Buy the current G4 iBook?

Apple only warantees hardware for 1 year, but 3 with applecare.. as you probably know. I do believe there is a law that they need to support hardware for X number of years, but I forgot how many it is.

If you need a laptop within the next week or two, then just get the iBook. They are very stable at this revision, and they're great, lightweight, machines.

If a PPC notebook fits your needs, then go for it.

duttons alley said:

I need to get a small 12" notebook that I can take into meetings, surf the web, itunes, watch dvds, and run ms office. I am starting a new position at work and have to be extremely organized. Most of the time I can't read my own writing, so I need a small notebook that I can take into all my meetings.

I worry that the the 13.3 intel iBooks will not be as portable. The current ibook is as stable as they come and I also worry that the first generation of intel will be glitchy.

I was looking to purchase in the next week or two and have this computer last for 4 or 5 years. I think by law, computer companies have to support any hardware for 5 years?

I have an Intel iMac at home where I would do any heavy work if needed.

Any advice on whether I should just buy the G4 iBook now or wait.
Is it foolish to buy. I have heard nothing but great things about the last G4 iBooks.

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It is not foolish to buy. I have a 12" iBook G4 and I love it. That said, the MacBooks are due to be released practically anytime, so I would personally wait for the intel based MacBooks to be released.

But if you need/want a new laptop now, then the current iBook G4 is still a very good computer.

For Sale (well, soon)

I've got a 12" iBook that's less than a year old and has AppleCare. I baby my hardware, so it's in great shape. I'll be buying one of the Intel-based replacements as soon as Apple makes them available and I confirm it can boot Windows. The G4 does everything I need, but the ability to boot into Windows would really come in handy at times when I'm out in the field.

The old iBook will be sold on eBay just like its two predecessors. I suspect eBay will see a glut of nearly-new G4 iBook listings when the MacBooks appear. If can wait until then, you'll be able to see if the Macbook suits you and you'll have the option of getting a leftover new G4 model, or a slightly used one from eBay at a decent price.

If you need it immediately, by all means get a G4. Otherwise, you should definitely wait for the MacBooks because then your options will open up nicely.

~Philly

Also, check out the iBooks on the refurb page at Apple.com. They are discounted but have the same warranties that new Apple products have.

I just got a refurb powerbook last week and it is very nice. Works great and looks brand new.

Yup, if you need it, buy it.

as is the case with almost everyone, cost does have some role in a purchase.

I think that the current 12" inch ibook has a great price, and i am expecting the price of the macbooks to follow the new mini's and increase a little.

But that is only a minor factor i guess, they may not increase...

I think the 12" ibooks are great and have been considering taking up apple's 0% interest offer here in the UK at the moment on one. I would be inclined to up the hard drive to 60GB though, the cost is almost nothing.

if you can hold out, then you should hold out...

but the current g4 ibook is a great machine that will suffice your needs.

don't buy - G4's are um, a little slooow?

but of course if you must have something now, you dont really have a choice.

plus, buying an intel ibook will allow you to have all the extra goodies yet to come and boot windows. That way you won't have to have a seperate "windows" computer on the road if you ever must.

Its a tough call, but honestly just chill on the intel imac for now till the new ibooks come out

If the ibook had a better brighter screen, not a G4, and not $1000 i would say go for it. But once the new ones come out you'll end up selling yours i bet.

It depends on your needs. 13.3" will be less portable but not by much. As well as this, there are likely to have some technical faults like the MBP. If you are happy with an ibook g4 then buy one. I will be buying a laptop in the summer and i feel that the ibook is a little slow for my needs but if you are only taking notes on it, it should be perfect.
There is lots of speculation about the MB being either a cdore duo or a core single and if it is core single, definately go with an ibook g4.

i second the buy refurbished advice...and i would go with a powerbook 12" for $1199

®îçhå®? said:

It depends on your needs. 13.3" will be less portable but not by much. As well as this, there are likely to have some technical faults like the MBP. If you are happy with an ibook g4 then buy one. I will be buying a laptop in the summer and i feel that the ibook is a little slow for my needs but if you are only taking notes on it, it should be perfect.
There is lots of speculation about the MB being either a cdore duo or a core single and if it is core single, definately go with an ibook g4.

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i think apple knows of all the little faults some MBP have, so I dont think it should be a problem for the new ibooks.

Wait until the MacBook arrives if you can. As you`ll have the option of choosing between the two. If the MacBook turns out to be as good as rumored, then you may well feel like kicking your B#@t for not waiting a cople of months.

But if you need a laptop within a week then buy an iBook G4 only. It`ll easily fulfil all your requirements. There is no denying the fact that it is a great piece of hardware. And since you already have an intel iMac, you do know what you`ll be missing in a PPC iBook. But dont buy a new one. Buy only a refurb. Great value for money.

iBook sounds perfect for you, you really don't need the power of intel, so G4 will be fine

I would always stick it out for a product change. If it is significantly better for the same/little extra money, you will be pleased with yourself. If you prefer the older product, there will still be a good chance of getting hold of one, possibly even for less.

