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iBook v. Pismo: Ice Over Charcoal You're in luck. With the January release of the 14.1" iBook 600, PowerBook G3 (Pismo) prices have suddenly plummeted, after the whole G3 Series (Wallstreet, Lombard, Pismo) were holding steady for quite some time after the May 2001 release of the new iBook. Now, with the 14.1" iBook on the market, Mac portable owners face a bewildering
array of recent-model G3s to choose from. The larger iBook is indeed the Missing
Pismo Mystery explained, which we visited in an earlier edition of this column.
Most, if not all, of the iBook's shortcomings in comparison with the PowerBooks -
smallish 12.1" screen, smaller cache, no more MHz - are resolved with the 'Big
iBook'. We'll pay more attention to Taiwanese spokespeople with a big mouth from
now on.
So whadda you buy? Do you get a brand new iBook with all the fruit, or do you save a few hundred
bucks on the Pismo and spec it up to the new iBook? Or, alternatively, should you
get a base 12.1" iBook for roughly the same money as used Pismo? But before
we get started, let's recap the main specs of the machines we're dealing with. In
the table below, I've included the 400MHz Pismo, as there are many, many used examples
of wildly-varying custom spec, they sell for a bit less (around the $1,000 mark),
and they're only about 25% slower than the Pismo 500. Note also that, unlike earlier
PowerBooks, the Pismo 400 differs only from the 500 in terms of original RAM, hard
drive and processor speed. There are no other differences.
Prices/Equipment The $1,799 iBook 14.1" is well equipped and boasts 100MHz superior speed, a 256K cache running at full processor speed, a built-in CDRW/DVD (8x4x6x24) and a 20GB hard drive. The unit also has a claimed 6-hour battery life. By comparison, the Pismo 500 has a bigger cache (1MB) running at a 2.5:1 ratio, and a DVD-ROM only. Early (pre-September 2000) Pismos had a 12GB hard drive; the later revision had a 20 gigger. The Pismo has a battery (when new) rated at 5 hours, although 4-4.5 hours depending on use would be a reasonable estimate. The two 14.1" 'Books both have a 100MHz bus, although the base iBook 500 gets the old 66MHz bus. The same graphics chip resides on both motherboards. Pismo has certain advantages which simply cannot be had on the iBook: analog audio I/O is a big one for some people, as is extended desktop mode. The Pismo's single CardBus slot can also accommodate a SCSI card for connectivity with either legacy or the latest SCSI equipment. Adaptec's popular SlimSCSI card is having its drivers ported to OS X at present. It doesn't permit SCSI Disk Mode, but it's there if you need it. FireWire->SCSI adapters are available, but if it's, say, a burner you're using, it's possible your CD burning software won't recognize it correctly. The Pismo's CardBus slot also permits a host of other extras, such as a Zoomed Video card (for analog or DV capture from a camera or VCR), PCMCIA flash memory cards (the iBook requires an external USB or FireWire card reader), USB 2.0 cards or BlueTooth, which is likely to experience significant growth this year (see the Guide to PCMCIA/CardBus cards for more info). It's also likely that Gigabit CardBus ethernet cards will become available, which the Pismo's slot will accommodate. Another Pismo advantage is its IrDA port for syncing with Palm, or for talking to certain mobile phones (some mobiles also require a PC card connection). For road warriors wanting this type of flexibility, the PowerBook is the only way to go. For casual file transfer where no cables are available, IrDA transfers are also useful, and also makes connectivity to certain IrDA printers possible. An irritation which found its way onto the icy iBook is the absence of support for older Apple monitors. How many of you are still using a good old Macintosh 14" Color Display? Or even the RGB? Admittedly, this isn't a portable's primary purpose, but if you move from place to place and need an external display to use your 'Book as a portable desktop, it's incredibly useful to know it will simply work. Not so the iBook. Lack of an extended desktop is another nuisance which keeps many people from considering the iBook. Apple deliberately hobbled the iBook's video so it would only display a fixed resolution mirror image, despite the fact that it sports an identical card to the Pismo. That DVD/CDRW Combo drive is really what spurs iBook sales though. To put the Pismo in the same league, you'd have to spend $449 on MCE's expansion bay DVD/CDRW for Pismos and Lombards. This puts a $1250 Pismo perilously close to the iBook's street price - and even then it's still 100MHz behind. Alternatively, if you don't mind swapping expansion bay modules, you could save by going for MCE or VST's CDRW, both of which retail for around $380 (check out the Guide to PowerBook Expansion Bay Modules for the low-down). The MCE unit is bootable. As a bonus, the iBook comes with a nice power adapter. The Pismo doesn't. You
