How's it looking on the durability front? I love my TiBook, but it took about a week for it to start getting scuffed. Given that I am an 'enthusiastic user', and don't use white gloves when carrying my Mac around, it drives me nuts that the slightest thing can scratch it.
The AL outer covering is more resistant to scratches but I always felt that if my notebook didn't have any scratches, I wasn't really using it that much. It's kinda like a good leather sofa/chair - the scratches are part of the outer 'decor...'
Seeing my first 15" aluminum PowerBook this past weekend, I really dug the overall look of it. The aluminum has some texture to it (as does the 12" and 17"...I'd just never looked at them that close before) and the hinge spans nearly the entire width of the laptop. Just seems very sturdy and "put together".
The photos simply don't do it justice (as is the case with most Apple gear...it takes seeing them in person to get the full "wow!" effect).
Just a handsome, serious-looking computer all the way around.
They are sturdy alright. I fell down the last 5 steps of our stair case to I had to land on my back to save the powerbook (which was in my hands) so I hit hard and smashed my head but the powerbook survived the jolt. I did give with my arms when I fell to ease up on it. I just layed on the ground and responded to the IM I received while falling.
I also havn't noticed any BIG increases in battery life but I havn't been looking. Downloading files over wireless at 100k/s killed my PBook after 3hours exactly almost, but I don't recall what my settings were.
yeah, sometimes the negative posts in forums gets me down. then i go into an apple store and play with one of the 15" and i'm back in heaven. after using one for a while, i don't know how i could think of cancelling my order. they are just so sweet.
They are sturdy alright. I fell down the last 5 steps of our stair case to I had to land on my back to save the powerbook (which was in my hands) so I hit hard and smashed my head but the powerbook survived the jolt. I did give with my arms when I fell to ease up on it. I just layed on the ground and responded to the IM I received while falling.
Jesus man, is anyone else laughing their ass off right now picturing this? I can see ast3r3x falling and hitting his head and letting out a big yell. PowerBook goes over to the ground, display is adjusted, and he begins to type.
"OMG I just ****ing fell down the stairs, LOL."
"No way dude, lol, u break ur pb man?"
"no man i like totally broke the fall but hit my head, rotflmao"
They are sturdy alright. I fell down the last 5 steps of our stair case to I had to land on my back to save the powerbook (which was in my hands) so I hit hard and smashed my head but the powerbook survived the jolt. I did give with my arms when I fell to ease up on it. I just layed on the ground and responded to the IM I received while falling.
I also havn't noticed any BIG increases in battery life but I havn't been looking. Downloading files over wireless at 100k/s killed my PBook after 3hours exactly almost, but I don't recall what my settings were.
Just don't drop it. They dent very easily. More so than the TiBook. Battery life is so, so. Not as good as the TiBook.
I hope I'm not bringing anyone down I didn't mean to...There are just some major flaws with the 15-inch, one of them being the use of a 46-watt hour battery, instead of the 61-watt hour battery they once used in the TiBook.
I think the savings is more weight oriented as opposed to size oriented. The original TI batteries came with 40-something W/Hr and they upped the power to 55 then to 61.
Here's hoping that someone comes out with longer lasting batteries (or other power producing tech.) soon.
Although I get right around 3 hours now, so the battery covers my needs for the moment.
I figured better concussion then broken PBook. What does AppleCare (free 1 year) do about PBooks broken at the hands of their owners? Any diff from the 3year AppleCare?
Mihrbot that is almost exactly how the dialog went. Except they didn't ask about breaking the PBook.
Just picked up Rev B 17" today from my local apple dealer.
I live in New Zealand and this is one of the first machines to arrive in the country...
so far its perfect - no dead pixels, runs cool, around 3.5 hrs battery life and the latch works perfectly.
Interestingly the 15" which was in the showroom (an Australian one) had the latch problem being described in this thread and i could not get it to close properly.. no white spots on mine or the showroom models however.
The 15" combo drive model I played with at an Atlanta-area CompUSA last Saturday had the latch issue as well: I'd go to close the laptop and remove my hand and in about 2-3 seconds it would pop back open!
Also, I finally got to see what this "gap" thing was: when the lid was closed, you could pick the PowerBook up and look at it from the front (the latch release facing you) and on the left side there would be a nice, small clearance between the two halves, right? But as you scanned over towards the right, that little clearance gap got larger and larger to the right corner. Looked REALLY uneven and "off".
Quite glaring, actually. And I'm sure it plays into the latch thing because that means the entire display panel is somehow warped a tad and it's not lying properly flush against the bottom portion and seating firmly enough to fully engage the latch.
At least that's my take on it...
It was still GORGEOUS and I still want one. Just don't mind waiting a bit to see if this all gets addressed and shakes out a bit. I'm still a few hundred bucks shy anyway, so it's working out nicely...
