I orginally had a G5 iMac, and a 12" 1.2Ghz iBook with 768Ram. Everytime I looked at the iBook, I wished it was a PB. So, I eventually sold my iMac and my iBook and bought a 15" 1.5Ghz Powerbook, and I have never been more pleased. If you know for a fact the iBook will do everything you need, then by all means get an iBook. but, if you are struggling with debating between the PB and the iBook, I would suggest the PB, espically if this will be your desktop as well. Don't shoot me here, but IMO the iBook casing and keyboard seem cheap compared to the PB.
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12' iBook or 12' Powerbook?
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I've been in the market for a PB for several months now, with an enormous amount of dithering since the announcement of the change to Intel CPUs.
Yesterday I went back to the Apple store to check out the new iBooks, and decided to go for a 14-inch iBook instead of the 12-inch PB.
There are trade-offs: slightly slower, half the RAM on the video card, fewer IO options, etc. On the plus side it has a larger keyboard & screen, longer battery life, doesn't run as hot, and saves me about $A700 on a comparable 12-inch PB with SuperDrive.
The PBs are better, but for me the premium to be paid for the advantages is hard to justify, esp with much better PBs due next year.
Once the new Intel PBs are out - well, maybe Rev B models - I fully intend to upgrade. pefully around 18 months or so. Having an extra $700 in the bank won't be a bad thing.
So then I'll have a quite decent machine that's more than adequate for dragging off on holidays and such (the iBook), plus a gee-whiz high-powered Intel PB I can use with my work Windows apps as well.
Yesterday I went back to the Apple store to check out the new iBooks, and decided to go for a 14-inch iBook instead of the 12-inch PB.
There are trade-offs: slightly slower, half the RAM on the video card, fewer IO options, etc. On the plus side it has a larger keyboard & screen, longer battery life, doesn't run as hot, and saves me about $A700 on a comparable 12-inch PB with SuperDrive.
The PBs are better, but for me the premium to be paid for the advantages is hard to justify, esp with much better PBs due next year.
Once the new Intel PBs are out - well, maybe Rev B models - I fully intend to upgrade. pefully around 18 months or so. Having an extra $700 in the bank won't be a bad thing.
So then I'll have a quite decent machine that's more than adequate for dragging off on holidays and such (the iBook), plus a gee-whiz high-powered Intel PB I can use with my work Windows apps as well.
For me, the new iBook is a money saver. I was going to get a 12" PB / 768MB RAM/ 60GB HD / Combo for $1467 with Edu pricing. The old iBooks needed a lot of upgrades to make it like the computer that I wanted so the price difference was only like $150 to $200 and the PB was a lot faster. Now the updated iBooks I can get the 12" iBook / 1GB RAM / 60GB / Combo for only $1129. That is a savings of about ~$338. I don't need to hook up my laptop to a external monitor or clamshell mode and also don't really game. Just iTunes, Safari, Office, and PhotoShop Elements every now and then. I think that I can live with a 4200 RPM harddrive for my uses.
I plan on using this computer for many years and the way I have it outfitted in my sig is going to last me a while. It will be a big upgrade for me because I am currently using and Dell XPS T450 Pentium 3 450MHz / 512 MB PC100 RAM / 13.6GB 7200 RPM HD / 6x DVD-ROM / 12x8x32 CD-RW / Radeon 7500 64MB RAM / Windows 98 SE.
This new iBook will teach my 6 year old Dell a lesson or two about true computing.
I plan on using this computer for many years and the way I have it outfitted in my sig is going to last me a while. It will be a big upgrade for me because I am currently using and Dell XPS T450 Pentium 3 450MHz / 512 MB PC100 RAM / 13.6GB 7200 RPM HD / 6x DVD-ROM / 12x8x32 CD-RW / Radeon 7500 64MB RAM / Windows 98 SE.
This new iBook will teach my 6 year old Dell a lesson or two about true computing.
Capt Underpants said:
I agree.
The only differences in terms of spec worth noting are the 64MB of vRAM in the PB as opposed to the iBook's 32MB, and the faster HD and audio-in on the PB. The video card on the iBook may actually be better than the 12" PB's NVidia 5200. The old iBook's ATI 9200 was almost equivalent to the 5200 except that it wasn't Core Image compatible, that's all. And most people don't care about Audio-In.
That's it.....not many differences. and this is coming from the mouth of a very very happy 12" PB owner. Its just that right now, the difference between them is negligible.
The major advantage to the PowerBooks is being able to take it anywhere
and also being able to connect it with full image quality to any good DVI display for those extended major projects.
Of course the iBook will be "fine" for most of your basic uses but you're more than likely going to work with your purchase for the next 4 years.
If you spread out the difference in price over that time frame, the PowerBook
really is a better deal.
and also being able to connect it with full image quality to any good DVI display for those extended major projects.
Of course the iBook will be "fine" for most of your basic uses but you're more than likely going to work with your purchase for the next 4 years.
If you spread out the difference in price over that time frame, the PowerBook
really is a better deal.
bm7at81 said:I went into my local apple store today to get a new ibook and indeed walked out with a brand spanking new 12" Powerbook with 768Mb Ram.... holy **** this thing is speedy and possibly the sexiest, most well built laptop ever produced!
Do yourself a favour when you are at the store... check out the condition of the demo ibooks compared to the powerbooks.. the new ibooks that they had on display since wednesday this week were already marked and the trackpad was going brownish from peoples dirty fingers! The PB's which had been on display for 3 weeks (apparently) were in pristine condition...
I know thats not a huge deal, but i cant be the only MAC user who takes a certain pride in the appearance of his/her machine! Also, i got a full 4hr 30mins of almost constant use on my first charge... thats just awesome!!
Oh, and IMHO the 14" Ibook just looked horrendous compared to the 12" PB/Ibook.. Ive never been this happy with a computer purchase.. it wouldnt bother me if a whole new line of PB's came out next month as this one does everything i need it to and more!
P.S Dont judged the screen until you can perform the advanced LCD Colour Correction... made it 200% better to look at! See if they let you do it instore if you have doubts..
I dont want to convince you to spend money you dont have, but i know i would have regreted buying the ibook once i got it home... now im just a happy broke person
Cheers
Funny that you say that about it turning brownish since ive had my ibook for over a year and its as white as snow. Never cleaned it either.
CaptainCaveMann said:
Hah, maybe it was the guys in the store conspiring to get people to buy the pretty PB's....
Anyway, the PB for me was by far the better choice being an avid guitarist and engineer... i cant wait to lay down some tracks on this badboy!
Just looking at the damn thing makes me wanna book a flight somewhere just to show it off
