New widescreen iBook revision coming any day now?
By Barb Dybwad 
posted July 19th 2005 7:00AM
posted July 19th 2005 7:00AM
Think Secret sez keep your eyes open, as they expect the iBook is about to get a long-awaited revision in the near near future, even as early as today. There aren't any details on the new specs, but the rumour is that we may see the announcement of the long-rumoured widescreen iBook, though this isn't based on much besides the speculation that the abnormally long wait between product revisions this cycle is due to working out the details of the all-new iBook enclosure. And, you know, sometimes nothing comes of this stuff but still, if you're contemplating an iBook purchase, you might do well to hold off for a few days.
I like your DIY widescreen iBook picture - perhaps that's how Apple have designed it, just by squashing the current design? ;-)
This could have some credence as waiting times for an iBook on the UK's appple site are up to 7 days at the moment, but you'll get your powerbook in 24 hours
I hope this is true. It's just a pity that my credit card is maxed out after travelling.
Just a thought: why make a widescreen iBook? Why narrow the gap between the iBook and the PowerBook? I don't know. It's not like I'm any sort of expert, but I'm just thinking they would want to keep the widescreen on the PowerBook because to me that seems like sort of a selling point for the PowerBook. But what do I know?
Let's hope they go widescreen on the smaller ex-12.1" iBook and do the same with the small Powerbook. I really like the small ones. They just make more sense for people that really do need to carry around a laptop.
I also wonder if they'll stick the 7448 in to the iBook. It makes sense - less power consumption, faster, double the cache, 200Mhz max FSB BUT that would totally roast the Powerbook until they were updated also. It's also get the iBook back up into the 5+ hour battery life it started off with in 2001 regaining some ground on the Pentium M.
Fishes,
narco.
Although Tuesdays are generally Apple's preferred release day, there's no sign of anything on their website. Doesn't look like it's going to happen today...
Widescreen if fine and dandy, but how about higher resolutions and finer pixels, like the rest of the industry? Apple, you lazy bastards.
Here is the place I wish Apple would license the MacOS - LAPTOPS. I love my G5, but there's not a Powerbook or iBook on the market that comes close to the convenience and versatility of my Fujitsu P5020.
I need a SMALL laptop - 10" is about as big as I'll go. Please, Apple, either make a subnotebook or let someone else do it!
Not sure this matters, but if you're in the US and make any configuration change to the iBook (even just a memory module) the eta jumps to 7-10 days.
swiss here is another thought for you. Apple competes with more than just it's self. Historically the iBooks and Powerbooks were very competitive but they have fallen behind and part of that may be the artificial divide apple has created with them. I've said this a number of times before, it is time to consolidate the two iBooks and the PowerBook 12" into a new 13" widescreen laptop. Powerbooks should be light weight desktop replacements. iBooks should be somewhat more rugged cheaper with out stupid compromises.
What do I mean by stupid? No PCMCIA slot. Video Mirroring only. Instead use less expensive video cards and Hard Drives. 10/100 ethernet and 400Mb/sec firewire.
A 13" wide LCD at the current 12" dpi would end up having the same resolution as the first TiBooks. Assuming they could keep the weight below 5lbs and a combo drive version around $899, we would have a great entry level/school solution. This might leave room for that sub notebook another person mentioned as part of the PowerBook line and keep it rounded out with the 15" at around $1500 and 17" at around $2000. Most of these savings come from cheaper displays and Apple needs to deliver them before the back to school season.