Apple iBook 12" - worth it?

ah, u fell for bigger! faster! cheaper! Now u know what u really want.

The new generation of PC notebooks have got much better batt life, and there are quiet ones if u look hard enough.

I wholeheartly agree with your 12" selection. Too me that's the perfect compromise for portability vs useability. I can't believe people with their 17" "slap" on their laps at the airport.

I wish the iBook were a tad thinner and with a lighted keyboard, but other than that I prefer them over the powerBooks (too squared, too much silver).

A MAC friend of mine says PC notebook screens he's seen have a wider angle of view than the MACs. If u don't go showcasing your lappie to friend or do small group presentations, I guess this doesn't matter.

BTW, if your priority is batt life and quietness, I would be wary of getting a latest and greatest G5. More power tend to mean u sacrifice on those two items. I would wait only 'cuz when they announce a G5, all the G4 prices would come down a tad.

 

lol I wans't worried, I just thought it was kidna funny

 

Hi,

I'm a proud powerbook owner myself.
As been sed a G5 version of the powerbook should be right around the corner. However these will be ALOT more expensive so if you really don't need a powerbeast... then wait till the next ibook update and get one then.

The main thing I dislike about the iBook is that the VGA/DVI-out only supports cloning. There is a 'software-hack' for that, but I would not advise it.

But reading from your description, light, portable, durable (long battery life), I don't think that you need that that much.

The 12" screen is small; but the 14" version; has the same resolution, so you won't "see" more.... its just bigger. So I wouldn't get a 14" at all..

Just be sure to upgrade the Ram. Yes they are rather expensive stock upgrades, but they don't use 'normal' ram as we pc users know.. they are harder to come by (cheap) in other stores. I got them to upgrade the ram stock.


On my Powerbook:

I'm really really happy with it.
I have the

G4 1.5Ghz Powerbook
768mb Ram
80GB HD
Superdrive (dvd writer)
Bluetooth 2
Airport Extreme (wifi)

I would advice getting airport and bluetooth.. I use them daily. (bluetooth phone..)

Good luck!!
The iBook is a real bargain though!

L

 

Theyve got a lot of power and cooling issues to get rid of before it could even be possibly. Let alone in a 1inch thich laptop. I wouldnt be supprised to possibly see a mobile version though..

 

I highly doubt that the g5 pb will be launched this year they are still having problems putting one in a imac and the 12" pb is something very much smaller. Add to this the first versions of nearly all mac products have major QA issues and v2 is usually the best time to get one I would not be looking at a g5 pb for 1 1/2 minimum tbh

 

G5 Lappies are a lomg way of as has been said already. What they'll do in the meantime to fill the gap is faster G4's, and possibly dual core G4s.

 

I've had my 12" ibook for just over a month now and it's the best. I definitely recommend them. The battery life is amazing. I can get around 5 hours browsing the net. The build quality is very good, not as good as the PB but good enough. I currently have 512 mb in mine and it runs everything pretty well. I've just installed tiger and it runs even faster thatn panther.

 

I don't know if anyone has answered your question, but the apple store says that it uses 266 ram which is pc2100 so you shoud be fine to use.

Also they are nice little units, someone at work has one and i really like it.

 

I think I remember reading an article saying that it was hell trying to get the G5 into a notebook and they still were having problems with the temps being too high.

 

I read the same article (or at least the same info ) too, TekMonkey. It strikes me as odd that you'd design a processor that wouldnt fit in one of your main products Someone must have been fired bigstyle.

 

The added time to adapt the processor to a laptop may have been the issue there. Im sure they will eventually come out with a mobile version...They are getting closer with the flat imac but they still have some issues with it.

 

Mmm firsthand experience Thanks for the info. Is that 5 hours before you plug it in again or before you can't use it anymore (not that it REALLY matters, I can't imagine using a laptop for that long in a single stretch)? Would I be able to get in two DVD movies on a single charge?

Thx