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Any regrets on screen size for 12" buyers?

jackc

jackc

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Oct 19, 2003
1,490
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I know the 12" vs 14/15" thread has been done a million times, but I have a specific question. For people who have gone with the 12" (iBook or pBook), does anyone have regrets about screen size after owning it for a while? I can play with them at the store, but I'd probably have to use it for a while to really get a feel for it (especially since I've never owned a laptop before!)
 
jackc said:
I know the 12" vs 14/15" thread has been done a million times, but I have a specific question. For people who have gone with the 12" (iBook or pBook), does anyone have regrets about screen size after owning it for a while?
Click to expand...

Not a one! No regrets and no temptation to trade it in for a 15" (beautiful as they are!)--and this includes watching several movies on my little powerbook. One I watched with a friend while we were on vacation in a hotel room (no t.v. in that particular place). It might not be ideal, but two people can watch a movie on those 12" just fine if necessary.

There are certainly some who have found the 12" too small for their liking, but I use this little laptop day in and day out and I've had no problems at all.
 
Expose has helped this alot. I get a bit frustrated at time with the smaller screen, but a quick push of the button gets me out of of many jams in a hurry. I would like 15'' screen, but I desire portability more.
 
jackc said:
I know the 12" vs 14/15" thread has been done a million times, but I have a specific question. For people who have gone with the 12" (iBook or pBook), does anyone have regrets about screen size after owning it for a while? I can play with them at the store, but I'd probably have to use it for a while to really get a feel for it (especially since I've never owned a laptop before!)
Click to expand...

I am very happy with my 12" iBook G4... I used a TiBook 667 15" screen earlier today and don't think I would shell out big bucks for a screen that big when the 12 is all I need. Viewability is fine and, like others have said, portability is the key. No regrets at all!
 
jackc said:
I know the 12" vs 14/15" thread has been done a million times, but I have a specific question. For people who have gone with the 12" (iBook or pBook), does anyone have regrets about screen size after owning it for a while? I can play with them at the store, but I'd probably have to use it for a while to really get a feel for it (especially since I've never owned a laptop before!)
Click to expand...
Not at all, I like it better actually since it makes the whole computer smaller and lighter, the only reason I would want a bigger PB would be for the video cards in them. Other than that I love my 12" PB and dont mind the screen size at all.
 
I second all said previously. I have no regrets, and people can't believe what i can do at school with such a small, powerful machine. I get asked all the time, "who makes that?" "how much?" "apple who?" that is impressive in a school where almost everyone has a laptop out, and I never see Macs. I only wish they knew what they are missing. Size doesn't matter, it is how you use it!
(besides, it is much easier to sit on the john (like I am now) and be able to respond with a 12in notebook!!!! That is the key my friend!)
 
No regrets whatsoever. The portability more than makes up for the lack of screensize--I take my iBook almost everywhere I go.
 
-jackc

None at all. I bought it specifically for its lack of size. And it's traveled a lot.

Older than my T30, but now outstripping the T30's usefulness.
 
I really like minimalism in design, so I thought the 12" iBook would be perfect for me, not only small, but a very 'clean' white look.

Well, was it all I thought? Yeah. And even better.

I think that unless you've got really bad eyesight the 12" will be perfect for you. You can just take it ANYWHERE!

Good luck!
 
Well, IMO the 14" iBook is a waste of time - exactly the same res. as the 12"!

12" is great for portability - although I've never used a 15" - if I had a car I'd probably go for one... Using a 12" PB for Photoshop is tricky, but if you customise your toolbars just for the things you use, then you should be fine...

And yes, thank god for exposé!
 
Definitely no regrets. Without Exposé it would be kind of annoying, but it's great this way. I can't even say where my book goes with me. I take it everywhere, that's the big advantage with having a 12" taking it with you is like taking a science book or sth. not like taking a laptop. I would never trade it in. Let's hope that the 12" get the nifty stuff like the backlit keyboard and a nice graphics card and it'll be perfect.
 
No regrets at all. It serves perfectly it's purpose, being a sub-notebook and a container for files when I have to transport some data somewhere else while being able to access the files quickly if necessary.

If you want to use apps like Photoshop of FCP the whole day long, the screen might be a bit small. But for ermergencies it is enough and it's outweighed the size when having to carry it around.

groovebuster
 
Yep I agree - I have a 12inch iBook G3 700Mhz, and I love the small size screen - specially since it is 1024x768. I love this machine for its size - its so tiny!
IMO, I think the 14inch iBook is pointless, as it is at the same resolution - just means the machine is bigger and heavier!
 
I have no regrets either with my 12" iBook G4. I love the screen size on the 15" PB, but I also want portability above all. If I wanted a bigger screen, I would just use and external monitor or get a desktop (with the new eMacs, I am seriously considering this).

I love the size of my computer. No regrets whatsoever!
 
I have had a rev. A 12" PowerBook for 14 or so months now. I love it. Before that I had a 12" iBook. You just can't beat the size for traveling. I travel lots and I think I would grow tired of having a 15" on my lap everywhere.

As some have said, Expose has been a great help. Another thing I use daily in the office is the monitor spanning. I hook my 'Book up to a 17" CRT at work, push the F7 button, and bam I have two screens to look at.

I keep email on the 'Book screen and move what documents I am working on to the big screen.

Works great.
 
I don't regret buying the 12" Rev. B PB either. As other posters have said, you can't beat the portability of a 12" screen. At home I hook it up to a 17" LCD running at 1280x1024. If you wan't a really portable computer and still enough real state, a 12" + external monitor is the best option.
 
i had a 12" iBook and now a 12" PB and i loved both. In my opinion the smallest full function notebook on the market. any other small notebooks you see for M$ do not have optical drives or sacrifice a lot of power and speed to get anything to fit. I agree expose helps with the screen size when you have a lot of windows open. otherwise if you are only running one or two aps it doesnt really matter. when i want to do something like open up photoshop or such i hook up to an external monitor. but for portability nothing beats the 12"
 
I had no regrets on my iBook G4 12" until my 17" iMac had to get it's LCD screen replaced. A week without the 17" iMac really got to my wife and me so we sold the iBook and bought a 17" PowerBook. I liked the 12" but we were just to used to 17 inches of iMac.
 
no regrets for me at all. i don't use photoshop or any heavy duty applications where it would be helpful to have more screen real estate, but it suits my needs (e-mail, web surfing, iLife suite usage) just fine. i do wish it had a feature or two of the larger powerbook models - the backlit keyboard would be really nice, and a better graphics card.

i, too, have watched movies on my powerbook and the screen size is just fine. i wanted portability over almost everything else and didn't really even consider the larger powerbook models. i do take my powerbook almost everywhere with me (so much that my husband teases me about it, and he even quips that i like my mac more than i like him. i respond by telling him that at least my mac doesn't get lippy with me! :p ) and don't feel i could do so with anything larger.

marianne
 
I don't have any regrets as the resolution (1024x768) is perfectly fine. I imagine that the older 800x600 iBooks could be a problem.
If it's true that Apple are considering 13.3" inch screens, I expect they'll be widescreen and therefore a resolution jump would be nice.
Also, it sounds funny, but other people really like the compactness of it. If the other rumors about Apple making it thinner are true, that would also make it better.

The only real issue I can see is that unlike the other PowerBooks which are TFT, the 12" PowerBook is TFT XGA, so therefore not as sharp. To be honest this hasn't caused any problems whatsoever so me, and I use a lot of laptops that are TFT.

But at the moment it's excellent. More than powerful enough for most needs and will take the next few OS X releases no problem. UT2004 runs perfectly acceptable on it.

AppleMatt
 
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