An excellent product, this PowerBook will replace my G4 desktop
Written: Oct 07 '03 (Updated Jan 06 '04)
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Pros: State-of-the-art portable computer, great looks, even better functionality, strongly recommended
Cons: Buying a new model from Apple requires patience but it was rewarded in the end.
The Bottom Line: If you want this computer for what ever reason, buy it! I doubt you will be disappointed. This is the best Mac I've ever owned in 12 years.
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| prashton's Full Review: Apple PowerBook G4 (M8981LL/A) Mac Notebook |
Update - January 2004
No change in my ratings as my continued use of this machine still pleases. I do have a "blotchy" screen, however and this will be changed sometime before the 12 month warranty runs out. The Apple Store in Houston said they can replace it if I drop it off for a couple of days. As I am continually traveling this is a slight problem.
Since my review my wife bought the 12" 1 Gig PB and I had the opportunity to use this over the holidays. Other than the screen size and the lack of backlit keyboard, I would have to say the 12" is definitely up there as a road warrior's tool. In a few month's time we are going to go wireless and the versatility of two PBs, Airport Extreme and broadband will be hard to beat!
Introduction
The 15” aluminum body PowerBook was announced in September 2003 as the last piece of Apple’s line up going into the Christmas season. I say the last piece but I may be wrong. However, with the G5, the new ipods and faster processors in the rest of the range I would think Apple can rest on its laurels for a few months, then wow us with something exciting early next year. We’ll see if I’m right!
A change in work style means that I need a PowerBook. Not that we haven’t had one before. My wife uses a 233 Mhz “Wallstreet” G3 and I also owned a 520c and before that a greyscale model that I can’t exactly remember! At the same time I have owned a variety of desktops, starting with the wonderful Iifx and ending with a 400 Mhz G4 equipped with 768 Meg Ram, two 17” monitors and two hard drives – perfect for Photoshop, GoLive, QuarkXpress and illustrator but noticeably a little slow after nearly three years on the work station desk in my office.
One thing’s for sure, the desktop setup is not portable! And I find myself doing a lot more consulting and traveling. So the chance to look at a new, faster Powerbook could not be overlooked.
The Test Drive
A call to the Apple Store in Houston confirmed that they had one on display. The Apple Store is a great concept even though they are apparently making a loss at the moment. Houston’s store is in the Galleria, not my favorite venue as I don’t like malls. However, better to have one than not at all. Apple Store representatives do seem to know their product and do a better job than other resellers.
The store was quite busy but I was able to tag along with a discussion between a UNIX user who wanted to buy a Mac just so that he could work on UNIX at home (he already had a Windows machine). Whether he bought one in the end I don’t know, but it was interesting to see some of the UNIX tricks available to the knowledgeable. As a Mac user I am quite comfortable being shielded from all that stuff! However I was re-assured about a number of features, including the rock solid under-pinning that OS X 10.2.6 gives to the present day Macs (I am now on 10.2.8, two weeks later!
The store had three units, the 12”, 15” and 17” side by side. I had considered the 12” as a very portable computer and indeed it is, but the 15” just blew it right out of contention. Why? Well, the screen is noticeably larger and tool palettes are the name of the game for me. Also, I liked the layout of the all the ports and slots on the 15” which has the superdrive in front. The 17” would not fit in my computer bag (I like my old beat up bag as it looks like it has nothing of value in it, important when in all sorts of environments, here and abroad!). So that discounted the largest of the three from contention.
I asked about heat and it certainly seemed that the 12” had more of a problem with heat dissipation. The Apple associate strongly recommended a PodiumPad to raise the machine off the table and give better ergonomics. He is absolutely right – an essential accessory in my opinion.
So I left the store to “think about it”
Buying the Machine
I did all the research I could – not many reviews up on the internet at the time but I checked Apple’s own specs sheet and description very carefully. Finally, I decided to buy the standard spec superdrive model with an extra 256 Meg Ram (i.e. 1.25 Ghtz G4, 512 Meg Ram, 80 Gig drive, Airport Xtreme, Bluetooth, Superdrive).
I called the Houston Apple Store. Sold out, none expected soon. So much for all that careful research! Impulse buying sometimes has its advantages!
So I went to the Apple Store on the web and the site claimed they were in stock and very much available (small red print under the pictures actually stressing that the 15” model was in stock and ready to ship). So I placed my order, applied for an Apple Loan, received approval and waited for the confirmation e-mail. It looked good, so I sat back and waited.
A day later, another e-mail. The shipment was delayed by a day. I could cancel if I wanted to. Then another e-mail, delaying the shipment by several days. Rather than cancel I sent an e-mail back, pointing out their error in advertising. I received an apology and soon after the website pictures lost their small red print.
