# 12" Powerbook G4 $1499 at Best Buy



## da_jonesy (Jun 26, 2003)

Anyone see the new Best Buy flyers... 12" Powerbook G4 is $1499

Looks like they are trying to clear out stock.


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## a7mc (Dec 30, 2002)

Where the heck did you see that?! I looked everywhere on BestBuy's website, and in their flyer. That can't be right... that's like $400 cheaper than education pricing! If you can tell me where to find one at that price I might find a way to get the money to pick one up!

Let me know where to go!!!

A7


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## adam1185 (Feb 16, 2005)

Well it says save $380. That's quite a big savings!

This is in tomorrow's flyer so prices don't come into effect until then.


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## satchmo (May 26, 2005)

adam1185 said:


> Well it says save $380. That's quite a big savings!
> 
> This is in tomorrow's flyer so prices don't come into effect until then.



How did you get tomorrow's flyer? Was this dropped in the mail or is it online somewhere as well?


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## dona83 (Jun 26, 2005)

They ALWAYS have these sales, Best Buy always seems to have good deals on Mac computers, like look at iBook, 12" for $1199, 14" for $1599... all $50 below Apple MSRP... but wait, there's more! Buy each and get a free $50 iTunes card!

And because Best Buy is a very major retailer I don't think Apple can do much to deny them.


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## CN (Sep 3, 2004)

Wow, thats quite a deal. Perhaps a revision on Powerbooks will be coming for the event on Sept. 7?


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## adam1185 (Feb 16, 2005)

satchmo said:


> How did you get tomorrow's flyer? Was this dropped in the mail or is it online somewhere as well?


Came in the mail like it does every week


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## iPetie (Nov 25, 2003)

13.3" inchers on the way in Paris.


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## satchmo (May 26, 2005)

iPetie said:


> 13.3" inchers on the way in Paris.


Yeah, I'm afraid to pull the trigger on this 12" PB for fear of that. 

Then again, I've been disappointed way too many times before with MacExpo announcements. And I wouldn't want to miss out on a deal like this.
Does Bestbuy ever repeat these kinds of sales?


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## iPetie (Nov 25, 2003)

satchmo said:


> Yeah, I'm afraid to pull the trigger on this 12" PB for fear of that.
> 
> Then again, I've been disappointed way too many times before with MacExpo announcements. And I wouldn't want to miss out on a deal like this.
> Does Bestbuy ever repeat these kinds of sales?


It's a great deal on a great PB. You never know with Macworlds, but I will say that it is time for a PB update! I'd get it at that price, for sure. Even if the updated models come out, you'd be able to recover most if not all of the investment if you sold right away.


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## da_jonesy (Jun 26, 2003)

All this being said... I have so to say that while this is a good price for a 12" PB, the better value is still the 12" iBook.

My guess is that the 12" Powerbook is on the verge of getting sunsetted. Ever since the iBooks went to the G4 processor I have questioned the need for both a 12" Powerbook and iBook.


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## yatko (Oct 9, 2004)

You can always buy this from Bestbuy today (or whenever it is on sale) and return it after Sept 7th incase there is a new one right. Of course it is appreciated if you don't open the packaging until the day you decide to keep or return it


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## satchmo (May 26, 2005)

yatko said:


> You can always buy this from Bestbuy today (or whenever it is on sale) and return it after Sept 7th incase there is a new one right. Of course it is appreciated if you don't open the packaging until the day you decide to keep or return it


The MacExpo is Sept 20th in Paris. A bit too far off in the distance to return the PB if I bought it this week.
 
The Sept 7th date is more than likely the iTunes enabled Motorola phone.


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## adam1185 (Feb 16, 2005)

satchmo said:


> The MacExpo is Sept 20th in Paris. A bit too far off in the distance to return the PB if I bought it this week.
> 
> The Sept 7th date is more than likely the iTunes enabled Motorola phone.


Then go buy it on the 8th when this offer runs out and you'll still have 12 days to return it which would work.


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## applebook (Aug 4, 2004)

There is no such deal according to the most recent mail flyers and the online site.


