Ok, now that the new macbooks are out i am going to buy my wife a new laptop. but really don't think she needs the latest and greatest, but since they are out the price of the last genneration has dropped a bit.

she is not a power-user. mostly web, email and MS office stuff. a little photoshop but rarely. I like the powerbooks as they are faster, but my powerbook has pretty bad battery life and that is important to her.

what are the real-world differences between a 12" powerbook 1.33 and an 12" Ibook 1.33. I've seen the specs and they look pretty close. what would you recommend for her?

She is useing an ibook G3 500Mhz now so anything will be a big jump!
thanks
ryan

As someone who went from a G3 iBook to a G4 1.33 Powerbook - the difference is big. But the difference between the G4 1.33 PB and the G4 1.33 iBook, aren't really that huge.

There's a couple key differences:
- Keyboard (I like the PB keyboard much better)
- Wireless Range (The iBooks have WAY better wireless internet reception than the Powerbooks)
- Video Card (Powerbooks have double the video RAM)
- Audio Input (PBs have an audio "in" jack - iBooks don't)
- Extended Desktop (Powerbooks can connect to an external monitor and extend their desktop onto it... while iBooks [unhacked ones at least] can only mirror their desktop onto external monitors)
- Weight (The iBook is heavier than the Powerbook - 12" PB 4.6 lbs, 12" iBook 4.9 lbs - it doesn't seem like much but I found it to be significant, especially when carrying around my laptop every day).

You mention battery life, and in my experience it wasn't that different between them. My old iBook got about 2 hours or so (but it was an OLD G3) and my powerbook [bought used] now gets around 3 hours. The newer 1.33 iBook will probably get 4 to 5 hours with a new battery.

All told... (wow... this post if much longer than I thought it would be) after rereading your post - I'd say go with the iBook - unless the weight is a big issue. the iBooks are cheaper and more durable and have better wireless reception.

Great, thanks for the info-

ryan