Should i buy an iBook?

Sparky

I was looking for a laptop that would be small and compact with a 12" screen and be silent for no more than €1200 and someone told me to get a iBook because there so stable and small, so do you think i should go with one or keep searching around for a good new and small windows laptop?
Id like to go with the mac, because i had one years ago when screens wernt in colour. First ever macs to be precise.

savemejebus

get the mac, small screen, compact, fantastic battery life, though for 1200 don't know if you'll get all the bells and whistles. In my opinion the only reason you might need to consider another machine is if you're life revolves around the MS software that comes as standard on a windows laptop

tonky

If you want a 12" iBook and have 1200 to spend this is the spec I'd go for.
You can play around with the options Here
Note the basic Apple warranty is 1 year from purchase.

jesus_thats_gre

If you are a long time user of windows I would be very wary, i.e. the Os is a ****ing pain in the arse.. Myself and 4 mates had a chance to use one a few weeks ago and it was so frustrating.. Admitedly, there is some really nice features but it is a very different experience to XP.

angeldelight

Go for the ibook, its lovely!! Battery life is great, it's light, looks lovely and is so easy to use, I love macs! I like MS office for mac too, way nicer than the pc version! What I love most about mine is its really sturdy so I just put it in one of these http://store.apple.com/Apple/WebObjects/irl.woa/90505/wo/Fd4PPG7fXFO42XcSxQW1q4T6KWq/6.0.11.1.0.6.12

throw it into my college bag and off I go without having to walk around town wearing a laptop bag that screeches "mug me mug me mug me"

[Edit : Can't get link to work properly, it's a tucano red second skin ]

lomb

apart from any other factor the extended 3 year warranty is very expensive, and is needed imho. also the screen is quite small.

have u had a look at some of the german websites they are selling a toshiba mx30 for euro1300 inc delivery, lovely screen,centrino 1.6ghz, very light @2.9kg, 128mb graphics card, 2 year international warrranty, dvd burner, 1gig of ram and everyone knows how dear ram is, and toshiba reliability(no other brand comes close) this laptop will blow any 2 grand apple out of the water but these tend to slow down as the years and updates are added to xp. still should get 5 very fast and stable years out of it which is alot in technology stuff. the only slight downside is 3 of the keys that are rarely needed are in slightly differnt positions, zx and y, but this wont affect u usually.

i dont even think spending 2500 on an apple would equal the power and reliabilty of the toshiba. just shows competition in the business is immense that a brand like toshiba is discounted.

tonky

Dear, oh dear, the Apple-Basher is back.

How about a link to some of these 'german websites'
Are you seriously suggesting that someone should spend 1300.00 Euro on a new laptop fitted with a GERMAN keyboard ?

Originally posted by Lomb
the only slight downside is 3 of the keys that are rarely needed are in slightly differnt positions, zx and y, but this wont affect u usually.

Priceless.

lomb

http://www.notebooksbilliger.de/product_info.php/notebooks/toshiba/sat_m30xreihe/toshiba_satellite_m30x165

its only 3 keys, it can be had with an english keyboard for an extra 90euro.

also if u need a very light one this is only 1.9 kg and has a full magnesiun case with 2 year international warranty
http://www.notebooksbilliger.de/index.php/notebooks/samsung/x05_serie

we have a dellx300 which is tiny, but really there are trade offs on size and cant recommend it. i think u need a 14inch screen minimum. still it is small, and can be had for 1500 in ireland from dell with a 3 year warranty. the lid casing is plastic though and does develop hairline cracks. i would rather the samsung with the mag lid and a decent screen and dvd burner.

http://www.itreviews.co.uk/h447-samsung-x05-xtc-1500-review.htm

ZENER

apart from any other factor the extended 3 year warranty is very expensive, and is needed imho. also the screen is quite small.

The warranty supplied with the iBook is fine and compares well with equally priced laptops. I've had an iBook for nearly 2 years now without a single problem and I wouldn't swap it for any wintel machine. I get about 4 hours battery life and thats real life use with an Airport card and Bluetooth working and 14" screen - not leaving it in powersave mode with the screen and hard drive shut off like many of the wintel makers quote. By the way lomb do Toshiba or Acer make a bigger 12" screen than Apple? I'd really like to see it !!

As said above if you are a Windows user then the change to OS X can be a bit strange but there isn't anything that Windows can do that OS X can't . . well almost anything except maybe for crashing and being a magnet for viruses and spyware. There's also iLife built-in which IMO leave any Windows equivalents in the shade including some apps that you buy !!

Any of the major software companies that produce for windows also produce for OS X, Adobe, Microsoft, Roxio, Macromedia etc. etc. plus a very healthy shareware/freeware scene and Open Scource applications via X11 so obtaining software for your particular job shouldn't be a problem and as was mentioned earlier I too prefer the Mac version of Office to the Windows version.

As for buying a German regionalised device - can Windows be told to operate with the English language if it's been installed in German. I recall recently trying to do the opposite without success maybe someone elso knows more but this will require the owner to have enough knowledge of German to find their way around. Also the German keYboard has more than 3 different keYs and I would see "y" as a reasonablY important keY.

Sites like Insight.com/uk do good deals on notebooks. 12" Windows machines seem to be very expensive wherever you look but the 12" iBook is reasonable.

ZEN

elvis2002

I got an ibook in nov last year. I never regretted it. I have one of the latest notebooks from dell too but I rarely use it much. I'd recommend you get one. They are so reliable. OSX is a dream to use, and if you cant use it you gotta be an idiot.

kasintahan

The 12" iBook is very good value for money.
Good battery, good screen, good OS.

I have a Dell Latitude 14" which I love.
Mg Alloy frame, good battery etc.
I don't like the Inspiron series though, or any desktop replacement laptops.

There is something to be said for a laptop you can comfortable grip in one hand.

Sparky

Cheers for the replies i am most certain to get one now, TONKY thats the exact spec im going for, because someone said it works best with 512mb ram.

dawballz

was in pcworld in galway the other day and saw a beautiful HP lappy with about 12" screen- 80gb HD, 512mb ram, dvd-rw-/+, bluetooth etc.. lovely lookin yoke and it was only 1449(i think). only prob was that it had integrated graphics...if only i had that much money to spare...

Sparky

integrated graphics are a no no, but do they make the battery last longer? any lappy with at least 64mb dedicated should be ok.

Ciaran500

The amount of memory allocated to a graphics card has nothing to do with its performance.

jesus_thats_gre

dawballz wrote:

was in pcworld in galway the other day and saw a beautiful HP lappy with about 12" screen- 80gb HD, 512mb ram, dvd-rw-/+, bluetooth etc.. lovely lookin yoke and it was only 1449(i think). only prob was that it had integrated graphics...if only i had that much money to spare...

Is that the black one? Saw that myself and it is a sweet machine..

dawballz

jesus_thats_gre wrote:

Is that the black one? Saw that myself and it is a sweet machine..

yeah thats the one alright... a beaut... should have taken more notice and got the model # but i was too dazzled by all the new shiny lights and winXP login screens around me...

dawballz

erm crap, double post

jesus_thats_gre

The housing for that laptop is vastly superior to that offered by the ibook in my opinion.. Black is the new white..

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/store/pcw_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@1961977357.1110147333@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccdhaddedegmgficflgceggdhhmdgmh.0&page=Product&sku=890858&category_oid=-15257&fm=0&sm=1&tm=undefined