[Mallrat]

I was waiting to see what happened on June 6 in way of updates and none happened except for "dear apple customers - were switching to intel throwing the future into a state of uncertainity --- enjoy!"

So all i need is a computer to take to the coffee shop. I like the 15 inch screen (as I'm using a 20inch at home) but I don't know if that's small enough to take around with me.

I was thinking either a new powerbook 12 inch (maybe 15inch) combo drive or ibook 12 inch.

I love the powerbook's keyboard, but I'm a bit worried about the heat.

Is the battery life similar?

I used an ibook G3 for 4 years and loved it. I recently sold it as I needed something new.

I don't know if I would be happy with a new ibook g4 as it's the same thing. Maybe a powerbook would be more fun!

Or maybe I should buy a used one. I don't know. I was hoping for an update, but this has been a weird time.

None of the rumor sites will talk and nothing is following it's usually pattern.

I feel "dirty". Apple used to work a certain way and when they don't update the ibooks around the "normal" time, I get worried/annoyed.

[wuzup101]

Is budget a factor in your decision? I personally own a 15" pb because I needed the extra screen size for my work. However, if you can make due on a 12" screen for your writing/surfing it would be the easiest on your budget. I can tell you that I take my 15" to class with me every day. It's smaller than all of my text books, and most of my 3 ring notebooks (though not lighter than the notebooks). Because of it's very thin design it seems smaller than it actually is. I would say you probably won't have any problems carrying it around, and it will fit nicely on a table at the coffee shop. If you get yourself a nice bag for it, you probably won't notice the weight/size difference over the 12" to be honest. The 12" is indeed smaller by quite a bit, but weight wise, there isn't much difference (I think it's about 1 pound 4.6 vs 5.6).

[iREZ]

i'd say go with an ibook...the increased battery life and airport signal alone is a compelling reason to if you're gonna be taking it to coffee shops n such. besides...if all you're gonna be doing is typing and surfing, why would you need more than a 12" screen? my choice is iBook, or 12" powerbook...15" if you need the extra screen space, but by your post....it really doesn't look like you NEED it. the new iBook G4's are waaayyy better than the G3's and the keyboard in em have been slightly improved as well. other than them having no core image gpu in them (over rated if you ask me), there really isn't anything the powerbook could do that the ibook cant do only a few seconds slower.

[Mallrat]

Budget not a problem. Like to spend less, but have always loved the 15inch powerbooks.

I'm leaning toward ibook G4 12inch, but I kind of like the idea of buying a powerbook for their awesome keyboards.

But then the 12inch powerbook I heard gets hot hot hot. Maybe not as bad as before, but still hot.

[GlobalNomad]

iBook can take more punishment. Aluminum bends easily.

[kappa4life]

I just got my 12 PB a couple of weeks ago. It got hot. I ordered an Ilap and all problems solve. Fans seldom come on ever now.. and my lap is nice

Graned i do live in Phoenix, it gets a tad warm here.

josh

[Randman]

Wait another day or two as iBooks could still be upgraded.
For writing on the go, I'd say an iBook. Plus it's cheaper and you'd have the option in 2 years or so to upgrade to a really nice PowerBook 15 or 17 (I actually prefer the 17 for writing).

[brettcamp]

I also went from a 12" iBook to 12" Powerbook, and you're right: the key board is wonderful. Mine doesn't get exceptionally hot -- I think that problem was solved a couple revisions ago.
Nevertheless, I do think that for your uses, the iBook's a better value: more rugged for travel, better airport reception, longer battery life, cheaper. I needed a PB for its DVI connection to an external monitor (and the twice as big hard disk didn't hurt either); your post wasn't clear about whether you'll be hooking up your PB to your 20" monitor at home. If so, i'd say go PB; if not, iBook as your second, travel computer.

Of course, if money is no object, and value isn't an issue then, sure, splurge on the Powerbook: It's a sweet little machine.

[FeralCat]

Just bought a 1.5 GHz 12" PowerBook, and it's awesome. I have it on my lap now, and for normal internet usage, it barely gets warm. It's a joy to work on; the screen is awesome, the keyboard is crisp and has great tactile feedback, and the scrolling trackpad is so cool and useful that I don't know how I got along without it. In fact, the scrolling trackpad has spoiled me, and now I try to use it when I check the web on my wife's TiBook.

I agree with Randman: there may still be iBook updates on the way. I would wait maybe 2 weeks or so, as it seems to me that Apple won't want to release a new hardware rev on the coattails of such a huge announcement (i.e. the Intel transition). Then again, they don't want to wait too long, because they don't want their product line to "stagnate", either. So, I'd say wait 2 or 3 more weeks if you really want an iBook.

And, no matter what you get, don't feel bad about getting a PPC based machine; it will still run Leopard and all the apps you want in the mean time. I'm planning on keeping this machine until it crumbles into aluminum dust!

[wuzup101]

FeralCat --> might want to try the program "sidetrack" on your wife's machine if she's interested in scrolling. It's a $15 shareware app I believe now (bought it a while ago I think that was the price). After using it as freeware for a few months when it went shareware I bought w/o even thinking about it. Could have charged me $50 and I still would have purchased as soon as possible. Great little app that allows you to map your trackpad for scrolling in OSX. It also allows you to set "hot corners" to use for expose or whatever (have mine for forward/back in browswer, expose, and right click). Comes in very handy on machines w/o the new scrolling trackpad and greatly increases productivity (atleast mine).

[rhythmicmoose]

I actually prefer the keyboard on the new iBook G4s to the keyboard on the PowerBooks. The keys feel more defined and the new rubberized feel on those machines is awesome. A huge improvement over the iBook G3s. If you haven't gone to the store to feel one, I recommend you do that.

I'd recommend the iBook for other reasons too. The PowerBook 12" is pretty much a sham. Now that the iBooks use G4s, there's nothing in the 12" PowerBook to make it worth the extra price unless you really need the bit of extra performance you get from the faster graphics card and frontside bus. The iBook is also much more sturdily constructed. Just make sure you upgrade the hard drive and RAM and add the BlueTooth option if you ever plan on using it. A 30 GB hard drive is pretty small (and upgrading it later will be a pain) and OS X runs much better on 512 MB RAM. Once you add all those options it's still cheaper than the 12" PowerBook.

[TiDual]

Well, for travel, I recently considered replacing my 15"PB (or rather, supplementing it) with either a 12"iBook or 12"PowerBook. I compared them pretty closely (my lab has both, so I could try them out). The airport and robustness points are true for the iBook, but frankly, the PowerBook is simply a notably nicer machine. It's a little lighter (2.1 vs 2.2 kg), and noticeably smaller ... and yes, the kb is superior. In the end, though, I realised it wasn't that much easier to carry around than the 15", and I just found the screen too small. So I stuck with my 15" AluBook (it's an original 1.25GHz model, and *does* get hot)!

[Randman]

If money is no problem, there's always the 17. Despite what people say, it is portable (I travel with mine frequently). The screen is wonderful and with the dimensions, heat's not an issue. It runs, on average, about 10 degrees cooler than the 1Ghz g4 iBook I used to own.
Being able to hot swap a battery is good and you get all of the PB goodies standard (backlit keyboard is also good).
If you're not going for a 12, I'd suggest skipping the 15 and getting the 17.