-incher. Too big.

   I have the 15, but only because I actually use it for real work. If you plan to use it as a portable accessory to your primary bad-ass setup at home, go for the 12-inch.

   In any case, I’ve heard nothing but really good things about this latest round of Powerbooks. I’ve definitely had no problems with mine since I got it on June 1.

   By John Zeratsky on July 21, 2005 12:03 pm

6. I connect my 12″ Powerbook to a 17″ Studio Display and it’s a fantastic setup. Doing so gives me a full keyboard and big screen so I don’t go blind squinting all day at tiny pixels. This way I can also remove the lightweight Powerbook and carry it to presentations and meetings, and then for development hook it back up to the monitor.

   You might want to try a similar setup, Paul.

   geof

   By Geof Harries on July 21, 2005 12:03 pm

7. Take a look at this: list of all Mac systems and when they underwent revisions, with quite a bit of history and articles on jucy rumors.
   http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/

   The 17-inch Powerbook is ginormous; my 15-inch has served me well for a few years now.

   By Darkside on July 21, 2005 12:06 pm

8. I know that IBM just announced that they had created a dual-core PowerPC 970 (G5) processor, as well as a low-power version, and lots of people have speculated that there might be a powerbook bump using this new low-power chip.

   But that is not definite.

   I have the 17″ Powerbook g4 1.5ghz, and I really like it. At first I was wanting the 15″, but my boss suprised me with the 17″. After working on dual-monitors at work all day with tons of desktop space, the 17″ makes it an easier transition when doing work on it.

   I get about 3 - 3.5 hours of battery life out of it unless I am doing some heavy Photoshopping or something that is accessing the HD a lot.

   The 17″, to me, seems just as portable as the 15″. The size difference isn’t in the depth, it is the width.

   By Jeremy Flint on July 21, 2005 12:08 pm

9. Definetly one of the things that annoy me the most about Apple is this constant wonder whether a speed bump or upgrade is coming.

   Everyone knows new ones are eventually coming with Intel, but I need a new powerbook too, and I’m not getting one now only to see a ,5 ghz speedbump in 2 weeks.

   Would it be too much to ask for apple to post a god damn timeline once in a while with nifty little dots where things would happen?

   About the 15/17 thing, unless you really like flipping open your laptop on the subway, or being ultra-trendy at a cafe, just go for the 17″ if you like bigger screens, if you’re anything like me, you’re prolly using it at your desk most of the time either way.

   By Brian Andersen on July 21, 2005 12:25 pm

10. I also like the 17″ because it is more comfortable to use when it is in my lap. More space to rest my hands.

    By Jeremy Flint on July 21, 2005 2:15 pm

11. My feel is the Powerbooks won’t upgrade in the near future. Just get you something good right now and sell it whenever the new ones come out. The new ones will be trumped by something better anway.

    By William Stewart on July 21, 2005 2:15 pm

12. Many people seem certain that we will not see G5 powerbooks.

    Don’t be so sure. Just because Apple is not going to use IBM chips 2 years from now doesn’t mean they won’t still use them now.

    IBM recently annouced Dual Core PPC 970 chips as well as low power PPC 970 chips.

    The low power chips may yet end up in a powerbook.

    By Jason G on July 21, 2005 2:21 pm

13. I wouldn’t hold your breath for updates. A small speedbump won’t make or break your powerbook purchase. You’ll love it just the same and I doubt you’d even notice the difference if you had waited for the upgrade.

    Definitely max out the RAM though. That will make a big difference to your experience.

    (written on a 12″ connected to a 23″ Cinema Display)

    By Robert Bousquet on July 21, 2005 2:22 pm

14. Here is an idea Scrivs. Go ahead and by you a top of the line powerbook right now, and when the new ones come out, you can just sell off another site and buy one of those.

    i kid, i kid. :-)

    BTW, the comment form isn’t saving my info (Firefox on PC).

    By Jeremy Flint on July 21, 2005 2:46 pm

15. It’s just depends on when you want to get it. I’m pretty sure they’ll do an update in January with a slightly faster processor and higher density monitors.

    Personally, I think I’m going to let me 12″ PowerBook last me another year or two. I’m a designer and use it for work at my company and freelancing. Hooked up to an external monitor, it’s a nice set up with maximum portablity.

    Now that I do alot of freelancing and writing out of the office, I have to say I would get a 17″ PowerBook the next time around. Their actually thinner than their 12″ counterparts and not much bigger, but the screen is taller and almost twice as long.

