New intel iBooks - MAKE A PREDICTION

[capone2]

iPredict

it will be a single 1.5 and 1.67ghz, and a widescreen model, at the same price, maybe? a little thinner at the same weight.








1.67ghz PB 15" 1gram
4gb Nano white

 

[jiggie2g]

I don't understand what you are saying. The new MacBook Pro is the exact same price as the 15" PowerBook it replaced. By that logic the new iBook will retain the same price point.

My arguement is that Apple did not lower the price of the new note books despite the face that thier R&D cost have now been cut in half due to Intel doing most of the hardware work for them , Mainboard , Northbridge, CPU. Apple apple did with the macbook pro was modify the case slightly to take advantage of the smaller internal parts from intel. Unwise to drop DVD DL especially for Pros on the go who need the storage , just another example Apple usually choosing form over functionality.

Also check out the Inquirer.net they usually have news on CPU price cuts so even more of an excuse for apple to charge less and stop acting like BMW. Apple 's future is to increase market share and at $1299 for a decent desktop or $1499 for a usuable notebook this will never happen.

Gateway and HP have PC's with shipping with Athlon X2 4200+'s for under $999

P.S. All you guys who are buying Yonah macs are suckers , that chip is just a stepping stone like The Pentium D is, by late summer Memron and Conroe will both be ready and both are 64-bit. How bout explaining that to the mac loyalist Steve'O.

 

[Spock]

I have to agree with this spec for the most part. However I believe the X1300 Mobility will have 128MB vram. Apple would look really bad if they still went with 64MB plus you need atleast 128MB just for core image. An

$1199
13in Wide Screen
1.67ghz Core Solo
Radeon X1300 Mobility 128MB
512MB DDR2 667
60GB HD(40 seems too low in this age with 120 gig already available)
iSight , Magplug , 1280x720 screen , 6hr battery , no express slot , Mini DVI sould be standard but won't. Gigabit ethernet , USB 2.0 , no firewire.

$1499
15.4in wide screen (apple needs a screen this big to compete at this price)
1.83ghz Core Solo (with Pro books being Core Duo the clock speed should not be an issue)
Radeon X1300 Mobility 128MB
512MB DDR2 667
80GB HD(no upgrade)
iSight , Magplug , 1440x900 screen , 6hr battery , no express slot , Mini DVI sould be standard but won't. Gigabit ethernet , USB 2.0 , no firewire.

I doubt Gigabit E-net will be in the iBook, the iMac does not even have it.
as to intel iBooks or MacBooks I bet they will shrink the case down to the size of the 12 inch Powerbook add the iSight and IR but sell the remote seperate to keep costs down. We might see higher screen res but not a size increase $100 more than PowerPC iBooks

 

[BlizzardBomb]

Well I'm just looking at Intel's roadmap and there appear to be some big price jumps once you hit 2Ghz Core Duo (why MBP maxes out at 1.83Ghz?). Although I doubt Apple actually pays these prices they are a good guideline.

Core Duo (667Mhz FSB)
2.16Ghz - $637
2Ghz - $423
1.83Ghz - $294
1.66Ghz - $241
LV 1.66Ghz - $316
LV 1.5Ghz - $284

Core Solo (667Mhz FSB)
1.67Ghz - $209

13.3inch - £679/$949
1.67Ghz Core Solo
1280 x 800 resolution (Obvious choice to keep same aspect as iMac and MBP)
Mobility Radeon X1300 64MB
60GB 5,400rpm HD
Combo Drive + Wireless (Superdrive -> +£49/$79)
1x FireWire 400, 2x USB.
Front Row but no iSight
Extended desktop and lid-closed modes.

15.4inch - £879/$1249
1.67Ghz Core Solo
1440 x 900 resolution (In effect, the same screen as MBP)
Mobility Radeon X1300 128MB
80GB 5,400rpm HD
SuperDrive + Wireless
1x FireWire 400, 2x USB.
Front Row but no iSight
Extended desktop and lid-closed modes.

Slight price drop to take into account competition and falling RAM, HD, Optical Drive, Wireless and TFT prices. Price drop not as large in the UK if it follows the same trend as the iMac and MBP price rises.

 

[AvSRoCkCO1067]

I doubt Gigabit E-net will be in the iBook, the iMac does not even have it.
as to intel iBooks or MacBooks I bet they will shrink the case down to the size of the 12 inch Powerbook add the iSight and IR but sell the remote seperate to keep costs down. We might see higher screen res but not a size increase $100 more than PowerPC iBooks

The remote costs hardly anything. I assure you - if they have the infrared port, they will NOT sell the remote seperately. They'll either have Front Row, with the infrared and remote, or they won't.

