Customer Reviews

Apple iBook Laptop 14.1" M9009LL/A (900-MHz PowerPC G3, 256 MB RAM, 40 GB Hard Drive)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

When I was struck with the urge to buy a laptop, I spent a good deal of time reviewing the half dozen models that Apple had to offer. The Powerbooks were all the rage. My local dealer and many reviews pushed me in that direction; and, in truth, Powerbooks seemed to be technological wonders - the 17" screen model dazzled, the little 12" one could be had with a DVD-burning super drive, they had the superb G4 processor, etc. But three weeks ago, I took the plunge, and I ignored all that by securing the 14" screen iBook. It may be "slow" and "yesterday's technology," but that's not apparent to me - I love this computer!

It has a brilliant, beautiful screen that is a delight to my 60+ eyes. It does everything I need in a flash, including multiple programs, songs, photo management (Adobe Elements 2), and movies with iMovie. The suite of included software, including Apple's digital hub, is fabulous. The machine is gorgeous (though, to be frank, some might say its bright, white finish is akin to a kitchen appliance), extremely sturdy, and it gets warm, but not hot. Best of all, perhaps, is the price: hundreds less than a Powerbook! This is especially true when you factor in the cost of Applecare, the extended warranty program... Applecare provides terrific protection and allows you three years of telephone support from Apple's excellent technical support team.

"What's not to like?" I can only carp about three things. The speakers are pretty lame - "lo-fi," to be sure - but earphones cure that. Another USB input or two would be welcome, but a hub is the answer there. Finally, there is Apple's decision to eliminate a microphone input, this from a company on the leading edge of multi-media - what were they thinking?...

So, for function, for appearance, and particularly for value, I'd urge you to take a long look at the iBook. It's just been bumped to 900MGz, and it has 256RAM standard, so unless you're into CAD/CAM or games with great graphics demands, it'll do the job for you, and you'll have money left over for some other toy(s).

I remember when the 14" iBook first came out, many in the Mac universe spoke poorly of it. Obviously, it cost more, and while the usual core features had more juice (Hard drive, processor, RAM,) the difference was not overwhelming. The main beef, though, was that the resolution on the 14" iBook is the same as the resolution on the 12" iBook (1024 X 768). The only difference is that, on the 12 incher, those dots are really scrunched in. I've used many of the 12" iBookse I work in IT, especially with Macs, so I've seen it all, and so feel qualified to take a side on this one. The verdict:

It's worth it.

I went to apple.com, and and browsed to a 12" iBook with comperable fatures to the one I recently acquired. The price offered was 1350. I got mine for about 1500, which leaves about 150 to account for. Since other factors are basically equal, the difference is the screen. You want that difference. The 14" iBook feels spacious, a real trick for a lap top. The screen's extra size makes the lower half of the laptop bigger as well, so that there really is room for the keyboard, and a large palm rest. The clean lines of the design really bring out the most in the display, which is bright and clear. If you've never used a laptop, the screen feels bigger, simply because you're usually closer to it. Additionally, LCDs have a larger usable area than a CRT of the same size. As I sit here typing this review, I can tell: You feel this screen's size.

Size does matter, especially with something like a laptop. If you get a smaller screen, you'll inevitably want a larger screen, but then you'll be stuck with an expensive purchase. So put in the extra cash now. If you have the means, treat yourself to 14" iBook. You'll be glad you did.

Before I say more let me give a little background, this is my first apple purchase and the first apple computer I have touched since apple II in school many many years ago. I have 5 home desktops each an upgraded pentium beginning with pent II and up to IV. My main desktop is a 1.8 mhz with 100 gig hd, 512ram best video card available and so on. Runs XP. I begin with this as it defines I am not an apple user, or wasn't. I bought this little machine after about 2 months of research, it began as a curiosity and then I have to admit my fustration with windows pushed me to seriously consider it. This is my third laptop. Ok I am VERY happy with this machine, it is the best computer I have had and I have hardly used my big desktop since getting this, it runs circles around my windows system, it is intuitive and everything works the minute you boot up. I have done everything to test this baby out and it will not crash. I love this, and the white finish is really classy. The screen is crisp, clear, it comes loaded with about every program you need. Did I say I love it?? Only one item I wish apple would have done on this model, I love the lit up keyboard in the top of the line power book, come on apple make that standard! Someone complained about the keyboard and I admit it has a different feel but all in all this is a four 1/2 star machine, what would make it five...better speakers, lit up keyboard! BTW I bought the ipod with it and they are the perfect match!

I have the 800 mhz model, and I have to say it's a great machine. Light in weight (I can hold it in one hand easily), fast, and super sleek. The operating system, OS X, is fantastic: powerful, beautiful, and it doesn't crash! The book comes with quite a bit of software, and despite what someone else wrote here it DOES run RealPlayer just fine, as well as display web pages properly. It comes with AppleWorks which can open and save in the Word format, so that is a non-issue.

It plays DVD's perfectly, and iTunes 4 burns CD's as fast as my external FireWire drive. If the speakers were just a bit better (i.e. as good as the legendary Pismo model), I would give this Mac 5 stars.

BTW, before relying on a Windows user for info about Macs, talk to a knowledgeable dual platform user such as myself. You'd find the stuff you hear (they are slow, over priced, Apple is dying, etc.) is just not true.

