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The most helpful favorable review
The most helpful critical review
43 of 43 people found the following review helpful:
Super-Solid Laptop for Anyone on a Budget
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"...
Published on September 8, 2001 by Peter Sachs
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3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
Don't buy an iBook this slow
If you want to buy an iBook, buy a faster one. This one just can't run any modern software. Heck, it isn't much good for old software. Go for the 700MHZ G3 or don't bother! If you need to run any graphics software then buy a G4. My G3 can't hack Adobe anything! If I could go back I would buy a G4 based Powerbook (I use one at work).
Published on August 7, 2002
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43 of 43 people found the following review helpful:
Super-Solid Laptop for Anyone on a Budget, September 8, 2001
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.
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
The perfect Reporter's or student's notebook., September 26, 2001
Almost all of the SPECs on this baby are just what you want in a laptop -- fast processor, just over 1 inch thick case, less than 5 pounds, 5-hour battery. In person, you won't believe how small and truly portable this machine is. It's great for reporters on the go such as myself, or for students in a dorm room. It has all the right ports, and appears to be made with quality in mind.
The screen is exceptionally bright as well.My only two complaints: 1) The low-end model skimps horribly on the memory (for shame, Apple! They could have added another 64 MB). You can upgrade the memory easy enough aftermarket, but that's an annoyance (128MB is practically required for OS X, BTW). 2) The screen is a fairly miserly 12.1 inches, although it is active-matrix and high-resolution. Now, keep in mind that this contributes to the low-cost, svelte form factor and long battery life, but I wouldn't mine having a 13-14 inch screen when I'm squinting at text all day. I generally solve this problem by upping the size of the fonts, but still, this screen is rather small. If you buy one of the higher-end models, say the one with the DVD drive, you may find that watching a DVD on this small screen is not exactly the cinematic dream that you find on the amazing Titanium Powerbook G4 (with its glorious ultrawide 15.3" screen.)
Enjoy!
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20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
A great laptop! *****, October 19, 2001
Apple has reinvented the iBook as one of the best laptops. Not just Mac, but in all of the PC world. The second generation of this version has a faster processor, a larger hard drive, and still looks great. People are drawn to look at this machine from the time you pull it from it's case. I would certainly recommend a RAM upgrade. 128 is okay, but it is just barely getting by. I'd suggest at least doubling that. Since the iBook only has one RAM slot, you may want to do that on ordering. However, you can get quality chips for less from other sources, and since it's a fairly simple install you can do it yourself in a few minutes.I use my iBook as a webmaster with Macromedia Dreamweaver and Fireworks, Adobe Photoshop, and iMovie 2. My digital camera mounts as an external hard drive. My digital video camera links through the Firewire port with no fuss at all. Overall, I would highly recommend the iBook.
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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
500 MHz ibook, November 25, 2001
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). :)
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
An outstanding consumer portable, September 29, 2001
First off, I think it is important to note that the rating I give the iBook is as a consumer portable. The iBook is NOT meant to replace a desktop machine. It is not designed, built or sold for heavy duty graphics, professional photo or video editing, or desktop publishing. The iBook IS designed to be very light weight, easy to use, and flexible. It is designed for the hobbiest, or consumer that wants the ability to edit their vacation pictures and videos, surf the internet, e-mail freinds and family, and generally do what any computer can do given the limitations that any portable will have.The iBook comes with both OS9 and OSX pre installed. It also comes with a very usefull suite of productivity software that includes: 1. AppleWorks- A suite of software that includes a more then competant word processor, A spread sheet, A data base, A presentation module and others. Basically a suite similar to Microsoft Office but not as robust and not costing 400-500 bucks. It also comes with iTunes, and excellent software for listening to and burning your MP3's. For those creative people it also comes with iMovie, the best consumer video editing softer available bar none. Also software listed is also OSX compatible (though it may require software updates. Now that OSX version 10.1 is becoming available (I just upgraded my iBook to 10.1 today), OSX is a very viable every day OS. 10.1 adds an excellent DVD player and enhanced performance, however as any totally new OS, it will take some time for some software to migrate. It is also an exceptionally stable operating system. In the three plus months that I've had my iBook, I can honestly say that the operating system (OSX) has never crashed on me. I have ofcourse had applications crash, but I've never had to restart. Yes, the lack of a 100Mhz+ front side bus might be considered a short coming by some, however for the average home user that does not do heavy duty video editing or other extremely demanding applications on a regular basis they will rarely if ever notice this. Another short coming some may consider is the lack of a PC slot or docking capabilities. However, with two USB ports, one FireWire port, VGA port (and cable included), built in 10/100 ethernet and a built in 56k modem I'm hard pressed to think what I would need them for. As for that reviewer that warned anyone from buying an Apple product due to their support all I can say is I've been using Macs for 8 years now. I've never had one of my computers in the shop for any reason. I suppose there is always that possibility of a lemmon. I have probably called Apples support line 4-5 times in that eight years and they have always been able to fix any problem I had while I was on the phone with them. In short, while your millage may vary, in the 3-4 months that I've had my iBook I have had absolutely no problems with it and can recommend it whole heartedly with a clear conscience.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
Beautiful, Spectacular, Sexy, December 7, 2001
This is by far the best toy I have ever bought. It's absolutely beautiful, both the hardware and the operating system (OS X). I bought it primarily to edit digital video of my new baby. It's elegantly simple to download the video into iMovie and extremely intuitive to edit the video. I upgraded the hard drive to 30 gigs and the RAM to 256 Megs in order to give myself some head room. I thought I might not like the small screen but it seems not much less viewing area than my 17" desktop monitor. I bought the iBook instead of the Titanium PowerBook because the PowerBook does not offer the DVD/CD-RW combo drive. I wanted to be able to burn the videos I made to CD as well as backup and archive files on my hard drive. I bought a mouse (Apple's optical mouse) beacuse I generally don't like trackpads. The single complaint I have is that the USB port is on the left side of the machine and I have to run the cord for the mouse under the computer to use it with my right hand. Otherwise I am extremely satisfied with my purchase.