 

[AvSRoCkCO1067]

Well I'm just looking at Intel's roadmap and there appear to be some big price jumps once you hit 2Ghz Core Duo (why MBP maxes out at 1.83Ghz?). Although I doubt Apple actually pays these prices they are a good guideline.

Core Duo (667Mhz FSB)
2.16Ghz - $637
2Ghz - $423
1.83Ghz - $294
1.66Ghz - $241
LV 1.66Ghz - $316
LV 1.5Ghz - $284

Core Solo (667Mhz FSB)
1.66Ghz - $209

13.3inch - £679/$949
1.67Ghz Core Solo
1280 x 800 resolution (Obvious choice to keep same aspect as iMac and MBP)
Mobility Radeon X1300 64MB
60GB 5,400rpm HD
Combo Drive + Wireless (Superdrive -> +£49/$79)
1x FireWire 400, 2x USB.
Front Row but no iSight
Extended desktop and lid-closed modes.

15.4inch - £879/$1249
1.67Ghz Core Solo
1440 x 900 resolution (In effect, the same screen as MBP)
Mobility Radeon X1300 128MB
80GB 5,400rpm HD
SuperDrive + Wireless
1x FireWire 400, 2x USB.
Front Row but no iSight
Extended desktop and lid-closed modes.

Slight price drop to take into account competition and falling RAM, HD, Optical Drive, Wireless and TFT prices. Price drop not as large in the UK if it follows the same trend as the iMac and MBP price rises.

Very, very accurate - although I hope they have iSight in everything. In the past, when Apple tries to make something mainstream, they apply it to all their models (i.e. no more floppy drives, no more modem, front row + iSight (I hope ))

 

[Val-kyrie]

We'll See

This is what I think we are likely to see (this is different from what I really want):

13.3" - 1280 x 720 because it will include a built in
iSight 1.3 megapixel camera (though I would rather have the screen real estate)
Core Solo (1.5 or 1.67 GHz) - I would prefer a low voltage Core Duo, but it may be that Apple used the LV model in the MBP
60 GB HDD
512 MB DDR2 667MHz RAM (1 Dimm)
64 MB Radeon MX1300
DVI with screen span
DVD+/- RW
2 USB 2.0
FW 400
10/100 LAN
802.11g (last model before 802.11n)
MagSafe
Front Row

Maybe:
Express Card/34 slot
Modem (pleeeeaaaase!!!)

Doubtful:
Audio-in

Option for black or white case

My only problem with the MRX1300 is that it only provides

"hardware acceleration at up to 480p, X1600 owners get it for 720p, and X1800 owners get full acceleration at up to 1080p. ATI did mention that they are working on bringing those limits down, but that is a time intensive driver and algorithm optimization process that may or may not happen."

See this link.

I think the only reason Apple will go with the MRX 1300 in the iBooks/MacBooks and with the MRX 1600 in the MacBook Pros is because of supply issues. The only MRX1xxx card available from ATI is the 1600. I foresee a shift to from the 1300/1600 to the 1600/1800 simultaneously or shortly after the upgrade to the Merom processors.

 

[Spock]

The remote costs hardly anything. I assure you - if they have the infrared port, they will NOT sell the remote seperately. They'll either have Front Row, with the infrared and remote, or they won't.

I must disagree, the universal iPod dock has IR but does not include the remote.

 

[Chundles]

I doubt Gigabit E-net will be in the iBook, the iMac does not even have it.
as to intel iBooks or MacBooks I bet they will shrink the case down to the size of the 12 inch Powerbook add the iSight and IR but sell the remote seperate to keep costs down. We might see higher screen res but not a size increase $100 more than PowerPC iBooks

The iMac does have GigE, it's had it since rev B.

 

[aswitcher]

I must disagree, the universal iPod dock has IR but does not include the remote.

Agreed. Will not come bundled.

 

[Groovey]

I just keep wondering... Is Firewire really so expensive/difficult to include that we'd actually need to fear losing it? There's just too many HD's, cameras, audio interfaces etc. sold to get rid of it now. Besides it's something that just belongs to Macs. Don't you think?

 

[hsvguy]

13.3inch - £679/$949
1.67Ghz Core Solo
1280 x 800 resolution (Obvious choice to keep same aspect as iMac and MBP)
Mobility Radeon X1300 64MB
60GB 5,400rpm HD
Combo Drive + Wireless (Superdrive -> +£49/$79)
1x FireWire 400, 2x USB.
Front Row but no iSight
Extended desktop and lid-closed modes.

