Apple Ships 17-inch PowerBook

spathi writes "After a long wait, Apple has finally started shipping the 17" PowerBook. This thread over on the MacNN Forums shows a few people have received their tracking numbers. It seems Apple hit it's deadline of 7-10 weeks after all"

Comments

Now I can see them for myself...

[inblosam]

I was waiting until our University store got one in to look at, now I will have to be on the lookout. I could handle a big laptop like this. The thickness is still 1", so just a bit wider in 2 directions. I had my laptop for a study group and another guy came in with a brand new Compaq laptop. It must have been 3 times as thick!

I would assume that for most people the majority of their laptop use is in 1-2 places, so carrying it around is a matter of putting it in some bag, walking it to the car/bus/etc., and then setting up in the next place. This is a nice option, having such a big screen.

They didn't say the 17"-er was everyone, they just say you have more of a choice. But then again, everyone should have one. Way to go Apple.

Re:Now I can see them for myself...

[MochaMan]

I agree it's nice to have a choice. For me, a 17" laptop is simply not an option. Even the 15" powerbook is, for my purposes, a little too large. I ended up buying the 12" PowerBook, because it's small and fits in a daypack with a digital camera.

Last summer, I spent 2 and a half months travelling through Mexico, Cuba, Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras, back up through the States to Canada by land. Everything my wife and I needed for this trip fit into our knapsacks. At the time, I had a 15" PowerBook G3 (Pismo), and I would have traded it for even the lowest end iBook at the time. Size matters, and so does weight, when you're using a laptop to record your travels.

The 12" Powerbook is the ideal size and weight for what I need it for -- travel photography, writing notes and exams for the English classes I was teaching, and developing Cocoa apps (I'm an engineer by training). For development, a bigger screen is nice, but being able to write your apps in a hammock is better.

Cool.

[Hawthorne01]

The 17' looks real sweet, but I wonder if this means the 15' model will be be getting an update soon to match some of the features found on the new models, such as built-in Bluetooth, AE, backlit keyboard, Al instead of Ti, etc.

Except for the video card, which IMO is a step back in the new models.

Is it possible?

[xdfgf]

That the delay was caused by Apple putting the 7457 in them which does 1ghz with 512k L2 cache with less power? I know the 57 isnt in production yet but Apple and other big buyers have had samples for some time. So could Apple have put the squeeze on Moto for early chips and that was the cause of the delay? Not to mention the few 17" in stores are display models only and cant be turned on. Were the ones at Macworld working? anyone know the details?
Bueller?

Oh, you mean, "Apple ships the Mini Me laptop"

[weave]

I bought a 12" PB and have used it extensively in many places in Delaware, Phoenix, and on flights in between. I'm really amazed at how well the Apple ad for these things have worked. People that I don't know, and others that I do know but don't have Macs, have remarked to me "Oh, I see you got the Yao version."

Remarks that are a dream of a markeeter. Not only brand awareness, but retention and recall of the ad too... (remains to be seen if it actually drives people to buy the things though...)

Still not at (one) Apple Store

[tbmaddux]

I was at the Apple retail store in Salem, NH today and they had just the display model of the 17" PowerBook; still none for sale. It's striking how thin it is compared to all the other Apple portables. It's like a 15" Powerbook with just the light grey rim around the case and no bottom third.

$2600 for 17-inch PowerBook?

[PotPieMan]

A couple of the shipping notices in that thread say that the total price was $2639. The Apple Store states a starting price of $3299. Can anyone explain this discrepancy? I didn't think the student discount was that deep.

Re:Of course...

[EddydaSquige]

A friend of mine traded his order for the 17", opting for the 12" after he finally played with the one 17" they have on display at the SoHo store (it's in the window people, just ask). I asked about it and he replied "you mean the lunch tray?". The thing is really too damn big.

Re: cool

[feldsteins]

I am in that same boat with you. I took a different job at work and in the process had to swap my 15" TiBook 500 for a BW G3 350. Ouch! The good news is, it's obviously so old that they want to replace it for me and I convinced them to get me a 15" PowerBook.

Here's the tricky part. The money's there, I could put the order in on Monday. But I do not want to find out that I just missed the 15" AlBook by a week. On the other hand, the money is budgeted for this fiscal year ending July 1. So if the 15" AlBook doesn't appear until MacWorld July...then I'd be forced to buy a 15" TiBook in mid-june and would have waited all that time for nothing.

Re: cool

[Alex Thorpe]

As the Mac forums posters usually say, a Mac in the hand is worth two on a rumors site. It's usually better to go for it.

Re: cool

[feldsteins]

Yeah I know. Jesus, if I had a dollar for every time I myself have told a user that... But knowing that I'd be living with sub-standard wireless range, no bluetooth, no firewire 800...not just today but for the next 3-4 years...somehow that makes me want to wait. I mean I know damned well that the current 15" models will be replaced between now and July. It's just a question of when.