[crazyjohnson]

I own a 15in Ti-Book and am thinking about getting either a 12in PB or iBook. I throw my laptop in my bag and take it around to classes, etc.: so it travels with me all the time and does not merely sit on my desk at home.

I scratched up my Ti-book and the screen always got dirty from the keys pressing up against it, etc.

Seeing as how the base 12in PB and iBooks are very similar - I was wondering if one might be more durable? My guess would be the iBook, but - your thoughts please.

[macaddict0001]

The ibook is probably more durable.

[KraziKid]

Even though this isn't the model you are looking at, I carry my 17 inch daily, and nothing has ever happened to it.

[wilsonng]

If you are going to put any kind of laptop in your backpack, get a sleeve. I have one from the now defunct Willow Designs. Place the PB or iBook into the sleeve and then put it into the backpack.

I personally have my eyes set on the BooqBags Vyper this Christmas.

http://www.booqbags.com/

Of course there are many other companies that have their own models.

[Maflynn]

I own a 15" pb, which is an awesome computer but I do think the iBook is more durable. I once saw an apple employee drop an ibook onto the floor of a store (it was carpeted). The iBook was on and didn't skip a beat.

If you do some searches here, you will find a lot of PB owners dropping it a small distances (most in protective cases) and having severe damage to the case.

The iBook enclosure is a strong plastic, the PB is aluminum, which is easily bent. I also heard or read that the iBook's hard drive has little rubber bumpers or gaskets. I'm not sure if apple put them on the PB also.

Mike

[crazyjohnson]

Thanks for your reply guys. Maflynn: I have heard similar things.

Plus, I don't really feel that bad about getting an iBook - really not that much different from the PB: or am I overestimating the extra features on the PB?

[Maflynn]

Originally posted by crazyjohnson:
Thanks for your reply guys. Maflynn: I have heard similar things.

Plus, I don't really feel that bad about getting an iBook - really not that much different from the PB: or am I overestimating the extra features on the PB?

The extra features are subjective. Among other things, if you have a monitor you can span your desktop, or run with the PB closed. Additionally the pb also has FW800.

All things being equal I think the ibook is pretty close to the perforance of the pb.

Mike

[crazyjohnson]

Yea, my Ti book is nice and all but I don't game any more or anything, so the graphics card does not really matter to me anymore.

And right now - at home - I do have my TiBook hooked up to an external monitor (in which I am typing this note).

Looks like the iBook.

Originally posted by Maflynn:
The extra features are subjective. Among other things, if you have a monitor you can span your desktop, or run with the PB closed. Additionally the pb also has FW800.

All things being equal I think the ibook is pretty close to the perforance of the pb.

Mike

[iREZ]

I the PB feels more solid when moving the computer from one desk to another, but the iBook is more durable when dropping the thing. I don't think one is more durable than the other when it comes to how they ride in one's sleeve or backpack unless you squeeze them between two 700page textbooks. I'd wait to see what MacWorld has in store, dual core G4 is a big step up, but if it's just a speed bump to 1.5 you might be better off with the iBook.

[skelotar]

I dropped my 15" powerbook the other day from about 2.5 feet and only sustained minor damage to the side of the case.. I dropped it vertically and it only bent a little bit around the DVI port.

I think the powerbook's durability is a little underrated. I mean, if you drop it with the screen open, yea any laptop is gonna be toast, but its not as bad as they say.

[crazyjohnson]

Is MacWorld in Jan?

Originally posted by iREZ:
I the PB feels more solid when moving the computer from one desk to another, but the iBook is more durable when dropping the thing. I don't think one is more durable than the other when it comes to how they ride in one's sleeve or backpack unless you squeeze them between two 700page textbooks. I'd wait to see what MacWorld has in store, dual core G4 is a big step up, but if it's just a speed bump to 1.5 you might be better off with the iBook.

[iREZ]

Yesiree, who knows they might even drop the price of the PB out now to make your decision a little more difficult or easy.

[crazyjohnson]

Yea, I think everyone has this problem when buying new Apple products. I know I have been fooled on a number of occasions: prices look great - I make a purchase - Apple rolls out new products.

The fact that the iBooks and PB are similar in specs might lead me to believe that the PBs are due for an upgrade. I don't really follow my Apple rumors anymore - has there really been talk about dual core G4 laptops or are you just throwing this one out there?

Originally posted by iREZ:
Yesiree, who knows they might even drop the price of the PB out now to make your decision a little more difficult or easy.

[f1000]

Originally posted by Maflynn:
I also heard or read that the iBook's hard drive has little rubber bumpers or gaskets. I'm not sure if apple put them on the PB also.

Mike

Having just installed a 100GB hard drive into my PowerBook, I can assure you that Apple puts little rubber bumpers on the PowerBook hard drives as well.

[iREZ]

Well it was a speculation awhile back ago, there's three possibilities out there that might happen

G5-highly unlikely to happen
Dual Core-unlikely to happen
Speed Bump with new GPU and HD options-most probably gonna happen

The above is only one man's thoughts and is not fact.

I dont mean to derail the thread but hey f1000, how's the drive going for ya and what kind is it (speed, cache, price, brand)?

[f1000]

Originally posted by iREZ:
I dont mean to derail the thread but hey f1000, how's the drive going for ya and what kind is it (speed, cache, price, brand)?

I've only had the drive for two days now, but it's been working swell,

http://forums.macnn.com/showthread.p...hreadid=238496

[macaddict0001]

There were rumors of a dual core g4 to be used in the powerbook line, but those rumors ceased when the chip's release date was anounced(fall 2005). Now it seems likely that a g5 powerbook will be coming out at macworld. Of course there is always the chance that the powerbook will just have a faster g4, but this seems less likely as it most likely would have been released by now.

[iREZ]

Let's hope thats the case.

[sniffer]

The iBook will not support Core Image/Video (and maybe not Quartz 2D extreme either for all I know) in Tiger with its ATI 9200 video card. Perhaps this isn't all that related with anything about physical durability, but it would've been a deciding factor for me.

[brettcamp]

I've had both. No durability problems with either, but I use a padded sleeve when traveling. Apple made the iBook for backpack travel, with rubber mounted HD, magnesium frame and strong polycarb shell, so it's more durable. Aluminum dents easily. Didn't realize that the PBs now also had the rubber mounted drives -- thanks for pointing that out.

[wuzup101]

Practically I'd say they are both as reliable. I will tell you that the powerbook will feel more solid, especially it's keyboard. However, the outside of the iBook is more durable (polycarb doesn't dent... it just cracks with extensive stress). I would go with whatever machine fits your budget, but I would wait until after new machines are announced in Jan. If you're really prone to breaking things you might want to stick with the iBook for nothing more than it's less expensive to break

I will tell you that I've had my powerbook for a semester so far and I take it with me to class everyday. It doesn't even have as much as a small scratch anywhere on it. I take care of it like the $2500 computer it is. But I certainly don't baby it... just use common sense... have a screan saver and a nice sleave for my backpack. Works for me...