Ibook users, stand up!

[golfguru]

Everyone is always saying if you have the money or need to do video and image editing than go with the powerbook. But are there any ibook users who are much happier with the ibook over the powerbook? Do you wish you had gotten the powerbook?

I figure there are tons of Ibook users out there who love their machines, so let me know why because everyone on this forum seems to love the powerbook but rarely is there anyone mentions the greatness of ibook (this also could be because the ibook is for less advanced users who wouldn't be on a forum?)


thanks

 

[Hemingray]

:::stands up:::

I've got a 12" iBook 1.2GHz with 1.2GB of RAM, and I'm very happy with it. I use it as my main computer for the web, watching DVDs, playing games, Photoshop and web site development. It may not be an all-out powerhouse, but coming from an old Yikes G4 400, it's a huge improvement!

 

[dcollierp]

If I had the money I would have gone with the powerbook (15"). I find the 12" screen a little confining on my travels, although I love its portability. I find myself hoping for a drop in used powerbook pricing. My little iBook does everything that I want it to, but it would be nice to have more screen real estate with higher resolutin and a pci slot.

 

[Reeves]

I also have an iBook and I couldn't be happier with it. It's a G4 1.2 Ghz with 512MB of RAM. I don't need a 64MB Video Card, or a ATI Radion 9700. I use it mainly for watching videos, school work, and sufing the net. Plus iBooks have a longer battery life which I need because I have to get on 7 hour plane rides every few months. Also it's less expenisve than a Powerbook.

Reeves

 

[liketom]

well had a 15" powerbook 1.33ghz and came down to a ibook g4 1.2 and a mac mini x 2 and i use my ibook more then anything and i also intend to take it to usa and new zealand later in may ...

but will buy upgrading once g5 powerbook gets going

 

[Bern]

I had an iBook G3 800mhz and upgraded to a PowerBook Rev C. It was a beautiful machine and I really enjoyed it, but a minor accident caused a dent in the lid and the strip along the ports to buckle outward, suddenly my expensive laptop didn't look so expensive anymore. It worked fine but I was warned by an Apple tech that if anything were to go wrong with it in the future Apple would likely void the warranty blaming it on whatever caused the dent. The metal case is just way too soft for a portable device. Aside from that the heat that radiates from the keyboard is quite unpleasant on a warm day and I could never lay in bed with it propped on my knees while surfing the net.

So I sold it and bought my current iBook. I travel overseas at least twice a year. The battery life on my iBook is at least an hour longer and the airport reception is stronger.

I use Macromedia Studio MX 2004, Corel Painter IX and Photoshop on my iBook and to be honest I don't see any real performance difference between it and my previous Rev C PowerBook. My iBook doesn't get nearly as hot either.

If I were to choose again I would definetly go the iBook. It's much more of an attention grabber, no-one can believe this little baby can do what it does, it's destinctly Apple being white, is stronger and now I can lay in bed with it propped on my knees.

 

[wordmunger]

I did a pretty extensive comparison of my new iBook to my wife's PB 1.5 here. I'm still quite happy with it, and unless you really need the screen real estate, I still think the iBook is much better computing value than the PowerBook.

 

[iGary]

If I had it to do over again, I would have waited a couple of months and got a 12" PB. BUT I got what I needed, and I like it well enough.

Hindsight is 20/20.

 

[DavidLeblond]

I love my G4 iBook. If I wanted a power computer I wouldn't get a laptop anyway.

Anyone want to give me their G5s?

 

[leekohler]

I have an iBook G4 14". I love it! I use it for Illustrator, Photoshop and QuarkXpress. I will admit I do most of my more demanding work on my desktop, but the iBook is great for working on buses, trains and planes. My reasoning was-I have a desktop, I don't need a Powerbook. Plus my iBook gets a lot of abuse on the road and it still looks great. Believe me-if I had a Powerbook it would be badly dented. I don't think I'll ever own a Powerbook, I don't see a need for it.

 

[CanadaRAM]

Ibook users, stand up!
Why?
See this thread
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/110266/

 

[CaptainCaveMann]

I have an iBook G4 14". I love it! I use it for Illustrator, Photoshop and QuarkXpress. I will admit I do most of my more demanding work on my desktop, but the iBook is great for working on buses, trains and planes. My reasoning was-I have a desktop, I don't need a Powerbook. Plus my iBook gets a lot of abuse on the road and it still looks great. Believe me-if I had a Powerbook it would be badly dented. I don't think I'll ever own a Powerbook, I don't see a need for it.

