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Friday, March 14th 2003 11:50 CDT

Apple Falling Behind the Curve in Laptops?

The San Jose Mercury News has an article today about Apple allegedly losing the technology and sales battle when it comes to laptops, even in the "year of the PowerBook." This article highlights the tech advances of other makers and this article notes that Apple wasn't among the top 5 laptop sellers in January 2003.

Now, we're don't claim to be geniuses here, but we figure that if Apple actually shipped some PowerBooks that people have already ordered from them, they'd do at least a bit better...

Sound Specs on 12" PowerBook

This Knowledge Base article covers how the sound on the 12" PowerBook works, the location of the microphone and speakers, and more fun facts.

17" Delay Theory

A reader sent in this theory as to why 17" PowerBooks are being delayed:

Just out of curiosity, do you think the delay of the PB 17" has anything to do with waiting for the GeForce FX Go?

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/ 03-13-2003/0001907163&EDATE=

Is it possible that the early demo models use the planned "4" version but the shipping ones were timing for the announcement and reconfig? Just a thought. It'd be a nice boost to not have a laptop ship with the now "older" mobile graphics chip.

Just speculating...

As for my ship date, my order from 1/20 has always been April 3rd, and while that seemed late, I have no reason to think it will be anything but that... I ordered from Apple Education online...

Thursday, March 13th 2003 07:21 CDT

Demo Days...But No 17" PowerBooks

Longtime reader Ronald sent this in:

I got an e-mail today from Apple announcing "Demo Days" at "participating Apple resellers". The ad text had an invitation to "See all the new products you've been waiting for," then went on to list the 12" PowerBook, the iMac, PowerMacs, flat-panel displays, and software. Absolutely no mention of the 17" PowerBook anywhere.

More 17" PowerBook Shipping Reports

We received quite a few more reports over the last two days:

I just ordered mine today (3/12/03). The ship date is "On or before 04/16/2003."

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Ordered 1/7/03 from Apple Online (via phone). No extras. Shipping date remains stuck at "on or before March 21st". Phoned Apple for an update (3/12/03) and was told that the units have already started to ship and that I should expect mine "on or before March 21st". Much prying revealed no further information.

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Here's a message from Amazon.com that came on 3/10 after I asked them what the prospects were for getting my 17 "PB before April:

Dear Daniel,

Thank you for writing to Amazon.com.

I have researched the availability of Apple PowerBook Notebook 17" TFT M8793LL/A and learned that its release has been delayed until March 15, 2003.

As soon as the item has been released, we'll be able to ship it to you. As per our standard policy, we do not charge you for items until they enter the shipping process, so you will not be charged for this item until it is available and we have shipped it to you.

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I got a "temporarily out-of-stock" post card from Macconnection regarding my order for a 17" PowerBook. It is the second I've gotten since I ordered on January 16. The first moved my ship date from Feb. 28 to March 15th. I called their customer service, and they told me they had received an e-mail from Apple moving the ship date to March 28. Apple did not offer any explanation to them.

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I ordered my 17 inch Powerbook on January 20, 2003. It was a BTO, I order 1 GB of RAM. Ordered through my business's vendor, which I was told would be faster than ordering direct from Apple. At the time of order I was promised 4-7 weeks. I had my vendor call last Friday (3-7-03) to check the order status. Their Apple Rep. is now saying end of March early April.

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I placed my order for a 17" powerbook with 1 GB RAM on 1/26. It is due "On or before 03/28/2003".

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I placed my order on the announcement day. I was contacted by email by the Apple Store today to update the expiry date on my credit card for my 17" AlPowerBook order, so things must be "getting close!"

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Ordered via ADC Online Store on Feb. 23, 2003 and received & still have a "On or Before Date" of 4/7/03.

> Apple has pushed the delivery date of the new 17" powerbook to the end of the month. Availabiblity at that point will be sketchy, and we don't expect to cover all back-orders with our first deliveries. The upside to this is that no one else will have them either. Tell your customers to hang in there, and not to cancel their orders: they will not get it quicker elsewhere. Thanks for hanging in there too.

Tuesday, March 11th 2003 08:09 CDT

Shinza.com Debuts Metal Case for PBG4 15"

This is one of the coolest looking cases for a PowerBook we've seen yet:

It sells for $200 at Shinza.com and has the option of a see-through panel on one side to show off your PowerBook inside the case. Here are some more details from their site:

The TiBook Case was specifically designed to carry the Apple PowerBook G4 Titanium (15-inch screen). Both lightweight and durable, the TiBook Case's sleek appearance is an excellent match with the sophisticated design of the PowerBook G4. Each case is hand-made from 100% brushed aluminum, making each case one-of-a-kind. The low-profile design means the case is scarcely larger than the PowerBook G4 itself. This case features a sturdy metal handle, and the interior is lined with soft protective felt and features shock-absorbing resistance pads along the edges. The TiBook Case also comes with two keys which are used to securely lock down your PowerBook during transport.

