Powerbook 12" questions?

cube · October 16, 2003 7:13PM

I have some questions about the Powerbook 12"

1 -> Is the screen better than the rev.a model?

2 -> Do it work with the screen closed?

3 -> how much battery life do you get out of it? (Powerbook 12" rev.b owners)

4 -> Is it "smart" to buy a Powerbook 12" and a 20" apple cinema display, instead of a Powerbook 17"? ruffly the same price... considering the extra mobility and screen size.

5 -> Any Powerbook 12" rev.b owners out there that have any problem with this model?

Thx. fore your help!

MAX

c-bear · October 17, 2003 1:27AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Cube

I have some questions about the Powerbook 12"

1 -> Is the screen better than the rev.a model?

2 -> Do it work with the screen closed?

3 -> how much battery life do you get out of it? (Powerbook 12" rev.b owners)

4 -> Is it "smart" to buy a Powerbook 12" and a 20" apple cinema display, instead of a Powerbook 17"? ruffly the same price... considering the extra mobility and screen size.

5 -> Any Powerbook 12" rev.b owners out there that have any problem with this model?

Thx. fore your help!

MAX

I don't own one of the RevB Powerbook 12"s, but I've toyed with them extensively (considering getting one) and can answer at least a couple of your questions.

1) The screen on the new 12" is significantly better than the previous iteration. It's brighter and sharper ?_ apparent even at a glance. Although the RevB 12" screen is still a small step behind the new 15" and 17" models, it's a significant step up from the previous generation 12."

2) Don't know.

3) Battery life on the new 12" appears not to have the problems as were initially reported on the new 15." Average life seems to be in the three hour range on 10.2.7 and 10.2.8 with non-intensive use, if not longer. Panther (in theory) should improve times across all models.

4) In my opnion, you have greater versatility and portability with a 12" plus an external display set-up. Best of both worlds, really, over the 17."

5) I've been following several boards pretty closely, and although a few problems have been reported here and there, they seem to be isolated and anomalous with the RevB 12"s. Apple really seems to have gotten it right with this model and made a solid, professional machine that makes up for the deficiencies of the last iteration.

Here's a really good write-up of the RevB 12" from another forum: http://forums.macnn.com/showthread.p...light=assassyn

mcq · October 17, 2003 2:46AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Cube

I have some questions about the Powerbook 12"

2 -> Do it work with the screen closed?

3 -> how much battery life do you get out of it? (Powerbook 12" rev.b owners)

4 -> Is it "smart" to buy a Powerbook 12" and a 20" apple cinema display, instead of a Powerbook 17"? ruffly the same price... considering the extra mobility and screen size.

5 -> Any Powerbook 12" rev.b owners out there that have any problem with this model?

Thx. fore your help!

MAX

2. Though I haven't tried, AFAIK yes it should work with the screen closed after you plug in a keyboard and hit a button.

3. Approximately 3.5-4 hours on lowest performance setting with Bluetooth disabled, Airport Extreme enabled.

4. Depends on how mobile you want to be, and what your usage of the Powerbook is.

5. Slight wobble on some surfaces, otherwise no issues to speak of.

cube · October 17, 2003 6:40AM

Great! You two made my day 8)

Did almost buy the 17" one then i suddenly discovered that i could get the 12" + a 20" cinema display for the same price! Extreme portability and extreme screen space, at least fore me that never has owned a bigger screen than a 15". And the 12" model seems to have no design flaws like latch and display problems. Im so happy that the screen is better.

And the beauty of this setup is that i can now save fore a powermac, because i already have a screen. And then I´l get extreme power too.

MAX

scottylad · October 17, 2003 7:57PM

I opted to get a 12.1" 1ghz Superdrive PowerBook + 19" Planar flat panel (after doing TONS of research .. the new planar's have 700:1 contrast ration, DVI, zero pixel defect policy, etc.).

I have to say I'm THRILLED with the combination of total portability along with a large monitor for desktop use. In fact, I orderd the Video-Ex option for the Planar, and it is now my primary television.

I look at people with the 17" PowerBook and to tell you the truth -- it looks kinda of "clowny" -- like people who drive Hummers. They think they're the biggest baddest kids on the block, but we're all snickering at them wondering what anatomical deficiencies they might be trying to make up for.

I'm not bashing those who truly need a portable 17" screen (maybe video editors who just can't stay away from starbucks?) But honestly, i see most people with 17" screeens reading a webpage or writing an email -- hardly applications that demand a 17" screen.

I purchased my 12.1" PowerBook after living with a 15" TiBook for nearly three years ... and I'd never go back. The 12.1" PowerBook is rock solid, and zero scratches (knock on aluminium) after three weeks of "normal" usage -- which on my TiBook resulted in scratches, dings, misaligned case, pain peeling.

So IMHO if you're going to buy a portable, get one thats actually portable. If you want to haul around a huge 17" screen with you everywhere, perhaps you might examine your decison to go with a portable in the first place -- you might best be served by a desktop system with large monitor.

escher · October 17, 2003 11:40PM

Quote:

Originally posted by scottylad

So IMHO if you're going to buy a portable, get one thats actually portable.

Amen!

I had many doubts about picking the 12-inch after the new 15-inch AluBook came out. But then I remembered that I was getting a PowerBook for portability. Otherwise I might as well get a PowerMac G5.

Escher

dhagan4755 · October 18, 2003 10:22AM

While the size of the 12-inch is good, Apple really has to do something about its screen. It's blue, it has a narrow angle of view, is kind of washed out, and, in my opinion, should have a widescreen. Other than that, it's fine

scottylad · October 18, 2003 12:52PM

Quote:

Originally posted by DHagan4755

While the size of the 12-inch is good, Apple really has to do something about its screen. It's blue, it has a narrow angle of view, is kind of washed out, and, in my opinion, should have a widescreen. Other than that, it's fine

Whaaat? Its 'blue'? Don't quite know what you're referring to there.

