I have mentioned several times that I
will buy another Powerbook shortly. I've been assuming I would just get a
15" 1.5GHz with the 128MB Radeon
upgrade.
However, recently I have started to think that I should get
a 12", add a 7200RPM drive, some extra RAM and a 17" or 19"
LCD monitor (not an Apple, they're too expensive, though the
20" Cinema Display is very tempting).
The 12" is amazingly portable and a great performer. It is
a 1.33GHz G4, which is the same as the PB17" I recently
bought. The drawbacks, I guess, are that there is no Firewire
800 (I have no devices that need this) and there is no PC-Card
slot, which may be an issue since I have built a collection of
the damned things over the years. The tiny size of the screen
would be 'augmented' by the LCD panel on my desk (home) and in
cafes and other public places the weight and size of the 12"
would be perfect. It also feels more solid thatn the 15" and
the 17".
The 15" is definitely more powerful, 1.5GHz CPU and a
(possible) 128MB Radeon 9700. The 15" has Gigabit
ethernet (handy for me), PC-Card slot, Firewire 800 (not
needed by me!), and an obviously larger screen.
The smallest laptop screen I have ever used is a
14"@1024x768 so I'm not sure I can live with a 12"@1024x768. I
guess that makes the decision then, screen size is just too
important for me. That, and the fact that I like to have the
fastest available...
I also, once again, compared the size and weight of my T40p
with the 12" and 15" Powerbooks. Both Powerbooks are thinner
than my "thin and light" T40p. I'm not being fair since the
difference is approximately a millimeter. This is funny since
the figures in the respective web-documentation (Apple
specs,
IBM T40p specs)
indicate the Thinkpad should be thinner. Different rulers I
guess...
The Powerbook 15" weighs 2.5Kg with
the battery and optical drive installed, the Thinkpad weighs
2.42Kg with the battery installed, but a plastic insert
instead of the optical drive in the drive bay. The Thinkpad
feels heavier
with the drive installed but that may be an
illusion since the Thinkpad feels more solid than the
15" (and 17") powerbook, but not the 12" Powerbook.
When the Thinkpad is closed it feel much more dense than
the Powerbook which feels quite squishy. IBM do make the
best Intel notebooks in the business. I would probably buy an
IBM over an Apple if I could get MacOSX and a PowerPC in a
Thinkpad formfactor. Not as pretty, but certainly solid. I'm
not afraid to drop an IBM, or drop something on an IBM.
Well, bit of a non-entry this.
