thinking about selling 14" ibook to get a 12" powerbook

[MUCKYFINGERS]

i have the latest rev 14" ibook g4, and although it is a great computer that does everything i need, there are a couple of reasons why i want a 12" powerbook:

1. i like the ability to be able to hook up the powerbook to an external display with no troubles at all and have everything run smoothly... unlike having to use a hack with the ibook and having only 16mb vram between each display. i like the fact i can have a lot more screen real estate when i do this method too!
2. i like the look of the powerbook better and i cant help but feel some sort of regret or "bad feeling" whenever another one of my friends or colleagues say they chose the powerbook over the ibook (which happens VERY frequently).

i'm not a rich man and seeing as how i bought the ibook 6 months ago, i'd have to sell the ibook and add some extra $ to get a powerbook 12. the only thing i dont like about the powerbook 12 is the fact that the screen makes everything feel "bunched up" to me and it makes the display a bit uncomfortable.

what are your thoughts? thanks in advance.

 

[kwajaln]

And here I've been thinking about selling my 12-inch iBook for a 14-inch version so I can have a Superdrive. Hmm . . .

 

[mad jew]

The 12 inch screen is fine for me, but it'll be a bit weird at first coming from 14 inches with the same resolution. Irrespective, it's a moot point if you're getting an external.

However, I think now is an extremely bad time to buy a 12 inch PowerBook. They haven't represented good value for the past half a year and with the transition to Intel, I'd wait to see what happens in the next few months.

 

[excalibur313]

Yeah, it is definitely a good idea to wait until april or so when rumor has it they will be releasing the intel ones.

 

[MUCKYFINGERS]

yeah but the thing is im not prepared to shell out a LOT of money for a new notebook, i plan on selling the 14" ibook and putting whatever extra i'll need into getting that 12" pbook, which i've seen around $1,000 on apple's refurb store and on ebay... if i bought a new one now wouldnt it cost a pretty penny?

 

[excalibur313]

My guess would be $1300-$1400, I doubt that they will change the price scale much from what they have currently. Afterall, the gen A of the aluminum powerbooks is the same price as gen A of the intel macbooks. The other thing to consider is that if you invest in a macbook you will probably be less tempted to upgrade your computer in the next few years because it will be so much faster.

 

[T-Stex]

Based on the pricing of the MacBook Pro compared to the PowerBook G4, I'd say that if a 12" (or similar size) MacBook Pro were to come out, it would start around $1400 - $1500, before any discounts.

Another thing to consider is the jump in performance between the G4 chip and the Intel Core Duo. It is unlikely that we're going to see a jump in performance in future products like the one we're seeing now. If you're going to buy a new computer, you probably won't be as tempted to upgrade quite as soon if you go with the next revision of the 12" PowerBook/MacBook Pro. Just my two cents.

 

[nutmac]

Unless you are married to PowerPC applications and very performance conscious of using them (then again if you are, you won't be using either 14" iBook nor 12" PowerBook), I would wait for upcoming 12.1"/13.3" MacBook. It will likely be announced around March/April (March is when Apple's pro apps are due in Universal Binary and Intel Core Solos will ship).

If you ask me, 12-inch PowerBook G4 is very outdated (it was last updated on January 2005 and by most measures, remains largely unchanged since April 2004). Although no one knows for sure what Core Solo update would bring, by then, many major applications will be shipping in Universal Binary (Adobe Creative Suite and Microsoft Office notwithstanding) and the update will bring much needed performance boost and many feature updates.

 

[GfPQqmcRKUvP]

Unless you are married to PowerPC applications and very performance conscious of using them (then again if you are, you won't be using either 14" iBook nor 12" PowerBook), I would wait for upcoming 12.1"/13.3" MacBook. It will likely be announced around March/April (March is when Apple's pro apps are due in Universal Binary and Intel Core Solos will ship).

If you ask me, 12-inch PowerBook G4 is very outdated (it was last updated on January 2005 and by most measures, remains largely unchanged since April 2004). Although no one knows for sure what Core Solo update would bring, by then, many major applications will be shipping in Universal Binary (Adobe Creative Suite and Microsoft Office notwithstanding) and the update will bring much needed performance boost and many feature updates.

You think the 12 inch Macbook will have a solo? I would think they would just put in a 1.67 ghz core duo or something. What do you all think?


EDIT: Wow, nevermind. You said 12 inch Macbook and I thought 12 inch Macbook Pro, which should have Duo I hope. Am I right?

 

[cliffrouse11bas]

I would wait for the new chips due to the fact of everyone writing software for the new intel Macs....

 

[wako]

i everything feel "bunched up" to me and it makes the display a bit uncomfortable.

I suggest you test drive one if you are so worried about this. I know at CompUSA, they have a 15 day return policy with no restocking fee. Just go buy one on credit, try it out, return before the 15 days are up and then rethink about switching from a 14 to a 12.

On a sidenote, its interesting that you are afraid of the screen being too small. I always recieve compliments from people that they wish they got the 12'' over the 15'' PB because its much more portable. Alot of people ask me if the screen is fine, and I just told them that Expose is the life saver that completely negates that problem. In fact two weeks ago when I brought my PB to get checked out, some guy who was next to me on the Genius bar was telling me how he should get a 12'' and give his son the 17''

 

[MUCKYFINGERS]

well at any rate, thanks for all the info guys. i'm still debating on whether or not i really want to do this. aesthetically and for connecting to external display, i prefer the powerbook 12". but for everyday use i think i still enjoy my ibook alot. oh well, there is always time to save money and see what is around the corner.

 

[FFTT]

I think you would be far better off keeping your iBook for essential portable needs and think about an iMac when budget permits.

Hopefully you'll have a good tax return this year to help you along
with your decision.