Local Apple resellers feedback have confirmed a strong indication that the PowerBook line-up will receive a change in late February 2005. As of now, Apple resellers are bundling PowerBooks and giving discount pricing to move their existing stock in anticipation of the newer PowerBooks, making it a great time to buy if you’re a bargain hunter who cannot afford to hold out for the later models.
Also, news on the street is that Mac OS X 10.4, Tiger is likely to ship in March 2005.
The Apple rumour mill has been permeated with rumours of PowerBook changes in the past months. Among the most popular and likely are:
#1. Dual G4 PowerBook Rumour
“Rumors of a dual PowerBook G4 were widespread on the internet several months ago, but saw no official announcement from Apple. The computer maker has reportedly developed prototypes of the dual processor laptop — based around the G4 processor — as a precautionary measure.
Meanwhile, Apple is said to be working with a company called Cooligy to try and attain their goal of deploying a PowerBook G5 by May of 2004. Cooligy, which was founded last year by several members of Stanford University’s mechanical engineering department, has developed a cooling method that uses common materials to produce a noiseless closed-loop active cooling system for CPUs, ASICS, graphics chips, and the large programmable gate arrays. According to its Web site, the company plans to sell the technology to “large electronics manufacturers.” – reported byAppleInsider
#2. PowerBook Speed Bump And Minor Upgrade Rumour
“At the high-end, the new PowerBooks will top out at 1.67GHz, sources say. Other chances will be similarly minor: the 80GB/4200RPM hard drive found on the current high-end 15-inch and 17-inch models will be replaced with a 100GB hard drive spinning at 5400-rpm. The video card at the high-end will remain ATI’s Radeon 9700, but it will be given a boost from 64MB of memory to 128MB. The PowerBook SuperDrive will also gain official support for DVD+R media, along with the DVD-R discs that have always worked.
At the low-end, the 12-inch PowerBook will be upgraded to 1.5GHz. Hard drive size will remain at 60GB, but the drive will be upgraded from a 4200-rpm model to 5400-rpm drive, marginally improving performance. Other specifications will remain unchanged from the current 12-inch PowerBook.
All PowerBooks will also be upgraded to the new Bluetooth 2.0 specification with Enhanced Data Rate, introduced in November. Bluetooth 2.0 is about three-times faster than Bluetooth 1.1, consumes less power, and is backwards compatible with Bluetooth 1.1 devices.” – reported by Think Secret
We shall reserve comment on which is more likely to happen but whatever the outcome potential PowerBook owners now face difficult choices:
- buy a PowerBook now at discounted pricing/get freebies with their purchase;
- adopt a wait and see stance till late February 2005, just in case the PowerBook line receives an update;
- adopt a wait and see stance till some time in or after March 2005 to get the latest PowerBook, iLife 5 and Mac OS X 10.4, Tiger all in one fall sweep!