Miscellaneous Ramblings

Is a Used iBook Still a Sensible Low-end Option?

Charles Moore - 2007.10.23 - Tip Jar

del.icio.us Bookmark in del.icio.us - Tip Jar

Low End Mac Reader Specials

Memory To Go Special: MacPro 8 Core Memory 4GB kit $154 / 2GB kit $94, New 2008 iMac 2GB $46. MacBook Pro / MacMini / iMac Intel Core2 DUO 2GB $44 / 1GB $23--Free shipping available.

Download Typestyler, still the Ultimate Styling Tool for Internet, Print and Video Graphics. Works great in Classic with a Native OS X Version on the way. Free Tryout: www.typestyler.com

LA Computer Company: Specials on AppleCare, iMac's, Apple Batteries and Apple A/C Adapters. Also Great prices on Used Apple Computers. Call 1-800-941-7654 Click Here.

OWC: NewerTech miniStack FireWire/USB 2.0 HD & Hub Up to 1.0TB of Performance Storage + FW/USB2 Powered Hubs - convenient & sleek 6.5" x 6.5" x 1.5" Featured: 500GB $169.99; 750GB $209.99; 1.0TB $339.99

Mac users can finally play Party Poker for Mac. Not only that, they can also learn how to play PokerStars for Mac.

Laptop Hardware Provided by TechRestore - Overnight Mac & iPod Repairs.

Compare products like desktop computers, laptops, and LCD TVs side by side! All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for a new cell phone GPS products or MP3 players. The Ciao network makes searching products easy for you.

MacBook/MacBook Pro / MacMini / iMac Intel Core2 DUO DDR2 667Mhz 4GB Kit $80, 3GB Kit $60, 2GB Kit $40, 1GB $20 - Click to Maximize your Macs...

I have a nearly five-year-old 700 MHz G3 iBook, and my daughter's iBook 1.2 GHz G4 is approaching its third anniversary. The G3 has been essentially trouble-free function-wise, despite the high number of hours on it. The G4 unit, which has been lugged around three continents, has begun to manifest the dreaded "sudden shutdown" problem, and one of the last 1.33 GHz 12" iBooks made, purchased by a friend a week before the MacBook debuted, lasted just long enough for the warranty to expire, so my direct empirical experience with iBooks is mixed, to say the least.

I have also observed that the standard of finish on the late 2004 iBook G4 is not nearly as good as that of my late 2002 G3 unit. The plastics of my machine are definitely whiter and glossier than on the two years newer G4 model, the panel fits are sloppier on the newer unit as well, and the keyboard, which is mediocre on my G3 unit, is even worse on the G4, which is evidencing a bit of the dreaded keycap lettering flaking off that plagued some of that model. I also think the screen in the G3 is better than the G4's, although the difference is not dramatic.

If Lexus or Mercedes-precise panel fits are a priority, the iBook is probably not for you. You might better consider a PowerBook, MacBook, or even a MacBook Pro, although I've heard reports of case warpage with the aluminum-skinned machines.

If you're looking for the best all-round power and value for the money in a used Mac laptop right now, my current pick is a 12" aluminum PowerBook, although there are so many used iBooks out there - given the dual-USB model's long, nearly five-year production run - that deals on used G3 and G4 iBooks are easy to find.

These machines are available in clock speeds of 500, 600, 700, 800, and 900 MHz for the G3; and 800 and 933 MHz, and 1.0, 1.2, 1.33, and 1.42 GHz for the G4.

With Leopard about to pounce, it bears noting that only the 933 MHz, and 1.0, 1.2, 1.33, and 1.42 GHz G4 units equipped with Combo drives or SuperDrives will be supported by OS X 10.5.

Prices currently range from less than $200 for the early 500 MHz G3s to about $700 (too much, IMHO, considering the price of new and refurbished MacBooks) for the last revision 14" models, and everything in between.

Compared with, say, a Pismo or early revision Titanium PowerBook, the 700 MHz G3 and later WhiteBooks had a much better video card and two to four times the video RAM of a Pismo or Mercury TiBook.

For a bit more money, the 1.2 GHz and higher G4 iBooks are especially well-equipped, with USB 2.0, at least a Combo drive, 32 MB of video RAM, and, on the last revision 1.33/1.42 GHz machines, 512 MB of RAM soldered to the motherboard (expandable to 1.5 GB) plus Apple's Sudden Motion Sensor and Scrolling Trackpad technology, as well as a Radeon 9550 graphics processor unit fully supporting Core Image in OS X 10.4 "Tiger".

With the G3 WhiteBooks, there is the matter of all those motherboard failures. I've heard from and read about users who have had up to four logic board replacements under either AppleCare or the extended service program Apple had in place covering certain G3 dual USB iBook models. My 700 MHz unit has been almost flawless for going on five years, so the problems are definitely not universal, but it's definitely something to consider before purchasing a G3 WhiteBook especially, and the G4 models apparently have a somewhat similar issue with the "sudden shutdown" thing.

