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Portege R100 or NEW G4 IBook?
- Thread starter DavidCL23
- Start date
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i have never used a portege, but one of my best friends has a toshiba laptop. he likes it, but its monstrous compared to my ibook (900mhz G3).
The thing is, you aren't being very clear about your needs....do you need windows? do you need the G4 for photoshop, etc?
You said you needed firewire, and since its not terribly likely (although not impossible) that someone on these boards coudl tell you when/if the r100 is getting firewire, i would say go with what you need now. If you need a computer wiht firewire, are comfortable with Mac OS X, and can move away from windows, go for it. If you can't leave windows (software reasons, etc) and virtual pc doesnt work for you, then keep looking i guess...i know fujitsu makes some smallish computers with firewire.
--carly
ps the ibook is also almost a 1,000 cheaper than the r100....if you are looking to spend more, and gain portability, have you thought about the 12in powerbook?
The thing is, you aren't being very clear about your needs....do you need windows? do you need the G4 for photoshop, etc?
You said you needed firewire, and since its not terribly likely (although not impossible) that someone on these boards coudl tell you when/if the r100 is getting firewire, i would say go with what you need now. If you need a computer wiht firewire, are comfortable with Mac OS X, and can move away from windows, go for it. If you can't leave windows (software reasons, etc) and virtual pc doesnt work for you, then keep looking i guess...i know fujitsu makes some smallish computers with firewire.
--carly
ps the ibook is also almost a 1,000 cheaper than the r100....if you are looking to spend more, and gain portability, have you thought about the 12in powerbook?
I need firewire for the R100 b/c it doesn't have an optical drive installed and I have an external smartdisk cdrw which I could use if they installed a firewire port.
I really just need something for typing in class, but something extremely small, but comftorable, and with VERY LONG battery life. I would also like to keep my music library with me, and maybe watch a couple divx movies off the machine at night.
I really just need something for typing in class, but something extremely small, but comftorable, and with VERY LONG battery life. I would also like to keep my music library with me, and maybe watch a couple divx movies off the machine at night.
You could get the iBook with a CD-RW drive so you wouldn't have to lug the external one around and you would still have FW and USB.
The Protégé can handle more memory then the iBook, but it doesn't have BT as an option. The iBook supports 802.11g while the Protégé has 802.11a/b. Both have two USB 2.0 ports, but the iBook has one FW compared to none. Both have 32MB of graphics memory. You can get the iBook with 30, 40 or 60GB drives, compared to 30 or 40GB only. The runtime for both is equivalent.
For the same cost as the Protégé, you can get an iBook with max memory, 60GB drive, BT, 802.11g, a larger screen, an extra battery and Applecare. Or you could go with the 12 and use the extra money for an iPod, movies, music, book or even food and still have it loaded.
The Protégé can handle more memory then the iBook, but it doesn't have BT as an option. The iBook supports 802.11g while the Protégé has 802.11a/b. Both have two USB 2.0 ports, but the iBook has one FW compared to none. Both have 32MB of graphics memory. You can get the iBook with 30, 40 or 60GB drives, compared to 30 or 40GB only. The runtime for both is equivalent.
For the same cost as the Protégé, you can get an iBook with max memory, 60GB drive, BT, 802.11g, a larger screen, an extra battery and Applecare. Or you could go with the 12 and use the extra money for an iPod, movies, music, book or even food and still have it loaded.
I used to type all my notes in class too...esp now that you say you need fw for the optical drive i would definitily recommend the ibook. the major benefit of the r100 appears to be about 2lbs, and that doesnt seem so fantastic if you consider the added space you'll need to carry your opt. drive.
And if the battery life is a major issue, get an extra battery. its still waaay cheaper and more space efficient than using the r100 (or equiv) + external optical drive.
Finally, if you turn off all wireless or all superfluous wireless in class you'll get a wicked good battery life.
--Carly
And if the battery life is a major issue, get an extra battery. its still waaay cheaper and more space efficient than using the r100 (or equiv) + external optical drive.
Finally, if you turn off all wireless or all superfluous wireless in class you'll get a wicked good battery life.
--Carly
He already has the drive. Does the Portege have a PCMCIA slot? I've seen Firewire cards for about $80 (I suppose they're "cardbus" rather than PCMCIA).
