14" iBook defies logic.
This will be the worst flop ever.
Reality check: Smaller size is a FEATURE!
SAME FREAKING SCREEN RESOLUTION!!!?
Okay. Let's get this straight...
12.1" iBook: 1lb heavier, much bulkier.
128MB more RAM. Whoop-de-doo.
$399 MORE!?
If it's bigger and heavier, with the same features and at the same resolution, it should be LESS!
Please, someone tell me why you would prefer this model.
The only people who might really appreciate the larger size are those with eyesight problems. Is this the target market?
I'm sorry I'm always so critical. I just feel so disappointed that simple points of logic seem to be so elusive to Apple's marketing team.
Of course, more choice is always better. I hope the introduction of the 14" iBook signals that even more choices for portables lie ahead. But why not increase the resolution of the 14 incher to 1280x1024?
My prediction is that the 14" iBook will sell fewer that 5% of all iBooks at this price. It seems that Apple wasted hardware development resources on this useless "improvement".
Flame away.
Reality check: Smaller size is a FEATURE!
SAME FREAKING SCREEN RESOLUTION!!!?
Okay. Let's get this straight...
12.1" iBook: 1lb heavier, much bulkier.
128MB more RAM. Whoop-de-doo.
$399 MORE!?
If it's bigger and heavier, with the same features and at the same resolution, it should be LESS!
Please, someone tell me why you would prefer this model.
The only people who might really appreciate the larger size are those with eyesight problems. Is this the target market?
I'm sorry I'm always so critical. I just feel so disappointed that simple points of logic seem to be so elusive to Apple's marketing team.
Of course, more choice is always better. I hope the introduction of the 14" iBook signals that even more choices for portables lie ahead. But why not increase the resolution of the 14 incher to 1280x1024?
My prediction is that the 14" iBook will sell fewer that 5% of all iBooks at this price. It seems that Apple wasted hardware development resources on this useless "improvement".
Flame away.
Comments
It's really not that much bulkier than the 12" ibook, it's barely an inch longer and wider, and still just a little over an inch thick, it's a heck of a lot sleeker than my Pismo. And at $1799, which is only $300 more than the 12" model, it's a steal! Great price/performace ratio, especially with the combo drive. This thing is a good $1000 cheaper than a similarly equipped pismo of a year ago, how can you complain?
I think this is going to open up a whole new midrange for Apple, something for people who were put off by the 12" ibook's screen size, and the titanium's high price. They sold over a million iBooks in the seven months the new models were available, and I can see them selling a million of the 12" and a million of the 14" in the coming year. Unless they get a screaming G4 chip and a higher res screen in the TiBook fast, I expect that machine will be the one to lose serious sales to the 14" ibook.
Yes, I admit, the 14" ibook's lack of a higher-resolution screen is indeed a flaw, but I expect we'll see an upgrade to that when the ibook's video hardware is updated. I'm sure the 128 rage mobility chip would start to choke at a higher res, and it would be kind of embarassing to have a higher res screen than the titanium.
All in all, I do think that this is a solid offering, and is a sign that apple is finally getting a handle on it's price versus performance problems of yore.
so.. um, stop smoking the crack!
ciao,
michael
[seeing as how this is the first reply, I guess I really don't need to quote him, whoops, *snip snip*]
[ 01-08-2002: Message edited by: scadboy ]</p>
You're also stuck getting your 256 MB of RAM in 2 chips! If you want more than 256 (and really, who doesn't) you have to take one (or both) of the 128 MB chips out and replace it! That's really crappy..
On the other hand, it's still way cheaper than the PowerBook, and pretty fast to boot...
I'd sure like to see one for myself.
[ 01-08-2002: Message edited by: murbot ]</p>
I am indeed one of those Pismo owners looking to upgrade, and the 14" ibook might be just what I'm looking for. I really think tonton is being a tad overdramatic in saying it "defies logic," and will be "the worst flop ever," defying logic would be giving it a bigger screen at 800x600... now that would be funny...
Anywho,
michael
[ 01-08-2002: Message edited by: scadboy ]</p>
So while a 14" display with a higher resolution would be ideal I'd certainly settle for the current model.
Oh, and I do suffer from astigmatism, which doesn't help any.
ciao,
michael
[ 01-08-2002: Message edited by: scadboy ]</p>
while a mini ti would be pretty cool, that's all it'd be. there's going to be a small segment who get the 14" ibook but probalby an even smaller segment for a mini ti. it would be more of a toy; an extra thing to have jsut for the sake of having it and it's cool factor. a very small portion would find it as handy or usable...(this is assuming the mini ti would be like a sub portable sorta like the sony picturebook w/o camera)
<strong>A thought: Apple "blew up" the form factor of the 12.1" iBook to accommodate the 14" screen. Any chance they'll make a "mini Ti" with a 13" screen {drools}?</strong><hr></blockquote>
tonton: You hit a raw nerve here. Is it time to revive the <a href="http://forums.appleinsider.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=1&t=000014"; target="_blank">3 lbs sub-PowerBook</a> thread?
I have the same issue with the 14" iBook. I really don't understand why anybody would pay good money to replace their trusty Pismo. As far as I can tell, the 14" iBook doesn't offer a single advantage over the Pismo. In fact, it even drops the PC Card slot and the dual battery bays.
As I've said before, I'll happily stick with my 4.9 lbs 12" iBook.
