15-inch G4 PowerBook vanishes from Apple Store
By Ryan Block 
posted February 22nd 2006 12:24PM
posted February 22nd 2006 12:24PM
Wow,
things really appear to be moving over at Apple. As soon as the first round of MacBook Pros start
hitting consumers (and they begin the ritual unboxing and disrobing) they announce another event, a
"Media Cube" suspiciously appears
online, a dev kit Intel box goes up (and comes down) on
eBay, and now apparently the G4 PowerBook's been quietly escorted from the building Apple Store. No announcement,
no fanfare necessary sending this one off -- er, at least that's what we think is happening. Because, see, the 15-inch
PowerBook is still live on the Apple site, it's just that now you can't actually order one (not that you've been able
to for a little while now if you were buying for a business). It's gotta
happen eventually people.[Thanks, Matt]
Whats the big deal about PBG4 15inch not being sold anymore? Ummm I thought the macbookpro was 15inch. The macbookpro, i think, replaces the PB so why would they still sell it. I dont think this is a big deal. What is a big deal is the trustworthyness of this cube thing. Poor Apple. We are only to blame for studying and commenting on their every move no matter how small and insignificant.
yay first post emm what was i gonna say, yeah I prefer this low key stuff compared to all the hype that builds up before macworld (i found it was kinda boring this year), what about you?
We don't need more power! What we need is durability, connectivity, less power use, less weight, and cooler lights, bells and whistles!
the apple hardware page hasnt been updated yet though
yeah this low key stuff is pretty cool, i feel mac world was pretty dull as well. cant wait to see what is coming...
Bought my wife an ibook yesterday - got it today. Watching someone open the box that houses their ibook is quite interesting. Yeah, we took pictures & video for SWITCH propaganda. It switch from Linux to Apple though, not Windows to Apple. (12" ibook)
Macworld was kinda dissapointing. It was all blooming ilife and iwork demos. I also dont think there was as much enthusiasm as we've seen in the past. I think people were right in saying that there were products that were going to be launched but got pulled at the last moment. Hardware is always more interesting than software unless its an OSX preview. What is exciting is out of the blue announcements like the 1gb nano. It was rumored that it would come but when was never known. The problem is if I had found this out at school my excitment would have lowered my reputation... (The UK isnt very technologically minded in terms of school people.)
While not surprising, it's too bad. IMHO, the G4 is much better than the MacBook for non-Pro users. DL DVD burner, FW 800 and full size PC card slot are all great features that I regularly use, and would miss if I upgraded. The display resolution is also *slightly* better on the G4. The speed bump is something I can do without for now, and other than the Mag Safe power adapter none of the other features (I don't video chat, so the camera doesn't excite me) are that interesting.
Actually, it doesn't look like the 15 inchers are still available on the Apple online store. It's only advertising the 12 and 17 models.
http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/72202/wo/531bZhxa2HsI22EMhf3FvbbbzGF/0.SLID?nclm=PowerBook&mco=9CAC372
WTF? What the hell is Apple's oddities with the 15" PowerBook/MacBook Pro. When they went from Titanium to Aluminum the 15" wasn't among the changes (it was stuck in Titanium limbo). Now the 15" is the only one that is a MacBook leaving the other 2 sizes out to dry. All I want is some F@#&ing consistency in the product line. Anounce the whole line not just one size. I want a MacBook Pro but not at 15", 12" min possibly 13" but it's made a second class citizen with the lack of gigabit ethernet and the nifty key lighting thing. Have standard features accross the line with improved graphics and speed as you move up, not hard. (Yes I know I'm picky, so what. I'm passionate about my Apple laptops)
get a tax id#, claim part of your home as a home business, buy the damn thing; take a massive loss on your home based business; cash in!
azhar-
the loss of the 15" g4 isn't that big of a deal, except if you're a professional who uses adobe cs on a daily basis like me. running illustrator under rosetta is not even close to acceptable, and adobe's not exactly jumping on the fast-track to universal binaries. heck, not even acrobat is universal yet. sure i could get the 17" but that's not portable enough for me, and the 12" ibooks are also not sufficient.
agree on the 1st post. This is the second time in 4 days that engadget has been posting about the 15 inches powerbook not being sold anymore.
I've just grabbed a 15" G4 - exactly the same day as it disappeared from the Apple Store. I went for the G4 over the MacBook for one simple reason - software. I use Adobe/Macromedia all day long and having read Adobe's roadmap for upgrading their apps, I just wasn't prepared to use my current apps under Rosetta for any length of time.
While it's cool for Apple to try and push things forward, I can't help but think that this move is just too much of a strong arm tactic.
I realize this post is from a couple days ago, but it really isn't much of a surprise to me, seeing as the entire line (12-17) is discounted at my university book store. The only do this when a line has been discontinued.