can buy a little adapter, though, that lets you use an iBook/TiBook AC power supply
Performance For most operations, a 600MHz iBook should dust a Pismo 500 by around 20%, although it's not that simple. 100MHz isn't a lot, and you simply won't notice in most day-to-day tasks. In my side-by-side comparisons, the iBook's a little snappier in the Finder and application launches, while the Pismo retrieves info from cache a bit faster. Where the iBook wins in a lay-down misère performance is on the FireWire bus. The May 2001 iceBooks took advantage of revised FireWire controllers even before the PowerBook G4 did, and it shows. Whereas January TiBooks and earlier G3s had (relatively) miserable sustained write performance of about 15-16MB/ps, the iBooks scream at around 33-35MB/ps. This, in itself, could decide you, if maximum FireWire speed is critical to you (more on PowerBook FireWire performance here. Like the all other recent Macs, these two 'Books both support FireWire Target Mode for quick docking to another Mac portable or desktop. Similarly, both the iBook and Pismo can self-power an iPod from their FireWire ports. Note that this kind of speed isn't essential, even with a CDRW. For multi-gig files, sure, go for it, if time is of the essence. But I see an awful lot of iBook owners without a FireWire peripheral of any description, and plenty more who wouldn't know the diff between the FireWire symbol and 'DANGER: HAZARDOUS NUCLEAR RADIATION' signs. The Pismo is more than adequate for DV however, where the throughput required is only around 5.5MB/ps (any Wallstreet 300 can handle this). The verdict? A small win to the iBook on speed; a big win on FireWire.
Displays Most users say that the iBook's displays are both crisper and brighter than the Pismo's which uses slightly older LCD technology, which washes out colors somewhat. Owning a Lombard and Wallstreet myself, I can see the difference, but don't have a problem with the Lombard/Pismo display. In fact, I always have the screen turned down to its lowest level, as I detest overt brightness and find it strains the eyes during long sessions. This is a matter of personal preference, obviously, and I've no doubt most people will prefer the iBook. The 14.1" iBook's larger pixels make it worth considering for those of us who are approaching - or already suffer from - middle age. Some older users have told me that the PowerBook 5300 (640x480, 10.4" color screen on two models) is the last PowerBook they could contemplate seriously, as the later, higher-resolution 'Books were just too small in the pixel department. I see their point, although personally, I find the Pismo's 1024x768 ideal on the 14.1" screen. Most will be happy with the 12.1" XGA screen of the lesser iBooks, which gives it its compact, sub-notebook form factor. The thing to consider with the Pismo is that LCDs' backlights fade gradually over time (although they should be good for at least another 6 years). Another consideration is the aging of the display cable. Over time, connecting ribbon cables may become worn or frayed. This is symptomatic of all older portable in general. Constant opening/closing of the lid will always do this - eventually. In the graphics department, the Pismo's much greater flexibility with external
monitors, together with its better external resolution support, gives it a sharp
edge for those who use their portables as desktops or for presentations. Despite the Pismo's two-year, largely-clean service record, there is no doubt the iBook wins hands-down in the tuffness department. There's simply no way the Pismo could be thrown in a bag without some scuffing. That's not to say the iBook is indestructible, but it's just far more likely to survive the stumble-over-the-cat-trip-over-the-power-cable-and-send-the-'Book-flying-off-the-coffee-table-and-onto-the-hard-wooden-floor-while-scalding-the-cat-with-coffee kind of fall. I have had running Pismos and 5300s survive this kind of fall (with only physically damaged hard drives), but it's a fair bet the iBook is better at copping this type of abuse. The Pismo has acquitted itself reasonably well to this stage, with the screen hinges mostly holding out (as opposed to the Wallstreet series). Used examples can have squeaking/creaking panels all over the place, but this is typical of the thin plastics flexing and isn't cause for real concern. Nevertheless, some Pismo owners