[Proudest Monkey]

I wouldn't think so either, but if you look at the edu pricing it clearly tells another tale ...

14.1" iBook
800MHz PowerPC G3
512K L2 cache @800MHz
256MB SDRAM memory
30GB Ultra ATA drive
ATI Radeon 7500
32MB dedicated video memory
Combo Drive
Built-in 56K v.92 modem
AirPort ready
Up to 6 hr. battery life

$1399.00 discounted from $1499.00

12" Powerbook G4
867MHz PowerPC G4
256MB DDR266 SDRAM
40GB Ultra ATA/100
Combo Drive
NVIDIA GeForce4 420 Go
32MB DDR video memory
10/100BASE-T Ethernet
FireWire 400
AirPort Extreme Ready
Bluetooth built-in
VGA & S-Video out

$1499.00 discounted from $1799.00

are they just using far cheaper materials now in the AluBooks than the iBooks? what else explains only a $100 reduction for the iBook and a $300 reduction on the PBG4.

i'm sure there is a rational explanation, but if you had the extra $100, why would you not sacrifice the screen size and just go with all the extras of the PBG4?

[itai195]

There have been several other threads covering this -- not everybody gets the same educational discount.

[n_lim]

I am pretty sure you are seeing the institutional price and not the individual student price. The individual student price, at least at my school and a few other I checked is $1699.

[BkueKanoodle]

Also remember that although the pb has nicer specs, a 14 inch lcd screen costs more to make. Thats why the low price gap. If you want a truer comparison, look at the price of an 800 mhz 12 ibook

[seanyepez]

The battery on the 14-inch unit features a slightly higher capacity, too.

[Proudest Monkey]

Originally posted by n_lim:
I am pretty sure you are seeing the institutional price and not the individual student price. The individual student price, at least at my school and a few other I checked is $1699.

pretty sure i was looking at the student price since i had access to it, my school has a lot of macs, i bet i get a better discount bc of that.

[sweatervest]

My school uses Macs too, and it's still $1699 instead of $1499... it's the institutional one that is $1499. (I wish it was the other way around! )

[iChristopher]

There's probably a higher margin on the PB, so I'm guessing they would be delighted if students started buying the 12" PB's.

[Commodus]

Exactly, iChris... Apple would probably want you to run out and buy a 17" PowerBook if you had the money for it!

I do think it's true, though, that the discounts on the 12" PowerBook are pretty substantial for post-secondary education. I remember the discount at the U of Ottawa bringing it to the point where most people would be mad to get a 14" iBook (somewhere between $2500-2700 Canadian, I think).

[SOLIDAge]

i've asked around
and i've plugged in afew schools

and it seems the Edu discount is UNIVERSAL at like $100 a system

trust me
if i could get a 12" PB for $1499 i WOULD but i can't...

? 867MHz PowerPC G4
? 256MB DDR266 (128MB built-in & 128MB SO-DIMM)
? 40GB Ultra ATA drive
? Combo Drive (DVD-ROM/CD-RW)
? Keyboard/Mac OS - U.S. English
? 12.1-inch TFT XGA Display

$1,699.99

[TheIceMan]

Originally posted by sweatervest:
My school uses Macs too, and it's still $1699 instead of $1499... it's the institutional one that is $1499. (I wish it was the other way around! )

Agreed. There has been another thread discussing this already. The price referred to is the institutional discount.

Proudest Monkey: You might want to go through the discount that you see online and try to actually make the purchase. You might just end up where many of us did...a proposal to your school, not a personal purchase. I know because I have already tried it.

If you went to Apple online and then clicked on the tab "Store" and then "Education". On the next page, if you went under the column on the right "Shop for your School" then you have gone down the wrong rabbit hole because on the last page you will see "Create Proposal." Click on it and that's the end.