[rado30]

What would be the better way to go; to spend the extra $200 dollars and get the iBook SE with the added 66Mhz of speed, or to buy the "2000 iBook" and put the $200 that you would have spent for the SE on RAM, or the airport card...etc...
I know more speed is always better, but it seems to me that for that extra $200 dollars you spend on the SE, it isn't worth it, or is it?
Everything being equal (except for the added 66 Mhz of speed for the SE that is) does 66Mhz and a graphite case make it worth the money?

[Adam Silver]

Unless you love Graphite or can't stand Blueberry and Tangerine, the Special Edition is not worth the money. In most cases, you won't be able to tell the difference between a 300 MHz iBook and a 366 MHz iBook. You're probably better off spending the $200 on something else (or saving it).

[SupahCoolX]

i agree with adam.. only go with the SE if a) you're rich enough and have $ to burn b) you're not umm.. comfortable with yourself and don't want a "girlie" color or c) you have some kind of ego thing with bigger numbers on your computer's specs

[pscates]

Exactly! The graphite iBook (as well as the iMac SE) are really gorgeous and classy-looking (and will probably "hold up" over time a little more so than orange and blue computers...), BUT an extra 66MHz and a different color seems kinda "so what?" to me.
It's almost as though Apple saw how the graphite iMacs were flying off the shelves and said "we HAVE to have this color in an iBook...NOW! We have to call it a 'Special Edition', but we can't/won't put in a DVD or FireWire...let's just bump up the speed a barely noticeable amount, slap on graphite panels/logo and charge a litte more..."
There's not much "special" about it, although don't get me wrong: it looks great!!!
The $200 you save by going the standard blueberry/tangerine route would just about buy you a 128MB DIMM AND an Airport card. Then you could save a bit more, get a base station and then BOOM...192MB of wireless web-surfing satisfaction!
That's what I'm going to do, anyway.

------------------
Paul Scates
Carlsbad, CA
http://home.earthlink.net/~pscates

[This message has been edited by pscates (edited 04-04-2000).]

In the most recent issue of Macworld Magazine, MCE is offering 12 GB iBooks for 200 extra.....

It's not on the website ( www.powerbook1.com ), however, and they have not returned my emails.....

So, you could spend the money on extra HD space, if you like, which is really the delimiting factor of a portable's life, IMO. As time goes on, you get used to slowness (compared to the newer models on the market), but you never get used to running out of storage.....

Or you could spend $400 extra and get the 66 MHz boost, the 12 GB HD, the cool graphite color, AND generally the baddest iBook on the block.

Dammit

[This message has been edited by Dammit (edited 04-04-2000).]

I say the SE *IS* worth the $200. I have an SE on order and recently played around with the standard and the SE quite a bit at CompUSA. The speed difference between the 300 mhz and 366 mhz was quite noticable. As an example, Bugdom loaded up several seconds faster on the SE.

Plus, the Graphite case is really really amazing looking. If it was just a graphite color I wouldn't be that excited, but it's not just graphite. Pictures don't do it justice. The graphite has a very very slight blue tint to it, not obvious but just enough to catch the eye. And the white looks silvery next to the graphite. It's really quite stunning.

I got the SE on the promo with the HP printer and the extra RAM for about $2000 with tax, and I think it's a pretty good deal for an SE with 128 mb RAM and an printer.

[pscates]

They ARE gorgeous! And just like the G4 (I'm looking at mine at work right now...), there is this blue-ish cast to the graphite. It's a cool "gunmetal blue" color that probably goes a long way toward making it a lot spiffier than just plain old gray.
I saw an iBook SE a couple of weekends ago and even the "white" part looks more like a powdery metallic sheen.
Pictures DO NOT do it justice...and that pretty much speaks for just about everything in Apple's "iLineup". Except for strawberry

------------------
Paul Scates
Carlsbad, CA
http://home.earthlink.net/~pscates

[This message has been edited by pscates (edited 04-04-2000).]

Yeah, I was under the impression that Apple has silvery dye or something in the white plastics parts, too.....

Hmmmm.....

Dammit

[Q27]

I got the Rev. A blueberry ibook and it is an awesome machine. The only problem that I had with it was the fact that the HD was lacking so I decided to install a 12GB HD in my iBook. The process was tedious but I would say that it is worth it. As for the graphite vs. the other ibooks, I don't think that the graphite color is worth it. If you are looking for a faster processor, if you are brave enough, try overclocking.

Personally I think it's more worth it to pay the extra dough for the 366 and not have to go through the absolute pain-in-the-referendum of overclocking the iBook.

[segaslave]

ok i think its just silly not to spend the extra 200 bucks on the SE(unless you just dont like the color and really want the playfull blue or orange) but the extra 66mhz is definetly worth the extra 200 bucks alone, i have a G4 350 at work and a G4 450 at home and that 100mhz is a world of differnce, netscape opens on the 450 in like 5 seconds, on the 350 it takes a good 20, and thats only a 100mhz differnce, add the extra ram and HD space to the SE ibook for only 200 bucks more and its a steal....i think(ive got mine on order, i do plan to take it and put it in my blue ibooks case though the graphite is to corp. for me to carry round)

what extra RAM and HD space?

i thought all RevB iBooks, blue, tang. or SE, had 64MB/6GB, and that the $200 for the SE got you 66 MHz?

is this incorrect?

Ok, MCE IS selling 12 GB iBooks for $200 extra!

I wrote to MCE this:

Are you selling these 12 GB iBooks, yet? I see the ad in Macworld, but I don't see the product on your website. (The ad, btw, lists 12 GB iBooks for $1799, and 12 GB iBook SE's for $1999)

If you are selling them, what is the estimated turnaround on an order?

A nice fella from MCE named Ben wrote back this:

Thanks for the inquiry. These iBooks are available now with a 1-day lead time for configuration purposes. To place an order, please call our sales department at 1-800-500-0622 between 8:30am and 6:00pm PST, M-F.

Feel free to contact me directly with any other questions you might have regarding this or other products for your PowerBook or iBook.

So, to re-iterate:

You can spend $200 on getting graphite and the 66 MHz spped increase OR you can spend it on getting a 12 GB HD OR you can drop $400 extra on them and get both.

Cheers!

Dammit

[This message has been edited by Dammit (edited 04-05-2000).]

[pscates]

ekoelbel, you are correct.
The Tokyo-introduced iBooks (all three flavors) now have 64MB RAM (expandable to 320) and 6GB hardrives.
Blue and tangerine still cost $1599 and are still 300MHz.
The graphite SE has 366MHz and is $1799.
It's a different color and 66 more MHz...that's it.

------------------
Paul Scates
Carlsbad, CA
http://home.earthlink.net/~pscates

[segaslave]

err my bad i forgot about the rev. B ibooks

OK, then think about it this way, spend the extra 200 on the speed bump, and if you ever need more disk space you can add a usb drive, BUT if you spend the money now on that extra drive you cant ever upgrade the speed your stuck at that 300, its always better to have as much speed as possible when you first buy...i think(the rest can be added/updated later)

[iMan]

Hello All,

I think the graphite is and isn't worth it on one part i hate the other colors they are way to bright for a laptop. The graphite one are darker so because of the contrast you can see more minor defects. I think you are paying $150 for the extra speed and $50 for the graphite. The graphite is quite beautiful though.