[dantley]

I'm thinking about getting a 12" alBook to replace my 15" 1GHZ TiBook. I love my TiBook, but am looking for something smaller for school.

Does anyone have experience with these two machines? Performance wise, are they the same? Does anyone miss the screen size when they went from a TiBook to a 12" AlBook?

My biggest concern is the lower resolution on the 12" and performance given it has a pretty lame graphics chip.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[amazing]

The Ti has a better LCD than the 12" (which has an XGA TFT--everything is slightly fuzzier.) If you spend a lot of time on the laptop, you'll appreciate the sharper screen.

If you need better airport range, get a 3rd party wireless card. If you need a better battery, get a NewerTek battery. Also, consider getting Panther to see how you like the Ti at that point.

Having a smaller, more portable laptop is great. However, my strategy is to wait until there's a very clear difference that will persuade me to upgrade (plus, of course, the finances.) If a clear difference is apparent to you at this point, then don't switch. And since you're posting here, I surmise that you're not convinced of any huge advantage to the switch.

Face it: Somewhere down the road, you're going to want that G5 laptop (one to two years???) Your real decision is whether the Ti can tide you over until that time.

[TerryJ]

Hey Dantley,

I'm in exactly the same position as you. I have a gorgeous Ti 1GHz, maxed out and in perfect condition, but it's way more computer than I need for what I use it for and the 12" Al just seems to fit my needs better. Let me know if you get any good advice elsewhere as it might help me make a decision too. I really just can't seem to pull the trigger to sell the Ti yet, but those 12"s are pretty addicting too after spending just a little time with them in the stores. The small size and that darn keyboard alone is amazing to use! Decisions, decisions, decisions.........

[///Milien]

I bought the AlPB 12 last night since the 17 wasn't too mobile for me. The 12 is great for its size. Screen resolution is definitely night and day compared to what I was coming from, but the ACD 20 took care of that. This is mainly for my office at work and I always wanted an ACD.

I do find that the fan on the 12 comes on two/three times a day compared to zero for the 17. Other than that, I am pretty happy with it so far. The question now is whether or not I should keep the 17.

[dantley]

Thanks for all the feedback. I decided to keep my TiBook until a G5 laptop comes out. I actually like the Ti better than the 15" Al from an aesthetics point of view. The ports being on the side is so lame. I just bought a dual processor G5, so I can just imagine how sweet a G5 PowerBook will be.

The smaller form factor of the 12" isn't enough for me to justify selling the 15", which was on eBay until I pulled the auction. Plus the 15" has a sweeter display and a nicer video card.

Cheers,

Dantley.