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## yatko (Oct 9, 2004)

I walked into my place and there was a 10%off coupon from Bestbuy in the mail. I said to myself thinking of this thread I saw earlier this morning, now I can finally own an apple.
$1499x.9=$1349x1.15=$1551

But when I read the fine print it said no computers, no ipods and I said daaamn!


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## adam1185 (Feb 16, 2005)

applebook said:


> There is no such deal according to the most recent mail flyers and the online site.


yeah there is, wait until the newest flyer that comes into effect tomorrow is put online.


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## applebook (Aug 4, 2004)

Dead link.


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## adam1185 (Feb 16, 2005)

Woops, fixed.


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## dona83 (Jun 26, 2005)

I would be extremely jealous since my iBook was $1418 plus I had to buy more RAM for $99 but then I think my iBook's rockin' plus I get better wireless reception.


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## da_jonesy (Jun 26, 2003)

dona83 said:


> I would be extremely jealous since my iBook was $1418 plus I had to buy more RAM for $99 but then I think my iBook's rockin' plus I get better wireless reception.



Don't you worry... your longer battery life and dent resistant case should be making you feel pretty good.


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## applebook (Aug 4, 2004)

That's probably the 1.33, but if it's the 1.5, then it's a great deal.


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## adam1185 (Feb 16, 2005)

applebook said:


> That's probably the 1.33, but if it's the 1.5, then it's a great deal.


It's gotta be the 1.5 since it comes with 512 MB Ram. I doubt best buy is adding 256 MB of ram to them.


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## mac_geek (May 14, 2005)

adam1185 said:


> It's gotta be the 1.5 since it comes with 512 MB Ram. I doubt best buy is adding 256 MB of ram to them.


It is the 1.5ghz version.. the webcode (in fine print under the picture) matches that of the current version on www.bestbuy.ca


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## SLaw (Jun 5, 2004)

Seems it comes with OSX, not tiger. Also no ilife05


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## mac_geek (May 14, 2005)

SLaw said:


> Seems it comes with OSX, not tiger. Also no ilife05


It'll come with all the standard goodies.. including Tiger and iLife05.

BestBuy is notorius for not being accurate with the specs.. but this is the base 12" Powerbook that Apple would ship. No custom config.

Anyway.. not that there was any doubt, but it's now online if you want to check it out.

It's a hell of a deal.

http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0926INGFS10057982&catid=22156


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## satchmo (May 26, 2005)

adam1185 said:


> Then go buy it on the 8th when this offer runs out and you'll still have 12 days to return it which would work.


The return policy is 14 days...which working back from the 20th brings the date up to the 6th of September. Unfortunately it may all be sold out by then.

It's a great price...but I'm also questioning if the $250 more over an iBook is worth it. And with a student discount, the iBook is only $1199.


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## yatko (Oct 9, 2004)

*iBook vs Powerbook*

I am about to make a very critical decision here.
I can buy the $1500 bestbuy 12" Powerbook for $1450+tax(very limited quantity so can't share the source, sorry) or 12" ibook from apple store for $1160.

Other than the obvious wow factor for the powerbook what are other advantages to justify me to pay additional $300.

I heard powerbook generates heat,
has shorther battery life

Please help me to justify spending extra $300.
I think to top up ibook to 512MB RAM it is around $60

TIA


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## applebook (Aug 4, 2004)

Major PROS for the PowerBook: 

64Mb VRAM
FX5200 is a better GPU
5400rpm Hard Drive
DVI-out 
Better built (the iBook creaks and cracks) 
Subjective*** much cooler design

All of these are easily worth $200+ in my book.


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## green_ears (Feb 26, 2005)

Online Availability 
Out of Stock: Will ship when available


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## da_jonesy (Jun 26, 2003)

applebook said:


> Major PROS for the PowerBook:
> 
> 64Mb VRAM
> FX5200 is a better GPU
> ...


CON... VERY prone to dents and dings. Also creaks and cracks. Runs hot and shorter Battery life.

64 MB VRAM and better GPU makes no difference unless you are hooked into an external monitor.


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## holy1 (Sep 14, 2003)

I've owned both. I traded my ibook up for a powerbook. While I loved my ibook...the powerbook case is way better. They both generate heat. I've never had problems w/ my powerbook wifi...it had the same strength as the ibook. I'd pay for 1) the extra processor MHZ 2) extra bus speed 167 MHZ 3) Extra video ram 4) Better HD 5) Better resale 6) Better casing.


