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kdixey · May 7, 2004, 07:17 PM

I recently (after much agonizing and considerable input from everyone here) decided to jump ship and go with a shiny new rev. C 12" powerbook. I have been sitting on my hands for the financial aid check for the computer to arrive (no surprise there) I am finding that there are some things about the 12" powerbook that are keeping me from being totally satisfied with that choice.

I am not wild about the video card in the 12" powerbook (64mb VRAM or not). I have always felt that ATI makes better faster cards and from what I can see from various posts the video card in the 12" powerbook is pretty underwhelming. I tend to spend a good deal of time in the field as I am studying wildlife photography and filmmaking so the durability of the ibook over the powerbook is important. The powerbook just seems a bit fragile to me. Finally, I have to say, as much as I think the 12" screen is sharp (and it is very sharp) I am starting to wonder if it's going to end up driving me batty because it is soooo small. I'm 43 and my eyesight (as much as I am loathe to admit it) is not what it once was.

Since the 15" powerbook is way out of my budget, I am looking at jumping back into the ibook camp. I am considering the top of the line 14" ibook. What I am gaining is a more rugged computer, better wifi reception, longer battery life, a bigger more legible screen and a better video card. What I am giving up is standard built-in Bluetooth (but then again I don't have any bluetooth devices). Apple supported video out and a marginally faster machine.

Am I nuts for considering this?

nJm · May 7, 2004, 09:35 PM

No, I think in your case it does make sense. I'm only 19 and don't have issues with the small screen (I have a new 12" iBook). Although much of the time it is sitting on my desk hooked up to a 17" CRT.

Due to this reason I find my self wishing I had the extra 32mb of video ram as when mirroring or spanning screens it splits the memory in half for each screen.

As to durability, well my iBook has had a few knocks and it has been fine. I have found that the case does scratch easily, although to see it you have to be under fluro lights. That, and the palm rests get dirty quite easy.

I'm perfectly happy with the performance of my iBook, and I use it for PhotoshopCS amongst other things.

iKwak · May 8, 2004, 04:05 AM

Good choice man!

sniffer · May 8, 2004, 07:09 AM

Am I nuts for considering this?

Yes you are. The top end iBook with just the aditional BT costs just the same, at least here, as the 12" PB. That's an expensive extra 2" screen.

f1000 · May 8, 2004, 07:55 AM

Originally posted by kdixey:
Finally, I have to say, as much as I think the 12" screen is sharp (and it is very sharp) I am starting to wonder if it's going to end up driving me batty because it is soooo small. I'm 43 and my eyesight (as much as I am loathe to admit it) is not what it once was.

IMHO, if you can't easily read text on the PowerBook's screen, then you're not going to find any of the computer's other advantages very useful.

kdixey · May 8, 2004, 11:43 AM

I agree that the 12" powerbook is by far the best value in the Apple notebook line. The real question is weather or not I can work with the small screen. The reality of the situation is that most of the time I will be using this computer it will NOT be hooked to an external monitor, so I need to be productive with whatever the built-in screen is.

EdipisReks · May 9, 2004, 06:40 AM

i'm only 23, and i find the 12" screen to be too small. young eyes, or not.

sniffer · 07:00 AM

Originally posted by kdixey:
..The reality of the situation is that most of the time I will be using this computer it will NOT be hooked to an external monitor, so I need to be productive with whatever the built-in screen is.

That's a good point. I really considering the 12" PB my self, but I can justify the screen with that I am at least going to use it 50/50 with a CRT attached. I have a 12" iBook now, and I agree the screen is to small and weak alone for everyday usage. But its a perfect fit for a portable OTOH. But if you are not going to hook it up with an external monitor, then the 14" is a good option.

kdixey · May 9, 2004, 02:28 PM

If I knew I'd be using the 12" powerbook with an external dispplay than I thik the decision would be easier, but I know that will not be the case most of the time. I'll be either at school or sitting at home on the couch doing homework (and watching my son). The portability part is by far the most important part for me. Now, the 12" is uber portable but I used a clamshell ibook until just recently so the 14" ibook will seem downright svelte in comparison, not to mention loads faster.

StevenWRX · May 12, 2004, 12:08 AM

I sold my 12" pb last week because the screen was too small for my tastes.. i just ordered a loaded 14" ibook.. cant wait to get it

selowitch · May 16, 2004, 08:32 PM

Originally posted by StevenWRX:
I sold my 12" pb last week because the screen was too small for my tastes.. i just ordered a loaded 14" ibook.. cant wait to get it

Not to rain on your parade, but you do realize that the 14" iBook has the same resolution as the 12" iBook and 12" PowerBook -- all you're getting is larger pixels. The only time your resolution would actually improve is by jumping to the 15" PowerBook.

However, the machine you ordered is still truly awesome and a good buy.

kdixey · May 17, 2004, 12:09 AM

I just did the same switch. I had a 12" powerbook (rev C) and found the screen too small so I went for the 14" ibook instead. Even though the resolution is the same, I find that the 14" ibook is so much easier to read (at least to my eyes). The 12" powerbook has a terrific set of features, but I am absolutely thrilled with the 14" ibook. I upgraded from a 15" tibook (400 G4) and the screen on the ibook seems to be brighter and sharper, although the tibook is almost 5 years old so some of that could be deterioration due to age.

I ended up going for the middle 14" ibook because I thought the price difference didn't seem to provide THAT much value. Even though the top end ibook has an airport card included the $100 difference between them (after factoring in the airport card) since I'm on such a tight budget it seemed a bit steep for 20gb more HD and .13 ghz of processor power. So I spent the money I saved on a 512mb RAM chip from Crucial.

That being said, I really like the 12" form factor, it just didn't work for my particular situation.