Apple iBook Laptop 12" M9623LL/A (1.2 GHz PowerPC G4, 256MB RAM, 30GB Hard Drive, Combo Drive, Built-in AirPort Extreme)

Other products by Apple

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 10.1 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B0002A6YVC
• Item model number: M9623LL/A
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (79 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #972 in Computers & PC Hardware (See Bestsellers in Computers & PC Hardware)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: October 19, 2004

Product Description

From the Manufacturer
Surf the Web, chat with friends, do homework, play games, even burn DVDs and CDs to create your own video or musical masterpiece. In your favorite café. At 2 a.m. The iBook G4 delivers today's digital lifestyle to your backpack.

With a fast PowerPC G4 processor running at accelerated speeds of up to 1.33 GHz, built-in wireless networking capability, a DVD-burning SuperDrive, and up to 1.25 GB of memory, the iBook G4 introduces impressive performance and flexible mobility to everyday work and play. It's your go-anywhere digital solution.

Lap Cat Every iBook comes with Mac OS X Tiger, the latest release of the world’s most advanced operating system. Tiger boasts more than 200 new features, including Spotlight, the lightning-fast search tool that lets you find anything on your system as fast as you type, and Dashboard, the home to handy widgets that access timely information such as stock prices or weather. Tiger turns your iBook into a finely tuned instrument that lets you focus on the tasks at hand, whether you’re syncing tunes to your iPod, creating a family photo album with iPhoto or playing the latest 3-D games.

You Can Take It with You
Built-in wireless capability on every iBook G4 means you can work or play anywhere. Enabled with AirPort Extreme technology, the iBook can surf the Web in any Wi-Fi hot spot, from hotels to bookshops. With an AirPort Extreme or AirPort Express Base Station in your room or office, you can get online from the comfort of your couch. The iBook also offers an incredible 6 hours of battery life. Thanks to the energy-saving features built in to the PowerPC processor, the ATI Mobility Radeon 9200 graphics processor and Mac OS X Tiger, the iBook works as long as you do.

As the lightest all-in-one consumer notebook on the market, the 12.1-inch iBook G4 weighs in at a mere 4.9 pounds. The 14.1-inch model weighs just 5.9 pounds. Many textbooks weigh more than either one. The iBook G4 is thin, too--a svelte 1.35 inches, to be exact--making this impressive notebook small enough to fit in a backpack and light enough to carry around all day.

As the lightest all-in-one consumer notebook on the market, the 12.1-inch iBook G4 weighs in at a mere 4.9 pounds. The 14.1-inch model weighs just 5.9 pounds. Many textbooks weigh more than either one. The iBook G4 is thin, too--to be exact, a svelte 1.35 inches--making this impressive notebook small enough to fit in a backpack and light enough to carry around all day.

Rave-Worthy Performance
You can order your iBook with either a 1.2 GHz or 1.33 GHz PowerPC G4 processor with Velocity Engine and 512K Level 2 Cache. To maximize its speed, Apple engineers pair the G4 processor with a fast 133 MHz system bus and 256 MB of onboard memory to accelerate calculations and make your applications scream. And you'll be glad to hear that you can boost memory capacity to a remarkable 1.25 GB, giving you room to run many applications at once.

All systems come well equipped. Roomy hard drives offer up to 60 GB of space. With iBook's slot-loading Combo Drives you can watch DVDs, play music CDs, and burn your own data and music CDs. And if you'd also like to burn DVDs on the road, the 14-inch iBook G4 comes equipped with Apple's impressive SuperDrive.

An Impressive Display
Both iBook models offer brilliant 1,024 x 768 pixel resolution--ideal for doing everything from working on spreadsheets to displaying your movies and digital pictures in millions of colors. What's more, the iBook display scales down beautifully, again with millions of colors, for special games and applications optimized for 800 x 600 or 640 x 480 pixels. And both come powered by an ATI Mobility Radeon 9200 graphics processor with 32 MB of dedicated video memory and AGP 4x support for dazzling 3-D graphics that bring games to life.

