I'm keeping it until Apple build another 12" (Apple PowerBook G4 M9689B/A)

Member Name: jamesontheroad

Product:	Apple PowerBook G4 M9689B/A
Date:	13/03/08 (30 review reads)
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Advantages: Size, weight, ingenius design, ease of use, reliability, initial battery life

Disadvantages: After 2 - 3 years, battery life is reducing

The 12" Powerbook G4 is, my mind, a phenomenal little laptop, and until Apple goes to the trouble of designing and building a Macbook Pro with a 12" screen, I'm not going to be upgrading.

No longer in production, the 12" Powerbook could probably be found for a good price second hand. I've used mine for academic work - typing essays, papers etc and frequent graphical work in Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign etc. It's true that compared with modern computers, the processor is now outclassed, and I generally try to keep my high-end graphics work to other machines, but as a day to day laptop the Powerbook is superb.

Don't be fooled by Apple announcing that the Macbook Air is the greatest compact laptop either - thinness is not the most important dimension in a latop. The 12" Powerbook is basically the same size as a US 'letter' piece of paper, meaning it slips inside your bag with ease, and still gets jealous gazes from the owners of more modern but stupidly oversized laptops. If you don't mind a small screen (only a problem for watching movies with more than one more person or doing big files in Photoshop) you'll love the compact design and lightweight body.

Summary: Three years on, still makes new laptop owners jealous.

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