Speaking of the MacBook, it had a palm rest discoloration issue afflicting very early production white models, and there have also been reports of cases spontaneously cracking, and their famous heat-generating capacity, especially with the Revision A models, has been a problem as well as some reported heat sink-related short circuit causing spontaneous shutdowns, so iBooks are not the only 'Books with reliability and quality issues.

Despite the above-noted caveats, there are an awful lot of satisfied iBook users out there, including your humble servant. I really like my G3 iBook. I love its sassy white looks and its trim, compact form factor, which I think is just about the perfect size for a road warrioring laptop.

The 12" 1024 x 768 display has been a gem from day one; it runs OS X 10.4 "Tiger" smoothly and with reasonably lively performance; and the fact that it has hardly given me a moment's trouble in nearly five years (and nothing serious at all) certainly helps.

Indeed, I still enjoy using the iBook so much that I've been procrastinating about handing it off to my wife to replace the old WallStreet she's using (Note: she really likes the WallStreet, especially its beautiful keyboard, but I think it's time she graduated to OS X).

Consequently, based on my experience with this machine, I can say that life with an iBook can be good, and that a used iBook is worth considering if you're looking for a reasonably powerful Apple portable at a budget price, although other potential alternatives may be a better bet statistically on the reliability front.

Notwithstanding my friend's unfortunate experience with a late production 1.33 GHz unit, that would still be my pick among iBooks (I've never been that smitten with the 14" iBook). In the last iBook revision of August 2005, Apple, in aid of stimulating sales in the lame duck interval before the Macintel machines were released, threw in a whole raft of high-end features previously reserved for PowerBooks, and while widescreens, illuminated keyboards, high-end graphics cards, 167 MHz system buses, gigabit ethernet, and PC Card slots were still exclusive to the professional 'Books, the last-generation iBooks offered 1.33 GHz and 1.42 GHz processors (a shade slower than the 1.5 GHz and 1.67 GHz PowerBook chips, but not a whole lot); 512 MB of standard RAM across the board (twice as much as in the 12" PowerBook); an ATI Mobility Radeon 9550 graphics processor that fully supports Core Image in OS X 10.4; scrolling trackpads and sudden motion sensors, Airport Extreme and Bluetooth 2.0 EDR (enhanced data rate) support - all standard in a $999 iBook!

The shift to 512 MB of RAM soldered to the motherboard made the former virtual necessity of buying a RAM upgrade optional for non-power users. It also made an upgrade to a full gigabyte of RAM possible with one relatively inexpensive 512 MB expansion module and increased the upgrade capacity to 1.5 GB.

Check out The 'Book Review here on Low End Mac on Fridays for the latest used Apple notebook prices. LEM

Charles Moore has been a freelance journalist since 1987 and writing for Mac websites since May 1998. His The Road Warrior column is a regular feature on MacOpinion, and he is a news editor and columnist at Applelinks.com.

Recent Miscellaneous Ramblings

Links for the Day

Recent Content on Low End Mac

About LEM | Support | Usage | Privacy | Contacts

[an error occurred while processing this directive] Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2008 by Cobweb Publishing, Inc., unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Advice presented in good faith, but what works for one may not work for all. Please report errors to .
  LINKS: We allow and encourage links to any public page as long as the linked page does not appear within a frame that prevents bookmarking it.
  Access our RSS news feed at http://lowendmac.com/feed.xml.
  Email may be published at our discretion; email addresses will not be published without permission, and we will encrypt them in hopes of avoiding spammers. If you prefer your message not be published, mark it "not for publication." Letters may be edited for length, context, and to match house style.
  PRIVACY: We don't collect personal information unless you explicitly provide it. For more details, see our Terms of Use.
  Low End Mac is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iBook, iMac, eMac, iPod, PowerBook, MacBook, Mac Pro, Apple TV, and AirPort are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are hereby acknowledged.


Have a question?
Ask an expert!

Navigation

Used Mac Dealers
Apple History
Best Used Macs
Video Cards
Email Lists
InfoMac's Low
End Mac Forum

Favorite Sites

MacSurfer
MacMinute
MacInTouch
MyAppleMenu
InfoMac
Macs Only!
The Mac Observer
Accelerate Your Mac
RetroMacCast
PB Central
MacWindows
The Vintage Mac
   Museum
DealMac
DealsOnTheWeb
Mac2Sell
ramseeker
Mac Driver Museum
JAG's House
System 6 Heaven
System 7 Today
the pickle's Low-End
   Mac FAQ
Abandonware
   Petition
Mac vs. PC Info

Affiliates

The Apple Store
Mac Connection
MacMall
TechRestore
MacResQ
ExperCom
Crucial Memory
batteries.com

Advertise

All of our advertising is handled by BackBeat Media. For price quotes and advertising information, please contact at BackBeat Media (646-546-5194). This number is for advertising only.

Open Link

Problems viewing this page with Internet Explorer 5.5 or 6? It works fine in other browsers, including IE 7. We recommend Firefox for those using Windows, as it is standards based and more secure than IE 6 (and earlier). More LEM visitors use Firefox than any other browser.