    Going single screen and trying to work in Photoshop, InDesign and Dreamweaver is a beating. When I’m writing, it’s doable.

    That’s my 2¢.

    By Chet on July 21, 2005 4:39 pm

16. Why not just buy one now to meet your current needs, and if new ones are released you can flip your old one on eBay and buy the latest and greatest? PowerBooks seem to hold their resale value really well, so it wouldn’t cost you too much extra.

    Lots of people on the rumour sites are speculating about 1.8 GHz and maybe even 2 GHz G4s, and many people think a G5 PB might even be released later this year. The reasoning seems to be that Apple already did all the design work on a G5 motherboard, so if IBM can supply the chips it’s just a matter of having the new PBs manufactured. I’ll buy one if they do that!

    By Darren on July 21, 2005 7:25 pm

17. According to AppleInsider.com, Apple will refresh there hardware line up on tuesday (july 26).

    By Chet on July 22, 2005 10:13 am

18. http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/ has a nice layout of information to help you make a decision. They have the times between updates for each Apple product and gives suggestions based on the average times between updates.

    By William on July 24, 2005 2:39 pm

19. Yeah … Apple are dumping a large range of Mac Mini and G5 systems to overstock.com and other places. This usually happens before new Hardware announcments.

    As has been pointed out IBM have finally announced low power G5 chips, and new DUAL Core G5 (which means your Dual CPU G5 can now handle 4 cores)

    Wait till Tuesday 26th - it is only a few more sleeps. Then decide

    By Mr K on July 24, 2005 3:22 pm

20. Why the vendetta against the iBook? I think the new iBooks are going to share a lot of the PowerBook specs, while still maintaining the iBook pricing model. Who knows, we might get lucky with monitor spanning capabilities (without firmware hacks), widescreen, and a larger hd and faster proc…

    I really doubt there will be a refresh on the PowerBook line anytime soon. Apple will probably be spacing all of their updates out to make for a “grand” release with the new Intels.

    Right now I have a 12″ iBook. If they offer a widescreen 12″ with monitor spanning, I might be taking a little trip to the Apple Store, and pass my current laptop to my wife… she needs one anyways (currently running a 13″ compaq 500mhz brick).

    By Kyle Posey on July 25, 2005 12:07 pm

21. I suggest you get a PB 17″ with maxed out RAM. Either that or a 15″ if you want a bit longer battery life (not extremely apparent though). The new iBooks are looking nice though and you can’t beat the price. Good luck!

    By Matt Widmann on July 27, 2005 1:13 am

22. I always recommend 12″ just for having your back sane. You know, you will carry it many times. Also, 12″ it is a decent display for work in Web, no problemos at all.

    I pimp Quicksilver all the time on the iBook 12″ and I am a happy person.

    By mini-d on July 27, 2005 4:25 am

23. Hey…

    This is a really good offer, I already got an xbox through this, basically if you get 5 of your friends to join with one of the stuff they have there then cancel, you’d get this free Sony PSP too. Check it out.. worth a try.

    Click here to get the Sony PSP

    http://www.FreePSPs.com/default.aspx?r=18978404

    By Dr Who on July 29, 2005 2:04 am

24. I love my 15″ - but if you carry it everywhere it gets a bit heavy - the 12″ might suit you better. That said, if you do a lot of designing or coding on the Pb’s screen, the 12″ won’t be sufficient. Definitely upgrade the RAM - bumping mine from 512MB to 1.25GB has given a very noticeable speed boost.

    By Andy on July 29, 2005 3:25 am

25. I was actually considering getting an iMac since that is the closest thing to getting a portable. It’s still 25 lbs.

    The best of both worlds options is to get a 12″ PowerBook and a 20″ or 23″ Cinema Display. When you don’t need alot of screen real estate, you just go with the laptop. When you want to go dual screen, the Cinema display is less that an 1″ thick and doesn’t weight that much.

    Personally that is the situation I’m now leaning towards.

    By Chet on August 4, 2005 2:06 pm

26. There is a new rumor that the last upgrades to the PowerBook line before going MacTel is coming out this fall.

    http://appleinsider.com/article.php?id=1229

    you might want to wait one more month.

    By Chet on August 17, 2005 4:46 pm

27. Good choice with the powerbook ibook yuck

    By cellular on February 4, 2006 4:47 am

28. Good choice with the powerbook ibook yuck

    By cellular on February 4, 2006 4:49 am

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