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New PowerBook vs. iBook - The shootout
- Thread starter XIII
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jayscheuerle
macrumors 68020
12"ers..
Both scratch. iBook can be buffed out easier.
iBook plastic will crack if pushed to far. Powerbook aluminum will dent.
A crack is the casing stressed to failure and does not mean the internals were affected at all. A dent pushes through to whatever is behind it.
The Powerbooks are like fine, metal, digital cameras, whose super zoom lenses move with much precision. There is less room for shock absorbtion because it is a high-end elegant product. Its expense entails that you will be more careful with it.
The iBooks are like cheaper plastic cameras that have a cover that slides over the lens. They're built to be tossed in cars/backpacks/trunks. If they get dirty, you wipe them off with a wet cloth. They're utilitarian and built to be used that way.
Unless your eyesight is bad, the 14" iBook's screen offers no advantage over the 12" one...
Both scratch. iBook can be buffed out easier.
iBook plastic will crack if pushed to far. Powerbook aluminum will dent.
A crack is the casing stressed to failure and does not mean the internals were affected at all. A dent pushes through to whatever is behind it.
The Powerbooks are like fine, metal, digital cameras, whose super zoom lenses move with much precision. There is less room for shock absorbtion because it is a high-end elegant product. Its expense entails that you will be more careful with it.
The iBooks are like cheaper plastic cameras that have a cover that slides over the lens. They're built to be tossed in cars/backpacks/trunks. If they get dirty, you wipe them off with a wet cloth. They're utilitarian and built to be used that way.
Unless your eyesight is bad, the 14" iBook's screen offers no advantage over the 12" one...
Haha, my eyesight is bad, but thats beside the point, this is what glasses are for, no...?
I think I'll have to put it all forward for the 15" PowerBook. Just to clear up anything, I won't be dropping it, or anything, I will look after whatever I get. The person who made the last post on page one said it VERY well, and I thank them.
(Sorry, I forgot to quote).
Also, person above, the camera image is very good, I think I understand what I'm getting into now, and the 15" PowerBook is the way to go. I thought the audio in was standard, thats a nice plus now, I would like to be able to simply plug my guitar straight in. Also, PCI card slot... GOOD!
Thanks, it appears the extra money really will go somewhere, and be worth it.
Thankyou everyone for your opinions, if you want to add something, or think I'm doing the wrong thing, feel free to add your comments.
Thanks all!
-Jack.
I think I'll have to put it all forward for the 15" PowerBook. Just to clear up anything, I won't be dropping it, or anything, I will look after whatever I get. The person who made the last post on page one said it VERY well, and I thank them.
(Sorry, I forgot to quote).Also, person above, the camera image is very good, I think I understand what I'm getting into now, and the 15" PowerBook is the way to go. I thought the audio in was standard, thats a nice plus now, I would like to be able to simply plug my guitar straight in. Also, PCI card slot...
GOOD!Thanks, it appears the extra money really will go somewhere, and be worth it.
Thankyou everyone for your opinions, if you want to add something, or think I'm doing the wrong thing, feel free to add your comments.
Thanks all!
-Jack.
jayscheuerle said:
um, when my PB gets dirty, I wipe it with a wet (usually paper) towel. Does that make it rugged?
This response and all the others getting to the real material differences still have not been able to say how these differences will actually affect the user, how they will actually make one computer meaningfully more "rugged" than another. I do NOT think you are wrong-- you are probably right-- about the cracking vs. bending, etc., but what difference does it make to the actual user? It is hard to say, so maybe we shouldn't. Can we point to a spot where one computer would break and the other would survive? All we have thus far is anecdotes, but of course no one has both computers doing the same thing at once; these stories usually don't have what we might call test conditions. Stuff happens and people should be careful with their laptops in any case. But I think we here in the buying-advice forum should be careful with what we say about the products, and if we're going to call something "rugged," we might want to have some meaning to put behind that. Everyone's free to write what they want, of course, this is just a suggestion.
I do think yours is the best argument yet, and the most convicing to me. I can imagine scenarios in which an iBook case breaks to save its internals where a PB might not have the extra life/thickness/plastic to give. I still do wonder, though, if something strong enough to crack the case would be likely to have no translation to the internals.
I also agree with on the "cheaper" part: if someone does want to be rough with their laptop, I guess it makes sense to be rough with a cheaper one than a more expensive one. That doesn't exactly make an iBook somehow inherently more rugged, but it does make sense.
12"Powerbook: Reborn?
