Is the PowerBook G5 Vaporware?


Is the much-rumored, never-sighted PowerBook G5 really vaporware? That's the implication of a story at Silicon.com.

Although Apple managed to pack the G5 chip into the iMac's - by portable standards - thick case, the Silicon article argues that a PB G5 would be so thick and heavy that the compromises would render it unsuitable as a laptop.

Silicon cites Kevin Krewell, editor in chief of Microprocessor Report, who says, "It'd be this really thick, heavy notebook, and it would be loud as all get-out. Those would not be design choices that Apple would want to pursue."

Apple's execs remain tight-lipped, stressing only the 'challenge' of a PB G5. David Moody, Apple VP of Mac product marketing, says "incorporating a G5 into a notebook as thin and light as the PowerBook is extremely difficult."

Analysis: So is the G4 a stopgap while Apple waits for Big Blue to produce a 'mobility' G5 that doesn't require 9 fans, liquid cooling and an air conditioner? Or would you accept that, say, a 17" PB G5 would be as heavy as a high-end Dull Inspiron and about as thick? More importantly, would you buy it as a 'portable desktop?' (and not a laptop).