Might want to consider the 15" Pbook if it's in the same price class. Sure, it's bigger, but it's probably lighter, and watching movies on it will be a lot more pleasant.
Might want to consider the 15" Pbook if it's in the same price class. Sure, it's bigger, but it's probably lighter, and watching movies on it will be a lot more pleasant.
But he would still have to lug it around compared to the iBook has it built-in. How would he power the external drive? Yes, the Toshiba has a slot, but that is still $80 that would have to be spent. All systems are cardbus these days, as the original PCMCIA spec was 16-bit and cardbus is 32-bit.
Bottom line is there are a lot of differences between the two models, and nobody here is going to be able to make the decision for you.
As far as the portege getting Firewire, I wouldn't hold my breath, many, many PC laptops don't include firewire because of feature overlap with USB2.0
As far as the portege getting Firewire, I wouldn't hold my breath, many, many PC laptops don't include firewire because of feature overlap with USB2.0
Thanks for all the help, the portege seems to be the best option bc the battery life is 6.5 hrs and the price is only $1800 for me. I am just wondering has anyone actually seen it in person and can inform me on its build quality (very important questions since nowadays many laptops are built poorly 
).
Thanks a ton,
David
).Thanks a ton,
David
http://www.csd.toshiba.com/cgi-bin/...comm=ST&plin=Portables&pfam=Portege&pmod=R100
($1800)
versus
http://www.apple.com/ibook/specs.html
($1,099-$$1,499)
Also if you look at the tech specs it says the Primary battery gets 2:02hours of battery time. So to get 6.5 hours you must have a 2nd battery installed (High Capacity). On the other hand the iBook gets 6hours. So if half an hour is worth 700 dollars, go for it. Personally I'd go for the iBook for $1099 and use the money you save for an extra battery (12hours total) and some apps (Office, Photoshop, ect) or whatever else you need. You might want to play with the iBook first in an Apple store, but this decision is pretty much set towards the iBook.
($1800)
versus
http://www.apple.com/ibook/specs.html
($1,099-$$1,499)
Also if you look at the tech specs it says the Primary battery gets 2:02hours of battery time. So to get 6.5 hours you must have a 2nd battery installed (High Capacity). On the other hand the iBook gets 6hours. So if half an hour is worth 700 dollars, go for it. Personally I'd go for the iBook for $1099 and use the money you save for an extra battery (12hours total) and some apps (Office, Photoshop, ect) or whatever else you need. You might want to play with the iBook first in an Apple store, but this decision is pretty much set towards the iBook.
Apple education store?
http://www.apple.com/education/
You mention class so if you are a student, get the education discount. Then you don't need the coupon.
http://www.apple.com/education/
You mention class so if you are a student, get the education discount. Then you don't need the coupon.
Also the bigger battery from my understanding and various reviews clips under the back of the notebook. This makes it bulkier and heavier.
In other words: 6.5hrs from Toshiba only happens when you agree to loose all benefits off getting the R100 in the first place.
Just get an iBook and have an internat CD-RW + BT + AP-X (802.11g) + MacOS (ha - toshiba cant ever do that one) + FireWire + speed +
In other words: 6.5hrs from Toshiba only happens when you agree to loose all benefits off getting the R100 in the first place.
Just get an iBook and have an internat CD-RW + BT + AP-X (802.11g) + MacOS (ha - toshiba cant ever do that one) + FireWire + speed +
AVOID THE PORTEGE!!!!
I had a similar Sony Vaio.
The seperate CDRom drove me nuts, AND you can only restore the OS and software from a Toshiba (or in my case Sony) brand drive. It was $400 for a CDRom - not even a burner!!!
Also, you will be getting Intel 'Extreme' graphics. EXTREMELY BAD! Forget about games here.
The ULV Centrinos are nice, but at 900 or 1100MHz they won't be much faster than am iBook. The iBooks ATI 9200 kills the Intel 865G, and you get a built in DVD/CDR.
For a usable portable, the 900MHz G3 or 800MHz G4 12" is a good choice.
I had a similar Sony Vaio.
The seperate CDRom drove me nuts, AND you can only restore the OS and software from a Toshiba (or in my case Sony) brand drive. It was $400 for a CDRom - not even a burner!!!
Also, you will be getting Intel 'Extreme' graphics. EXTREMELY BAD! Forget about games here.
