Home > Consumer Reviews > Apple PowerBook Laptop 12.1" TFT M8760LL/A (867-MHz PowerPC G4, 256 MB RAM, 40 GB Hard Drive, DVD/CD-RW Drive)

This is my first mac laptop, I've been wanting one for years but the 15 " Powerbook is too expensive for me and the ibook is just too slow.

I wanted a combination of powerbook (power) and the ibook (size),
and there it is, powerbook g4 12". Affordable, cool, durable, pretty fast (not super fast), portable, light, etc. This product is a true definition of a laptop. All programs in OS X are just great. Lovely interface, easy to use. But it has some issues, apple still needs to keep updating this OS so it doesn't take that much RAM. Please maximize your RAM to 640. I wonder why Apple didn't maximize the slot to 1 Gig of RAM.

40 Gig of HD is plenty. You can backup your large files anyway.
There's not many laptop around that can burn CD and DVD, this one has it all. Get an airport extreme card for an extra $$. It works great.

The screen is beautiful. I was a little bit concern about the size before, but it's not a problem at all. It has better quality than the 15". The type on some webpages get really small though.

The case gets warm after a while.

Overall, this is a great computer. It is one of those things that makes you feel really good about yourself. Especially if you're working in a design related field, it does inspire you to do great work.

Apple product is intended for people who care about experience.
You know you should get a PC if you want power, games and stuff like that.

If you have a strong bonding with computer and really,.. I mean really
care about aesthetic issues. Get this laptop. It really has a personality (unlike PCs).

I had this laptop for almost a month now. The heat was never unbearable - while the palm rest does get warm, I cannot call this hot. If you plan to use your laptop for an extended period of time, I highly recommend an external keyboard and a bigger monitor - then the heat and small screen becomes a nonissue.

That said, the 12 in monitor is wonderful - I can comfortably read and work on quite a variety of tasks. Color, as far as I can tell, is pretty accurate. You can attach a much larger monitor for work that requires large screen estate, as I do. With extended desktop (ala Xinerama), you have a dual monitor setup! OS X is quite capable in this aspect, and does remember the settings for different monitors that I attach it to (X11 needs a little more work on extended desktop - some X applications can't take advantage of two screens). I do have a complaint that you need to carry an extra dongle to attach external monitor - I've had quite a few times when I forgot to bring the dongle to my work. But that's a minor issue.

Processor speed is acceptable for almost all the work. Firewire support is wonderful - This solves much of my storage problems. Bluetooth support allowed me to wirelessly dial into to modem pool (using T68i, but it is slow) and use my phone as a remote (okay, that's a toy). Wifi worked without a hitch with various routers (Dell and DLink). Printing is a snap to configure, unlike my linux box. I must admit that the hardware integration is FAR superior to my Dell WinXP box. To those that still have some strange grudge against Apple - you HAVE to own this laptop to appreciate how smoothly this thing works in a mixed environment. Comes with adequate development environment and my analysis tool (R, Bioconductor, etc.) compiled properly, albeit a few tweaks were requied. Some useful things (like pybliographic and xgobi) didn't work well, but there are multitudes of other tools that can replace them. If you are thinking about playing video games on this machine, please, DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY ON A LAPTOP. Buy a desktop instead. This laptop is definitely not for casual users.

For people who say one can get more function in other models - as any truly seasoned laptop user will tell you, that in a portable environment, a little bells and whistles won't save you if the core function fails when you are about to give a presentation (a very ugly sight), or working at a remote location. Usability and dependability is far more important to a laptop than an ability to attach a little toy here and there (that is a desktop mentality). This is NOT a desktop replacement, although it can nearly be one with proper peripherals.

My coworkers balked at the price tag at first, then when I started to actually accomplish so many tasks using it, they became impressed by the quality of the product and agreed that the price was reasonable. I saw a Dell laptop that costs 1kUsd more which had questionable quality - this PB is solid. I highly recommend this laptop to anyone who is looking for versatility without compromising on quality.

Note to Asian language users - foreign language display AND input(incl. Chinese, Japanse, and Korean) is PERFECT on this OS - especially Japanese. This is not trivial as XP and Linux cannot handle foreign language half as well, and if you are bilingual or trilingual, you *need* this platform.

This notebook is tiny, fast, and impeccably designed -- the most full-featured ultraportable notebook available.

While Apple's desktops and desktop-replacement notebooks lag behind their PC counterparts in processor speed, this G4-powered 867mHz PowerBook is very competitive with most PC ultraportables, which are still using the mobile PIII 1.2ghz.

This notebook is as small as Sony's R505, yet the R505 does not include a CD-ROM drive without the docking station.

The 12" PowerBook has Bluetooth included, and is ready for 802.11G, the newest broadband wireless standard.

Unfortunately, the tiny form factor leaves no room for a PC Card slot, and there is only one RAM expansion slot, which means you can currently add only 512mb of RAM, which combines with the motherboard-soldered 128mb to give you a max of 640mb.

Positives:
Tiny size -- 112 cubic inches
Bright screen
Long battery life
ready for 802.11G

Negatives:
No PC Card slot
Reduced cache compared to other Powerbooks
Only one RAM expansion slot (128mb soldered to motherboard)

It is.

No flaws here. The successor to the popular Titanium G4, this little beauty feels like a Swiss watch in construction, style, and durability. Where the Titanium felt flimsy and was subject to pits, scratches and dings (because of the painted surface), this one can take a pounding with its anodized aluminum exterior. Less exotic than Titanium, but superior in every respect. The solid form and fit are astounding to feel. It really is like a finely crafted watch. The size, of course, is perfect for the traveller. The 17" version is amazing in its own right, but this is the real laptop of the bunch.

OS X flies on this little gem. It has built in wireless connectivity, a combo drive for burning CDs and watching DVDs (and for $200 more you can add a DVD-R drive, but it really isn't practical for a screen this small). The screen itself is the best LCD I've ever seen on a laptop, bar none.

So, for all you travellers who've been waiting for a great laptop to take on the road, this is it. And the price is right, too.

Out of the box, this laptop was the finest notebook I have ever used. It's beautiful to look at, more than a capable machine for OS X 10.2, and very comfortable to use (keyboard, ergonomics). I feel I need to warn potential buyers that there are issues with the early production run of this PowerBook, though.

First, the machine has a tendency to get very hot. The Aluminum case is designed to dissipate the heat by convection, but it can warp as a result. Many users are reporting warped screens or a "wobble" noticeable when resting flat on a table after a few days of use. The power management for the PowerBook is buggy - it sometimes does not accurately reflect full battery charge or shows problems with sleep mode. I've had to replace the battery which may have been the cause of these problems, but many other users are reporting similar issues.

I'm using an AirPort Extreme card (802.11b network only) with no trouble at all. Also, the standard 256 MB DDR RAM has been just fine for average use.

This PowerBook is truly elegant, but lacks the quality level of the 15" PowerBook gained only though mature production. I recommend waiting until Apple has had a chance to work out the early production glitches. Then, you will have a truly great machine.