[malcolmj]

I have the option of getting a 15.2" PowerBook G4 or a 12.1" PowerBook G4. Both have the same specs except the 12.1" includes a super drive and the 15.2" combo drive.

The price difference has the 15.2" costing $100 more.

What do you think, is the extra screen size worth paying the extra $100 and losing DVD burning capabilities?

Malcolm

[pdot]

The difference in screen size is huge. I may be getting a 12"PB, if there's a worthy update in January, because I want the portability and plan to have an external monitor attached in the long run. If you don't plan on having an ext monitor, get the 15" b/c the 1024x768 on a 12" screen gets cramped fast.

As for the superdrive, I don't see myself using it regularly, so it's not worth the money to me. You have to ask yourself wether or not you're going to use it often enough.

I guess the other differences - Graphics card, FW800, Gigabit Ethernet and S-video out don't matter to you.

P.S. If you don't get many replies to your post, it's because your type of question has been asked many times already.

[Commodus]

It depends on what you use the PowerBook for. If you're interested in portability first, get the 12" PowerBook. But it's not that much more portable that other factors might change things.

Video performance is better on the 15" - gamers obviously appreciate that the most, but even just using a secondary display (especially if you use Expos� a lot) might show a tangible difference.

Also, if you have more than one Firewire device, the option of plugging them in on opposite sides without a separate hub would be a good thing. You might need to use a FW800-to-FW400 adapter, but it ultimately means less clutter.

And if you're not getting a secondary screen... go with the 15". It'll just be much easier to manage multiple apps at once.

[Kurt23]

I would go with the 15" powerbook. You get the PCI slot, which can come in handy. Also, you get more screen real estate and really how much do you think you will be using the DVD burner?

I thought about the same thing before purchasing a 15". To me the 12" is good for people who travel a lot and want something small. The 15" is more suited for everyday work, and of course it's still pretty small and portable.

[MrForgetable]

Originally posted by Commodus:
It depends on what you use the PowerBook for. If you're interested in portability first, get the 12" PowerBook. But it's not that much more portable that other factors might change things.

Video performance is better on the 15" - gamers obviously appreciate that the most, but even just using a secondary display (especially if you use Expos� a lot) might show a tangible difference.

Also, if you have more than one Firewire device, the option of plugging them in on opposite sides without a separate hub would be a good thing. You might need to use a FW800-to-FW400 adapter, but it ultimately means less clutter.

And if you're not getting a secondary screen... go with the 15". It'll just be much easier to manage multiple apps at once.

i dunno about you, but both my firewire ports are on the right side of my 15".

[SpaceRockness]

In my opinion having a PB with a superdrive is great if you're traveling with a need of burning DVDs and or depend upon iDVD. At 4x the option has a better value than last revision but external options are starting to become cheaper(with faster speeds) so you could opt for buying an external dvd burner(or dual layer burner) later.

I own a last revision 15" PB(1.25Ghz) and a current 12" PB w/o superdrive, I wish I never ordered the 15" with a superdrive because its rarely used and 2x was painful. For heavier work the extra screen real-estate is great, the GPU used in 15/17" 'books are far better allowing more years of use and a higher used market value too. On the less than perfect issue is the 15" weaker battery and Apple's lack of willingness in offering a high-capacity edition outright so if you're a student an extra battery would be necessary esp after the battery hits 1yr old or lectures longer than 2hrs(MS Word's notebook feature w/audio recording will shave 30min-1hr of battery life on average). Personally I prefer my 12" PB for uni because of longer battery life, the size/weight allows myself to carry an extra book or notepad and small enough to fit on lecture hall chair's folding shelf or being less of a table hog in classrooms with tables(instead of desks).
My overall opinion/recommendation is when it comes to mobility on battery dependency, the clear edge will be the 12" PowerBook/iBook and the 15/17" PowerBooks being towards the mid-upper end of performance with desktop features for a portable(ex: Gigabit ethernet, FW800, s-video output, better gpu, etc). As far as PC-Card/Cardbus, for my 15" PB its memory readers or a video output solution to support a 3rd monitor... other than that an average user may never use it unless faster wifi gear is released or *gasp* APE card/internal antennas fail after AppleCare expires.