Powerbook 12 inch is to heavy!
I?m getting tired of carrying a 4.6lb PowerBook. To keep my portable business, Apple needs to come out with a sub-notebook. The 12-inch feels and looks like a brick and is the farthest thing to road warriors dream. With the lack of a decent mobile processor I don?t know how Apple can go any smaller but with carbon Fiber now being used more dropping the dent magnet aluminum would be a start. This is thread is more of a rant but I can't help getting pissed when I see things like the Sharp MP30, 2.7lbs with a media drive.
Comments
Originally posted by Relic
I?m getting tired of carrying a 4.6lb PowerBook. To keep my portable business, Apple needs to come out with a sub-notebook. The 12-inch feels and looks like a brick and is the farthest thing to road warriors dream. With the lack of a decent mobile processor I don?t know how Apple can go any smaller but with carbon Fiber now being used more dropping the dent magnet aluminum would be a start. This is thread is more of a rant but I can't help getting pissed when I see things like the Sharp MP30, 2.7lbs with a media drive.
dude.... no one i have ever talked to has said anything other than how light my 12" pbook is. have you ever picked up a Dull laptop??? everyone that picks mine up says "wow, thats really light!" if 4.6 pounds is too heavy for you, then you need to go to the gym. its hardly noticeable in my backpack i take to class.
Originally posted by ipodandimac
dude.... no one i have ever talked to has said anything other than how light my 12" pbook is. have you ever picked up a Dull laptop??? everyone that picks mine up says "wow, thats really light!" if 4.6 pounds is too heavy for you, then you need to go to the gym. its hardly noticeable in my backpack i take to class.
I'm 6 1, 190lb work out 1:30 hours a day. This thing is heavy compared to every other notebook in its size (I've done my homework). It is heavy, a friggen brick. I would give it slack if it were tough, but it's not. I've killed two Power 12ers in the last year, all traveling. If your happy with this thing in your bag cool, I'm not. Hence the bitching trip, Apple can you please give me a 3lb notebook. Plus dude I'm a geek, while taking on the phone with my left hand I'm holding and looking at my Powerbook with the right.
Also a proud owner of a NetBook Epoc special.
I used to sell the Sony 505 series notebooks in my store - those things were a nightmare for us. I can't fathom how much more fragile something two thirds to half the weight would be. Who knows - it might be decent, but I really can't see it just yet.
It's impressive that you've managed to kill two Powerbooks in a single year. I've only got a lowly little iBook but it's used for my full time school career as well as my full time job in retail electronics sales and management. I use it more than I use my home PC. I've had it since September and it runs identical to the way it did day one. I've got a mount for it in my car when I don't have any other place to work (naturally while the car is in park) and I've done the cell, notebook, briefcase/backpack juggle.
I don't want to cross a personal line but mayhaps you need to take it a bit easier on your electronics. It'd be better for your wallet AND the environment.
Originally posted by SQUÅSH
Can i get a few links to these 12" pc notebooks that weigh less and are more durable? i just find it unlikely, maybe you'd be better off with some weights and start curling a bit, cause that 1.5 hours you work out can't be your arms if less than 5 lb's is too much. My gradma walks 4 miles a day carrying 2-5lb weights, i think she could take you mb?
I would like to see these as well. Find something that has a Superdrive equivalent and all the ports. (Firewire, USB, video, etc.)
Then look into battery life and the size of powercord/brick.
I've had several work supplied PC laptops that attempted to be equal to my 12" PB. They don't quite make it. Plus, they generally costed more.
I travel via airports at least once a week. Have had this PB as soon as they were made available. It is in primo condition. Doesn't seem to scratch like the iBook I had before.
You can get lighter machines but by the time you add up the weight of the accessories, you have more bulk and more weight.
If you can live with a machine that doesn't have all the features of the PB then Apple does not make one of those. Just like the rest of the Apple lineup, they don't sell things without the hubcaps. Out of box experience is the way they do it.
Plus, what can you do with your laptop when you are talking on the phone with one hand and holding it with the other? Type with your nose?
Until that time here are the machines I?m currently looking at; is there other sub-notebooks I should consider?
Sharp MP30
Sony VAIO T150
IBM X40
Panasonic Toughbook" target="_blank">Panasonic Toughbook-W2
Panasonic Toughbook-T2
Flybook
Originally posted by tonton
That Toughbook W2 looks pretty good, though...
It'll be about half as fast as the PowerBook (Pentium M 1.1GHz)
Oh... and there's no SuperDrive option.
And it takes a maximum of 512MB RAM.
No Firewire, either.
But it has a PC card slot, which the 12" PowerBook does not. Guess you could stick FW in there.
Oh... AND IT COSTS $2300!!!
You can grab them for about 1800 - 1900 bucks, 2300 is Panasonics sticker. It's a cools machine but the memory makes me cringe. The Toughbooks can literally be thrown across a room too, though I would think twice before you demo this feature. The Powerbook is not twice as fast as the 1.1; in fact I would give the edge to the Centrino over the 1.33 G4 (less cache).
