Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

ghettochild · 02:50 AM

oh well,

I just advised another user in the iBook section to get the 12" iBook over the 12" PB..lol

I have a one month old 12" iBook G4, 1.33GHz/1.5 GB Ram..and I'm actually happy w/ it. however, I currently have a sweet offer to get the current 12" PB w/ standard configuration for pretty cheap.

I presume w/ eBaying my iBook I might have to put a max of $100 to get the PB...

1. Does the 1GB additional RAM in my iBook also work in the PB? I'm not sure about that....

2. just some general feedback from 12" PB owners...how happy are you guys w/ your machines, how about battery life (which is sweet on the iBook)/heat issues/fan noise (again, nice & quiet on the iBook)/etc. ?

3. as widely speculated, Apple might kill the 12" early next year w/ the release of the mactels. does this also mean that company-based software support, i.e., updates and such will die?

I'm fairly new to Mac, hence I have no idea as for how Apple handles these things...

as always, any help/info/input is greatly appreciated.

mduell · Nov 11, 2005, 10:12 AM

1. Yes.
3. Doubtful. If updates are needed you should still get them.

driven · Nov 11, 2005, 10:59 AM

My wife has a 12" iBook. I have a 15" PB. Mine is much faster .... but that said: I'd "borrow" hers for travel if it weren't such a pain to migrate all of my stuff over to it.

(Maybe I'll work out a plan to do just that in the near future.)

SpaceRockness · Nov 12, 2005, 02:11 AM

2. Before you ditch the iBook for the PowerBook, try one out at an Apple Store and see if the heat output in the wrist area bothers you(you'll probably need to fire up Photoshop or Illustrator and run a few filter/effects... also launching terminal and running multiple windows using the /top command works too).
As for my opinions.
Battery: It varies from usage, if I just do text work its roughly 4-4.5 hours, on other uses like MS Word's audio record, Photoshop, Illustrator it'll drop to about 3-3.5 hours. To prevent heat from causing your battery from cooking and losing capacity, after charge is complete, pop it out. I've been doing this for the first year of ownership, my capacity is 4.320... when it was new 4.600 Ah.
Heat: yeah the wrist area gets toasty with Photoshop/Illustrator quite easily, during lectures just MS Word with audio record starts a slow toaster-like action.
Fan: On low speed, hardly noticable vs iBook G4s but on high speed while plugged in it's louder than my older 15" PowerBook. I've had classmates which sat two seats away and I could still hear their iBook's fan and it didn't matter if plugged in(those which use 'em with max brightness) or on battery!

Casing: Apple cut some serious corners on the 12" PB design, within 8 months the plastic edging began crumbing/cracking along the battery side and an Apple Genius noted that issue for when mine goes in for servicing Jan 06. The two year old first gen Alu 15" PB which was my main system never had any case issues... most likely after my 12" is repaired, may ebay it and get the current 15" PB

3. If Apple does scrap the 12" PB, they'll still support it but replacement batteries, 45watt power adapter or accessories(DVI to S-Video cable) may not be sold anymore after 6-8 months.
edit: ooops forgot about 3.

brettcamp · Nov 12, 2005, 04:26 PM

I had both the 12" iBook and 12" Powerbook (at different times, of course) in the last couple years. Unless you have a specific need for the PB only features (in my case, it was DVI output), such as the better keyboard, roomier HD, etc., I see no compelling reason to switch. The screen was no better on the PB, nor was its performance noticeably superior. The PB keyboard was a joy, and much better than the iBook's. And the PB hard drive has more capacity. But you sacrifice a bit of Airport range, battery operating time, and durability. I guess it depends on which of those factors are more important to you.

teerexx52 · Nov 12, 2005, 05:01 PM

I currently have both an ibook 1.33 and powerbook 12" 1.5. The only reason I went out and got the powerbook was so I could get the dvi out so I could use it with my ACD 20" However, I am pleased so far with the battery life although somewhat less than the ibook. The screen is supposedly exactly the same on the two but I find the powerbook's screen a bit sharper but that is my subjective opinion only. I agree that the keyboard is nicer to work with as well. The powerbook with stock ram seems to move as quickly as my ibook with 1gb of ram. Again it is only an impression. After playing with it a bit longer I believe the ibook will be sold and I will keep the pb although I will hate to see my ibook go. It is a really nice machine. My wife loves hers.

Mister Elf · Nov 12, 2005, 05:55 PM

The PowerBook's graphics card is a bit anemic...the 5200 is ancient. If you need it for higher-end graphics work, avoid!

ghettochild · Nov 12, 2005, 09:18 PM

thanks a lot for the replies. tough call though.

how bad is 1. the drop in airport reception, and 2. the heat-under-palm rest issue?

gnomexp · Nov 13, 2005, 10:33 AM

I find the heat-under-palm rest issue quite relaxing and preventative of wrist stress. The best way to ease your wrists is with heat and what's a better need for it than when you're typing furiously?

Think heat gel pack but without that gooey gel getting all over everything.

fisherKing · Nov 13, 2005, 10:54 AM

Originally Posted by gnomexp

I find the heat-under-palm rest issue quite relaxing and preventative of wrist stress. The best way to ease your wrists is with heat and what's a better need for it than when you're typing furiously?