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
Almost (not quite) the perfect notebook, September 20, 2001
I have an iBook 2001 (DVD-CDRW), which is the fifth in a long line of Apple laptops over the years I have owned (PowerBook 140, 520c, 3400, Rev.A iBook before this). I've also owned quite a few Wintel notebooks of various stripes over time, as well.
With the combination of size, ruggedness, expandability, and performance that Apple squeezed into the latest iBook, it's darn near the perfect laptop. It's a very nice good performer with the 500 MHz G3 processor. CD burning with the combo drive is as transparent as can be - the included Disc Burner software extends the Finder to support CD-R. DVD playback performance is good, with minimal skipping (I haven't done too much playback thus far). Video performance is snappy, if not quite state-of-the-art (it uses the older Rage 128 rather than the newer GeForce 2Go) - games are nicely playable. And the 12.1" display is razor-sharp. Video mirroring works very well, and the VGA cable needed is included. The iBook will work with the lid shut when mirrored.The only shortcoming comes when stressing the system heavily (for instance, with the included MacOS X 10.0.4) - the 66MHz data bus becomes the most glaring bottleneck. Though Apple includes more features pound-for-pound (and dollar) than competing Wintel notebooks, the competition has pretty much moved on to the 100MHz bus at the low end. It does make a difference. Unfortunately, Apple is caught between a rock and a hard place in this regard - with G4 processors constrained in speed (to 500 MHz max on their Powerbook Titanium), it'd complicate things to have the iBook running at the same exact clock rate (despite the older G3). So Apple chose to constrain things further - and it's not a huge problem, though hopefully the next generation of iBook will leave this bottleneck behind. A larger hard drive as standard equipment would be nice, too - most Wintel vendors make the hard drive easy to swap out (even in lower-cost models), whereas the iBook requires a full disassembly to do the same. All in all, I'd strongly recommend the 2001 iBook to anyone looking for maximum portability for a very competitive price. The only thing holding me back from giving 5 stars is the slow system bus - hopefully the improved performance planned for MacOS X 10.1 will compensate for it.
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16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
More for Your Money, October 22, 2001
With a 600MHz G3 (approx. 1.2 GHz pentium) and 128 MB RAM, this little computer is a deceptive powerhouse. Portability, durability, and ease of use are the traditional accolades for Mac laptops, but this one is the first to pack real value. The new operating system, the faster chip, and the added storage space make the iBook a perfect investment for college students or business people on the go. With a DVD player, iMovie to edit digital movies, iTunes to manage MP3 files, Palm software built in, and free word processing software all included, the iBook is ready to become the hub of your digital lifestyle.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
iBooks are amazing!, April 21, 2002
By A Customer
This iBook is simply amazing -- it is easy to use, can use both
OS 9/OS X. I had never really used a MAC before and I learned how to use this iBook very quicky. It's light to carry in my backpack for university.You can hook it into data projectors so you can give presentations. It never crashes and it's easy to install RAM and new software for it. I love my iBook. It's the best computer I ever bought! Most importantly, the design is really cool.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
Fast, beautiful and light, October 27, 2001
The latest iBooks are pretty much the opposite of the very first Blueberry and Tangerine iBooks. They have a faster system bus, much more RAM, much bigger hard drives and they've lost the garish colors. Perhaps most importantly, they've trimmed all the fat off making the iBook almost a sub-notebook. Despite this, they're loaded with features and are the perfect laptops for student or business person wanting to travel light.
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