Powerful, Well-Designed Laptop
Written: Aug 11 '02
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Pros: Great design (lightweight, all-in-one); powerful performance
Cons: A bit expensive; some users might want a larger hard drive
The Bottom Line: Truly an all-in-one system, lightweight and compact, a great design, easy to set up and use but still powerful for nearly every type of user
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| andrewkeating's Full Review: Apple PowerBook G4 15.2 in. (M8591LL/A) Mac Notebo... |
The Powerbook G4 Titanium has a great, all-in-one design. Built in ethernet, modem and wireless networking capability give the Powerbook all the networking options you need. In addition, the hard drive capacity is sufficient for most users - however, users who expect to be handling a large quantity of music, movie or other media files may need additional storage options. If you purchase through Apple's online store you can build-to-order you own system with a larger hard drive. Or, if you want to expand later the Powerbook comes with a built in FireWire port so it is easy to add a larger external hard drive if you need more storage. Having just one FireWire port is fine, because FireWire devices can be chained together (this means that you can hook up multiple FireWire devices to the one port and be able to use them all with the laptop). The Powerbook has two USB ports as well. Other ports on the back of the machine include a S-video out port and a port for connecting an external monitor, among others.
Internal expansion options include the addition of more RAM and an Airport card for wireless networking. Installing either of these is a task that the average or even novice user could accomplish himself or herself.
The built in optical drive is a combination DVD and CD-RW drive, which is useful not only for creating audio CDs but also for backing up data while on the road. Having the combo drive means that you can also watch DVDs without having to connect an external drive that takes up more space.
This Powerbook is an awesome all-in-one machine that will meet the needs of almost every user - the only exception being someone who needs a slightly faster processor (who might consider the Powerbook G4 800 mhz). Anyone who needs a fast, all-in-one professional portable computer will be very happy with this computer. In addition, unless you absolutely need the extra hundred or so megahertz of processing speed or the additional internal hard drive space in the more expensive G4 800 mhz model, this model Powerbook has all the capabilities and the same design as the more expensive model.
In terms of using the Powerbook and setting it up, you will find that even Apple's physical packaging of the Powerbook is intelligent and compact. Taking it out of the box and setting it up for the first time is especially easy. MacOS X - Apple's new operating system - is great and very easy to use. The setup assistant that guides you through registering the computer and setting some basic system preferences is easy to understand and quick to finish. Taking the computer out of the box, plugging it in and setting it up took me about 10 minutes and I did not encounter any types of error messages or problems getting it to access my existing email account.
Finally, I did purchase an AppleCare extended warranty with my Powerbook which I did more for my own peace of mind than anything else. Purchasing this plan adds 2 years of total warranty coverage to the 1 year coverage that it comes with and the additional two years adds about $300 to the purchase price. I also purchased the Airport wireless networking card and some extra RAM which increased my price a little bit more as well. Still, my total purchase price ended up less than one of the 800 mhz models and I have never felt like my computer is slow.
I forgot one more thing - how great and compact the design is (it's only 1 inch thick when the lid is closed). Not to mention the beautiful screen size and resolution.
Overall, this is a great laptop!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 2947.00
Operating System: Macintosh
Processor: PowerPC G4
Processor speed: 601-700
Screen Size: Greater than 15
RAM: More than 256
Internal Storage: CD-RW and DVD
Hard Drive (GB): 21-30
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Epinions.com ID:
andrewkeating
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Location: Berkeley, CA (USA)
Reviews written: 3
Trusted by: 0 members
About Me:
History major at UC Berkeley; I like computers, electronics, reading, and travel (among other things)
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