Why are 12" Powerbooks still so expensive?

[TDM21]

Basically everybody is saying the same thing: People just love the 12" PB. Think of us like the people who own Cubes, we're a bit crazy and will only replace our PBs when something just like it, only better comes along.

I've owned my PB since June '04 and I must say its perfect for college (after you hook it up to an external monitor). The 12" PB is small and light enough to be carried in a backpack, but you when you need the power its there. That and the 4 hours of battery life isn't bad.

 

[doctor pangloss]

That's a good deal.
I love mine. It's got a couple of dents but it just keeps humming along.
By the time this one wears out they will have something new and slick to replace it.

 

[2ms]

Did Apple or anyone ever offer any kind of reason why they stopped making a 12" pro notebook? I agree the MacBook is awesome but it doesnt have that sveltness that is so sexy in a secondary/relatively occasional use portable. If the reason was something like that it didnt sell worth a damn then that is bad news. If it is that the Intel platform runs too hot for such a small platform then perhaps it wont be long before it comes back as the CPUs get more and more efficient (smaller process, lower voltage, etc that usually comes w time on new platform).

Unfortunately, given that there appear to be several ultrap-portable Core2 notebook out there in Windows world right now, I fear the explanation might be the former.

Anyone, have any info on when a new ultra-portable Apple notebook might come around again?

 

[EricChunky]

Did Apple or anyone ever offer any kind of reason why they stopped making a 12" pro notebook? I agree the MacBook is awesome but it doesnt have that sveltness that is so sexy in a secondary/relatively occasional use portable. If the reason was something like that it didnt sell worth a damn then that is bad news. If it is that the Intel platform runs too hot for such a small platform then perhaps it wont be long before it comes back as the CPUs get more and more efficient (smaller process, lower voltage, etc that usually comes w time on new platform).

Unfortunately, given that there appear to be several ultrap-portable Core2 notebook out there in Windows world right now, I fear the explanation might be the former.

Anyone, have any info on when a new ultra-portable Apple notebook might come around again?

Apple's industrial design technique is not as good as many have thought... look at the Macbook pro, it's much hotter (in terms of temperature ) than most of its PC conterparts.

 

[aliasfox]

Designed to be hotter

MacBook Pros are essentially designed to be hotter than the competition - it's thin and made of metal, so the heat dissipates across most of the lower casing. If it were thicker, Apple could use plastic (more insulating) and there'd be more airflow.

 

[joe50000]

Actually the problem was that the 12" powerbook sold too well and they were afraid of cannibalizing their sales of the ibook. As it stands right now the macbook is probably the smallest they'll go because of the move to widescreens on all macs.

 

[2ms]

why would cannibalizing sales of a cheaper model be bad? That can't be. Are you serious?

 

[CrackedButter]

I recently bought a 12"PB off ebay. Revision D. I wanted it because of its size and power. As others have said, nothing beats it. I also don't know why people are talking down the screen on the 12"PB. Its amazing and the gloss versions of the MB are not as good in my opinion. I need Matte anyway for my work. I never have the 12"PB at full brightness either because its so good.

2 Girls were in uni today with their brand new MB's. I asked if I could hold one of them and boy are the heavier than the 12"PB, i'm glad I didn't get one after all. It is thin though and thats nice.

With regard to the 13" MB. I think its trying to be a very portable machine but it has to balance that ability with a reasonable screen size. The 12"PB accepted its role as a true portable and is of course the smallest laptop Apple has ever made.

 

[joe50000]

why would cannibalizing sales of a cheaper model be bad? That can't be. Are you serious?

The ibook wasn't a "cheaper" model per se just a different one, and the 12" powerbook seemed like an odd fit for their model line. Apple still sells their consumer laptops for a profit and they're an important part of their sales.

 

[njmac]

If it's a Rev. B 12" it's only 3 years old, even if it's a Rev. A it'd only be 3.5 years old.

oops... your right. I just checked my receipt and I bought it in October 2003, not October 2002. So its exactly 3 years old

 

[IJ Reilly]

Apple has been rumored to be considering adding a sub-notebook to the lineup, so this could well be the reason why the 12" model was not duplicated by the MacBook line. I hope Apple realizes that many 12" PowerBook owners are not jumping to a new MacBook because we prize compactness and light weight. If anybody can do a sub right, it's Apple. Here's hoping.

 

[John Jacob]

I have the granddaddy of 'em all!!

Ha, looks like I have the oldest 12" PB in this thread. I have a Rev A, 867 MHz 1.12 GB RAM purchased in May 2003. I will replace it with a new Apple portable Mac the day Apple makes a 13" or smaller ultrathin ultralight ultraportable (while the current MacBooks are great machines, they simply aren't small enough). If they never do that, you can pry my PB out of my cold, dead fingers.

EDIT: Woot! 100 posts!! I'm a regular!!!

