[bballchik]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"]im going to get a new laptop. i was looking at the apple lineup for the powerbook series and i was very impressed. the only problem is that i cant decided whether to choose the 12 in or the 15 in.. the 12 in is very portable and small which i like but on the other hand the 15 in has an awesome screen and it has video editing and you can do graphic designs on it. what im not sure about the 15 is if the machine is as portable as the 12 in.. could you guys please help me?[/FONT]

[rem]

Hi and welcome! In addition to screen size/portability, the latest model 15"s have such differences from the 12" PB as: 1.67GHz, dual-layer SuperDrive, higher resolution LCD, ATI Radeon, optical digital line-in, gigabit ethernet, ambient light sensor for keyboard & lcd, Firewire 800 and the DVI adapter is different. Apparently batt life is a bit higher on the 15" too.

If you don't mind shelling out the extra cash and carrying an extra pound, I'd say go for the 15" (that's what I have ). I find the 15" to be comfortably portable. I was having the same dilemma as you between the 15" & 17". A friend of mine with a 15" PB told me his next one will be a 12" as he carries it around A LOT, the 12" LCD is fine while on the go, and at home he connects to an external monitor.

If you're going to be on the go a lot... and have an ext monitor... and plan to do graphic design at home... and don't need the above extras, the 12" is probably the best choice.

Either way you get OS X which ROCKS!

[fisherKing]

i'm surrounded by 15" powerbooks (my girlfriend, some people i work with), but i really love the 12" pb, just because it is small, light; powerful enough for the work i do (music production & scoring, writing, webdesign).

the 15" has a better screen, and i wish i had the backlit keyboard. but my battery life seems better, and i carry the 12" everywhere.

it also seems less fragile than the 15", but...

at the end of the day, either one will fit in a backpack.

i just revel in the idea of having something this small do so much...

[mgehman]

I've had both, and also the 17". Here is how you break it down.
15"
1. Better bigger screen
2. Better graphics processor
3. More ram capacity
4. Slightly faster processor

12"
1. Much smaller and lighter - 1lb is 1lb
2. Much more portable
3. Easier to use while traveling
4. Processor speed is not a big difference
5. Significantly slower graphics card with far less VRAM

In the end, it is a personal decision. I prefer the 12" out of all the PowerBooks I have had. Love the portability, but then all I use my for is database, movies, internet and email.
Hope this helps

[brettcamp]

What are you going to use it for? If you're doing a lot of photo or video work, the higher resolution and wide screen of the 15" will be really helpful. Or you can get an external display to hook up to your 12" PB if you'll be doing that sort of work at your desk. I recently switched from the 12" to 15" and the added weight doesn't bother me, but then I don't carry it around every day. The screen is much better on the 15".

In any case you should wait a couple more days to see if Apple is discontinuing the 12" as rumored and replacing it with a new widescreen model. You might also look into the 12" iBook, which is a better value although it lacks DVI output and Superdrive. And you might search for past posts on the same topic in this forum.