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Hardware Apple Puts PowerBook to Rest
Tuan Nguyen (Blog) - January 10, 2006 1:32 PM
Print 11 comment(s) - last by anishbenji.. on Jan 14 at 6:31 AM
Apple says farewell to its PowerBook and says hello to MacBook Pro

MacWorld -- Apple has put to rest its trusted line of PowerBooks. The series, which has won many awards for innovation and have been around for many years have now been moved aside for a new replacement -- the MacBook Pro.

MacBook Pro will be based on Intel's Core Duo processors feature performance that Apple says will be up to 5 times faster than current generation PowerBooks. The new MacBook Pro will also feature an integrated iSight camera and feature screen sizes starting at 15.4 inches. Apple has also improved the LCD panels on the MacBook Pro, taking cues from its successful Cinema Display screens to offer up 67% higher brightness and contrasts.

Other features will be an infrared sensor and an included remote control unit to control the MacBook Pro in situations like a presentation. Apple is also incorporating a new magnetic connector for its AC adapter called MagSafe which will disconnect itself someone happens to trip over the line. Other standard features are the SuperDrive DVD-RW burner already included in current PowerBooks.

Apple says that the new MacBook Pros will start shipping in February of this year with prices starting at $1999 for a 1.67GHz unit as well as a 1.83GHz unit for $2499. Apple will start taking orders today.

Specs for the 1.83GHz MacBook Pro include:
  • 15.4-inch TFT display with 1440x900 resolution
  • 1.83GHz Intel Core Duo processor with 2MB shared L2 Cache
  • 667MHz frontside bus
  • 1GB (single SO-DIMM) 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (PC2-5300)
  • 100GB 5400rpm Serial ATA hard drive
  • Slot-load SuperDrive (DVD±RW/CD-RW)
  • ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 with 256MB GDDR3 memory

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starts at 15"?
By ninethirty on 1/10/2006 1:58:00 PM , Rating: 2
Screen sizes start at 15"? So...they've done away with the 12" notebook for their pro line?
Surely this isn't a good idea...the 12" Powerbook has been a very popular notebook (and I'm typing on one, so I'm biased). We assume that they'll still have the 12" iBook (which we also assume will be called "MacBook"), but it's a shame that they'll restrict the 12" screen size to the consumer line. It's a great size for consultants that travel. Also an ideal coffeeshop computer.





Hmmm
By SNM on 1/10/2006 2:02:43 PM , Rating: 2
There's no Firewire 800, no information on battery life, and no size besides 15.4". It looks fantastic but I'm actually a bit disappointed.
On the other hand, integrated iSight in a laptop, the X1600 Mobility, and the Core Duo make it look totally awesome.
Still, I'm sure my 12" baby is better than this in every way that matters. ;) Especially since it won't likely be upgraded until I'm out of college in 3.5 years.


RE: starts at 15"?
By plinden on 1/10/2006 2:27:42 PM , Rating: 2
The G4 PowerBooks were staggered, with the 12" and 17" models coming two years after the 15".

It's unlikely Apple will wait that long now, so I would expect to see more models introduced later this year, and with the iBook replaced by MacBook (dropping the Pro).

I hate the name though - I'd rather they'd kept "PowerBook". That has a long history dating back to 1991.

I have to say, I'm still pleasantly surprised by both the iMac and MacBook Pro anouncements. I expected Intel iBook and Mac Minis.


RE: starts at 15"?
By SNM on 1/10/2006 2:33:12 PM , Rating: 2
Everybody expected the iBook to come before the Powerbook...but given Yonah's performance, that's not exactly realistic, you know? They'd hate for their consumer models to be faster than their pro ones.


RE: starts at 15"?
By Oxonium on 1/10/2006 2:54:30 PM , Rating: 2
I'm sure both smaller and larger Macbooks will come along after the 15.4 starts shipping next month. What surprises me is that they dropped dual layer recording support on their DVD drives. I'm also surprised that the iMac was updated since it was so thoroughly updated in October. I think they will keep the iBook name for the low-end laptops to better differentiate from the Macbook Pros. I'm assuming the PowerMacs will be renamed Mac Pro as well.


I want one!
By kaborka on 1/11/2006 5:06:51 PM , Rating: 2
Supposedly the Intel Macs will be able to dual-boot Windows. That would be way cool. But they're waaay overpriced compared to Dells or other Intel nb's.

Wonder how to share files on a dual-boot system -- need a way to mount a NTFS partition under MacOS and vice-versa.




RE: I want one!
By plinden on 1/11/2006 6:49:26 PM , Rating: 2
A FAT partition is only way.

Anyway, I'm hoping for seamless windows app capability ... I don't want to have to reboot if I need to run a windows app.


RE: I want one!
By merlin747 on 1/11/2006 10:34:44 PM , Rating: 2
Ummm....
Dell's Inspiron 9400 notebook (17" screen, 2 GB RAM, bluetooth, 1.83Ghz Core Duo) and priced at $3064. Apple's similarly configured Macbook (15.4" screen, 2 GB RAM, bluetooth, 1.83Ghz Core Duo) is $2799. So these Macs are not badly overpriced.

With the price comparison and being able to run OSX complete with the scripting / development environment I'd need, it's a very competitive platform.

Kelly

PS. The Macbooks use EFI (Intel's new substitution for BIOS), so only Microsoft's upcoming Vista would run on it. And as the previous poster indicated, only FAT partitions could be used by both environments.


Reason for name change?
By ninjit on 1/10/2006 9:00:26 PM , Rating: 2
I wonder if the decision to change the name was Apple simply wanting to distance themselves from the Power PC processors that they were using before?

Or whether they COULDN'T use the "Power" in their names anymore due to licensing with IBM?




Intel processors...
By ira176 on 1/12/2006 1:25:23 AM , Rating: 2
Apple is sort of an enigma to me. I am really confused now that Intel is producing processors for Apple. Would someone be so kind as to explain in short the differences of how PC x86 processors work, versus an Apple processor? Thanks in advance.




By anishbenji on 1/14/2006 6:31:03 AM , Rating: 2
One significant point that I noticed this time around is that for the specint and specfp benchmarks they used 'the best compilers for each platform', i.e. the Intel compiler for the Intel chips and an IBM compiler for the PowerPC chips. When comparing performance with the G5, when it came out, they used the same compiler (GCC) for both platforms so as to 'eliminate it as a variable' in the comparison. Alot of people were up in arms because Intel's compiler obviously produced much faster code than GCC for the P4, esp. compared with the performance boost going from GCC to the IBM compiler on the PowerPC platform.
Anyway, I believe using the best compiler in each case is the best way to do it, but this incongruity just goes to show you that any benchmark, esp. from the people selling the item to you should be viewed with a whole lot of healthy skepticism.
Anish

P.S. I guess one could argue that this time around Apple learned its lesson and switched to the better methodology (best compiler for each platform), but we all know that it was because it put their 'current' platform in the best light.




"If you look at the last five years, if you look at what major innovations have occurred in computing technology, every single one of them came from AMD. Not a single innovation came from Intel." -- AMD CEO Hector Ruiz in 2007

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