15.4inch - £879/$1249
1.67Ghz Core Solo
1440 x 900 resolution (In effect, the same screen as MBP)
Mobility Radeon X1300 128MB
80GB 5,400rpm HD
SuperDrive + Wireless
1x FireWire 400, 2x USB.
Front Row but no iSight
Extended desktop and lid-closed modes.

I like these spec's, but I would be pretty surprised if Apple used the same screen resolution on the MacBook as it does on the MacBook Pro. I'd love for them to have 5400rpm drives as well, that would be great. I think FrontRow is almost a certainty, just because Apple seems to be pushing it quite a bit.

FireWire isn't going anywhere anytime soon I shouldn't think. Apple practically developed it, so they do not have to pay the royalties other manufacturers do when they use it. It'll be there for a while, because its still in good use and its a good proven technology.

EDIT: This is wrong. I just read that everyone pays US$0.25 for every system that uses FW. That said, its still a core Apple technology, so it's not going anywhere.

 

[Chundles]

Well, I'll just quote myself out of the other MacBook (iBook) spec speculating thread.

Low voltage Core Duo processor, slower than MBP.
(OR - Current MPB processor with MBP going over to Merom)
13.3" 1280x768 bright screen (like the new MBP's screen only smaller).
x1300 64MB graphics.
512MB RAM.
60GB HDD.
Mini-DVI out with extended desktop/mirroring support.
Superdrive.
Better speakers.
2x USB 2.0.
1x Firewire.
GigE ethernet.
Audio in/out.

Thinner, lighter, better materials.
Same price.

That's what I reckon. That's what I think Apple need to do to compete.

 

[AvSRoCkCO1067]

I must disagree, the universal iPod dock has IR but does not include the remote.

Terrific point, I didn't know that.

I still believe, however, that if the computer has an infrared port, it will come with front row and a remote.

But terrific point nonetheless - I stand corrected

 

[DevilDog]

Isn't it obvious???

What's the current difference between a PowerBook/MacBook and an iBook??? Price and Performance. The only reason somebody would pick an iBook over a PowerBook/MacBook would be Price. Now... how do you get more people to buy these other than Price??? SIZE. No Disc Drive. It'll have an external one that forms a sort of base station that you can "dock" your iBook on when you want to load CD/DVD based media. The combo drive takes up about 1/6th of the space inside the current 12" PowerBook, so it would be significantly thinner. Screen will be as wide as a 12", but not as tall. Higher Resolution. Same white color, possibly with the bottom stainless steel similar to an iPod. Think about it, laptop the size of a composition book, 100 pages thick. It would be the next iPod, especially at $1000 or less. Remember how Stevo said an 8 pound iPod with a 10 inch screen or whatever??? Well, maybe he was dropping a clue. Think of this Sony as an example (even though I have sony), except slimmer, sleeker, and sexier. But without Sony's horrible styling with fans and bumps sticking out of the case all over the place.

And... Think if there was a slot similar to a ExpressCard Slot where you popped your iPod in for the HardDrive??? Save the expense of having one in your computer and one in your iPod. And it would do wonders for schools- Students sit down at their desk and stick their own ipod into the computer. All computers are virtually the same to any student. The OS, the Apps, and the Files all the students own on any computer, anywhere. Look- Apple's going to change the future with their iBook. Powerbooks will be geared more to the person who needs the high performance, mobility that a laptop provides. iBooks will be a fashion statement, a staple in the modern learning environment. Heck, it could even double as an oversized iPod!

 

[Lazyhound]

What's the current difference between a PowerBook/MacBook and an iBook??? Price and Performance. The only reason somebody would pick an iBook over a PowerBook/MacBook would be Price. Now... how do you get more people to buy these other than Price??? SIZE. No Disc Drive. It'll have an external one that forms a sort of base station that you can "dock" your iBook on when you want to load CD/DVD based media.

Unlikely, in my opinion. Apple is all about ease-of-use, and that sort of thing is a huge pain in the ass. I can see them releasing some sort of subnotebook/tablet/PDA, but not as a replacement for the iBook.

The only major changes I see are a move to Core Solo (thus differentiating them from the MacBook Pro line), the long-rumored 13.3" model, and maybe black casing as an option (to match the black iPods).

 

[jiggie2g]

My only question to you people is in this year of 2006 why in gods name would Apple release a note book , not matter what budget with 64mb vram? al of you insist on an X1300 with 64MB vram.

