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Keith Purfield

macrumors regular
Apr 19, 2003
137
0
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Well, it depends on if you're going to customize it more. If you're going to add more RAM to it, and get the 60GB hard drive, I'd say get the 12".

Plus, it's more portable, and it has the same resolution (1024x768) as the 14".
 

mnkeybsness

macrumors 68030
Jun 25, 2001
2,511
0
Moneyapolis, Minnesota
this should be in the buying advice topic. please post in the right area...and if you are gonna ask something like that...give some background on what you need it for and what you like to do with it.
 

macphoria

macrumors 6502a
Nov 29, 2002
594
0
They are virtually identical machines, except for the screen, even though resolution is same. If you can handle small screen, and carefor portability, go with 12".
 

mstecker

macrumors 6502
Jul 16, 2002
300
0
Philadelphia
I'd say go with the 12". Suprisingly, the 12" and the 14" have the identical number of pixels on the screen. The 14" just has larger pixels.

The only person I'd suggest the 14" to would be someone who had failing eyesight.
 

tjwett

macrumors 68000
May 6, 2002
1,880
0
Brooklyn, NYC
the 12" is more portable and just a nicer feeling machine. plus the 14" has a larger screen but the same resolution so it kinda looks crappy.
 

QCassidy352

macrumors G5
Mar 20, 2003
12,028
6,036
Bay Area
Originally posted by tjwett
plus the 14" has a larger screen but the same resolution so it kinda looks crappy.

um... no. Having had both sizes of ibook, I can tell you that the 14" screen does not look blurry, blown up, or "crappy" in any way. The same resolution is used on the 15" imac and no one complains about that... the animosity against the 14" ibook that I've seen on this board is just baseless.

Both are excellent machines. I like the 14" better because it is my only computer and the 12" screen gets hard on the eyes if you have to use it for a long time. The 14" has noticeably better battery life. But I honestly believe that you cannot go wrong. I would probably go back to a 12" if I had a desktop, of if I had to travel a lot (though the 14" only weighs 1 lb more... 1 lb is NOT much). I like being able to take my ibook with me, but portability isn't as big a deal for me as for some laptop owners.

Go look at both of them in person. That is the only way to know which you prefer.
 

jtown

macrumors 6502
Jul 3, 2003
306
0
12".

You don't get any more pixels on the 14" screen. You don't get any more ports on the 14" model. You don't have any more options on the 14" model. The 12" is smaller. The 12" is lighter. The only advantage of the 14" is the slightly longer run time.

There's the argument that the 14" monitor will be easier on the eyes if you use it for extended periods but, frankly, you could take the $200 you saved on the 12" 900Mhz model and buy a very nice 17-19" CRT monitor to use at home. Or add an extra hundred and have a 15" LCD. That would give you better than 14" display at home while retaining the portability of the 12" ibook.
 

rhpenguin

macrumors 6502a
Jun 10, 2003
929
0
London, Ontario
Having worked with both, i really prefer my 12". I had the 14"about a week ago to do some work on it for a friend of mine who doesnt know anything about the Mac platform and i really did not like the screen. The screen seemed like it should have a lot larger resolution. Also it felt really big and clunky. The keyboard seemed really small and spongey in the fitting for it and the trackpad was too far from the keyboard.

After using both, I can definatly say I made the right choice in my situation by going with the 12", but your situation may be diferent. If you dig the big screen at a very low resolution go for it. but the 12" seems nicer.
 

shycoy

macrumors newbie
May 6, 2003
18
0
France / Reunion Island
get it, get it !!!

i have a 12" and it is a great work of art !!!
the 14' is pretty much the same except for the screen !!
if you want portability, go for the 12' otherwise you could consider a 14' !!!
but the 12 is really cute... !!!!
 

nslyax

macrumors regular
Jul 29, 2002
124
9
Holland, MI
Look at them

I went to my Apple Store last December with full intentions of buying a 12" ibook. Once I arrived though, I chose the 14". The 12" just seemed a bit compressed to me. I love my 14" and am glad I went to look at them. So thats my advice, you really do need to see them next to each other, and weight what you will use the ibook for most often. BTW, my 14" ibook's LCD is bigger than my imac's CRT (by .66 inches actually), if that gives you some perspective.
 
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