And 512 MBytes Ram, patent-pending scroll trackpad and sudden motion sensors. Good price.

Look like we are going to see lower and better Apple products nowadays. Is it economy of scale, increased negotiation clout or weaker US dollars that allow Apple to do so?

Decreased ability to sell computers with faster expensive G5's that are too hot "allows" them to sell at a lower price. :-/

Still, this is better than I thought they'd have at this point. The scroll feature is a GREAT idea.

Wow! The 17" model can support the 30" Apple monitor?

THAT's impressive, I wasn't expecting that.

Does anyone have a list of what the old Powerbooks were like and what they cost? I have to admit that I hadn't looked recently and don't really know how much of a difference all of this is.

Since i am an Apple fan (may 2000) i think this is the first time i see the announcement of a new product on a day other than tuesday. Anyway, this is a nice facelift for the Powerbook line.

Briefly, here are the upgrades on first look:

On the 12" combo, you get a CPU speed increase to 1.5, HD speed increase to 5400RPM, 512MB RAM (vs 256), Bluetooth 2.0+EDR and a $100 price reduction to $1499. (A 12" super is $1699 and also includes a 80GB HD (vs 60)).

On the 15" combo, you get a CPU speed increase to 1.5, 80GB HD (vs 60), HD speed increase, 512MB RAM (vs 256), 2GB Max RAM (vs 1.25), Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, and remains $1999.

On the 15" super, you get a CPU speed increase to 1.67, HD speed increase, SuperDrive speed increase, 2GB Max RAM (vs 1.25), Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, and a $200 price reduction to $2299.

On the 17", you get a CPU speed increase to 1.67, 100GB HD (vs 80), HD speed increase, SuperDrive speed increase, 2GB Max RAM (vs 1.25), 128MB VRAM and Dual-link DVI, optical audio inputs/outputs, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, and a $100 price reduction to $2699.

Nice update - faster, cheaper, more features. I'd love one of those 15" models, IMHO still the best laptop ever.

Great news! More RAM and a lower price. I'll be ordering a 12" PB later this month.

Boy Apple just refuses to increase the resolution on these screens! I wonder if they are waiting until resolution indepent UI is implemented in the OS. Ah well.

I'll be posting the complete chart of new specs at http://www.systemshootouts.org/ very soon (along with all-new laptop shootouts, of course!), but in the meantime, here's the full list of changes I've found so far:

--Prices:
old: $1,599 / $1,799 / $1,999 / $2,499 / $2,799
new: $1,499 / $1,699 / $1,999 / $2,299 / $2,699

--Processor:
old: 1.33/1.33/1.33/1.5/1.5
new: 1.5/1.5/1.5/1.67/1.67

--RAM Amount (DIMMs):
old: 256 (1) / 256 (1) / 256 (1) / 512 (2) / 512 (1)
new: 512 (2) / 512 (2) / 512 (1) / 512 (1) / 512 (1)

--Video: no changes to cards, but 17" PBook now includes 128MB/Dual-link DVI instead of 64MB, and 15" can be upgraded to 128/Dual-link.

--Hard Drives: all go from 4200 RPM to 5400 RPM
old: 60/60/60/80/80
new: 60/80/80/80/100

--DVD Burner (Superdrive models):
old: 4x8x DVD-R; 16x8x24x CD-RW
new: 8x4x8x DVD±RW; 24x10x24x CD-RW

--Bluetooth moves from 1.2 to 2.0 on all models

--Scrolling TrackPad & Sudden Motion Sensor added to all models

--Backlit keyboard was on 17" & Superdrive 15"; has been added to Combo drive 15" as well

--Optical digital 5.1 audio in/out on the 17"

--iLife '05 instead of iLife '04 on all models

I think that's the full list of changes?

Can the 17" PB run the 30" display at full resolution???

--Optical digital 5.1 audio in/out on the 17"

Could someone please explain what this feature means for both audio and video.

I am doubting that the Powerbook ships with 33MHz DDR RAM...

