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wvx · 12:35 PM

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No dead/stuck pixels. Combo drive acts just like the Combo drive in the 15" AL Book that is in the office, push disc almost all the way in before it engages and is pretty noisy in the insertion and ejection process.

I sold my 500 1st Generation Dual USB iBook last month so I have a couple years of use to compare. New keyboard is much more solid and feels a little better to type on.

Hard drive is super quiet. My old iBook had a very loud 10 GB drive.

The matte finish off-white inner plastic shell looks less classy than the slightly shiny silvery inner plastic of the 1st generation that I had IMHO. The new case looks much more plasticky and cheap, and the demo units I have seen looked very very grimy on this surface. We'll see how well it cleans up after being used for a long time.

The outer shell is a more pure white and looks pretty nice though I still prefer my original... with clear shell painted white on the inside. Looked very shiny and slick.

Overall fit and finish feels tighter than my old one, which was excellent to start with.

Touchpad continues to be IMHO the best trackpad of any laptop out there including the Powerbooks.

I am traveling this weekend with it but when I get back I'll probably put it up against my 1Ghz iMac and 533 Digital Audio G4 for some video encoding among other things.

Sosa · Oct 28, 2003, 12:42 PM

Your iBook looks nice. The new material Apple is using is better than the yellowish rough material they used in the 800 and 900mhz G3, but still not up to the quality of the first generation ice Books (of which I was until recently an owner).

For comparison, here are a few pics of my new 12" Powerbook.

http://homepage.mac.com/msosa2/PhotoAlbum24.html

wvx · Oct 28, 2003, 01:25 PM

Ya, that's right, the demo units had this awful yellow tint, like they had been exposed to sunlight for years and grimy. The iBook G4 seems to have a "pasty" looking color... it's nice, not wonderful, but nice. If the plastic is more rugged and scratch resistant than my original iBook then that'd be nice.

My original ibook also had a beautiful silver hinge, the new one has a plain white one... cutting costs to get it to me for $1100 no doubt so I'm not going to complain about that.

fener · Oct 28, 2003, 03:20 PM

I see that you placed your iBook on top of the protector foam. Thats how people LOVE Apple, and handle them with care. Also, it is the joy of getting the NEW iBook! No one will do that for a PC laptop!

Enjoy!

wvx · Oct 28, 2003, 03:44 PM

I dread that first scratch. I know it's going to happen. It's so perfect now... uggg.

powertoburn · Oct 28, 2003, 07:34 PM

wvx - can you please post a picture of the charger?

I am wondering if iBook G4 is shipping with the same charger as the PowerBook G4?

The cord is thicker on the newer charger and there is reinforcement where the charge cord exits charger.

Thanks!

cantcstr8 · Oct 28, 2003, 07:43 PM

I've got the new ibook. Have had it since Saturday. I like it so far and it is a big improvement in performance over my Graphite Clamshell.

The AC adapter is the same one that comes with the 12" powerbook (45 watt) but not the ones that come with the new 15(65 watt). We use lots of Macs here.

The 65 watt adapter has a sturdier cord than the 45 watt adapter.

And as far as the finish goes, I think it is a step backward. It shows every little fingerprint greasemark, whatever. Though it does look nice when perfectly clean

powertoburn · Oct 28, 2003, 08:06 PM

cantcstr8: thanks for your reply. I was hoping the iBook G4 would come with the sturdier charger. I am trying to replace the one that came with the PowerBook 17" with no luck.

cobra27 · 12:33 AM

Originally posted by cantcstr8:
And as far as the finish goes, I think it is a step backward. It shows every little fingerprint greasemark, whatever. Though it does look nice when perfectly clean

Oh, so it is still a fingerprint magnet like the 900Hz G3 ones.

Actually, Apple could have made the exterior of the iBook with matt finish instead of the glossy one. That will eliminate the fingerprints and also make it easier to hold as well (I am thinking of something like the Thinkpad here).

wvx · Oct 29, 2003, 07:27 AM

The outter case is a finger print magnet. When it is perfectly clean, it is dramatically nice looking and maybe that's what Apple wanted because if it had a matte finish, it would probably look pretty boring.

The Placid Casual · Oct 29, 2003, 11:35 AM

wvx, cheers for the info and opinion on the iBook...

After your info, I am now pretty sure the new iBook will do me really well for the next few years... and save me some much needed cash instead of me buying a new 15 Alu!

Peace,

Marc

wvx · Oct 29, 2003, 12:12 PM

After using it for a day I have to say that I'm liking the inner plastic more. The feel of it is almost soft and cool to the touch.

With my previous iBook the keyboard was stark white and the plastic surrounding it was silvery and shiny so there was a contrast. With the new iBooks the keyboard and the surrounding plastic seem to be made of the same exact type and color plastic so there's a certain quality to that also.

cobra27 · Oct 29, 2003, 01:56 PM

No excessive heat or fan noise, right? How about battery life under "normal" usage?

Thanks in advance.

HotSoup · Oct 29, 2003, 06:56 PM

Thanks for the iBook picture. Although, I did find the shirt-less picture... disturbing.

How's the keyboard on the 12" iBook G4 compared to the 12" PB?

wvx · Oct 29, 2003, 10:17 PM

Gets warm but not uncomfortable. I've only calibrated the battery and haven't really worked off of it yet. It shows 4 hours after calibration. No where close to the 6 hours Apple claims... if I can get 3.5 hours out of it in normal use I will be happy.

songoku912 · Oct 29, 2003, 11:57 PM

As another G4 iBook owner, I can say battery life is on par with my old 500mhz iBook. I get an average of 3.5 hours of use, and thats doing web browing via airport, playing some music, light photoshop, with screen brightness set to about halfway.

darcybaston · Oct 30, 2003, 09:48 AM

Originally posted by HotSoup:
Thanks for the iBook picture. Although, I did find the shirt-less picture... disturbing.

*snort* Disturbing? What? That he's a human being with an upper torso like anyone else?

I'll be getting a 14" before Christmas hopefully. wvx - have you tested the touchpad auto-ignore when typing? Can you do "tap-tap and hold" for one handed scroll bar movement?