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wily · Jun 11, 2004, 12:51 PM

1. The screen is a little dark, but that's correctable.

2. The fit and finish is perfect - all seams and joints work well.

3. Bluetooth is fun - unexpected bennie; turned on my PDA and they started talking.

All in all, nice machine - makes me wonder if some of the criticisms of screen and construction are either defects, unrealistic expectations or Rev A.

iREZ · Jun 11, 2004, 01:08 PM

Congrats on the PB, I think most people are dissapointed with the screen as compared to the 15" and 17" but other then that the new 12" is a sweet computer.

sillydog701 · Jun 11, 2004, 09:47 PM

congratulations.

WizOSX · Jun 11, 2004, 10:04 PM

Congrats. Had mine about a month and it is perfect. A really great machine. I really like the screen.

mcsharick · Jun 11, 2004, 11:05 PM

iREZ wrote:

I think most people are dissapointed with the screen as compared to the 15" and 17" but other then that the new 12" is a sweet computer

I've owned the 1.33 G4 Rev C. 12" now for a month. And with an external display for home, it is both the ultimate laptop for mobility and very acceptable as a desktop replacement. There is nothing wrong with the screen, and in fact screens on the 15" are really the dissapointing ones (i.e. dead pixels) As a laptop, the 12" really is perfection in every way.

And I haven't found anything wrong with the brightness of the screen either. You made an excellent purchase.

Fellow2000 · Jun 12, 2004, 12:03 AM

Originally posted by mcsharick:
iREZ wrote:

I've owned the 1.33 G4 Rev C. 12" now for a month. And with an external display for home, it is both the ultimate laptop for mobility and very acceptable as a desktop replacement. There is nothing wrong with the screen, and in fact screens on the 15" are really the dissapointing ones (i.e. dead pixels) As a laptop, the 12" really is perfection in every way.

And I haven't found anything wrong with the brightness of the screen either. You made an excellent purchase.

Just because you have not found anything wrong with the screen does not mean there isn't. I owned a rev.b 12" and thought the screen was wonderful for 6 months, until I was working on a project for the web that included many styles with contrasting colors. I was shocked when I went to a friends house and noticed that the site was completely different.

I did some more investigating and it turns out there was something seriously wrong with my screen.

I took it to the Apple store, we tried calibration, and we tried super-cal and nothing could be done to get it to look like it could. There were 3 12" powerbooks in the store, and 1 of them had the same problem as mine and the other 2 were just fine.

From this experience, it seems that it is a common problem, but not on every 12" powerbook. And even if users have it, they are not likely to notice it at all because if it is what you are used to, how are you supposed to know it is wrong?

That being said, I would not hesitate to own a 12" again. Hopefully with a better screen, but the screen IMHO is not the biggest of worries. When I get my new one, I will purchase a 20" external Apple display to do all my design work on and use it as a desktop replacement. The laptop screen will only be used for browsing and email, not work, so if it is a little off in color or a little darker, it shouldn't matter much.

Right now I am on a g5 with a 20" display, and for anyone that *needs a good display for design work or whatever, I would recommend hooking the pbook up to an external display, plus the added real-estate is very welcome.

The 12" powerbook is still a great machine and a wise purchase IMO.

an0therdumbsn · Jun 12, 2004, 04:24 AM

I dunno 12 inches is just too small for me, i got my 15 inch pb a few weeks ago and completly love it. Different strokes for different folks i guess....

The Placid Casual · Jun 12, 2004, 05:05 AM

Originally posted by wily:
1. The screen is a little dark, but that's correctable.

2. The fit and finish is perfect - all seams and joints work well.

3. Bluetooth is fun - unexpected bennie; turned on my PDA and they started talking.

All in all, nice machine - makes me wonder if some of the criticisms of screen and construction are either defects, unrealistic expectations or Rev A.

Congrats, sweet machine!

As for the fit and finish, some of the Rev As were very bad (my 867 wasn't the best...), and quality can be a little bit variable even now... Just be glad you got a good one!

Big Fat Octopus · Jun 12, 2004, 08:22 AM

I got my 1.33 Combo 12"PB last week and I love it. I nearly went for the 14" iBook but I'm very happy with my decision. The keyboard is so much nicer than the iBook and the overall feel and design are first class. It has had many admirers already.

I have no complaints at all.... only I wish I'd gotten one sooner :-)

robo74 · Jun 12, 2004, 10:27 AM

Congrats on the purchase.. if you like the 12in screen... then you have a great machine. Everone is different.
I love my 12in PB and it makes me happy.

Some people prefer to drive the big suv's, some people prefer the smaller car.
Still gets from A to B, but the smaller car just costs less.

Rob

wily · Jun 12, 2004, 11:20 AM

I posted because of the criticisms and comments found on other MacNN forums and outside UGs.

That being said, there's no trial sample quite like the passionate - Mac users are no exception.

Regarding the screen, I compared it to my old TiBook and surely, the 12" is not up to the Ti's standard. In fact, if the TiBook is an "A", the 12" is a "B-".

However, if the screen is critical for your work (i.e. high-end Photoshop or vector graphics) I'd recommend a 15" at least.

BUT...the 12" is not a workstation but a portable. It's small, light and - at 1.33GHz - relatively fast.

From all appearences, the 12" is a good computer for people who travel, make presentations, do "lite" graphics or who crunch small-medium data chunks.