Has the new 12" powerbook narrowed the gap between its little brother: the 12" ibook?
For most users NO. There is still a $500 spread between the price point. The advantages of a faster graphics card, bigger and faster 5400rpm hard drive, more ram, and dvi capabilites come at a high premium. For around $200 bucks you can add another 226mb of ram, upgrade the HD and add blue tooth, still coming in with 300 extra bucks. Not too mention the apple care warranty extension comes in at a price point that is $50 cheaper.
However, if you want to go digital you really should take a closer lookat the powerbook, you get a dvi connection bye passing anolog all together and a stronger graphics card. The easability of switching the powerbook from a laptop to a desktop is much simpler. You have this option with the ibook but if you want a digital monitor forget it! Only has analog and you need a hack to span, which splices an already weak graphics card. No too mention forget about clamshell mode. The big decider for most people will be the superdrive. Not an option on the 12"ibook. Even if you do not burn dvds on the regular, the ability to compress data onto dvd media is hughe....trust me this is where technology is going..esp with hungrier and hungrier digital media.
The decision is yours.....just my thoughts on the matter.
Has the new 12" powerbook narrowed the gap between its little brother: the 12" ibook?
For most users NO. There is still a $500 spread between the price point. The advantages of a faster graphics card, bigger and faster 5400rpm hard drive, more ram, and dvi capabilites come at a high premium. For around $200 bucks you can add another 226mb of ram, upgrade the HD and add blue tooth, still coming in with 300 extra bucks. Not too mention the apple care warranty extension comes in at a price point that is $50 cheaper.
However, if you want to go digital you really should take a closer lookat the powerbook, you get a dvi connection bye passing anolog all together and a stronger graphics card. The easability of switching the powerbook from a laptop to a desktop is much simpler. You have this option with the ibook but if you want a digital monitor forget it! Only has analog and you need a hack to span, which splices an already weak graphics card. No too mention forget about clamshell mode. The big decider for most people will be the superdrive. Not an option on the 12"ibook. Even if you do not burn dvds on the regular, the ability to compress data onto dvd media is hughe....trust me this is where technology is going..esp with hungrier and hungrier digital media.
The decision is yours.....just my thoughts on the matter.
This is the "Year of HD", so does that mean we will see HD screen resolution on the PB screens. That would be neat to justify the cost for one, heck I would not mind paying the same or more for an HD resolution screen.
jayscheuerle said:
Both materials used for Apples notebook line are cheap to buy, last time I checked Al didn't cost an arm and leg, heck they make pop cans out of it as well as beer can's, etc.... with it too.
So I do not get where your argument off Al being more pricey comes from. Heck the 'bullet proof" material the iBook is made of is more expensive.
Any material regardless of plastic or metal will get scratches if the user puts some little to no work and effort into it.
Metal and Plastic both have they drawbacks, and I am sure this is one reason Apple moved away from Ti to Al and hopefully to a better alloy down the road.
I feel you...I bypassed all the debate about ibook vs powerbook by ordering a new 15" powerbook......lets face it if you have the cash....a 15" powerbook is the way to go...my only compalnt is the lack of battery power.
shane-o-mac said:
Did GWB just use that word in his State of the Union address or something?
I'm confusabilitied!
I know the specs of the 12" iBook and PB are almost the same, but I did notice playing with both at a store that the PB seems to launch apps faster and feels slightly snappier. Both models had stock RAM and I made sure to close all running apps when testing. Does anyone have an explanation? Maybe I was enchanted by the aluminum...
The weird thing is that this was at Rev. C PB, which I believe has 4200 RPM hard drives. Could the slightly faster CPU, slightly faster RAM, and slightly faster bus speed add up to a perceived speed increase? (I'm not talking benchmarks, besides maybe how dock bounces to launch an app.)
It would be nice if the entire PB line had 7200 RPM drives, or at least as a BTO option. That should result in noticeably better performance than the 4200 RPM iBooks. I think Hitachi is the only one making a 7200 2.5" drive, maybe that has something to do with it.
The weird thing is that this was at Rev. C PB, which I believe has 4200 RPM hard drives. Could the slightly faster CPU, slightly faster RAM, and slightly faster bus speed add up to a perceived speed increase? (I'm not talking benchmarks, besides maybe how dock bounces to launch an app.)
It would be nice if the entire PB line had 7200 RPM drives, or at least as a BTO option. That should result in noticeably better performance than the 4200 RPM iBooks. I think Hitachi is the only one making a 7200 2.5" drive, maybe that has something to do with it.
