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Resellers confirm PowerBook G4 shortage, update

Looks like the iBook is getting an upgrade too

Suggestions that Apple is planning to launch new portable Macs in the very near future - as we reported yesterday - are gaining credibility thanks to numerous reports coming in from UK and US Mac resellers.

One of The Register's Apple sources yesterday told us that the company intends to upgrade its Titanium PowerBook G4 line within a matter of weeks, primarily by using the new PowerPC 7440 processor to up the two machines' 400MHz and 500MHz clock speeds to 600MHz and 700MHz, respectively.

UK reseller sources gave us tacit confirmation of that claim by noting that Apple's UK distributors currently have no PowerBook G4s in stock.

And we now hear that the situation applies to iBooks too, suggesting an upgrade to this line too. One reseller told us: "My wholesaler has none and a cryptic message to them from Apple yesterday was, 'Don't hold your breath waiting for them'. My contact at the wholesaler say the last time they received a message like that was shortly before the arrival of a new model."

We also understand that major retail outlets, including John Lewis and PC World, are out of iBooks and PowerBooks - and don't expect to stock existing models any time soon.

Our sources have some notes of caution: first, that distributors running out of stock isn't unusual, and second, that supply problems could have resulted from the effects of the recent Taiwanese typhoon on Apple's Far Eastern supply chain or to components used in portable construction, such as LCD panels.

Such factors may simply have served to delay the new models' introduction, however. In the US, Web site Think Secret's reseller sources are confirming that Apple is indeed about to introduce three new iBooks and two new PowerBooks.

"A reseller we spoke with for the above article says that he will probably begin to receive the new units next week, implying that the announcement will be at that time or sometime beforehand," says the site. The timing ties in well with what our Apple source has told us. ®

Related Story

Apple preps 600MHz, 700MHz PowerBook update

Related Link

Think Secret: New PowerBooks and iBooks in Pipeline, Resellers Say

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