Rating: 
Summary: Solid, Fast & Stylish
Review: I just recently purchased an ibook G4 coming from a 2.4GHz pentium 4 desktop at work. I decided on the ibook because I wanted something small, reasonably priced, with a high level of quality for my home/sometimes work use. I had a chance to take a good look at Dell laptops that were recently purchased at my work and was not very impressed with the solidity of the small, lightweight laptops. They have also had their share software glitches which did not impress me and needed external CD/DVD drives. I'll tell you, it was a bit scary to move to the Apple machine, but so far it has been a happy marriage. This machine says quality. For the applications I use (spreadsheets, word processors, net, games...) you cannot tell there is a speed difference between the P4 desktop. This comuter is plenty fast. Surfing the net (unlike other reviews) is a breeze and is as fast as the desktop through the cable or T1 connection I use. The things I like are the size, speed, keyboard, battery life, stability, feel, as well as the looks. I also can access our Windows based network to retreive e-mails, etc. without any problem. Apparently the Panther 10.3 OS provides superior security when surfing which is nice, since I do a lot of shopping over the net. This was a concern I had with the latest Windows OS. Also, some people have commented that the white keyboard can get dirty fast. I have not experienced this problem yet (washed hands?), but when shopping for a computer, I actually looked for a light colored/white keyboard so I could tell when the keyboard is dirty. Who knows what sort of junk is on a black keyboard! In any case, the keyboard pops out and is easy to clean. In summary, this is a well enginerred, quality laptop that will allow you to interface with your Windows work environment. Nice work.
Rating: 
Summary: Too slow
Review: I love Apple, I have no problem with the fact that they aren't the fastest computes in the world. I but them because I like the styling a lot and I like having a unix based OS. However an 800Mhz G4 is not fast enough to handle a lot of task. If fact the G4 is pretty much an out of date CPU. I mean the design has to be 7 years old! So please, buy Apple, but don't waste your money on a CPU this old.
Rating: 
Summary: Old and slow
Review: I've got friends with this (I personally have a 15" PowerBook) machine, and it's great. With OS X I recommend at least 512mb of ram, but for the casual user, 256 would work. And a side note...multiple users posted reviews about how old and outdated an 800mhz processor is; one thing these people don't know is that it's not x86. Anything non-x86 (POWER, PowerPC, SPARC, MIPS, Alpha, etc) is much better than anything x86. One number I've heard is that in the days of 100mhz, anything non-x86 was 2 to 2.5 times the speed (100mhz Alpha = 200, 250mhz x86).
Rating:
Summary: great laptop for people with realistic goals
Review: It has been nearly five years since I bought my first mac, an iMac DV, and for five years the lime-green beast ran great without a hitch, but facing the start of my student teaching I felt I needed a portable. this machine has done wonders, the screen size is hardly noticable since the resolution and sharpness are far better than any 14 inch monitor dell makes. the responce is snappy and fluid, internet is great as well. this machine picks up WiFi better than any laptop I have ever used. sure it's not a lightning-fast gaming machine, but seriously, what laptop is? if you want speed and nifty features get the 12inch powerbook, if you want a great deal on a solid, first rate machine get the new iBooks, just make sure to pack some extra ram on for good measure.
Rating:
Summary: Gosh Darnit
Review: It is a millon times better than a Dell or any other windows computer. I should know i have a powerhouse windows xp pro machine. I use it for internet with the airport card awesome and easy to install. It was worth the 80 buckaroos. I also love the simplicity with my beloved 15 gb g3 iPod. The next computer may as well be a Mac it runs smoother faster and It is alot simpler. And 30 gb is plenty space also even with how much i use it 256 ram is beutiful on the macs. I gave it a 5 because about 2 weeks it changed my view on what a good computer should be.
