Customer Reviews

Apple iBook Laptop (500-MHz PowerPC G3, 128 MB RAM, 10 GB hard drive)

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

 

 

To put it simply, Apple's new iBook is an engineering marvel. The design is sleek and elegant, yet the case can stand up to a good beating. The iBook comes with an awesome set of features--pretty much everything you might need is already part of the package, including FireWire, CD-RW drive, and 10/100 Ethernet. Despite having a relatively small screen (12.1" diagonal) compared to some PC laptops, it still supports a full 1024 x 768 resolution at millions of colors. The screen is very bright, and the battery, while not quite the 5-hour powerhouse that Apple advertises, still manages about three hours doing normal operations. The 500-MHz G3 processor is spritely and gets things done quickly, although it doesn't have quite enough power to do a large amount of movie editing or graphics work.

A few drawbacks are as follows:
The internal CD burner is only 8x at this time, which is markedly slower than the 16x and 20x external FireWire burners available now.

The iBook comes with only 128 mb of RAM, which is just barely enough for most things. I would strongly encourage upgrading to at least 256 mb total, as RAM is very inexpensive these days.

The video memory in the iBook is only 8 mb, with a weak graphics controller as compared to what goes into the G4 desktops. As such, the iBook is only mediocre at gaming.

The 10GB hard drive is already pre-loaded with almost 5GB of software and sample mp3's, so I would highly recommend upgrading to at least a 20 GB drive.

In conclusion, the iBook is a solid purchase for anyone who wants many of the features of a desktop machine, but in a portable package. The drawbacks listed above are mostly forgiveable, as sacrifices had to be made somewhere to make this such a reasonably-priced machine. The new iBook no longer has a built-in carrying handle, but Apple has managed to trim quite a bit of weight and bulk, making it a joy to use on a daily basis.

I bought a 500 MHz ibook.

While it's true that the 10 GB model does fill up rather quickly - be realistic - a laptop is a toy, unless you're truly using it as a total desktop replacement. I actually do more of my daily work on my ibook now than my regular Pentium 4 station - and that's a good thing. My ibook rocks.. now I just need an ipod. Granted, you will need to up the ram. I'm maxing mine out at 640 MB. I read one reviewer saying it was hard to exchange files between PC's & Macs... but exchanging files between pc & mac platforms isn't hard. Some programs haven't come to mac yet, but I seem to like the programs that mac has better - for example, itunes rules...

Anyway, I'm not gonna ramble anymore - just face the facts. Apple builds an excellent laptop (it's really eye-catching, and sturdy), and when you compare the two, there's no reason to get a PC laptop, in my view (though tons of people still do). :)

This new iBook is the best portable computer on the market. Its capabilities are outstanding, the build quality is exceptional, the design is stunningly clean and efficient. This is a do anything, be anything computer that you can proudly use in just about any setting, for almost any computing task you can imagine. Sure, a new titanium G4 is faster, but it is so delicate looking I would be afraid of breaking it in daily use. Also, the iBook is roughly half the price. Even PC users are enamored with the iBook's style and capabilities. You will not regret a decision to buy this computer.

I bought this iBook model a few weeks ago at our University's Apple store. After doing alot of research and shopping, I decided to get off the PC bandwagon and go with the Apple. I felt that for the price, I was getting the best value, and I thought that this thing just looked great. I added 256megs of memory and a AirPort card. Out of the box, it was easy to setup, just a couple of steps, and I was off and running in no time. MacOS X is very nice, although it does not have alot of programs made for it yet. The problem started the day after I bought it, as I was typing a paper, the display went compleatly white. I tried restarting the computer, same thing. I reset the computer, same thing. I called Apple's support number, and a recorded message told me that unless you paid for a service plan, you did not ger 24 hr support and to call back during normal business hours, our to consult their website! GREAT!! I have a paper to get done and they tell me to consult their website...on my dead computer!!!! The next morning I took it back to the store, telling them what had happened, and they determined that it needed to be repaired. I asked if I could just get an exchange and they said that Apple's policy was once you buy it, the sale is final and I would have to wait the week or two that it would take to send it in for repair! Do not by an Apple, learn from my mistake.