Apple iBook Key Lime Special Edition 12.1 in. (M8245LL/A) Mac Notebook

The first iBook was, like the first iMac, trying to make too radical of a statement. The monstrosity weighed in at nearly 7 pounds. When opened, it looked like an orange toilet seat. When closed, it looked like a Hello Kitty purse (especially with that handle!). The colors Apple picked made it look like a toy more than anything else? It was underpowered and, depite Apple?s greatest efforts, it was still overpriced. The original iBook became sort of the odd little runt in Apple?s line? like the ugly duckling? and it sold like that too.

Well today is the day the little duckling turns into a beautiful swan, and BOY whadda swan it is!

The Outside Stuff

The first things that you?ll notice when you first see and lift this thing through the plastic out of its box is its remarkable size and weight. Its barely wider and deeper than a standard 8.5 by 11 sheet of paper. Its thickness, though not the ultra-thin 1? of its big brother, the Powerbook G4 Titanium, is still a very svelte 1.3?. It weighs nearly half a pound less than the G4 Titanium at 4.9 pounds, and having had the privilege of handling both my friend?s Powerbook G4 Titanium and the iBook, I know that that half a pound makes lots of difference; it feels lighter and more luggable than the heavier yet thinner G4.

On the back of the screen is the properly oriented Apple logo; Open the lid, and the Apple Logo is right side up! In addition, the Apple Logo gently glows when the display is on with the backlight from the display. Very nice touch! The surface of the iBook, while not high-grade titanium like in the Powerbook G4, is durable polycarbonate plastic.
The display of the new iBook is unique. The display is kept closed with a magnetic latch just like the Powerbook G4. When the display is opened, unlike the traditional laptop hinge that just swivels the screen up, the iBook?s hinge moves the screen away and back, giving more room for your fingers and the iBook?s stereo speakers.

If you?ve seen pictures of the new iBook, it looks like the surface is glossy. Up close, the surface is slightly rubbery and is easy to grip? very handy for when you?re running from one end of the airport to your terminal for a late flight with the iBook in hand. The white color of the iBook is impressive and eye catching for all the right reasons; the old iBook caught people?s eyes because it looked so strange. This new iBook catches the eye because it looks so right.

An extremely nice touch, for those who haven?t noticed yet, is the sleep indicator light. When you put the machine to sleep, a small indicator to the left of the latch release button glows through the plastic of the iBook.

The Keyboard
Its well known that Apple makes the best laptop keyboards around, and the one in the new iBook is truly solid. Its comfortable with a large area below it for a palm rest. The keys are quiet yet provide a good tactile response. The keyboard on the Powerbook G4 was criticized by many for having a ?squishy? feeling in the corners, and I am happy to report that the iBook keyboard does no such thing. It is truly solid. Removing the keyboard on the Titanium G4 reveals the delicate innards of the machine, but doing the same on the iBook isn?t quite as cool. All you can see is the slot for an Airport card and a silver covering to access the RAM slot.

The Screen
I was a little disappointed at first that Apple stayed with a 12.1? screen in the new iBook instead of stepping up to the bigger 13.3? screen. I was also skeptical about the fact that the screen displayed at a native resolution of 1024 by 768 pixels. I expected squint-o-rama simply because I imagined that everything at that resolution would be really small and hard to make out? Well, I was wrong. The screen?s resolution is backed by the fact that it is an extremely high quality display. Everything is extremely sharp and crisp at the native resolution, and even with my glasses off (I?m nearsighted) the high resolution didn?t cause any problems for me. Also, I had the displays from the new iBook and the Powerbook G4 side by side for comparison, and I am proud to report that the iBook?s viewing angle is close to or even superior to the Powerbook?s. Viewing angle is significant for TFT displays because it is the maximum angle you can put your eyes to the screen and still have the screen visible. On lesser quality TFT displays, the more you slouch or stand above the screen, the more of a change there is in the brightness and contrast of the screen from where you are looking. This is very good for the iBook and consumer users.

Techie Stuff
Ok? Before I start going at it with all my technical jargon about the new iBook, let me, for the average Epinion Reader, provide a layman?s review of the performance:

**for laymen**
The new iBook provides exceptional performance for its class and price range. It is enough for playing most of the popular games out there now decently, watching your favorite DVDs, burning your favorite music, and (here?s a biggie) edit your favorite iMovies.


