Rating: 
Summary: Basic 500 MHz iBook
Review: I bought the one with a 20 GB hard drive, and I have since put an extra 256 MB memory in it. This machine is wonderful because it is so light, and yet it is powerful enough to run OS X, and just about any software you want to throw at it. It is dynamite on airport networks. I move mine between home and work i.e. between two airport networks, and that is really easy and convenient. The screen is just the right size for a portable, and really easy to read, and clear as crystal. If you want speed, go for the higher CPU speeds and the higher bus speed, but I have been very happy with the 66 MHz bus and 500 MHz processor. It is fine for everyday work. If you really want to move fast, use your desktop. I use a dual processor G4 with two screens when I really need to move fast during the day. However, my ibook is always on, in use for my calendar and for backups, resting by the side of my desktop screens. I would not be without it. At home it is my main machine, where I do all my work stuff. What amazes me is how many applications I can keep open and in use for hours under OS X. No crashes, lots of flexibililty to keep many things going at once. Absolute magic! The really neat thing is when you meet a PC maven, or even a G4 Powerbook, the other machines are so BIG! This ibook is wonderful on the road. I have carried my ibook around in a ordinary bag, not a padded computer bag, for a week at at time, bumping about, with no ill effects, either on the computer or on my shoulder!
I add this comment over a year later. I stand by what I said above, except that the hinge on the screen is giving me trouble now. The computer needs to warm up for a while before I can put the screen in its fully opened position. Eventually, I am going to have it fixed.
Rating: 
Summary: Poor Product Quality and Support
Review: I bought this iBook model a few weeks ago at our University's Apple store. After doing alot of research and shopping, I decided to get off the PC bandwagon and go with the Apple. I felt that for the price, I was getting the best value, and I thought that this thing just looked great. I added 256megs of memory and a AirPort card. Out of the box, it was easy to setup, just a couple of steps, and I was off and running in no time. MacOS X is very nice, although it does not have alot of programs made for it yet. The problem started the day after I bought it, as I was typing a paper, the display went compleatly white. I tried restarting the computer, same thing. I reset the computer, same thing. I called Apple's support number, and a recorded message told me that unless you paid for a service plan, you did not ger 24 hr support and to call back during normal business hours, our to consult their website! GREAT!! I have a paper to get done and they tell me to consult their website...on my dead computer!!!! The next morning I took it back to the store, telling them what had happened, and they determined that it needed to be repaired. I asked if I could just get an exchange and they said that Apple's policy was once you buy it, the sale is final and I would have to wait the week or two that it would take to send it in for repair! Do not by an Apple, learn from my mistake.
Rating: 
Summary: Almost (not quite) the perfect notebook
Review: I have an iBook 2001 (DVD-CDRW), which is the fifth in a long line of Apple laptops over the years I have owned (PowerBook 140, 520c, 3400, Rev.A iBook before this). I've also owned quite a few Wintel notebooks of various stripes over time, as well.
With the combination of size, ruggedness, expandability, and performance that Apple squeezed into the latest iBook, it's darn near the perfect laptop. It's a very nice good performer with the 500 MHz G3 processor. CD burning with the combo drive is as transparent as can be - the included Disc Burner software extends the Finder to support CD-R. DVD playback performance is good, with minimal skipping (I haven't done too much playback thus far). Video performance is snappy, if not quite state-of-the-art (it uses the older Rage 128 rather than the newer GeForce 2Go) - games are nicely playable. And the 12.1" display is razor-sharp. Video mirroring works very well, and the VGA cable needed is included. The iBook will work with the lid shut when mirrored.The only shortcoming comes when stressing the system heavily (for instance, with the included MacOS X 10.0.4) - the 66MHz data bus becomes the most glaring bottleneck. Though Apple includes more features pound-for-pound (and dollar) than competing Wintel notebooks, the competition has pretty much moved on to the 100MHz bus at the low end. It does make a difference. Unfortunately, Apple is caught between a rock and a hard place in this regard - with G4 processors constrained in speed (to 500 MHz max on their Powerbook Titanium), it'd complicate things to have the iBook running at the same exact clock rate (despite the older G3). So Apple chose to constrain things further - and it's not a huge problem, though hopefully the next generation of iBook will leave this bottleneck behind. A larger hard drive as standard equipment would be nice, too - most Wintel vendors make the hard drive easy to swap out (even in lower-cost models), whereas the iBook requires a full disassembly to do the same. All in all, I'd strongly recommend the 2001 iBook to anyone looking for maximum portability for a very competitive price. The only thing holding me back from giving 5 stars is the slow system bus - hopefully the improved performance planned for MacOS X 10.1 will compensate for it.
Rating:
Summary: very pleased with this purchase
Review: i must say that this is one of the best investments i have made. everything about this computer is excellent, itunes, dvd player, cd burner, everything. the only thing i can complain about is that 10 GB is not enough! i've already run out of space!