 

[techster85]

what revision number would my PB be if I bought it in February 2005? It is the 1.5 ghz...

 

[mkrishnan]

what revision number would my PB be if I bought it in February 2005? It is the 1.5 ghz...

I think that makes it "C", doesn't it? They went up to "D", but only for the 15/17, I think.

 

[sikkinixx]

I sold my 12"pb when the macbooks came out. I love my macbook, even if it has been a pain, it is way faster, much brighter and nicer screen, thinner, etc... but damn i miss my powerbook so much... I was a fool to sell it. I should have kept it, bought the extra Apple care and got an iMac for home use...

 

[CrackedButter]

Apple has been rumored to be considering adding a sub-notebook to the lineup, so this could well be the reason why the 12" model was not duplicated by the MacBook line. I hope Apple realizes that many 12" PowerBook owners are not jumping to a new MacBook because we prize compactness and light weight. If anybody can do a sub right, it's Apple. Here's hoping.

To be honest, Apple never really did the 12"PB right anyway so I don't have high hopes for a new one.

When they were selling the 12"PB's we were always bitching about the fact that the processor wasn't as fast as the other models or the 12" was missing this or that feature. We would bitch that Apple should include FW800 and they should realise that people who buy machines for portability shouldn't be forced to get the bigger laptop simply for more features.

But I want Apple to prove me wrong on this if they do another smaller notebook.

 

[dpaanlka]

Welcome to the used Mac world. Macs take forever to depreciate compared to how fast PCs do.

 

[IJ Reilly]

To be honest, Apple never really did the 12"PB right anyway so I don't have high hopes for a new one.

When they were selling the 12"PB's we were always bitching about the fact that the processor wasn't as fast as the other models or the 12" was missing this or that feature. We would bitch that Apple should include FW800 and they should realise that people who buy machines for portability shouldn't be forced to get the bigger laptop simply for more features.

But I want Apple to prove me wrong on this if they do another smaller notebook.

Personally, I never bitched about any of these things. The smaller form-factor was always my top priority, and continues to be. If Apple does do another sub-notebook, I'll be far more interested in dimensions and weight than features and speed.

 

[CrackedButter]

Personally, I never bitched about any of these things. The smaller form-factor was always my top priority, and continues to be. If Apple does do another sub-notebook, I'll be far more interested in dimensions and weight than features and speed.

I had a iBook or an eMac at the time so I didn't care and I don't care now since I wanted to buy one based on the same criteria as you just stated. But I'm just saying, that was the general attitude on these boards. I didn't mean for anyone to take offense.

 

[deputy_doofy]

I still love my PB 12" 1GHz. It's extremely portable, yet has just enough power to do stuff. In fact, many PC people over the last 3 years have been surprised to find out that it was only 1GHz. Let's face it. A 1GHz Pentium was never as impressive as the G4 (of the same frequency) and a 1 GHz Celeron was even worse. To this day, my PB w/512mb RAM still beats PC's w/2.4GHz Celerons and 768mb RAM.
Now I have a new 15" Glossy MacBook Pro coming to me (C2D 2.33, 2gb RAM, etc.). I have little experience with the glossy screen, but I'm willing to chance it. They always look cool to me in stores. The PB 12" will soon go to the little lady.

 

[lmalave]

As it stands right now the macbook is probably the smallest they'll go because of the move to widescreens on all macs.

Not necessarily. I could see Apple making a 10.6" widescreen MacBook nano. My dream would be a 10.6" MacBook nano in the nano metallic finishes. That would be the only thing that would make me want to sell my MacBook (or give it to my mom).

EDIT: even though the screen would be a lot smaller, I would still like to see resolutions comparable to the MacBook. Maybe 1120 x 700?

 

[IJ Reilly]

I had a iBook or an eMac at the time so I didn't care and I don't care now since I wanted to buy one based on the same criteria as you just stated. But I'm just saying, that was the general attitude on these boards. I didn't mean for anyone to take offense.

Don't worry, I'm not offended.

I think it's apparent from the comments in this thread, and the high resale value, that the 12" PowerBook was (is) much appreciated, no matter how some people may have responded to it at the time.

 

[QuarterSwede]

I bought my Rev C. 1.5GHz 12" in May of 2005 and absolutely love it. Even a friend of mine with a 15" PB loves the portability of my 12". He actually considered swapping mine for his (I would like more screen real-estate ) but I wouldn't let him.

 

[CrackedButter]

Don't worry, I'm not offended.

I think it's apparent from the comments in this thread, and the high resale value, that the 12" PowerBook was (is) much appreciated, no matter how some people may have responded to it at the time.

I wonder if this attitude was the same for the cube in its heyday?

 

[IJ Reilly]

I wonder if this attitude was the same for the cube in its heyday?

Good point. Yes, I think you've got a good analogy there.

I've got both a Cube and a 12" PowerBook. Not sure what that says about me.