Narrow angle of view? It beats my old TiBook by a mile. Much more able to watch DVDs on my new 12". Washed out? Looks a lot brighter and more saturated than my old TiBook monitor.

I've adjusted the gamma settings on mine, matching it to standard "PC" gamma settings; this little trick considerably improves the contrast of modern Mac LCD flat panels.

Perhaps you looked at the 12.1" screen under the harsh flourescent glow of CompUSA lighting; for me it has the best looking display of any laptop I've owned. And as for widescreen, that's why I hook its DVI out to my 19" Planar flat panel when watching DVDs.

c-bear · October 18, 2003 1:31PM

Quote:

Originally posted by scottylad

Perhaps you looked at the 12.1" screen under the harsh flourescent glow of CompUSA lighting; for me it has the best looking display of any laptop I've owned.

The RevB 12" screen is excellent, although I've compared it side-by-side with the new 15"s and 17"s and it is, literally, just a hair off in brightness and clarity ?_barely noticeable, but noticeable nonetheless.

I wonder if DHagan4755 isn't thinkng of the RevA 867MHz 12"s, which are much diminished compared to the new 12"s.

dhagan4755 · October 18, 2003 1:57PM

I wish I could take a picture to show you. The screens on the 12-inch Rev. A + B PowerBooks that I have seen, both in store, and those that others have owned, have a very strong blue bias. I even attempted to remove the bias by using SuperCal on one of them to no avail. The screen is simply not the greatest in bright light. My Ti867 fairs much better in this area, although it seems that no Apple notebook I've used thus far looks good in bright light.

I have already noted that the lighting in the Apple Store is too bright. It is probably unintentional, but stylistic to emphasize the minimalistic, sleek look Apple is trying to portray. No matter what you say, however, the 12-inch screen is blue biased, and it's not just the 12-inch either. I noticed that the 23-inch had this bias. The 17-inch Studio Display had a more yellow bias. The 14-inch iBook also had a yellow bias. Both the 15- and 17-inch PowerBooks, the iMac 15 and 17-inch and the 20-inch Cinema Display looked as close as you could get to pure white. That really frustrated me about me the 12-inch. Of course, maybe it's that production run of the 12-inch that has screen with a bluer back light.

defiant · October 18, 2003 2:23PM

This is probably more Purchasing Advice than something else. I'll move it to General Discussion.

shetline · October 18, 2003 3:29PM

I really like my new 12" PB.

Except for this...

That stray dot you see in the iChat buddy list. That's my pet dead pixel.

Only one bad pixel, and I certainly can't get a return or an exchange for just one. But it bugs me. My eyes keep being drawn to it. Instead of focussing on all of the good things about this PowerBook (and there are plenty of good things about it), my eyes keep being drawn to The Flaw.

(Obviously a screen capture wouldn't actually capture a dead pixel, so this is simulated... but the real thing looks just like this. The dead pixel has no green in it, so I dropped a magenta pixel into the image at the approximate correct position.)

tariq hamid · October 19, 2003 9:05AM

Recently Purchased the Rev. B 12" PowerBook and have been extensively testing it for the past week. Coming from A 1999 G3 Lombard, the little 12" is so fast It's hard to believe. No crashes under 10.2.7, SuperDrive works great, quite, great Keyboard, etc. BUT the one showstopper for me is the extremely poor quality screen. I'm a Photographer and usually have my laptop hooked up to an external High end Mitsubishi Diamondtron for Color correction and editing in Photoshop. When doing location work, the Lombard's screen was usually sufficient to get a good idea as far as color and composition were concerned to show the client. The Screen on my 12" is so much worse than my 4 year old Lombard it's sad. Not the Size, but the qulity. Extremely narrow viewing angle and washed out color with no saturation. I've spent days trying to calibrate it, used SuperCal, used 2.2 PC Gamma, etc. The screen is simply no good. It is Bright, but evey other attribute is aweful. It's a shame as this little PowerBook is great in every other way But mine is going back.

Tariq

Quote:

Originally posted by DHagan4755

I wish I could take a picture to show you. The screens on the 12-inch Rev. A + B PowerBooks that I have seen, both in store, and those that others have owned, have a very strong blue bias. I even attempted to remove the bias by using SuperCal on one of them to no avail. The screen is simply not the greatest in bright light. My Ti867 fairs much better in this area, although it seems that no Apple notebook I've used thus far looks good in bright light.

I have already noted that the lighting in the Apple Store is too bright. It is probably unintentional, but stylistic to emphasize the minimalistic, sleek look Apple is trying to portray. No matter what you say, however, the 12-inch screen is blue biased, and it's not just the 12-inch either. I noticed that the 23-inch had this bias. The 17-inch Studio Display had a more yellow bias. The 14-inch iBook also had a yellow bias. Both the 15- and 17-inch PowerBooks, the iMac 15 and 17-inch and the 20-inch Cinema Display looked as close as you could get to pure white. That really frustrated me about me the 12-inch. Of course, maybe it's that production run of the 12-inch that has screen with a bluer back light.

cube · October 22, 2003 2:54PM

So now that the new G4 iBooks are here wil the powerbook get a price drop ore speed bump?

Hoping for a better grafic card in the 12" an I´v been reading about new displays comming.... anyone have a clue?

I sertanly do not. And sorry for my spelling.

MAX

Powerbook 12" questions?

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