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kodachrome22 · Oct 24, 2003, 01:07 AM

In light of recent events, I've decided to fix my iBook and sell it. I'm currently considering pretty much any Apple notebook (and a T40 if all else fails).

The main three I'm looking at:
iBook 800 $999
PB 12" 1GHz Either Combo/Super $1550/$1745 from Campus Store
PB 15" 1.25Ghz Superdrive $2375 from Campus Store

All three are the respective base models and the two Powerbooks come with AppleCare.

A few of my thoughts:
I thought I'd sworn off 1024x768 screens, but if I go for the PB, I'd be putting out $800 of my own money to get the 15".

The iBook 800 is a cheap solution, but it wouldn't be much of an upgrade from an iBook 700. Plus the small relatively low-res screen seems like something I'd regret in a year or two (or next few weeks).

The PB 12" would feel like more of an upgrade than the iBook. Plus, it's got the SD, line-in, extra 128mb RAM and no-fuss spanning. These aren't things I'd use immediately, but they'd sure be nice to have. The size vs. the iBook is a small but notable plus as well. On the other hand, it doesn't seem worth the price.

The 15" PB has no flaws that I can see other than the price, though that's a big one. I'm sure that it would serve me well for at least the next three years, but it's still $800 I'd have to shell out out-of-pocket. There is always the option of the 1GHz PB for $1865 but it doesn't come with AE, and it has 256mb less RAM and 20gb less HD. The shorter battery life is also a bit of a concern to me, being used to the 4+ hours from my iBook.

Also, I'd be without a machine until the store gets them in at the end of next week, but if Apple is doing 10% tomorrow night and it applies to Edu purchases, I might just go with that as it would make the 15" PB slightly cheaper (even if I purchased AppleCare seperately) and the iBook would be a steal at $900.

I currently just use my iBook as a basic college machine (web, Word, DVDs) plus I dabble in Photoshop. If I go for the 15" PB I'd probably be looking into doing some gaming, programming and web design (for fun) as well (things I can't do now because of HD and screen limitations).

Your thoughts?

Xeo · Oct 24, 2003, 03:07 AM

Originally posted by kodachrome22:
The iBook 800 is a cheap solution, but it wouldn't be much of an upgrade from an iBook 700.

There are a lot of things which will make the new iBook better than your 700. The G4, the graphics chip, USB 2.0, Airport Extreme, etc, etc. The PB are great, but for the price, I think the iBook G4 is a sweet little machine.