Like to carry around a notebook that delivers exceptional power at an affordable price? Then pick up an iBook G4. With a fast PowerPC G4 processor running at speeds up to 1.33GHz -... more
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A review by soulredeemer on Apple iBook G4 December 6th, 2004
Author's product rating:
Speed
Fast
Look & Feel
Excellent
Comfort & Portability
Excellent
Robustness & Durability
Excellent
Value For Money
Good
Advantages:
Portable, Reliable, Battery Life, Quiet, It's an Apple !
Disadvantages:
Compatability, Heat from processor
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
Apple's dominance in the computing market has been further enhanced by the opening of the new Apple Store down in London Regent Street. I actually queued up for fourteen hours before the grand opening to be one of the lucky first customers to walk into the aura of immense clapping merged with U2’s Vertigo in the background. Now back to reality… I actually bought my 12” 800 MHz iBook G4 about a year ago and Apple have since not only made it better value but also greatly improved the specifications of the machine.
Here are the current specifications of a 12” iBook G4 you could pick up off your local Apple dealer or the Apple Store.
I’ll briefly explain the specifications and what they actually mean in English.
The 1.2GHz processor is a massive improvement to its 800 MHz predecessor. This literally signifies the speed of the machine. You cannot compare this 1.2GHz processor to the normal IBM PC’s you use to run Windows as they both have different architectures and therefore having an Apple 1.2GHz does not mean that it will be slower than your 2.4GHz Intel Pentium.
The 256MB RAM(random access memory) is the actual memory of the system. For instance, the more memory the laptop has, the more applications you can run at the same time without experiencing lags in between. The memory you are given is more than enough to run all your everyday programs without giving you the slightest of troubles but you do have the option to upgrade the RAM to a potential 1.25GB if the necessity arises.
The 30GB Ultra ATA drive is the actual storage place for all your programs, music, files, games, etc. 30GB is a fair amount of hard disk space available although you do have the option again to upgrade it to an 80GB drive when you purchase online via the Apple Store.
The slot loading DVD/CD-RW (It’s like pushing the CD through a hole at the side of your laptop) allows you to play DVDs as well as copying your documents or favourite music onto your CD-RW (CD rewritable).
The ATI Mobility Radeon 9200 with 32MB DDR video memory is the actual graphics card that is in the computer. It is a very decent card to have and it runs games like Tony Hawks 4 and Halo with no problems whatsoever.
Airport Extreme is in my opinion one of the most amazing pieces of hardware in this machine. I actually had to splash out about £75 when I bought my iBook for this card but now comes free when you buy an iBook :-| There are three ways for you to connect to the internet via your laptop. Firstly, you could use the internal modem and connect it via the phone line. Secondly, you could use your network cable which is connected to a broadband connection or another computer which is sharing its internet connection. Thirdly you could use the Airport Extreme wireless cards which allow you to surf the internet in the comfort of Starbucks or in your own home if you’ve got wireless internet set up. The difference between this wireless card and those you find in other laptops is the fact that you can normally see a large block sticking out of someone’s laptop when they are using a wireless service but the Apple wireless card actually hides itself under your keyboard! I’ll talk about how this is actually possible later on in the article.
ADVANTAGES
The name Apple itself spells uniqueness and ingenuity. When looks and originality is concerned, the iBook wins hands down. The sleek contour edges along with the ceramic white gives it some sort of aura which will undoubtedly turn heads when you get your hands on one. The inconspicuous illuminating Apple logo at the front of the laptop when you turn it on serves no purpose whatsoever but boy does it make you feel like a rejuvenated person. It’s the pure simplicity of the design that makes you just want to wake up in the middle of the night and have just another quick little peek at it.
The actual size of the machine is incredible. I have yet to understand how they managed to fit so much in such a small place. The screen is 12.1 inches diagonally but is more than sufficient for me to do my work as well as an occasional movie now and then on the train. It weighs a mere 2Kg and supports an enormous potential battery life of over 6 hours! If you use the laptop continuously for general work and stuff, it will realistically last just over 4 hours but this is still about twice the battery life of an average laptop you can buy off your local shops. This amazing statistic did nothing other than pushed me further forward in deciding to go for the iBook.