Escher
<strong>But for every day use, the 12.1" iBook just seems more portable, and as such, more practical. I suppose if you don't carry it back and forth from home to work/school on a daily basis, the bigger display might be preferable.</strong><hr></blockquote>
My Pismo basically sits on my desk 6 days out of 7, and I don't think the iBook would be any different if I got it. So, the bigger the screen, the better! When I have moved it around, I've never really considered my Pismo to be "bulky" but it is larger in most dimensions than the iBook, except I believe it may be a scant bit lighter, if not the same weight as the 14" model.
[quote]Originally posted by tonton:
<strong>I tend to watch DVDs at home on my TV (or quite honestly -- dirty movies in my bedroom ;p), or in public on the bus or plane, so the lack of privacy of my big TiBook screen actually bothers me and I'd prefer a smaller screen.</strong><hr></blockquote>
I don't own a TV, yes, I'm one of those people, much like Steve, I think it really does rot your brain. I have a nice 19" monitor (crt) that I hookup to my Pismo when I'm watching DVD's at home that does the job quite well, much better than any tv, anyway. I do download some TV shows, like southpark, futurama, the family guy, but I don't actually own a TV, now intend to purchase one. Just don't have the space in my tiny apartment.
[quote]Originally posted by tonton:
<strong>A thought: Apple "blew up" the form factor of the 12.1" iBook to accommodate the 14" screen. Any chance they'll make a "mini Ti" with a 13" screen {drools}?</strong><hr></blockquote>
Dear me, now that would be nice... We still haven't seen that "executive" bare bones notebook Steve mentioned some, oh, two years ago. He mentioned that he saw a need for a really basic, small, notebook with really nothing more than a display, keyboard, , and a harddrive, for internet use on the go. Something that could be superslim, and stylin'.
[quote]Originally posted by Escher:
<strong> I have the same issue with the 14" iBook. I really don't understand why anybody would pay good money to replace their trusty Pismo. As far as I can tell, the 14" iBook doesn't offer a single advantage over the Pismo. In fact, it even drops the PC Card slot and the dual battery bays.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Um, In the year and a half I've owned my Pismo, I've used the PC card slot exactly.... um, never. And I only have one battery anyway. Besides, you can sleep-swap the iBook's batteries, yes? The 14" also features a larger battery, which, despite the added consumption of the 14" display, does have the potential for increased lifespan between charges.
I did actually come to a decision, I'm hanging on to the pismo for a little while longer, I just ordered a 30GB IBM travelstar drive for it. Good deal from googlegear.com, $136 for the drive, pretty good, eh? I dropped a gig of RAM in it a month ago, and my current harddrive is so full, OS 9 (on the rare occassions I use OS 9), refuses to activate virtual memory. Which makes me wonder about how VM is doing in X, since I didn't notice much of a speedup after I upgraded, I have to wonder is X isn't running VM either.
The thing is, I have a line of credit from the Apple Store, and I need to use it before Jun 30 in order to qualify for the "6 months = no payments" dealie, and isn't that convenient two whole weeks before MWNY? So I'm hoping for something substantial in the notebook department before then.
anywho, I still think the 14" iBook rocks, and will be a good choice for many people, if not me, right now anyway.
ciao,
michael
<strong>Sorry, I am with tonton on this one! the 14' iBook seems about as useful as a chocolate tea pot!! </strong><hr></blockquote>
Mmmmmm chocolate tea pot (drool)
Also, look at what you get:
+ 8x8x8x24 DVD/CDR (instead of 4x4x6x24 in 12inch iBook)
+ 1 hour more battery life
+ 2 INCHES more screen size
+ 128mb more ram
on negative you have 500grams more weight and a 300$ 'heftier' price tag. I think that is an awesome deal and in fact, I shall be, hopefully, getting mine in 2 weeks.
I am buying a new Mac, not replacing one... so, for people like me, this is great!
Does anyone know of 14.1 vs 12.1 iBook comparisons, one on top of the other to see real size difference? I drew it on paper and it really seems minimal.
Yuck.
And with *no* resolution upgrade?
I cannot believe they will sell many of them.
It's just odd.
As I've said many times before, the 12" iBook's small size (relative to other recent portables from Apple) is one of its strongest points for me.
Escher
Many people have a hard time viewing the 12.1" iBook because of their bad far sighted eyes.
you mean ibook 14 right?
Now that would make a huge difference.
But probably in price too. But as it is now, it's still overpriced.
other than portability why get an iBook? comparing 14" iBook to tne similar priced iMac you gain:
800 G4 (vs. 600 G3)
an 1" more screen (14 vs 15)
40GB more hard drive (20 vs 60)
a lot better graphics chip (8 vs 32DDR)
more memory expandability (640 vs 1024)
SuperDrive (vs. combo)
while i would prefer a portable machine. (but i want to stay under 2000 in price) for those spec differences I may just give it up to have the iMac....
while i know adding the G4 to iBook would make a purchase decision easier, it would also canibalize the PowerBook then, so that is not an option for Apple yet.....
Why? It's easier on the eyes than 12.1" at the same resolution. I was never comfortable with that arrangement - and the difference in size and weight are mostly irrelevant for my purposes.
I don't see why anyone should be bothered by the newer iBook; it's not as though buyers weren't being given a choice. The cost of adapting the older enclosure for a larger display was surely low enough for the project to be profitable.
Cheers,
Mark.
[ 01-11-2002: Message edited by: Mark ]</p>