Apple's Netbook-like iBook is on sale for just $399.99 shipped.
(Credit: Buy.com)Apple has yet to join the exploding Netbook market, right? Wrong: It joined the market nearly six years ago. It may have even pioneered it!
OK, let me explain. The Apple iBook G4, which debuted in late 2003 and has since been discontinued, has specs that remind me a lot of modern Netbooks. Pokey processor, smallish screen and hard drive, compact design, low price--sound familiar?
Buy.com has refurbished Apple iBook G4 laptops for $399.99 shipped. There are caveats, yes indeed, but this might be just the Apple Netbook you've been waiting for.
The iBook sports a 1.33GHz PowerPC G4 processor, 1GB of RAM, a 40GB hard drive, and a 12.1-inch LCD. It's perfect for the basics, right? You won't do a lot of video editing on it, but word processing, Web browsing, e-mail, and the like are fair game.
At five pounds, it's obviously heavier than most Netbooks, but there's a reason for that: the slot-loading DVD/CD-RW drive. That's definitely something you won't find in a traditional Netbook, but do you mind having one?
I'm no expert when it comes to Apple systems (CNET is--check its review of the iBook G4), and I have no hands-on experience with this model. I do know it comes with OS X 10.5, so at least you're getting (almost) the latest and greatest version of the Mac OS. (FYI, Snow Leopard, a.k.a. 10.6, will not run on PowerPC Macs.)
The only major hiccup here is the warranty: a scant 30 days (and provided by Buy.com, I'm guessing). I'm sure that'll be a deal breaker for some people, and perhaps rightly so, but think about it: The slot-loading drive is the most likely trouble spot, and if it breaks, the iBook is that much closer to a typical Netbook. (How's that for a positive spin?)
Anyway, let me know what you think of Apple's almost-Netbook. Or if you think I'm cuckoo for making the analogy.
Concept art for an Apple touch-screen Netbook.
(Credit: Gizmodo)We get a lot of e-mails from folks asking us when to expect a Netbook from Apple. Let's make something absolutely clear: despite all the previous rumors, we have no idea if, or when, such a product will exist. But we will let report to you when a new (or recycled) rumor pops in the blogsphere.
The latest: the Mandarin-language publication Chinese Times is reporting that Apple will release a Netbook in October. We tend to put a question mark on our rumor headlines, but there doesn't seem to be any question mark in the reporting here--at least according to a translation of the article that appeared within MacRumors.com's forum.
Naturally, this all comes from a "reliable source." Here's the key quote in the article (again, we are going by the translation that appeared on MacRumors):
- Taiwan's high-tech supply chain companies said Apple will debut
its first Netbook in October; Apple will pose itself to tackle the
Christmas shopping season. Three (Taiwanese) corporations--Foxconn,
Wintek, Dynapack--have received direct orders from Apple. (Wintek will
be producing touch screens and providing relevant technologies for
Apple.) In addition, some supply chain companies have privately
confirmed deals related to Netbooks."
The report also goes on to add that "Apple will not follow the current market trend (by producing Netbooks with screens about 10.2 or 10.1 inches in diagonal length). Instead, Apple will produce (touch) screens with about 9.7 inches in diagonal length." As to cost, word is that it will come in around $800, which is about what we'd expect an Apple Netbook to cost (if the company decides to make one).
There are also some interesting updates tacked on to the MacRumors post as additional stories have come out. One update says there are "unconfirmed rumors" that British reporters pried Apple Netbook info out of several Foxconn Electronics employees and that although Foxconn refused to publicly comment on the rumors, the reporters may have gotten some sort of private confirmation on the rumors' validity from the company itself.
Again, these are all rumors, and with Apple, you never know what kind of bizarre smoke screen it might put out there. But in the past, the company has had some issues with leaks coming out of its suppliers in Taiwan, so we're thinking there might be some truth to this one--especially since the same rumor hit back in March. Either way, we do expect Apple to release new iPods this fall (as it has the last few years). Whether one of them will be a giant iPod Touch remains to be seen.
Comments? Do you think Apple really will do a Netbook this year?
Source: Gizmodo via MacRumors via China Times (original article in Mandarin)
(Credit:
MacCase)
The original MacCase is back. Nine years after releasing its first case, which had an unusual rounded shape that matched the contours of the iBook, the company is reissuing the clamshell briefcase.
Owing its success to the "'anti-status quo' element within the Apple community," MacCase calls the new version the "Classic Case" and pretty much kept everything from the first design, though it adds some practical elements such as rubber corners and a mesh lining to help the laptop cool down. It comes in five colors that read like a menu from Jamba Juice, including tangerine, blueberry, and key lime. And to weed out any poseurs who might dare carry anything else inside, the case has a window strategically placed to display the Apple logo.
If you bought a replacement power adapter for one of Apple's PowerBook and iBook notebooks--and you managed to hang onto the receipt for all these years--you'll soon be eligible for a refund.
Bloomberg notes that Apple has settled a lawsuit filed in 2001 over the tendency of power adapters sold with PowerBooks and iBooks to spark or overheat. Apple recalled some power adapters in 2001, but some customers felt the company didn't come clean about the full extent of the problems.
Cash refunds of between $25 and $79 will be issued by Apple to owners who bought a replacement adapter when their original one failed. The settlement still has to be finalized, and details of how to claim your refund will probably be released after a final hearing in September.
iDespair
(Credit: CNET Networks)OK, so I get the iMac, the iBook, the iPod, iTunes, and even (grudgingly) the iPhone. Apple thought up the moniker, so we can't begrudge them for expanding on the very successful franchise. But the iTrip, the iRiver Clix and Cowon's range of iAudio products tested the limits of my patience. And I could have held my tongue if BMW's iDrive had been the end of iOpportunism.
But when I noticed the iLoad--a device for ripping CDs and DVDs to iPod without a computer--on Senior Editor Donald Bell's desk this morning, I felt the need to vent. Is the future of consumer electronics destined to be prefixed with "i"? Do product managers and marketing departments have so little imagination as to think they can get away with tacking an "i" in front of anything they dream up?
We are working on a roundup of iGnominy here at Crave, so please feel free to share any more egregious examples you may have come across.
After an investigation, Denmark's Consumer Complaints Board says it has found evidence that a design flaw in Apple's iBook G4 caused the notebooks to stop working after about a year of use.
(Credit:
Forbrug.dk)
The board's investigation found that turning the laptop on or off over time causes a solder joint to loosen and eventually separate, preventing current from flowing through the joint. Owners of Apple's iBook G4s had complained about system problems, and even filed a class-action suit to advance their claims, but Apple has not admitted to any sort of design flaw with the systems. The Macbook--with Intel's processors--replaced the iBook last year.
Given the new findings, however, the board has settled several claims on behalf of Danish customers of Apple International, it said. Its investigation could have an effect on other iBook G4 customers who have experienced similar problems, but an Apple representative declined to comment on the report.
A copy of the report can be found on the board's Web site. A lot of the site is written in Danish, but there is an English copy of the report and photos of the test setup.
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