**for techies**
The processor in the new iBook is a 500Mhz PowerPC G3 processor across all models of iBooks, an improvement on the previous revision of iBooks, which came at two speeds of G3 processors: 366 and 466 Mhz. The new PowerPC G3 processor used here are a half-generation head of the ones used in the original iBooks, and though they have only 256k of backside cache, that backside cache runs at full processor speed rather than half processor speed like previous versions, which means improved performance.
The RAM used in the new iBook is the same 100Mhz SODIMMs that the Powerbook G4 uses.
However, one important area that was NOT changed in the new iBook is the system bus. It is still a 66mhz bus. The system bus is the pathway between the RAM and the processor through which data must move for processing. While the processor speed is important, a slow system bus holds back the processor from performing at its full potential. At 66mhz, the bus in the iBook is the slowest in Apple?s entire line; the Powerbook, the iMacs, and the Cube have long moved to 100mhz buses while the PowerMacs have moved to 133mhz busses; basically it is a relic from 1997.

Overall, considering the audience of the iBook, the 66mhz bus does not have much of an impact in all but the most intensive tasks. Compared to the other machines in Apple?s lineup, the iBook would fall somewhere between the low-end 400mhz iMac and the mid-range 500mhz iMac. In other words it is still very respectable. The system packs enough muscle to work through large iMovies and rip CDs into MP3s.

The iBook, at the low end $1299 model, comes with a skimpy 64 MB of RAM, which, in my opinion, is simply too little RAM to be productive at all, especially when running OS X. The other models come with 128 MB of RAM. It should be noted that the default RAM installed is integrated into the iBook?s motherboard and cannot be removed. The iBook comes only with one SODIMM slot that can accept up to 512 MB SODIMMS (good luck trying to find one though!). Thus, the maximum memory in one of these machines is 576 and 640 MB. My advice is to upgrade the memory immediately, even with 128 MB models. We?ve come to a point where memory is so cheap when bought separately and when operating systems, like the new Mac OS X, are so memory hungry, that it makes no sense not to do this simple upgrade.

The video card in the new iBook is the same aging ATI Rage Mobility 128 that the new Powerbook G4 sports, and is respectable (though not stellar) in 3D tasks like gaming. It will run most games, but don?t expect the same speed or quality you?d get from a top of the line PowerMac G4 with a GeForce 3? that?s all I gotta say.

Disc Drives
The new iBook comes in 4 different models depending on the configuration of the disc drive that you choose. All drives are non-powered tray load, so don?t expect the cool Titanium slot loading drive. You are given a choice of a standard CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, and CD-RW, or a DVD-ROM/CD-RW combination drive. The inclusion of the CD-RW and the combination drive is obviously in line with Apple?s new idea of burning discs with iTunes, but the speed of these drives do not justify the price that they add to the overall price of the machine. The difference between the DVD-ROM model ($1499) and the Combo Drive model ($1799) is a full $300. For that price, a good external burner can be bought that burns at 16x. The Combo Drive burner, if you read the fine print, only burns at a depressing 4x. Its simply not worth the extra money. The models that are worth the money are the CD-ROM and DVD-ROM models.

One more thing about the new disc drives. There is no longer an eject button on the side of the tray on the right side of the machine. To eject the disc, you must hold down the F12 key, which will pop the drive out. It?s not a big change, but it may annoy a few people who are used to touching the tray to eject the tray. In addition, some people, like me, who reach for the Delete key often may inadvertently hit the eject key and pop the tray. Only a minor annoyance, but it is worth mentioning.

Software and Experience
The new iBook comes with all the good software that you?d come to expect from a consumer Apple computer. iMovie 2, and iTunes for making your own digital movies and for managing your own digital music. A first with these new Macs is the inclusion of Apple?s new next generation operating system, Mac OS X, on every machine. The machine is dual installed with OS 9 and OS X. It is set to boot in OS 9 by default, but is easy enough to change the dual boot to OS X.

Experience-wise, the machine is very friendly just as you?d expect a Mac to be. The legendary ease of use is not lost in this new iBook.

Ports Galore!
The new iBook ports can be found on the left side of the notebook. It has all the standard ports found on the previous revision of the iBook, but there are notable improvements.

From Left to Right:
56k Modem ? Standard Issue
10/100 Base T Ethernet ? Good for connecting to a hard-wired campus network (woohoo! I?m going to college!), your home LAN, or to a Cable or DSL line
One Firewire(IEEE 1394) port ? For high-speed devices like external hard drives and camcorders
2x USB ports ? For connecting to all of your favorite peripherals
VGA port (proprietary) ? with an additional dongle, it turns into a standard VGA port that you can use to connect to a standard PC monitor
Sound/Video Out ? it looks like a headphone jack, but with the proper cable, it turns into composite video and audio out for plugging directly into a TV

The ports on the new iBook are a good improvement over the last revision. The addition of an extra USB port is a welcome addition and puts the iBook up along with every other Mac in terms of USB. The VGA port, though it requires a separate adapter, is great for presentation machines.

In addition to these physical ports, the iBook, like every other Mac, offers Airport (802.11) wireless-networking antennas built in. I do not have an Airport card or Base Station to test the new iBook?s range, but if I do, I?ll make another update to this Epinion.

With all these ports, the iBook clearly provides more connectivity than any PC laptop in the consumer bracket and it beats most laptops at any price point. I?ve worked with cheap ?consumer? PC laptops before that lacked a lot of what the iBook has standard. Firewire, essential for digital video, is missing in the vast majority of those models. Amazingly, a lot of PC laptops STILL lack the most essential connector: 10/100 Ethernet. In this age of high speed broadband connections and fast networks, its ridiculous that most PC companies lack this key component that Apple has had in every machine for years now. Sure, with a PC laptop, you can pop in a PC card and restore an Ethernet port, but who would want a dongle hanging out of the side of your laptop to recreate a port that is essential?

You can seriously connect this machine to anything? Firewire hard drives, camcorders, USB mice, keyboards, printers, webcams, digital cameras, MP3 players, Palm organizers, fast LANs, cable modems, telephone line, PC monitors, and even a big screen television for presentation. Top that off with the ability to eschew all those wires and surf wirelessly through Airport, and the iBook clinches it. In fact, the iBook is port for port equal to Apple?s flagship Titanium Powerbook G4.

Other stuff of interest:
The iBook becomes the first iBook with stereo speakers and a built in microphone. They?re laptop speakers and are really nothing remarkable; don?t expect it to challenge your home stereo system. If you really wanted good sound, bring a set of headphones with you. The microphone is on the right side of the display close to the edge? Again, its nothing remarkable, but its nice to know its there.


The Bad Stuff
The iBook, in general, is a very very good package, but it is not without its flaws. Many of the flaws I have already mentioned. First of all, the slow 66mhz system bus works against the fast G3 processor and inhibits potential speediness. Second of all, the choice of combo drives may fool many users into buying the more expensive, but less economical CD-RW and Combo drives while I specifically do not recommend those drives.

Finally, a point that I did not mention, the hard drives across the entire iBook line are set at 10 GB. While this is good for most tasks like word processing and light photo and music work, when you start making iMovies, 10 GB only translates into a few minutes of raw footage. Those 10 GB get tight extremely fast. Apple offers an upgrade to 20 GB, but for an incredible $200. This is clearly a bad deal, but unless you want to open the machine yourself and replace the delicate hard drive, you really have no choice if you?re doing big video work. Apple also overcharges on its RAM, though they?ve dropped the prices as of late; it is still recommended that one buys RAM separately because it is significantly cheaper when bought separately, and opening up your computer and tinkering around builds character. :-)

About the Competition
There really is no question about it. After spending so little time with the iBook, I know that it easily crushes all other PC laptops in its consumer class and most other ones at higher price points, including machines costing $3000 and $4000 or more.

Most of its competition does not have integrated networking, both wired and wireless. Its competition doesn?t have Firewire and the ease of iMovie. For the price, between $1299 and $1799, other laptops don?t even come close.

The iBook is a superior product, and not just in the area of processor speed, where people can argue otherwise. The iBook will lead a new crop of smaller, thinner, lighter machines targeted at consumers by all of Apple?s rivals, but the iBook will still be in a league of its own. Apple?s laptops are mature creatures. While other computer companies make compromises in the area of speed, connectivity, screen size, and portability, Apple?s laptops are wonderful machines that do everything a desktop can do and more.

Final Word
The iBook, even with its few flaws, is one of the most appealing packages that Apple has ever created. It will change the way the classroom computes, and will fit into many many different environments? from the Home, to the Classroom, to the Small business, even to the corporate level for executives who do not wish to spend an incredible amount of money for a slick machine.

The iBook is truly a marvel and I invite everyone to go to the closest computer store and take a look at one. It will change the way you feel about Macs, even if you?re an ardent Mac user. You will fall in love with the Mac again. This once ugly duckling is the most beautiful swan you will ever see.