G3, G4, CPU Speed, Screen Size, and the Future of the iBook
- 2003.09.26
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The new 15" PowerBook is available. It looks like a nice machine, and the upgrades given to the other PowerBooks look good, too, but now the iBooks are looking a bit long in tooth.
The iBooks are still based on a G3 processor, which is now almost six years old. They are the only Mac still based on this processor - but for most things they continue to be decent performers.
Apple's in a bit of a catch-22. If it keeps the G3 processor, the iBook is two generations behind the G5, and current iBook owners have little reason to upgrade to a newer model. If Apple upgrades the iBook to a G4, iBook sales would start cutting into PowerBook sales, and the 12" PowerBook and the iBook would end up being essentially the same machine.
Either way they go doesn't look so great.
I've read a couple rumors that the iBook will be upgraded shortly with a 500 MHz G4 and a 15" screen. While the 15" screen is perhaps a good idea, giving consumers a lower priced large screen laptop, moving to a 500 MHz G4 would be a mistake.
When I got my 400 MHz G4 at the beginning of 2001, it was a reasonable machine, albeit on the low end. 500 MHz was the top of the line then, first in the G4 desktops and later in the PowerBook G4.
But that was almost three years ago. Today, I'd consider 500 MHz slow, especially on a new computer.
If Apple were to launch a 500 MHz G4 iBook, it most likely wouldn't sell simply because a new 500 MHz machine would be considered slow by most computer shoppers. With cheap PC laptops running at over 1 GHz, who would consider a 500 MHz machine?
Even if Apple sold it very cheaply, I don't think it would be too popular.
Then there's the argument that there is no real difference between the G3 and the G4 except in applications designed to take advantage of the G4. If you see it this way, a 500 MHz G4 wouldn't be all that much faster than a 500 MHz G3; so a 500 MHz G4 iBook would actually be slower than the current iBook!
That reminds me of the PowerBook 5300, which was meant to be a faster alternative to the PB 190. Even though the 5300 had a PowerPC processor, the 190 ended up being faster with some things (especially older pre-PPC applications).
If Apple put the same speed G4 in the iBooks as in the low-end PowerBook, Apple would have to deal with oversupplies of 12" PowerBook G4s.
One option would be for Apple to offer a version of the older, 867 MHz 12" PowerBook G4 without Bluetooth and without an option for the SuperDrive. This would risk cutting into 12" PowerBook sales, and at the same time may not sell very well due to the low clock speed compared to other consumer laptops that are currently available.
Another option would be for Apple to continue on with the G3, and release a 15" version, giving those wanting a screen bigger than 14" a low cost option, along with boosting the clock speed. A 15" iBook could feature a 1.1 GHz G3 processor, ship with an AirPort card, and have a SuperDrive as a standard item. This would force those who need either a G4 processor or a SuperDrive to purchase a higher end PowerBook G4, while giving a lower cost option to those that don't need the extras.
While the G3 processor is showing its age, I think it may have enough life left in it to continue being used in the iBooks for a little while longer, and at this point keeping the G3 in the iBook seems to be the better of the two options.
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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