powerbook g4 notebooks

I've been using desktop PC's for many years, with occassional exposure to Macs throughout college. I work as a software engineer developing Java applications on a UNIX platform. Several of my coworkers develop exclusively on their 17-inch Powerbooks and have been raving about the user-centered design. They eventually got through to me and I purchased the 12-inch Powerbook model.

To begin with, it's extremely solid and compact. The aluminum case seems resilient to scratches and can probably take a bit of abuse (I've only had mine for a week, I'll give it time). The display is clear and crisp, a pleasure to look at. I use a 19-inch LCD for my desktop, and switching to my 12-inch Powerbook display causes me no grief.

I purchased my model from a local retailer and added 512MB of RAM, which I strongly recommend since 256MB is ridiculously low for modern OS' and applications. The system is very responsive and handles the load I put on it (web browser, iTunes, etc.) well. MacOS is a pleasure to work with.

The size of the notebook is great. I can tote it around the house (Airport Extreme gets incredible reception) without feeling like I'm lugging a 10 pound dumbbell - the Powerbook weighs under 5 pounds. And with energy savings enabled I get over 4 hours battery usage.

Let me first qualify this review by saying that:
1) I am/was a lifetime PC user with no prior Mac experience.
2) Before buying this notebook I comparison shopped for 3 months
3) My computer knowledge is far below that of tech professionals and hard core PC hobbyists, but I am however very computer literate.--> in short I'm an everyday computer user/consumer.

Secondly before contemplating a powerbook any further, if you are an avid gamer or buy 3 or more video games a year and you want to use this notebook as a gaming laptop... I'd suggest you you buy a PC notebook for that purpose. Powerbooks are powerful enough to play games, but the mac selection of games is sparse. And now finally to the review...

Specs- As with any notebook I suggest you have at least 512 MB of RAM. This was the only upgrade I added to my Powerbook. The Powerbook comes standard with a very generous 60gig hard drive, USB, firewire 400, ethernet, WIFI(b/g) and bluetooth. The only thing missing is the firewire 800, but that is not essential for most users including me. The Powerbook also comes with a very speedy 1.33 GHZ G4. How does this stack up to the new Centrino's (Pentium M)? Compared to my brother's IBM Thinkpad with a Pentium M 1.3 w/ 512 RAM, it runs equivalent or faster to the naked eye, unfortunately benchmarks are not readily available to compare mac and pc. But needless to say, whatever I can do on the IBM, whether its Powerpoint presentations, Photoshop, Flash, video or photo editing, I can do it on the Powerbook just as fast or faster. Also something that is very unique to this ultraportable is the 64 MB nVidia graphics card. Although there are better graphics cards out there on midsized laptops, ultraportable laptops RARELY have a graphics card as nice as this one.

Combodrive- slot loading. This is amazing. No cd tray to deal with popping in and out. Just insert the cd or dvd into the slot and it is ready to go. This is not only a spacesaver since there is no tray, but it also is less prone to break since there is no tray to snag and break off. Why did I not pick the Superdrive that is also offered with this computer? In a few months they are releasing dual-layer DVD writers that hold twice as much data as writeable dvd's currently do, so I'm waiting to get an external DVD writer. Also its good to notice that many computers in order to stay small do not even include an optical drive like the Powerbook does.

Price- Sony, IBM, Dell, Gateway. These companies all offer 12" notebooks, but customize them to equivalent specs as the Powerbook and they all come out approximately equivalent or much more expensive than the Powerbook. Apple is known for higher prices of their computers, but the Powerbook (specifically the 12" model) is a great deal price wise.

Battery Life- This is VERY important if you want to tote your laptop around (and if you don't want to tote a laptop around, then why get a laptop at all?). Battery life is 5+ hours in my experience when just surfing the net and downloading files. Again how does this compare with other PC models? I think if you research you will find that most ultraportable Centrino's without an optional larger battery average around 4 hours. The IBM mention earlier lasts us about 4 and a half hours of use.

Operating system- I think a description of this is beyond the scope of the review, but in short Mac OS X (Panther) is an absolute delight. I personally had very few problems with Windows XP, but it isn't just about the stability of Mac OS X its about the ease of use, integration and beauty of the system. Its something you just have to use first hand to fully realize it. Combine this with the excellent iLife programs that allow you to make movies, listen to music, video conference with relatives, and organize your photos and its very easy to forget about Windows.

