November 6th, 2005
Intel PowerBooks ahead of schedule
AppleInsider is reporting that Apple’s Intel PowerBooks and iBooks are ahead of schedule and could arrive as soon as April or May 2006.
Originally slated for June of 2006, AI reports that iBooks are expected a little earlier than that to meet the educational buying window for the 2006/2007 academic year:
Without getting into specific dates at this time, sources familiar with Apple’s Macintosh hardware roadmap say the company is striving to unveil a completely redesigned set of Intel iBook laptops just in time for next year’s K-12 educational buying season, which takes place around April or May.
The report goes on to say that the new PowerBooks will be similar to the current Aluminum design but that they’ll be "about 20- to 25-percent thinner than today’s model." I hope that they take it a step further and introduce a PowerBook nano. Apparently the future of the 12-inch PowerBook is in doubt too, but don’t fret because it may get replaced by a 13-inch widescreen iBook.
The new PowerBook is also believed to sport a built-in iSight camera (like the model found in the new iMac) and maybe even a dual-core chip. If Apple ships this beast with a dual-core Intel Yonah chip—which is rumored to be main reason that Steve Jobs chose Intel—expect the new PowerBook to be the most popular PowerBook (and possibly Mac) ever.
Jason D. O'Grady is the editor of PowerPage.org, which has been publishing daily mobile technology news since December 1995. For disclosures on Jason's industry affiliations, click here or to view Jason's full profile click here.
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