Filed under: Hardware, PowerBook, Macbook Pro
Apple beginning to phase out the 15" PowerBook?
TUAW has received a tip that points to the possibility that Apple could already be phasing out the 15" PowerBook. The tipster, whom we'll call Bob for anonymity's sake, manages an Apple B2B program for a U.S. institute. Recently, Bob noticed that, as you see in our screenshot, the 15" PowerBook has disappeared from their program's offerings. After Bob verified this disappearance with his Apple sales rep, the rep also (reportedly) explained that it would slowly begin disappearing from other catalogs as well.
As with all claims like this, TUAW can neither confirm nor deny their validity. If this is true, however, it could force some uneasy decisions for those who had their eye on picking up a pro 15" portable from Apple, as we've already found out that some pro apps, such as Adobe's Creative Suite and After Effects, won't be Intel-ready until at least 2007.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
fra said 4:29PM on 2-17-2006
Damn I thought the little text box thing was from my computer, I was wondering why the hell it wouldn't go away!
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Finkle McCracken said 4:29PM on 2-17-2006
Actually, they'll just head to eBay and buy a used one. And those of us selling our 15" PBs later this year will be grateful!
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AndyB said 4:30PM on 2-17-2006
Well, I'll confirm it. I'm in the IT department for a state college and the Apple Store for Edu. no longer offers the 15" PB - just the 12" and 17". Want 15" - you need to buy the MBPro
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Sean Kaiser said 4:30PM on 2-17-2006
I can confirm this phenomenon...
After connecting to the K12 Education store, the 15in PowerBook does not appear in the PowerBook area of the graphic (like the screenshot above), nor does it appear in the options once you click on the PowerBooks. Contrast that with the general public store (store.apple.com) and it's there.
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Neb said 4:31PM on 2-17-2006
Why is there an eMac in the photo?
hadn't those been removed since before the intel's cam out?
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Wheels said 4:32PM on 2-17-2006
Makes sense, seeing as how the 17" iMac is G5 is gone. I know the MacBooks aren't shipping yet, but were the 15" PBs huge sellers?
Are they bringing back the eMac?
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Joey said 4:46PM on 2-17-2006
Does anyone else realize that the Emac is there? I thought that dissapeared from the store page months ago.
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Mike Schleifstein said 4:49PM on 2-17-2006
what really sucks is the lack of a cameraless option for those working in sensitive environments... say goodbye to your government laptop contracts apple
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ben said 5:02PM on 2-17-2006
"but were the 15" PBs huge sellers?"
i believe it was apple's flagship portable
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Joshua Ochs said 5:05PM on 2-17-2006
eMac = educational Mac. It's gone back to its original home, the educational stores.
Meanwhile, it's not too surprising the 15" Powerbook is gone; pick up the 12" or the 17" while you can if you need them!
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Neil said 5:10PM on 2-17-2006
The eMac is still available through some of Apple's Education agreements. It's not on general sale to the public.
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Aaron Hoffman said 5:13PM on 2-17-2006
If they end up phasing out the 15" PowerPC PowerBook altogether, anybody see the new naming system becoming more like the iPod's?
MacBook Mini (Sub/Tablet Notebook)???
MacBook Lite (12" iBook)
MacBook (13" widescreen iBook)
MacBook Pro (15" PB)
MacBook Elite (17" PB)
Just my thoughts.
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krasi said 5:22PM on 2-17-2006
I just took a peek at apple's store and the 15 inch is still there under PPC. Also even under EDU it is still there. This must be somewhere else. Apple U.S. still shows it as available.
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Paul said 5:48PM on 2-17-2006
While many people think that iBook is going to be renamed MacBook, I genuinely believe that it is going to remain the iBook. There is no reason to change the "i" prefix, however the "Power" prefix had to go due to the switch from "Power"PC processors. As long as there is an iMac and an iPod, I think the consumer-line products will keep the i-prefix and we will still have an iBook.
Also, I'm not quite sure how that reflects the iPod naming system. There's regular iPod and there was iPod mini, but none of that other nonsense you added.
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Paul said 5:54PM on 2-17-2006
I have looked at the Mac education stores for several institutions and all have the 15" pictured and available for sale, btw.
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AH said 6:14PM on 2-17-2006
"what really sucks is the lack of a cameraless option for those working in sensitive environments... say goodbye to your government laptop contracts apple"
Interesting point. I hadn't thought of that before. I wondered if anyone has addressed this with Apple yet and what their reponse will be. I would imagine if there was interest in purachasing Macs by such an organization Apple would need to accomodate.
- AH
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H2ORANGE said 6:31PM on 2-17-2006
The 15 is the flaghsip? Say it ain't so...
My fiancee and I always chuckle when we see folks using those. Are we the only ones that view the 15titaniums/15aluminums as the Treo 300/600's of laptops?
Though I ran with the titanium, since the 12 & 17 became available, their benefits far outweighed the mundane/stale appeal of the 15... for us at least.
The new 15 is fairly appealing, as it seems to have simply been built better, to say the least. That being said, another 15 alternative seems anything but necessary.
Merely my $.02
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AH said 6:42PM on 2-17-2006
Although those same government agencies agencies which would restrict a camera being built into machines they purchase also frown on the ability to use removable storage devices such as iPods and thumb drives, and I doubt many PC manufacturers are building USB/Firewire-less computers.
It is more likely Apple will ensure that administrators will have the enterprise wide ability to disable those cameras. Much like they do with USB ports.
- AH
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AndyB said 6:54PM on 2-17-2006
The EDU INSTITUTIONAL Purchase store no longer has the 15" PB. The EDU INDIVIDUAL purchase store still shows it. Interesting.
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Maurice said 7:13PM on 2-17-2006
You'd don't need an anonymous tipster to recognize that Apple (like many companies) only sells their latest greatest product. The only interesting aspect of this is that they continued to keep the 15" PB (and iMac G5) available for purchase outside of the SALE section of the store while inventory was cleared out.
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