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Good deal on iBook?

-tWv-

-tWv-

macrumors 68000
Original poster
May 11, 2009
1,583
2
Ohio
I am looking for a 12" iBook to give as a birthday present to someone who just needs a simple computer for email/web-browsing/word processing and not much else. I was looking at this one from OWC, and it looks to be a pretty good deal compared to the other ones I have found on ebay and elsewhere. The only thing that worries me is that is says "grade C condition" and I don't want the ibook to look old and used when they open it up.

Is this a good deal? Should I go for it?
 
My bet is it would have some scuffs etc but would function fine personally I would get a used or refurbished 16GB iPad or older intel Macbook the iBooks are a pain to take apart if something breaks and your stuck on leopard however I would run Tiger for somewhat better performance.
 
Another question.. This iBook says it comes with a battery, but it is not guaranteed to have the same capacity as the original. It says it will hold a charge, but I'm guessing if it is actually the apple original battery, the capacity is going to be very low since it is an older machine. Should I go ahead and buy a new battery for it?
 
The price is not bad, but what is it with those "anti-theft" tags? That just screams "you bought this used from some company" to me and I could not live with them. Check around, you can find iBooks in the $200 to 300 range with decent batteries and without the stickers. If you can find one with a better battery for 50 to 60 more, you are money ahead. Try PowerBook Medic or Mac Restore, they sometimes have good buys on older iBooks.
 
touchdownjesus4 said:
I am looking for a 12" iBook to give as a birthday present to someone who just needs a simple computer for email/web-browsing/word processing and not much else. I was looking at this one from OWC, and it looks to be a pretty good deal compared to the other ones I have found on ebay and elsewhere. The only thing that worries me is that is says "grade C condition" and I don't want the ibook to look old and used when they open it up.

Is this a good deal? Should I go for it?
Click to expand...

I think it's a good deal, but your buying a 6 year old computer. It will look used, but you might luck out, and get one with a newer battery. How hard would it be to remove those stickers?

I like my iBook, with Leopard, and I wouldn't trade it for an iPad.
 
The 12" iBook is a great little machine but you have to max out the memory for any decent performance.

As stated earlier, the iBook is a real be_atch to disassemble for upgrades or repairs other than memory.

I've done it twice to install a 500 GB Hard Drive and a DVD DL burning Superdrive.

After about 200 tiny screws and a fragile power connector, I just now drag it to my local Apple Repair shop and let them deal with it.

10.5.8 Leopard runs fine if you install the maximum memory.
 
touchdownjesus4 said:
Would it be difficult to remove the stickers?
Click to expand...

Those anti-theft/ID sticker are purposely made to be difficult to remove. If you do get them off, you'll likely find that underneath them is a second, even more securely affixed sticker or even something etched permanently on the computers case. Out of curiosity, I once tried to remove one of these tags from a busted computer that was being tossed in the dumpster where I used to work. It came off, but not without marring up the surface really bad, and beneath it was an statement that said something like "this device has been stolen".
 
Yeah I ended up just getting another ibook with a broken logic board from a friend so I will just switch out the top cases when it gets here instead of trying to rip the stickers off.
 
Already ordered the ibook haha.. Besides I don't really have the budget for a macbook, if it breaks then I guess I'll be out of luck but I know it is still pretty easy to find iBook parts on ifixit so hopefully i'll be able to make the repairs myself if that happens.
 
touchdownjesus4 said:
Already ordered the ibook haha.. Besides I don't really have the budget for a macbook, if it breaks then I guess I'll be out of luck but I know it is still pretty easy to find iBook parts on ifixit so hopefully i'll be able to make the repairs myself if that happens.
Click to expand...

Thats a shame because I was going to suggest a used powermac and a screen if your friend doesn't need a laptop
http://cgi.ebay.com/Apple-Power-Mac...e_Desktops&hash=item2a10722d11#ht_4083wt_1141
 
Thanks for the suggestion, but they are going to need a laptop in order to take notes in class and a portable will be much easier for them to handle in terms of space etc. I'll keep the powermac in mind though if I have any friends in need of a desktop computer.
 
buy a netbook from dell or something

no use in buying decade old technology (yes, those specs were on PCs a decade ago).
 
Just got the iBook today. Luckily there weren't any no theft tags on it, and it looks almost brand new, way better than "Grade C Condition." Anyone needing parts or anything for a mac should visit macsales.com. I have bought a number of things from them and everything has been shipped swiftly and is always in great condition. The only exterior problem on the iBook is that there is a small hairline crack on the underside of the iBook, but there are no cosmetic problems apart from that. Very happy with my purchase :)
 
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