Apple PowerBook Laptop 12.1" M9007LL/A (1.0-GHz PowerPC G4, 256 MB RAM, 40 GB Hard Drive, DVD/CD-RW Combo Drive)

by Apple

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 15.4 x 7.8 x 12.7 inches ; 4.6 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 11.5 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B0000DCYCR
• Item model number: M9007LL/A
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #836 in Computers & Accessories (See Top 100 in Computers & Accessories)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: September 18, 2003

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

As the most affordable member of Apple’s new PowerBook lineup, the PowerBook G4 12.1-inch M9007LL/A is reasonably powerful, super-portable and extremely well connected. You may want to check one of Apple’s larger, faster PowerBooks if you need a big display or a notebook that efficiently handles demanding applications such as CAD-type drawing or advanced 3-D gaming, but the average user should find all they need inside this model’s sleek aluminum alloy enclosure.

Surprisingly, the PowerBook G4 M9007LL/A is driven by the same processor used in last year’s top-of-the-line 17-inch PowerBook, the 1 GHz PowerPC G4 processor with 512 KB Level 2 cache for rapid retrieval of recently accessed data. Apple has added 256 MB of medium speed PC2100 (266 MHz) DDR SDRAM memory (upgradeable to 1.25 GB) and an nVidia GeForce FX Go5200 graphics chipset with 32 MB of dedicated video memory, thus ensuring smooth operation during standard tasks. Some performance degradation may be evident when running complex professional applications and high-end games or while multitasking.

At just 10.9 by 8.6 by 1.2 inches and a scant 4.6 pounds (with battery and optical drive attached), the PowerBook G4 M9007LL/A is extraordinarily compact. Yet it’s packed with amenities. Standard features include a 12.1-inch TFT display capable of detailed 1024x768 resolution, a 78-key keyboard with solid-state track pad, a digital DVI output for flat-screen displays, two high-speed USB 2.0 ports and one FireWire 400 port for connecting plug and play devices such as external drives and digital cameras, and integrated Bluetooth 1.1 technology for cordless peripherals. A reasonably sized 40 GB hard disk and DVD-ROM/CD-RW drive are standard, as are a high-speed 10/100BASE-T Ethernet connection and low-speed 56K V.92 modem.

DVD burning is not supported in this stock configuration, and wireless communications are available only with the purchase of an AirPort Extreme card. Battery life is estimated at five hours in ideal conditions.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The best computer I've ever owned, December 15, 2003

By 

Zach Everson (Louisville, KY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Apple PowerBook Laptop 12.1" M9007LL/A (1.0-GHz PowerPC G4, 256 MB RAM, 40 GB Hard Drive, DVD/CD-RW Combo Drive) (Personal Computers)

I bought a 12-inch Powerbook after I gave my old Sony Vaio notebook the Pete Townshend treatment - I put my fist through it. (Yes, it looks like a stained glass window.) I hadn't used a Mac in years, but I decided I'd had it with Microsoft and Windows. All it took was one weekend and a good book - "Mac OS X: The Missing Manual," by David Pogue -
however, and I mastered the machine.

SOFTWARE
The computer comes with some great software. iTunes is the best media player on the market. I have almost 5,000 songs stored on mine. With the search function and browser display, it is easy to find a particular song. iTunes also keeps track of the number of times you've listened to a song and it allows you to rate your songs. It's easy to create a playlist. Also, burning one of those playlists onto a CD can be done with one click.

Safari is a great web browser. It has a Google search box built into the toolbar, prevents pop-up ads (I've never had one), has tabbed browsing (preventing a cluttered desktop), and allows for bookmarks to be added with one click.

iChat allows Mac users to customize their AIM and Rendezvous chat sessions in ways that the normal applications don't allow, such as adding pictures from iPhoto to their profile.

I haven't mastered iPhoto yet, but it is downloading pictures from a digital camera is as easy as plugging it into the USB port and clicking a button.

Also, Macs are less likely to get a virus or be overtaken by spyware.

The iCal and Address Book look good, but if you are going to sync a PDA with your Mac, you are better off using Palm Desktop software. Hopefully the functionality of those programs will be improved in the future though.

