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After All these Years PC Vendors Still Cant Do It Why?

post #1 of 24
10/2/04 at 6:22pm
Thread Starter 
Everyone,
For more than 3 years now some of us have been waiting for the PC version of the Powerbooks with no clear cut substitute. I understand that much of the market is made up of gamers that want the highest specs possible, but there has always been the ultra-portable market that is aided by Fujitsu and Sony, etc. There have been many attempts but NOT ONE PC maker has made a legit 1" thick notebook with a widescreen, fiber-optic keyboard, etc. I just do not understand how no one has caught on to this. The powerbooks have been a cash cow for apple second only to their iPods, and not one PC manufacturer has taken advantage of this as of yet. If i am wrong, please correct me. the ASUS W1 seemed like a close equivalent, but is still 1.3" thick and has a larger footprint than the 15.2 PB. Ive hear of some 13.3" models coming out and am excited for these, but just do not understand how the PC makers are letting Apple take away so many potential customers when it would be pretty simple to basically copy their design with a PC compatible platform. A year ago i gave in and bought a PB, but just really did not like the OS, and the one button mouse, just could not get used to it. Instead i am still waiting for a PC that comes closer to the PB's than has happened thus far. Im sure im not the only one that has this sentiment. Please advise if i am mistaken, i have always relied on the expertise of the members of this forum.
thanks,
-T-
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post #2 of 24
10/2/04 at 6:39pm
The Macs only have looks going for them... their acutaly software in my opinion is inferior to a PC's. As well, you usually don't get Macs to game on. You get them for music production or other multimedia. So they are not great for the majority of the people on these forums and elsewhere. There will not be many people who want a 1" thick notebook with a wide screen because it will be quite poor performance. If you really want that sacrifice, go Mac.
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post #3 of 24
10/2/04 at 7:06pm
One of these days, we'll have the whole package: a big gorgeous screen (or small depending on taste), powerful cpu and gpu, ridiculously long battery life, all the optical drives and ports you could want, and all in a 2lb package that's an inch thick and doesn't get hot. Here I come 2020!

but yeah, I see your point. There really should be more PC ulrtaportables with good looks like a PB
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post #4 of 24
10/2/04 at 7:22pm
Ya, i was tempted by the 700m, but its fugly so no way.
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post #5 of 24
10/2/04 at 7:32pm
Thread Starter 
i totally agree, i was looking at the 700 but its terribly ugly.
thanks,
-T-
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post #6 of 24
10/2/04 at 7:33pm
I get exactly what you're saying.

With the exception of the back lit keyboard, you can get a notebook that's widescreen, less than 1", and has good features. (not to mention a better screen!)

But also take into account that apple, and correct me if I"m wrong, probrably patents the notebooks, or signs contracts so that other companies can't use the design.
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post #7 of 24
10/2/04 at 7:41pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by neocontra
But also take into account that apple, and correct me if I"m wrong, probrably patents the notebooks, or signs contracts so that other companies can't use the design.
This is not too different from what IBM or Dell does with their notebooks. They own their own designs. They may relegate the manufacturing job to contract notebook manufacturers in Taiwan, but the design belongs to them nonetheless.
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post #8 of 24
10/2/04 at 8:34pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by neocontra
But also take into account that apple, and correct me if I"m wrong, probrably patents the notebooks, or signs contracts so that other companies can't use the design.
Funny how my W1 gets mistaken so many times for a powerbook... hmm... I wonder who really is designing those powerbooks...

/Knows something I maybe shouldnt be mouthing off about

/loves my Asus designed laptop....

ahem.

Eric
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post #9 of 24
10/2/04 at 8:37pm
Yeah. TaiwanHighTech is a fun place to visit.

EricT, I asked a question in your W1N review thread. Can you answer it? Thanks.
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post #10 of 24
10/2/04 at 9:55pm
Did I read somewhere that Asus make the Powerbooks?

Steve
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post #11 of 24
10/2/04 at 10:31pm
Seriously, some PC maker needs to make a backlit keyboard. It's a pretty cool feature. If I was going to be using linux I would probably go with the powerbook when you can get a g5 chip in it.


Quote:
Originally Posted by neocontra
I get exactly what you're saying.

With the exception of the back lit keyboard, you can get a notebook that's widescreen, less than 1", and has good features. (not to mention a better screen!)

But also take into account that apple, and correct me if I"m wrong, probrably patents the notebooks, or signs contracts so that other companies can't use the design.
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post #12 of 24
10/2/04 at 11:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ins0mniak
Seriously, some PC maker needs to make a backlit keyboard. It's a pretty cool feature. (...)
YES! I use my notebook often on dark places, specially when I'm in my bedroom and there is someone sleeping, so I need to turn the lights off . Probably it'snot a problem for them to do so, but i still don't know why they don't put one. I think the Aopen (or Uniwill, don't remember) comes with a translucent keyb, but, who knows, they didn't put a so obvious light under it...
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post #13 of 24
10/2/04 at 11:27pm
Backlit keys are cool. I agree. Doesnt seem all that hard. Having a night mode where you turn them on, day mode/off would be cool.

Deltawalker- I responded, sorry for the delay.

Eric
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post #14 of 24
10/3/04 at 12:13pm
didn't thinkpads or powerbooks used to have them? i read about them awy back when.. apparenlty leds on the leds or keyboard were used
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post #15 of 24
10/3/04 at 12:33pm
why copy powerbook when you can make something better? the ASUS M6 series packs so much more power and compatibility into a carbon fiber chassis than a PowerBook does. I think it's time to move on. Sure, PowerBook's looks appeal to some people (not me though), but if everyone had that look it wouldn't be interesting anymore. Besides there are plenty of PC notebooks with good looks.
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post #16 of 24
10/3/04 at 1:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Scoob
why copy powerbook when you can make something better? the ASUS M6 series packs so much more power and compatibility into a carbon fiber chassis than a PowerBook does. I think it's time to move on. Sure, PowerBook's looks appeal to some people (not me though), but if everyone had that look it wouldn't be interesting anymore. Besides there are plenty of PC notebooks with good looks.
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post #17 of 24
10/3/04 at 1:46pm
I still think the powerbook's physical design is ahead of the pack, considering their 17"ers are under 7lbs - that is equivalent to the weight of most 15.4"ers.

The Asus is nice but it seems that one cannot find WSXGA in US and none of them offer 128 VRAM. And I do not understand why this is not even an option.

We know the Pen-M outperforms Apples G4, but if they transition into a new G4 chip, a dual G4, or eventually the G5 the performance gap may close substantially.

Then again, if IBM made a wide screen notebook, I probably would not desire the Powerbook at all!
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post #18 of 24
10/3/04 at 2:30pm
Windows machines have industry standards to conform to, which limits design (at least the formal aspects)

Mac machines can have all the proprietary hardware that Apple engineers can then pack into a little case.
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post #19 of 24
10/4/04 at 10:49am
just speculation, but maybe you can't make a good ultra portable with intel's power hungry/furnace of a CISC architecture. Teh evils of monopolies
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post #20 of 24
10/4/04 at 1:41pm
Thread Starter 
I agree with all of these posts, but i definately still think that there is a large market for Windows Laptops that have the cool features like the PB's, especially the 1" thing and the backlit keyboard. There will always be those that only care about performance and that niche is well served, however Apple has carved a large space in the market that i think is also demanded by those loyal to Windows boxes that do not want to switch, etc. The clsoest ive seen was the Asus W1 which was a Massive disappointment, it is unbelievable to me that you cant get the 9700 GPU or any good 128mb VRAM into that huge box.
thanks,
-T-
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