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Purchase iBook NOW? Does it make sense?

P

Peter Griffin

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 10, 2005
219
0
I'm not a power user. All I ever use a computer for is word processing, Internet, iTunes and Limewire. As of recent, I've gotten into photography and would like to explore iPhoto. Now onto my question. Does it still make sense for a consumer like myself to purchase the iBook at it's current state? I don't have any prior experience with Macs which is why I've come to this forum for some advice ;) I'm prety confident that the current specs will handle my light use quite well. As we all know, the iBook updates don't seem to be coming any time soon (just look at the 50+ page thread). I need it for college (before August) and my only other option would be a similarly priced Dell 6000 thats getting more and more tempting by the day.

What do you guys think?
Would you get the iBook now/before the update?

I'd love to try out a Mac, everything about it screams beauty, I'm just not sure if buying 9mth old HW is the smartest thing to do.

Thanks in advance
 
Peter Griffin said:
I'm not a power user. All I ever use a computer for is word processing, Internet, iTunes and Limewire. As of recent, I've gotten into photography and would like to explore iPhoto. Now onto my question. Does it still make sense for a consumer like myself to purchase the iBook at it's current state? I don't have any prior experience with Macs which is why I've come to this forum for some advice ;) I'm prety confident that the current specs will handle my light use quite well. As we all know, the iBook updates don't seem to be coming any time soon (just look at the 50+ page thread). I need it for college (before August) and my only other option would be a similarly priced Dell 6000 thats getting more and more tempting by the day.

What do you guys think?
Would you get the iBook now/before the update?

I'd love to try out a Mac, everything about it screams beauty, I'm just not sure if buying 9mth old HW is the smartest thing to do.

Thanks in advance
Click to expand...

I'd wait if you have a something that is working now. The iBook is due for a form factor and processor change/bump. Don't settle just because you're impatient, but as always, buy now if you have to.
 
It's a tough one... ask yourself though, would you be happy with this hardware one year from now? If you would, IMO go ahead and get the iBook, since you can wait forever and the specs might not even be updated that much.
 
I'm in the same sort of situation... I'm getting REALLY sick of waiting, and I'm thinking about just going ahead and buying if they don't update them in the next two weeks, because the current hardware I'm sure will suit me fine. But I probably wouldn't want to buy it if the form factor will be changed in a month or two after, so what do you think is the likelihood of Apple changing the form factor for the next update?
 
If you want to use iPhoto, I'd wait for the refresh. The current iBook's GPU is not CoreImage capable, and that can make the adjustment filters/effects in iPhoto significantly slower (trust me, I own an iBook 1.2 Ghz!). Hopefully the next refresh will actually include a CoreImage capable graphics card.
 
Hello. I think you will probably get a mixed response to your question, with the majority of people advising you to wait, or to step up to the PowerBook line (though this costs around 50% more).

Agreed, the iBook in its current state is looking a little 'stale' when you consider the fact that is hasn't been updated since last October. However, it is still a VERY CAPABLE machine and it will more than handle the applications you mentioned.

I played the waiting game for a couple of months and really wish I hadn't bothered - that was just lost time. In the end I decided to buy a PowerBook because it suited my needs better than the iBook anyway, plus the extra expense wasn't an issue. My sister has just purchased an iBook and it's great. I have used both machines and the iBook is a little slower - that is to be expected after all - but we are about to upgrade the RAM as it's only got 256B at the moment, so hopefully that will improve performance. It is perfect for users who like her (and like you by the sound of it) will mostly be web browsing, using email, itunes etc and not doing anything too processor intensive.

The problem with Apple is that you never know when there will be an update until it happens. The reason why there are so many 'new ibooks next tuesday' threads at the moment and people advising not to buy is because historically the ibooks have had fairly regular [minor] updates around April and October. The Spring update appears to have been skipped this year. It wouldn't be fair for me to advise you whether to buy now or not, that is entirely your call. You could choose to wait and then find the ibooks *do* get updated, but that the update is so minor you wished you hadn't bothered waiting! Set yourself a deadline if you do choose to wait.

Should you decide to go for the current iBook, it is advisable to upgrade the hard disk to 60GB, as 30 isn't really enough these days and the cost of the upgrade is next to nothing. You might also choose to add Bluetooth - useful for connecting your mobile phone etc. Also consider upgrading the RAM to 512 or more but don't do this through Apple - buy this later on from a third party vendor such as Crucial as this works out a lot cheaper.

I've had my PowerBook now for 3 or 4 weeks - it's my first Mac and I'm loving it. It does indeed scream beauty. I will never use Windows again - well only for work anyway!
 
