you can skip to --review-- if you don't want to learn why I decided to buy the Powerbook
For the last year, I've been running everything I do off of a 12" 867 Powerbook. I ordered one as soon as they were announced and never had any of the problems that plagued a lot of the first edition Al Powerbooks. As a former student, the 12" was invaluable to me. It was the absolute perfect portable to take to school and get work done. When I was home, I would use a CRT to give me more real estate. It wasn't the fastest notebook which was a real dissapointment to me because I was going to school for audio and my Pro Tools sessions would max out after a few plug-ins. When I finished school and no longer had a need to take the tiny notebook with me everywhere, it just became my wireless internet machine at home. It didn't take long for the tiny screen to drive me up the wall!! I remembered reading countless reviews of new owners of th 12" Powerbook saying that, "you'll get used to the screen, don't worry." That's just a response to, "I've just spent $2000 and I'm in denial." I was the same way. Thank God for expose because that screen just doesn't give you room to breath. Switching between various programs became easier, but I still wanted more. So, I sold it on ebay.
I had just bought a G5, so power wasn't of concern to me anymore. I decided to buy an older 15" Ti off ebay to give me more screen room. I settled on a Ti G4800 w/1mb L3. I don't know if there was something wrong with this thing, but it felt soooo much slower than the 12". I know it shouldn't cause the video card was better and with the L3, it should be a little faster. The screen was to say the least, ok. It was bigger which was great, but the brightness was really sub-par. It was at one of these moments when I was feeling pretty down about my purchase that I found a great deal on ebay for a first edition of the 17" Powerbook. The guy was included an extra battery, extra AC, ram upgraded to 1 gig and three years of Applecare, and, he had just bought the computer in Dec. The amazing thing was, he had it for buy-it-now for just a couple hundred more than I knew I could sell my 15" for.
buy-it-now.......'click'
less then a week later, my new old Powerbook shows up at my door looking like it came straight from Apple. The guy even packaged it exactly how Apple does. Everything was exactly how he described it. He even included his original reciept dated in Dec.!
--review--
Where do I start. This is the best buy I've ever made on Ebay! I've also never been more happier with an Apple product. The fact that I've used 3 different Powerbooks over the last month gives me an interesting perspective on the 17 inchers. I'm not kidding when I say that Panther feels almost exactly the same as it does on my dual G5! It's almost as if Apple knew that it had to spoil the customers that were actually paying $3300 for these things new. I know it's only a 1Ghz G4, but for surfing the internet, word processing, a few games, adobe and macromedia software, it is a champ. The reason I love this notebook so much is because of the difference between this and the 15". I was really upset with the 15" from the screen to performance to noise to the build construction. Now I have my bright screen back, the resolution is perfect, airport reception is good, speakers a great and the backlit keyboard is a really cool novelty. It's super quiet like the 12", and it never gets hot. Battery life is even better than the 12".
Now, we get to the reason that people decide between the 15" and the 17". Portability. The longer I have it, the smaller it seems, but that doesn't mean that it will work in coach on an airplane. I'm a bit worried when I take my first trip with this thing. The 1 inch thickness makes this notebook look small and sleek, but the 15" width makes it look huge. Its size makes it a bit ackward to pick up off a desk. It almost seems like you have to use two hands to do it. I can't speak from experience, but if you are going to be moving this thing around with you a lot, you might want to go with a 15". I imagine the new 15 inchers feel just as fast with a slightly smaller screen. For someone using a notebook around the home, the 17" is perfect. It's easy to move from room to room and it really doubles as a desktop because of the huge screen. I never use my G5 except in my studio. I can't wait to see what Apple has in store for the 17" G5 Powerbooks!!!
Top
