11-04-2004, 11:52 AM

Hi All,

I am new to this forum. Thinking of buying an iBook but can not decide between 12” and 14” screen. I like the compact size of 12” iBook but at the same time 14” Screen appeals me. The cost difference is $300. I don’t care the extra 30GB on 14” iBook or the extra 0.133 GHz processing power.

I will iBook for normal day to day applications such as word processing, spreadsheet, accounting, emails and not very keen about other heavy duty applications such as Movie, graphics etc. Overall one session will last not more than 2 hours.

Is that 2” difference is really noticeable? worth spending extra $300?

I am sure this topic must have been discussed in this forum but I would appreciate if someone can provide me some quick feedback.

www.amazon.com is offering the latest 12” ibook(M9623LL/A, 12", 256MB, 1.2 GHz, 30 Gb, Airport extreme card built in) for $849 after Mail in rebate ! (free shipping, no tax)

SuhasG

11-04-2004, 01:00 PM

i picked the 12".

when I had the 12 and 14 side by side I initially picked the 14 because I thought i'd see more. It looked bigger but as I kept going back and forth with the same webpages open, i saw the exact same thing but the 12 just shrunk font and pics a little bit. Resolution is exactly the same so no difference in graphics. It just seems like its showing you more but in reality you can adjust screen size with the 12 to make it almost comparable to the 14.

But for me my budget was $1400. I was all ready to go with the 14 when I started to think of what I would be using the iBook for. I started to realize that the 2" difference is really not that much at all. The 12 actually made things sharper but yes sometimes the font is kinda small on certain pages and if you have poor eyesight you can always enlarge the screen size.

For what you listed the 12" is perfect for you. The best way is to get to the Apple Store and do a side by side...but you will not be sorry with the 12. Geez, $999 is a steal as is (I spent the rest of my budget to upgrade RAM as it is a MUST, and got a D-Link BT adapter, and a laptop bag)! $850!? you got it made! Go for it my man! You will not be sorry!!!!

11-04-2004, 01:46 PM

You're right, it has been discussed many times and it all boils down to personal preference. I chose the 14", the extra real estate does make a difference. If weight isn't an issue get the 14".
12" could = regrets
14" = no regrets

11-04-2004, 02:35 PM

i got the 14" after borrowing the university 12" no regrets, 14" enables better viewing for photoshop, games etc i know if i got the 12" i would always be wondering.

my friend has a 12" powerbook and regrets it he likes the bigger screen size, i carry my ibook around uni allday long and doesnt tire me out .

11-04-2004, 03:00 PM

I got the 12" for the reasons mentioned by code777 above.

For me it wasn't so much a weight consideration, more general size: The 14" is quite bulky and you need a proper bag to carry it in (rucksack or case)
The 12" however I just stick in it's sleeve and can put in my shoulderbag, small rucksack, whatever...

It's about the size of a college notepad and as thick as a textbook so I don't really notice it. The 14" is more like lugging an atlas around. Not so much heavy as bulky and impracticable to take with me every day. (which I need to do)

If size & weight isn't an issue for you, get the 14".
If it is and you don't mind the smaller screen get the 12".

The speed difference is negligible in my opinion...

11-04-2004, 06:11 PM

I'm planning to get an iBook soon as well and I think I will go with the 12inch one. I know that it's small compared to many similarly priced laptops which give you a relatively-monstrous 15inch screen but I like the fact that it's small and light. I can always plug the iBook into my 17inch flat screen monitor at home anyways if I'm in for a long session. Plus, I could use the extra £150 for other things like RAM, USB mouse (as I currently have none) and a wireless router.

11-04-2004, 07:30 PM

I seriously don't mind the 12" screen at all. I actually prefer it over my 17" CRT monitor, because the quality is so high and it's so clear and crisp.

Go for the 12". The extra 2" of space doesn't really make a difference at all. I still play games and watch movies on my 12", and I don't mind it one bit. Plus the portability and money factor is always a bonus.

Go 12"!

