iBook 12" vs 14"

[orfanotna]

Hi, I'm currently trying to decide which iBook to buy (as in 12" or 14"). I did some "research" at the Apple Online store, and the price difference between similarly configured 12" and 14" (both upgraded to 80 GB HDD, 14" downgraded to combo drive) is $114 (with student discount: $1154 for 14", $1040 for 12").

My question is mainly about the display quality. How different is the 14" panel Apple uses from 12" as far as response times, contrast ratios, etc go? There isn't an Apple Store anywhere within 200 mile radius from my house, and I don't know of any local stores that even sell Macs, so I can't really go into a store and compare them in person. Has anyone seen them side by side, or perhaps has both and can tell me if the difference in quality is worth the $100 difference (we'll assume the other $14 are for faster CPU and FSB )

Thanks.

 

[FocusAndEarnIt]

When people say, "Oh the 14" screen is unbearable, and ugly" think about this: Would Apple make a "unbearable and ugly" product? I just bought mine, and with confidence, the 14" screen is great IMO.

 

[orfanotna]

When people say, "Oh the 14" screen is unbearable, and ugly" think about this: Would Apple make a "unbearable and ugly" product? I just bought mine, and with confidence, the 14" screen is great IMO.

Actually I've never heard anyone say that the 14" screen is bad, only that the 12" screen in iBooks and PowerBooks can't hold a candle to the 15" and 17" PowerBook screens. So what I'm trying to figure out is how does the 14" iBook screen stack up against the 12", 15" and 17" ones.

 

[vouder17]

IMO go for the 14', for a difference of $114, the better processor and the extra screen area makes the 14' a better buy. I am going for the 14' as soon as i have the monies or as soon as i get my student loan from the government..

 

[orfanotna]

OK, I'm going to ask again..

Can anyone who has seen 12" and 14" side by side in person tell me how much better/worse the 14" screen is than the 12" in areas other than size.

Thanks.

 

[zyuzin4]

we were just at the Apple store yesterday to get my sister an iBook. I noticed no difference between the two panels

 

[chucknorris]

IMO go for the 14', for a difference of $114, the better processor and the extra screen area makes the 14' a better buy. I am going for the 14' as soon as i have the monies or as soon as i get my student loan from the government..

This may an issue of unfamiliarity with standard measurements, but I have seen the mistake made repeatedly in these forums. The symbol ' signifies FEET while the symbol " signifies INCHES.

I don't believe apple sells or plans on developing a 14-foot laptop, but you can never be sure.

Hey, you could definitely fit a G5 in a notebook that size; maybe even 4 or 5 of them.

 

[pna]

I've seen both side by side, and didn't notice a difference between the 12" and 14" ibook panels in terms of brightness/contrast. I do, however, notice a pretty big difference between the 12" ibook screen and 12" powerbook screen. The powerbook one seems bright and easily readable to me, while the 12" ibook for some reason seemed a bit less bright and readable. Those issues are overcome on the 14" not because the screen quality is different, but just because everything is a bit bigger.

This experience is generally what causes me to recommend the 12" powerbook if people are already considering the 14" ibook. It's not much more compared to the cost of the 14", but has a few advantages I consider to be worth it, screen quality and portability being two of them. There are even refurbished ones in the apple outlet for $1299 (1.5 ghz, 512 mb/ combo drive), that I wouldn't hesitate to pick up.

 

[ITASOR]

IMO go for the 14', for a difference of $114, the better processor and the extra screen area makes the 14' a better buy. I am going for the 14' as soon as i have the monies or as soon as i get my student loan from the government..

You have to consider though, that you don't gain ANY more screen "area" to work with. Everything is enlarged to fit the bigger display, but you don't actually have more room to do anything. Think of it like this:

You have the letter "O" which measures 2" x 2" (representing the 12" iB). Now to represent the 14" iB, take that "O" and enlarge it to 3" x 3". You still have the same O, one is just bigger. There still isn't room for any other letters to fit, just the original "O". It's just stretched to fit!

To the OP:

I work with alot of "pixel fonts" which are very small detailed fonts. They have very distinct outlines and are very crisp.

Here: http://ground.gr/play/files/owidc.gif ......... are some examples. When I look closely at ones smaller than this on the 14" iB, they look very nice, but slightly "blurry" like the pixels are too big (which they are). On the 12", they look crisp and better than ever.

If you're not picky and look at websites, etc. you won't really notice. It's easier on the eyes, I guess.

I did have both sizes for a while and as far as brightness, there's not really a difference.

I'm going to agree with Lilstewart92 and say that Apple wouldn't make something HORRIBLE. It may have it's faults and not be perfect, but they don't make unusable products.

Overall, I would get the 12" because 1) it's cheaper 2) I don't need an 8x single burner, I'll get an external 16x dual 3) display is overall better quality 4) I don't have terribly bad eyes 5) much easier to carry around.