I received my new 12" PowerBook yesterday morning. I haven't spent much time with it but for those considering Apple's smallest PowerBook ever, here are my first impressions.
It's small. Yes, I knew it would be but until I got it on my desk, it's dimensions were only abstract to me. My last PowerBook was an Ti 800. Now my desk looks like a scene from "Honey I Shrunk The PowerBook". The T68i phone beside it reinforces the illusion.
It's quiet, really, really quiet. The noisy click-click of the TiBook is gone. Imagine a toothpick falling on a linoleum floor...in the next room. I really applaud Apple's efforts to engineer quieter machines. This thing is nearly completely silent. For those of you considering replacing the hard drive, I'd reconsider. It's very nice to have a machine that only makes music and only when you ask it to.
It can get hot. It shares the same trait I noticed on the iBook; the left area below the keyboard where you rest your left hand gets very warm. I don't think it gets quite as hot as the iBook. It may be that the Aluminium casing dissipates heat better. I noticed the bottom of the machine getting hot after playing a DVD but when I breifly lifted it, the case started to cool almost immediately. I use one of those tilt & swivel stands, this keeps the case elevated and out in the air. The left palm rest still gets warm though. It bothered me, others I talked to who used the iBooks said they didn't mind. I don't think it's and worse (and perhaps better) than on the iBooks. The fan never comes on. Is there a fan? I did hear a fan when I burned a CD.
It's fast. I posted benchmarks in another forum but I won't get into specifics. It will take me time to completely evaluate this new PowerBook but it's faster than an iBook. It feels only slightly less snappy than my last Ti 800 but I still have only the stock 256 MB. I just installed Photoshop and I'm pretty impressed. This thing is faster than it looks. The 12" PowerBook is no slouch!
It's solid. It feels built well. A step up from the iBook but not quite the sophistication of the TiBook. There are areas like the gap below the keyboard and the sharp edge on the clicker that remind me that this is a less expensive model than the TiBook. On the other hand, I don't feel like I have to handle the machine like eggs. I was always very carefull when I handled my TiBook. I don't think the finish will scratch but it will smudge from skin oils. I keep an eyeglass wipe cloth handy.
It's portable. Truly portable. If I had a TiBook beside it, I'd probably grab the lil' AlBook 9/10's of the time. There were plenty of times I thought about toting my 15" PowerBook somewhere but decided it'd be too much of a hassle. That won't be an issue with this little guy!
The screen isn't as nice as the one on the TiBook. Besides the extra real estate, the TiBook's screen seemed more vivid. I don't think the screen on the this AlBook is any better or worse than the iBook's screen. This little PowerBook might be a digital photographer's dream as far as portability but I think if placed beside the larger 15" PowerBook, serious photographers might have second thoughts about which screen they'd rather see their work on.
The keyboard isn't as pleasant to use as the TiBook's. I feel like my hands are too cramped together when I type. The touchpad also is shipped with the speed setting way too low. I noticed this in the Apple Store, I changed it almost immediately.
The ports on the left side can be annoying. I don't mind the power cable but the network cable is an eyesore. This thing screams for an Airport Card.
About the cost; I got the $1799 model bundled with a free battery, case & printer. I figure I got about $200 worth of free stuff, that brings the price down to $1599 - only $300 above the price of an iBook! Apple should have a hot seller here.
More about the heat issue; I moved 30 GB of data over from my PC, the hard drive was silent. The littlest PowerBook did get hot under my left palm but it seemed to reach a plateau and never exceeded it even though I kept the drive busy for over an hour.
The 12" PowerBook suits my needs right now. When the Al version of the 15" comes out, we'll see...
If you want the ultimate in portability and you're a power user - this might just be your next machine.
moby1
p.s. Other new 12" PowerBook owners, I'd welcome your comments.
It's small. Yes, I knew it would be but until I got it on my desk, it's dimensions were only abstract to me. My last PowerBook was an Ti 800. Now my desk looks like a scene from "Honey I Shrunk The PowerBook". The T68i phone beside it reinforces the illusion.
It's quiet, really, really quiet. The noisy click-click of the TiBook is gone. Imagine a toothpick falling on a linoleum floor...in the next room. I really applaud Apple's efforts to engineer quieter machines. This thing is nearly completely silent. For those of you considering replacing the hard drive, I'd reconsider. It's very nice to have a machine that only makes music and only when you ask it to.
It can get hot. It shares the same trait I noticed on the iBook; the left area below the keyboard where you rest your left hand gets very warm. I don't think it gets quite as hot as the iBook. It may be that the Aluminium casing dissipates heat better. I noticed the bottom of the machine getting hot after playing a DVD but when I breifly lifted it, the case started to cool almost immediately. I use one of those tilt & swivel stands, this keeps the case elevated and out in the air. The left palm rest still gets warm though. It bothered me, others I talked to who used the iBooks said they didn't mind. I don't think it's and worse (and perhaps better) than on the iBooks. The fan never comes on. Is there a fan? I did hear a fan when I burned a CD.
It's fast. I posted benchmarks in another forum but I won't get into specifics. It will take me time to completely evaluate this new PowerBook but it's faster than an iBook. It feels only slightly less snappy than my last Ti 800 but I still have only the stock 256 MB. I just installed Photoshop and I'm pretty impressed. This thing is faster than it looks. The 12" PowerBook is no slouch!
It's solid. It feels built well. A step up from the iBook but not quite the sophistication of the TiBook. There are areas like the gap below the keyboard and the sharp edge on the clicker that remind me that this is a less expensive model than the TiBook. On the other hand, I don't feel like I have to handle the machine like eggs. I was always very carefull when I handled my TiBook. I don't think the finish will scratch but it will smudge from skin oils. I keep an eyeglass wipe cloth handy.
It's portable. Truly portable. If I had a TiBook beside it, I'd probably grab the lil' AlBook 9/10's of the time. There were plenty of times I thought about toting my 15" PowerBook somewhere but decided it'd be too much of a hassle. That won't be an issue with this little guy!
The screen isn't as nice as the one on the TiBook. Besides the extra real estate, the TiBook's screen seemed more vivid. I don't think the screen on the this AlBook is any better or worse than the iBook's screen. This little PowerBook might be a digital photographer's dream as far as portability but I think if placed beside the larger 15" PowerBook, serious photographers might have second thoughts about which screen they'd rather see their work on.
The keyboard isn't as pleasant to use as the TiBook's. I feel like my hands are too cramped together when I type. The touchpad also is shipped with the speed setting way too low. I noticed this in the Apple Store, I changed it almost immediately.
The ports on the left side can be annoying. I don't mind the power cable but the network cable is an eyesore. This thing screams for an Airport Card.
About the cost; I got the $1799 model bundled with a free battery, case & printer. I figure I got about $200 worth of free stuff, that brings the price down to $1599 - only $300 above the price of an iBook! Apple should have a hot seller here.
More about the heat issue; I moved 30 GB of data over from my PC, the hard drive was silent. The littlest PowerBook did get hot under my left palm but it seemed to reach a plateau and never exceeded it even though I kept the drive busy for over an hour.
The 12" PowerBook suits my needs right now. When the Al version of the 15" comes out, we'll see...
If you want the ultimate in portability and you're a power user - this might just be your next machine.
moby1
p.s. Other new 12" PowerBook owners, I'd welcome your comments.
