hrm damn now I cant decide 14" or 12" ibook :P

mrweirdo · Nov 30, 2005

I'm looking at getting a refurbed ibook from apple and now I cant seem to decide on what ibook I want to get when they become available.

I'm undecided between a
12" 1.33GHZ G4 512MB RAM Combo Drive 40GB - most recent revision $799
14" 1.33GHZ G4 256MB RAM Combo Drive 60GB HD - last revision $899

Which of the two have beter battery life? most important of all since I will be using it for school. Which one has the sharpest looking display?and oh if I go for the 12" I will probably be able to max the ram out right away as well with the money saved by chosing it over the 14" which i would have to wait awhile to get more for. Hard Drive doesnt realy mater because I plan on replacing it with a faster 5400rpm drive after warenty is up. Also I dont realy need a superdrive since I got 2 DVD burners already.

Oh the only other thing that I should problem mention is the fact that I am slightly nearsided so I sometimes wear glasses.

Kobushi · Nov 30, 2005

No contest, it's the 14. It only sounds like a "measly" 2" until you find yourself trying to squeeze documents onto a 12" screen, or squinting beacuse you ramped up the resolution to fit 'em in.

Plus you get more HD space. You can always buy more ram.

Josh · Nov 30, 2005

Yeah - even at the very same resolution, text size on a 12" monitor is absurd, and productive working is non-existant.

I could barely make it w/ 14"...theres no way I would have been satisfied with a 12" model.

Resolution smesolution...size matters

liketom · Nov 30, 2005

Kobushi said:
No contest, it's the 14. It only sounds like a "measly" 2" until you find yourself trying to squeeze documents onto a 12" screen, or squinting beacuse you ramped up the resolution to fit 'em in.

Plus you get more HD space. You can always buy more ram.

but they both have the same res ? 1024x768 on both models

i use 12" power and i find it perfect for what i need to do

yoak · Nov 30, 2005

I use a 12" and are very happy with the size. So easy to fit in any bag.
Screen can feel a bit small, I have a hard time doing video editing on it, but it works.
If you are going to carry it around alot, get the 12".
You don´t get any more onto the 14" screen, it just looks bigger (same resolution)

Laser47 · Nov 30, 2005

Also remember that the New 12" comes with BT and AP standard and also supports a max of 1.5gb of ram while the old 14" only supports 1.25gb

aquajet · Nov 30, 2005

Also noteworthy...the new 12" has the Radeon 9550, which supports Core Image, while the previous 14" has the Radeon 9200, which doesn't support Core Image.

mrweirdo · Nov 30, 2005

oh forgot about the 9200 video card and less max ram capacity. So i guess that ones out :/ I'm not sure what they want for the latest revision of the 14" since I havent seen it posted online in the special deals area of the apple store site but that still might be a posibility. I'm guessing they might want $999 for it which is what the new 12" goes for.

generik · Nov 30, 2005

Buying now is a bit silly with Intel iBooks *so* close.. don't you think?

mrweirdo · Nov 30, 2005

if there out by january on the market and can be shipped so I can recieve it by the end of january then yes mayby otherwise no since thats when next semester of college starts up for me.

Alasta · Nov 30, 2005

I was recently agonising over whether to buy a 12" or 14" model. I wasn't entirely confident that I could tolerate a 12" display but, because I am cash-strapped at the moment, I went with the 12" anyway and I don't regret it.

In my opinion, the resolution of the iBook display is optimal for a 12" display, but too low to be ideal for a 14".

MUCKYFINGERS · Nov 30, 2005

i went through this same train of thought when i thought about which iBook to buy. it was between an iBook 14" 1.42 ghz or a Pbook 12" 1.5 ghz. In the end, I chose the iBook 14" because I felt that 12" was way too cramped. It hurt my eyes, and I'm 19 years old, and I don't want to have to wear glasses because of a laptop. Even though technically the resolution is the same, it still is more comfortable with the 14". And let's not forget a lot of people use 1024x768 resolution, even on monitors bigger than 14".

Laser47 · Nov 30, 2005

Also if you order online, get it from amazon. With my ibook i got a 150$ rebate and for the 12" i think its 100$.

dollystereo · Nov 30, 2005

The 14" sux, is so big, and heavy. Go for the 12 incher!!!
2.2 kg vs 2.7 kg, almost like the 17 PB!!!
No way, the 12" is your choice.

aquajet · Nov 30, 2005

dollystereo said:
The 14" sux, is so big, and heavy. Go for the 12 incher!!!
2.2 kg vs 2.7 kg, almost like the 17 PB!!!
No way, the 12" is your choice.

ugh...Thanks for the enlightened opinion

devilot · Nov 30, 2005

mrweirdo, have you seen both in person? If you can, try to do so. Some people really love the size of the 14" and it is worth it to them. I personally, love love love a smaller laptop (seems to make more sense as a 'portable') so I never looked past the 12".

aquajet · Nov 30, 2005

mrweirdo said:
Oh the only other thing that I should problem mention is the fact that I am slightly nearsided so I sometimes wear glasses.

