[northrob]

Please don't slate me for being a virgin mac user, or wanting to be....

It is time for me to buy a new Laptop.
I was just about to go and buy a 12" Powerbook, when they release the Macbook Pro.

Aside from the outstanding price difference (i'm in China) 15,000 Y compared to 25,000Y

My main usuage is general office stuff, writing, spreadsheets, presentations and surfing and alike (some music and videos too)

Is it worth saving the extra money for a MacPro. I like the size of the 12" and really didn't want the 15" Powerbook, but if it is going to make a difference... then...

By the way, here in China, I can buy a new Dell for 6,000, so hopefully you can see my dilema...

Thankyou in Advance for any advice...

p.s. I'm still looking forward to changing to Apple

please note, this has been updated to cover the mistake i made earlier

[mintcake]

Quick correction: the new model is called the Macbook Pro, it replaces the old Powerbook, the only difference being that the Macbook Pro uses an Intel chip instead of the old PowerPC chip that was in the Powerbooks.

Most people expect Apple to launch a smaller Macbook Pro within a few months (so comparable to the current 12" powerbook). If size is important to you, and you're not in any hurry, you could wait for that. (You can expect the price of the smallest Macbook Pro to be comparable to the price of the 12" powerbook.)

The Macbook Pro will be significantly faster than the Powerbook, but (and here's the big BUT) only for software that has been optimised to run on the new Intel chip. As these are new models, there are quite a few applications out there which will not run natively on Intel (including MS Office for example). That's OK, they'll still run, but in emulated mode, so your speed gains over the Powerbook will not immediately be visible (in time, virtually all software will be available to run natively on the Intel machines).

So really, the question boils down to this: when do you need a new laptop? If you want one now, and you're prepared to go with a bigger screen, order the new Macbook Pro. If you'd really prefer the smaller screen, go with the 12" powerbook, it's still a very nice machine. If you can wait, I'd suggest waiting a few months, until the whole range has moved to Intel and until more native software is available.

One further comment - that Dell may look a lot cheaper to you but please be careful to compare like with like. When one loads up a Dell with all the features and software that come with a Powerbook/Macbook Pro, the difference in price is much less of a factor.

Good luck with your decision. If/when you do get a Mac, you won't regret it! Presentations using Keynote... you are going to love them.

[northrob]

Thanks and sorry for the mistake.

I don't intend buying a Dell I'm def. going for a Mac... fed up with MS crashing for no apperent reason.
I was only using Dell as a comparison for the price, as in, 10,000Y is a big difference here in China