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Apple bumps up iBook and Mac mini lines

by Laurie A. Duncan Jul 26th 2005 at 9:04AM

ibook heroCall me underwhelmed, but still appreciative that Apple is finally realizing that 256MB of RAM is pretty useless.

512MB RAM is now the minimum in both the iBooks and Mac mini families. Yay!

The Mac mini now comes in 3 models, with a top price of $699 for a 1.42GHz model with a SuperDrive. Bluetooth and Airport Extreme are now built-in on the $599 (1.42GHz Combo Drive) and $699 models, but are build-to-order on the $499 1.25GHz model.

The iBook G4 lineup was bumped up to 1.42 GHz on the 14-inch model, which has a SuperDrive, while the lower end comes in at 1.33GHz with a Combo Drive. Both iBooks now sport an ATI Mobility Radeon 9550 and built-in Bluetooth and Airport Express right out of the box. The iBooks also now include the scrolling trackpad and Sudden Motion Sensor.

That's it??? I'm going back to bed.



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Call me underwhelmed, but still appreciative that Apple is finally realizing that 256MB of RAM is pretty useless.512MB RAM is now the...
 

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Eric

Ah, this is quite excellent I'll be watching the ship dates for the powerbooks very closely now... maybe dual g4's?

July 26 2005 at 6:49 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
marianne

I'm in the market for a laptop and with the bump to the 14" iBook I'm now seriously considering this over the 15" PowerBook. I just can't justify spending an extra $1k for the PowerBook now.

July 26 2005 at 3:33 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Matthew

Bob, as mentioned in an earlier comment the new video chip in the iBook is a programmable one so it is likely that it will support the 'ripple effect' etc. Would be surprised if you need 64Mb to do that.

July 26 2005 at 3:19 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Bob

I love the 512MB memory - can you upgrade the video RAM, so you can take advantage of fancy dashboard stuff?

July 26 2005 at 2:45 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Bob

I love the 512MB memory - can you upgrade the video RAM, so you can take advantage of fancy dashboard stuff?

July 26 2005 at 2:43 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Avi Flax

OK, now the PowerBook line really needs an update!

July 26 2005 at 2:10 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Nick

The new iBooks have support for more RAM than a 12" Powerbook as the 512MB chip is soldered on now rather than the 256MB in the Powerbook. So finally the i line has overtaken the Power line. What a joke.

July 26 2005 at 1:47 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
cat

i'm soo happy! i read it on the apple website about half and hour ago.. i don't know about you'll, but i was jumping up and down!i know it's not much of an update, but at least i don't have to spend more money on getting it upgraded now!! ;) i'm gonna get one, as soon as i can!

July 26 2005 at 12:18 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Michael

Interesting, the middle and high end Mac mini models don't ship with a modem standard now.

July 26 2005 at 12:16 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Small Paul

Tiger doesn't *require* 64MB Video RAM per se, but for the full graphic pizzazz, it does. (Then again, it also requires specific supported graphics cards, I believe, so even 64MB Video RAM won't necessarily cut it.) Now that the iBooks have trimmings like Bluetooth 2.0, scrolling trackpad and the SMS, there's really very little to distinguish them from the PowerBooks apart from Video RAM, and Gigabit Ethernet. Unless either of these are important to you, the lightness and better battery life of the iBooks really should win out: so much better value. G5 PowerBooks. That's what we're all still waiting for. IBM has announced the chips. Will they hit the PBs before Christmas? Place ye bets.

July 26 2005 at 10:51 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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