From www.macobserver.com
Apple Expo - Apple Exec: No G5 Laptop "Anytime Soon"
by Brad Gibson, 8:30 AM CDT, September 1st, 2004
PARIS, FRANCE - An Apple director reiterated on Wednesday comments made
earlier this year that the company has no plans to announce a Mac
laptop powered by a G5 processor for some time, and that technical
issues of putting the chip in a small PowerBook have not yet been
overcome.
Tom Boger, director of Apple's worldwide product marketing, told The
Mac Observer that consumers shouldn't expect the G5 in a portable for
the forseeable future.
"The new iMac G5 (desktop) is thin, but (the G5) is not thin enough for
a laptop right now, "Mr. Boger said. "There are great challenges in
putting a G5 processor in a laptop. The issues range from power to
cooling and its overall size...You're not going to see a G5 in a laptop
anytime soon."
Mr. Boger ruled out any G5 laptop this year, and would not even
speculate when such a product would be available.
There has been much anticipation and rumor of G5-powered Mac laptop
since earlier this year. Chipmaker IBM has made major improvements in
its technology to create faster, cooler and smaller G5 processors. Big
Blue has sunk billions into installing state-of-the-art
chip-fabrication technology into several of its massive production
plants, including one in Fishkill, N.Y.
Industry experts report, however, IBM has been unable to effectively
make the G5 overcome many technical issues. Existing versions of the G5
chips can't run in laptops because they generate too much heat and
consume too much energy. Experts agree keeping the inner enclosures of
the laptops cool enough to prevent the processors from malfunctioning
have proven difficult.