Thats a great point. The price alone is what really makes the ibook shine over the powerbook. What it really comes down to is for a 14 inch ibook youll pay around 1000 with edu discount and for a powerbook 15inch its about 1000 more. That alone puts the ibook and powerbook in complete opposite ends of the spectrum, and its up to you(the guy who started the post) to decide what side of the spectrum your on.

 

[jrawsterne]

ok, i have owned both powerbook and ibook, these were some points i would like to add ----
The powerbook is way flash, sometimes i was scared to get it out in case it was grabbed - ibook is pleasing to the eye but dosnt have that same air of value that the powerbook does (can you have kensington lock capability on a human?).
I too work in photoshop, illy, quark, macromedia studio x apps, and also do gaming and music (reason rocks), my ibook is a 1.07 with 768mb ram (i got a great deal on it £499 +vat UK), it handles everything well enough and i get the satisfaction of saving all that cash (i dont think the powerbook is that worthy at the moment and desperatly needs a serious system overhaul but im not going down the 'g5 when' route with this post).
My ibook plays WoW ok too, which is a bonus because i did think that it wouldnt be playable at all.
anyway best stop banging on,

 

[maya]

I like my iBook 12", don't care for the 14" model. I did a price and component comparison of both 12" iBook and PowerBook and the iBook won out. I also like it since it was a bargain and even if I sell it a year from now I should be able to recoup most of its value. Plus I have no issues to even give it away when the time permits.

I can toss it around, get BETTER BATTERY life then a PB and WiFi signal. All in all the iBook is better for a mobile use then a PB since it gives your better battery and WiFi over the PowerBook any day.

I would not mind a 17" PowerBook with HD resolution however that is not out yet, plus the Battery and WiFi is an issue.

Plus it matches my iPod.

 

[baby duck monge]

i am the proud user of an 800MHz G3 ibook, and i think it rocks. i recently sold my 1GHz DP quicksilver, and am now using my ibook as my primary computer until my mini decides to get here. despite being a few generations behind, i am constantly amazed at how well it handles my daily tasks.

long live the ibook!

 

[CaptainCaveMann]

I like my iBook 12", don't care for the 14" model. I did a price and component comparison of both 12" iBook and PowerBook and the iBook won out. I also like it since it was a bargain and even if I sell it a year from now I should be able to recoup most of its value. Plus I have no issues to even give it away when the time permits.

I can toss it around, get BETTER BATTERY life then a PB and WiFi signal. All in all the iBook is better for a mobile use then a PB since it gives your better battery and WiFi over the PowerBook any day.

I would not mind a 17" PowerBook with HD resolution however that is not out yet, plus the Battery and WiFi is an issue.

Plus it matches my iPod.

Maya, whats up. Ive been wanting to buy an ibook for a while now. Ive also been debating between the 12 inch and the 14 inch. I guess the best way is to just go to the store and play with them to decide. I want to walk in the store and walk out with one. Since the 12 inch ibook only comes with a 30 gig hd thats been a big reason to buy the 14 inch. What do you think i should do? Im asking because you seem to have good input on both machines.

 

[dsharits]

Hey, with the iBooks being so close to the specs of the PB's, hy would I want to spend the extra to go with a PB? Well, that and the fact that DHL lost my iBook G3 so they had to replace it with an iBook G4.

Daniel

 

[Mitthrawnuruodo]

I replaced my dear Pismo (still going strong, by the way) with a 12" iBook G4@800MHz in Nov '03. I wanted the 12" for portability but actually had an order for a 12" PowerBook a month earlier. There was some delay in he delivery and while waiting the iBooks were upgraded to G4. Now the iBooks and the PowerBooks were only a minor speedbump apart (since I don't need any of the extra features on the PB). I changed my order and got my iBook. Always liked them better, the seem a bit more reliable when I want to drag the machine everywhere, in whatever bag I got...

...I love my iBook, and if the PowerBook doesn't take a new architectural step forward without the iBooks, chances are good that my next purchase also will be a 12" iBook, maybe even this year...

