[Mark@UCI]

I'm at UCI and need a laptop. I can wait a little longer but I'm not sure what to do. For the first time in many years I'm not thrilled with any of the current offerings. I love the Macbooks but don't like the white or the black plastic. While the black has heavy cool factor, it gets covered with fingerprints after about 1 hour? The white is great at home in an iMac where it does not get touched all that much but I’ve seen some FUNKY white iBooks (I’m a bit of a neat freak). But my real problem with the Macbooks is the glossy screen. I think they look lousy in the library (at least to me), the reflection drives me crazy. So, I'm left with the MacBookPro, which is a little big for what I need it for (just note taking and research in the library). They are just a bit big for small theatre desks, plus a little heavy to lug around. Sooooooo.......do I buy a 12" Powerbook? Apple has refurb's for $1099 or do I wait a little longer for a smaller MacBookPro. I was disappointed they didn't announce one yesterday. I understand Steve wanted to give top billing to the iPhone.....

I guess the upside to the 12" Powerbook is the Office would run pretty fast on it for a year since it won't go Universal until second half of 2007....

Any opinions?

[maccrazy]

I was disappointed they didn't announce one yesterday.

The chances of new MacBooks yesterday were pretty slim, but as this Macworld wasn't focused on Macs, I wouldn't rule out seeing new MacBooks in the next few months (probably late February/early March).

[Fahrenheit]

Buy a 12 inch powerbook and then buy lots of extras to keep you thinking of the lack of intel speed.

[Robo]

Fingerprints aren't bad on the BlackBook at all. It's matte plastic, not glossy. It looks really nice.

[Kraetos]

Originally Posted by Roboman Fingerprints aren't bad on the BlackBook at all. It's matte plastic, not glossy. It looks really nice.

Likewise. Go with a BlackBook.

[runner91786]

I think the formfactor and keyboard on the 12" powerbook are way superior to the blackbook though. If only you could shoehorn a macbook's guts into it...

[pOps]

I bought a blackBook recently, and I must admit that the fingerprinting isn't "that bad". I've seen worse.
but I would seriously consider sliding a big peace of paper in between the macBook, and spray some glossy finish over the top part (being careful not to spray into the ventilation grill at the back or the ports on the sides) if it wouldn't take away my warranty..
for the rest I am very happy with it now I put 2G of ram into it..

[admactanium]

why don't you just clean it regularly? get a microfiber cloth and carry it with you.

[Escher]

Escher is disappointed that there was no 12" MacBook Pro at MWSF.

Seriously, Mark, if I were going back to school and didn't already have a 12-inch PowerBook, I would be buying a black MacBook.

The form factor of the 12-inch PB is undoubtedly superior -- it's a good bit smaller and lighter than the MacBook. But with Leopard coming this Spring/Summer, I would want the latest hardware in a newly purchased system. And for those who know me (I've been obsessed by a sub-PowerBook for many years), I don't say this lightly.

And if money is an issue, get the white MacBook. I went through three years of law school on an iBook. And while it got dirty, it did a better job than any of the other laptops my fellow students owned. There's nothing like the ruggedness of the iBook and MacBook's Lexan shell.

If a 12" MBP comes out after all, you can always upgrade from the 13" MB.

[doublem9876]

Originally Posted by Escher If a 12" MBP comes out after all, you can always upgrade from the 13" MB.

You mean "d'upgrade"

(as in down-upgrade, because of the size.)

[Mark@UCI]

Thanks for the feedback, I have some thinking to do. My main problem isn't with the white/black, it's with the glossy screen. I really want a matte finish. If Apple built that option into the MacBook I'd be down at the campus computer store right now ordering one. They have great deals - when the MacBook when to a C2D they blew out Core Duo's at $699, and BlackBook's at $1099 - I'm also waiting for the next blowout. When the MacBookPro went to C2D they sold the Core Duo's for $1399. If they don't come out with a 12" or 13" MacBookPro or a MacBookLite in the next 30 days I will probably buy a 15" MacBookPro and just lug it around - which I would sell if something smaller comes around.....In the meantime, I'll just use a funky Windows PC in the library and my iMac at home.....

On another note, I have a guy I know that is a friend of the family. He works in the iPod division and worked on this phone. I hammered him with questions and tried to get him to give me some info on the iPhone and this guy was like a ROCK - he didn't give up ANYTHING and is obviously dedicated - which comes easy when you get to buy Apple Stock at a discount that's going up 15% a month.....

[Mugge]

Try this: