hello all i have a pc and a macbook pro @ home, i was wondering if buying a 250 dollar ibook worth it? i want to use it as a netbook, but i dnt want to buy the normal netbooks cuz i dnt want to use windows starter or linux? plus the ibook is cheaper? what do u think thnx all <3
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iBook g4 worth buying?
- Thread starter Sam235
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Why do you want a netbook for? you have your mbp ayt? powerbook 12" is better than an ibook, imho.
It will be slow, especially on content-heavy or Flash websites. Even my 1.67GHz G4 chokes a little with YouTube.
But if you’re just using it for things like word-processing, email, or watching your own non-HD videos, I guess it would work. Not worth it though, in my opinion.
EDIT: you’ll also definitely want to upgrade to at least 1 GB of RAM. A stick of an additional 512 MB will cost $25, or an additional 1 GB module will cost $50. I think the iBook should have one empty slot, with the 512 MB built-in to the logic board. Keep the additional cost in mind. :/
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For $250 you're bumping into the market for a used 1st gen iPad, if you're looking for something portable.
Lol, you can get one of those for $300 so I would try to find a cheaper iBook if I were you. Its not worth $250 unless its in perfect condition even then its a stretch. I would go for a 12" Powerbook G4 if you want a PPC computer. Mac2Sell says that that iBook that you are looking at is only work ~$90
Mac2Sell
Mac2Sell's prices are unrealistic. Their prices appear to be based on an old granny's asking price with no knowledge of the Mac market.
OP's discussed iBook isn't worth $250, but it's worth more than $90. $150-175 is more reasonable. Taking a look at completed, sold auctions on eBay for the past 2 weeks, the average price of an iBook with those specs sold is $146, but that includes quite a few that were parts machines. There were also about a dozen sold at $250, although it appears to be one specific seller at the price. Most of them are $175-220.
Our 4 year old daughter beats the snot out of our ipad and it shows no signs of wear. OTOH, give his a laptop with a HDD and other fragile parts, like screen and I bet she would kill it.
Point is, an ipad can take a lot more abuse than a laptop IMHO.
I have a 12" iBook G4/1.42GHz and an iPad 1 would be a welcome upgrade. Don't bother with the iBook, it doesnt' do YouTube very well (very choppy) and otherwise only the most basic web browsing works for it.
You can always use MacTubes to watch YT videos without much, if any, real performance drop - it's really a boon because it allows you to avoid Flash, even on Intel machines.
Back to the actual question... For $250, I'd say no, and if you really want a netbook you could try to stick OS X onto a compatible netbook in that price range. It might perform better - at least, CPU-wise. (The GMA950 is nasty, though.) That, or, as others have mentioned, an iPad.
If you can find a cheaper iBook, though, it might be worth it. Just make sure it's a 2005 model - the Radeon 9550 in these will be a big boon to performance, whether you're running Tiger or Leopard.
u guys have a point, but still the ibook is like a laptop or alteast wasits more like a netbook now, i dnt think the ipad is comfortable enough for word and net surfing, its just that i am not sure that either is a safe investment
I sold my MacBook less than a month after I got an iPad and haven't looked back. Haven't missed it once.
I agree, the iPad is a rock, unless you're dropping it, which is going to kill a laptop as well. I have a 15 month old nephew that plays with my iPad and he beats it, never caused a single problem. It's also really cool to see such a little kid figure out how to work an iPad. He's not starting any programs yet, but he already knows how to move stuff around and interacts with the talking programs, etc.
But the iPad will take more wear and tear than an iBook. It also plays Youtube videos better than an iBook.
YouTube and some other websites don't have to be a big issue though, because if you run Leopard on it you can install the Safari extension ClickToFlash. YT videos will play in an embedded QuickTime player, which is silky smooth as long as you use 360p.
But as much as I like the iBook G4, the iPad is a much better deal if it's only for simple tasks.
But as much as I like the iBook G4, the iPad is a much better deal if it's only for simple tasks.
I have an iBook with the same specs apart from the RAM. Add a 1gb chip and it will be able to run Leopard fine.
sammy if you really want an ibook then go for it only if you do simple task than watching youtube. build your budget then you can ditch ibook when you have enough money.