Rating:
Summary: So Happy, bought 2!
Review: I own the new 14.1" 2002 iBook, and these computers are awesome. OS X aquaface is absolutely stunning, and all the new products for OS X such as Microsoft X, Acrobat 5, are 10 X better to look at than their predacesors of OS 9. I can't wait for Photoshop in OS X! The speed with the preinstalled 256MB Ram is a little too slow for my taste, but after installing a 512MB/PC-133 dimm to bump me up to 640MB, I am cruzing at lightening speeds. Even Mac haters have admitted to me being enchanted by the outer and inner appearance of the glamorous icebook. Oh, the second one purchased is my husbands (a die hard Windows user)! Ha!
Rating:
Summary: iBook gets my highest praise
Review: I purchased the iBook at the start of July and am extremely pleased with the features for the price. I have been an Apple user since 1984. My last laptop was the G3 series "Wallstreet." I have always been hesitant about purchasing one of the cheaper Apple products (iBook versus G4 Titanium) due to limited features . Not so with this! Very pleased that the iBook allows me to watch DVDs when flying and when I arrive at my destination and must send graphic (photographic) images, it still has those capabilities.
Rating:
Summary: Best light notebook
Review: I think this is the best light notebook money can buy. It's affordable, fast, light, feature-packed, and great looking. I love being able to burn CDs wherever I am.
Rating: 
Summary: Pretty Box, Overhyped
Review: I use both Windows PCs and Macs, and found this to be a real disappointment. It's a very pretty, physically well engineered machine, yet pricey, like most Apple products. Be sure to order it with more than the recommended RAM--OS X is very slow to load, even version 10.1 which Apple will charge you an extra (...) to upgrade to (mine arrived with v10.0.3). Major shortcomings are in the software. OS X is very pretty to look at, with some really nice new (for Apple) features, but it is no easier than the old Mac to find and launch applications. Still, it has few new navigation tools, but nothing like the Windows Start button or right mouse click capability. With an Airport Card installed ((...) extra), the much hyped wireless capability is supposed to be compatible with the 802.11b standard (also known as known as Wi-Fi), but it only works with the pricey Apple Airport base station, not most other 802.11b networks. Apple support says simply that they only support their own Airport base station. So if you want a Wi-Fi network that works with both PCs and Macs, you are outta luck. Big disappointment from a company attempting to penetrate a market dominated by Intel PCs. The legacy capability is also way oversold: there are very few apps for OS X, and shifting into Classic Mode (OS 9) is not really automatic. It's tricky and clumsy. Finally, the iBook comes with very little application software installed, unlike most far less expensive PCs. Sorry, guys, you need to deliver on your promises.
Rating:
Summary: An iDisappointment
Review: I've been a Mac user for years, and so it's disappointing to be so frustrated with the new iBook I purchased with the 2 OS's, 9.2 and X .1. One problem is physical: the case pops open when I close it; it is also too small and heavy compared to other computers I've used (such as my Gateway Solo - and this from a PC hater.) The OS X is still far from being very useful for some things: Palm use, for one: you have to either switch back to "Classic" (OS 9) mode to hot sync or else follow Apple support's advice and download the current Palm beta version for OS X, which failed to function and so as a result, I've had to resort to using my old Powerbook G3 for the Palm. There are other problems with OS X in terms of design and practicality, and again, it hurts this old Apple fan to say that Microsoft's XP actually functions in a more friendly fashion in many respects (though IT does some downright psychotic things at times, which is what prompted me to buy the iBook in the first place. Basically, they both fail to work the way they ought to.) Though I'm sure the iBook is a "fine machine" in many respects, when I compare my experience of using it with what I expected, in terms of quality and ease of use, I'm very disappointed. And to top it off, since it's a "custom configuration" (what computer that you buy isn't a "custom configuration" anymore???) the Apple Store now tells me that I had only ten days to decide I wanted a refund. So, I'm stuck with it. My suggestion: stick with your old Mac or whatever, or just paper and pen and a paper Franklin Planner - your life will be much easier, and you'll save two grand (what the "$1,100" iBook will actually cost you, minimal, once you "custom configure" it and buy all the new OS X software you'll need.)
Rating:
Summary: Windows user finally finds a Mac he can be happy with
Review: I've flirted with the idea of switching to the Macintosh for years. But, being a Windows developer, it was always an impractical choice. When I went shopping for my first laptop this Christmas, I looked at a ton of laptops. On a lunch break I happened to pop into a store that sold both Apples and PCs, and I saw an iBook up close for the first time. It was everything the other ones weren't: brilliant case design, simple and practical OS, and best of all it wasn't a laptop pretending to be a desktop. It was just a little book-sized machine I could carry along with my other books. It's my organizer, notebook, MP3 player, sketchpad, and best of all it runs MS Office like a champ. I should have been a Mac developer...
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