Powerbook / ibook quality

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Enrique1218

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I am interested in getting a new Powerbook. I getting this to replace a Powerbook G3 (pismo) because I like to continue using Mac OSX. My concern is that, though the systems are a work of art, the quality and longevity of the systems leave much to be desired. This concern arises from my own experences with my the pismo Powerbook and my boss's Powerbook Tititanium. Both needed replacement after 3 year of service which at this rate, we would be spending $1000+ every year just to keep a functioning laptop. My question is what are your experiences with the quality and longevity of your Powerbook. Have you ever had one recently that was trouble free? Include any experience with wintel notebooks. For instance, my Powerbook had dvd and hard disk trouble after the first year. After 3 years, the notebook just died and will no longer power-on with the adapter. My boss's Powerbook G4 (500 hz) has a dead dvd and the screen has vertical lines. Plus the once beautiful case has paint rubbing off and is cracked. However, a couple Gateway notebooks that I have used work flawlessly after as much as 4 years after shipment.
 
i dont have any experiance with powerbooks, but i can speak on wintel systems. if you are looking for longevity and stability, you might want to consider an IBM thinkpad. titanium frame, hard drive "air bag", and all around pretty much the hardiest notebooks ive ever used. my current system is an thinkpad which is about 4 years old, and i use it alot! if you need something sturdy, and if it turns out that the mac arnet (which i hope isnt the case, as i will soon be buying a powerbook) you can allways run pear pc on the thinkpad and install osx.
 
I think of toshiba first when it comes to the toughest laptops. ibm are tough but they are not as strong as any toshiba I have ever held or used. I know many high end wintel users and the ones with toshiba never complain about anything. just hold a toshiba and type on it. they feel very sturdy and rock solid.

when it comes to current powerbooks and ibooks I would have to say the ibooks are tougher. ibooks mark up less, feel more sturdy and if they do get a scrape or whatever you don't care as much because it was less money.

I have an ibook G4 12" and love it. i'm not rough on it but i'm not ginger either and it holds up just great. current ibooks are a definite contender in the laptop world.
 
yes.

when I went to my local mac dealer to buy a laptop a couple months ago I was pretty set on a 12" powerbook. when I got there I played around with both a 12" pb and 12" ibook for about 20-30 min total I guess and in the end I felt confident that the ibook was the way to go. it simply felt more secure when I picked it up. the aluminum on the pb's seems so flimsy and thin to me. the ibook is simply strait up hard plastic. simply feels and looks tougher to me so that combined with all the money I would save even with upping the hd to 60gb vs. stock 30 and adding bluetooth, airport and an extra 512 for a total of 768 ram. I still saved at least 350-400 even with all the extras. plus if I had of gotten the pb 12" I didn't have enough to add anything and planned on adding extra ram a month later when I had more money. when I add extended apple care in a few months I will still have paid less in total vs. a stock 12" pb.
 
I personally thought that the Powerbooks are good value when compared to the iBook. In the UK, the iBook G4 12" costs £799, the Powerbook 12" costs £1149. This is without student discounts. With student discounts, they cost £750 and £1034 respectively. That's a £350 or £284 difference. In that difference you get:

a) 33% faster processor
b) 100% more hard disk space
c) airport extreme built in
d) bluetooth built in
e) beautiful aluminium finish

If you were to spec out a 12" iBook to be about the same as the Powerbook, the price difference would be about £100. You still don't get the 33% difference in processor speed or the nice aluminium finish that I think looks very professional and cool.

Other things that I've found nicer about the Powerbook include the keyboard and trackpad. The keyboard just feels more 'solid'. It could be due to the fact that it isn't removable like the iBook's keyboard. The trackpad's button feels more 'solid' as well. I admit that these are very very subjective descriptions but that is how I felt when I compared the iBook and Powerbook at the shop.

In the end, I decided that the Powerbook was the way to go. And I'm not disappointed. :D
 
ive seen some things about how the ibook has better reception than the alubook. is this at all true? because wifi reception is very important to me
 
Ok this is good. Although, I am looking more for personal experience with a particular laptop over a couple year stretch and less for personal opinion. For instance, if you own a Powerbook, did you have to send back for any repairs. Did it cause you any trouble or was it perfect? Wintel user can chime in too about their hardware. I am looking for a comparison. I want a notebook and don't necessarily mind a high initial cost. But, I want to have for a long time and I don't want to have to keeep reinvesting money into it for repairs. (I plan to have it longer then the AppleCare will cover). Ultimately, what I asking is "Was your investment in your notebook worth it or did it become a money pit?". This information can't be found in a notebook review where the viewer used it only for one day but rather anedectotally from someone who has used it for years.

Dan Tekgeek was most useful his Thinkpad lasted for 4 years with no problems.I know of IBM thinkpads, in fact, I recommend one for a colleague that runs quite nicely. However, they don't run Mac OsX. (oddly enough: considering IBM is becoming the principle supplier of PowerPC Processors for Apple). What is your story? Are there Powerbook/iBook users out there as happy as Dan with their notebooks?
 
I had a Powerbook 12" 867 Mhz for about a year and a half. Didn't have any problems with it. Sold it off when I got the iBook since it held it's value a lot more than the iBook did.

The guy who bought the Powerbook seems happy with it so far. I've just bought a Powerbook 12" 1.33 GHz to replace the old Powerbook. The iBook is going up for sale soon.
 
I don't have any concrete numbers with WiFi reception, but with my iBook, I didn't know there was a wireless network covering my room. Imagine my surprise when I launched my Powerbook and it detected the network!

Apparently, it belongs to the building next door and after telling them about it they locked down the network.

Now there are a lot of factors that could be involved here. For one, the iBook uses plain old Airport while the Powerbook uses Airport Extreme. The range for those might be different, and I'm too lazy right now to go look up the 802.11b/g specs to confirm it (hey, it's Friday night). Two, it could be that the problems with the Powerbook reception applied to the earlier models of the Powerbook. Let's face it, Apple has had 3 revisions to iron out any kinks.
 
its all very subjective really. even what I said is simply my take on the ibook. its about being happy with your choice over anything else. here in canada the ibook 12" is 700 less than the 12" powerbook so once I saw it felt more sturdy to me it was a clear choice.

go to an apple store or dealer and check out both. I personally didn't have much faith in the longevity of the aluminum casing on the pb's. again, just my take.

btw: my wifi signal is very strong. I have heard about some problems with powerbooks on techtv.
 
My friend dropped by mistake his 500 MHz iBook from the upper floor of his studio, 14 feet / 4 m drop. The wooden floor got a small hole on the spot where the ibook landed.
The iBook worked after. So even if it'd look plastic .. that iBook still works.

I haven't had problems personally with either iBook or Powerbook, but then I haven't kept them for so long time .. now I'm planning on keeping the current Powerbook for some years, so I'm getting the AppleCare for it. Just in case..
 
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