Apple Powerbook?

[AtlantaBob]

I promise I've read the reviews. I've read the posts on Anandtech. Even used the search feature. The only thing is, I can't seem to find many negatives about the Apple Powerbooks. It seems like (except for the price) they're too good to be true.

Granted, I know they're not the best for gaming; and I'd have to get MS Office for the Mac. But besides that, does anyone have any comments about the 12" Powerbook?

Is it just too small for normal use? Is the keyboard cramped? Underpowered for running Word, Powerpoint and Excel at the same time? If you've had any experiences with them at all, I'd love to hear them. But especially negative ones -- give me a reason not to spend the money!

Thanks...

 

[Trente]

I'm considering a 12" iBook myself and would like to hear user opinions about it as well; going for the cheapest model though:

1GHz PowerPC G4
512K L2 cache @ 1GHz
12-inch TFT Display
1024x768 resolution
256MB DDR266 SDRAM
30GB Ultra ATA drive
Combo Drive
ATI Mobility Radeon 9200
32MB DDR video memory
AirPort Extreme ready

BTW, when it says "AirPort Extreme ready", does it mean it has the ability to communicate with Wi-Fi routers/access points or do I have to buy extra hardware for that?

TIA!

 

[AtlantaBob]

Trente--

Good point! How different are the two (iBook and Powerbook) in practice?

Also, I think that Airport Extreme Ready means you have to buy the AirPort card/hunk of sillicon/whatever. I think with the education discount you can get it for about $75.

 

[btz0013]

Originally posted by: AtlantaBob

Granted, I know they're not the best for gaming; and I'd have to get MS Office for the Mac. But besides that, does anyone have any comments about the 12" Powerbook?

yeah, i'm looking at a 12" powerbook as well, but can't seem to find a lot of commentary about potential drawbacks other than games (which i don't play on laptops anyway).

are the stories of platform stability, longer battery life, and ease of use inflated? If not, then the price issue seems outweighed by the pleasure of use.

but i'd like some feedback from others on this topic...

 

[cy7878]

The powerbook 12 is a great deal. Better if you buy it with an educational discount. The problem, I find personally however is that it is kinda slow without the option of getting a faster model (in the 12 that is). It runs kinda hot. The KB kinda flexes. The screen is not as sharp as the 15 or 17 inch models, or even those on the Thinkpads (stare at it long enough and you will see what I mean).

It is very feature packed at a great price. It looks cool and there is no mistaken for generic computers. Chicks dig it. well, chicks buy it!

Ultimately it came down to using software I already have on a PC or start new with Mac. I figure the extra $500 I would have to spent on apps, buys me that much more on the PC side.

 

[jdogg707]

I have the following Powerbook:

- 1.5GHZ 15" Powerbook
- 1GB PC2700 DDR RAM
- 128MB ATi Radeon 9700
- Combo Drive
- Airport Extreme
- Apple OS X 10.3.4

My take is this:

I love the laptop, being a PC user my entire life this was my first Mac and the experience has been extremely pleasing. OS X is much better than Windows XP for the simple fact that my laptop has been on for 40 straight days without a restart, not one frozen App, and I have installed many Apps, including Office 2004. The environment is easy to learn and understand, with no surprises. My battery life is fair, about 3.5 hours while surfing the web with Airport Extreme and medium brightness. The machine runs games like Warcraft 3 perfectly with everything turned up and running at full resolution. Watching DVD's on the machine is awesome, the widescreen display is very sharp, keeps the films in the 16:9 format, and is extremely bright. The sound is quite nice for a laptop and hooking up a pair if headphones allows for excellent playback. The other great thing about this laptop is the sheer number of ports that it has. I have USB 2.0 (2), Firewire 400 (1), Firewire 800 (1), S-Video Out (1), DVI Out (1), Security Lock, Gigabit Ethernet, 56 V.92 Modem, Line-In, Headphone outlet, PCMCIA Slot. The backlit keyboard is a nice feature as well, as it really helps when working late with the screen dimmed. In conclusion, this is the first Apple product I have purchased, but it will most certainly not be the last. I like my Powerbook, I like my iPod, I am now an extreme Apple fan! Try it and you'll love it!