The TiBook Case is also available in a Clear Case model, which features a top lid composed of transparent 100% fiberglass in order to prominently display your PowerBook.

17" PowerBook Shipping Reports

Keep those reports coming in, everyone. Here are the few we received yesterday:

Mac Warehouse is due to receive a shipment of 17" Powerbooks on Friday March 14th. 

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Ordered 1/10/03
Promised ship date 3/25/03

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I ordered my 17 inch powerbook on 01/17/2003 at 09:57 AM PST and it is promised On or before 04/01/2003 (not that I trust steve jobs after her lied about the intial ship date).

Registering PB 12" May Automatically Send iLife for Free

A reader notes:

Interestingly enough, I received iLife free without even placing an order after purchasing and registering my 12" AlBook. UpToDate was just one of those things that I never got around to, and one day I got an email saying that it had been shipped. I ordered my 12" from the Apple Store on keynote day and received it in the first wave.

An Accessory for an Accessory

You know there are people with either too much time on their hands or too much money on their hands when they buy or dream up a product like this:

That's right, it's a base for the Griffin Technology PowerMate. Here's what MacMice.com, the maker, says about their acrylic base:

Today, MacMice.com announces the availability of its IceMate base stand for the Griffin Technology PowerMate USB controller. The precision machined acrylic base dramatically increases the level of blue light that the PowerMate emits onto a desk surface, as well as improves ergonomics, and adds needed physical stability.

The IceMate base stand for the PowerMate is the first accessory offered for Griffin Technology's widely popular USB input device. And, it improves not only the good looks of the PowerMate, but adds better ergonomics and better long-term resistance to the PowerMate sliding on a desk surface.

The IceMate is machined from a solid billet of AcryliteŽ, the most optically transparent acrylic on the market, and is then thermally poished to a glossy sheen. Its upper recessed well accepts the Griffin PowerMate, holding it neatly in place about 5/8-inch higher than normal. This permits better hand positioning while using the PowerMate. And, the prism-like construction of the IceMate acts like a light amplifier, hugely increasing the amount of blue light leaving the PowerMate and illuminating the surrounding desk surface.

The MacMice IceMate, is available now from the MacMice.com web site for US$19.99.

Monday, March 10th 2003 00:21 CDT

Free iLife for 12" PowerBook Buyers: Act Before March 29th

A few weeks back, we posted a note from a reader who was able to get a free copy of iLife from Apple with his purchase of a 12" PowerBook with a SuperDrive but we couldn't find another reader who had done the same. Now we've gotten to the bottom of the issue:

A couple of weeks ago we corresponded about the problems of getting a free iLife CD for PB 12˛ w/SuperDrive owners.

Well, using the link http://www.apple.com/ilife/uptodate/ PB12˛ SuperDrive owners who did not receive this suite pre-loaded can download a form to send or fax to Apple to get the iLife CD for no charge. But, people need to move on it. The offer ends on March 29.

12" PowerBook Reviewed

Chalk up another convert. There's a great review of the 12" PowerBook over at Small Business Computing. Here's a quote:

I never thought I would say it (and please don't tell anyone), but I have finally found a Macintosh that I actually covet. Reasonable performance and a reasonable price are things that many different notebooks can deliver to some extent, but the Apple delivers that plus it adds light weight, small size, and a shimmering look to the equation, to say nothing of built in 802.11g.

Whether you hail from the PC or Mac worlds, it's hard to imagine a better implement for the true road warrior than the PowerBook G4 12-inch.

"Mini Review" of 17" PowerBook

A reader used his day off to do a quick-and-dirty review of the 17" PowerBook in a couple of Apple retail stores. There's some good details, so if you're interested in the 17" behemoth, check it out.

17" Ship Dates

Speaking of the 17" PowerBook, it's time for another roundup of 17" PowerBook ship dates as we near the date we expected them to ship. Send your report, including the date you ordered, where you ordered, and if you have any BTO options selected to info@pbzone.com. Results will be posted tomorrow and throughout the week.

Another Airport Information Site

Jeff Carlson of TidBITS fame wrote in to let us know of another great Airport/wireless information resource:

I saw your link to the page with the information about AirPort base stations. I'd also like to point you to a page created by my colleagues Adam Engst and Glenn Fleishman, who wrote The Wireless Internet Starter Kit (Peachpit Press). I'm sure your readers will find it interesting, especially as more people get on the AirPort Extreme bandwagon.

http://wireless-starter-kit.com/airportblog/

Disclaimer: yes, I'm totally biased -- I work with Adam on TidBITS, and I share an office with Glenn (and we've authored several books together). But that doesn't diminish the fact that I think the site would be worth linking to on PB Zone. :-)