[calverson]

I want a buy a (2nd) portable used simply for e-mail and writing documents, and maybe the odd Keynote presentation.

Of which of all the portables made since circa 2004 (so the iBook G4 and onwards) has the best battery life?

Does anyone know?

And would you be able to put an SSD in one of these? I am basically looking to get the most possible battery life out of one laptop.

EDIT: I would consider picking a second-hand one off of E-Bay, and getting a new battery for it

[applesbiggestfan]

Get the Macbook Pro 15-inch.

It says on the technical specifications that the battery will last 5 hours of wireless productivity.

But if you turn bluetooth off and turn down the brightness you will get over 6 hours.

Godspeed.

[mduell]

They make 2.5" SSDs with IDE and SATA, so you can put a SSD in any Mac laptop. For better battery life, look toward the consumer lines (iBook/MacBook). If an iBook can meet your performance needs, they're a better choice (cheaper and longer battery life with a new battery); the MacBook brings a lot more CPU power and memory capacity to the table.

If you need more battery life than one battery can provide, I like the external battery options better than a second/third internal battery (easier to charge, no swapping, etc).

Originally Posted by applesbiggestfan 

It says on the technical specifications that the battery will last 5 hours of wireless productivity.

[Dork.]

Originally Posted by calverson 

EDIT: I would consider picking a second-hand one off of E-Bay, and getting a new battery for it

This is your best option. Battery technology gets a little bit better each year, and the new batteries available for older laptops will likely have higher capacity than the original batteries did. Battery capacity is measured in mAH, and the higher the better.

[SSharon]

Originally Posted by mduell 

agreed.
with the exception being that when my 14" ibook was new it got 6 hours on the lowest screen brightness.

[calverson]

Originally Posted by applesbiggestfan 

Get the Macbook Pro 15-inch.

It says on the technical specifications that the battery will last 5 hours of wireless productivity.

But if you turn bluetooth off and turn down the brightness you will get over 6 hours.

Godspeed.

I have a Macbook Pro 15-Inch. It was rated for 5 hours of wireless productivity. Realistically, I got about 3 when it was new, with brightness on lowest, just with Word and Entourage open (with wifi connected, though)

Originally Posted by SSharon 

agreed.
with the exception being that when my 14" ibook was new it got 6 hours on the lowest screen brightness.

Cool. I think that I will get the 12" iBook (ah... the memories, I had the original 14" one but sold it when I got my Power Mac) and stick a SSD in it.

[stevebez]

If you are willing to consider something a bit older a Pismo will swallow two batteries. If you go with the "high capacity" models that should EASILY get you more than 8 hours, possibly close to 10. A Pismo should more than be capable of doing what you want it to.

edit: What you want to do really doesn't require much in the way of processing power.

[calverson]

Originally Posted by stevebez 

If you are willing to consider something a bit older a Pismo will swallow two batteries. If you go with the "high capacity" models that should EASILY get you more than 8 hours, possibly close to 10. A Pismo should more than be capable of doing what you want it to.

I have one of those lying around. I managed to install Tiger on it, but it definitely worked better with OS 9. While I like it, I am really liking the idea of a 12" iBook. I would not be able to carry a 15.4" MBP and a 15" G3 PB. (well, I physically would be able to, but it would be really annoying)

Whereas my bag would be able to accomodate a MBP and iBook + peripherals - I know this, tried it with my friends just before I answered this post

[applesbiggestfan]

Get a Sony Vaio..

with an extended battery it will last 9 hours (or so it says on the website) and more if you turn of wireless and bluetooth.

[calverson]

Originally Posted by applesbiggestfan 

Get a Sony Vaio..

No



General tip: If someone is asking under the Mac Notebooks section of the forums, assume he is asking about Mac Notebooks.

You think you wouldn't have to have to tell people this?

Originally Posted by applesbiggestfan 

with an extended battery it will last 9 hours (or so it says on the website) and more if you turn of wireless and bluetooth.

I am sure that is says so on teh internets.

But, as you will learn, this is not always the case.

[Simon]

Is that Apple's biggest fan recommending a VAIO in a Mac thread?

[teknopimp]

Originally Posted by stevebez 

If you are willing to consider something a bit older a Pismo will swallow two batteries. If you go with the "high capacity" models that should EASILY get you more than 8 hours, possibly close to 10.

i got one for my Clammy and it gets about seven hours with AirPort on.

[applesbiggestfan]

Originally Posted by Simon 

Is that Apple's biggest fan recommending a VAIO in a Mac thread?