I don't understand the whole "i'm tired of waiting, i'm just going to buy it approach", some people (such as myself) have been waiting for months and months, seems kind of silly to just get one cause you're tired of waiting. Obviously, something of some kind must happen. Also, the people that need a computer for school (i'm in the same boat) classes start in Sept. it's really not hard to get a computer a couple of weeks before that. hold strong.


p.s. I would like to point out the fact that so far in ottawa, nobody has ibooks, and if they do they still have panther on them.....this really mean anything?
 
if you check the apple website every two ours the new ibooks will come sooner. i've been doing that and i just KNOW that tomorrow we'll be seeing new ibooks
 
FF_productions said:
i'd wait it out for the iBook, because if you buy it now you'll feel horrible if a few weeks later they update it..It depends on your patience, and do you really need it now?
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the best time to buy an ibook is when you need one and will be satisfied that it will work for you for 3 or 4 years to come. You will be second-guessing yourself forever if you always wait to see what is around the corner. I did that for three years before finally ordering my 15in PB. :)
 
i just ordered an ibook with 60gb hdd and will add ram later - wish i had never discovered this site and just bought the damn thing 2 months ago.
 
flaith said:
i just ordered an ibook with 60gb hdd and will add ram later - wish i had never discovered this site and just bought the damn thing 2 months ago.
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I know what you mean about waiting... and this forum 'advising' you to keep waiting. I wish i hadn't either as that was wasted time during which I had to suffer with a slow windows pc.

However, if you are new to Mac then this site is really useful for picking up tips on OS X and various apps etc. Hope you enjoy the iBook when it arrives!
 
I'm going to do a trade-in with PowerMax, and just order it whenever. If the new one is out when they say I can order, I'll get that. If the old one is still there, I'll get that. I figure it's an update for me either way, so what's the big problem.

I'll be getting another one in a few years for college anyway.
 
MUCKYFINGERS said:
anyone else think the iBooks look nicer than the Powerbooks?
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That is a definate no on my part. I love the PowerBook look. That's the only good thing about the aluminum enclosure though (it dents, gets hot, etc)
 
MUCKYFINGERS said:
anyone else think the iBooks look nicer than the Powerbooks?
Click to expand...
I do :) . Although those PowerBooks do look awesome, I'm getting tired of the metal. I much prefer the "aqua" look of the iBooks, Power Mac G4's and the 3G iPods. It seems that the G5's, the PB's and the 4G iPods are just too "two dimensional".
 
I prefer the look of the iBook 12" and was going to get one over a Powerbook based on looks and more afforadbility. Unfortunately, the Powerbook is significantly more powerful and that's why I'm most likely getting a Pb 12" over an iBook 12".
 
Well getting a laptop is a must for me since I'll be moving away (don't wanna lug my crappy PC desktop). I've never been to college so I wouldn't know how inconvenient it is to not have a computer the first few weeks and quite frankly, who knows when these things will get updated.

I second the opinion of those who wish they had never visited this forum. But then again it's great to see such a fanatical group of ppl so pationate about Apple. It only goes to show that there is something special about these products and I'm curious to find out. :cool:

I'm holding off till he end of July. If there isn't an update by then I don't know if I should go with a PC lappy. I'm a college student and its all about bang for the buck ;)
 
MUCKYFINGERS said:
anyone else think the iBooks look nicer than the Powerbooks?
Click to expand...
I prefer the looks of the PBook, but as previously said the iBook is more durable. However both are gorgeous compared to some PC laptops.
 
Peter Griffin said:
Well getting a laptop is a must for me since I'll be moving away (don't wanna lug my crappy PC desktop). I've never been to college so I wouldn't know how inconvenient it is to not have a computer the first few weeks and quite frankly, who knows when these things will get updated.

I second the opinion of those who wish they had never visited this forum. But then again it's great to see such a fanatical group of ppl so pationate about Apple. It only goes to show that there is something special about these products and I'm curious to find out. :cool:

I'm holding off till he end of July. If there isn't an update by then I don't know if I should go with a PC lappy. I'm a college student and its all about bang for the buck ;)
Click to expand...
I don't see that there won't be an update before school starts. It just wouldn't make sense to not have anything to add to it, even if it's just a video upgrade and a processor bump.
 
Peter Griffin said:
I'm holding off till he end of July. If there isn't an update by then I don't know if I should go with a PC lappy. I'm a college student and its all about bang for the buck ;)
Click to expand...

Apparently there is some sort of education promotion in the US (am assuming that's where you're from) at the moment where you can claim a free ipod mini when you purchase an ibook or powerbook. I don't know all the details since i'm not a student, nor do I live in the US but there must be a link on the US Apple Store or you'll probably find more details if you search this forum.
 
dietcokevanilla said:
Apparently there is some sort of education promotion in the US (am assuming that's where you're from) at the moment where you can claim a free ipod mini when you purchase an ibook or powerbook. I don't know all the details since i'm not a student, nor do I live in the US but there must be a link on the US Apple Store or you'll probably find more details if you search this forum.
Click to expand...

Yeah I'm aware of the offer but not really interested seeing how I already have a 20 giger. All I'm interested in is an updated iBook but i dont think we'll be seeing that for a while :(
 
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