Originally posted by lchogan
What do you mean ibook wins in durability? Are there durability issues with the powerbooks? They feel much more solid than the ibooks. I'm debating between powerbook and ibook too!
Luke
the ibooks are designed to be tossed in a backpack, knocked around a bit, and keep on working. The casing scratches easily, but in terms of actually hurting the thing, it's pretty hard to do.
The powerbook is very scratch resistant, but if you drop it, you're in a lot more trouble than if you drop the ibook. The powerbooks are more "solid," but in terms of surviving shock or impact, the ibook is gonna win. Personally, I baby every computer I have; I would never just toss either one in to a backpack or back seat, so it's no issue to me. The powerbook is in no way flimsy, but it just can't be abused to the same degree the ibook can.
if you're not doing FPS gaming, either the ibook or the 12" PB will be great.
btw, I also doubt that powerbook updates are coming soon. These models are a month old. I think we will see g5 powerbooks in spring-summer of '04, and no updates before that. G4s in the ibooks does *not* signal powerbook updates since Apple has been very careful to keep the two lines distinct.