Collection Complete! Clamshell iBooks

[Hrududu]

I don't typically post "conquests" on here, but today is a good day! I was USPS delivered the final installment of my iBook G3 collection. It took a while, but I finally got my hands on a Tangerine. For some reason, this particular color has been hard to find lately, and the prices have gone through the roof! 5 years ago, they were on eBay all day long for $25-$40 and I never bothered. I finally bit the bullet and laid down the cash figuring they are only going to get harder to find and more expensive. So starting in 2003 with the Indigo iBook (which I still have the box for) 12 years later I have them all. There is actually another Blueberry, but one is enough for the photo op.

 

[navaira]

I love crazy collectors. Glad your collection is complete and it's a pleasure to see the photos! Is that your office on the top photo or is it an old Apple Store?

 

[comda]

man, i always wanted a indigo model! Wish i had bought one stock from the ibookguy.

 

[Hrududu]

I love crazy collectors. Glad your collection is complete and it's a pleasure to see the photos! Is that your office on the top photo or is it an old Apple Store?

Thank you! Its actually both my office and my small computer shop. The front half where I took the pictures is where my front counter and service bench are. Behind that half wall is my office.

 

[bunnspecial]

Very nice!

I'm going to get around to tackling this one of these days-for the time being I've mostly been watching for iMacs when they come up in colors I don't have, but would like not only the various generations but also colors of iBooks.

But, before I do that, I need find a Kanga

 

[thescotsman4]

Wow! That's an impressively clean collection, congratulations! How hard was it to find Key Lime?

Such cool pieces of hardware; I've got a mint Indigo that I like using, a Blueberry that I'm keeping for a project and another Indigo that's currently on eBay.

 

[Hrududu]

The Key Lime actually wasn't that hard to find when I got it a few years ago, but they were already selling for big bucks (to me anyways) so getting one that wasn't extremely expensive was the real challenge. Grand total it ran me $92 shipped, making it the highest price I paid for a clamshell since I bought the Indigo for $350 back in 2003. Only "issue" with the Key Lime is its only a 366MHz and not the 466MHz model.

 

[gooser]

you done good.

 

[bobesch]

Great collection!
Nothing about conquest ...
Nice to let us be part of your happyness about theese cool machines!

 

[thescotsman4]

The Key Lime actually wasn't that hard to find when I got it a few years ago, but they were already selling for big bucks (to me anyways) so getting one that wasn't extremely expensive was the real challenge. Grand total it ran me $92 shipped, making it the highest price I paid for a clamshell since I bought the Indigo for $350 back in 2003. Only "issue" with the Key Lime is its only a 366MHz and not the 466MHz model.

Ahh nice! I've seen a couple pop up on eBay recently and they've gone for a couple hundred bucks each. I'd love to find a 466 Mhz Graphite SE sometime, a classic color combination.

 

[647156]

I'd love to find a 466 Mhz Graphite SE sometime, a classic color combination.

I just picked up one of those cheap yesterday mainly to get its working YoYo charger but also because the clamshells are awesome and this is the top of the range one, but it doesn't actually boot up most of the time (it was sold as non-working) Will probably post the details here soon to see if anyone has any ideas...

Love the complete collection, they all look in very good condition too!

 

[Hrududu]

Ahh nice! I've seen a couple pop up on eBay recently and they've gone for a couple hundred bucks each. I'd love to find a 466 Mhz Graphite SE sometime, a classic color combination.

The 466 Graphite SE I landed is in excellent shape. Screen is still really bright and the keys and trackpad still have the factory texture on them. It seems to have a few bad blocks on the drive because it's slow reading and writing, so that hampers it quite a bit. I just haven't worked up the desire to open it up and swap the drive.

 

[bobesch]

The 466 Graphite SE I landed is in excellent shape. Screen is still really bright and the keys and trackpad still have the factory texture on them. It seems to have a few bad blocks on the drive because it's slow reading and writing, so that hampers it quite a bit. I just haven't worked up the desire to open it up and swap the drive.

Swap the drive! It's really worth it to put in an mSATA SSD!

 

[thescotsman4]

The 466 Graphite SE I landed is in excellent shape. Screen is still really bright and the keys and trackpad still have the factory texture on them. It seems to have a few bad blocks on the drive because it's slow reading and writing, so that hampers it quite a bit. I just haven't worked up the desire to open it up and swap the drive.

Nice! I can image the hard drive is also quite loud, the one in my Indigo certainly is. I'm going to do the mSata mod/swap soon to eliminate the noise and give the old iBook some more speed. I've also done some research into the xga mod but I'm not so sure I'm willing to take a mint iBook apart.

 

[flyrod]

Nice collection, thanks for sharing. I've never played with one of these. Are they hard to open/work on? Are these the ones you can upgrade the CPU on?

 

[MacCubed]

Nice collection, thanks for sharing. I've never played with one of these. Are they hard to open/work on? Are these the ones you can upgrade the CPU on?

They are bit annoying to open, and you can't upgrade the CPU without doing an LB swap

 

[MacCubed]

The upgradeable G3 'Books are the ones of the PowerBook line

 

[thewap]

Nice! , clean and dedicated collection.

