Apple PowerBook Laptop 17" M9689LL/A Review
Apple PowerBook Laptop 17" M9689LL/A Review from Robert Kim pontosete. The best value, There are, quite literally, thousands of notebooks in the market today, ranging from $500 to $3000+ in price. If you’re looking through the reviews of the magnificent $2700 17-inch Powerbook, you might be wondering if the price, the upfront cost of a Macintosh, is justifiable given that one can easily purchase 5 of the $500 notebooks. I looked around myself, but it came down to these:
1. The big screen. Most 17-inch Windows notebooks try to be media centers, and they weigh a ton. This Powerbook is barely more than an inch thick.
2. Size. I don’t have big hands, but I do like a comfortable writing space. The keyboard has a nice tactile feel, it’s backlit in dim lighting conditions.
3. Quietness. There is hardly a sound from the computer, and unless I’m doing processor-intensive work (like watching Quicktime HD sample movies), the fan is never on. It lets me focus on my work, rather than get distracted and annoyed at the grinding noise from the fan and hard drive.
4. Ease of use. All the necessary plugs (USB, firewire, etc) are present. More importantly, OS X (I’m using 10.4) with the included iLife ‘05 productivity software is easy to learn, and based on my experience from Windows PCs, makes me more productive quickly.
5. Software. The OS and the bundled software (I mentioned them above) don’t intrude, requiring constant attention and drivers to install when I plug in a camera for the first time. They get out of my way, and they let me produce results. It took me 30 mins to import photos, edit them, and make a DVD catalog (browseable in Safari) AND make a quicktime movie of a slideshow. I was never able to do this on my old Windows PC (3.4GHz P4).
6. Value. Macs have generally higher resale value than other PCs. It’s one company, versus hundreds of companies making, generally, the same computer, and so they gravitate towards pricing as the differentiator. I sold my 6-month-old 14-inch iBook G4 at 80% of the original price I paid. That’s hard to do with any other PC or notebook.
And we come to price. At $2700, it is expensive, there is no getting around it. But when I compared to a comparable Dell 17-inch notebook (very nice, I must add), and added hardware and software features, resale value, plus considering ease of use and increased productivity, the $2700 in price is a bargain. Consider with a grain of salt, make your own comparisons and judgements.
To check price or purchase Apple PowerBook Laptop 17" M9689LL/A.