[CrackedButter]

I'm not completely satisfied so far with what i have heard about the new 15". I've emailed Apple and rang them about the delivery for this machine (but would like to mention the latch issue) and i get no answer about it and now i am having doubts alltogether and want to cancel the powerbook. I ordered on the 18th and its still being built today (the 27th), the wait in annoying me as well.

Maybe make a purchase later but not now. All these reports of the screen, hinge and latch have deterred me. I have an iBook now which doesn't fully close and while the OS is wondeful i havn't been completely satisfied with the hardware side of things.

Its enough to turn me off and i'm now waiting for a machine EXPECTING problems with it. Seems strange to accept the situation as it is merely because its either apple machine in general or because its a "PowerBook".

So it seems i will wait until i here about this latch problem clearing up and whether the reports of battery life are true as well. This iBook is great where battery life is concerned and the new powerbooks have half of what i get now and yet i am paying more for a machine! Again how could i accept this and would you accept this if this was you in my situation?

Don't worry i'm not going to defect to windows, i'll just keep using this iBook until somebody buys it off me then i will look at my options again.

I wish i had this doubt sooner since i just bought a special PB sleeve from Radtech (shipping overseas) and i bought a USB2 memory card reader, i'll be using a 1.1 interface with 128 and 256 meg cards since i've got the iBook, = slow.

I feel bad but i also feel i am paying £700 more for a laptop where i feel i am getting less.

I was only getting it for the FW800, the processor and the Gcard. I might even go back to a small laptop and pick the 12". but i would like the FW800, depends on wether i value it enough...hmm

And yes i have posted this at macrumors forums as well. Incase anybody notices the double post.

[Peabo]

Why not actually go and use one of these machines for yourself before you decide how shoddy it is?

[tterp]

The latch thing is nothing, there is a fix for it already...

Latch Fix

I have ordered a PB 15´ aswell, and i am more worried about the screen being messed up...

/tterp

[agentmouthwash]

The problems you are seeing are a minority.. their are thousands of people that have the new Powerbooks that don't have any problems at all and chances are you would of been one of them.

Well anyway, My 15" AL 1.25 should be coming this monday. I'll let you know of any defects if any.

[CrackedButter]

I live in the UK, its not possible where i live. I do literally have to see somebody else have one or i wait 2 weeks for it to be delivered then i can see it for myself.

Somebody decided against planting Apple Stores in the country.

[Daniel Bayer]

...My brother lives on Tottenham Ct. Rd. London

It was kind of a bad thing when I lived there, for I would just walk out the door and there it was 100 feet on my left....too convenient, yeah??

Go give er' a go.

[pantalaimon]

seems to me like your exaggerating things a bit, as has been said before there is a fix if you have a problem with the latch, other than that I dont see what the problem is. Why not just wait till it comes and then decide what to do? I bet if you recieved it all would be fine.

I've ordered a powerbook too and am still waiting for it. I'm ooking forward to getting it, if there is something wrong i'll just get it replaced. No need to worry.

[CrackedButter]

What you talking about mister?

[iWrite]

Do what I'm doing: Wait two months.

There is always a revision that occurs at about two months.

Don't you know that Apple has no quality control any longer? Nope. Gone. In place of that Apple "revises" after enough complaints come in -- new customers are their beta testers.

Pretty sad. But, that's why it took four generations to get the Titanium perfect (paint, hinge, other issues, etc.)

Like I said, I'm waiting and friends who know better are waiting a couple of months also.

Good luck.

[CrackedButter]

I didn't know that but thankyou...maybe i will.

[:dragonflypro:]

Having worked in Apple Retail and Service from the 190c/5300 era all the way through the iBook (rev 2 /ice) and being the owner of a new AL 15" for 3 days now I can tell you: I believe it is the finest Apple Laptop I have ever seen just short of the Pismo.

Like any piece of mechanical design that needs to be designed once but used by a million different people, the Al 15" is about as good of a modern laptop as you could hope for.

If I had one wish.... just one... it would be a wider trackpad with a section to use as a page scroll....

But that is it.

Still, I can understand wanting to see before you buy...

Toby

[iWrite]

Think of it another way:

You can always buy it.

But, you can't always UNbuy it.



I'd wait until you're SURE.

Unless I REALLY want something, I wait. I have to be sure -- especially with a $2K purchase.

[MacsGalor]

Originally posted by :dragonflypro::


If I had one wish.... just one... it would be a wider trackpad with a section to use as a page scroll....

But that is it.

Still, I can understand wanting to see before you buy...

Toby

try this out its called sidetrack. It will allow yoou to set a tap to be a right click and give you scroll abilities it works great

http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/20854

[HAL9000]

Originally posted by iWrite:
Don't you know that Apple has no quality control any longer? Nope. Gone. In place of that Apple "revises" after enough complaints come in -- new customers are their beta testers.

Pretty sad. But, that's why it took four generations to get the Titanium perfect (paint, hinge, other issues, etc.)