Out of all of them I think I fancy the Sharp the most. It has the ability to play a DVD on the fly without booting into any OS and the battery is 4.5 hours with normal use. Better then my Powerbook 12-inch at 2.5 hours (normal use). Plus it weighs 2.7lbs and still retains a media drive. Although it has a Transmeta chip it?s clocked high enough at 1.6mhz to compete with the other Centrinos.
Originally posted by Relic
Out of all of them I think I fancy the Sharp the most. It has the ability to play a DVD on the fly without booting into any OS and the battery is 4.5 hours with normal use. Better then my Powerbook 12-inch at 2.5 hours (normal use). Plus it weighs 2.7lbs and still retains a media drive. Although it has a Transmeta chip it?s clocked high enough at 1.6mhz to compete with the other Centrinos.
Apple claims 5 hours of battery life on a 12" PowerBook, so I would take that battery life with a grain of salt.
Originally posted by nguyenhm16
Apple claims 5 hours of battery life on a 12" PowerBook, so I would take that battery life with a grain of salt.
True that. On the Sharp boards owners have been getting 3.5 - 4 hours with iTunes playing in the background and WiFi however.
someone is giving you some fake weights to work with man
Currently, you can get a refurbished 12" Superdrive PB for $1549 direct from Apple. Fully featured.
If all you want is lighter, don't care about features, speed, etc are willing to spend more for that, great.
I certainly know how much an extra pound means to me as much as I travel.
For me, it is very difficult to give up the features or worst yet, drag around extra components because of what is optional or missing. Using a compromised machine for sometimes half the work is just not acceptable for me.
Again. To each their own. Good luck.
It's unfortunate your PowerBook does not meet your needs, but when considering these points and how economies of scale can work against Apple (it's not IBM, Matsushita/Panasonic or Sony), your decision seems obvious. Good luck with your next purchase.
Originally posted by nguyenhm16
Apple claims 5 hours of battery life on a 12" PowerBook, so I would take that battery life with a grain of salt.
i always get 5 hours out of mine (about 9 months old). on one occasion i got a 6 hour battery life
Originally posted by Republic
It's unfortunate your PowerBook does not meet your needs, but when considering these points and how economies of scale can work against Apple (it's not IBM, Matsushita/Panasonic or Sony), your decision seems obvious. Good luck with your next purchase.
Thanks, the PowerBook is a great machine just a pound in a half too heavy. My sub-notebook needs; at least this time around will have to go to a different vendor. I know Apple has a limit as to what it can offer but it seems every other major computer manufacture offers a sub-notebook in the 3lbs or less category. So anyway I purchased the Sharp MP30, bought three batteries and bag to go with it. I just opened it up and am now installing NetBSD. The instant on DVD player is really cool, it has a mini controller connected to earphones for simple pause, stop and play functions. I love new toys, always puts a smile to my face.
Originally posted by D3ct
i cant believe this guy started a rant against the 12 inch cuz he wants it 1 pound less. wtf?
someone is giving you some fake weights to work with man
Yeah! This guy must be nut's to want a lighter Powerbook, I mean convenience sucks man. Kiss my fuzzy white """""""" If you read earlier ME TRAVEL, ME NO WANT EXTRA WEIGHT.
Originally posted by ipodandimac
i always get 5 hours out of mine (about 9 months old). on one occasion i got a 6 hour battery life
Sorry, I have to call foal on that one. I have never ever gotten 5 hours on my Powerbook, iBook 700mhz yes.
Apple doesn't offer what you want yet you seem content to bicker about what it does offer and you've chosen the same notebook twice this year (thrice if you decide to go with the 12" PB again). You seem to have plenty of other options picked out - what's the point of jumping on the board to complain about what IS offered?
I can almost see the point of "I value your opinions incredibly as you are all charming and intelligent people..." - Almost! However, we're Apple fans - did you really think you were going to get anything other than "uh... chief, we're pretty happy with the specs on the PB, so, like, pick whatever you want from the list you've got; we can't give a rats patoot what you end up with."
So print your list. Toss a dart at it. Purchase said notebook - let us know how it works out for you. That pound and a half has got to count for something... right? Right??
If you're really interested in seeing the spec on the PB change submit the idea to Apple or post your suggestions in Future Hardware (there IS a gnat's chance in a tornado that it might get picked up).
Anything else at this point is just trollin' for hollers.
Originally posted by Relic
Sorry, I have to call foal on that one. I have never ever gotten 5 hours on my Powerbook, iBook 700mhz yes.
ok... well i do.
10.4" XGA TFT LCD that's the size of your sharp, and all i see you saying you use it for is dvd's ...get a dvd player and save some money and travel even lighter mb.
I guess i still don't understand the weight factor. You absolutely sound like a chick....wait I think most are stronger in this case.
Enjoy your toy, because honestly that's about all it is, and an expensive one for stick arms i guess.
But seriously, I am going to make fun of you here, and say that quibbling about the noticeable difference of half a kilo is pathetic. In the one to two kilo range, which is roughly what the subject is, you're going to be more impacted by the size of the device than the weight. Your bag probably weighs somewhere between 1 and 2 kg itself. Beyond that, Apple's power converter is the lightest and smallest one I have ever seen
As far as I can tell, you want something small. Get a PDA with a fold up keyboard or something. There are a lot of little handheld terminals coming on the market as well.