Think heat gel pack but without that gooey gel getting all over everything.

yeah, but in the summer...

i love my 1.33g 12" alubook, but the heat is a nuisance.

still, can keep your coffee warm...

teerexx52 · Nov 13, 2005, 11:49 AM

Originally Posted by ghettochild

thanks a lot for the replies. tough call though.

how bad is 1. the drop in airport reception, and 2. the heat-under-palm rest issue?

Not bad..I have the ibook and powerbook side by side and its not something I notice on my home network. Download speed tests seem to come up about the same. Mine doesn't seem to get too hot or it just doesn't bother me. Seems on par with my ibook. Fans aren't running when connected to my 20" ACD

shabbasuraj · Nov 13, 2005, 12:59 PM

12" all the way baby.

driven · Nov 14, 2005, 12:23 AM

If I were getting a 12" unit I'd go with the iBook. As I mentioned earlier I love my wife's machine.

In the end I went with a 15" because of:

128MB video card
DVI output (for hooking up to my desktop display)
PC-Card slot (just in case I ever get the urge to go with an EVDO wireless card)
More memory capacity
Faster processor (I have to do some coding in Visual Studio under Virtual PC ... so horsepower is good)

If not for those factors ... 12" iBook!

miacomet · Nov 14, 2005, 08:00 AM

The only reason to get the 12" PB that is relevant to me is for good support of an external display.

ghettochild · Nov 17, 2005, 02:11 PM

got the 12" PB now for testing..lol

impression so far (compared w/ the iBook):

1. no loss of airport reception
2. battery life seems to be okay. somewhat shorter than the iBook's (as expected)
3. gets hotter than the iBook. fans are almost always on compared with almost zero fan activity on the iBook- which is annoying..
4. keyboard feels more solid
5. HDD seems to make more noise

I'm still unclear as to whether or not getting the PB. the fan activity issue sucks, but I guess that's somewhat normal- from what I've read on this and other boards, anyway.

iluvmymactoo · Nov 18, 2005, 01:21 AM

I have the 12" Powerbook and my partner has the 1.33 iBook. The screen on my Powerbook is definitely sharper (they are both correctly calibrated) side by side it is quite obvious.

I get about 5 hours from my battery. When I use battery power I turn off BT, dim the screen and mute the sound (disable the sound card). This ensures nothing is unnecessarily using up battery power.

I love my Powerbook. I use it with a 17" 16.7 M colour display to do my art on and it's runs sweet.

Simon · Nov 18, 2005, 01:35 AM

If it's the current iBook vs. the current 12" PowerBook, I can really recommend the iBook. Unless of course you need DVI output (for all those people who want to drive ACDs). The iBook's price-performance ratio is so much better and the size/weight is almost equal. In the end, you're paying a lot for an aluminum finish - although it really is nice.

I love the 12" PowerBook for its size and I'd still love to have one again. But, the lack of GPU power and the miserable screen quality (angle, brightness) just make it look bad next to the 15". Since I really need a good GPU and I want a high quality screen, I switched from a 12" to a 15" and don't regret it for a moment. If the 12" stays around (a big if after all the rumors about the Intel PowerBooks) and if its performance and screen quality match the other PowerBooks, I'll gladly switch back just because the form factor is so awesome.

In the meantime, for those who want a 12" Mac notebook now, I'd really get the iBook.

Simon · Nov 18, 2005, 01:37 AM

sorry, double post

ghettochild · Nov 18, 2005, 04:55 AM

Originally Posted by iluvmymactoo

I have the 12" Powerbook and my partner has the 1.33 iBook. The screen on my Powerbook is definitely sharper (they are both correctly calibrated) side by side it is quite obvious.

I get about 5 hours from my battery. When I use battery power I turn off BT, dim the screen and mute the sound (disable the sound card). This ensures nothing is unnecessarily using up battery power.

I love my Powerbook. I use it with a 17" 16.7 M colour display to do my art on and it's runs sweet.

interesting...how do you disable the sound card? simply mute it (e.g. F3)? also, did you notice any changes in heat and fan activity when you maxed out RAM?

teney7 · Nov 18, 2005, 09:28 AM

My 12'' is beautiful, the battery life is good (about 4 hours), even with AirPort on (about 5 without)and the fan only comes on when I am downloading large files or moving things around. The machine ran kind of hot when I first got it, but now it runs cooler, maybe it just needed to get in shape...

iluvmymactoo · Nov 19, 2005, 03:05 PM

Originally Posted by ghettochild

interesting...how do you disable the sound card? simply mute it (e.g. F3)? also, did you notice any changes in heat and fan activity when you maxed out RAM?

Just F3 (mute) disables the sound card, sorry I should have mentioned that.

My Powerbook has had it's ram maxed out since day one so I can't really compare. However, I have the CPU performance in System Preferences set to Automatic when using AC power. I did have it set to Highest at one stage, but my Powerbook would heat up consistently so I changed it back and now it rarely does.

CorpITGuy · Nov 20, 2005, 12:30 PM

I (for a very short time) owned the last iteration of the 12" PB. It's a solid machine. I found it to be snappier than my 1GHz 15" and its size is PERFECT for travelling, so you can open it up in coach and type without a problem. The 15" is way too big for us commoners who can't fly first class.

Disclaimer: I have a 15" PB and a 15.4" Dell D810. I hate using either of them on a plane.