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Justification of getting a iBook or Powerbook

V

vwguy

macrumors member
Original poster
Apr 6, 2004
34
0
Silicon Valley
Hi Everyone,

Just a little history here.... I've been oogling over the iBooks and the Powerbook ever since the whole 'Switch' TV ads were on TV. I did try out the OSX with a cheap B&W 350Mhz I bought on eBay and absolutely love it! However, I have to sell it away to pay my rent as I was still in college and my PC is better suited for my daily applications.

I have since graduated from college and found a secure job. The itch of getting a Mac has since came back and I have been surfing Apple website everyday. To make things worse, my new housemate is a Apple Engineer with all kind of Apple hardware stacked in his study room... three G5 Dual 2 Ghz
Powermac, a couple of G4 powerbook and even two Xserve!!

My dilemma is this.... should I even get a Powerbook or iBook?? My current work doesn't require a Mac and I will probably will be getting a Tablet PC from work . My PC handles my occasional gaming very well and I don't do any web or photo editing. Therefore, I can only forsee having a iBook or Powerbook that will be primarily use for web surfing, watch DVDs on my train ride, listen to iTunes or play with the apps on the Panther.... nothing urgent or really important... very recreational...

So everyone.... should I still get a iBook or Powerbook or save up my money instead??
 
ibook has better battery life, and if you really don't know where to use the performance, the powerbook is an overkill. so because you ask, you should buy the ibook. if you needed the powerbook, you wouldn't need to ask ;)

of course if you have plenty of money to burn just for fun, the powerbook has a very nice aluminum enclosure. and, if you NEED the widescreen, you'll know what to do.
 
Yeah iBook looks liek it will satisfy all the needs you identified.

You might also consider one of the older model PBs which should be discounted now if you prefer the metal loo, and the extra hardware bits and pieces...but the iBook should serve you well.
 
I'm save my money. Why buy something you don't need especially when work is giving you a tablet.

But . . . If you do want a mac, go for the ibook, its a lot cheaper (While it can't really compare to the powerbook, it's probably a better value for the money). You could get a refurbished one. The G3 Ibook 800mhz, 128mb ram, 30 gb, is around $650. Not a bad deal. You even get panther, gb (which probably won't work in this speed ibook), and a warranty with the option to buy AppleCare.
 
Thanks you guys.... I'd appreciate that you took the time off to give me some advice.

Just a couple of questions here....

1) All of you guys suggested I should buy a iBook. So, should I buy a brand new G4 1Ghz or just get a second hand/refurbished set instead?

2) I'm also interested in the 12" PB 867Mhz which is in the same price range of a iBook. Is there any difference of this PB as compare to a iBook G4 800Mhz?

3) Which one will hold a higher resale price later... PB or iBook?

Thanks and have a great day!
 
vwguy said:
Thanks you guys.... I'd appreciate that you took the time off to give me some advice.

Just a couple of questions here....

1) All of you guys suggested I should buy a iBook. So, should I buy a brand new G4 1Ghz or just get a second hand/refurbished set instead?

2) I'm also interested in the 12" PB 867Mhz which is in the same price range of a iBook. Is there any difference of this PB as compare to a iBook G4 800Mhz?

3) Which one will hold a higher resale price later... PB or iBook?

Thanks and have a great day!
Click to expand...

1) I'd get a refurbished one. Your needs don't seem to require a cutting edge notebook. And you said something about saving money.

2) I'm not real sure of the differences. Of couse the pb has a metal case and the ibook is plastic. The video cards may be different. There are a few exta ports (sound in, I think) on the pb. The pb can hold more ram.

3) I'm going to assume that the pb will hold its value longer. It is a better computer and it will scratch less.
 
yes, there are less scratches after using a pb, it has more ports for all sorts of things, new ones have airport built in (extreme), it has better Vram and better capabilities for Ram, Harddisc can be bigger (and faster ;) ) and offcourse, the backlit :D
 
vwguy said:
Thanks you guys.... I'd appreciate that you took the time off to give me some advice.

Just a couple of questions here....

1) All of you guys suggested I should buy a iBook. So, should I buy a brand new G4 1Ghz or just get a second hand/refurbished set instead?

2) I'm also interested in the 12" PB 867Mhz which is in the same price range of a iBook. Is there any difference of this PB as compare to a iBook G4 800Mhz?

3) Which one will hold a higher resale price later... PB or iBook?

Thanks and have a great day!
Click to expand...

1. Defintely buy new ibook. The 12 inch will suit you well.

2. Don't know about that

3. The powerbook no doubt ( but has to be brand new). But if your getting an ibook also it will be brand new to be able to get a good resale price from apple or ebay.
 
Ordered myself an iBook last Friday for exactly those kind of uses. Spec is:

1Ghz 12" iBook
60Gb HDD
AirPort Extreme
Bluetooth

I was all set to get a 12" PB but after reading elsewhere on these forums decided on the iBook. Why? Well popular opinion says that the WiFI on the iBook has a better range due to the non-metallic case, the battery lasts slightly longer and it is more durable. Saved myself AU$600 over the cost of a PB as well seeing as I don't need the extra power.

Go on... you know you want to...
 
