Review: 12" Powerbook 1.33 Ghz G4- Combodrive

bought this a few weeks ago... time to write up a review:

Specs:
• 512 MB DDR333 (256MB built-in, and 256MB upgrade)
• 60GB Ultra ATA drive @ 4200rpm
• Combo Drive (DVD-ROM/CD-RW)
• AirPort Extreme Card (equivalent to WIFI b/g)
• Keyboard/Mac OS - U.S. English- full sized
• 1.33GHz PowerPC G4
• NVIDIA GeForce FX GO 5200 with 64MB DDR Video Memory, AGP 4x
• 12.1-inch TFT Display (1024x768)
- built in ethernet
- mini-DVI (with vga and dvi adapter)
- built in Bluetooth
- One FireWire 400 (IEEE 1394a) port at up to 400 Mbps (5)
- Two USB 2.0 ports at up to 480 Mbps
- Audio line in (minijack)
- Headphone out (minijack)
- Built-in stereo speakers with midrange-enhancing third speaker
- Internal omnidirectional microphone

Size and weight (12-inch model)
Height: 1.18 inches (3.0 cm)
Width: 10.9 inches (27.7 cm)
Depth: 8.6 inches (21.9 cm)
Weight: 4.6 pounds (2.1 kg) with battery and optical drive installed

PRICE- $1,499 (before tax)

I'm a lifetime Windows user before this Laptop... but Mac OS X is a DREAM!! Took me about a full day to get use to it, but after that I'm probably never going back to Windows voluntarily (which means my next desktop will still be a PC since Mac G5's are mucho $$$... but if I had the money it would be a Mac). I think, really, the only way to know what I'm talking about is to sit down for at least a few days (to untrain your windows ways) and see for yourself.

Battery Life is over 5 hours with elementary web browsing and word processing. I found the Powerbook to get hot after a couple hours of use, especially under my left hand. But not too hot when compared to the past laptops I've owned or used, but definitely noticeable.

Aesthetically, this thing is the supermodel of all notebooks. Its sleek and classy (with a glowing apple to boot!). Definitely not too showy like some other PC notebooks.

Performance wise everything works fast. I use Microsoft Office, Safari (Mac's version of IE), Dreamweaver, Photoshop and Flash (although at a novice level) with brilliant speed. Gaming, as anyone can expect, is playable but cannot match midsized to larger notebooks (especially with the newer ATI mobile GPU's), but I didn't really buy the Powerbook for gaming. I can't really compare its performance, game-wise, to any other 12 inch notebook since I don't own another 12 inch notebook to compare it to, but I assume that with its NVIDIA GeForce FX GO 5200 with 64MB DDR Video Memory it isn't a slouch when compared to other thin and lights/ultraportables. I don't think Sony, IBM, Dell or Fujitsu even offer anything comparable in their 12" models. After playing with Unreal Tournament 2004 I must say I'm very impressed with the performance on the laptop. Although the fps is probably too slow for some of you 1337 gamers out there, i was getting 30-45 frames (using ~stat fps) per second on death match maps with about 16 players an 800x600x32bit resolution with all other settings at default except trilinear turned off, which is very playable for me. The only real problem is Onslaught mode where I occasionally dip into the low teens but usually I'm at the low 20's for fps. But keep in mind that a lot of people have had problems with fps in Onslaught mode (which is why I specifically mention it) and that Unreal Tournament 2004 is a very new game that is very graphically demanding. That said I have not really tried to tweak the performance much and I bet I can squeeze a few more fps out. How bout MAX settings? haha don't expect that on this small laptop or any ultraportable/thin and light notebook for that matter. But just for reference, I was getting about 6-8 fps at everything at the highest settings on onslaught and high teens to low twenties on smaller deathmatch maps.

The Powerbook also comes with a slot loading (yes, no stupid tray to deal with) combo drive. I opted out of the superdrive to save myself some $$$ since I don't see myself burning DVD's too often. The slot loading drive works great! I never noticed how much I hate laptop cd trays until I started using the combodrive on the Powerbook. Combo drive (DVD-ROM/CD-RW): reads DVDs at up to 8x speed, writes CD-R discs at up to 24x speed, writes CD-RW discs at up to 16x speed, reads CDs at up to 24x speed.

I found the screen to be crisp and clear. I didn't realize how nice the screen could be until I played UT2004 on highest settings. The game itself is beautiful, but I couldn't be more pleased with the screen. The resolution is perfect for the size of the screen. The sound was surprisingly nice from the speakers too. Of course this is with notebook speaker expectations. I usually use the headphones anyways.

The computer is usually very, very quiet. There is some noticeable increase in sound if the Powerbook has been on for a while. However this is still decently quiet. Under normal usage the Powerbook will never go above a soft hum, but under intense usage such as playing Unreal Tournament 2004 where the Powerbook is maxed out, the fan gets its loudest and is loud enough to where I'd ALMOST (but not quite) be uncomfortable sitting next to someone in the library studying.