The only complaint - and this is so minor - the aluminum looks and feels like
PLASTIC.

Mel Dada · Jun 12, 2004, 11:44 AM

i'm working on a video project using my new 12 inch powerbook 1.33 w/80 gig drive. I am surprised how much i am able to do with just the 12" screen. It is perfect for traveling and working. An Apple guy at an Apple store warned me about editing on such a small screen and recommended the 15".Although his warning is not unfounded I needed to save money and as long as i have a mastering station this will work fine for rough cuts. The powerbook and final cut are an awesome combination. I can edit on the couch, in the train on the plane with RealTime efx! It is a new world rather than being stuck in a stationery editing room. However for the fine cut, color correction and mastering I will rely on a desktop setup G4 and large calibrated monitors. For travel I can carry a laptop bag and a backpack with a mini deck w/monitor and a hard drive and have a state of the art editing suite that 10 years ago would have cost 100 grand plus and was not even nearly portable. Final cut is an amazing software program and the powerbook is a dream!
peace
mel

wily · Jun 12, 2004, 12:48 PM

Mel -

Ha, you aren't kidding about the $100 grand production suite!!

Last month, we had to throw together a DVD of a Focus Group; the final product would have taken $5,000 ten years ago - JUST TO EDIT.

I wonder what iMovie will be like in 2 years...

Voch · Jun 12, 2004, 12:57 PM

I'm considering a 12" PB as my next upgrade from my TiBook 667/DVI (not this but the next revision, likely towards the end of the year). The TiBook's screen is and has been fantastic. I also liked the one on my iBook/500 a lot (it was much more portable, too) so I don't think getting a PB 12" will be much of an adjustment (but a big speed bump).

Voch

sideus · Jun 13, 2004, 04:38 AM

Just got a brand new PB G4 12" (the 1GHz model) from the discount area of the Apple store. The screen colors do seem alittle off compared to my Apple Studio Display but it is acceptable. Great machine.

tekno_geek911 · Jun 13, 2004, 05:35 AM

Great choice sideus,I love my Rev B. You might want to use the program SuperCal,made my screen look 10x's better...It looks dull out of the box.

Frumpy · Jun 13, 2004, 05:57 AM

Yeah, took some adjusting to go from my 15" iMac to the 12" PB screen. I've been using an old 15" CRT as a dual monitor setup, still waiting for the next Apple display revisions. The new 20" model should be perfect for me. Just can't wait for it to be bathed in silver to match my PB. As far as doing 'lite' work on the PB, I can do any major thing that I want on DVD Studio Pro or Final Cut. Same for the major Adobe products. I don't know where anyone would find that this isn't an acceptable desktop replacement. Major upgrade from my Rev A iMac G4.

McFarmer · Jun 13, 2004, 08:15 AM

I'm really very happy with my new Rev C 12" PowerBook. It's fast, it's small, it's easy to carry. Great.

If anything, the one thing I'm a bit miffed about is the screen. Coming from an 800MHz TiBook with a gorgeous 1280x854 screen, the 1024x768 plus poor viewing angle is just a pain. Really. OK, call me spoiled from the TiBook.

I wonder how anyone can work in OS X on that tiny resolution all day, unless all you do is Word, email and web browsing. But even then...

It's not a big problem though as the PowerBook has a DVI/VGA port and any external monitor works just fine. But without my external monitor I probably would have returned it. I cannot work with 1024x768 in Photoshop. Too painful.

The one thing I wish is that Apple would offer a BTO screen option for this PowerBook with a higher res. Something like 1152x864 or 1280x1024 would be perfect. I know this means a high DPI ratio and hence very tiny text, but that's why it should be BTO.

I love the size of the 12" PowerBook and after lugging around a 15" PowerBook for years I realized those are too big for me. I'd rather have a 12" screen with a higher DPI ratio than 'upgrading' to a 15" PowerBook just for the higher screen resolution. Not worth it.

wily · Jun 14, 2004, 11:20 PM

Ok, it's been four days with my new 12" 1.33 PB.

The keyboard "feels" better than my Tibook - but man, do I miss the Ti's display.

Still, the 12" is very nice. It's much, much faster than the Tibook and the portability is greatly appreciated.

DeathToWindows · Jun 15, 2004, 09:08 AM

I'm about to buy a 12" Rev C ... for college

good choice?

Randman · Jun 15, 2004, 09:11 AM

[QUOTE]Originally posted by robo74:
I love my 12in PB and it makes me happy.

Some people prefer to drive the big suv's, some people prefer the smaller car.
Still gets from A to B, but the smaller car just costs less. [/QUOTE

]So why not get a iBook over a PowerBook?

Frumpy · Jun 15, 2004, 09:42 AM

Because the iBook needs an airport extreme card, you can only get the SuperDrive in the 14" bulky model, no dual monitors, 32mb graphics card (ugh), and you're only getting to 1.2 GHz if you get that BULKY 14". No good. Definitely a great choice in the 12" PB.

iREZ · Jun 15, 2004, 10:21 AM

Just wan't to say that Fellow2000 is going to be hearing from my attorney's after he quoted me saying something I've never said, thats liable for slander or something to that degree. I'll settle for two double doubles from In-N-Out and a large vanilla shake

.

mcsharick · Jun 15, 2004, 04:08 PM

I'm going to sue Fellow2000 becasue he quoted me and wrongly attributed it to you. And because he's a whiner.