Well, ain't that just dandy... and reassuring... Not!

I have just decided to stick with my Titanium 550, and jazz it up with that fast Hitachi 60GB drive. And no, it's not a money issue.

What especially gets me, is that there is still talk about the "heat issue" with the new books. The HEAT ISSUE, for Pete's sake. Come on gimme a break. How long before Apple will have sorted that out? A "laptop" that is too hot to use in your lap? Or to rest your wrists on?

[bcaslis]

Well as someone who has reported some issues with the Al 15" I think you should reconsider. Everything I've seen reported so far is only in a few categories:

1.) Screen issues. dead pixels or white spots. These are not unique to the 15" and can happen with any laptop. I have one white spot on mine, and I'm debating whether to return or not because otherwise it's perfect. If I didn't tell someone about the spot they probably wouldn't see it.

2.) Hinge. The only issue I've seen here is my report that I wished it opened farther. This is not a show stopper but a minor complaint. I was expecting you would be able to open like the 12" instead it opens the same angle as the 17"

3.) Latch. Some have it pop open. Mine is perfect in this regard and there seems an easy fix reported for this already.

4.) Battery life. Probably the biggest disappointment. If you have a 17" it seems about the same. If you have a Tibook it's probably about 70% the battery life of the Tibook. Whether this is a show stopper this depends on you. Reports say Panther will help with this, but don't expect any revision to change this. They will need a redesign or a new battery life to change this.

5.) Heat. It runs hotter than I was expecting given that it's supposed to use a cooler chip. It definitely has a hotter surface than my 17" or 1 GHz Tibook. But, I've had early Titaniums and PowerBook G3s that were hotter. The PowerBook G3 292MHz was probably the all time winner of most useless as a laptop due to heat. Note that the wristpads are the coolest part of the bottom unlike the 12". You won't have any issue with putting your hand on it. Depending on what you are doing, the bottom back half can get hot.

Summary. If you want the 15" form factor (as opposed to the 12" and 17") and the battery life isn't a killer for you get it now. It has the brightest screen I've seen on a PowerBook and functionaly is great. No previous PowerBook has been perfect (I've owned most of them) and if you wait for one with no complaints you'll never get one.

[EvanV]

Now I am having second thoughts as well

I would wait two months, but I got the promo bundle so I got 390 CDN back in rebates....

[NightEyes]

I've a new 15" and it has none of the problems that have surfaced. Perfect screen and latch and heat isn't a problem at all, whether playing games on the desk or sitting on the lap working in Photoshop.

Battery life is 3-3.35 hours, about what I got with my Ti 800. I disagree with iWrite about Apple taking four revisions to get the Ti "right." The Ti always had paint chipping and hinge troubles, or they were at least more common. These tendancies never went away in the Ti. With the new 15" Al PB, Apple got the design right.

For those of you who need a laptop now and the 15" is the right size for you, I wouldn't worry too much.

[iWrite]

Did anyone see the bitching over at Apple forums?

Ha ha!

Their mods are deleting as fast as possible but there ARE problems.

I'm not giving them my hard-earned cash until a few weeks have passed and Apple has modified their problems.

I'm not going to be a test rat.

[docholiday]

Originally posted by CrackedButter:
I'm not completely satisfied so far with what i have heard about the new 15".

Remember one thing: When people are satisfied with something, they don't complain about it. It is always the problems that are discussed in the forums.

A few of my friends and I recently purchased the 15"ers and while the machine is not perfect, it comes pretty damn close.

If you have any questions or doubts, do what others have suggested: Go see one for yourself, see the design, see the performance (which is more than enough for my daily usage plus occasional Vectorworks/Corel/Dreamweaver/ProjectBuilder), see the heat "problem" (it's not even a real problem - it gets warm under heavy use but that's it), and THEN make a decision.

After reading about the white spots and other problems, I was worried that my Powerbook or my friend's Powerbook would have those problem too. Luckily, neither of them did.

Good luck in making your decision,
Doc Holiday

[NightEyes]

iWrite,

Why are you delighting in the problems that other Mac users are having on another forum when you don't even own the PB in question?

That's truly pathetic. If you don't have the PB being discussed with issues then STFU! How about being happy for those with perfect machines that are posting?

[nagromme]

Forums always focus on the minority of negatives--which occur with ANY product. Some aren't even true--like low battery reports that are really just a temporary incorrect batt-meter reading due to people failing to calibrate as instructed on the quick-setup card. Others are true--the first off the assembly line are more prone to defects. Defects are still the exception--but people post about them FAR more than they post "all's well."

Yet I too tend to wait and let others buy those first units off the line. I'll probably order a 17" next month. If you don't NEED it now, that's a good strategy I think.

[ASIMO]

It appears that iwrite's parents may have had quality control issues of their own. Oh, well. Nothing is ever perfect.