Product Description
iBook is the lightest all-in-one consumer notebook available on the market. iBook was designed to be small and light, yet incredibly durable. With models weighing 4.9 and 5.9 pounds, iBook is extremely lightweight and portable. Its' small form factor makes it easy to carry anywhere. Beyond its' impressive size and weight, iBook was engineered to withstand far more in terms of shock and extreme temperatures than your average laptop. Apple built iBook to go anywhere and handle anything.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

86 of 88 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Long Time PC User Switches to Apple., December 25, 2004

By	Brian M. Bielby (Colorado, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

First lets start by saying that I am a very conscientious consumer. I research stuff over and over before I consider buying something. I like to know that I am getting a good value for my money. I use Amazon and epinions to help reaffirm some of the decisions I've reached, and usually the other consumers on there reach the same conclusion I have. I can honestly say I spent many a night on Amazon reading other customer reviews.

Initially I was interested in getting a notebook, not necessarily an Apple. I started doing my research, and started to realize that many of the options that I wanted, and that most consumers would want, are available on the ibook, and for much less than the competition. Everything about the ibook is very practical, and I'm a practical person. I will break this review down into some key segments.

User interface and comfort: The apple ibook is very comfortable to use, the keys feel great, and the system weighs in at less than 5 lbs. It easily fits into my backpack, and the way the machine is constructed, I don't have to worry all day about the ibook getting damaged. The speakers aren't very loud, but in a quiet setting they are sufficient. Bass is pretty much non-existent, so if you are planning on listening to music, get some headphones. The ibook also has no protruding parts, making the machine look very sleek, as well as non-abrasive to clothing or anything else a sharp corner could snag on. The slot loading drive also makes way more sense on a notebook. Another feature I really enjoy is the ibooks' battery life, which clocks in at about 5 hours, almost double what competing Windows based notebooks have to offer.

Technical specs: This could easily become a recap of what Apple's, Amazon's and every other site has, just technical specs. I will try and break it down for everyday use. The ibook comes standard with a 30gig HD, however I will, as others have, recommend ordering a 60gig model from Apple themselves. It costs an extra $60 and is definitely worth it. Thirty gigs of HD is not enough for most consumers, as you could fill it up very quickly. Its nice to have the 60gig to be prepared for whatever applications you may encounter in the future. The ibook comes with 256mb of DDR ram standard. Now on a Windows XP machine, 256mb would be a joke, but on the OSX operating system, it is definitely enough to get buy. I am planning on upgrading the ram, but it's not something I need to go out and do right away. The CDRW/DVD drive works flawlessly, and the Airport Extreme for wireless Internet, that comes standard with the machine, works effortlessly. A Raedon 9200 video card comes standard, with 32mb of ram, not enough to run the latest games, but sufficient to run a decent amount, and more than enough for everyday applications. Last but not least, the 12.1" screen looks very good in all sorts of lighting, although best in lower key lighting.

The Mac OSX Operating System: If you are new to Apple computers, one thing that might make you hesitant to switch, is learning a new interface. I can attest that I was nervous before purchasing my ibook, while purchasing my ibook, while it was shipping, and up until I opened the package. Every fear or hesitation I had about the OS was immediately put to rest after about 2 minutes of use. I have never really used a Mac, not since the mid 90's, and then it was only for a few hours at school. The Mac OSX is way more intuitive and easy to use, not too mention more stable, than Windows XP could ever dream of being. Windows XP is a decent OS no doubt, but the OSX easily trumps it. Imagine a world without pop-ups, spy ware, viruses, and other annoying things associated with Windows. None of those problems exist when using a Mac. I have pretty much everything figured out after only 2 days of use. The most impressive thing however, is the OSX' ability to multi task, I can easily have 6 or 7 programs running smoothly and flawlessly. I can also switch between them with ease, no locking up, no delay, try that on XP with 256mb of ram. It really is hard to explain how great the OSX is, but have no fear in switching, for you will easily pick up on it.

