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Ibook :Target consumer, females?

Whhhhy would you do this, i'm trying my hardest to get a IBook and people are out there ripping them appart and painting there elegant while cover practially neon colors! From a design point of view i have to say that these things are a nightmare! Especially the pink which you can see flaking off in places.

And i never understood the fasination with clear cases :), theres nothing attractive about seeing the screws that hold the thing together! And in many cases it just looks rough, where Apple designs are generally very well designed indeed :cool:

As for the IBooks being for gurls and as some people have said, they are aimed at the home user rather than the pro's and i'm sad to say it but there is a sterio type that more home users are female and more males are pro's. This being said, the IT industry is still largly a male domain though this ia changing slowly. YOU GO GURLS ;)

Mark.
 
FightTheFuture said:
i've never seen it, but a girl told me she liked her ibook cause sarah jessica parker used one on sex and the city. and ALOT of girls used to watch that show - and still do in dvd form i guess.
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Yep Ive seen the show in the earlier episodes she uses a pismo. sex in the city what lovely concept ;)
 
iBook design

Hi,

Instead of trying to think what others think, use your own judgement. If you think you don't like how it looks and don't care about the funtion part, then don't buy it.

Personally, I thought it looked friendly with the rounded corners. The white on the outside looked like purity like light. Opened, it looked technical with the silver top and the keys blended. The Aqua desktop matched it a little although I would have liked to change those blue lines. Women PC people have said that it looks like a designer computer. Men don't say anything. If you really want to change things, then you can always add stickers like of footballs and guns or whatever. My desktop now has a tiger on it.

The main thing though, is, does it have the right personality for you. Then think about how it looks maybe. In the end, this is the best order of priority. Then, maybe two years from now, when you're writing a post and thinking about whether or not your computer still has the functionality that you need, maybe you'll be lucky and say yes!

gl,
Kel.
 
That's not necessarily the same for everyone, though. If you need to use your laptop to give presentations or something, the Alu powerbooks look sleek, stylish, young, and cool. This could appeal to both men and women. However, since most people in the world aren't in a position where the coolness of their laptop may give a good impression to bosses, co-workers, professors, etc, most women would probably choose an iBook than a male.

The two or three men who posted in this thread who like the iBooks because it matches their accessories are more effeminate than most males. Its not an insult, but it is an indication of having a more effeminate look at things. Some men wouldn't be caught dead holding something that looks like something they'd pick up at a perfume/makeup counter at a department store.

PS: I bought a 12" Powerbook. :)
 
Presentations

Hi,

I've given many presentations with my iBook and what the audience looks at is the screen. While I give my presentations, I can say this for a fact that their main attention is at my presentation. Surely, I have seen that they were distracted by Flurry and at times by the glowing Apple logo, but mainly it's your presentation and what you can do with your tools.

Kel the man says it's not female looking and if you want to beef then, come and get some. :)

gl,
Kel.
 
It feels like the Powerbook is being targeted to the power/pro users. The iBook is being targeted to everyone else: students, working adults, parents, retirees, teenagers, whoever. I'm sure Apple is aiming at many markets.

Just for grins...if the Powerbook and iBook were cars, what kind of cars would they be?
 
I dunno...the PB is not quite S-Type beautiful...now I personally think the TiBook was, but the PB...ummm....maybe Audi A6?
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PB...definitely an Audi...but I'd say the TT personally (that may be because I'd like one VERY much...and I like Apples so much?!)

iBook...i think the beetle is a bit too...homey...i'd say some small two-door sports car...perhaps an austin martin?...now an emac...*that's* a beetle! (sorry if i offend any emacers out there!)
 
my girlfriend says her ibook is "cuter" than my powerbook.

she also has a pink keyboard cover for it, and i'm sure that would clash with aluminum more than with white - so maybe, with the cover yea its cuter... wait, what the hell am i saying.... women...
 
I have an iBook 12" G4 and I will admit that I do think it is cuter (yes, I'm a woman)....but I did not buy it for cutes.

I think the price and the durability were the biggest reasons. If Apple made a 15" iBook with faster specs, I would buy it in a heartbeat (as soon as I could afford it). I treat my computer very, very gently, but I do like the secure feeling that I have about it's durability. I also like the polycarbonate and the rounded corners and white is my favorite color (yes I know it truly is not a color).

A girly benefit is that it matches everything! I have an iPod and it matches. It matches the power cord! I would never buy a computer for matching purposes, but I figure I can enjoy it as I have it! I used a yo-yo adaptor for awhile and while I love how long it is, I thought it looked funky with my set up. Still, if I could get a hold of another, I would use it over my white power adaptor because it is more friendly for travel and has a longer over all cord.
 
ok, yes I'm a girl but here's my two cents:
I think the iBooks represented a new kind of design (maybe the early iMacs started this but I think the iBooks got the right blend) -- they look kind of like white patent leather, kind of mod and scandinavian. Maybe more "feminine" in a certain sense, but definitely sophisticated.

