Hot
off the Press Story
by
Keith Benicek, Editor 11/06/02
Page
2
Super-size those Mac portables please, 1GHz enough?
Cupertino,
California. -
Additional build-to-order options for the new PowerBook G4 include: up to 1GB of SDRAM; Bluetooth Adapter; the AirPort™ Base Station and AirPort Card; up to 60GB hard drive; and the AppleCare Protection Plan.
So is 1 GHz enough to spur the lagging Titanium PowerBook sales, which have never measured up to the popularity of the old “stealth black” G3 PowerBooks?
I think it’s a step in the right direction, but I also think that the 1.25 GHz TiBook is very much around the corner. I’ll be willing to say that “you read it here”, the 1.25 GHz will be out by Christmas, January the latest.
The iBook gets pumped and trimmed
The second bombshell was the drop in price for the iBooks, not so much the power boost by being pumped up to 700 or 800 MHz depending on the model.
Now, I use a 700 MHz 14” Combo drive iBook™, and I’ve been perfectly happy with the performance except for the RAM starved ATI card. The new product line-up with the $200 trimmed prices makes me want to start to look for a buyer for mine.
Powered by the fastest PowerPC processor currently available at 800 MHz and equipped with its G4 big brothers ‘hand me down” ATI Mobility Radeon 7500 graphics card (and a much improved 32 MB of video RAM), the little iBook now starts at only $999 (US).
As always, there are three models. Two are 12.1” TFT, 4.9 lbs traveling beauties. The bottom end only has a CD drive with a 700 MHz PPC and the middle sibling an 800 MHz PPC with a Combo Drive (DVD/CD-RW). The king of the hill in this iBook product line-up also gets the new 800 MHz PPC, a 14.1” TFT display and a Combo Drive. Like the PowerBook, all iBook models come with built-in antennas and an AirPort® Card slot for 802.11b WiFi connectivity.
The iBook now also offers a 56K internal fax/modem with support for the latest v.92 standard for new features such as faster upstream data rates. Each iBook also comes with built-in fast Ethernet (10/100BASE-T) for easy connections to networks as well as cable and DSL modems.
“The new iBook is also an integral part of Apple's new Curriculum Mobile Labs, complete affordable solutions for education that combine the best curriculum software with Apple's award-winning hardware, Apple Professional Development courses
and a variety of accessories
to create a powerful tool designed to meet the education goals specified
by the No Child Left Behind Act. The iBook is now available
in education for as low as $899 (US).”
The new iBook is now
available through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), Apple's retail
stores and through Apple Authorized Resellers in three standard configurations.
Here's the product line-up:
iBook
700MHz/12.1" MSRP $999 (US) includes:
a 700 MHz PowerPC G3 processor with 512K on-chip level 2 cache; a 12.1-inch
(diagonal) active-matrix TFT display; ATI Mobility Radeon 7500 graphics
controller with 16MB RAM; 128MB SDRAM;
a 20GB Ultra ATA hard drive; and a CD-ROM optical drive.
iBook
800MHz/12.1" $1,299 (US) includes:
a 800 MHz PowerPC G3 processor with 512K on-chip level 2 cache; a 12.1-inch
(diagonal) active-matrix TFT display; ATI Mobility Radeon 7500 graphics
controller with 32MB RAM;
128MB SDRAM; a 30GB Ultra ATA hard drive; and
a Combo (DVD-ROM/CD-RW) optical drive.
iBook
800MHz/14.1" $1,599 (US) includes:
a 800 MHz PowerPC G3 processor with 512K on-chip level 2 cache; a 14.1-inch
(diagonal) active-matrix TFT display; ATI Mobility Radeon 7500 graphics
controller with 32MB RAM; 256MB SDRAM;
a 30GB Ultra ATA hard drive; and a Combo (DVD-ROM/CD-RW) optical drive.
And of course, both
Mac portables have the coolest and smallest AC power supply anywhere.
Smaller than a pack of cigarettes, Apple's
110V supply.
"Apple offers special prices on Macintosh® computers for education customers through the Apple Store for Education or by calling an Apple education sales representative at 800-800-APPL. To download the latest Apple education price lists, go to www.apple.com/education/pricelists.”
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