Little Room for Improvement in New PowerBook, iBook
- 2002.11.08
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On Wednesday, Apple updated their PowerBook and iBook lines. The new PowerBook now features either an 867 MHz or 1 GHz (about time) processor, 32 or 64 MB of VRAM, and a SuperDrive DVD-R and CD-RW drive on the 1 GHz model. The new iBooks feature a 700 or 800 MHz G3 processor with 16 or 32 MB of VRAM.
I think the new PowerBook is great. With an internal SuperDrive,
it can easily be a desktop replacement. Two years ago 
you couldn't even buy a PowerBook with
a built in CD burner; now we have G4s with DVD-R drives. The G4
PowerBook's always supported up to 1 GB of RAM, which is still
quite a bit - and plenty for most users. Everything else on the
PowerBook is still excellent. Apple really got it right
feature-wise and style-wise.
However, it would be nice to see slightly bigger hard drives - not that 40 or 60 GB is small, but I think Apple should have an option for something around 100 GB to please those users who need more storage space.
The new iBook sports a much better graphics processor, the same
one used in the DVI PowerBook. It
should help performance in OS X, which 
seems to be the biggest complaint in the
first and second versions of this machine.
The new lower price is very nice, too. It's the first time in seven years that a Mac laptop has been this reasonably priced (the last time was when the PB 150 was blown out at about $1,000). This makes it very attractive for students who need a basic laptop but don't have a lot of cash to spend.
However, I do think Apple should offer a 600 MHz version for maybe $100 less. Not that this would sell very well, but the price would get people's attention, and they might end up walking out with a more expensive iBook model - or maybe even a PowerBook.
That's one thing that Apple doesn't seem to realize. Maybe Macs do last longer and the higher price is worth it, but most people don't see it that way, and they never will. They see Macs and PCs as computers that they will use for a few years and then discard. While lowering the iBook's price down to $999 is great, it isn't quite good enough to convert the number of people Apple is probably hoping for. I understand that Apple wants to preserve it's image as a manufacturer of well designed, durable boxes that look great, but at this point Apple should be even more concerned with getting a larger user base. So what if it's low-end laptop isn't expensive?
The price cut is a step in the right direction though.
What Apple really needs to concentrate on is getting its act together when it comes to processors. The G3 is only being used in the iBook and the 600 MHz CRT iMac. Perhaps it's time that Apple introduces a low-end eMac, drops the CRT iMacs, and use G4 processors in the iBooks, removing the G3 from Apple's lineup. Face it, OS X doesn't run nearly as well on a G3 as it does on a G4, and the basic G3 design has been around for five years.
But for now, speed bumps and a SuperDrive will do.
Recent Apple Archive articles
- iPods, notebooks, and other modern electronics more readily replaced than repaired, 12.07. Whether it's an intermittent failure or a broken display cable, more often than not it's cheaper to replace a broken electronics device than repair it.
- Options for replacing your older iPod, 11.19. Whether you've run out of space on your old iPod or want features it doesn't have, here are your options in new and used iPods.
- Could the $200 'green' PC with gOS Linux become a threat to Apple?, 11.14. The low cost, low power Everex desktop comes with a customized version of Ubuntu Linux, has a Mac-like Dock, and sells for $400 less than the Mac mini.
- Leopard different, a bit buggy, but worth the upgrade, 11.02. Leopard on a Power Mac G4 and a MacBook Pro: It runs well on both computers, but each has some odd bugs, and some of the changes are a step backwards.
- More in the Apple Archive index.
Links for the Day
- Mac of the Day: 'Yikes!' Power Mac G4, Aug. 1999 - The only Power Mac G4 with PCI graphics was built on a modified G3 motherboard.
- Group of the Day: SuperMacs is for those using Umax SuperMac clones.
- November 21 in LEM history: 00: OS upgrades, downgrades - AltiVec vs. Pentium III - 01: Saved by the clones - Computer of the future - 02: Apple Education: Let's get to it - 03: Panther lets Macs and PCs work together, - Lombard SCSI bug - 05: 3 survivors from the 1970s - Real world battery life inadequate - Windows to Mac file transfer with Zip disks - $99 alternative to Microsoft Office - 06: Parallels 1.0 far more polished than beta
Recent Content on Low End Mac
- Just Right: Papa Bear, Mama Bear, and Baby Bear MacBooks, Charles W. Moore, 'Book Value, 11.20. Some people like small and light notebooks, others prefer huge desktop replacements, but the best value tends to be in the middle.