 

[Wuzup101]

Originally posted by: jdogg707
I have the following Powerbook:

- 1.5GHZ 15" Powerbook
- 1GB PC2700 DDR RAM
- 128MB ATi Radeon 9700
- Combo Drive
- Airport Extreme
- Apple OS X 10.3.4

My take is this:

I love the laptop, being a PC user my entire life this was my first Mac and the experience has been extremely pleasing. OS X is much better than Windows XP for the simple fact that my laptop has been on for 40 straight days without a restart, not one frozen App, and I have installed many Apps, including Office 2004. The environment is easy to learn and understand, with no surprises. My battery life is fair, about 3.5 hours while surfing the web with Airport Extreme and medium brightness. The machine runs games like Warcraft 3 perfectly with everything turned up and running at full resolution. Watching DVD's on the machine is awesome, the widescreen display is very sharp, keeps the films in the 16:9 format, and is extremely bright. The sound is quite nice for a laptop and hooking up a pair if headphones allows for excellent playback. The other great thing about this laptop is the sheer number of ports that it has. I have USB 2.0 (2), Firewire 400 (1), Firewire 800 (1), S-Video Out (1), DVI Out (1), Security Lock, Gigabit Ethernet, 56 V.92 Modem, Line-In, Headphone outlet, PCMCIA Slot. The backlit keyboard is a nice feature as well, as it really helps when working late with the screen dimmed. In conclusion, this is the first Apple product I have purchased, but it will most certainly not be the last. I like my Powerbook, I like my iPod, I am now an extreme Apple fan! Try it and you'll love it!

Okay well I was going to post something along these lines but then I read this and I no longer feel the need too. I've also recently bought my first powerbook (and first mac to boot). My specs are very similar to his... I just have less ram right now. The 12" is a great machine; however, if you don't need an ultra portable, I would go with the 15 for the larger screan resolution + bump in processing power (if you get the 1.5) + much better video chipset and option of 128mb ram (again on the 1.5ghz model). The 12" definitely has enough power to easily handle word/excell/powerpoint all at the same time... though I would invest in atleast another 512mb stick of pc2700... 1gb if you have the cash. Also, to answer your question about the keyboard. They are very solid and "full sized". All the current PBs have the SAME SIZE keyboard. The only option is the lighted keyboard found on the upper end 1.5ghz 15" and the 17" model. It is a very very nice touch and comes in handy... I already appreciate it and I've only had the machine for a couple of days (typing on it right now). In all honesty I prefer this keyboard to my PCs logitech MX Duo setup. I'm also running a logitech MX510 with full OSX support of course.

Also, if you're a student consider getting and apple developer (ADC) membership. They are $99/year for students and include monthly mailings with free software for developers. Even if you're not a developer you'll like the fact that you'll recieve all the new OS versions as they come out (full retail versions). If you buy it now you'll almost definitely get a copy of tiger which will more than pay for your $99 entry. You also get a larger discount on top of the normal edu discount. For instance, the top of the line 15" costs $2300 with the edu discount but only $2100 (including your $99 membership) with the ADC discount which you only use once in your lifetime. It easily is worth the money IMHO... you can find out more by going to www.apple.com/developer and click on the join link. Even if you're not a coder/compsci major it's worth it just for the copy of the OS you'll get and the discount!

If you want to play games definitely stick with the 15" 1.5ghz model. It comes standard with a 64mb radeon 9700 mobile GPU which can be upgraded to 128 when you purchase the book (as a Built To Order option)... you can't upgrade later. Most of the newer games are being released for OSX too... so you won't be too disappointed!