Design- I recommend you go to a local electronic store and hold the PC laptops in your hand and type on them and just look at them all over inlcuding the bottom. Then take a look at an Apple Powerbook. Again its something that is more adequately experienced than described. From the glowing Apple symbol on the cover to the almost seamless bottom, it is an amazing feeling, solid, and beautiful notebook. Everything else just feels cheap in your hands. Also the screen is crisp and clear and the keyboard is a full-sized keyboard, not a miniature one, that is perfect for typing.

Laptop Heat and Sound- Use of the Powerbook for about 4 hours, I noticed it got only mildly warm and much less so than the IBM. However after about 4 hours the Powerbook got about as hot as the IBM, which still is not hot at all. I would say you could comfortably put the laptop in you lap very easily for the first 4 hours. After that, unless you have thick pants or like the extra warmth, I'd suggest putting it on a table. The Powerbook is very, very quiet, especially when cool. When it heats up after prolonged use the fan will kick in more often and make it a little louder. But still it is much more quiet than the IBM.

Overall- I'd HIGHLY recommend this to anyone except gamers. I'm highly satisfied with this purchase and I hope you will be to if you decide to buy it.

Well, first I'd like to say that I feel honored to be the first one writing a review of this wonderful laptop.

I purchased this Powerbook G4 on tuesday - just one day after Apple announced the new Powerbook lineup. I had been considering going back to apple for a new laptop for quite some time, but seeing new faster specs for the same price as the last revision was what did it for me! I custom ordered mine from the Apple Store on tuesday and it shipped out late Thursday night/Friday morning. I had it by Monday morning - but what a trip it had!

Normal specs for this laptop are 1.33Ghz G4 processor, 256 MB RAM (built in/upgradable via ram slot to 1.25GHZ), 60 GB 4200 RPM HD (as almost all laptops have), 64 MB of VRAM on an nVidia GeForce FX Go5200 card on 4x AGP bus, 12" GORGEOUS display, upgraded 167 MHZ system bus speed, including updated software - Panther 10.3.3, iLife '04, etc etc.

I custom ordered mine from their store with 512 MB RAM and upgraded 5400 RPM 80 GB hard drive (because I wanted to get it nice and quick), a nice Brenthaven Pro File 12" laptop bag and a .Mac membership. It shipped out from Taiwan, headed over to Alaska, then through a few other states and finally to me in NJ....

This powerbook is a work of art; even the packaging. It has gorgeous features, fluid graphic motion, VERY speedy processor, GREAT battery life - I get about 4.5 hrs. Their estimated 5 hrs is very likely if you don't upgrade to a faster hard drive (eats more power)....the OS is amazing, I was up and running within 10 minutes or so - the battery came with a full charge from the factory so I could use the laptop immediately.

I only have one minor complaint - Ive had this for a week or so now, and my spacebar has begun to squeak when I press it. Every other laptop I've ever had developed this squeaky spacebar so I don't blame apple -- its probably just the result of how I type. I highly recommend this laptop for its size and portability. It's durable finish, great cooling - yes its warm to the touch, but by no means will you burn yourself as others have suggested in past reviews of their previous version of this powerbook. CD-ROM drive is zippy, magnetic lid clasp mechanism is a marvel, breathing (dimming and getting brighter) LED light on the lid-open button when the computer is in sleep mode is great....everything is great.

This laptop opens Corel Painter 8 within 3 seconds which I consider amazing considering my 1.3Ghz P4 desktop PC can only open it in about 10-15 seconds! This computer flies through everything it does and it certainly could be a desktop replacement. The casing is sturdy and shines like a new penny! The apple illuminates on the back side of the display showing everyone in a subdued manner that you chose the best. Even their power supply/cable design is astounding - having the option to extend it if you need more cable length is great. There is a charging status ring where the cable plugs into the side of the laptop which is orange when charging and green when fully charged. To check the battery status, you can push a small button on the battery which will light up a series of LED lights on the battery to indicate how full a charge it holds. Amazing!

I'm glad to be back in the Apple world and look forward to getting a G5 tower to replace my aging PC in the coming year or so.

Wow I love this Powerbook!