how portable is it really?

[wyatt23]

i'm about to buy a ppc *book, and i'm curious about each of their portabilities.

i'm looking at a 12" powerbook
a 14" iBook
and a 15" HR powerbook

i'm going to be using it at campus everyday as well as a desktop (eventually).

i just returned a macbook, and it was nice, yes, but it did seem a bit small, but definately useable as a desktop.

i know the ibook will do, my good friend has one. how do the other two fare?

is the 12" powerbook too small for a desktop? because it's defaintley portable.

is the 15" powerbook too large for a portable? def good for desktop.

any input will do. i'm looking to purchase one of the three within the next two days.

 

[twistedlegato]

The 15" Powerbook is very nice.
My friend has one and it looked huge at first, but i grew to like it and then!
I was ready to strike until the MBP came out, THEN just as i was about to purchase the MBP the Macbook came out! so i got that! A 13" Black Macbook!

 

[YS2003]

I have gone through what you are going through now. That's how I ended up with what I have now (see sig). PowerBook has the external screen spanning mode or clamshell mode with the external screen's res (up to what PB's graphic card can support).
Both 12" and 15" PB would be portable enough. But, I like my PBs so much that I had to buy a 12" iBook to take the on-the-road-use duties so that I can reduce the risk of scratches and dents on my PBs. Both 12" PB and 12" iBook have a good portability feature because of its size and weight. I carry my iBook 80% of the time when I am on the road or on business trip (I carry 3 notebooks frequently when I am on the road or traveling).
Currently, both of 12" PB and 15" Al PB are serving me as a desk top computer as both are hooked up with with ACDs in the clamshell mode.
I am getting into digital photography and I am thinking about the Mac notebook with larger screen/high res for on-the-go photo editing (which narrows me down to MBP models). My iBook can do this on the road; but, the extra screen space can come in handy when I don't have an access to the external screen.

 

[wyatt23]

hmmmmm... interesting. thanks!

now i am very on the fence!

i have an oppourtunity to get a high res 1.67 powerbook for 1100 + ship or a 1.42 iBook for 775 (with two 120gb externals). both have remain 1 yr warranty.

i really want the PB now. i just am sooo torn!

 

[Abstract]

I don't get it.....you thought a MacBook was too big, but you want a 14" iBook or a 12" PB? The 12" PB aren't much different in terms of size. The text will seem smaller on the MacBook because the resolution on the MacBook screen is higher (1280 x 800) than the 12" Powerbook, which has a low resolution.

A comparison between the 13" MacBook and 14" iBook would also show that the 13" MB isn't much smaller than the 14" iBook. The text would also appear larger for the same reasons.

 

[bigandy]

i used to have a 15" Powerbook. i went from an ultraportable samsung laptop weighing just 1kg, to the PB. it was fine. perfect desktop replacement if you ask me. try getting a high res one though.

 

[wyatt23]

i used to have a 15" Powerbook. i went from an ultraportable samsung laptop weighing just 1kg, to the PB. it was fine. perfect desktop replacement if you ask me. try getting a high res one though.

is 1140 shipped a good price for a open box [never used] high res 80GB 1gb ram

 

[extraextra]

The 12" PB is perfect for college, taking it around and working on papers and stuff. Desktop replacement, I couldn't say since I have 2 other laptops and a desktop. It could probably suffice though.

 

[Sam0r]

I wouldn't even bother with the iBook. I had the last generation of iBook 12"'s and swapped it with a 1ghz 15" powerbook with a gig of ram.

The powerbook knocks the iBook sideways, and spec wise its slower.

 

[3nm]

i don't know but i'm a bit confused about what you looking for in a laptop. it seems like you want portability but yet you returned the MB because it's "a bit small." however at the same time you are considering an even smaller PB 12. but then you are also thinking about getting a PB 15 or an iB 14 for a desktop replacement...

anyways, as a life science major, i decided to get a MB for significant improvements over G4 and smallest form factor w/ widescreen. i use my MB on campus everyday so size and weight are important - lecture halls' desks are tiny and dragging a heavy brick + a few 1000-page books is no fun. but if you need a bigger screen or do a lot of 3D stuff, get the MBP 15 by all means. the MBP 15 is a bit bulkier but it's only 0.4lbs heavier. i just hook up my MB to my 27" LCD TV whenever i need the extra screen space.

at times; however, i toy w/ the idea that maybe i should get a PB 12 (which my roommate has) as a 2nd laptop. but after using a MB for a few months, it's hard to go back to some of the G4 laptops becase MBs/MBPs are just so much nicer (widescreen, brighter and higher res LCDs, speed, etc). imho, unless you run a lot of PPC apps, there really isn't a reason to get a PB/iB at this stage when apple is about to put C2Ds on its portables.

i'm about to buy a ppc *book, and i'm curious about each of their portabilities.

i'm looking at a 12" powerbook
a 14" iBook
and a 15" HR powerbook

i'm going to be using it at campus everyday as well as a desktop (eventually).

i just returned a macbook, and it was nice, yes, but it did seem a bit small, but definately useable as a desktop.

i know the ibook will do, my good friend has one. how do the other two fare?

is the 12" powerbook too small for a desktop? because it's defaintley portable.

is the 15" powerbook too large for a portable? def good for desktop.

any input will do. i'm looking to purchase one of the three within the next two days.

 

[wyatt23]

i said that the macbook was a bit small as a desktop replacement [definately useable] and it most certainly was. i don't know what the form factor the 12" PB was, maybe is was more suitable than the macbook, in terms of resolution.

i really did love the macbook, but too many problems [and four laptops later] i had to send it back, or else i'd still have it.

i have a desktop [it's very slow for just about everything i want to do besides webbrowsing], so i'd like to supplement than with a nice powerful laptop.

in any event, i bought a high res 1.67 ghz powerbook, 80gb, 1 gb ram, virtual pc 7, office, tiger, extra battery, for 1080 shipped.

knowing that the 15" is perfectly fine as a portable sold me. plus this has 1440x960 resolution which i am going to love. thanks for all of the help

 

[gootz]

Congrats! you are going to love it. I'm working off the same machine and it's amazing. I upgraded from a 12" ibook and it seemed huge at first but I got used to it. I just added a 23" Cinema display for when I'm working from my desk