Nothing wrong at all! I just meant that maybe Apple has an ongoing deal with another supplier that doesn't offer 7200 notebook drives.
If you want a computer that is durable, powerful, metal, cheap, and looks ... nice, get a Dell.
Seriously--I toss mine around a lot, dangle it by its display latch, use it like a tablet PC (i.e. with the display tilted over 180 degrees, continuously pull out the modular drives, peel back the casing over the display, remove and replace individual keys, and draw on it with some frequency. I also use it as a placemat. Numerous times I dine on it and, when my desk gets a little to cluttered, I use it as a writing surface or I put my thick, heavy textbooks on it.
But I would trade it in for a 12 inch PowerBook any day.....
....but not for an iBook.
-wide
P.S. does anyone know of a free/shareware application for Windows that will let me record my electric guitar onto my computer?
Seriously--I toss mine around a lot, dangle it by its display latch, use it like a tablet PC (i.e. with the display tilted over 180 degrees, continuously pull out the modular drives, peel back the casing over the display, remove and replace individual keys, and draw on it with some frequency. I also use it as a placemat. Numerous times I dine on it and, when my desk gets a little to cluttered, I use it as a writing surface or I put my thick, heavy textbooks on it.
But I would trade it in for a 12 inch PowerBook any day.....
....but not for an iBook.
-wide
P.S. does anyone know of a free/shareware application for Windows that will let me record my electric guitar onto my computer?
wide said:
Yeah, it's called GarageBand. It will run on Windows...provided you sit your new PowerBook on top of your old Dell.
kirk26 said:
Can someone else confirm this? (preferable someone who has directly compared them) I have noticed that the 12" iBook screen is acceptable but not as bright or crisp as my work notebook machine (Windows).
I'm thinking about getting a 12" PB too.
I've used both, side by side, and the PB always looked better. I may have been biased (it was my PB vs a friend's iBook), but whatever.madmaxmedia said:
I'm quoting myself here...
Let me be more specific here...for your guitar you will need a 1/4" to 1/8" mini adapter for either the iBook or Powerbook.
http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore?productLearnMore=T9106LL/A
For the iBook you will need an additional usb adapter because there is no audio in.
Don't want you to think you can plug your guitar cable right into the powerbook.
evilernie said:
Let me be more specific here...for your guitar you will need a 1/4" to 1/8" mini adapter for either the iBook or Powerbook.
http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore?productLearnMore=T9106LL/A
For the iBook you will need an additional usb adapter because there is no audio in.
Don't want you to think you can plug your guitar cable right into the powerbook.
XIII said:
Maybe, depending on when Tiger comes out. The last 2 iBook updates were April 2004, then October 2004.
OTOH, with the recent PB update finally providing a little more separation between the 2 lines, I wouldn't expect any miracles if there is an update. For example, I doubt they suddenly switch to 5400 RPM drives, or add the new trackpad scrolling feature.
If a G5 PB comes out late in 2005, they could do a pretty big iBook rev then (basically to the current PB hardware.)
Wow-why all the bias against the 14" iBook? There's a very good reason it's in production-people like me who can't afford a Powerbook and for whom a 12" screen produces headaches due to eye problems. I know-the screen resolution between the two is the same, but for me it still mattered that the screen was physically bigger. It also is an easier transition from my desktop which has a 20" screen. Different strokes for different folks! And I too like the durabilty. It goes with me everywhere on buses and trains and gets banged around a lot. I think I'd be crying if I had a Powerbook as it would be considerably dented by now.
And I too like the durabilty. It goes with me everywhere on buses and trains and gets banged around a lot. I think I'd be crying if I had a Powerbook as it would be considerably dented by now.
evilernie said:Let me be more specific here...for your guitar you will need a 1/4" to 1/8" mini adapter for either the iBook or Powerbook.
http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore?productLearnMore=T9106LL/A
For the iBook you will need an additional usb adapter because there is no audio in.
Don't want you to think you can plug your guitar cable right into the powerbook.
While the adapter you linked to on the Apple Store is the correct type, it's horribly overpriced. I bought a similar adapter from the local electronics shop and paid about AU $5 for it, and it works great with my guitar and both my PowerMac G5 and my 12" PowerBook. 1/4" to 1/8" adapters have been around forever...don't get caught paying 3 or 4 times too much for one just because it comes from the Apple Store and has white plastic insulation instead of black.
