Home > Consumer Reviews > Apple PowerBook Laptop 12" M9184LL/A (1.33-GHz PowerPC G4, 256 MB RAM, 60 GB Hard Drive, SuperDrive)

To keep it simple, my last notebook was an hp. I had that one for five years and compared to what computers have today, that one had nothing. To this day its runing pretty good. But now i decided to go with a Mac. I am beyond extactic. I love it. No computer is perfect, nor is this one, because my one and only complaint is that the speakers don't go as high as I would like. But whatever, because everything else is simple and elegant and smooth and I could go on and on. Oh and get this. My last notebook or actually it was a laptop weighed 10 lbs., this one weights less than half that at 4.6 lbs. My shoulders are screaming joy.

I've had this machine for almost 3 months now, and it has given me as close to zero problems as computers are capable of. It is very small and portable. The display quality is excellent. The power management works great (excellent battery life and fantastic standby/resume reliability). The wireless performance is very good, and the machine is fast enough to be used as a primary machine. You'll definitly want to upgrade the RAM (I recommend at least the 512MB upgrade).

I purchased this 12" Powerbook 5 months ago. It wasn't the most recent model at the time, but it suited my needs. It still draws alot of attention whenever I use it in public. It is light weight and durable. To this day, no crashes. Airport Extreme works flawlessy where other wireless cards fail. Battery length is reasonable at a realistic 4 hours (A DVD movie is power intensive). No dead pixels -screen is still in great condition. I easily self installed additional ram, beefing it up to 768mb from the factory 256mb according to numerous reviews stating the factory installed memory was insufficient. The operating temperature of the laptop doesn't get excessively hot like other laptops. I spend more time on my powerbook now than i do reading books or watching TV.

Downside: Aluminum casing scratches easily. Poor audio capabilities (but then, invest in headphones!). USB ports on the left is incovenient for right-hand corded mouse users. It is also necssary to upgrade this from Panther to Tiger ($10 from Apple). Factory installed 256mb needs to be beefed up at least 512mb i you ant to avoid seeing the spinning ball of death.

Accessories to invest in: iSkin keyboard protector, a screen protector, and a good laptop sleeve (Booq is very reliable and sturdy). Don't waste your time purchasing a full size computer backpack or bag for this - it's overkill.

I'm taking a gamble purchasing this without applecare. Thanks to the forums and review sites like this, so far, so good. I highly recommend this product to any business person or student jumping into the Mac world for the first time.

The most exceptional computer I've ever owned! And that's saying a lot. I've been running an advertising agency for many years and I've owned Mac's and PCs back to their origins. We now have nearly 100 computers from IBM laptops to G5s and I've used Mac laptops since I bought the ill-fated "Portable." However, this is by far the best. If you're not doing graphics every day, the 12" version is nice because it's so easy to use on a plane or in a Starbucks. All applications, including PhotoShop and InDesign run great and the Microsoft Office is seamlessly compatible with PC versions. The keys feel great and the wireless Airport is astonishing. Just open your Mac in hotels, airports, coffee shops, and office buildings and you're likely to find an available network. (You can even sit outside of a hotel in a pinch.)

I've owned this for 9 months and you couldn't take it away without violence.

Good machine. I love the way it looks, works and handles things. Macs can do things so nicely that PCs can only aspire. But it does just [this] many things.

Windows based software may be poor and unstable, but they sure can do many (read aloud - many) more things, and sure are cheap. PC software is available in such abundance that there are always at least some options out there to meet your needs. Not as neat as its MAC counterpart, if there is any. Yeah, I said, if there is any.

Do more things = meet more needs. Hey you, guys at Apple! Get more people to make more software to meet more needs. Software domain for MAC OS X have a lot of catch up with. Wake up Mr. Rabbit!

Wannbe converts: MAC is a different animal. It might not replace your PC altogether. Not yet. Be careful.