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)

I've long been a devotee of highly-portable notebook computers and Macs. I was doubly pleased, then, to see Apple introduce the 12" PowerBook in January 2003. Here at last was the computer that combined a travel-worthy form factor with a reasonably powerful Mac.

I didn't get my hands on one until more recently, and I am very happy with it. The computer is powerful enough for all of my general productivity tasks, with a nice keyboard feel and a bright, readable screen.

I've had great experiences connecting via the all of the various networking technologies built-in. I use Bluetooth with my phone and PDA (including wireless connections to use my phone as a GPRS modem), AirPort for WiFi connections, dialup when there's no broadband or GPRS available, and the built-in 10-BaseT networking at the office.

Battery life is decent, though not extraordinary at around 4 hours on a full charge. The power management is unobtrusive, and as with other Mac notebooks running Mac OS X I love the instant sleep/wake capability.

I have one complaint with this machine: heat. All notebooks emit some, but this computer seems to be particularly hot. I've used it once or twice on my lap while wearing shorts, and frankly found it uncomfortable.

Other than that, this computer comes as close to a perfect portable as I've seen.

I purchased this amazing piece of a computer approximately a week ago, after selling my Windows notebook (Gateway) ... . I could not be more pleased, this is my First MAC and it doesn't look like I myself will be going back to Windows again. As I said I've had this for a Week now, and it has not crashed or even froze once on me. and that's how a computer should be. I purchased the model with the Superdrive ... it's worth it the slot-loading drive is really high-tech, then again everything in this small but powerful computer is and it easily blows away my P4 2.0ghz laptop, even though is only 867mhz it may seem slow but it's not. The software that came bundled with this comp. is more than i've seen on any computer out there and it works great. Become a MAC Switcher like I did, trust me You Will not Regret it!.

i am an apple user from way back (15 years!) who has also had plenty of windows experience. i never got the windows thing. my last laptop was a powerbook G3 400 firewire. After a month of use, i can say this 12" pb is lovely! i don't like reading small print, but have found no discomfort with the size of screen (and websites and documents are easily zoomed, but i have only needed to do this once this month).

i have noticed "the heat thing." but i have to tell you, i almost never find cause to sit with a laptop ON MY LAP, which is uncomfortable for me personally, and so, if like me, you usually use these things on a table or airplane tray or whatever, you will have no problems with the heat.

the cd burner is effortless, Jaguar (OS 10.2) is fabulous (this is my first time on OS X too) and intuitive. i don't know why anyone would prefer classic OS 9 to jaguar, but if you do, it is here and you can use it any time, to run old software, for example. it is so much easier to use than even classic OS 9.2, my previous system software.

enjoy this attractive, extremely portable machine!

Update (2006): after a year, heat did cause the aluminum case to warp. 3.5 years on, the machine works great! Cosmetically, though, the heat did take its toll.

Another Update (2008): five years out, still works fine. I upgraded to 2G RAM so it's much swifter. The warping did not get any worse.

i just got my laptop and we're best friends. the sound quality is amazing, itunes ROCKS! What in the world is roxios easy cd creator, pc user please tell me.But dont be fooled by what they say, the battery life is only 3:30 hours, even though that is very different from 5 hours, its still alot. its light as heck! i could carry it around all day. And in the house using the internet is amazing!! super FAST, and amazing graphics. i just got to say that apple is amazing. Always thinking of new things. i used to hate macs cause i thought it was impossible to save something, but os x rocks this WORLD!

I initially bought a Sony Z1A but soon discovered a serious flaw in the keyboard design - the shift key is the same size as other keys, and I ended up too frequently hitting the up arrow key next to it.

So I returned it and tried the new Toshiba laptop with Centrino chip - the keyboard felt cheap. And at the same time, I found that Virtual PC 6 on the iMac worked great, allowing me to use the few Windows XP programs that were unavailable on the Mac.

The 12" Powerbook I ended up with is the best laptop I've ever encountered. Quality level is a cut above the PCs. This was evident even when opening the box. I love the keyboard. The screen is crisp. And I really can carry it around much more easily than the larger PC laptops.