 

[Chundles]

My only question to you people is in this year of 2006 why in gods name would Apple release a note book , not matter what budget with 64mb vram? al of you insist on an X1300 with 64MB vram.

Because it's a cheap, consumer grade, student oriented laptop. Why would you need 128MB or 256MB VRAM on a machine that has a prime function of word processing, email, internet surfing and the odd DVD watching? There's just no point. I'd rather Apple save a few pennies here and there and make a light, cool laptop with a 6 hour battery life that will last me all through a day's uni on one charge.

If I wanted something to game on I'd get a MacBook Pro.

 

[BlizzardBomb]

Low voltage Core Duo processor, slower than MBP.
(OR - Current MPB processor with MBP going over to Merom)
13.3" 1280x768 bright screen (like the new MBP's screen only smaller).

To quote my last post:

Core Duo (667Mhz FSB)
2.16Ghz - $637
2Ghz - $423
1.83Ghz - $294
1.66Ghz - $241
LV 1.66Ghz - $316
LV 1.5Ghz - $284

Core Solo (667Mhz FSB)
1.66Ghz - $209

Low Voltage Core Duos cost even more than what's currently in the MBP, a big no-no.

Also, I think that the Merom switch will be in the summer/autumn but the new iBooks (or MacBook, whatever) would be released some time this spring. I also think the next MBP revision would include 7200rpm HDs as standard and a Mobility X1800.

On the screen, I think that Apple will try to keep everything the same aspect to make it easier to develop things. The best example of this is the last PB revision had a 1440 x 960 resolution but the MBP has a 1440 x 900 resolution.

Well just what I think anyway.

 

[Chundles]

To quote my last post:

Core Duo (667Mhz FSB)
2.16Ghz - $637
2Ghz - $423
1.83Ghz - $294
1.66Ghz - $241
LV 1.66Ghz - $316
LV 1.5Ghz - $284

Core Solo (667Mhz FSB)
1.66Ghz - $209

Low Voltage Core Duos cost even more than what's currently in the MBP, a big no-no.

Also, I think that the Merom switch will be in the summer/autumn but the new iBooks (or MacBook, whatever) would be released some time this spring. I also think the next MBP revision would include 7200rpm HDs as standard and a Mobility X1800.

On the screen, I think that Apple will try to keep everything the same aspect to make it easier to develop things. The best example of this is the last PB revision had a 1440 x 960 resolution but the MBP has a 1440 x 900 resolution.

Well just what I think anyway.

That's cool, didn't know the low voltage ones were so exxy. Core Solo sounds the goods then - it'll still wallop the G4 in a lot of areas so that's fine by me.

I'm not adverse to higher res either, 1280x800 sound right? Or would 1280x854 be the right ratio. Not in the frame of mind to do the maths at the moment.

So long as it's light, strong, cool-running but with decent performance and can last a good 4 hours on one charge I'll be happy. Then I can begin the long wait till I get my next Mac, probably in 2008 or sometime, after a RAM max-out on my current iBook around the time 10.5 comes out. I think 10.5 and 1.25GB RAM will suit this little thing down to the bone and it can start to fade out into secondary computer status.

 

[Zaty]

I'd like to point out one thing most people seem to forget when predicting the specs of the Intel iBook/MacBook: The new iBooks/MacBooks will replace the current 12"/14" iBooks as well the 12" PB. Therefore, the new models will feature DVI out, monitor spanning as well as lid-closed operation and perhaps audio in.

 

[BlizzardBomb]

That's cool, didn't know the low voltage ones were so exxy. Core Solo sounds the goods then - it'll still wallop the G4 in a lot of areas so that's fine by me.

I'm not adverse to higher res either, 1280x800 sound right? Or would 1280x854 be the right ratio. Not in the frame of mind to do the maths at the moment.

So long as it's light, strong, cool-running but with decent performance and can last a good 4 hours on one charge I'll be happy. Then I can begin the long wait till I get my next Mac, probably in 2008 or sometime, after a RAM max-out on my current iBook around the time 10.5 comes out. I think 10.5 and 1.25GB RAM will suit this little thing down to the bone and it can start to fade out into secondary computer status.

Yeah, 1280x800 should be right, although I wouldn't be too surprized if Apple have an even lower resolution. And I think your on the right lines with the light, strong, cool-running, decent performance

EDIT: And I think if a 15" version of the iBook/Macboook is made, they will use the same MBP screen to save money.

