Hello apple fans and stuff.
Well, me, the famous Apple Troll has gone to an Apple Store today, of all places. I figured i'd do a quick write-up here just to let you all (esp. Kakaze) know that I've given Apple a chance to impress me.
I still stick to my opinion that the iBook is not very practical and is plagued with hardware issues, and that the 15" and 17" powerbooks are well...not really the best bang for the buck if you know what I mean, but otherwise, here are my comments.
The iPods:
First things first, how can we forget the iPod Nano. If I am not mistaken they are flash drive operated because there is no freaken way there is a hard drive in that thing. I must say its probably the tinest MP3 player with a color screen I've ever seen, pretty impressed by its size:feature ratio, but the price is a bummer, $300 for 4gb when you can get a 20gb full sized ipod for the same price...you know. Nice little thing, but if they made the 4gb at $200, it would sell a hell lot better (...granted we dont know how they are selling period since they've only been on the market for 2 days). It shall be known that the stock earbuds well...SUCK (compared to the Shure and ER headphones). The iPod shuffle feels cheap, it really does (compared to some flash players by iRiver). The regular ipod is same as it's ever been i guess, love it or hate it, it will be around for a long time.
The Laptops:
Well, lets get the iBook out of the way. both the 12" and 14" models look and feel cheap. The display models were DIRTY proving it once and for all that white is not a practical color. They were also rather heavy for 14" laptops (my Thinkpad T23 feels lighter and still built solid). The powerbook is another story, the silver is a more practical color, and the metal has taht cool "look at me, i am not plastic" feel to it, can't say I don't like it...its cool. The 12" model is rather uncomfortable, but then again, what 12" laptop is? The 15" is rather average I'd say, granted that for the price thought they could have put in a card better than the 9700. The 17" does have some benefits. First of all, all that empty space around the palmrest and where the speakers are...just make it look very plain, which hurts its otherwise "cool factor". I'll give one thing to the 17" powerbook though, its by far the thinnest and lightest 17" i've ever seen, and to have a mobile 17" has its benefits i guess (note: weight and size comparison was done to my 15.4" uniwill and the 17" Dell XPS Gen2) Now as soon as they go intel, put in a 2nd mouse button, and upgrade the video to at least x700 or 6600, i might even end up buying a 15" model..who knows
The Desktops:
The PowerMacs are over priced and underpowered to say the least. The new iMacs are just UGLY (i like the prev gen ones...with the pod and the screen going off on a metal joint). The eMacs are well....value systems (as far as macs go at least...the built in speakers SUCK). The Mini has that amazing factor going for it that they managed to squeeze a fully funtioning desktop in that small box, but because its on a bit of a slow end....i guess its fine for internet and word.
The Screens:
Must say I am rather impressed with the 30" Cinema Display, but it would cost you an Arm and Leg ($3000). I must note there was some ghosting on it, but just because of its sheer size....WOW...MASSIVE!
Mice:
the Pro-Mouse....i find it as uncomfortable as i ever had, I like my right-click way too much to give it up. The mighty mouse...finally! a 2 button mouse from apple. However, its also not very practical. Its not responsive (compared to my iogear GKM521R) enough and that little ball is not very effective, I find the scroll wheel on standard mice much more effective than that little ball. And on top of it, the white color is sorta ugly, wish they made it clear, or silver.
The Verdict:
Although Apple has improved in many areas in the last few years, there is still plenty of room to grow. No, you won't find me owning an Apple product any time in the near future....but maybe some day. I'll admit they have some stuff with a WOW factor (the nano for its size, the 17" pb for its thickness and weight, the 30" display for its...wow, and the mini for its size), however they also have a few downfalls that must be corrected.
Here is just a brief list of what I'd like to see changed:
-Go x86 (which will be done soon)
- video card upgrades (esp for ibook and pb)
- slight price drop (to be more competitive)
- dump white...bad color for electronics
Well, me, the famous Apple Troll has gone to an Apple Store today, of all places. I figured i'd do a quick write-up here just to let you all (esp. Kakaze) know that I've given Apple a chance to impress me.