Apple is really doing a great job with this iBook line. Sleek, compact and great looking - they have a lot of bang for the buck. My Mother, who switched from Macs to PCs years ago, switched back to the mac with this iBook. She loves it. These books come with a buch of software that will set most people up just fine: Quicken, World Book Encyclopedia, Otto Matic (game), FaxSTF, iPhoto, iMovie, iTunes, Preview (for graphics viewing, and others as well as AppleWorks which has Word Processing, Spreadsheets, Database and Drawing/Painting. AppleWorks can even open, edit and save Microsoft Word and Excel files from other Macs or PCs - talk about compatability! Plus they have lots of computing power - don't let the 900Mhz thing fool you. Macs have a very different processor from PCs with Intel chips. This laptop has plenty of punch for the things that most of the world does.

I am surprised at the negative review posted here. I suspect that the reviewer didn't really look at what she had already installed. As for the RealPlayer? I use it all the time on my Mac, and it is the free one.

I would definately buy one of these again (although I do think that the iBook 900 with the 12" screen is a better buy. The specs are similar and it is a little more compact.)

Hey, these computers can do more than a PC at the same price. Try finding a PC laptop with built in FireWire, Ethernet, Modem, and wireless networking with the same kind of hard drive and memory capabilities and I assure you, you'll be paying more. I do audio recording with mine, and I've put it through a lot, and it's held up remarkably well.

Appleworks can do a number of things better than Microsoft Word, in my opinion (and yes, I've done a lot of programming / tech support for the microsoft office suite).

Sorry the previous guy had a bad experience, but considering I've spent about 1 hour doing troubleshooting on my iBook over 2 years, I think this makes it worth it. I did more trouble shooting on my PC in 2 weeks.

I don't know what the problem with foreign languages is... I used mine in China and it could both read and write Chinese characters. Hard to imagine that Thai would pose any more of a problem.

The iBook is def. not the worst computer. You should first get to know how to use it before freaking out on user comments. To display Thai, your iExpl. needs a plug-in. And why not try Safari Browser for a change. You must search for the free RealPlayer One more accuratly there is a link to the free version for Mac OS also, it's just not as ovious as the pay version (which is no dough because Real Media wants to make money off of their software). An I book comes with AppleWorks, thats Apples version of Office, so to speak(write). It can Import Word files as far as I know. I think that should solve your problems.

I have now had my 14" ibook for going on two years and it is still a treasure. This was my primary Mac for about a year and i have since purchased a G5 iMac but the ibook is still my favourite. Although based on specs and tech yammer it is not up to scratch I can think of few things that I can't do with this smart looking machine.

Even though it isn;t a G4 it runs ichat with no problem and basically does everything that my imac does..without the fan noise. I run photoshop, word, flash and even imovie on it with no complaints from this trusty little workhorse Maybe if I used a stopwatch I would see that it is slower than newer machines but really, the difference would be a matter of seconds and that dpesn;t really matter in the great scheme of things. The fact that the fan seldom kicks in makes the ibook a truly quiet machine and with an external keyboard and a stand it makes a great desktop replacement. An external HD is a good addition, though, as the basic 40gig builtin drive fills up fairly quickly. Upgrading to the max of 640mb RAM also causes a real speed boost.

Road warriors will find that the ibook is very sturdy, looks great, and gets excellent battery life..mine is two years old and I still get 4.5 hours out of the original battery.

In a word if you are on a budget and want to use all the iLife applications and virtually every other application this machine comes highly recommended.

For the past two years, I have been in the market for a notebook to use for digital music, word processing, WWW and email access, the works. Over that period, I looked at models from different companies. In October last year, I decided to get the iBook Early 2003 14 inch 900 MHZ G3 model. I decided on Apple for two reasons. One is Mac OS X (10.2 Jaguar). In my opinion, Mac OS X is the best OS I have used. I decided on Apple because I was fed up with lousy security on PC's.

This iBook comes with a CD-RW/DVD-ROM combo drive. This is the best feature of the system. Compared to other burners I have used, the burner in the iBook has a write rate of 5x, which is very good. DVD playback is good, if not better, than my family's set top player. Another gold feature are the iApps. I use iTunes to manage music, iCal to keep my calendar in check, and iSync to make my PDA talk to the iBook. These apps are better than the PC apps I used before.

I use a PalmOne m130 handheld for various tasks and Creative's Nomad II to play MP3's. The iBook requires no drivers, which on PC is a pain. Connecting to the internet is easy with the iBook than most PCs. for email and web you get Microsoft's Internet Explorer and Apple's Mail (which is a part of OS X). This iBook also has Mac OS 9 bootable. I have never liked Mac Classic, so I don't boot into it often. If there's one thing that annoys me about the ibook, it's the sound. Let me put it this way: you will need headphones for quality sound.

Compared to other PC notebooks, the iBook costs more by about 2%. With all you will get, I think this not a problem.

For those who need the perfect notebook, the iBook is the way to go!

First let me just say a few word on the review this pc fellow make!
1. just about every $ have modem/ethernet/usb-2/firewire build in, wireless network is "not" include on ibook, you have to pay for the airport card! which by the way cost as much as any pcmcia 802.11G! G?? oh, there is no 802.11G airport extreme available from Apple! wonder why! ok, lets talk about my ibook!

The model I have is 800mhz with cdrw/dvd drive, it is a fairly nice machine except!
1. very easily scratch!

2. doesn't matter what apple say, a 800mhz running osX with 640M feel as fast as a pc 800mhz running win xp, not any faster or slower! but in 2003! where can you found a 800mhz window machine?
3. very slow cd burning, need to buy Toast to do any "real" burning!
4. don't know about the latest version, but my 800mhz doesn't have audio in, flexy keyboard!
5. software is limited and development tend to be behind wintel machine .

Good point
1. good battery life
2. great sleep feature!

would I buy another one, osX is great, I will buy another one if the price stay at the same level, but with 1.5ghz+ G4/512M! for this price, unless u have to have a Mac, YOu can do much much better with a window machine!

Just a honest option from a window/Mac user!