Do you think this is the absolute final PPC PB revision?

[generik]

I seem to feel that there still seems to be some life left in the PPC line in the months to come... but there has been quite some talk about Intel PBs coming in January.

Which would be more likely?

Dual core G4s?
7448 PBs?
Pentium-M PBs in January?
Or maybe even Yonah based machines shortly after?

 

[macOSX-tastic]

pwerboks are due for the transition after desktop macs i think, but dont counte on it.....i think that this may be the final revision, as 9 months from now it will be around june/july, and the cycle is usually ~9 months for m any apple product lines. i expect mac mini/ipod updates in january.

 

[yoda13]

I wouldn't say that I am 100% certain, but my feeling is this is the last PPC revision.

 

[SummerBreeze]

I'm not expecting any new PB's before the intel transition. We're probably done until the intels come out.

 

[chucknorris]

Depending on the progress being made on the Intel transition, I would suspect that we very well might see another PPC PowerBook update.

Why? Because faster G4s exist, they were apparently just more difficult than anticipated to accomodate. This would only be used as a stop-gap measure if Apple experiences delays in the transition however.

If things go smoothly and Apple thinks like I do, PowerBooks may be the first to go Intel.

They might decide to hold out for the Intel mobile processor that follows Yonah though. In this case, I predict iBooks and Minis will transition first, to Yonahs, sometime early next year. In the meantime, PowerBooks will see a bump to the 2.0 GHz range and transition later in 2006 to kicka** dual core Intels.

 

[mad jew]

PowerBooks deserve to go Intel first but I can't see it happening. I wouldn't be all that surprised if they did another PPC release.

 

[chucknorris]

Or maybe even Yonah based machines shortly after?

From what I understand, Yonah will be in full swing by the start of the year and will just be called Pentium M (maybe "dual-core Pentium M").

Thinking about it more though, it would probably make a lot of sense for Apple to move the G4 stuff over first to slower Yonahs (this would avoid the need for two updates to the pro line in order to accomodate the consumer line).

There are definite drawbacks to either one: the risk of consumer totally outshining pro on one hand and the risk of pro not making a big enough splash on the other.

Whatever happens, I'm very excited to see it unfold. Hopefully Apple will pull out all the stops.

 

[joecool85]

I think the PB will be the very first to go intel.

 

[steelfist]

it took apple this much time just to feature this. it felt like apple gave it it's last breath of life before ending it. in terms of processer, i don't think they can go any further than this. they had a lot of trouble with speeding up the processer and other stuff so they try to dramatically change something else: monitor resolution and battery life. IMHO, i would rather have this update than a 0.3 ghz update, because it won't make me any more productive than a notebook that is not updated. battery life will keep me on the computer a longer time, so that helps productivity, and screen resolution, which will enable me to view and do more work done.

apple will try to make up for it's lack of speed increases by using intel processers, which will be what i think apple will do.

the only worry that i have for apple intel computers is the beauty of the interior. i don't want the insides of a g5 powermac to look like the wire mess and ugly motherboard, etc that i have at home.

hope the motherboard and stuff will look just the same.

 

[howard]

because they havn't moved in speed in quite some time i think apple will put in whatever comes out better g4 or intel asap on the powerbook lines. I mean come on... a year and a half at 1.67ghz??

 

[QCassidy352]

I remember comments when the powerbooks were updated to 1.33/1.5 Ghz (rev. C?) such as, "this is a nice little update for the last PB with a G4."
So the demise of the G4 has been called for a long time now, but here we are. That said, this has to be the first time there was zero speed increase, so i think it's finally time.

 

[rockandrule]

I'm leaning more towards the EOL of PPC PowerBooks with this revision. I would not be suprised if Apple threw in just one more update, in case of extreme emergency with the Intels, but I believe that this is going to be the last breath of air for the PPC PowerBooks. Nice little update and enough to keep their customers happy who still might want a PowerBook.

I'm sure they want to go big when they release the Intels, so why would they release a dual-core now with the chances of their new Intels only being marginally better? I think this idea overweighs their worries of not having PPC customers right now. They want to be revolutionary when they drop the Mactels.

 

[godbout]

I am just curious, but do the new PBs have a longer battery life because they have larger capacity batteries or is it something more to do with the internal workings saving energy... Of course what I am getting at, is if you go and buy a battery for the new PB and put it in ohhh... lets say my PB, will I get longer battery life?

Sorry I know that this does not have anything to do with the tread so I will put in my $.02. I think that this very well could be the last upgrade to the ppc line according to the timelines of the releases but for some reason I think that we will see one more... perhaps the 7448 will show up...

 

[Whyren]

I'm tempted to think Apple will do a "quiet" upgrade (i.e. no announcement) improving the speed a couple of tenths of a GHz. That'd probably be about it. As to why they didn't do it yesterday, with the update of pro desktops and a new pro application, it would've looked bad if they didn't have something for the pro portables. I'd bet they wanted a faster proc., but are still having some troubles.

 

[minimax]

It's clear from the last revisions that G4's are due soon. All of the G4 systems have had very small to no updates in speed, whereas the G5 still seems to shine, both in the iMac and the Power Mac. But perhaps we'll see a small speedbump to the 7448 early 2006 if it's not the powerbook that becomes x86 first.

 

[VanMac]

I seem to feel that there still seems to be some life left in the PPC line in the months to come... but there has been quite some talk about Intel PBs coming in January.

Which would be more likely?

Dual core G4s?
7448 PBs?
Pentium-M PBs in January?
Or maybe even Yonah based machines shortly after?

I think PPC is done for the PBs. Intel next.....

 

[Josh396]

I think the PB will be the very first to go intel.

I agree and I think this is most likely the last PB revision before it does. Maybe one more small speed bump or something like that but I think the PB's will be Intel within a year.