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My 17" is very portable!

The 17inch Powerbook brings back memories of what Apple called their first "Portable Computer".

The press where cruel, the Mac user even more so it was soon given the names.... the Apple Luggable

Thats how i think of the 17inch. Yes, i could carry it around and call it "portable" but weight and size make it akward to carry. I also found it akward to sit on my lap with it on the Tube or a bus.
 
Like everyone else, I would disagree. I have no experience with the 17 inch itself, but I do have experience with a 12 inch iBook and a 15 inch Powerbook. I find that my Powerbook is much more of a pain to carry around and use in public because of its size, and occasionally wish I had gone with the 12 inch Powerbook. The screen size is awesome at a desk, but for portability the 12 inch form factor can't be beat (as far as Macs go). I can't imagine using a 17 inch (on the go, at least), as it would be even larger.

Sure, I guess the 17 inch is portable enough for some people, but if you're going to be carrying it around all the time, I'd recommend a 12 inch.
 
OziMac said:
Look, the 17" may be portable in the sense that it is possible to carry it around and to use away from your desk - no one's disputing that... but let's not get carried away. There is still a definite increase in convenience and portability with the 15" and far more so for the 12".

If the 17" is very portable, the 15" is very very portable and the 12" is very very very very portable. 🙂
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Are you sure the 12" justifies the doubled increase of 4 verys? I'd say three and a half 😛 😀

It all comes down to where and how you use your notebook. If you use it as a desktop replacement carrying it only from one place to another and then letting it sit there for an amount of time then get the 15" or 17". If you actually use it on the go and carry it to more than just one place a day and/or have a desktop computer also then get the 12". Pretty easy if you ask me(that is aside from money and performance issues).

Go for what you need in the situation you're in with the money and equipment you have.
 
I love my 17". I travel with it at least twice a month and when I am in the office I comute on my bike with it. I bought a Timbuk2 Commuter XL http://www.timbuk2.com/tb2/catalog/categories.t2?categoryId=8 and it works great in airports or when I am on my bike. In my mind you can not have too much display.

I also use it extensively for presentations on the road. The display is big enough and can be view from a wide enough area that for a group of 6 or 8 around a conference table it works great and saves me from hauling around a projector.

And is there any way to fly but 1st class?
 
i still think the portablity of the 12" cant be beat, yes the 17" will get the job done, but at school when i have to carry books for 3 classes in a row and a laptop then i get pretty bogged down with weight. even carrying an extra bag of m&ms seems excesive (ok, so im a minimilist when it comes to carrying stuff on my back, too many years backpacking as a boy scout when i was younger) but when compared to the rest of the computer market (especially windows machines) i would say the 17" is portable. have you ever seen a 17" P4 wintel laptop? the thing is enourmous! i think the new iMac G5 is smaller than some 17" wintel laptops! compared to most the apple 17" is probably portable, compared to my 12" PB nothing is more portable (except those ultra small books that sony and such make, but then you start to compromise things like your eye sight for portability)
 
wPod said:
i still think the portablity of the 12" cant be beat, yes the 17" will get the job done, but at school when i have to carry books for 3 classes in a row and a laptop then i get pretty bogged down with weight. even carrying an extra bag of m&ms seems excesive (ok, so im a minimilist when it comes to carrying stuff on my back, too many years backpacking as a boy scout when i was younger) but when compared to the rest of the computer market (especially windows machines) i would say the 17" is portable. have you ever seen a 17" P4 wintel laptop? the thing is enourmous! i think the new iMac G5 is smaller than some 17" wintel laptops! compared to most the apple 17" is probably portable, compared to my 12" PB nothing is more portable (except those ultra small books that sony and such make, but then you start to compromise things like your eye sight for portability)
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Heh personly I think the 12" PB is to small. You have to give up some things for it ot be that small. (Mainly I think the screen is to small for me.) I can see the 17 in being vary poritble. My own personal laptop is 8lb and I personaly never have or had a problem taking it around with me to class. Wieght has never been a huge issue with me. I personaly am willing to trade extra weight for more screen space and more versitiliy. (in the fact that the 17 inch can act more as a desktop replacement than the 12 in PB which out add help)
 
yeah portability is number one for me... its the reason i am getting a laptop here soon. so i will get the 12". i will be carrying it around all day and i already have to carry books so every ounce is valuable. plus it has a low profile and can be set up in limited space. and when i get home i will simply hook it up to my monitor....until i can get my dual g5 powermac that is..... so its the best of both world and i dont think there are many compromises for the size
 
Diatribe said:
Are you sure the 12" justifies the doubled increase of 4 verys? I'd say three and a half 😛 😀

It all comes down to where and how you use your notebook. If you use it as a desktop replacement carrying it only from one place to another and then letting it sit there for an amount of time then get the 15" or 17". If you actually use it on the go and carry it to more than just one place a day and/or have a desktop computer also then get the 12". Pretty easy if you ask me(that is aside from money and performance issues).

Go for what you need in the situation you're in with the money and equipment you have.
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I couldn't have put it better myself.

I bought my 17" because I needed to function with it in the offices of my clients and also be able to work from home, i.e. it would only be moved to and from a location per day. As such the 17" perfectly matches my requirements for essentially a portable desktop. I use it primarily for PhotoShop and InDesign work and the screen real estate is just brilliant, plus at the end of a hard day at the office I can close the lid and carry it back home with me to continue my work later on that night. Perfect.

However if my work had involved requiring using a computer while constantly on the move I would have gone for the 12" Pbook coupled with a home-based desktop in a heartbeat.

I am extremely happy with my choice but totally respect others decisions to go with either the 12" or 15" due to their particular needs. What annoys me is the blanket discounting of the 17" as "too big", period, whenever the subject is mentioned.

Vanilla"
 
if my budget hadn't been to tight......i would have gotten the 17" ..........c'mon you can beat the coolness of that screen! (got the 15" tho) 😀

but like gekko513 said........you have to understand that not everyone has the same needs.

my girlfriend is getting a 12" because of budget. she's going to love it anyways! 😀
 
gekko513 said:
So maybe we'll get a very very very very very very very very portable 9" PowerBook 🙄 😛
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actually that would be ultra cool, being in line with the sony 505 or C1

every size has its purpose and it's always nice to have more than one laptop if possible...for those who can only afford one, it's hard to beat the 14 inch ibook or 15 inch powerbook for those who need some screen real estate but more bells and whistles in the case of the powerbook

my wife uses both an ultra small screen sony laptop and a powermac g4 for work and they both have their place
 
gekko513 said:
So maybe we'll get a very very very very very very very very portable 9" PowerBook 🙄 😛
Click to expand...

LOL Why not? 🙂

But I stick by my point - the degree of portability is definitely graduated through the line. For example, you can carry the 12" around in one hand comfortably. You can do the same with the 15" with a bit of practice. To do so with the 17" is a little risky.

It's not that the 12" can be taken anywhere and the 17" cannot. And it's not that the extra screen space on the 17" trumps the 12" (though I would argue that the 15" trumps both in both respects 😉).

The line was designed as horses for courses, and this is reflected in the fact we all disagree about these things. So well done to the inital poster who made their opinion known - I disagree to some extent, but can definitely see part of their point and congratulate them on a fantastic Apple purchase.
 
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