Build quality of Powerbooks

[katie ta achoo]

Top notch build quality, except that I've had one keyboard issue where a key malfunctioned. After applecare replaced it, everything was good again. Looks great, feels great... Just overall a good experience.

However, I've heard about people who have had their palm rests on their PBs corrode over time, so I'm taking extra care to wipe things down every week...

My keyboard is a bit wonky.. my / key is NUTS!
If I'm writing a little / slashie or a question mark, like FOUR get written, instead of one.

I swear, that thing is like... feather triggered.

Also, you only clean yours once a week? Try every day!

/I'm still on my first bottle of iKlear
///whoops, too many slashes
////stupid keyboard. I am bad at typing.

 

[davebl]

ibook's are great. the shell is a polycarbonate similar to bulletproof glass.

 

[witness]

My keyboard is a bit wonky.. my / key is NUTS!
If I'm writing a little / slashie or a question mark, like FOUR get written, instead of one.

I swear, that thing is like... feather triggered.

I have exactly the same problem.

I've had my PowerBook replaced twice already for build quality issues and it looks like I'm going to have to have this one sent in for repair also.

The PowerBook is a great product, but for £1800 I'd expect better quality checks prior to shipping.

 

[tom2517]

I like my PB because it is...quiet.

I also uses IBM thinkpad, build quality is great, but it is loud! I hate the fact that the fan is almost on all the time.

 

[BGil]

ibook's are great. the shell is a polycarbonate similar to bulletproof glass.

Hell yeah it is. IMO the PB is just a marketing gimick. Sure the keyboard is great but the aluminum/titanium case is super-thin in addition to be prone to warping, pitting, scratching, and all sorts of stuff. Not to mention it makes the wifi recpetion worse and conducts heat really well (read:can get very hot). IIRC the battery life is worse than iBooks as well. If the iBook had a 15 inch screen then a lot less people would buy PB's IMO.

With exception to the keyboard, the build quality of a good plastic, magnesium, or carbon fiber PC notebook (read: not anything from Dell) is better than the PB. The iBook is a shining example of build quality IMO.

 

[em500]

ibook's are great. the shell is a polycarbonate similar to bulletproof glass.

It really drives me nuts to read this. Polycarbonate is also the stuff that CDs and DVDs are made of, but I guess that doesn't quite have the ring of "bulletproof glass"...
I like Apple as much as anyone else here, and iBooks are indeed pretty durable, but people should really learn to read through marketing BS.

 

[Els]

12" 867 Mhz Powerbook:

Love:
keyboard
trackpad
looks & feel

Hate:
Fan
It's always on!!! I can't use this machine in a library because it makes to much noise.

The built-in speakers were OK for small laptop speakers, but they were damaged at the Apple repair center and now I can only play back sounds on low volumes or I get awful resonance.