Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Hardware
Has the 12" PowerBook simply disappeared?
It appears as though Apple has completed their portable lineup's transition to Intel chips - and the 12" PowerBook was the clear odd-man-out (sure, the 14" iBook disappeared too, but everyone knew it had to). I noticed last night that apple.com/powerbook simply redirects to apple.com/macbook, with a page title of "Meet the family. Now complete."
If this is true, and Apple (for now) doesn't have any other tricks up their sleeve in the portable department (the much-rumored tablet, perhaps?), I think we should all observe a moment of silence for our fallen comrade - the 12" PowerBook (my first.Mac.evar).
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
AJB said 8:45AM on 5-17-2006
From the announcement about the new MacBook on Maccentral: "Apple on Tuesday unveiled its much-anticipated MacBook, the company?s replacement for the iBook and the 12-inch PowerBook." In an earlier version of the story, Maccentral wrote that this anouncement came straight from Apple's "mouth."
I love my current 12-incher, and it has served me well; however, I would like some more screen space . . . hmmm . . .how much is that MacBook?
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andy said 8:48AM on 5-17-2006
There is the rumored gamers-dream macs, in imac and notebook form, i dont trust that rumor but it could be a macbook form factor with dedicated graphics? filling the gap
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rey said 8:56AM on 5-17-2006
does anyone realize that only MacBook Pro 15" doesnt have option to have DVD-RW DL? MacBook 13" (optional) & MacBook 17" able to have DVD-RW DL. :(
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Brent Todd said 8:57AM on 5-17-2006
The only benefit of getting the 12 inch powerbook was that it was the lightest machine Apple offered. I worked at a university that had an apple laptop requirement and for $75 less a student could get a 14 inch ibook with very similar specs (the differences being weight, video card, video output) all of which were nominal in a students mind. Personally I think this is a good move on Apple's part.
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Thayne Miller said 8:58AM on 5-17-2006
I don't think there's a "gap." Sure, the 12" PB is nice. I really love mine, and yes, I'm a little sad that they didn't release a smaller macbook pro, but I visited the apple store yesterday and played with one of the macbooks... I'll tell you, I was sold. Sure, not having the graphics card made expose a little choppy if you were running idvd and photobooth at the same time, but overall I think the macbook is a great replacement for the 12" PB. Still, I will be sad to see mine go. I just have a find a buyer for my 12" PB now!
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Pat said 9:02AM on 5-17-2006
I love my 12" PB, even if the new MacBook looks really good
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scott said 9:02AM on 5-17-2006
I think a lot of people are taking the "Meet the family. Now Complete." phrase too far. Has Apple ever been known to tell us new things were coming?
How's this sound-"Meet the new family. But don't buy them yet, we've got better stuff coming."?
Personally I think Apple is just setting us up so they can surprise us.
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William said 9:06AM on 5-17-2006
It's comrade. No harm, though, just to inform.
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Dan said 9:15AM on 5-17-2006
Apple really needs to introduce an ultralite. Everyone in my family uses powerbooks/ibooks except for my mother. She just bought a new Sony (14" screen, less than 4 lbs). If Apple has a laptop available that weighs under 4 pounds she would have bought it no questions asked.
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Paul said 9:16AM on 5-17-2006
Yes, the Powerbook has been killed off, Apple confirmed to resellers and stores yesterday.
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justin said 9:17AM on 5-17-2006
"the 12" PowerBook (my first.Mac.evar)"
Hey, not to be an elitist, but - how does someone who, in the scheme of Apple's timeline, "just" got a Mac, get a job writing about Apple? =P
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marcnesium said 9:17AM on 5-17-2006
As http://www.macnews.de reported today, Todd Benjamin, Apple's Director of Portable, said to a reporter of the German Apple portal that "the MacBook in black within the MacBook models is a significant update compared to the 12'' inch powerbook. We think that the professional look of the black MacBook and the speed gain of the processors (...) should make it popular among pro users who are looking for a compact system with a high speed."
My opinion: That's the official statement that Apple won't introduce a successor of the Powerbook 12'' inch in the foreseeable future.
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Shane said 9:23AM on 5-17-2006
According to the guy in the Apple Store here in KC, the 12" powerbook went bye-bye.
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iFelix said 9:25AM on 5-17-2006
So it's goodbye 12" PowerBook, and hello 13" MacBook!
I wonder if there will be a 10.6" MacTablet at some point in the near future?
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William B said 9:28AM on 5-17-2006
I love my 12-incher. It's my first Mac, and it's been the best computer I've ever had. I am a little saddened that there is no 12" MacBook Pro. But oh well, I think my PB will serve me for a good number of years.
Also, commenting on a post above - there is no option to get DL SuperDrive on the new MacBooks. Where was that seen?
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stl said 9:44AM on 5-17-2006
That really sucks. I love small laptops, I was hoping Apple would put out something similar in form factor to the IBM ThinkPad X41. I won't buy another apple laptop until they put out something smaller.
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Björn said 9:46AM on 5-17-2006
Hi,
I'm an owner of the PB 12er, and I have to say it sure feels some sort of bad that it's no longer available.
But, let me put that right: the black MacBook just screams. Cool design, nice interface and blazingly fast... . I'm gonna get me one of those if I can grab it... .
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Diego said 9:49AM on 5-17-2006
One of the *big* reasons for me not to consider the MacBook is the about 1.5-inches that keeps it from fitting in my favorite bag. How big a deal is this? Well, I'm doing everything I want to do on my 12" iBook just fine. I can't watch movies any faster, my connection determines the speed at which I browse, and it's certainly faster than I can type.
Now, a tablet... -that- interests me.
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Justin said 10:01AM on 5-17-2006
There is no option for a Macbook Superdrive DL on any of the models. where did you get your information from?? I think that the Macbook has done a good job of replacing the pwrbk. Do you think Apple would have replaced something so good as the 12" powerbook with a worse computer. Apple knows the replacement computer has to be alot better than the computer it replaces, and I would say Apple did a good job when replacing the 12".
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Chris Andrews said 10:19AM on 5-17-2006
Great! Now they have finished Intel-izing the portable range, we can look forward to a replacement for the Power Mac.
Let the rumours begin! ;)
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