Think if there was a slot similar to a ExpressCard Slot where you popped your iPod in for the HardDrive??? Save the expense of having one in your computer and one in your iPod. And it would do wonders for schools- Students sit down at their desk and stick their own ipod into the computer. All computers are virtually the same to any student. The OS, the Apps, and the Files all the students own on any computer, anywhere.

I doubt that would work. The HD would probably commit suicide in no time from the amount of use the iPod would have. Also, you'd be pretty annoyed if you lost your iPod that has all your data on it.

 

[skunkworks]

At this moment its obvious that if it weren't for the duo cores the mac os/x would probably lag behind the g4's somewhat. I predict the ibooks will come with single cores otherwise why buy a powerbook. At that point I think they are expecting the operating system to improve performance and hopefully have fine tuned the major apple apps since the majority of ibook users succumb to this software.

My Predictions are Intel Centrino Processor - Pentium M 770 ! ! Throw in some kind of attachment for your ipods.

 

[BlizzardBomb]

At this moment its obvious that if it weren't for the duo cores the mac os/x would probably lag behind the g4's somewhat. I predict the ibooks will come with single cores otherwise why buy a powerbook. At that point I think they are expecting the operating system to improve performance and hopefully have fine tuned the major apple apps since the majority of ibook users succumb to this software.

My Predictions are Intel Centrino Processor - Pentium M 770 ! ! Throw in some kind of attachment for your ipods.

Hate to break it to you but a Pentium M 770 is $423. You could get a 2Ghz Core Duo for the same money!

 

[Legacy]

iBook to debut as MacBook

The MacBook, I think will indeed be available in 'two' flavours. With the switch to widescreen format in the LCD's it would seem logical for 13.3"/15.2" to be used (15.4" reserved for 'pro', just to be different, you know Apple guys!)

Here are my predictions:

MacBook £699/$999

Intel Core Solo 1.67Ghz Processor w/ 667Mhz FSB
512Mb DDR Memory (1.5Gb MAX)
13.3" w 1280x800 resolution
40Gb 5400rpms Hard Drive
Single Layer Superdrive
Airport and Bluetooth
Ati Radeon X1300 64Mb Graphics (no upgrade possible)
New Slimmer, Sleeker form-factor with Black/White colours
NO FIREWIRE, NO MODEM, USB 2.0 x 2 Ports, MagSafe, Ethernet, DVI-Out
Front Row with Remote, NO ISIGHT

MacBook £899/$1299

Intel Core Solo 1.67Ghz Processor w/ 667Mhz FSB
512Mb DDR Memory (1.5Gb MAX)
15.2" 1440 x 900 resolution
60Gb 5400rpm Hard Drive
Single Layer Superdrive
Airport and Bluetooth
Ati Radeon X1300 64Mb Graphics (no upgrade possible)
New Slimmer, Sleeker form-factor with Black/White colours
NO FIREWIRE, NO MODEM, USB 2.0 x 2 Ports, MagSafe, Ethernet, DVI-Out
Front Row with Remote, NO ISIGHT


I think these predictions reflect the conservatism of Apple's differentiation policy as regards to product variation and range, together with the pricing of the Intel chips c.f G4.

HOWEVER, I do think there will be a MacBook Pro 13.3" released for £1099/$1599 with the following specs:

MacBook Pro 13.3"

Intel Core Duo 1.66Ghz Processor w/ 667Mhz FSB
13.3" Screen with 1440 x 900 resolution
512Mb Memory (2Gb Max) NO SOLDERED MEMORY PLEASE APPLE!!
Dual-Layer Superdrive (and too will be the other MacBook Pro's)
80Gb 5400rpms Hard Drive
Airport and Bluetooth
Ati Radeon X1300 128Mb Graphics (yes this will disappoint, but its been the case with the 9700's and FX5200 on the 12incher)
Firewire 400, USB 2.0 x 2 Ports, MagSafe, Ethernet, DVI-Out, NO MODEM
Front Row with Remote, built-in iSight camera

As for the other MacBook Pro's, 1.86Ghz/2Ghz/2.16Ghz will be used on the 15.4/15.4/17 inch models (yes 17" will be introduced)

All should gain a DL Superdrive too, differentiating between iBook's SL. Form Factor revisions and possibly newer DL drivers for Apple will be made to incorporate this change.

As regards to the X1300 and HD playback, the iBooks should be able to handle 720 with the Core Solo processor and the MacBook Pros, full HD playback, irrespective of what Ati has to offer through the GPU.


Regards