[asteur]

Using the Cram&Jam deal and the educational discount, iPods are super cheap! In your opinion should I get the 12" and keep the iPod, or the 15" and sell it on ebay? Both options come to roughly the same amount (adjusting for the sale of iPod and the mail-in-rebates).

I'm a university student, and would mostly be using the pb for assignments, internet, email, a few games but nothing too graphics-intensive, and iChat.

What would you do? I could always just listen to music from the computer, but having the portability of the iPod would be nice, too.

asteur

[azdude]

Originally posted by asteur:
Using the Cram&Jam deal and the educational discount, iPods are super cheap! In your opinion should I get the 12" and keep the iPod, or the 15" and sell it on ebay? Both options come to roughly the same amount (adjusting for the sale of iPod and the mail-in-rebates).

I'm a university student, and would mostly be using the pb for assignments, internet, email, a few games but nothing too graphics-intensive, and iChat.

What would you do? I could always just listen to music from the computer, but having the portability of the iPod would be nice, too.

asteur

Given the fact that you're a uni student (MOBILITY) and if you're comfortable with the usability of the smaller screen area (you seem to be very comfortable, given your intended usage as above), then go for the 12" & iPod...

It's smaller,
It's lighter,
...and you get the iPod.

Don't underestimate how nice the 12" is for carrying around campus. If I werent such a screen hog (preference more than *need*), I would have done the 12" in a heartbeat. Now I have to lug this (killer) machine around in a bigger, heavier bag! (No regrets, though... love it.)

BTW... Cheers for making choices that help you stick to a budget... I blew mine for sure

[asteur]

So do you think that I'd miss the beautiful widescreen that the 15" has? I know the keyboard is the same size on both, but how is the screen size for writing long papers? The small size won't make my eyes bleed, will it?

How important is FW800, for my purpose? I don't have a digicam, or anything that currently uses firewire.

Thanks
asteur

[SplijinX]

If this will be your primary computer and you do not plan to use an external monitor, you may want to consider the 15" to give you a bit more viewing area. The 12" screen can be a bit cramped when you are trying to work on a couple things at once (ie having Safari and iChat open).

On the other hand if you plan on taking your PB with you everywhere, the 12" is much more portable - smaller footprint and lighter on the pack.

As for widescreens it is nice for movies, but for working on a single document I think the 12" has more than enough room on the 12" for the document and the editing/format panel.

[Phil Quinney]

Hey SplijinX,

I was in the same position, trying to decide between the 12" and 15". In the end I bought a 12" because I've been doing a lot of work where I am constantly moving about and wanted something small and compact.

I absolutely love my 12". I can't imagine buying anything bigger - even though I do lose the widescreen that the 15" would have given me.

If you want some reviews of the 12" read the 12" Owners Unite thread. I haven't read one negative review of the 12" - but you can appreciate the people are biased in that thread!

As for the iPod - if you haven't already got one then I would advise you to keep it. As I said I move around a lot and having my iPod is great - once you use it for a week you'll love it - I know I love mine (bought a new one in the same way with the Cram and Jam promo).

Sorry I can't give specifics about the 15" - I'm sure it is an amazing laptop but I know how much I love the 12" and have to pass that on.

The other advice is buy whatever you buy from an Apple Retail store if possible - if you have any problems (I have some dead pixels) you can take it straight back to the Apple Store and speak to someone face to face. Its much better than speaking to some repairs / returns department on the phone.

Hope this helps - they're just my opinions.

Phil.

[gametime10]

Definitely go for 12" and iPod. With these two you just have more options. There's basically nothing that can be done w/ the 15" that you can't do on the 12"...but there would be plenty you couldn't do w/out the iPod.

The best solution is to get a cheap external monitor for your 12".

[asteur]

Awesome advice, guys

Next question: Since I've never had an iPod and I'm a switcher (I've used mac at school but never had one for myself at home), I'm wonder if the iPod comes with everything I'll need. Will I have to buy any essentials to go with it (ie a docking station)?

Thanks again for the answers.

asteur

[Phil Quinney]

Neither the 20 or 40 gig come with the dock or remote (IIRC) but you don't really need these. When you buy the ipod everything you need to get going is included. The rest of the gizmos are accessories to enhance your iPod usage.

Phil.

[AndrewP]

Originally posted by Phil Quinney:
Neither the 20 or 40 gig come with the dock or remote (IIRC) but you don't really need these. When you buy the ipod everything you need to get going is included. The rest of the gizmos are accessories to enhance your iPod usage.

Phil.

I have a click-wheel 40GB and it did come with the dock. I was bummed that it didn't come with a case.

[sniffer]

The screen size of the 12" is not an issue if you can squeeze in a cheap CRT on top of your budget later down the road. I got [1024x768] x 2 right here, and it's a pleasure. I am coming from an iBook 12" with only built in option and currently own a PB 12". 12" is great for portability, but with an external monitor it does a really great job as a desktop replacement as well. The PB 12" rev. C is certainly fast enough for most modern tasks you can trow at it, just make sure you have some extra ram. 768 is a good amount, but don't buy from Apple as they are a tad expensive on ram. Good luck.

[webb3201]

go with the 12" and the iPod. The perfect combination for students on the go. It is really amazing how small the 12" machine is when you place it in a bag. The 12" screen is fine and with Expose', you rarely have any space issues.

Makes me wonder how I ever made it through school back in 1988-1992 (man I am old). I had to go to the library for all research, and then either a: grab time in the computer lab or, b: borrow a friends 286 with a dot matrix printer.

Let me here a hello from all of you who came back to find your multi-page report needed to be reprinted because the leads were messed up.

K

[skelotar]

Don't discount the 15" because of the weight.I've seen middle school kids carrying around bookbags that had to weigh at least 60 pounds! When I carried around my laptop with a courier style bag it was pretty uncomfortable, but when you put it in a bookbag, you almost forget about the weight.

Get the 15" and sell the iPod (glad you said that because that's what i'm going to do) and make that extra money. You will regret it later. I'm also a "University Student" and in my opinion the 12" is just too unmanageable. You want to be able to look at the professors's powerpoint and also be taking notes on the other half of the screen. It would be ackward to do that with the 12".

[beastie28]

I just bought my 12" Albook using the Cram and Jam. I was/am a Windows user, and I already had one iPod. Having said that I'm keeping the new iPod and I would recommend you do the same. The iPod asside from being cool and all is great during school (walking between classes, working in the lab, etc ...). I used mine basically every day last year. Also the 12" pb is a great and extremely portable machine. If you were doing video editing or photo manipulation then by all means get the 15", but otherwise I'd stick to getting more goodies. My $.02.

[Commodus]

As a student, I'd be inclined to get a 12" PowerBook. I actually got a 15" (ye olde titanium model) back when I was doing my B.A., but that was because the 12" wasn't even an option. It was either the 15" or an iBook, and I didn't want a G3.

The 15" is sufficiently portable, but it does add weight and take up more space - it's also overkill if you're not going to be needing the extra screen space or video performance.

The 12" PowerBook is pretty much as good as the rest of the PowerBook lineup - the only drawback is that its video is slower (the Mobility Radeon 9700 is tangibly faster). That only matters if you expect to be running current and future 3D games though.

And if you really want extra screen space when at home? Get a CRT or (if you can splurge) an LCD.

[asteur]

Wow, thanks for the advice. I didn't think that the answers would be so cut-and-dry I've made my decision to go for the 12" and to keep the iPod.

Thanks folks!
asteur