Finally, most of the programs work with each other. For example, if someone on my iChat buddy list is online, a green dot will appear next to a message from him or her in my Mail inbox.

I also use Microsoft Office, Quicken, Dreamweaver MX, and Palm Desktop - they all work well on the Mac. Office shares files perfectly with PCs.

HARDWARE
Spend the money and get the superdrive (CD-RW/DVD-R). DVDs have more memory than CDs and blank DVD-Rs are becoming more affordable. If you are into collecting videos of concerts, a DVD-R is a must.

I'd recommend upgrading to at least 768 MB of memory and the 80 GB hard drive. Burning a DVD requires a lot of memory and can take a while - this way you can use other applications while burning a DVD (on my old PC, if I was burning a CD, I couldn't use anything else). The hard drive space is really cheap. Plus, if you load your CDs on your computer, they can eat up a lot of memory, even as MP3s (my 5,000 songs take up about 25 GB).

Also, there is a lot to be said for getting the Airport Exteme card (although you can buy a third-party base station for less). I am able to browse the Internet in any room of my house - well worth the extra $100 or so.

I have the 12-inch monitor, but that was because Apple hadn't released the 15-inch in the new style when I made my purchase. The 12-inch is fine - it's much clearer than my old PC notebook - but if I had the opportunity, I'd probably go with the bigger monitor.

DRAWBACKS
-While most software is available for Mac OS X, there are some programs that aren't (Google toolbar, Yahoo! toolbar, Kazaa, AvantGo) or minor problems in software that is available (Quicken can't access accounts on Ameritrade via Macs)
-The PowerBook doesn't have a fan, which is great for the battery, but can cause it to get a bit hot underneath where the user rests his left hand.

Regardless of those drawbacks, however, buying a Mac was an easy decision. If you have any questions about it, click on my profile and send me a e-mail.

UPDATE: After 14 months, the hard drive started making noise and system performance got slow and I couldn't run as many programs as I used to. I called Apple and had to spend $300 for them to put in a new hard drive and some other hardware. They were unable to transfer my data to my new hard drive, so I've spent the past four days reloading all of my software and applications. No idea why the hard drive went. Hence I dropped the rating from five stars to four.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great little laptop, March 3, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Apple PowerBook Laptop 12.1" M9007LL/A (1.0-GHz PowerPC G4, 256 MB RAM, 40 GB Hard Drive, DVD/CD-RW Combo Drive) (Personal Computers)

Finally retired my Sony Vaio (850Mhz) and made the switch to a powerbook--wanted to do that ever since I realized that Mac OS X is pretty much BSD Unix with a killer desktop. What a great machine this is. Much better than the comparable IBook...twice the processor cache for starters...and none of the problems that have plagued the 1Gz iBook. Weighs just 4.6 pounds and is very portable...aluminium case is very scratch resistant. I get GREAT range with the add-on Airport Extreme card going to a LinkSys 11g access point (there's an antenna in the lid of the unit). I'm very happy with the battery life, the operating system, and the apps I use on this machine (Office X mostly). About a month after getting and using this machine I got a G5 for my desktop and I'm quite happy. If you're looking for a gaming rig, forget Apple but if you're looking for a business-oriented machine that fits in very smoothly with a PC-based office, this is the ticket. Networks much easier than a Windows machine!

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars nice refinements, November 2, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Apple PowerBook Laptop 12.1" M9007LL/A (1.0-GHz PowerPC G4, 256 MB RAM, 40 GB Hard Drive, DVD/CD-RW Combo Drive) (Personal Computers)

This is a wonderful little machine. Very speedy and the keyboard is absolutely fantastic. The build quality is excellent and the aluminum casing exudes class. Compared to the first 12-inch PowerBook, it runs cooler and is quite a bit snappier. Plus it supports DVI out and USB 2.

That said, its battery life and Airport range are not quite as good as an iBook's. So unless you're going to do a lot of serious video/graphics work, you may want to consider one of the new G4 iBooks -- they're great machines for the price.

Really, you can't go wrong either way, depending on your needs.