Time.com correspondent Chris Taylor has changed his tune. Although he derided Apple’s original iBook as “Barbie-like” (joining the ranks of such reviled Mac naysayers as John C. Dvorak in the process), he’s impressed with the new model. Taylor jotted down some of his thoughts in a recent analysis posted on Time.com.
“Often a search for the coolest design ends with the simplest,” said Taylor, talking about the sleek, minimalist lines of the new iBook.
Taylor said the new iBook uses design influences clearly culled from Apple’s enormously successful titanium-clad PowerBook G4, but it has some unique elements all its own.
“The new iBook looks and feels very much like a titanium PowerBook that went through a compactor and got drenched in milky-white plastic. This is not a bad thing,” said Taylor.
Despite some tradeoffs, such as a 12-inch screen and a slot-loading optical drive — Taylor apparently prefers the PowerBook G4’s DVD-ROM, which allows discs to be loaded “like bread in a toaster — he calls the iBook “golden,” saying it’s speedy enough for consumers.
“Jobs is pushing this as the best portable choice for education, but it looks suspiciously like the laptop for the rest of us too,” said Taylor, borrowing a phrase from Apple’s original Mac campaign.
For more details, visit Time.com.