As for hardware guarantees, you are right to an extent. Under the sales of goods act in the UK if you have spent lots of money on an item that breaks down outside of guarantee, you may be able to get it repaired/replaced free of charge. If I went to Dell and spent £300 on a system that included everything and it was pretty low-spec and you plumped down £4000 on a PowerMac, both broke down after 3 years and we both contacted the retailers, they would have to work on their own discretion, but the law would be on your side and against me. It works on a basis on expectation of the product to work for any given time. If they refused to help you, you could contact various people to help you, but it may get you nowhere anyway.

Worth asking those involved in trade laws about though if you are in the UK. We offer two years guarantees on all computers, but still exchanged a 3 year old eMac for the very reasons stated above. Not an expensive machine, but if they had contacted someone to help them out on it, we may ahve had to exchange anyway under law.

The G4 iBook's are great portables, but are you willing to deal with the fact that new portables may be coming out in a month or so? If you can wait it out, it may be worth it. PPC is becoming a dying cause, if you want to future-proof yourself, Intel is worth the wait.

I just bought a 12" iBook and it's great. No problems at all, nice and snappy, and great battery life. I very much doubt you would regret buying one now.

Having said that, if you can afford to wait, you could choose between a new MacBookWhatever or an iBook when the time comes which is no bad thing at all. However, I am slightly glad that I was pushed into the decision of getting an iBook by my old computer dying - no playing the waiting game, I had to go for it and I'm chuffed to bits.

buying a powerpc system now is just about the worst idea one can have. the macbook will be quantum leaps ahead of the ibook G4, no doubt. if you enjoy shoppers regret then go ahead and buy the ibook

I just picked up a 12" ibook not too long ago as well. Amazon has them at 899. It's the last generation of it's line so all the bugs have been worked out. I'm mainly using it for office work and some light software development and it's working fine. Just don't expect to play too many games on it. I was considering picking up a MBP at the time but with the problems they were having I decided to wait and buy a g4 based ibook for use until then.

As the previous posters said, the 12" iBook is a very sturdy, reliable, and portable notebook computer. I end up taking this iBook out on the road instead of my 12" PB as I feel an iBook would take a few bumps and I also feel I don't have to be too much concerned about babying the computer. It is not as fast as PB; but, so far, this iBook is handling what I dish out with CS2 projects (Illustrator, InDesign, and Photoshop). I carry Lacie's portable 100 GB external HD to store CS2 files so that I can switch back to my PB to continue the project at home.

If I were you, I would stay away Rev A Intel MacBook. It would be nice to be an early adopter; but, I would rather let other people go through the rev A trial and errors before I jump in. I have done this buying habit for all of my Mac so far.

If MacBook is imminent, there should be some price discount on iBook. That would be the best time to buy it.

They're solid as can be, and all the bugs have been worked out, and any problem can be handled by apple techs.

YS2003 said:

As the previous posters said, the 12" iBook is a very sturdy, reliable, and portable notebook computer. I end up taking this iBook out on the road instead of my 12" PB as I feel an iBook would take a few bumps and I also feel I don't have to be too much concerned about babying the computer. It is not as fast as PB; but, so far, this iBook is handling what I dish out with CS2 projects (Illustrator, InDesign, and Photoshop).

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Interesting because my 12" pb 1.5ghz seems the same speed as the 12" 1.33ghz iBook when stuffed with ram.

Also, noted in your sig the Tibook 550. How is it with the 100gig drive? Is it a 7200 or 5400 or what? I'm re falling in love with old Tis at the moment.

I just got back from an overseas trip with the pb and it was fine. I think I'm holding on to the 12 inchers because they will probably end up being the best, smallest laptops Apple will ever make. The 13.3 inch size is a bit large but Apple will probably make them lighter than the current 12" books.

BTW, the 12" PB is actually smaller and lighter than than the 12" ibook.

But my point is that I would not be afraid of buying PPC now. I've seen the ibooks as low as 699 edu.

it's ok to buy, just don't blame anybody else except yourself if a macbook gets released a week after you bought an ibook.

It's a great little machine. I bought mine in Dec. from Amazon and finally received my rebate. I haven't had any problems with the iBook. I use it 10 hours a day for work, with Mail, Safari, iWork, Calendar, iTunes, widgets and Office open all the time. Very rarely do I get the beachball, but then I bumped up the RAM to 1GB.

I knew the Intel replacement was coming, and I'm still waiting. For the price, the iBook is a wonderful computer. And with the excellent battery life (I get 6 hours) and wireless reception, I'll probably wait until the next major OS X release to get a new portable machine.

duttons alley said:

I need to get a small 12" notebook that I can take into meetings, surf the web, itunes, watch dvds, and run ms office. I am starting a new position at work and have to be extremely organized. Most of the time I can't read my own writing, so I need a small notebook that I can take into all my meetings.

I worry that the the 13.3 intel iBooks will not be as portable. The current ibook is as stable as they come and I also worry that the first generation of intel will be glitchy.

I was looking to purchase in the next week or two and have this computer last for 4 or 5 years. I think by law, computer companies have to support any hardware for 5 years?

I have an Intel iMac at home where I would do any heavy work if needed.

Any advice on whether I should just buy the G4 iBook now or wait.
Is it foolish to buy. I have heard nothing but great things about the last G4 iBooks.

Click to expand...

Get a used G3 iBook for under $500. For all those things you mentioned, you don't need more. It's a brainwash that the G3 iBook is "outdated""slow""uncompatible", it'll do everything you need, you'll save a quick $500, and shove apples "The newer things are SOO much better" up their ass.