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Apple iBook G4 (PowerPC Processor 1.33GHz, 512MB, 12.1-inch TFT)

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Apple iBook G4
 
HP ProBook 5310m Acer Aspire One AOD250 Sony Vaio VPC-X118LG/B (Intel Atom Z550 Processor 2GHz, 2GB RAM) HP Mini by Studio Tord Boontje

List price as of Jul 27, 2005:
S$1788

First Take


Apple has delivered a small but important refresh to its iBook line of budget notebooks, doubling the amount of standard RAM to 512MB, offering slightly faster processors, and doing away with the previously most expensive configuration. With the updated specs, the new iBooks are priced at S$1,788 (US$1,284.94) and S$2,388 (US$1,716.13) and offer an even more attractive alternative to Apple's higher-end and considerably more expensive PowerBook line. ...

Read first take of the Apple iBook G4 »

 

Average User Rating

from 3 users


Spectacular

8.7

out of 10
 

How would you rate this product?

 
 

First Take

By Justin Jaffe
Jul 27, 2005

Apple has delivered a small but important refresh to its iBook line of budget notebooks, doubling the amount of standard RAM to 512MB, offering slightly faster processors, and doing away with the previously most expensive configuration. With the updated specs, the new iBooks are priced at S$1,788 (US$1,284.94) and S$2,388 (US$1,716.13) and offer an even more attractive alternative to Apple's higher-end and considerably more expensive PowerBook line.

Upside: The least-expensive iBook, the 12.1-inch model, now comes with a 1.33GHz G4 processor; 512MB of 333MHz DDR RAM (it can now accommodate up to 1.5GB); an ATI Mobility Radeon 9550 graphics processor with 32MB of its own memory; a 40GB 4,200rpm hard drive; and a CD-RW/DVD-ROM drive, which can burn and play CDs and play DVDs. Also onboard are two USB 2.0 ports, one four-pin, unpowered FireWire port, and a host of video-related outputs including VGA, S-Video, and composite. For networking, you get a 56Kbps modem, Ethernet, 802.11g wireless connectivity, and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, which is rare in such a low-price notebook. Also new to the iBook line is Apple's Sudden Motion Sensor, which protects the hard drive if you drop the notebook. Perhaps best of all, you get Apple's terrific software package, including Mac OS X Tiger and iLife '05.

Downside: We're never satisfied: We'd love to see a bit more system RAM and definitely more video RAM in this notebook, and a wide-screen option would also be welcome.

Outlook: Now that Apple's bumped the baseline RAM to 512MB, we feel a lot better about the iBook line. At S$1,788 (US$1,284.94), the 12.1-inch model is a steal, with good specs, above-average networking and connectivity, and a terrific software package.

 

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Apple iBook G4 (PowerPC Processor 1.33GHz, 512MB, 12.1-inch TFT)
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User Reviews

Value for money and great portability!

Aug 26, 2005

Rating: 8 out of 10 (Excellent)
Pros: 
Cons: 
Opinion:
Everytime we buy the latest... but truly do we need all the features that are offered in the top of the line and state of art machine? Do we fully utilize them or just a novelty? I think this introduction of this iBook has great portability and awesome looks and good performance... more than enough for most users... especially people who surf, mp3, watch movies, store pics and use documents! Great package!

 


Superb

Aug 24, 2005

Rating: 9 out of 10 (Spectacular)
Pros: 
Cons: 
Opinion:
The new updated iBook is perfect. With the standard 512MB of Ram and 40GB of HD it's pefect. Everything is great about it. The OS, the size, the weight, the awesome look, EVERYTHING. This is my first Mac ever and I LOVE it. This iBook has great value for the price. The only downfall I have for this iBook is that the latest MSN doesn't work on Macs. But there are still versions for it.

 

Magnificent machine

Aug 18, 2005

Rating: 9 out of 10 (Spectacular)
Pros: 
Cons: 
Opinion:
It has everything you ever needed, along with the compact size, but I'd be happier with a bigger HDD and possibly a lighter weight. It's great value for money!

 

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