11-05-2004, 01:10 PM

Hi All,

Thanks for all your suggestions and advice. Finally I concluded in favor of 12” iBook and placed my order at www.amazon.com. My final price would be $999 - $150 (MIR) = $849!
Now it is the long long wait. Delivery estimate is about 20th Nov.

Yesterday I went to local Apple store, I tried both 12” and 14” iBooks, compared them side by side, viewing the same page, running the same application etc. By the way the sales kid over there was very helpful to me during all these exercises.

Here are my observations:

1. 12” in small, compact, light weight compared to 14”.
2. I was much comfortable while carrying 12” iBook.
3. 14” display is only slightly bigger and adds no gr8 value; in fact I found the 12” screen crisper then 14”.
4. As ‘mangoSharingan’ said earlier I can always connect a big screen when at home.
5. 14” iBook offer 30Gb extra but I don’t need that much and if needed I can connect an external disk.
6. I don’t thing the extra 0.133 GHz of 14” will make any drastic speed improvement over 12”.
7. The $300 saving can be better utilized to add extra RAM and some add-ons.

So the winner is 12” iBook.

I checked with the sales kid at the store about price match with Amazon, firstly he didn’t believe it, then he called the store manager, she said they can not match any MIR, club discount etc.

I called 1-800-MY APPLE, the sales assistant there first declined to match but on a second thought he asked me to hold on for a while and returned with $100 off making the 12” to $899! After telling this to the sales manager of the Apple store, she offered me a discount 10% on both 12” and 14” iBooks. Making 12”@ $899 and 14” @ $1169!

However Amazon deal is much better as I don’t have to pay sales tax. I am in SanDiego US and tax here is 7.75%, so at the end I decided to go with the Amazon deal.

Once again thanks a lot for the help.

Regards

SuhasG

11-05-2004, 09:22 PM

what!? they agreed to it????? oh man. When I bought my 12" at the Apple Store they said they can not match any "internet" price. They even called someone at Apple about it as I made a small stink about it. Oh man, maybe i should go back and demand a credit!!! and get more goodies for my 12"!!!! They also did go online to look up this offer on Amazon and the manager told me its the old version of the iBook but... who knows. I'm gonna try to go there tomorrow and ask for a credit

11-05-2004, 10:15 PM

Originally Posted by suhasG

1. 12” in small, compact, light weight compared to 14”.
2. I was much comfortable while carrying 12” iBook.
3. 14” display is only slightly bigger and adds no gr8 value; in fact I found the 12” screen crisper then 14”.
4. As ‘mangoSharingan’ said earlier I can always connect a big screen when at home.
5. 14” iBook offer 30Gb extra but I don’t need that much and if needed I can connect an external disk.
6. I don’t thing the extra 0.133 GHz of 14” will make any drastic speed improvement over 12”.
7. The $300 saving can be better utilized to add extra RAM and some add-ons.

Those are the same things I have been thinking as well! It's not like I'm going to use my iBook as a mass storage for movies, songs and games, even though it will be my main system. I'd rather buy an external 120GB hard drive or something and plug it in whenever I need to back up something like a video file. Plus. the lighter weight will really help me as I usually have a load of other heavy stuff like textbooks in my bag! And finally, I'm sure with the extra £150 that I will save, the extra bit of RAM should offer my iBook a better performance boost than a measly .133Ghz increase in CPU speed!

11-06-2004, 01:44 AM

Yeah, I went for the 12" for the same reasons, enjoy!

11-06-2004, 04:28 PM

Go for the 12", both 12" and the 14" has 1024x768 as maximum screensize, so I don't really see the reason why you should go for the 14"... maybe just me

11-06-2004, 09:00 PM

the only thing with the 14 is you can see a little more, things are enlarged a little more but that's it. unless you need the 60GB HDD then go with the 12 as speed is not really an issue between the two.

11-06-2004, 11:36 PM

Congrats, enjoy your new toy man!

11-07-2004, 12:16 AM

if you want the larger monitor. might as well just get the biggest, as the screen is the same 1024x768 resolution as the 12 in offers

it's still 1024x768, just um. bigger? =/