PBCentral.com

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Mission Statement and Site History

PowerBook Central went live in December, 1996 as a little-known website called PowerBook Classified Advertising, hosted on America Online. The founder, Steve Hildreth, began the site in frustration over the chaos of ads in newsgroups. Coded on a PowerBook 165c, PowerBook Classified Advertising grew in popularity and soon had hundreds of ads. During the following year, other features were added to the site, including a buyer's guide and specifications.

In the Spring of 1998, PowerBook Classified Advertising changed its name to PowerBook Central to reflect its broadening content. At the same time, PowerBook Central moved from AOL to a dedicated server with its own domain. Soon after, PowerBook Central added many new features to become more competitive in the marketplace, including a new classified ad system. During this time period, PowerBook Central was coded on a PowerBook 1400c/233MHz G3.

In 1999, PowerBook Central began tracking PowerBook prices from all the major Apple Authorized Resellers. This soon grew in popularity, and the price trackers began receiving nearly as much traffic as the classified ads. During this time period, PowerBook Central was coded on a 1999 Lombard PowerBook G3/400.

PowerBook Central was coded on a 17" PowerBook from when they were introduced to 2006. In 2006, PowerBook Central changed its name to Power'Book Central and shortened its domain to PBCentral.com. Why PB? PB is short for PowerBook, and many readers referred to our site as pbcentral anyhow. Our site gives readers the information they need to make an informed buying decision, from product reviews and specifications to current prices and deals. Traffic has been steadily growing, and you are one of over 10000 unique visitors daily. We hope that you will consider using our free classified ads when looking to buy or sell a used machine. If you are looking for a new PowerBook or iBook, our price trackers, Mac Prices (note the new URL: http://www.macprices.net; the MacPrices.com domain is no longer available), will give you an accurate price from many Apple Authorzied Resellers.

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-Site Awards...

MacNETv2

Links2Go Award  

  

Our sites give readers the information they need to make an informed buying decision, from product reviews and specifications to current prices and deals. Traffic has been steadily growing since we began our venture in 1996, and we now serve 15,000 to 40,000 pages per day from our sites. Our PowerBook and iBook classifieds are a popular alternative to auction houses such as eBay and Yahoo, and our price trackers will give you an accurate price on a new Macintosh from many Apple Authorzied Resellers.

Note: Apple Computer, Inc. in no way endorses or is affiliated with PBCentral.com or PCPrices.net. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, Mac OS, iMac, iBook, Power Mac, iPod, Xserve, and PowerBook are registered trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc.

Stephen Hildreth
Publisher, Webmaster, & Editor-in-Chief

Complete Editorial List 1997-present
Noah Kravitz
Columnist, Reviews Editor
Complete Columns List 2001-present
Charles W. Moore
Columnist, The 'Book Mystique

Complete Columns List 2004-present
Joe Leo
Columnist, The Press Box
Complete Columns List 2006-present


In the press:


October 2005 issue:

"Dig for Deals: If you’re looking for deals on new and reconditioned Apple laptops and peripherals, check out PowerBook Central. The site routinely lists bargains on the laptops you love.."


January 2004 issue:

"MacPrices.com (www.macprices.com) is not your average robot site mechanically rounding up prices and availability numbers from online vendors. This site uses real humans to surf the Web (and occasionally even pick up the phone to verify information). They update prices weekly. It's a great place to find free bundles and other goodies."

Here's what other people have been saying about PBCentral.com and PCPrices.net:

"I have just came across PBC's site via a monthly-published British web guide. I'm most impressed. It is a very good, friendly site that is fun to use and packed with helpful stuff for ol' dyed-in-the-wool Macnutters like me."

"I have used your Price Trackers many times and have recommended them to others since they are very useful."

"Just wanted to take a second and compliment you on your site. It didn't take long for me to put a link to you on my Toolbar. I am monitoring the prices with a quick click and looking over the classifieds every now and then. Your site is one of the most useful and functional sites I've ever discovered."

"I was thinking about buying a TiBook when I ran across your web-site. Your price tracking is awesome. You do a great job describing all of the bundles available. Thanks to you, I found just what I was looking for at MacConnection."


Strategic partners

PowerBook Central has developed strategic partnerships with the following corporations:

Apple Computer, Inc.

Amazon.com

Industry Brains

Google

Linkshare

Yahoo

Commission Junction

Performics

PC Connection

PC Mall

Zones.com

Outpost.com

CompUSA

Best Buy

... and many others.


Site statistics

January 11, 2005:
54,800 pages served

 

Week's Best MacBook Prices:
Specials for PowerBook Central Readers

17" MacBook Pro
2.53GHz i5: MSRP $2299
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B&H $2199
MacConnection $2049
MacMall - Your #1 Apple Superstore! $2199.99

15" MacBook Pro
2.4GHz i5: MSRP $1799
2.53GHz i5: MSRP $1999
2.66GHz i7: MSRP $2199

spacer
2.4GHz 2.53GHz 2.66GHz
B&H $1739.95 $1929.95 $2099.95
MacConnection $1669 $1799 $1969
MacMall - Your #1 Apple Superstore! $1739.99 $1929.99 $2099.99

13" MacBook Pro
2.4GHz: MSRP $1199
2.66GHz: MSRP $1499
spacer
2.4GHz 2.66GHz
B&H $1159 $1449
MacConnection $1049 $1349
MacMall - Your #1 Apple Superstore! $1159.99 $1449.99

MacBook Air
1.86GHz/120GB HD: MSRP $1499
2.13GHz/128GB SSD: MSRP $1799
spacer
1.86GHz 2.13GHz
B&H $1427.95 $1707.29
MacConnection $1439 $1729
MacMall - Your #1 Apple Superstore! $1447.98 $1707.27

Apple Store
Apple Refurbished
June 2009 models:
17" 2.8GHz MacBook Pro: $1869
15" 2.66GHz MacBook Pro: $1529
13" 2.53GHz MacBook Pro: $1189
13" 2.26GHz MacBook Pro: $929
13" 2.13GHz/128GB MacBook Air: $1549
13" 1.86GHz/120GB MacBook Air: $1249
Oct 2009 models:
13" 2.26GHz White MacBook: $849
March 2009 models:
15" 2.93GHz MacBook Pro: $1949
Jan 2009 models:
17" 2.93GHz MacBook Pro: $2199
17" 2.66GHz MacBook Pro: $1949
Oct 2008 models:
13" 1.8GHz/128GB MacBook Air: $1449
13" 1.6GHz/120GB MacBook Air: $1199

Updated Daily


Apple Store

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