 

[Hrududu]

Nice! I can image the hard drive is also quite loud, the one in my Indigo certainly is. I'm going to do the mSata mod/swap soon to eliminate the noise and give the old iBook some more speed. I've also done some research into the xga mod but I'm not so sure I'm willing to take a mint iBook apart.

The XGA Mod would be VERY cool! If these things had 10x7 display, I could actually see myself using them more often. OS 9 isn't a problem with 800x600, but OS X is really REALLY bad.

 

[bunnspecial]

The XGA Mod would be VERY cool! If these things had 10x7 display, I could actually see myself using them more often. OS 9 isn't a problem with 800x600, but OS X is really REALLY bad.

I've always thought the forté of these iBooks(at least for me) is in playing older OS 9 full-screen games. Many of those are 640x480, and the iBook screen is an ideal size to avoid the "windowing" effect that happens with larger LCD screens.

 

[weckart]

Nice! I can image the hard drive is also quite loud, the one in my Indigo certainly is. I'm going to do the mSata mod/swap soon to eliminate the noise and give the old iBook some more speed. I've also done some research into the xga mod but I'm not so sure I'm willing to take a mint iBook apart.

I did the XGA mod and posted some details here a while back. Having taken mine apart I found out that you only really need to take a couple of screws out of the bezel and pop that out to get to the screen. No need to dismantle the main unit at all as you can reuse the existing cables in situ and pop the required adapter onto the end of the power cable to feed into the replacement screen.

I've always thought the forté of these iBooks(at least for me) is in playing older OS 9 full-screen games. Many of those are 640x480, and the iBook screen is an ideal size to avoid the "windowing" effect that happens with larger LCD screens.

Yes and after completing the mod I found that older OS9 games will not scale up so you are left with a max of 800x600 on a larger screen with screen dialogues off-centre.

 

[Gamer9430]

One of these days I'll try and get a Clamshell... Years before I began collecting, I remember seeing pictures of the Clamshell and thinking it looked so amazing and wishing I could get one some day... Problem is they are too damn expensive!

 

[Hrududu]

One of these days I'll try and get a Clamshell... Years before I began collecting, I remember seeing pictures of the Clamshell and thinking it looked so amazing and wishing I could get one some day... Problem is they are too damn expensive!

Well unfortunately the price on them probably bottomed out about 4 years ago and has been back on the rise. If you think you want one, I'd suggest buying sooner than later. Luckily the blueberry, indigo, and graphite models can still be had fairly cheap if you catch it.

 

[Hrududu]

I've always thought the forté of these iBooks(at least for me) is in playing older OS 9 full-screen games. Many of those are 640x480, and the iBook screen is an ideal size to avoid the "windowing" effect that happens with larger LCD screens.

They really are great for old games. I also think they are some of the best word processing models with the rounded front edge and good keyboards. Booting OS 9 and running Office 01 is a great experience.

 

[CooperBox]

Great collection! Congratulations. And there was I thinking I was the only mad one when it comes to iBook Clamshells.....
Seriously, your post is very timely as only last week I too managed to complete my Clamshell collection. Here are a few shown a few months back prior to my latest acquisition.

I thought I’d like to share with you my recent finding.
I’d been after a Lime Green clamshell for over 2 years, and seen one or two listed as what I would consider ‘silly’ prices.
I saw a local ad for one which said, (and I translate) “I’m selling a collectors piece - that is to say not working (!) which dates from 2000, the price is 150 euros ($165) or near offer.” Obvious not what I was after, although I was tempted to tell him I had a number of Mac ‘collectors pieces’, all of which working and in superb condition.

Then another ad appeared showing a Lime clamshell booted into OS 9. No other details indicated, so unsure if a 330MHz or 466MHz model. I offered 70€ (equivalent of $76). The guy replied that he wanted 170€ ($190) – “the price of it’s rarity.”
Then a month later, identical photos of the same Lime clamshell, but from a different location. I sent an email inquiring his price. A reply came back (from the same guy as before (as the e-mail address was the same), saying, “400€ - the price of it’s rarity.” ($436)! I was tempted to tell him exactly what to do with it.

Now here’s where the tale becomes a little more interesting.
Just last week I spotted another ad. Very well detailed indicating a Lime Green Clamshell Special Edition 466MHz, excellent condition, with carry-case, original yoyo power-pack/charger, battery unserviceable. I immediately e-mailed saying I’d take it if still available and if the seller was willing to except a personal check, and insured delivery to my address.
The guy agreed, I asked for his contact number, and over a phone call convinced myself that what he was proposing was ‘the real thing’. Following a payment, the clamshell was delivered. First pics:

On unpacking I could see that it was as nice as in the ad photos, although I thought a good clean would transform it from a nice tidy machine into a showcase example. The OS is 9.2, and I was delighted to find PhotoShop and Illustrator apps loaded. There were one or two scuff marks, which will disappear after a bit of TLC.
My little lady on first seeing it said, “It looks a bit girlie!” but heh, I could be highly tempted to grow my hair long and wear a frock before parting with this delightful piece of kit.
Oh, the price? 60€ ($65)!! I can still hardly believe my luck.
Over the coming days I must find time to clean this one up back to pristine condition, and do a group shot of all my beautiful 'old-girls'.