As far as price point, the powerbook really isn't overpriced (for students anyway). You have to consider that you're getting a very fast processor, a great gpu (on 15" and 17" models)... pretty much everything is high end... wireless b/g and bluetooth standard! Firewire 800, 400, usb2... etc... Trust me before buying a powerbook I check out what a "similar" dell or IBM T42 would cost me.... both were more expensive by about $500... When you consider the fit and finish of the new PB line... the price is more than justified.

If you have any additional ?s head over to www.macnn.com and go to their forums... and feel free to e-mail me at eclipse2k69@hotmailDOTcom or aim at Wuzup101

 

[addragyn]

Actually you don't have to get MS Office. The included OS X text editor will open simple doc files.

You also have some alternatives.

ThinkFree - http://www.thinkfree.com/

AbiWord - http://www.abisource.com/

PowerPoint Viewer - http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;EN-US;macpptx

AppleWorks (not that great I've heard) - http://www.apple.com/appleworks/

OpenOffice (uses X11) - http://www.openoffice.org/

 

[Kipper]

Appleworks (formerly Clarisworks) has always sucked, and will likely continue to suck...

If you are a student, it may be worth checking out the Student Software Developer Program ($99 signup) to get further, deeper discounts on Apple hardware.

 

[sk560]

The earliest 12" inch has heat issue which coz the case to wrap..... is it fixed?

The only problem i have w/ the 12" is the heat on the left wrist rest area...... might be the hdd underneath it... just like the 12" iBook... other than that.... the 12" powerbook is a great lappy !!!!

 

[Wuzup101]

The newer 12" PBs run cooler and don't have overheating problems. However, this is not to say that they run "cool". They do still run a bit hot but not enough to damage the case or anything as previous models did. my PB gets hot when i'm doing something very video/proc intensive like playing a game or something along those lines. As I'm sitting here its cool to the touch. The underside is a tiny bit warm... and I mean a tiny bit...

 

[frazzled]

Having followed the exact same path to the Powerbook as the guys above (e.g. many years of excusive PC use, etc), all I can say is that I concur completely.

They are, quite simply a complete joy to use. I started with a 12" PB and was almost amazed at how little I missed WinXP. It is hard to explain *why* OSX is such a pleasure, the key is to get comfortable with the basic functions and just go for it. The portability of the 12" is wonderful and when coupled with OSX's ability to wake from sleep reliably (something that has always been hit-or-miss in my experiences on the WinXP side) it's an excellent take-anywhere computer. Oh, and just wait until you don't have to deal with spyware/malware/viruses on a daily basis...

Of course it is important to determine beforehand *exactly* what you need to do with the laptop, but for the uses that have been mentioned there is no reason not to go with a Powerbook. As a matter of fact, even though my house is filled with PCs, I just bought my daughter an iBook for high school.

Note that I "started" with a 12" PB last December. Therein lies the "danger" of trying OSX. I fell so hard for the OS that I decided to start to switch. So I gave my 12" PB to my husband (I do a fair amount of Photoshop work and my aging eyes needed a bigger screen) and bought a 17" which is rapidly becoming my sole machine (back and forth to work, etc). I just finished a hectic business trip with my 17" and it was spectacular. Like traveling with a real workstation. And yeah, thinking about replacing my fast P4 desktop at home with a new dual G5.

So go ahead and check it out, just be prepared for the fact that you may not want to have much to do with Windows in the future.

Good luck,

fraz

 

[DarkAmeba]

Originally posted by: frazzled
Having followed the exact same path to the Powerbook as the guys above (e.g. many years of excusive PC use, etc), all I can say is that I concur completely.

They are, quite simply a complete joy to use. I started with a 12" PB and was almost amazed at how little I missed WinXP. It is hard to explain *why* OSX is such a pleasure, the key is to get comfortable with the basic functions and just go for it. The portability of the 12" is wonderful and when coupled with OSX's ability to wake from sleep reliably (something that has always been hit-or-miss in my experiences on the WinXP side) it's an excellent take-anywhere computer. Oh, and just wait until you don't have to deal with spyware/malware/viruses on a daily basis...

