Henry Norr, long time Mac journalist and columnist for the “San Francisco Chronicle,” really likes the new iBook and says that the new computer portable is a “great illustration” of the saying, “less is more.”
Though the new iBook has “only half the mass of the original,” it offers all the capabilities of its forebears “and more than most of its competitors,” Norr said in his review. He likes the new trimmer shape, conservative (but still attractive) color scheme, and price point. Regarding the latter, Apple’s prices aren’t a breakthrough when compared with entry-level PC notebooks, but the iBook is a better bargain, because it has capabilities and features the Wintel notebooks don’t.
“While the curvaceous original iBook inspired comparisons to things like Barbie accessories and toilet seats, the new one, with a strictly rectangular design measuring 11.2-inches wide, 9.1-inches deep and 1.35-inches thick, truly deserves to be called a notebook — an extra-thick one, anyway,” Norr said.
There are some things he doesn’t like, however. Norr says the 500MHz processor is fat, but not as zippy as the 1GHz chips found in new high-end PC notebooks. He laments the lack of an infrared port and an analog audio- in port. He says the built-in stereo speakers are “pretty awful.” And he does have one complaint with the new iBook’s design: all the ports and connectors are on the sides.
“The system had to be designed that way, Apple product managers told me, because the bottom of the screen drops down when it’s opened into the area where cables would normally be connected,” Norr said. “That begs the question of why the hinge was designed that way. It’s not a big point, but I would have preferred a screen that would let me keep my power line, modem cable and so on out of sight.”
Overall, however, he feels that the new iBook is a sure hit among Mac users. Plus, it’s “probably good enough to win over a few more Windows users to the Apple camp.”