Buy or wait?

[elastic]

I've been waiting for a Mac laptop upgrade since feb, and am still waiting. Right now at my university's computer store they are selling 12in PB for $1299 and 12in ibooks for $899. After upgrading ram and airport x card pb comes out to around $1660 or so.
I have also found a ibm t41 1.4m 768RAM 30g HD cdr/dvd for the same price after tax and shipping, another option for the same price after rebate is the sony v505ex.
I will need a laptop soon for my programming class, as I am spending alot of time away from my home or labs due to "work" ( I am free to do hw most of the time).
Any one have any advice regarding pb vs other computers I've mentioned? How does people who finally gave up waiting and ordered a pb feel? Should I try to wait it out? or will the upgrades/price change not be worth the wait + $100 additional savings?
If I get ibook, how much do you think the resale would be in 6-9 months?

 

[intrepkid21]

I don't know man..that is a great price for the pb and ibook...

I would still wait...i duno about you but it takes me a long time to accumulate that kind of cash and I would like more than 1 ghz G4 as a reward for my work and patience...I would settle for a 1.42 ghz, however, in those smaller machines..that would be nice.

I am in a similar situation and have painfully decided to wait til the end of the summer.

 

[m4c]

I don't know. It's tough to say..I keep reading that the updates are comming but when? one week, one month?...who knows? Either way I don't think you'll be dissapointed, a 12" PB at $1299 sound good. BUt if you can tough it out a little longer you may get more bang for your buck.

 

[wPod]

go for the 12" PB. . . any speed bump you are going to get in the next couple months wont be that significant. but the 12" PB will be the best and the coolest machine for your described purposes

 

[edesignuk]

The 12" PB is very nice, but that T41 will kick it's arse. They are Centrino, so they have great battery life, and I'm sure I read that the 1.4GHz P-M is equal to something like a 2.4GHz P4, which as you can imagine stomps all over the G4 in th PB. The ThinkPads are also very solid machines, I always tell anyone looking for a x86 laptop to go with a ThinkPad if they can.

So right now, for my money, it'd be the Thinkpad.

 

[_pb_boi]

True enough about the Centrino - the battery life is pretty amazing, all in.

As for waiting - don't bother. 1300 dollars is a great price for what will still be a great machine - and if it's for programming, it'll do all you need.
Heck, I'm buying one at the Apple Storo Soho 5 days from now, though I'm gonna try for a cash discount. Way above 1300 dollars - and I still think it's worth it.

People complain about the updates taking too long - and they are. Yet, they still encourage others to hold off. It seems contradictory - updates have taken this long, thus far, and there are no concrete signs of a major G5 update for the Powerbook. There will be a speed increase shortly - but I doubt that new revised G4 pb will come in at 1300 dollars for you?

You're a student - use the money you save for the Airport. Any money you save by otherwise spending on a more expensive model - use it for beer

peace.

 

[loubapache]

You will never be sorry if you get the IBM Thinkpad T41. The build quality is just superb. It has excellent performance, form factor, warranty, battery life, and resale value. IBM's utilities are also second to none.

I use a T23 with the SXGA+ screen and it is like a tank. The Ti composite is extremely stiff and the case just has no flex whatsoever. Then the T41 is another few miles ahead of the T23.

The T-series in the Thinkpad line is IBM's flagship. They do have the values lines of the G-series.