 

[eleveneastgate]

iBook...

My first Mac is in iBook 12" G3 900MHz, only problem with it was the logic board, had to replace it twice. I'm happy with it, however, there are a few programs that kinda slowed it down, namely, GarageBand. Sometimes when I have too many things going on, it just craps out.

Another dislike is no "line-in" input, I have to get the audio signal in it via Griffin's Powerwave.

I've had no trouble with my battery or getting a WiFi signal. I'll put my PB next to my IB and test it side-by-side, and see what happens.

I've dropped my iBook a few times and although a little scratched up, it's still kicking!

 

[iBook]

standing up

I love my iBook and would buy one again. As much as I wanted everything the Powerbook at the time offered, I didn't need that kind of functionality in a laptop. Or at all, for that matter.

Likely won't buy an iBook again until a major performance boost is in the offering. I use mine for Web, writing and light Photoshop duties -- and, of course, iTunesing. It's perfect for the job -- and then some.

 

[madmaxmedia]

I really loved my 12" iBook, but recently got a Rev C 12" PB. Of course they very close functionwise, and as everyone knows the iBook has better battery life.

The PB is so striking to me it looks like a museum piece, although I am treating mine like one to avoid any dents (of course the iBook is very attractive as well.) The PB also has an awesome keyboard and brighter display. I have read many times the 12" iBook and PB have the same exact screen, but the PB screen is definitely brighter (side by side and in general usage.) In real life, what probably happens is I leave the PB on a lower setting when using without a power cord, so the brightness is actually equal but the battery times are then a little closer. The battery life of the 12" PB is still pretty good, significantly better than the other PB's (from what I've read.)

The only thing I actually disliked about the iBook is that it takes major surgery to replace the HD (and voids the warranty.) The PB drive takes significantly less work to replace (will eventually stick in a 7200 RPM drive.) I think upgrading from 4200 RPM to 7200 RPM will actually increase performance more than going from G4 to G5 or dual-core or whatever...

As far as iBooks vs. PowerBook goes, I'd say pretty much either way you're golden!

 

[Chrispy]

I, too, have owned both an iBook G4 and now a Rev. D 12" Powerbook. I must say that the iBook was really fast (it easily kept pace with my girlfriends Rev. C powerbook) and if I did not need DVI out I would still be very happy with the iBook. The only real complaint I had about the iBook was the keyboard seemed cheap and it was really loud to type on (this was a problem in some of my lecture classes). However, I did feel like I could "toss around" the iBook more. I would just drop it in my bag just like one of my books, however with my powerbook I slowly place it in the bag and make sure nothing is going to press against it too hard. The iBook definitely had a more durable feel to it than the powerbook has. When I am at home and using my powerbook on my 19" LCD display I am glad I got the powerbook. However, when I am taking my powerbook with me to class, I wish I still had the iBook. Even though I don't own one, I will gladly stand up for the iBook

 

[Hemingray]

Maya, whats up. Ive been wanting to buy an ibook for a while now. Ive also been debating between the 12 inch and the 14 inch. I guess the best way is to just go to the store and play with them to decide. I want to walk in the store and walk out with one. Since the 12 inch ibook only comes with a 30 gig hd thats been a big reason to buy the 14 inch. What do you think i should do? Im asking because you seem to have good input on both machines.

Hi CaptainCaveMann...

Maya, I don't mean to steal your question (after all, I'd say you are the biggest supporter of the iBook in these forums ), but I wanted to point out that you can get a 60 gig drive in a 12" iBook as a BTO. I did!

 

[umgolfer]

I have to agree, I have a 12" iBook G4 and I really like it. I am only selling it now, because I never really take it anywhere except from one room in my house to my living room to surf the web. I am upgrading to a used 15" powerbook so that I have a bigger screen, otherwise I wouldn't be selling it. The new pb's are very pricey as compared to the iBooks, and I never really felt my iBook wasn't speedy enough. I currently leave my old G3 iBook at work and use it there, so I won't be abandoning all of you iBook owners

 

[umgolfer]

Hemingray...nice pic of Roscoe...I miss that show. I have fond memories of my childhood thinking I was him chasing the Duke boys around on my Big Wheel...ahh