I don't agree that they look "plasticy", it's a very american way of thinking about "plastic" vs. scandinavian/european.
I just bought a powerbook and I think it's nice enough looking (not as pretty as my curvy black and white Pismo) but I have to say for all people gush over its "good looks" on this board, it kinda looks a little like a PC notebook.
 
Sarah Jessica Parker did, indeed, use a Pismo. In fact, there's one episode where the Pismo's hard drive fails and her boyfriend tries to buy her a new iBook--a Clamshell ("Look, it has a handle like a purse!" he argues). But she refuses, wanting her old Pismo back. She never had an iBook--but I'm guessing that the iBooks were close enough--as, at the time when the show starting to gain popularity (2nd or 3rd season--pre-powebooks), Pismos were pretty much phased out and Titanium probably not as well advertised or displayed in stores.

As for myself--I'm female and I have a 12" powerbook and it is plenty feminine for me, thank you very much! Meanwhile, my husband has his white iBook and has been very happy with it. I really don't think iBook vs. Powerbook as a matter of gender so much as, perhaps, age and intent. iBooks seem more youthful and playful, Powerbooks more mature and professional.
 
FightTheFuture said:
i've never seen it, but a girl told me she liked her ibook cause sarah jessica parker used one on sex and the city. and ALOT of girls used to watch that show - and still do in dvd form i guess.
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Dumbest reason to drop $1K and up on computer hardware I ever did hear....but people's buying decisions are often not entirely rational. :rolleyes:

The Powerbook, shiny metal thing that it is, does seem to attract more sheer techno-lust in that way that cool new gadgets draw guys, specifically. Some guys talk about cars, some talk about their computers (witness the 'Book/car comparisons above!) but the iBook doesn't seem to draw as much attention from that particular perspective.

I think that's to do with how men tend to/are taught to interact with each other on a competitive rather than a cooperative level, so that when it comes to gear, it's all about the latest and greatest, the biggest and best specs. So, for the guys who operate that way, the Powerbook might be more attractive because it's got more features and faster processors, etc.

Of course, I'm a woman, and I bought the Powerbook because I figured the extended feature-set and better processor would keep it current longer, and the only person I know who owns an iBook is a guy. So....the whole question's probably just stereotypes and speculation. :D
 
come to think of it, i don't think i've seen a girl using a white ibook in any tv shows or movies. usually imac G3s, or tibooks. maybe a clamshell ibook. now drew carey, he used a white ibook. thats not fem at all!
 
I'm a 21-year old hetero male, and I like 'em both. I like the clean, simple look of the iBook but also enjoy the more professional look of the PowerBook. I also know that several of my friends (straight males) also lust over my iBooks :D
 
Not so dumb perhaps....

rueyeet said:
Dumbest reason to drop $1K and up on computer hardware I ever did hear....
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Are you really going to tell us that you never...not even once...saw something in a movie or on tv and went: "I must have one of those!" Even if it was expensive? I mean, I'm not arguing that it's a smart reason to buy, well, anything, but it's the way people do buy things. Otherwise we'd be free of product placement.

Women see "Rachel" on Friends with a certain haircut and they ask for the same haircut. Martha Stewart wears a chinchilla scarf to her trial, and suddenly fur companies are getting calls from women wanting a scarf just like it. Men, too. Arnold has a Hummer and they have to have one as well. The interesting thing, however, is that it isn't necessarily the star power or television/movies that does it. It's the combination of star power with a genuinely attractive product. This is what product placement fails to understand--and why Sarah Jessica Parker drinking a coke on Sex-and-the-City won't get people to drink more cokes. Create some new flavored coke and give it a unique, attrative bottle--ta da! Instant sales.

I *promise* you that if Sarah Jessica Parker had had a bland, non-discript laptop, no one would have gone into a computer store and said, "I want one just like S.J.P." Just as I'm pretty sure no one's gone into a furniture store and asked for a desk and chair like the one she always used on the show. Why not? Because they were non-discript. They didn't stand out. That Pismo, on the other hand, with its glowing Apple, it had personality. And because it had style and personality, it became an extention of her character. And THAT's why that woman wanted one like it. Ditto with Martha's chinchilla scarf and Arnold's Hummer. Because that Pismo, along with S.J.P.'s character, said: "I'm unique, and special and different and sexy!"

This is why that woman wanted one. Dumb idea? Well, if that iBook has garnered attention, or started conversations with strangers, if it's made her stand out as an individual or made people think she might be cute and sexy rather than bland and boring....then perhaps it's perchase wasn't so dumb at all. I can certainly attest to the fact that strangers do come up and talk to those of us with Apples...while ignoring all the other computer-users in a cafe.

And it's certainly one of the best computers you can buy for a mere 1K. So hey, why not? In the end, if it sells more Macs, I'm all for it.
 
so does this mean that any males sporting iBooks are dipping into the newly defined "metro-sexual" category?

oh crap i just said "sporting".. :eek:
 
thirteen1031 said:
Men, too. Arnold has a Hummer and they have to have one as well. The interesting thing, however, is that it isn't necessarily the star power or television/movies that does it. It's the combination of star power with a genuinely attractive product.
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what's so damn attractive about being a republican and getting 13 miles per gallon?? :confused: :D
 
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