The Powerbook took 3 business days for delivery and was neatly packaged in a very nice box (so nice in fact that I was sad to throw it away). No dead pixels and the battery came already charged with all software already installed. The power chord came with an extension to make it even longer and it has built in retracting (actually it folds... kinda) hooks to wind your chord around it so there are no tangles! There are two indicator lights on the Powerbook for battery life. One is on the battery itself, just press a small button to see little lights meter how much life is left in the battery. The other light is at the end of the battery chord where it plugs into the laptop. It will glow green when charged and orange when charging. Small details, but very nice none the less.

Software packaged with the Powerbook included is not robust but not lacking either. There are too many programs to name here, but the highlights are the iLife package that includes iPhoto and iTunes, mail.app (much nicer and easier to use than Outlook, but Outlook has a few more features), Safari and ichat AV which allows you to use your DV camera as a high quality webcam. I've used Adobe Photoshop Album on PC (probably the best photo organization program on the PC) and trust me when I say iPhoto is much better. They both are missing some options that the other has though.

The built in Bluetooth has decent range. I think it says 10 meters(?) but I suggest you stay within 10 feet of your Powerbook. Bluetooth is perfect for syncing my PocketPC and I'd probably use it for a wireless modem with my cell phone if Sprint would ever distibute some cheap bluetooth phones like every other carrier in the nation! I also love the bluetooth mouse I got to work with my Powerbook.

There are some minor compatibility issues with some hardware and software (as well as web browsing on Safari). But after you get use to looking for the Mac compatibility on things, its really no big deal. Also the is no PC card slot in this model.

here are some pictures that don't do the Powerbook any justice-

size comparison:


thin side view:


glowing apple!!:


more pics later...

I just recieved UT 2004 and i've updated my review with fps and impressions. I'll be updating the review with better pictures in a few days.

ezekel... if you are going for a small cheap notebook, i'd look at fujitsu for the pc side of things and also for more money sony has some pretty sweet 12"--> of course i picked my powerbook over these options...



oh and i guess this doesn't belong in the review so i'll say it here in this post... UT 2004 is probably the front runner for GAME OF THE YEAR so far. the multiplayer is amazing!! i've never been so satisified with multiplayer gaming as a i am with this purchase. if half-life 2 and doom 3 live up to their hype, 2004 will be a banner year not only for first person shooters, but games overall.

well ezekel i'm sure you will be happy with your powerbook!!!... the 12" i think is the best deal as far as powerbooks go.

actually i heard the upgrade to the faster hard drive makes a HUGE difference in how fast programs load on the powerbook (or on any laptop for that matter)... but whats the difference between loading a program at 2 seconds rather than 1? 100% difference (which upgrading your hardrive won't give you that big a differnce for sure)? you kind of see what i mean about getting a faster hard drive?

of course i'm talking about normal programs, UT 2004 or intesnse photoediting/video editing would probably get the most advantage and i guess it would be worth it if you plan on playing a lot of games and do a lot of large file procedures (but would i rather get more ram instead? i don't know). but i'm perfectly happy with wasting the extra .5 seconds a day rather than upgrading my harddrive.

but also keep in mind that the faster hard drive eats up more battery. i think i've heard that it brings down the time to a little over 4.5 hours which still isn't bad, just something to keep in mind.

yeah... the only time i reboot up my computer is when i update OS X with apple updates... by the way, i forgot to mention that updating in OS X is also much, much easier than Windows...

but, yeah, I always just leave the computer in "sleep" mode.

i've heard Crucial is a good company for cheap,quality RAM upgrades

actually ezekel, the newest ibook version is a GREAT buy also... and i'm not just saying that because my powerbook has made me a mac fanactic.

i was seriously looking at the ibook, but i decided since this is a big purchase for me and i probably won't shell out the $$$ for another notebook for a very long time that i should go with the higher end powerbook so the specs stay up to date a little longer (but probably not by much).

the thing about the ibook that hampered it in the past compared to the powerbook (other than slower processor speed) was the lack of L2 cache. But The new updated ibook has the same size L2 cache as the powerbook!!! also the GPU is the same ATI 9200 found in the more expensive 12" sony. the 12" ibook also reaches 1ghz G4, which equals the newest Powerbook you could have bought about 2-3 months ago... so needless to say the ibook is no slouch... not to mention it is just as aesthetically pleasing as a powerbook (maybe even more so due to its unique color and build. there are a lot of cheap looking silvery metallic PC laptop powerbook immitators out there, but no one that I know of has yet tried to copy the ibook's amazing looks, so it is definitely very unique).

if you do get an ibook, be sure to review it so i know how the other half of mac notebook users live.



ps- oh yeah i forgot to mention, if $$$ is a very big concern check out apple's clearance section in their online store, there are some good deals there and even if the notebook is refurbished it still comes with the same warranty as new apples, so there is no need to worry about getting a defective computer. and also if you are a student apple gives great discounts for students.