Home > Consumer Reviews > Apple PowerBook Laptop 15.2" M8981LL/A (1.25-GHz PowerPC G4, 512 MB RAM, 80 GB Hard Drive, DVD-R/CD-RW Drive)

It's beautiful, and I consider it to be a member of the family. In addition to what other reviewers have written I just want to add that there are some common problems (according to the store who fixed my mac):

- It doesn't stay closed, this is very inconvenient since I like to put it to sleep by closing the lid. It keeps popping open and waking up again.
- The keyboard sticks along the side. the keyboard fit is so tight that if it is placed in a little off, your keys will stick a little on one side
- It does nick and scratch, beware
- Open and close with both hands, or the screen will get a permanent lighter shade where pressure is applied. Keep pressure on the screen frame.
- When using iMovie with lots of clips, I suggest closing other programs or iMovie will slow and even shut down unexpectadly

So you know, if you ever lose a key from your keyboard, all the PowerBooks have the same size keys. You can take a key off a 12" and pop it on a 17". In any case, if I had to pick a computer all over, I would still select the 15" PowerBook. It's a great computer.

I am not going to bore you with all the tech details the 15.2" Powerbook with Superdrive comes with, but I do want to let you know that I usually buy a new computer every year. They have all been PC's, but I got sick and tired of crashes and that dreaded "end program now" prompting from Windows Xp. This would happen with any program that used alot of RAM such as photoshop etc. Using two heavy duty programs or multi-tasking was impossible with Xp. Now with this beautiful Mac, no crashes, rock stable performance. I can run multiple screened programs effortlessly on the fly. The panther OSX system is rock stable. The computer is beautiful looking, it comes with some of the best software I have ever seen in a laptop. Steve Jobs has made me a believer! I will never go back to owning just a PC. And the beauty of it all is that you can now share files with almost any Windows file format doing away with old compatibility problems. This computer is fast and does not stick. It is light, and looks very sleek. Nothing can beat that!

Yeah, I know it's a little more money than the knock-off PC clones from Dell and Gateway, but this is a far superior computer. The Mac platform is not only the most powerful one available, it is also the simplest and most versatile - once you learn it.

The 15-inch is the perfect size for me. I looked at both the 12 and 17-inch models and felt they were a little too small/big respectively. There is something attractive about the 12 inch - a friend of mine has one and he carries it around everywhere, able to write anywhere anytime. And seated at a desk the 17-inch is also attractive, presenting a massive, bright screen to work on. But all in all, the 15-inch provides the best both worlds. It's very portable - maybe not as easy to tug along as the 12-inch, but certainly manageable with a small backpack. The 17-inch can be problematic on a plane if there are people crowding you, and it's certainly cumbersome to maneuver in tight spaces, whereas the 12-inch is easy to maneuver but can cause a little eyestrain from a distance.

I definitely recommend a Mac, first of all, and within that I recommend the 15-inch G4 notebook. If you must have a 12-inch, you might take a look at the 12-inch iBook, which is cheaper but obviously not as feature rich (the iBook's graphics card is not as powerful and the processor is slower, most notably).

The complaints I have are exterior - the computer doesn't age well (i.e., it nicks and scratches rather easily) and there should be some sort of elevation device to raise the back end while typing (like the older Powerbooks had).

All in all you can't go wrong with any Apple laptop you choose. They are truly making the digital life a reality with all of their integrated software - iTunes, iPhoto, iSight, and the iPod are particularly cool. No other laptop will have an operating system with so many fantastic programs that are so perfectly integrated together. If this is remotely in your price range, go for it. It can literally change the way you operate on a day-to-day basis.

This is awesome! I replaced my desktop with this feature-rich laptop and love it. The wide screen is perfect for watching DVDs and the design is stunning. The best part about it is OS X. Very stable and much more intuitive than it's Windows counterpart. I can't think of one bad thing to say about this laptop. Yes, it costs more than your average laptop, but it packs many more features. Worth every bit of the money.

ladies and gents, i favor apple. if not for their seamless design and functionality integration (which everyone else also agree's with), then i must say simplicity has led me to my decision. I am a sales manager and part-time advertising coordinator (so you can rest assured i will advertise 'Apple' for the masses...

i have the need to use my laptop for recording sales and inventory as well as editing some ads on graphics aps. i also use the laptop for word processing. i must say, i have never found it simpler to integrate wireless browsing (including wireless print server), an external dv monitor (for expanded desktop space), and a home network of 5 wireless peripherals. all this took me less than 6 hours to accomplish (without the slightest of road blocks along the way...).

you be the judge. if you can point me in the direction of one person who works on a windows (or even linux) system and has been able to do what i have in the time i have, and maintain the system without a headache for even a month, then i salute the person in question but would still recommend an Apple system, just because the OS looks better.

i've only worked on the Apple platform for a little over a year and a half now (having bought an Apple iBook first, and now opted for the powerbook G4 1.25ghz). so before any critics step out and call me a 'brainwashed apple lover who is blinded by sheer beauty', think about what i've said above and allow yourself the ability to step out of the confinements of pc globalization... give in to the fruit of your intuition... the fruit that is 'Apple'.