Apple's new 14-in. iBook; Mostly iLike

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August 31, 2005 (Computerworld) -- For the last year or so, as the feature set in Apple Computer's iBook line has ever so slowly come closer to matching that of the company's high-end PowerBooks, I've debated about which one is the better deal.
Certainly the iBook offers a big bang for the buck -- especially now that the price of the top-of-the-line 14-in.model has been trimmed while new features have been made standard. SuperDrive for burning DVDs and CDs? Check. A half-gigabyte of RAM? Check. Airport wireless card and Bluetooth? Check. Two-finger scrolling TrackPad? Check. Solid-feeling keyboard and luscious LCD screen? Um, well, more about those in a minute.
For the last month or so, I've been using Apple's newest iBook, updated in late July with what another reviewer appropriately dubbed the "kitchen sink" approach. As Apple has approached a ceiling on the speed it can squeeze out of the G4 processor -- an issue that pushed the company into Intel's arms -- it has taken to adding value (see "Apple updates iBook line, Mac Mini").
In this case, that means throwing in everything but the kitchen sink -- giving iBook buyers more for less.
The result is a simplified lineup that now consists of just two iBook models: an entry-level 12-in. version that goes for $999 and the one I have on my desk now, the 14-in. version selling for $1299. The smaller model weighs in at 4.9 lb. and uses a 1.33-GHz G4 chip; Its big brother weighs 5.9 lb. and runs on a marginally faster 1.42-GHz processor. Both now sport ATI Mobility Radeon 9550 video cards but offer the same screen resolutions as their predecessors: 1024 by 768 pixels. The larger iBook has a 60GB hard drive (spinning at 4,200 rpm); the entry model has a 40GB hard drive.
And for Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger fans, I should note that the new ATI card, while offering only 32MB of video RAM, is still powerful enough to smoothly show off the updated graphics available with Apple's latest operating system. Both also now come with Apple's "Sudden Motion Sensor" technology, which is designed to protect data on the hard drive if the iBook is dropped.
After I received the iBook from Apple last month, I promptly fired up Xbench to see how the modest speed improvements would translate into benchmarks. For reference purposes, I've used Xbench before, and while the results should not be taken as absolutes, they do give you an idea for how each system compares to other models. The 12-inch PowerBook that I reviewed earlier this year, for example, clocked in with an Xbench score of 132 (see "The 12-in. PowerBook: Thin and (feature) rich"). That's with the faster 1.5-GHz G4 processor, a faster hard drive spinning at 5,400 rpm and 64MB of VRAM.
The new 14-inch iBook came in with an Xbench mark of ... 40. Yes, I, too, was surprised at that number, until I remembered that Xbench was updated with a new baseline earlier this year so that a 2.0-GHz G5 running Tiger yields a score of 100 points. Using the old Xbench, the new iBook would have gotten a score of 113 in case you want to compare it to earlier models.
Whichever number you use, the iBook is more than fast enough for what it will likely be used for: Web surfing, e-mail, word processing and some light digital photo and digital video work. (In fact, two of our Web developers here at Computerworld use iBooks for some of their work.) I have no quibbles with the iBook's performance.
And while I know that iBooks are designed largely as consumer machines, I do have some quibbles about the screen and keyboard. In short, they don't measure up to the hardware used in Apple's PowerBooks. Call me spoiled, but as far as I'm concerned, there's no better laptop keyboard than the one used in all three PowerBook models. And while the screen on the 12-in. PowerBook is nothing special (it's essentially the same one used in the 12-i. iBook), the widescreen LCDs used in the 15- and 17-inch PowerBooks are bright and vivid.
The screen used in the iBooks is perfectly adequate. But when I buy an Apple product -- any Apple product -- I don't want adequate. I want superb. I don't mind the limited 1,024-by-768 pixel resolution, especially on the 12-in. model, which packs those pixels into a tighter space and creates a relatively sharp display. But the 14-in. screen is essentially the same as the one used in the G3-based PowerBooks of the late 1990s, and since we're well into the middle of the next decade now, I want something more. My bet is that Apple is waiting for the move to Intel chips next year -- and presumably a revamp of the entire laptop line -- before updating the screen.
Actually, it's not just a bet. It's a fervent hope.
As for the keyboard, the one used in the iBook is adequate. (There's that word again.) But it suffers in comparison to the one I use every day at home in my personal PowerBook. Because that one is so solid feeling, the plasticky feel and sound of this one is even more noticeable.
The upshot is this: With a laptop, the two pieces of hardware a user interacts with most are the screen and the keyboard. And no matter how well put-together the iBook is and how many features it offers, the screen and keyboard will play a critical role in how this particular model is perceived. Is it a deal-breaker? For 90% of the Mac buying public, probably not. Certainly, my mom hasn't said word one about the 14-in. iBook screen or the feel of the keyboard -- and she uses her 2004 model daily.
But for me, I think the debate is largely settled. While the iBook is indeed a nice little entry-level laptop, I seem to have finally moved into the PowerBook camp. Your best bet? Head to the local Apple Store, or maybe a CompUSA, and check them out side by side. Click, tap and view and then decide for yourself.

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• Apple's new 14-in. iBook; Mostly iLike
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