5th paragraph

I hate to say it, but we need another minor correction: The paragraph relating to the update Bluetooth reads, in part: "EDR offers a maximum data transfer rate of 3 megabytes per second (Mbps..." The word 'megabytes' should be replaced with 'megabits'. On the other hand, if it really is megabytes (which I do not believe is the case), 'Mbps' should read 'MBps'.

I know this sounds like nit-picking, but I do technical support for Linksys, and can provide a good example:

Customers often call up, complaining that they can't seem to get the full X megaBYTES per second (MBps) of download bandwitch, that their ISP promised them, and want to know why their Linksys router is slowing them down. Of course, besides all the other bottlenecks that are beyond their control, they have to be made aware that they are really getting X megaBITS per second (Mbps), or roughly 1/8 of that bandwidth.

It is sort of annoying that computer networking, like all serial communication, is supposed to be measured in some quantity of bits, but network software (to the confusion of the masses) mostly displays data transfer speed in MBps, which should be reserved for parallel data transfer. [/rant]

MOSiX

Quote

aaronsullivan wrote:
Decreased ability to sell computers with faster expensive G5's that are too hot "allows" them to sell at a lower price. :-/...

Ok, have not thought of it that way. IBM is apologetic or is now concentrating fully on pushing PowerPC so is selling them to Apple at highly competitive price. Wait, that G4 is from Freescale. No matter what is the reason, clearly Apple is commencing an aggressive assault at the PC market.

The theme is slick design at affordable price.

Lack of meaningful gfx updates, blah. Everything else makes for a very solid update. Especially like the adding in of new tech (nifty take on scrolling btw -- is it the first implementation of its kind?) to an "old" chassis. Not in the market for a PB, but you gotta like the ability (with upgrade) to have even the 15" PB drive a 30" Cinema Display.

Apple Computer's public relations department refused a request from The Mac Observer for an interview with PowerBook product managers for further details on the new laptop product line.

Did you tell them you were not ThinkSecret? Maybe they were confused.

I bought a 17" PB this summer with some upgrades, so I'm not sure that I feel like my computer is crap after this.

I ordered mine with 128 gfx, 80gig, and 1 stick of 512. The new processor speed is nice but not overwhelming, so I don't feel bad there, and I'd never own a 30" monitor, so that's okay, even though that's a great upgrade. The things I'm most jealous of are the 8x DVD+/-RW and the optical audio stuff. I think my drive can do -RW even though it wasn't stated as such with apple, but it's only 4x either way. And the optical audio stuff is really nice for upping the ante for garageband and other audio action. But overall I can still look at this baby I'm typing on now with the same admiration as the day she got dropped off at the house.

Quote

Anonymous wrote:
--Optical digital 5.1 audio in/out on the 17"

Could someone please explain what this feature means for both audio and video.

What this provides is an industry-standard digital audio connection if you happen to have the right hardware to connect it to.

However, it means nothing for video -- the "optical" bit is in reference to fiber optics being used as the physical connector.

Quote

Guest wrote:
Can the 17" PB run the 30" display at full resolution???

Yeah, pretty crazy, huh? Of course, I'm still waiting for the 30" Powerbook.

Thanks!

So, is the scrolling trackpad a hardware upgrade or a software upgrade? If existing Trackpads are capable, is Apple going to release a software update to allow that functionality on older Powerbooks?

According to Maccentral, it seems to be a hardware update to the trackpads.

Oh, *now* they introduce the ones with the gyro scopes in them that protect them from dropping. Curses!

Let's face it, Apple's been naming the OS after cats since 10.2. 'Bout time the computers running the OS started acting like a cat.

One of these days they'll put bigger pads on the bottom so that when the laptop rights itself before landing it will have something cushy upon which to land.

The higher resolution screens I've seen are unreadable when brought to the higher resolution. And I have 20/20 vision. Anyone who really wants higher resolutions better be prepared to work with spectacles. The resolution at 1440 x 900 is perfect for HD quality video.

Quote

Steve W wrote:
Let's face it, Apple's been naming the OS after cats since 10.2.

It's been cat-tastical around Apple even longer then that! 10.1 was "Cheetah" I think. Granted, that name wasn't used much, but that was the name, nonetheless.

10.0 was Puma.