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## applebook (Aug 4, 2004)

Denting and dinging is way better than cracking. Better battery life? That's like 30 minutes per charge. WOW! 

Yes, the GPU does make a huge difference. Some people actually do play games. The PowerBook runs hotter because its GPU is faster, and so is the hard disk.


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## Heart (Jan 16, 2001)

Good deal if anyone can find stock....

I would be interested if anyone can find any of these 12" PBs in a Best Buy.
Is this just some kind of false advertising.

Can some ehMac'rs make a couple of quick calls.

Kitchener - No Stock. - No ETA.
(Maybeeeee um like Thursday the helpful BB girl said)


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## kloan (Feb 22, 2002)

Bah.. I bet it's the 'ol bait n switch.


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## satchmo (May 26, 2005)

Heart said:


> Good deal if anyone can find stock....
> 
> I would be interested if anyone can find any of these 12" PBs in a Best Buy.
> Is this just some kind of false advertising.


Yeah, I tried a few in the Toronto area with no luck.
Does BestBuy provide rainchecks?


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## SLaw (Jun 5, 2004)

Went to Calgary Bestbuy to check it out. They do have it in stock, the one on display is OSX. The sales told me the one in stock is Tiger.

Since my ibook is runnung well, decided not to spend money on another powerbook


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## West Coast Boy (Sep 3, 2004)

All 4 Greater Vancouver Stores are reporting them as in stock. 
Hmmmm Decisions, Decisions. Do I get one or do I wait!?!?!?!?


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## joltguy (Apr 15, 2005)

That's a great deal on an awesome machine! Too bad the SuperDrive model wasn't marked down as well. I just checked and the closest Best Buy (Scarborough) does indeed have them in stock too.


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## MacME (Mar 15, 2005)

FYI, just checked on-line and it says 23 in stock. better grab them hot and available!

*edit:* okay it says 23 available but lower it says Online Availability Out of Stock: Will ship when available?

what the heck does that mean??? 23 available but out of stock?


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## Heart (Jan 16, 2001)

Online at BestBuy.ca it says Kitchener *HAS* stock but a call in say no!


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## zarquon (May 24, 2005)

applebook said:


> Major PROS for the PowerBook:
> 
> 64Mb VRAM
> FX5200 is a better GPU
> ...




iBooks have DVI out ( same as 12"PB it's a mini DVI connector ) They both have the mini DVI - VGA adaptor and both can ( once you run the script on the iBook ) drive an external display in spanning mode.

The extra VRAM and higher FSB is the real advantage. Plus you can put more ram in the PB if you want. The iBook has 512 on board and one empty slot, the PB has 2 slots.

Z.


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## RobTheGob (Feb 10, 2003)

zarquon said:


> iBooks have DVI out ( same as 12"PB it's a mini DVI connector ) They both have the mini DVI - VGA adaptor and both can ( once you run the script on the iBook ) drive an external display in spanning mode.


Well - the 1.33 iBook that PenguinBoy recently bought has a mini-VGA connector, *not* a mini-DVI. According to Apple's site, that's the case for everybody else's iBooks too...


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## AppleAuthority (May 21, 2005)

Best Buy Newmarket has two left. Just called. Damn it's a sweet deal....

For those of you comparing PowerBooks to iBooks, the PB has a brighter screen, is lighter and slightly smaller, much more powerful, supports extended not just mirrored displays, and the enclosure is much nicer. Trust me. The PowerBook is the better value here.


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## satchmo (May 26, 2005)

Not surprisingly, those who own a PB swear by it.
Those with an iBook do the same. 

I'm sure both are great...I suppose it boils down to budget and needs. Unfortunately, I have a small budget but large needs!


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## da_jonesy (Jun 26, 2003)

Actually I've gone from a 12" PB G4 Rev A. to the most recent 12" iBook 1.33 and I have to say that there are a few finishing touches on the PB that do make it nicer than the iBook (Keyboard being the main one), however that being said with BT/AE built in the iBook is a BETTER value than the Powerbook.

