txd

Good morning all, I am looking at purchasing a 12" powerbook in the next week or two and was wondering if anyone has any comments on the 1ghz 12" powerbooks.

I've read a few review and the majority of people say it gets hot to the point where you have to take breaks from it to let it cool down. The LCD also seems to be of quite a poor quality compared to the 15 and 17 inchers

Has anyone any experience with the 12" and 15? How do they compare?

junglistic

I dont own one but my cousin does. It gets no more hot then the other pbooks. A solution to that is, you can buy desk props which let some air circulate under the base of the laptop. I guess a book could do the same thing.

If you can shell out a few more bucks id go with the 15" for sure.

I dont know if i could live with just 12", but go to your nearest apple store and take a good long look at them. The screens are of fantastic quality, nice bright picture.

So to sum it all up.

Go take a look at them first hand, im sure you will love them.

juanvaldes

My cousin recently sold of his 15" PB to buy a 12" and is loving it. While I only used it for a few hours I did notice it getting hot but not so much worse then my dad's pismo (G3 500).

Wait until after Macworld before you buy though.

cheerios

when they first were revealed a year ago at MWSF, I was there. they did seem to be a little warm, but so do most laptops I've used. sleek little machines, good for people who really have to move alot, was my impression. Personally, if I were looking @ a 12" powerbook, I'd SERIOUSLY think about getting a high-end iBook instead.

iBook:
$1,499.00
1GHz PowerPC G4
256K L2 cache @ 1GHz
14-inch TFT Display
1024x768 resolution
256MB DDR266 SDRAM
60GB Ultra ATA drive
Combo Drive
ATI Mobility Radeon 9200
32MB DDR video memory

powebook:
$1,599.00

12.1-inch TFT Display
1024x768 resolution
1GHz PowerPC G4
512K L2 cache
256MB DDR266 SDRAM
40GB Ultra ATA/100
NVIDIA GeForce FX
Go 5200 (32MB DDR)
Full size keyboard
10/100BASE-T Ethernet
FireWire 400
AirPort Extreme Ready
Mini-DVI out

Seriously, bigger laptop, less money, comparable hardware. something to think on. plus, the ibooks are sexy as hell, and way rough-and-tumble.

gnort

If you worry about your laptop getting hot then here's a suggestion.

<a href="http://www.antec-inc.com/us/pro_details_cooling.php?ProdID=75004" target="_blank">Notebook cooler</a>

I have one and it works surprisingly well

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ubertuber

I've got an 867 mhz 12 incher, and it does get hot. However, not bad enough to cause problems. It has a cooling fan that kicks in when needed. I don't worry about "taking breaks". The screen is fantastic. Of course the larger ones are great, but the reason I got a laptop is so it would be portable. When I am home I simply hook it up to a monitor, keyboard, and mouse and use it like a desktop machine. I don't think you'll be disappointed if you get this machine...

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charliex

whats the main difference between an iBook and a powerbook ? i see cache size is different, is just the available ports really ?

txd

I'm sort of torn between the 12" and 15" powerbook but I think the 12" will win

I have considered getting an equvalent ibook and saving some cash but the biggest issue I have with them is they can only (currently ) take a max of 640mb or RAM compated to the iBooks 1.25Gb. They also don't come with a superdrive, which is a biggie as I would like to be able to burn to DVD-R.

The biggest issue with the 12" powerbook is the lack of a pcmcia/card bus slot, which means no external cards, although it does have a modem, 10/100mb nic as standard and the option for an airport extreme card. The 15" has pcmcia slot and a gigabit nic,

As nice as the 15" would be I've never really been a fan of large screen laptops and feel that although the 12" would be my main machine I can always plug it into an external monitor/keyboard and mouse.

txd

Well it seems like MacWorld is on from the 5th to the 9th of January 2004, so I will hold out until then before I make any purchases,

rubicon

It comes down to what you will use the machine for. For occasional mobile use it'll prob be fine. You can hook an external monitor at home and run it on a 17 or 19 inch monitor and be OK.

I was considering a 12 PowerBook but ended up with 15" instead. It is larger but it's more useful to have the PC Card slot and have the screen real estate.

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ironchef82

I have a 12" Powerbook, bought it in March. It's my first Mac and I don't regret switching at all. If I'm really taxing the computer, it'll get fairly warm, but I hardly use the computer on my lap so I don't notice unless I'm just curious as to how warm the computer is. I mostly use the computer hooked up to an external monitor and keyboard/mouse at home. And you shouldn't be worried about the size of the screen in terms of visibility, unless your eyesight is bad.

So, yeah, get the powerbook. I do suggest getting as much RAM as possible. If you've got any more questions, feel free to PM me or something.

tikki

I dont like the 12" because I dont like the external DVI connector. I wanna plug my laptop in for presentations on campus, and not have to worry about losing the dongle like I do w/ my iBook.

My next laptop, btw, will be a used tiBook. I dont need an aluBook because I have a G5. Gotta save money somewhere

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juanvaldes

RAM is very important, everyone should have 512 min IMO but whatever you do don't get it from Apple. they charge WAYYYY to much for RAM.

cheerios

max ram is smaller, iBooks don't have superdrives, and, yes, less ports. no PCI slot... hit up store.apple.com for the exact stats on the different machines

charliex

thanks cheers , i need one to go with my dusty sawtooth