This piece of machine makes less noise than a night in the middle of the Sahara desert. When I say it makes no noise, I literally mean no noise. Even when you are using it in a place with no external noise, nothing seems to come out of this laptop. Kudos again.
The Apple operating system is not only incredibly reliable but also immensely easy to use. It follows suit to the amazingly reliable UNIX structure on the inside with a simple to use interface on the outside that anyone can use. It is definitely much simpler to use with contrast to Microsoft Windows. In simple terms, it has a complex structure on the inside for advanced users like programmers and system analysts as well as an easy to use interface (logos and pictures) for your grandmother to master in a couple of hours.
The applications provided like Safari (Internet Browser), iTunes (Music Player), iDVD (DVD player), AppleWorks, iPhoto, iSound, iMovie, Address Book, Calendar, etc are tremendously easy to use and reliable. Most of your applications will be shown at the dock bar at the bottom of your screen (default) instead of the Windows style START bar. Apple wins the points again when it comes to design.
Upgrading the memory or installing the wireless card could not be any easier. There are not any screws for you to play around with at the bottom of your laptop which will indefinitely void your warranty but a lever on your keyboard which you can lift up to reveal the slot for the wireless card as well as a place to put any additional RAM when you decide to upgrade. You can also have the option to install internal Bluetooth (wireless file transfer) on your iBook when you order your laptop meaning you can transfer files between Bluetooth enabled devices like PDAs and mobile phones.
The support service for Apple in this country has done nothing other than impress me. I accidentally broke a key off my keyboard and I called them up to see if they could send me a replacement key for the laptop. They said that they did not provide individual keys but were more than happy to send me an entire keyboard which you can easily install onto the iBook. All they asked me to do was send them the broken one when I received the new keyboard. When the new keyboard arrived, I installed the new keyboard which worked fine and tried finding an address in the parcel to return the old one to them. Unable to find one, I called them up and they just told me to keep the other one as well :D The timeframe between the start of the problem till the solution lasted no longer than three days. Thumbs up in this department from me again!
DISADVANTAGES
The most important question made by people when deciding whether or not to switch to Mac from Windows is “Will I be able to use the applications I normally use in Windows on my Mac if I bought one?” There is no straight forward answer for this. You cannot install Windows platform software that you have purchased on your Mac meaning Windows applications are incompatible with the Mac but there are actual ways round it so you can actually use your Windows software on your Mac. Most companies realise the dominance of Apple in the computing market and are therefore forced to make versions that are compatible with the Mac as well. Microsoft is no exception. I have applications like Microsoft Office for Mac, Macromedia Studio MX (web development software), MSN Messenger, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Windows Media Player, etc running on my iBook so I have no problems when it comes to compatibility. When I actually use programs that are incompatible with the Mac, I use an application called Virtual PC for Mac. This application allows you to access PC-only software, files, networks and devices on your Mac. You can therefore technically run any Windows programs on your Mac!
The only other thing that I can think of as a bad point is the fact that it dissipates a fair amount of heat on the bottom left of the laptop where the processor is located. On the other hand, I cannot think of any other laptop which does not get hot when in use. You can buy stands that actually dissipate the heat anyway if it becomes an issue for you.
