[acadian]

Hi, I'm a proud owner of a Ti500 which I upgraded to from a wallstreet 233 which served me well for years. Having had no actual experience with a pismo/lombard, I was enthusiastic to accompany a friend as picked up a Lomard300 he purchased off E-Bay, he has little experience with Mac's and wanted me there to check out the machine before he forked over the cash. I am familiar with specs of the pismo/lombard machines but was surprised when I actually handled the machine. Thinner and lighter than the wallstreet of course, but the unit somehow felt "creaky" when handled, much more fragile than the wallstreet. My wallstreet felt like a block of steel compared to this thing, the wallstreet's keyboard felt much more solid and I must admit, the push button latch release of the pismo/lombard seems a bit irritating to operate compared to the wallstreet's pull latch. I'm not in any way trying to detract from the strengths of these machines, but I was just surprised that it felt so much more delicate. Anyone else have experience with these 2 machines, and if so, whats you opinion on their fit and finish comparatively, are there differences in feel between the pismo and lombards themselves?

[haunebu]

I've owned all three (Wallstreet PDQ, Lombard, and Pismo) and I can definitely concur what you're saying. The Lombard and Pismo plastics were so much thinner - leading to a lot of body flex that just wasn't there in Walstreet. I was actually pretty worried about how much durability Apple sacrificed to get the thing thinner/lighter. But the case never did break on me... although hearing it creak everytime I picked it up with one hand wasn't too encouraging!

It's the price you pay for cutting down the weight, I guess. I hope the TiBook isn't as flexy. How does that one compare??

[acadian]

Hi, the Ti feels rock solid, I have not had any concerns with regard to flex in the casing. There are no creaking sounds either. My only complaint with the Ti casing is that there seem to be gaps in the seams where the bottom casing meets the carbon fibre ring. It is only a matter of less than a milimeter and have learned that it is due to the tremendous difficulty in affixing the bottom casing correctly.

After trying out a friend's Lombard I elected to stick with my Wall Street simply because I travel so much and my experience has taught me that durability is more valuable than marginally lighter weight and marginally greater speed. The Lombard keyboard, in particular, seemed really flimsy compared to my Wall Street.

Looking back, my Wall Street seems flimsy compared to my sturdy, and still traveling, 3400. And the 3400 is delicate compared to my old "PowerRock," the 340c. THAT one is also still in use with its third owner. They sure don't make them like that anymore.

All of which has me wondering: Will the TiBook prove to be truly durable, or will we be seeing broken hinges, cracked bezels, loose sockets and all that other stuff that we have come to expect? Is the "Titanium" aspect of the TiBook hype or is it meaningful in terms of strength?

I'd be interested in hearing further comments from TiBook owners.

Oops, that was a "540c," not "340c." It was still a great machine, whatever the number. Sorry if I confused anyone.

[icruise]

I've owned a Lombard and currently have a Pismo, and I don't see any problems with fragility. I've never really used a Wallstreet, so I can't compare them, but I've never really heard of many people complaining of their Lombards breaking due to the thinner/lighter materials used.

[The Dude]

I just want to clear something up here, it isn't the case itself that creaks. It is the latch that is creaking against its lock that is making the noise. Don't believe me? Open up the clamshell, push on the area that seems to creak? Hear anything? Now close it, and push near the latch...

[ion]

I always found the lombard pretty strudy compaired to my old 3400c, that bitch broke so much...

Anyway what pisses me off about the lombard is the fact that I can push on the case anywhere around the clicker and it still clicks.

My pismo creeks quite a bit when I open or close the display. Is there anything I can do about it? It seems the sound is coming from the middle, rubber part of the outside plastics -whatever is underneath is creeking.

Any advice?

Thanks!

[romeosc]

Originally posted by <Paul E.>:
<STRONG>My pismo creeks quite a bit when I open or close the display. Is there anything I can do about it? It seems the sound is coming from the middle, rubber part of the outside plastics -whatever is underneath is creeking.

Any advice?

Thanks!</STRONG>

My bones creek since I've gotten older too!


That is probably just some dust & grime in the hinges. The Pismo is not as prone to hinge problems as the wallstreet.


Steve

[molala]

i've used both a wallstreet (briefly) and a lombard (2 years). at first, the lombard did seem more delicate, especially the plastics around the screen. but you get used to it, these machines are plenty durable imho.