Flawless little workhorse
Written: Jul 09 '03 (Updated Jul 10 '03)
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Pros: Rugged, light, great for use on airlines.
Cons: After 4 months, NONE!
The Bottom Line: Fast, quiet, durable and a real beauty that turns heads.
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| krsb-tv's Full Review: Apple PowerBook G4 12.1 in. (M8760LL/A) Mac Notebo... |
In early March, I special ordered a 12 inch Powerbook from Apple for a trip overseas in order to cover the war with Iraq. I'm a freelance producer and I wanted to be able to edit my video on location. I selected the 12 inch PowerBook because I needed something lightweight but durable and small enough to lug around through airports and in cramped military vehicles.
My Powerbook was ordered with the biggest hard drive Apple has, a 60 gig. I need the larger drive for video and the 60 gig drive didn't disappoint me. I also ordered the maximum amount of RAM and a SuperDrive. After 4 months of taking this little gem out on the road, I haven't been disappointed. The battery life is adequate, but I have a spare in the event that juice starts to fail. I haven't pushed the battery past 3 hours, so I can't really advise how long the computer will run on a battery, but for me, 3 hours is fine per charge. If you need more time than 4 hours, I suggest getting a second battery as I did. The batteries are great because they have a small button on them that when depressed show how much of a charge is left by a series of lights that illuminate on the back side.
I'd like to address the issue of heat, which has a few folks upset. Yes, this computer gets warm, but it isn't an issue with me. No, the little laptop won't fry eggs and it won't harm the person using it as some have suggested. The case is made of aluminum, a metal that is superior for disapating heat. By using aluminum, Apple engineer teams probably wanted the computer to get rid of internal heat, rather than allow the heat to build up inside the computer, where if it is allowed to stay, will shorten the live of internal components. My Old Dell and Sony VAIO laptops also get warm, not to the extent of the PowerBook, but the VAIO and Dell are plastic, which tends to hold the heat on the inside of the computer. The surface of the Powerbook gets lukewarm and the bottom gets much warmer. I am writting this review on the PowerBook with it sitting on my lap. I'm wearing shorts and the PowerBook isn't scalding my legs, as some people would want you to believe. HEAT IS NOT AN ISSUE WITH ME, PERFORMANCE IS... AND THIS COMPUTER DOES THINGS MY VAIO CAN'T APPROACH. If you are a "heat-woosie" then place towel on your lap and wear gloves... Geeze, the heat issue isn't a big deal at all, so don't let this scare you away from this little gem of a computer.
This computer was also ordered with a Brentwood backpack. As for traveling, the little 12 inch Apple and the Brentwood packback are a perfect marriage.
The Powerbook runs Final Cut 3 perfectly as well as MicroSoft Office. I have loaded this laptop down with lot's of software and it doesn't seemed to be burdened by the workload I have asked of it.
This laptop has been through countless radar scans at airports. I was worried about the scanning, but I haven't seen any problem arrise yet. During a trip through Chicago O'Hare in late June, the little laptop stopped traffic as people came by the scanner just to see the new 12 inch in person. This is a real attractive computer.
My only concern is keeping sand out of the keyboard. The keys look as if they are cut from solid blocks of aluminum and there is very little space between them, but still debris can't probably get into the keyboard. But of course, I'm sure Apple never planned for their little laptop going off to a war in the desert. So far, no problems. I suspect if I ever go into a desert environment again, I'll invest in a keyboard membrane to cover the top of they keys. (By the way, I used electrical tape to cover the slot on the SuperDrive... it did the trick of keeping sand out of the slot.)
A sidebar to my review of the PowerBook...
I have to add that I've got three other Apple computers in my studio. In the 3 years that I've had Apple G4 products, I've called Apple Technical Support line on several occasions. The support team has been wonderful. In fact, I'm so impressed with the phone support, I now purchase the 3 year warranty just to take advantage of the phone help.
Bottom line on the PowerBook 12 inch G4... It is durable, I've had mine in a high-heat desert environment and on airplanes on some nasty road trips. It has never failed to perform and exceed my expectations.
If you need a workhorse for road trips that is easy to carry around, I'm very confident you won't be disappointed in the 12 inch PowerBook. At 5 pounds or so, it beats my Sony VAIO as a traveling companion. Plus, it is so tiny, it never gets in the way and it works out great on airline fold out tables on the back of the seat.
In regard to the amount paid as you will see in the below box, I was one of the earliest buyers of this laptop. The price has dropped since then. I paid about $3,000 total for the 12 inch laptop with every option Apple offered in upgrades. The price includes the spare battery, a "Juice" power convertor, the Brentwood backpack case and a 3 year service plan. (I highly recommend the Brentwood backpack if you travel... I've only seen it on the Apple website... Maybe I need to write a review of the backpack?
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 3,000
Operating System: Macintosh
Processor: PowerPC G4
Processor speed: 801-900
Screen Size: 12 inches
RAM: More than 256
Internal Storage: SuperDisk
Hard Drive (GB): Over 50
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krsb-tv
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Reviews written: 1
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