CONCLUSION
When I was looking to buy my iBook, I raised the same questions that you yourself have in mind. After a year with the product, I have yet to find a fault with it. It does not crash while in use and is extremely tough. Considering they have lowered the already fair price and improved the specifications immensely, I strongly recommend you to get one before its too late. If you are a student, you can also get student discount under the education section on the Apple Store website or via the Apple Store in London directly. This should reduce the price from about £750 to £700. If you were still half way in deciding whether the 12” iBook is the right one for you, I hope this review has done nothing but convinced you to pull out your credit card and make the best decision that you will have made this year. Never ask a man what sort of computer he drives. If it's a Mac, he'll tell you. If not, why embarrass him? -- Tom Clancy
...But since any reasonable person would choose a Mac over a PC, Apple's market share does provide us with an accurate reading of the percentage of reasonable people in our society. -- Roger Ebert
Advantages: Easy to maintain, cheap, good support, well featured, stable, user friendly, good battery life it works! Disadvantages: Already replaced, quite heavy despite size, not as flexible or as well supported as a PC, not that expandable
...know that this is an Apple with one look....and it's not the apple that gives it away. The initial wow factor of design relies on the fact that this laptop is very clean. The lines are clean and straight or well rounded. It has a straight and flat simplicity of design that shows no busy features and very little imperfections. The ports are all recessed and neatly lined up along the sides. There is no CD tray, only a system reminiscent of the original ... ...Windows PC, this is an Apple Macintosh PPC (Power PC) running a BSD called Darwin that is run under the Aqua window manager. This *nix means that the system is very stable and relatively secure. Although it is secure by virtue of there being few Apples and there being little point in writing malware for it, the underlying BSD structure is superior to Windows -although less user friendly. I will probably do an in depth review on the OS for a Panther ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: amazing battery life, very good price from www.mactuition.com Disadvantages: none
...prezzie I have had, this apple ibook is the most powerful good-looking laptop I have ever seen.
The laptop I had before was a windows and I made the switch to an apple and I could not believe the difference in power and speed. It takes no longer than 30 seconds to start up and to be surfing the web. The ibook also has everything a windows pc has but even more.
The price of this refurbished ibook g4 was not actually that bad as i got it from www.mactuition.com ... ...also a classic look from apple as it only has one button.
The trackpad also has a cool feature called Iscroll, which allows you to scroll up, down left and right with only one key. By placing two fingers on the trackpad and moving them up or down as you please. This feature can also let you right click, by placing tow fingers on the trackpad the clicking the button below it.
Charger
This charger is the best-looking laptop charger I think ive ever ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: build quality / reliability / ease of use Disadvantages: cost / built in media drive
Apple Ibook - 2003 mode / 77 key keyboard / built-in tracking pad .
At present the Apple ibook comes in two main configurations namely :
1) 900 mhz G3 processor 14.1” TXT XGA LCD
DVD / CR-rw Combo drive
40 gig Ultra ATA Hard drive
256 meg RAM
( price £1000.00 incl. VAT )
2) 800 mhz G3 processor
12.1” TXT XGALCD
CD drive
30 gig Ultra ATA Hard drive
128 meg RAM
( price £800.00 incl. VAT )
Both variations share the following ... .... The lid has the Apple logo which is illuminated when the beast is turned on . Underneath is the battery level indicator , which illuminates when a small button is pressed .
The left hand edge holds the main connectivity ports , when the right hand side provides the drive bay and power socket .
The front edge provides the lid release and also hidden lcd , which pulses if the machine is left on and the lid closed - nice touch that .
Open the lid ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: Fast, sexy, easy to use, capabilities, weight, size, I could go on and on! Disadvantages: See update for details
...my computer back from the Apple Repair shop only to discover that it froze each time I plugged it in to charge it up and run it simultaneously. Went back to the shop, they had no idea what was wrong, so I decided to wait until I reached the US, by which time the problem appeared to have sorted itself out. A few weeks passed without incident, when my computer began freezing sporadically again. I took it in to my school's computer shop, where it was ... ...to a fresh start. Maybe Apple will redeem itself, only time will tell. -------------------------------------------
***FURTHER UPDATE*** (August 2005) As aforementioned, my hard-drive crashed in October, barely four months after buying the laptop. Then my keys began to chip. In early March, I sent my computer back to Apple to get the logic board replaced so I could have keys again, and also to get a faulty ethernet jack replaced, both of which were ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: Small. Light, very easy to use, Disadvantages: Small memory, no superdrive option, very trebbly speakers.
...hard to hear. The apple helpline is very one to one, you get a costomer number so that you don't have to keep on explaining you situation to the person on the other side and i think that you get to speak to the same person each time (he gave me his name etc) Very Helpful people, kind and they listen properly to you.