Rating:
Summary: Most value packed Apple
Review: Let us raise the glass: long live the G3 processor, for it is dead. Apple's iBook was the last holdout to G4 processor. It is G3 no more. Despite some rumors, iBook's G4 processor is a true G4 processor with Altivec fully on-board. While it runs slower (800 MHz vs. 1 GHz) and features smaller L2 cache (256 KB vs. 512 KB) than 12" PowerBook, it comes remarkable close in most performance parameters. They share the same 133 MHz front-side bus and PC2100 (266 MHz) DDR SDRAM. Even their feature sets come remarkably close. Both sport sharp 12.1" 1024-by-768 LCD, 256 MB memory and 32 MB graphics memory, FireWire 400 and USB 2.0 ports, and 100/10 fast Ethernet. Both lack the PC Card (PCMCIA) slot but can accommodate AirPort Extreme wireless network. Other than faster G4 processor, just about the only reasons to consider 12" PowerBook are:
- Larger memory capacity on the PowerBook (1.25 GB vs. 640 MB)
- Larger hard disk (40 GB vs. 30 GB)
- PowerBook can drive an external display (dual display) up to 2048-by-1536 via DVI port; iBook can only mirror up to 1024-by-768 via VGA port
- SuperDrive (DVD burner) is optional on PowerBook; it is not available on iBook
- Bluetooth is standard on PowerBook; it is optional (built-to-order) on iBook
- Marginally faster GeForce FX 5200 graphics card on PowerBook (vs. Radeon 9200 on iBook)
- PowerBook is slightly lighter (4.6 lbs vs. 4.9 lbs) and slightly smaller (10.9-by-8.6-by-1.18 inches vs. 11.2-by-9.1-by-1.35 inches)
- You like the PowerBook's anodized aluminum allow chassis better There are sufficient reasons to get the iBook instead:
- Costs almost 50% less
- It is not dramatically slower
- Longer battery life (up to 6 hours vs. 5 hours)
- Polycarbonate plastic chassis is more scratch proof and offer better wireless network (AirPort Extreme) reception How is the iBook in itself? For a little over a grand, you get a beautifully designed notebook (similar to iPod) packed with features: combo CD-RW/DVD-ROM drive, optional 802.11g AirPort Extreme wireless network, beautiful LCD, sensible keyboard layout, snappy performance under included Mac OS X Panther 10.3 -- all in very portable form factor. This little book represents a serious bang for the buck. Pros:
- Very high bang for the buck: good performance and high in features
- Looks beautiful
- Includes almost everything an average computer user needs
- Very portable and durable
- Fantastic wireless reception Cons:
- Cannot drive external display higher than 1024-by-768 resolution
- To get built-in Bluetooth, you must order from Apple (built-to-order option) -- unlike the AirPort Extreme, you cannot add it later on
- Standard 256 MB memory is based on two 128 MB RAM modules. To add more memory later on, you will need to toss out one of the memory modules (the other memory module is soldered onto the motherboard)
Rating:
Summary: Old and slow
Review: Look I love Macs but an 800MHz G4? It's just too slow to run modern software. The basic design of this CPU is almost 10 years old!! Most upper-end new software isn't rated to run on it. Keep looking and accept nothing less than a fast G5.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful One
Review: Looks and feels nice.
I suggest 2 improvements:
USB is in the left side. Better if in right.
My iBook had 2 blind spots in LCD and Apple didn't correct the problem.
Rating: 
Summary: A converted longtime Windows user...
Review: The iBook G4 is an incredible machine, in all aspects. Configured with 640 MB RAM, 60 GB hard drive, and an AirPort Extreme wireless card, this computer gets the job done in all situations. First and foremost, the iBook is a compact, lightweight notebook with ample battery life. In practice, I've found the battery to last about 3.5-4 hours. Turning down the processor power will allow for greater battery life. The case is of excellent quality, feeling more stable than most Windows notebooks I've used. What converted me to Mac, though, is the operating system, OS X 10.3 Panther. I'd used a Mac prior to 1995, but then switched to Windows and have been a Windows user ever since. Windows 98/ME was good, and Windows XP is an excellent operating system. I was pretty good with ME and XP, but I thought I'd give OS X a try nonetheless. I was, and still am, blown away. OS X is such an incredibly intuitive operating system that you really must own a Mac to understand. Of course, the first thing you notice is how cool the interface looks. The second thing you notice is how efficient the bundled programs are: Safari, Mail, iChat, iCal, Address Book, Sherlock - these Apple-written programs are incredible. After using the Mac a bit more, though, you'll notice how much more you can do with it than you can with a Windows machine. If you're a power user, there are a bunch of utilities you can use to tweak your machine, utilities that Microsoft would rather you didn't use on Windows. The most important thing I noticed when using the Mac was this: you are actually productive while using it. I can't explain it any better than that; you must use the Mac operating system to understand. Many users may be concerned about speed, by which I mean that the iBook has an 800 MHz processor while a similarly priced Windows notebook might have processor between 1.6-2.4 GHz processor. The fact is, "megahertz" or "gigahertz" is really an arbitrary measurement. What Intel doesn't tell you is the number of instructions per clock cycle. It is because of this fact that an 800 MHz iBook G4 can be, and is, faster than a 2.4 GHz Intel. Hard to believe? I'll direct those of you who are Intel-savvy to look at the difference between the Intel Celeron and the Intel Pentium-M. Until the Pentium-M, the Pentium 4 and Celeron's clock speeds well surpassed 2 GHz, nearing 3 GHz in fact. The Pentium-M, however, sports speeds of around 1.2-1.8 GHZ, and they are much faster than the Pentium 4 and Celeron of higher clock speeds. All that being said, I feel I must explain why I gave the iBook only four stars. I had two problems when setting up the computer. First, I had difficulty connecting to my network with the AirPort wireless card. After a bit of configuration, though, I got it working. Second, I was never able to connect to my networked printer. The printer is connected to a Windows PC, and it's shared. I'm not sure if the problem is with Apple, Microsoft, Canon (who made the printer), or my own ineptitude. Regardless, I am now connected to a printer via USB, and have no more problems with the iBook. In sum, I am a longtime Windows user who has made the transition to Mac OS X. You truly must try the iBook yourself to understand. Head out to a retail store and get your hands on an Apple; you'll see why so many have switched.
Rating: 
Summary: Overpriced TOY ! ! !
Review: The laptop is OLD and OVERPRICED !!! Get yourself a real laptop (check out latest Compaq models)!!
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