I have the same problem. I regret having replaced my 14" iBook with my current 12" PowerBook.

FocusAndEarnIt · Nov 30, 2005

dollystereo said:
The 14" sux, is so big, and heavy. Go for the 12 incher!!!
2.2 kg vs 2.7 kg, almost like the 17 PB!!!
No way, the 12" is your choice.

This is how you piss people off like me. The 14" iBook is a wonderful computer, hence the reason I have 2. It comes with a bigger HD, SuperDrive 8x, slightly faster processor, etc. Yeah - it has the same resolution as the 12", but, hell, it's still a great computer and it's still a great peice of work. Think before you speak - you'll get a lot of people "round up" on the forums about saying the 14" iBook sucks when you've never had one. I hate you now.

MORAL OF THIS POST: Think before you speak.

FocusAndEarnIt · Nov 30, 2005

But, back on topic, to tell you the truth - I'd go for the 12" on this one. I have the latest 14" iBook and the built in bluetooth, scrolling trackpad, suddeon motion sensor, etc, is really worth it. Go for the 12" if you have good vision and can see the 12" clearly. Oh, and you don't need a SuperDrive.

Mitthrawnuruodo · Nov 30, 2005

lilstewart92 said:
This is how you piss people off like me. The 14" iBook is a wonderful computer, hence the reason I have 2. It comes with a bigger HD, SuperDrive 8x, slightly faster processor, etc. Yeah - it has the same resolution as the 12", but, hell, it's still a great computer and it's still a great peice of work. Think before you speak - you'll get a lot of people "round up" on the forums about saying the 14" iBook sucks when you've never had one. I hate you now.

MORAL OF THIS POST: Think before you speak.

Well yes, but when we're talking a current 12" against the last rev 14", both with combo and the same CPU, where the 12" has 512 MB RAM and 40 GB HD against the 14" 256 MB RAM and 60 GB HD, then the $100 cheaper 12" wins hands down.

Just don't get a too big iTunes library...

MORAL OF THIS POST (which I've learned the hard way more than once myself

): Read the OP before you speak.

840quadra · Nov 30, 2005

I like my 12, I have had two of them

.

it works great to carry around, and has a great screen for writing articles, or working on my website photos / videos. I think the 14 is nice too, but I like things small and modest

.

jefhatfield · Nov 30, 2005

for a desktop replacement the 14" inch is better and helps if you have any vision problems

the 12" inch is more portable and overall is a far more popular system in the ibook line

personally, i would get the 12" inch even though i would rarely take it out of the house...i always look at laptops, be it pc or mac and the overall trend has made the 14" inch ibook, at nearly six pounds, a little on the heavy side for laptops in this day and age

apple inc has the best, or one of the best, industrial designs in their computers and i don't know why the pc side can make a 12" inch lcd laptop with similar specs to the ibook at around four pounds and a 14" inch lcd laptop, but lighter than apple's 12" inch ibook (which is 4.9 pounds)

i think we are going to be treated with some ultralights at mwsf in janaury '06

obsessed13 · Nov 30, 2005

hmm.... all I can say is my 15.4in screen on my Toshiba feels just right for a notebook- I'd go for the 14in unless you're going to be carrying it around a ton or something... and you get more space... superdrive (I know u don't need one) first post on this board (clap clap

) now to add my signature...

iBS23 · Nov 30, 2005

I'd go with the 14" (which is what I have). Some people complain that the screen is a bit more blurry than the 12" (bigger pixels), but I've never found it to be a problem. I guess if you were doing really detailed photo work, then it might be an issue, but for everyday work the extra inches will do wonders. I also don;t have a problem with the weight after carrying it around with me every day.

jefhatfield · Dec 1, 2005

iBS23 said:
I'd go with the 14" (which is what I have). Some people complain that the screen is a bit more blurry than the 12" (bigger pixels), but I've never found it to be a problem. I guess if you were doing really detailed photo work, then it might be an issue, but for everyday work the extra inches will do wonders. I also don;t have a problem with the weight after carrying it around with me every day.

wouldn't it make sense most of the time to use a desktop for detailed photo work, or at least a 15" inch powerbook?

he he...though my eyes are so bad i wouldn't notice any difference in sharpness between the 12" and 14" inch ibooks and the doc says i have 20-20 vision

hrm damn now I cant decide 14" or 12" ibook :P

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