It's too bad I can't change my username, because for now applesbiggestfan is quite irrelevant... lol. I was so into Macs for a long time I didn't really notice any other notebooks. The truth is the only thing better about Macbooks than others is OSX...

vaiosbiggestfan... not very catchy.

[SSharon]

Originally Posted by applesbiggestfan 

The truth is the only thing better about Macbooks than others is OSX...

The many people that have tripped over their magsafe equipped portables might disagree with you there. Not saying it is a huge life changing difference, but there is more to a Mac than Mac OS X.

Back to the ibook idea . . . you should be aware that because of the smaller size of the 12" it also has a physically smaller battery than the 14" and gets less life (even though it has less screen to illuminate).

[calverson]

Originally Posted by applesbiggestfan 

The truth is the only thing better about Macbooks than others is OSX....

Have you aesthetically compared a Lenovo X series to the Macbook Air? Even the Phony VAIO ultraportables don't compare.

And on the more powerful line - show me one computer that compares with the 17" Macbook Pro. All the higher-end machines are thick or ugly.

(except the Alienwares, those are thick and okay-ish if you are 14 years olf)

Originally Posted by SSharon 

Back to the ibook idea . . . you should be aware that because of the smaller size of the 12" it also has a physically smaller battery than the 14" and gets less life (even though it has less screen to illuminate).

Do you know what the difference would be between the 12" and 14"? I mean, would there be a glaring difference in the two?

[stevebez]

Originally Posted by calverson 

I have one of those lying around. I managed to install Tiger on it, but it definitely worked better with OS 9. While I like it, I am really liking the idea of a 12" iBook. I would not be able to carry a 15.4" MBP and a 15" G3 PB. (well, I physically would be able to, but it would be really annoying)

Whereas my bag would be able to accomodate a MBP and iBook + peripherals - I know this, tried it with my friends just before I answered this post

Why do you need an iBook/PowerBook if you already have a MBP? Why would you want to carry a second laptop around with all its accessories? Just get an extra/larger battery.

[stevebez]

Originally Posted by calverson 

I have one of those lying around. I managed to install Tiger on it, but it definitely worked better with OS 9. While I like it, I am really liking the idea of a 12" iBook. I would not be able to carry a 15.4" MBP and a 15" G3 PB. (well, I physically would be able to, but it would be really annoying)

Whereas my bag would be able to accomodate a MBP and iBook + peripherals - I know this, tried it with my friends just before I answered this post

Why would you want to carry a second laptop around with all its accessories? I thought you were talking about running solo with an older 'Book. Just get an extra/larger battery.

[calverson]

Originally Posted by stevebez 

Why would you want to carry a second laptop around with all its accessories? I thought you were talking about running solo with an older 'Book. Just get an extra/larger battery.

Well I wouldn't carry both of them around, I would take the iBook home and leave the MBP in my office, but if I were ever to go away (meaning leave town for a few days) I would take both of them. I am really not a fan of taking my MBP around to meetings or to clients - as then when I get back to my office I need to take it out of my bag, plug it in, connect it to the external monitor etc. etc. etc.

:lazy:

[stevebez]

Ahh... I get the motivation now, but I think what you will find is the two laptop setup is more of a hassle than dealing with the issues of just useing one.

[calverson]

Originally Posted by stevebez 

Ahh... I get the motivation now, but I think what you will find is the two laptop setup is more of a hassle than dealing with the issues of just useing one.

Possibly, but what I work on, as a rule, I have on my USB drive, and I use IMAP, so e-mails are synched, which is what I will mainly use.

I would, ultimately, not have to move my MBP around. Anyway, moved off topic.

I am certain that I am going to get an iBook - just a matter of finding one! I don't suppose that there are any stores that sell them new...

[stevebez]

Back on topic, according to my somewhat fuzzy memory, the keyboards on the 1.2 ghz iBooks are total crap. I remember checking them out in the stores when they were new and being shocked how bad they were. I have been told that those keyboards were only on the 1.2's.

[calverson]

Originally Posted by stevebez 

Back on topic, according to my somewhat fuzzy memory, the keyboards on the 1.2 ghz iBooks are total crap. I remember checking them out in the stores when they were new and being shocked how bad they were. I have been told that those keyboards were only on the 1.2's.

Right, thanks for that. Besides e-bay, do you know any places that would have the latest revision iBooks?

[stevebez]

There is the "best deals" section on lowendmac.com. Of course I have no idea what a good price for a g4 ibook is, but it is probably worth a look.

[macwall]

My Macbook can pull in about 5 hours for basic word processing and email.

[calverson]

Originally Posted by macwall 

My Macbook can pull in about 5 hours for basic word processing and email.

Is that the Penryn Macbook?