- Virtualization Shootout: VMWare Fusion 2 vs. Parallels Desktop 4, Kev Kitchens, Kitchens Sync, 11.20. Both programs do the same thing, but one runs Windows XP smoothly alongside Mac apps, while the other bogs down everything but Windows.
- Apple Caves to Hollywood with DRM on iTunes Videos, Frank Fox, Stop the Noiz, 11.20. HDCP on the new MacBooks means that you may never really own those videos you buy from the iTunes Store.
- Leopard Runs Very Nicely on PowerPC Macs, Simon Royal, Mac Spectrum, 11.19. Some claim that Mac OS X 10.5 is so optimized for Intel Macs that it runs poorly on PowerPC hardware. That's simply not the case.
- No High Definition iTunes Video for You, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 11.19. The October 2008 MacBooks are preventing users from viewing some high-def iTunes content from being viewed on their external displays. Poor form!
- Every Working Computer Is Useful to Someone, Allison Payne, The Budget Mac, 11.19. Whether it's a PowerBook 1400, G3 iMac, or Power Mac G4, it could be all the computer someone needs.
- 3 WeatherBug Options for Apple Users, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 11.19. Have instant access to current local weather conditions with a Dashboard widget, iPhone app, or Firefox plugin.
- Anticipating Macworld: Nehalem, Snow Leopard, and Updated Desktops, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 11.18. Intel's Core i7 CPU has to make it way into the next Mac Pro, nVidia GeForce graphics will drive the iMac and Mac mini, and 'Snow Tiger' will unleash the animal within.
- Love My Refurb MacBook Pro, Eudora Forever, and the Lightest AA Batteries, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 11.18. Also questions about nVidia GeForce 8600 problems in earlier MacBook Pro models and importing Eudora mailboxes into Eudora successors.
- More links in our archive.
Recent Deals
- Best Power Mac G4 and AGP Video Card Deals, 11.20. Used 400 MHz, $50; 733, $100; 800, $199; 1.25 GHz, $300; 800 MHz dual, $200, 867, $300; 1 GHz, $350; 1.42, $400.
- Best iBook G3 Deals, 11.20. Used 300 MHz clamshell, $150; 366, $199; 800 CD, $180; 600 CD-RW, $240; 700 Combo, $290; 900, $369; 14" 600, $360; 900, $449.
- Best Power Mac G3 and PCI Video Card Deals, 11.20. Used beige 300 MHz, $25; blue & white 350, $80; 400, $90; 450, $105; PCI video cards from $15; shipping additional.
- Best iMac G4 Deals, 11.18. Used 15" 700 MHz Combo, $243; 800 MHz, $280; 1 GHz, $380; 17" 1.25 GHz SuperDrive, $400; 20", $549.
- Best MacBook Air Deals, 11.18. New 1.6 80, $1,150 after rebate; 120, $1,744 a/r; 1.8 80, $1,794 a/r; 1.6 128 SSD, $2,150; used 1.8 64 SSD, $1,500; new, $2,200 a/r; 1.86, $2,398 a/r.
- Best Mac OS X 10.0-10.3 Deals, 11.18. Mac OS X 10.0.3, $30; 10.1, $20; 10.2, $60; 10.3 CD, DVD, $100; CD, $119; 10.1 Server, unlimited users, $58; 10.3 Server, unlimited, $150.
- Best iPod nano Deals, 11.17. Refurb 3G/4 GB, $79; new, $114; refurb 8 GB, $99; new, $125; 3G/8 GB, from $134; 16 GB, from $189. Prices include ground shipping.
- Best Titanium PowerBook G4 Deals, 11.17. Used 1 GHz with SuperDrive, $478 plus shipping.
- Best Xserve deals, 11.17. Used G4/1 GHz, $999; G5/2 GHz, $1,288; new 2.0 4-core Xeon, $1,900; refurb 3.0 4-core, $2,599; 2.8 GHz, $2,499; 3.0 8-core, $3,499.
- More deals in our archive.
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