Best Laptop?

<p>When did Apple last update its powerbooks. Does anyone know when there next update should be coming out.</p>

<p>They updated them a month or two ago. No idea when the next update is coming out but they are having trouble incorporating the G5 processor into its Powerbook line. This is due to its size and the heat it produces. Be prepared to wait a while for this upgrade....not sure about others.</p>

<p>just wandering what you all think of this very cheap centrino model:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Averatec-Notebook-PC-AV3360-EH1-/sem/rpsm/oid/116591/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Averatec-Notebook-PC-AV3360-EH1-/sem/rpsm/oid/116591/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>when on sale, it goes for under $1000 at circuitcity</p>

<p>Our computer repair shop expert recommends Dell or Toshiba as being the most trouble-free brands for pc laptops. He says IBM is good, too, but much more expensive for no increase in quality. He also told me that some inexpensive lower end brands can offer that low price because they use some lower quality components. Sadly, we just had the low end experience with my daughter's <2year old desktop, which is essentially unrepairable!</p>

<p>Ive never used a Powerbook, but I am seriously considering one. I think I get a discount from the Apple Store too</p>

<p>If you are looking at an Apple, take a look at your school's bookstore.</p>

<p>I just recently looked and they have a promotion going on that makes the 15" Powerbook + 3 years of AppleCare cheaper than Apple's EDU store without the AppleCare.</p>

<p>Jeez regardless of the discounts, Powerbooks are EXPENSIVE. Christ.....I just did some more research, and it looks like it will hit some people in the pocket hard. The base prices are high, and I know that I will upgrade the base specs. Ugh...</p>

<p>I'm getting this computer:</p>

<p>Dell Latitude 610D
Intel Pentium M (Centrino) - 1.8GHz
512MB RAM 1 DIMM
60GB HD
14.1" SXGA+ Display
CDRW/DVD Combo
Win XP Pro
3 year mail-in warranty with Complete Care</p>

<p>Person I am buying it from used it for one week before deciding to make the jump to Apple.
Price Tag: $1200</p>

<p>What do y'all think? Good for school?</p>

<p>yea...quite an impressive deal. if i am not mistaken, the d610 operates on the new sonoma version of centrino and uses DDR2 and PCI express graphics. if this is in fact true, that is a very "up-to-date" computer.</p>

<p>Powerbooks are definately worth the money. Unlike some junky dell, they will still feel great after 4 years of college. They have amazing build quality and full metal cases. As for preformance, they are great (as I said, you wont be feeling hurt even after 4 years).</p>

<p>You can also get refurbished powerbooks for much less.</p>

<p>I have a Dell Inspiron 600m and while I can concede it isn't as sturdy or as beautiful as a Powerbook, I am still very pleased with it.</p>

<p>Three years of hard use now and it still functions fine and feels (fairly) sturdy to me. The speed of the laptop isn't great although when I first purchased it, I bought a barebones model. Best of all though, my notebook only cost me $900 for 4 years of use!</p>

<p>i have never used an apple laptop before...but it seems like a lot of you claim that they are better than pc notebooks. well, i was browsing at apple.com and noticed that for a laptop to have 512MB ram, you have to pay around $1300 (which i find to be quite expensive). are all powerbooks this expensive or are there cheaper ones available in other places?</p>

<p>If you get a $2000 Powerbook you can get a much better PC for that amount. Of course it is not obvious to the average user, but to the informed one it is easy to see the difference. Ever check the front side bus in the PowerPC processor? It's terrible! Its not even 200MHz.</p>

<p>What is a good laptop choice for a desktop replacement? I'm not looking for a notebook to take to class, but a relatively portable laptop that has near desktop capabilites and is portable enough for occasional transportation.</p>

<p>how's the ibook in your opinion, ottothecow? I love both the 12" powerbook and ibook, so I'm choosing between the two. There's a big price gap between the two, but is it worth it?
By the way, has anyone bought their mac at macmall, or macworld? The free printer, ram and cheap prices seem to good to resist.</p>

<p>Toshiba is great.</p>

<p>Toshiba makes that really popular Tablet PC too if you want to use something a bit different than the typical laptop.</p>

<p>The Powerbook has a faster processor than the iBook, twice as much ram, twice the hard drive space, a better video card, and Bluetooth. Not to mention, the Powerbook also has the sudden motion sensor and that really nice touchpad.</p>

<p>If you wanted to configure a iBook similarly to a Powerbook, they would cost about the same and you still won't have the same features.</p>

<p>Don't forget to look at your school's bookstore, sometimes they have better deals than online. And Apple has a education store that you can also look at. Otherwise, MacMall is a pretty reputable store, you can shop there.</p>

<p>I've heard that the iBook has a stronger battery than that of the Powerbook. Something to consider if you're going to be away from your dorm for hours at a time.</p>

<p>"If you get a $2000 Powerbook you can get a much better PC for that amount. Of course it is not obvious to the average user, but to the informed one it is easy to see the difference. Ever check the front side bus in the PowerPC processor? It's terrible! Its not even 200MHz."</p>

<p>Dead wrong. They are completely different architectures with the PPC being able to complete many more operations per cycle than the overinflated intels. The powerbooks are actually quite powerfull as far as laptops go.</p>

<p>"how's the ibook in your opinion, ottothecow?"
If you are going 12" (though I woudl reccomend the 15), you might be better with the ibook. They have resolved the preformance issues with the 12" powerbook but it is still gimped in comparison to the larger powerbooks. The iBook will be cheaper but the powerbook will be faster but unless you are going with the 15, it doesnt seem to justify the differance. Go with the 15 :) its still really small (much thinner than the 12" models)</p>

<p><a href="http://forums.applenova.com/archive/index.php/t-1888.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://forums.applenova.com/archive/index.php/t-1888.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>