I have now had over two weeks of time for using and testing of this machine. I have to say, I am pleased, but let's start with from when I got it until now.
Packaging
The packaging of this computer was top notch, exactly the quality I expect from an Apple product and it was in line with previous purchases.
Once removed from the cardboard shell, the PowerBook is encapsulated in it's retail packaging. The handle-inlay is pretty nice, if not over the top. A very nice and just cool touch that adds to the cool factor of the unpacking experience, just a nice box before the real box even comes out!
Gotta love "designed by Apple in California."
Remove the styrofoam and it reveals some cables and manuals.
Take off that layer and it reveals a PowerBook covered in protective foam paper, as it lays in it's foam cradle.
The first thing I noticed about the PowerBook was that it was big, honestly, I thought it could have been a 17'' by mistake. But, soon enough I realized that was just me being overwhelmed by the size of the screen, when I am used to the iMac 15'' which is a lot smaller to the naked eye.
Once I got around to using the PowerBook, set up was not too bad. I had to move a lot of files off of my firewire hard drive, but once I had all of my files stored away and had everything organized I was ready to use my new PowerHouse.
Specs:
1.5 GHz G4
15.2'' LCD
1 GB RAM in 1 DIM
SuperDrive
80 GB
5400 RPM HD
Backlit Keys
Bluetooth
Airport Extreme
Ambient Light Sensing Keyboard
One of the things i was curious about trying was the backlit keyboard system. It worked for sure, but I grew to not really liking it because (like others have mentioned) the keys blend in with the light from the LCD and they become unreadable-the opposite of Apple's intentions. I can only see the backlit key feature being useful with the LCD on low brightness in power saving settings, but then again, if you're in power saving why would you want the backlighting to use more power? It's not a really big issue, I just dont find it very functional, so for now I have the feature turned off.
Speed
This thing is a sickly fast tank. I dont really know how to explain it other than that it is a world of difference, going from an 800 Mhz G4 iMac with 512 MB's of RAM, to this thing. iMovie renderings are lickity split, and quicktime compression is speed of light fast, also MP3 or AAC encoding is fast too. I encoded something at like 30 something x, compared to the iMac which did about 6 to 10x. Even rendering web pages is a lot faster, and dont even get me started on GarageBand. This cuts through GB.
SuperDrive
So far I have burned only a couple CD's for music in the car (no adapter for the iPod mini) and the burning speed seems no different than the iMac's was. I have not yet burned a DVD, but it is a faster drive than in the iMac, so I expect it to take around 30 minutes to do a DVD, not 60 to forever like the iMac.
Ergonomics
I have my PowerBook propped up on a VHS tape, so that it sits with a slight tilt, down towards me. It's a funny solution, but it does indeed solve the problem. Other than the fact that the PowerBook sits very flat when it has no support, it is very soundly built.
Portability
I have taken the PowerBook to school twice already. I have taken it one time to Barnes and Noble and one time to Irving's Bagels. I had no problems with weight issues or anything like that, though I must admit I feel a bit intimidated to take it out at school, just because it is HIGH SCHOOL. A lot of d-bags go to high school.
At Barnes and Noble it was fine, I typed some of my senior speech on it and edited my keynote presentation. At Irving's Bagels they have wireless internet, so I opened the lid on the PowerBook and I got a note that popped up saying, "None of your home networks are available, but would you like to join 'Irving's Bagels Wireless Connection'?" So I clicked yes, and off I went on the wireless network for the next two hours. I surfed the net, checked email, and even bought 3 songs off of iTunes while being wireless. It was exhilerating to be so geeky...
Battery Life
I havent used this without a battery source for more than 2 to 2.5 hours, but in that time I have only seen life get down to about a bit less than a quarter tank. It seems normal.
Wireless Mouse
So far the wireless mouse has worked flawlessly, but I am constantly forgetting to turn it off at night. I know I am going to be replacing batteries in that thing like I go to the bathroom after eating a thanksgiving meal.
Final Thoughts
The PowerBook is worth the price I paid for it and will be extremely useful and convenient for me as a college student. The performance is right, the features are right and the cool factor is sky high...now we'll see how the Xbench results are here in a moment. Here is a slightly outdated set up pic in the meantime though.