APPLE ITSELF
I ordered extra memory with my ibook, i didn't know i'd have to instal it myself though. however, it's very straight ... ...hatch thing and found that apple had sent me a memory twice as long as would fit in my ibook, having bought it through the school so that i got discount (which has had quite a few problems with apple sending them the wrong stuff, i gave it back for them to sort out,i've not yet got the other one back yet though, after about two weeks.
Overall i Love my Mac and it really suites my studentness at the moment, with its durable, bulletproof casing i ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
...I exchanged my AppleiBookG4 for a Packard Bell EasyNote R0205 (second hand), the EasyNote is 512MB Ram, 50Gb HDD, 15" Screen, Gigabite Wireless Card, Windows XP Professional installed.
I am generally quite happy with the laptop and use it nearly all the time, I have quit using my desktop which is very powerful compared to the easynote.
But even with my constant use I have found a few problems.
- Cheaply created laptop
- Old Model for Today
- The laptop mouse always has occasional problems
I wanted a laptop for everyday use, so something quite powerful but with all the flaws it does the trick.
My advice is that don't buy this laptop if you are a heavy downloader or play games or anything major of the sort, because the laptop won't be able to handle it. If you want to download and are very keen to buy this laptop, i...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: Cute and practical Disadvantages: Bad 3D card and not so powerful audio output
...The best apple laptop for quality / price. The MacBook is an updated version of the iBookG4. The new elements are : a built-in iSight camera above the screen, a completely new redesigned keyboard with a great "touch and feel", it is only a magnet that keeps the MacBook close when closing, a new multimedia centre called "front row" with its remote control that can also be used for other softwares as iTunes, etc... and a new "magnet" power cord to keep you latop safe from flying around when somebody or yourself trips over the cord.
I very much appreciated the ease of use of Mac OS X, and the nice feeling from a small, light laptop. I love the touch feeling from the keyboard (compared to the "less good" one on MacBook Pros). Front row and the remote are cool but I never use it (it is more cool than useful, of course it depends how you...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful
Advantages: Thin and light; cutting edge software pre-installed; Mac OS X; DVD burner; built in webcam Disadvantages: No media car reader; non-native software is slow
...As a committed Mac enthusiast, I had eagerly been waiting for Apple's update to the iBook. I've been using a 1.42 GHz G4iBook for over a year now, and while it still seemed fast enough for what I was doing, when I tried out a new MacBookI had to have one.
In terms of specifications, the MacBook weighs in with a few different options, and some differences from its predecessor. Externally, the iBookG4 came in both 12 and 14 inch options; the 12 inch model was obviously more compact, but lacked some features. The MacBook now comes in just one size, a 13 inch screen, but this is a glossy widescreen with a 1280 x 800 resolution.
With internal specifications, the MacBook comes in 3 basic configurations. For £749 you get a MacBook with a 60GB hard drive and a 1.83 GHz Intel Core Duo processor. A 2 GHz MacBook will set you back £899...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful
Graphics Processor / Vendor: ATI Mobility Radeon 9200 AGP 4x, ATI Mobility Radeon 9550 AGP 4x
Video Memory: DDR SDRAM - 32 MB
Audio
Audio Output: Sound card
Audio Input: Microphone
Input device(s)
Type: Keyboard, trackpad
Manufacturer's product description
Like to carry around a notebook that delivers exceptional power at an affordable price? Then pick up an iBook G4. With a fast PowerPC G4 processor running at speeds up to 1.33GHz - optional DVD-burning SuperDrive, expanded memory capacity, advanced wireless networking capabilities, and the impressive stability provided by Mac OS X, iBook G4 brings truly impressive performance to everyday life.
Operating system / software
OS Provided: Apple MacOS X 10.3, Apple MacOS X 10.4
Software: Drivers & Utilities, Microsoft Internet Explorer, AppleWorks, Apple QuickTime, Apple iTunes, Apple Hardware Test, Apple Mac OS X Mail, Apple Mac OS X Chess, Apple iPhoto, Apple iMovie, Apple iCal, Apple iDVD, Zinio Reader, Apple DVD Player, Apple iLife, Apple iSync, Apple Address Book, Apple Safari, Apple Sherlock, Apple iChat AV, Apple GarageBand, Marble Blast Gold, Nanosaur 2
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