[spalding12]

look at my thread above titled "i have her."
the powerbook 17" is here
she's amazing....
everything
and i haven't even done anything with her yet...

shhhhhhhhhhhh

she's sleeping now while i calibrate her battery
don't wake her....
not sure yet

ok
i've lost it.......
....... lost it with GLEE !!!!!!!!

greg

[ae86_16v]

I've been using my PB for about 4 days now and I have never experienced the latch problem.

Don't know what screen problem you are talking about, but my screen is also perfect.

[CrackedButter]

As i have explained in this threadhttp://forums.macrumors.com/showthre...threadid=39762, i might be getting the 12" now.

I can get much more for my money and its Rev b for the 12' anyway plus i can always buy a monitor later.

Can you upgrade the HD on a 12" just hte same way as a 15"?

[Chemmy]

My 15" PB has a perfect screen and latch.

Don't write off the 15PB because of what a few complainers say.

[beijinger]

Got our 17 inch PB last week and 15 inch 1.25 yesterday.

Both:

Latches perfectly
No dead pixels
No white spots
Silky smooth
3.5 hours on the 17 battery
3 hours on the 15 battery, both with Wifi and BT off.
Enjoyed the much better speed (notebook wise, coming up from an ibook 600).
Love the industrial art and fabulous design.
Turns head everywhere...........

[iWrite]

Nighteyes (whatever THAT means ---> ):

I don't "delight" in making negative comments.

I'm being realistic.

I didn't tell him not to buy it. I told him to wait until he was SURE.

I have spent, myself and for our company, about $150,000 over the past few years with Apple. Enough so that when I call customer relations every single rep there knows us. We even send them gifts at the holidays down there in Texas.

I'm being honest with him: I would wait until the kinks were worked out.

That's all. If that makes me some kind of an Apple "troll" then you've got serious mental problems, dude.

[Tarcat]

Powerbooks have better build quality than most laptops. Virtually all of my friends with dell's have had to have either the keyboard or the hard drive or both replaced. I've never had a problem with my iBook or my 1400 before that.

[Link]

I've had it go both ways on me (apple QC)

Got a first gen quicksilver. Total disaster. i still don't trust it.

Got a first gen g4 imac. It's been nothing short of awesome and RELIABLE. Hopefully it stays that way ^_^

I would actually love to buy another totally new apple product. Seems the glitch rate on them tends to be low.. very low..

It's those minor revisions you gotta watch out for.

[NightEyes]

iWrite,

you delighted in mods supposedly deleting threads and posts at Macworld over problems with the 15" PB. This is immature, and I didn't call you a troll, though you are obviously a tool.

Read your own post, arse.

[dennis88]

Originally posted by spalding12:
look at my thread above titled "i have her."
the powerbook 17" is here
she's amazing....
everything
and i haven't even done anything with her yet...

shhhhhhhhhhhh

she's sleeping now while i calibrate her battery
don't wake her....
not sure yet

ok
i've lost it.......
....... lost it with GLEE !!!!!!!!

greg

Oh, please stop!
Now it's even HARDER for me to wait for my 15" pb!
Congrats.

[iWrite]

Over at Macworld?

I don't go to Macworld.

Come up with another outlandish statement.

I didn't even know that they have a forum, dufus.

[NightEyes]

My bad, you said Apple Forums in your post. Same meaning, iTool.

Quote:

Did anyone see the bitching over at Apple forums?

Ha ha!

Their mods are deleting as fast as possible but there ARE problems.

I'm not giving them my hard-earned cash until a few weeks have passed and Apple has modified their problems.

I'm not going to be a test rat.

[CrackedButter]

Well i have cancelled it now, it was going to be shipped this wednesday so lucky me since it was a BTO.

Now instead i bought a pen scanner and will wait for panther and more real world reports on these machines.

But i might sway towards the 12" in the end.

[DeathMan]

iWrite, don't you have anything better to do than pose as a Mac fan, and troll this board?

You are vaguely remenicsant of a certain troll whose name I will not mention because he was so annoying I simply blotted it out of my memory.

[pknoll]

As pointed out, you hear a lot more about problems on discussion boards than you do from people who have had none.

For the record, my BTO 15" has a perfect screen (which is gorgeous, by the way), no heat problems, and gets about 3 hours from the battery.

That's almost an hour longer than my last laptop (a Dell Inspiron 5000 with FreeBSD) and so is very good in my opinion.

I will say the battery lasts longer now than it did the first few times it discharged (probably 5 times by now). It used to get just short of 2 hours, and now will go over 3. My power settings have not changed, I'm wondering if the cycling of the battery is helping the calibration.

[CrackedButter]

I'm happy to keep my iBook for longer now and wait all the problems out. But considering mac users like to show their systems off i have seen more negative threads than postive ones...

[Chemmy]

Originally posted by HAL9000:
A "laptop" that is too hot to use in your lap? Or to rest your wrists on?

My 1.25ghz G4 Alubook feels cold to the touch while I'm using it.

[HAL9000]

Originally posted by Chemmy:
My 1.25ghz G4 Alubook feels cold to the touch while I'm using it.

Darn... that means I will have to get one now