I still stick to my opinion that the iBook is not very practical and is plagued with hardware issues, and that the 15" and 17" powerbooks are well...not really the best bang for the buck if you know what I mean, but otherwise, here are my comments.
The iPods:
First things first, how can we forget the iPod Nano. If I am not mistaken they are flash drive operated because there is no freaken way there is a hard drive in that thing. I must say its probably the tinest MP3 player with a color screen I've ever seen, pretty impressed by its size:feature ratio, but the price is a bummer, $300 for 4gb when you can get a 20gb full sized ipod for the same price...you know. Nice little thing, but if they made the 4gb at $200, it would sell a hell lot better (...granted we dont know how they are selling period since they've only been on the market for 2 days). It shall be known that the stock earbuds well...SUCK (compared to the Shure and ER headphones). The iPod shuffle feels cheap, it really does (compared to some flash players by iRiver). The regular ipod is same as it's ever been i guess, love it or hate it, it will be around for a long time.
The Laptops:
Well, lets get the iBook out of the way. both the 12" and 14" models look and feel cheap. The display models were DIRTY proving it once and for all that white is not a practical color. They were also rather heavy for 14" laptops (my Thinkpad T23 feels lighter and still built solid). The powerbook is another story, the silver is a more practical color, and the metal has taht cool "look at me, i am not plastic" feel to it, can't say I don't like it...its cool. The 12" model is rather uncomfortable, but then again, what 12" laptop is? The 15" is rather average I'd say, granted that for the price thought they could have put in a card better than the 9700. The 17" does have some benefits. First of all, all that empty space around the palmrest and where the speakers are...just make it look very plain, which hurts its otherwise "cool factor". I'll give one thing to the 17" powerbook though, its by far the thinnest and lightest 17" i've ever seen, and to have a mobile 17" has its benefits i guess (note: weight and size comparison was done to my 15.4" uniwill and the 17" Dell XPS Gen2) Now as soon as they go intel, put in a 2nd mouse button, and upgrade the video to at least x700 or 6600, i might even end up buying a 15" model..who knows
The Desktops:
The PowerMacs are over priced and underpowered to say the least. The new iMacs are just UGLY (i like the prev gen ones...with the pod and the screen going off on a metal joint). The eMacs are well....value systems (as far as macs go at least...the built in speakers SUCK). The Mini has that amazing factor going for it that they managed to squeeze a fully funtioning desktop in that small box, but because its on a bit of a slow end....i guess its fine for internet and word.
The Screens:
Must say I am rather impressed with the 30" Cinema Display, but it would cost you an Arm and Leg ($3000). I must note there was some ghosting on it, but just because of its sheer size....WOW...MASSIVE!
Mice:
the Pro-Mouse....i find it as uncomfortable as i ever had, I like my right-click way too much to give it up. The mighty mouse...finally! a 2 button mouse from apple. However, its also not very practical. Its not responsive (compared to my iogear GKM521R) enough and that little ball is not very effective, I find the scroll wheel on standard mice much more effective than that little ball. And on top of it, the white color is sorta ugly, wish they made it clear, or silver.
The Verdict:
Although Apple has improved in many areas in the last few years, there is still plenty of room to grow. No, you won't find me owning an Apple product any time in the near future....but maybe some day. I'll admit they have some stuff with a WOW factor (the nano for its size, the 17" pb for its thickness and weight, the 30" display for its...wow, and the mini for its size), however they also have a few downfalls that must be corrected.
Here is just a brief list of what I'd like to see changed:
-Go x86 (which will be done soon)
- video card upgrades (esp for ibook and pb)
- slight price drop (to be more competitive)
- dump white...bad color for electronics
)
), and . . . hell, another iPod - one in each color. Aside, from those items, nope, not a damn thing!