have reported problematic hinges, firmware upgrade issues and unrecognized batteries, as well as flakey power managers, sound cards (which connect to the AC connector) and power supply cards. All of these can be relatively expensive ($120-300) fixes. The iBook's impossible to get into and out of in the hard drive upgrade department. Luckily, you're less likely to do that since Apple stopped putting paltry 3.2GB drives into iBooks some time ago. Conversely, the entire PowerBook G3 series are a dream to work on; hard drives, RAM, modem cards - even CardBus cages - are relatively simple to replace. The iBook can survive an amateur putting in RAM and an Airport card. But that's about it. Don't mess with it. It's difficult to assess the iBook's service record at this point; it simply hasn't been around long enough. But if buying a Pismo used, it's worthwhile getting one that still has AppleCare on it. Upgradability This is where the Pismo shines. The daughtercard is removable, making G4 upgrades possible, as PowerLogix announced some weeks ago for the Lombard. Conversely, the iBook's CPU is soldered, making upgrades extremely difficult. The complete absence of any upgrade path for any previous iBook testifies to this. As noted above, when dealing with serviceability, a 60GB drive (the largest currently available from IBM), can be slipped into a Pismo in mere minutes. The lower RAM slot, underneath the processor daugtercard, is easily user-accessible, making 1 GB of RAM a trivial exercise (apart from the money, of course). The dual expansion bays of the Pismo also mean twin batteries, or the option of a battery plus a Zip (100 or 250) from SmartDisk/VST, a 120MB SuperDisk (also accepts standard floppies), or additional hard drive (up to 60GB), meaning a Pismo can have up to 120GB of on-line storage - more than any PowerBook G4. For pro video editors, this sort of capacity is a must. To be fair, the iBook circumvents this limitation by accepting external FireWire hard drives, although this means the additional inconvenience of lugging an extra drive around. The second battery option has always made the Pismo an extremely viable used laptop, but the iBook's 6-hour battery almost negates this traditional PowerBook advantage. But if getting 8 hours of continuous use is important, the Pismo is the winner here. Some Pismos may have batteries on their last legs now, so watch for that and factor in the price of a new battery (about $130). On the down side, its batteries are becoming more expensive (but not by much yet), while the price of PRAM batteries for these models ($30 and up!) is becoming ridiculous. Decisions, Decisions The winner? It has to be the iBook. While the Pismo 400 and 500 still have considerable merit, they have been eclipsed in virtually every department by the iBook range, and the 14.1" model in particular. The iBook is sturdier, better equipped, runs a superior display, has vastly superior FireWire performance and the high-end models comes with a built-in CDRW/DVD combo drive. Having said that, it's by no means a knock-out. The Pismo still wins in some areas - CardBus expandability; possible G4 upgrade; better monitor support and battery life - but its FireWire is last-generation and expansion bay modules are relatively expensive. The general cautions that apply when purchasing a used 'Book - don't buy sight unseen - are particularly pertinent to the generally more fragile PowerBooks. AppleCare is almost a must to protect your investment. The Pismo is still a considerable bargain at around the price of an entry-level CD-ROM-equipped iBook 12.1. It's faster than the base iBook, but I'd say about $1,400 is really top whack for a mint one with AppleCare maybe and a Zip drive thrown in. If the owner wants more, tell them to stick it and go and buy a DVD iBook. For good used examples, $1,200-$1,250 is about the ballpark. The 400MHz Pismo is also an awful lot of 'Book for the money: look at paying around $1,000 for one of these. Dealer prices will of course be slightly higher than private sales, but some dealers offer 90-day warranties and/or Apple or dealer refurbished models. Criticism of the original iBook - price, equipment, display, external monitor output - has almost vanished. Most of the problems I had with the iBook 300/366, and its FireWire successor have been resolved. The 14.1" iBook only makes the product range even stronger. In around 12 months' time, I'll be shopping for a new 'Book. And the iBook 14.1 - or its successor - will be getting a very long, hard look from me. But whichever one of these you buy, I can assure you: you'll be happy with your purchase. Good traveling.
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