LifeIsCheap said:
Ordered myself an iBook last Friday for exactly those kind of uses. Spec is:

1Ghz 12" iBook
60Gb HDD
AirPort Extreme
Bluetooth

I was all set to get a 12" PB but after reading elsewhere on these forums decided on the iBook. Why? Well popular opinion says that the WiFI on the iBook has a better range due to the non-metallic case, the battery lasts slightly longer and it is more durable. Saved myself AU$600 over the cost of a PB as well seeing as I don't need the extra power.

Go on... you know you want to...
Click to expand...

Actually I heard from apple insider and apple discussions tha the powerbook is more durablethen the ibook. The powerbook may get dents, but, the ibook will get cracks and split wide open.
 
My 500MHz iBook was thrown down a flight of stairs,no cracks at all...The iBook's are built to take a beating,PowerBooks are nice but delicate.


BTW go for the iBook!
 
do you have an apple store near by? if so go there and look at the 12" powerbook. pick it up, feel the case, type on the key board, and then fall in love.
 
csubear said:
do you have an apple store near by? if so go there and look at the 12" powerbook. pick it up, feel the case, type on the key board, and then fall in love.
Click to expand...

I do have a number of stores nearby. And the thing is.... I've tried them all and I love them all!! :D
 
My 500MHz iBook was thrown down a flight of stairs,no cracks at all...The iBook's are built to take a beating,PowerBooks are nice but delicate.
Click to expand...

Erm, and that is why the ibooks are made out of plastic and the powerbooks out of aluminium or titanium(!)... Plastic is the strongest of all offcourse.
 
to add to what LifeIsCheap said, because you live in Silicon Valley you'll really appreciate the iBook's superior wireless networking reception. you might have neighbors who've left their wireless network wide-open for public access (because they couldn't figure out how to both restrict access and make the net connection work). those neighbors might live 5 houses away, and you'll still see "linksys" and "default" show up in the list of available networks.
 
JFreak said:
ibook has better battery life, and if you really don't know where to use the performance, the powerbook is an overkill. so because you ask, you should buy the ibook. if you needed the powerbook, you wouldn't need to ask ;)

of course if you have plenty of money to burn just for fun, the powerbook has a very nice aluminum enclosure. and, if you NEED the widescreen, you'll know what to do.
Click to expand...

Where do you get one of those special edition iBooks with more than an hour battery life? I've never seen an iBook get more than an hour of battery life. It's been a know issue that the battery life of iBooks is bad. Get the Powerbook my son!
 
i've had a 14" ibook, and it got 3-4 hours new(max 5-6), and 2-3 hours after one year. my power book is getting 2:30-3:30, with it maxing out a 4-5 when i watch myself.
 
yeah sneaking on to people's wireless connections is fun and remarkably easy on a Mac. maybe you should wait though to make your purchase, until after you settle in to your job and they give you the tablet PC and all. i know we're all rooting for you to get a Mac, but if you don't need one, you don't need one. i personally think that the only thing that PCs have better than Macs is gaming. web browsing, email, music, organizing photos, all the basic uses for a computer and then some extras like movie and music making totally kick butt on Mac. i even read an article that said somehow Macs got the better version of the new Microsoft Office for your word processing and productivity stuff. once newer games don't play on my PC anymore i'm pretty much never getting one again. there are always going to be a few games on Mac if i ever get the gaming bug.
 
kirk26 said:
Where do you get one of those special edition iBooks with more than an hour battery life? I've never seen an iBook get more than an hour of battery life. It's been a know issue that the battery life of iBooks is bad. Get the Powerbook my son!
Click to expand...

all the ibooks my friends have bought have 5+ hours or average use constantly, so i have no idea what are you talking about. i don't know if it is even possible to use all the power in one hour, even with 100% cpu and 100% hard drive use.

and powerbooks, well... my older titanium version had 4+ hours (using jaguar) if the screen was dimmed a bit, but this albook i'm currently using only has 2:30 and never more than three hours (using panther). i'm not sure if there are still some major issues with panther, but i'm feeling a bit bad because not getting three hours with battery is in my opinion not acceptable. the four hours with tibook was so much nicer than this.

oh well... :)
 
ifjake said:
the only thing that PCs have better than Macs is gaming
Click to expand...

yes, and even gaming experience will be much better with a gaming console ;) if you don't play games, there's just no reason to buy a windows pc...
 
JFreak said:
all the ibooks my friends have bought have 5+ hours or average use constantly, so i have no idea what are you talking about. i don't know if it is even possible to use all the power in one hour, even with 100% cpu and 100% hard drive use.

and powerbooks, well... my older titanium version had 4+ hours (using jaguar) if the screen was dimmed a bit, but this albook i'm currently using only has 2:30 and never more than three hours (using panther). i'm not sure if there are still some major issues with panther, but i'm feeling a bit bad because not getting three hours with battery is in my opinion not acceptable. the four hours with tibook was so much nicer than this.

oh well... :)
Click to expand...

is that on a 15" AL ? i'm sitting here on a 12" AL 1.33 getting 3 -3:30 on a full charge with screen 100%, airport bluetooth on, and processor on auto.
 
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