I'd rather wait another month and give these latch/white spot/gap issues a chance to be addressed (I hope!) and increase my chances of getting a "perfect" model right out of the box.
Comments
Has this problem got anythng to do with pressure on the back of the LCD, something that could have happened in transit?
Not happy.
Originally posted by machem I guess pscates and others were wise to wait a bit.
That's what I keep telling myself...
Originally posted by pscates
That's what I keep telling myself...
You must buy now! Now! Now!
Heh, my 12" PB is working awesome so far... buy the mini-PB
So how does the aluminum hold up?
kumrabai
- very solid feel (the case is bomb proof) and the keyboard is amazing
- backlighting OK - could be a little brighter on the right side of the keyboard
- speed is good (1GB RAM and 1.25Ghz)
- screen is superb - no dead pixels and terrific brightness/contrast
- speakers good (much better than the 12" PB)
No quality control issues with my PB - overall, a great package - well done Apple.
The photos simply don't do it justice (as is the case with most Apple gear...it takes seeing them in person to get the full "wow!" effect).
Just a handsome, serious-looking computer all the way around.
I also havn't noticed any BIG increases in battery life but I havn't been looking. Downloading files over wireless at 100k/s killed my PBook after 3hours exactly almost, but I don't recall what my settings were.
Originally posted by ast3r3x
They are sturdy alright. I fell down the last 5 steps of our stair case to I had to land on my back to save the powerbook (which was in my hands) so I hit hard and smashed my head but the powerbook survived the jolt. I did give with my arms when I fell to ease up on it. I just layed on the ground and responded to the IM I received while falling.
Jesus man, is anyone else laughing their ass off right now picturing this? I can see ast3r3x falling and hitting his head and letting out a big yell. PowerBook goes over to the ground, display is adjusted, and he begins to type.
"OMG I just ****ing fell down the stairs, LOL."
"No way dude, lol, u break ur pb man?"
"no man i like totally broke the fall but hit my head, rotflmao"
"lmao"
"I better get up, brb"
"kewl"
Originally posted by ast3r3x
They are sturdy alright. I fell down the last 5 steps of our stair case to I had to land on my back to save the powerbook (which was in my hands) so I hit hard and smashed my head but the powerbook survived the jolt. I did give with my arms when I fell to ease up on it. I just layed on the ground and responded to the IM I received while falling.
I also havn't noticed any BIG increases in battery life but I havn't been looking. Downloading files over wireless at 100k/s killed my PBook after 3hours exactly almost, but I don't recall what my settings were.
Just don't drop it. They dent very easily. More so than the TiBook. Battery life is so, so. Not as good as the TiBook.
He said the Powerbook was in a laptop bag and he accidentally dropped it, the dent happened even though it was protected by the bag!
He made the point to be very carefull with the aluminum Powerbooks as the case is soft and can dent very easily as he proved by his own experience.
Originally posted by coolmac
I was watching The Screen Savers on TechTV last week, Leo Laporte showed his new 12" Powerbook with a nice dent in one of the corners.
He said the Powerbook was in a laptop bag and he accidentally dropped it, the dent happened even though it was protected by the bag!
He made the point to be very carefull with the aluminum Powerbooks as the case is soft and can dent very easily as he proved by his own experience.
Don't get me wrong. I love my new 15"Al but I am very unhappy with the battery life. My TiBook had great battery life.
Are there any pictures comparing these two?
Here's hoping that someone comes out with longer lasting batteries (or other power producing tech.) soon.
Although I get right around 3 hours now, so the battery covers my needs for the moment.
Mihrbot that is almost exactly how the dialog went. Except they didn't ask about breaking the PBook.
I live in New Zealand and this is one of the first machines to arrive in the country...
so far its perfect - no dead pixels, runs cool, around 3.5 hrs battery life and the latch works perfectly.
Interestingly the 15" which was in the showroom (an Australian one) had the latch problem being described in this thread and i could not get it to close properly.. no white spots on mine or the showroom models however.
Basically I couldnt be happier!!!
Go for the 17" is my opinion!!!!
Also, I finally got to see what this "gap" thing was: when the lid was closed, you could pick the PowerBook up and look at it from the front (the latch release facing you) and on the left side there would be a nice, small clearance between the two halves, right? But as you scanned over towards the right, that little clearance gap got larger and larger to the right corner. Looked REALLY uneven and "off".
Quite glaring, actually. And I'm sure it plays into the latch thing because that means the entire display panel is somehow warped a tad and it's not lying properly flush against the bottom portion and seating firmly enough to fully engage the latch.
At least that's my take on it...
It was still GORGEOUS and I still want one. Just don't mind waiting a bit to see if this all gets addressed and shakes out a bit. I'm still a few hundred bucks shy anyway, so it's working out nicely...
I'd rather wait another month and give these latch/white spot/gap issues a chance to be addressed (I hope!) and increase my chances of getting a "perfect" model right out of the box.