Should I upgrade my 12" to a 15"? Help!

[JordanShapiro]

I love my 12" Powerbook. It's pretty fast, it's small and very light. I'm seriously weighing upgrading to a 15" for the larger screen, backlit, etc.

So I guess my question is, can the 15" be as "portable" as the 12"?

All opinions are very much welcomed.

Regards,
Jordan

 

[revenuee]

I think so ... The 15 inch isn't really that much bigger ... it'll fit into most backpacks ... relatively light ...

ya you should be fine ..

 

[Rezet]

Well, it really comes down to money honestly. 15" costs significanty more (especially with backlit kb). 15" will be little faster also but i don't know if it will justify the cost.
If you are gonan be using mostly as a desktop replacement, then there is no doubt, 15" or 17" would be the king.
But for mobility, i'd go for 12" hands down. I dont mind taking 12" anywhere while 15" compaq laptop always stayed on my desk at home.

I will get myself a 12" ibook for mobility later on.

 

[jamdr]

Ah! Someone who understands my predicament. I bought the 12" as well, and I have been trying to sell it to upgrade to the 15" PowerBook--not because of speed or the backlit keyboard or anything else but the screen size. In my opinion, the 12" is just too small for most things. I guess the main reason I bought it was the price, but the low end 15" is only $400 more (edu prices), and if I'm already spending $1400, I might as well spend some more (don't think about that logic too much). Anyway, if I were you, I would definitely upgrade. I know, the 12" is great, but I bet with the larger screen, you will be able to get more work done faster, easily justifying the price.

 

[Westside guy]

It really depends what you want to use it for. Here's a real-world example.

I have the 15" PB, and I use it for work (I'm a Webmaster/Sysadmin). When I'm actually at my job, I have this plugged into a 21" CRT; but when I work from home I'm using the PB screen. My job requires a fair bit of text-level stuff (not sure how else to phrase that) like working in a terminal window, but also a fair bit of graphic work - so the 15" is a good choice for me.

My friend and co-worker has a 12" PB. He's a full-time Sysadmin, and mostly works in text windows (although he does browse the Web and uses a GUI e-mail client). For him, the 12" is perfect. I've never heard him wish for a larger screen.

I will say, having hefted both PBs, I am a bit jealous of the weight difference. That pound or so is noticeable; but don't discount the advantage of the smaller size either.

If you think you're going to spend a lot of time with games then I would lean more towards the larger machine though.

 

[johnnyjibbs]

I bought the 12" PowerBook because it was the absolute most I could afford (actually already too much!!). I am a college student so I do not really need massive screen sizes anyway, but love the size and weight and portability of the 12" machine. There's always an external screen to hook up to with higher resolutions.

Today, I visited a John Lewis department store and they had the full Apple line-up (minus Xserve). I got my first glimpse of the G5 in person - amazing and bigger than I thought (I WANT ONE!!!)!! (They also had the 20" iMac).. Anyway, it was the first time I'd seen the 15 and 17" PowerBooks in the flesh also and I have to say I think the 12" is not only the best-looking, but is also the most comfortable to use in terms of the position of the keyboard and trackpad, etc. I also prefer the side position of the slot-load drive. When I saw the new G4 iBooks though, I was glad I swamped up the extra cash for my PowerBook!

The different PowerBooks cater for different needs. If you were to swap, it might be an idea to wait until next year when the G5 PBs come out - probably in late summer. If you really need the extra screen space, go for it, but the performance is not going to be majorly better than the 12", and it's a lot more money for one. I find that I cope fine with my 1024x768 even with Final Cut Express and Photoshop Elements, but I suppose bigger is better if you can afford it..