PBCentral.com

Home > Mission Statement



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.pcprices.net; the MacPrices.com domain is no longer available), will give you an accurate price from many Apple Authorzied Resellers.

Thank you for visiting PowerBook Central!

-Site Awards...

MacNETv2

Links2Go Award  

  

Pricenet Central is the organization behind PBCentral.com (PowerBook Central) and PCPrices.net (MacPrices). 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.


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

Pricenet 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.


Steve Hildreth, President of Pricenet Central, is a registered Apple Developer Connection Member.

Site statistics

January 11, 2005:
54,800 pages served

 

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

17" MacBook Pro
2.8GHz: MSRP $2499
spacer
ClubMac - The Online Mac SuperStore $2248.99
MacConnection $2249
MacMall - Your #1 Apple Superstore! $2294

15" MacBook Pro
2.53GHz: MSRP $1699
2.66GHz: MSRP $1999
2.8GHz: MSRP $2299

spacer
2.53GHz 2.66GHz 2.8GHz
ClubMac - The Online Mac SuperStore $1578.99 $1798.99 $2088.99
MacConnection $1579 $1799 $2089
MacMall - Your #1 Apple Superstore! $1579 $1844 $2094

13" MacBook Pro
2.26GHz: MSRP $1199
2.53GHz: MSRP $1499
spacer
2.26GHz 2.53GHz
ClubMac - The Online Mac SuperStore $1118.99 $1398.99
MacConnection $1119 $1399
MacMall - Your #1 Apple Superstore! $1094 $1394

MacBook Air
1.86GHz/120GB HD: MSRP $1499
2.13GHz/128GB SSD: MSRP $1799
spacer
1.86GHz 2.13GHz
ClubMac - The Online Mac SuperStore $1438.99 $1728.99
MacConnection $1439 $1729
MacMall - Your #1 Apple Superstore! $1439 $1729

Apple Store
Apple Refurbished
17" 2.93GHz MacBook Pro: $2199
17" 2.66GHz MacBook Pro: $1949
15" 2.93GHz MacBook Pro: $1949
15" 2.66GHz MacBook Pro: $1699
15" 2.8GHz MacBook Pro: $1699
15" 2.4GHz MacBook Pro: $1349
13" 2.4GHz Alum MacBook: $1099
13" 2.0GHz Alum MacBook: $949
13" 2.13GHz White MacBook: NA
13" 1.8GHz/128GB MacBook Air: $1449
13" 1.6GHz/120GB MacBook Air: $1199

Updated Daily


Apple Store

New iMac!  The all-in-one for everyone.


Terms of Use | Privacy | About Us

Copyright © 1996-2007 Pricenet Central All Rights Reserved.