Of course it is important to determine beforehand *exactly* what you need to do with the laptop, but for the uses that have been mentioned there is no reason not to go with a Powerbook. As a matter of fact, even though my house is filled with PCs, I just bought my daughter an iBook for high school.

Note that I "started" with a 12" PB last December. Therein lies the "danger" of trying OSX. I fell so hard for the OS that I decided to start to switch. So I gave my 12" PB to my husband (I do a fair amount of Photoshop work and my aging eyes needed a bigger screen) and bought a 17" which is rapidly becoming my sole machine (back and forth to work, etc). I just finished a hectic business trip with my 17" and it was spectacular. Like traveling with a real workstation. And yeah, thinking about replacing my fast P4 desktop at home with a new dual G5.

So go ahead and check it out, just be prepared for the fact that you may not want to have much to do with Windows in the future.

Good luck,

fraz

The experiences of the above powerbook owners reflect my own. I couldn't put it better, so I won't try. I actually use my powerbook more than my PC now. The only thing the powerbook can't do is games. Now go buy one

 

[btz0013]

this sounds great, i'm convinced.
now just have to decide between the 12" and the 15" powerbook.
i'll head down to the apple store and give them both a whirl again and see what works best for my eyes.
thanks for all the feedback from you folks that have used both pcs and macs, it's made making the choice a lot easier!

 

[AtlantaBob]

Indeed--Thanks everyone for all of your insightful comments.

One last question--has anyone really used an iBook? From the specs on the Apple Website, it looks like they have slower processor.... but how much slower does it seem in practice?

Thanks!

 

[Frightcrawler]

The processor is only slightly slower, like 300 mhz slower.
It's that they are made of plastic, whereas powerbooks are made of aluminum alloy, which makes them somewhat inferior.

 

[TJ69]

Most reviews claim a max battery life of 3 hrs or less at max power saving and normal usage (thats with no backlight). Apple store claims upto 5 hrs (factoring in sleep/standby?).

If I were to pick a weak point, that would be the one. It used to be price, but with the ADC discount thats no longer a concern.

As for 12 vs 15, you get more ports, an upgrade slot, a better screen, better vid card, possibly faster processors, and a bigger chick magnet with the 15". The 12" gives you better portability and lower cost.

I'll be buying my 15" on tax free weekend!

 

[Wuzup101]

As for the iBook they are great machines. Even the base model has a 1ghz G4 in it which is actually quite snappy. The iBook also bosts a longer bat life than any powerbook model. As far as being made of plastic, it does make them less desireable on some people's eyes. However, many iBook/PB owners will tell you that the polycarbonate they are made out of is more durable than the aluminum that forms the PB. Both are great machines to travel with. I would say that the iBook is better for students that aren't great with taking really good care of machines. I'm very anal about the condition of my machines, so the PB isn't a problem for me. That being said when you fully configure an upper level iBook with all teh goodies (airport, bluetooth, superdrive) they are about the same price if not a bit more than the base 12" PB.

 

[jmalm]

The negative: it's a mac. Plain and simple... it's not run off the "standard" PC platform, so accessories are a tad more expensive, plus you don't get the vast software options as you would on a PC. Other than that there really is no negative.

 

[way]

Originally posted by: jmalm
The negative: it's a mac. Plain and simple... it's not run off the "standard" PC platform, so accessories are a tad more expensive, plus you don't get the vast software options as you would on a PC. Other than that there really is no negative.

My PowerBook is competitively priced and comes with lots of built in accessories that I don't see as standard on PC notebooks---stuff like DVI out, 6-pin FireWire, BlueTooth, and 802.11g, line-in audio.

For software, OS X and the iLife apps are a dream to use and I can't get those on any other platform. It comes with all the UNIX tools and I've also got Fink installed so I can apt-get whatever other UNIX software I want.