Odds and Ends: Gaming is very possible on the ibook, but you won't be able to run games at full specs. I am sure once I add more ram I will notice better performance, as Apples are known to utilize ram very well. I will be honest though, if playing the latest games on the go is what you are looking for, the ibook is not for you. There are so many software programs that come free on the ibook; it has already become a part of my everyday routine. The Internet is the same, but you don't use Internet Explorer, you use Apples own Safari program, which I find superior, and you can also download Mozilla's or Window's browsers for the ibook as well. So in my daily routine I can do everything you could want to do on the internet, as well as manage my finances with Quicken 2005, research stuff for school with World book 2004, listen to music with itunes, watch a DVD, add contacts with the address book, plan events with the calendar, and use ichat (its IMing but with more features). With all these different applications included with the ibook, its easy to see how this "ibook" can become an integral part of your everyday life. Remember that I've accomplished and learned all of this in just 3 days of use.

So in Conclusion: I honestly could sit here and ramble on about the ibook for hours and not get bored, it really is that great of a machine. I find myself writing this not getting the least bit bored; I look forward to learning more and more about my new Apple. I don't make the best money, and spending a $1000 dollars on something I had never really had much exposure too was definitely a leap of faith, but now that my ibook is here I cant believe I used to live without it. Honestly, do yourself a favor, get to a CompUSA or an Apple store, and just sit down and play with a demo, you'll see what makes the world of Apple so appealing. I am now convinced that I need to try and switch as many people as possible over to Mac, for it truly is that much be tter.

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great introduction to the Mac, November 4, 2004

By	Jonathan Fingas (Ottawa, Canada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The iBook is really the best way to get started in Mac ownership. It represents everything good about Apple hardware: it's attractive, efficient, and actually designed with the user - not just the specs list - in mind. The ports are easily accessible on the side, the slot-load drive means that you won't have a tray that can break or become jammed, and the instant sleep/wake function from operating the lid is invaluable. You might never have to completely turn the iBook off... just quit your programs and close the lid!

Also, this is definitely one of the better deals in genuniely portable laptops. It has a very good blend of features and performance for $999 - and it's even better if you can take advantage of the Amazon rebate going on as I write this. The only real laptop that compares is the Averatec 12" model, which falls completely flat in terms of video performance and battery life (Averatec claims 3 hours of life, where the iBook regularly gets 4+ in real-world use).

The only catch is the hard drive space. That's enough for Office, a few games, and an iTunes collection, but consider this: if you got a 20 GB iPod and filled it up from your iBook, about two thirds of your iBook's storage would be nothing but music! If you think you'll need anything more in the future, seriously consider the 14" iBook (with 60 GB standard) or custom-ordering a 12" iBook from Apple's own online store.

One last thing: I'd like to comment on D. Potts' review. The current iBook will still enjoy the majority of the benefits of OS X 10.4, and does in fact do pixel shading. It's just not as full-featured as the absolute-latest graphics chips. But if you really, truly NEED every graphics feature supported, there's a 12" PowerBook waiting for you.

102 of 115 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Apple's latest home run, November 12, 2004

By	Steven Dennis (Reston, VA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

The new 12" iBook has everything you need in a super-portable laptop. It's 20 percent faster than the model it replaces and 20 percent cheaper, with a hundred-buck price cut and wireless networking included.

The iBook features a brilliant, small screen, 4+hour battery, 4.9 pounds, an array of fast ports, industry-leading styling and the best repair record in the industry, according to Consumer Reports. Reliability and service is especially important with temperamental laptops. Apple laptops also never come with the cheap integrated graphics you will find on similarly priced PC products.

There also are the usual MAC bennies: No viruses to worry about, no spyware, no pop-up ads with Safari, faster, cleaner, smarter software, painless connections to printers and networks, and the coolness factor to boot.