The Portable-est of Portables.
Written: May 09 '04
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Pros: It's an Apple Macintosh. It's a very portable portable.
Cons: Outdated. Very poor battery performance.
The Bottom Line: 3 years old and serving as my desktop computer. That should tell you somthing (I'm poor!)
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| ijcobra's Full Review: Apple iBook 12.1 in. (M8599LL/A) Mac Notebook |
I bought this computer new in October of 2001, so I could take it along with me on deployment (I'm in the US Navy).
This is one of the smallest notebook computer's I've ever seen or used. It is very lightweight, and the dimensions are nearly perfect. I can carry it around anywhere no problem.
Of course it's an Apple, so asthetics and quality are very nice.
Today (09 May 2004), the 600Mhz speed is well below tolerable for running Mac OS 1.2 and beyond. I grow impatient waiting for it, and need a replacement badly. The biggest issue with this is that I am using this computer for my desktop computer, and have been for 2 years now. I have a 19" monitor hooked up to the handy VGA output port for video mirroring.
But, for on-the-go power, it's acceptable. However, that functionality is seriously limited by the RIDICULOUSLY LOW BATTERY LIFE. I'm talking, 5 minutes tops. I think I have a bad battery or something, cause it's always been very short.
The keyboard is nice, I can type on it for hours.
The 12" LCD display, while sounding small, is fine for a portable. Any bigger would necessitate a larger computer overall, which wasn't the (original) design intent of the iBook.
The computer comes with a cord with audio and video RCAs, so you can mirror the display on a TV or other video device.
Built-in firewire for connecting to most Digital Camcorders. And 2 USB ports, of course.
Ethernet built in, and a modem.
The built-in speakers are quite small, and sound like it.
And, of course a 1 button touchpad. Why Apple won't go to a 2 button anything, I don't know.
I dropped the computer twice. Once, nothing happened. The second time, the CD drive flew out. Apple technical support sent me a box next-day, I packed the computer and called Airborn Express, and the box was picked up that same day! I received the computer about 4 days later. Outstanding!!!
Had to send it back this same way another time because the screen was becoming seperated from the screen frame. And the hard drive died. And the power connector became loose and would intermittenly have a bad connection. This was all taken care of on 1 service order. Free of charge... and they gave me the newest version of Mac OS X (installed on the drive) for free!
Anyways, this computer has given me years of Macintosh computing, on the road, the sea, or at home.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 1600ish New
Operating System: Macintosh
Processor: PowerPC G3
Processor speed: 501-600
Screen Size: 12 inches
RAM: 128
Internal Storage: CD-RW and DVD
Hard Drive (GB): 21-30
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Epinions.com ID:
ijcobra
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Reviews written: 9
Trusted by: 0 members
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