Then I received a call from Apple. I was advised that it was possible that the store in Houston could receive a shipment before the web store, so I was advised to keep the order alive with the web store but call the Houston store and get on a waiting list. The squeaky wheel gets the grease at Apple, apparently.
A day later the Houston store called. They had just received a shipment. Hold one, I said, I’ll be over in half an hour. When I got to the store, saw the unit with my name on it, I cancelled the web order!
Love at first sight!
The computer is nicely packed in a black box with carrying handle. The aluminum case is protected by a thin foam sheath which I will continue to use when traveling in order to protect the beautiful aluminum finish. All the accessories have their place in the box. The power supply unit is quite small but I will probably not use it when traveling as there are new PSUs out there that cater to all traveling needs (mains, 12v auto and ‘plane) in one package.
I also bought the PodiumPad and this is an absolute “must have” in my opinion. The tilt of the pad makes typing much more pleasant and the raised screen (by about three inches) makes the computer much more user-friendly. The air gap seems to be very useful as well in keeping the computer cool.
Setting Up
In no time I had the PowerBook connected to my DSL/Ethernet router, a 20 Gig Smartdisk firewire drive, and the power supply. Loading up the key software took a while but I expected that. It was clear that OS X 10.2.7, as loaded, worked really well with a G4 running at 1.25 Ghz! Remember my fastest other computer is a 400 Mhz model! Programs loaded quickly and many tasks really did take a lot less time, not that I was benchmarking anything!
Ten Days Later
This is one great machine. I have no regrets about either the 12” or the 17”, the 15” is an excellent compromise. For my needs I see myself leaving the desktop G4 to slide scanning and Photoshop manipulation and not much else. I could easily run the scanner on the PowerBook but Photoshop does benefit from the second monitor for all those palettes, etc.
In fact, it has occurred to me that the ideal set up down the road will be the G4 PowerBook and a 20” Apple Display. Use the PowerBook screen for the palettes with the 20” Apple Display for the image or layout. I have ordered the new Bluetooth mouse (delayed shipment on this one too!) and all those necessary “road warrior” accessories.
The Apple display is way off in the future, as is a huge firewire drive to store all my images (I’ll use the superdrive to create DVD storage for the time being).
What is important to me may not be important to other readers of this review, so I’ll try to think outside the box and imagine I am someone else! Here goes:
Sound system – the built in speakers are not exactly hi-fi but do create a reasonable effect. A plug in amplifier or quality headphones would be essential to capture all the quality stored on a CD or an MP3 file.
Working on a plane. Not done this yet but the illuminated keyboard is a really neat addition to this and the 17” model. I have tried it out in the dark and it does work! The keyboard, by the way, has a great feel and my typing (mostly two fingered) has improved over the standard keyboard.
Color management seems to be easier with the built in screen than with CRT monitors. My first Photoshop experiments have worked out well. I have read that these screens are useless for color management but I think that may be prejudice. Time will tell.
Connecting and disconnecting is easy and in general everything seems to be up and running. Sometimes Safari takes a bit of waking up after the machine has been asleep but the second time round always brings up the bookmarked site. My Smartdisk fire wire drive is powered off the PowerBook which means one less cable and power supply unit (our PB G3 Wallstreet has a third party PCMIA fire wire card that does not carry power). After years of SCSI peripherals I am really beginning to like fire wire!
Although the PowerBook has an Airport Extreme card installed I have not used it yet. Ultimately I think it would be useful to have an Airport system in the apartment office but I have heard that I would probably need to buy the extra antenna in order to cover what is a long and narrow space. So the jury is out on that one.
What I have done is order the road warrior kits, including a retractable CAT5 ethernet cable and a short thin firewire cable. The Apple Store recommended the Kensington K33069 auto/air adaptor, so I have that as well. This should make me completely compatible with client’s networks. Again, time will tell.
Also in to the future, I look forward to downloading digital camera files using the fire wire port. With the Kensington adaptor this means being able to download images to the PowerBook over a long weekend down the beach far away from electricity (see our Padre island feature of http://focalplane.com). At the moment I am very much relying on film and scanning so this will be a marked improvement in turnround.
The Bottom Line
I am very pleased with the 15” Aluminum PowerBook. I hope it will provide at least three year’s of good service (most other Macs I have owned have given me a good three year’s working life). I am also now ready to subscribe to Bob Levitus’ belief that a fast G4 PowerBook can be a very good substitute for a desk top system. Levitus writes a very good column every week in the Houston Chronicle (chron.com)
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 2800
Operating System: Macintosh
Processor speed: over 1000
Screen Size: 15 inches
RAM: More than 256
Internal Storage: SuperDisk
Hard Drive (GB): Over 50
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Epinions.com ID:
prashton
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Location: Houston, Texas
Reviews written: 24
Trusted by: 2 members
About Me:
Geologist and Photographer - Interested in Nature, Travel, the Arts
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