The ULV Centrinos are nice, but at 900 or 1100MHz they won't be much faster than am iBook. The iBooks ATI 9200 kills the Intel 865G, and you get a built in DVD/CDR.
For a usable portable, the 900MHz G3 or 800MHz G4 12" is a good choice.
Here's my two cents for what it's worth:
I've seen a couple of portege 2000's (very very similar to the R100, main difference in the newer model is the upgrade from PIII to Pentium M) in the flesh. They are very nice computers. They are extraordinarily thin -- under one inch at the thickest point and less at the front edge. As noted above however you will need the extra battery 'slice' to get the claimed battery life. I think that increases the weight to 3 or 3 and a half pounds.
The build quality on Toshiba's professional computers is very good (much much better than the Satellites).
The screen is nice too, nice and bright and very clear.
I wouldn;t wory too much about not having an internal drive. Realistically you probably don't use the thing that often.
While its a nice computer it is quite expensive. The $1800 price you say you'll get it for is a good price but is still significantly more than the ibook. You could do a lot with extra cash. So in one way its a a trade off: do you want a to carry around 2 pounds less weight computer or $700.
Or with educational discount I think you could get a 12 inch powerbook with superdrive for $1600. Which, if you ask me would be a nicer computer than either the R100 or ibook.
(Full disclosure:
1. I just bought a combodrive 12 in PB and I think it's very an extra nice little computer
2. The computer it replace was a Toshiba Satellite Pro 430CDS [Pentium 120; 1.3 GB Hard drive; 48 MB RAM], which served me very well over the years)
Cheers and good luck
(First post BTW)
I've seen a couple of portege 2000's (very very similar to the R100, main difference in the newer model is the upgrade from PIII to Pentium M) in the flesh. They are very nice computers. They are extraordinarily thin -- under one inch at the thickest point and less at the front edge. As noted above however you will need the extra battery 'slice' to get the claimed battery life. I think that increases the weight to 3 or 3 and a half pounds.
The build quality on Toshiba's professional computers is very good (much much better than the Satellites).
The screen is nice too, nice and bright and very clear.
I wouldn;t wory too much about not having an internal drive. Realistically you probably don't use the thing that often.
While its a nice computer it is quite expensive. The $1800 price you say you'll get it for is a good price but is still significantly more than the ibook. You could do a lot with extra cash. So in one way its a a trade off: do you want a to carry around 2 pounds less weight computer or $700.
Or with educational discount I think you could get a 12 inch powerbook with superdrive for $1600. Which, if you ask me would be a nicer computer than either the R100 or ibook.
(Full disclosure:
1. I just bought a combodrive 12 in PB and I think it's very an extra nice little computer
2. The computer it replace was a Toshiba Satellite Pro 430CDS [Pentium 120; 1.3 GB Hard drive; 48 MB RAM], which served me very well over the years)
Cheers and good luck
(First post BTW)
The Toshiba R100 is a GREAT subnotebook computer. The high capacity external battery is included and doesnt really add any bulk. If you need something really thin and really light that looks sweet go with the Toshiba. IBM and Toshiba are probably the best PC laptops.
The iBook however is an excellent value. I don't really like the new gray/white case. Although I haven't seen the new iBook in person just in the pics on the apple site.
Both are great machines. Stylewise I think the Toshiba looks better.
Panther is included with the new iBook.
I'd go to an apple store to test drive a new ibook. If you are a windows/linux guy the Toshiba is cream of the crop.
The iBook however is an excellent value. I don't really like the new gray/white case. Although I haven't seen the new iBook in person just in the pics on the apple site.
Both are great machines. Stylewise I think the Toshiba looks better.
Panther is included with the new iBook.
I'd go to an apple store to test drive a new ibook. If you are a windows/linux guy the Toshiba is cream of the crop.
Looks like the R100 it is now I just can't pass up such an amazing price... do you think there is a new model coming out soon, and that's why I am getting such a large discount? I could hold out another month or two for a newer model even if just a slight speed increase.
I just can't pass up such an amazing price... do you think there is a new model coming out soon, and that's why I am getting such a large discount? I could hold out another month or two for a newer model even if just a slight speed increase.
What price is it going for? Who are you looking at buying it from? I need a small notebook for school and if it's available at a good price I want an R100 too.