The iBook is still $300 less than the PB and resale on iBooks isn't too shabby. I know from personal experience that the resale on the 12" Powerbooks is not nearly as good as the 15". The 12" Powerbooks never made any sense when the iBook line went to G4's. Mark my words the 12" Powerbook will be the first to be sunsetted when the new Intel PB's come out.


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## AppleAuthority (May 21, 2005)

Okay I got one. Just because I didn't know if I should have left it or not. So, anyone want it?


(in your dreams.......)


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## RawB8figure (Feb 24, 2005)

got one today too, They have 4 left at the NE best buy in calgary.


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## Heart (Jan 16, 2001)

That is a good deal, looks like a western deal....


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## poisonmonkey (Sep 20, 2004)

For those you bargan hunters out there:

The Best Buy at Scarborough Town Centre has a 15" that's right 15" Combo PB for $1499. I was there but 2 hours ago and saw it with my own eyes.


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## satchmo (May 26, 2005)

poisonmonkey said:


> For those you bargan hunters out there:
> 
> The Best Buy at Scarborough Town Centre has a 15" that's right 15" Combo PB for $1499. I was there but 2 hours ago and saw it with my own eyes.



 Um...was this a demo model or older stock? 

Please tell me you're not yanking my chain...cuz I'll be there first thing tomorrow morning if it's true.


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## poisonmonkey (Sep 20, 2004)

It has to be a demo.
Cause I only saw the one.

I honestly would have bought it myself if I didn't already have the 12". (or if I had the $)

Warning: The connector for the ac adapter on the PB is a little wonky.


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## overkill (May 15, 2005)

yeah this is a sweet deal indeed but i think i will hold off til after we see what apple releases in paris ... my mini will hold up til then


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## satchmo (May 26, 2005)

poisonmonkey said:


> For those you bargan hunters out there:
> 
> The Best Buy at Scarborough Town Centre has a 15" that's right 15" Combo PB for $1499. I was there but 2 hours ago and saw it with my own eyes.


I called this morning and the guy at Best Buy says the 15" demo model they have on sale is $2479 less 5%.

Either they caught the error or your eye sight is going!  
Oh well, it was too good to be true.


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## Phat Bastard (Jan 3, 2003)

da_jonesy said:


> Mark my words the 12" Powerbook will be the first to be sunsetted when the new Intel PB's come out.


Or, how about this crazy possibility: the Intel Powerbooks will be 12"! Ever thought of that?

Did you design the iBook yourself, that's why you're defending it so vociferously?

Comparing the cheapest Powerbook and iBooks (and keeping in mind the iBook had a hardware refresh 43 days ago, while the Powerbook, 219), I'd like to add:

faster bus speed and faster L2 cache speed on Powerbook--results in much better performance
60 GB 5400 rpm vs. 40 GB 4200 rpm hard drive--you can't underestimate the benefit of the additional rpm's

Once the next hardware refresh is done, the differences between the Powerbook and the iBook will only grow. And this comparison completely ignores the MORE powerful Powerbooks.

The bottom line is, the iBook is a crippled Powerbook, but there is a market for it because it is cheaper albeit a less capable laptop. And there is a market for more expensive, top-of-the-line laptops, so there's no point in attacking the entire Powerbook line or saying it will disappear. Apple will never merge their "consumer" laptop line with their "power user" laptop line.


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## mac_geek (May 14, 2005)

Phat Bastard said:


> Did you design the iBook yourself, that's why you're defending it so vociferously?


Woah! Lose the hostility!

You make a bunch of great technical points, that I'd basically sum up as follows:


Less expensive = slightly less performance
More expensive = slightly more performance

This seems to be the natural order of law in electronics.. and I doubt that will really ever change. Seems like the Apple marketing guys got their pricing strategy right after all.

How 'bout that.


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## da_jonesy (Jun 26, 2003)

Phat Bastard said:


> Or, how about this crazy possibility: the Intel Powerbooks will be 12"! Ever thought of that?


No I haven't because that is completely improbable. Eventually the 12" iBook (or the often rumoured 13.3 iBook) will have Intel processors as will all the other iBook/Powerbooks... if Apple even continues to make that distinction. They could quite likely drop the iBooks all together. It is quite costly to have two lines of portables.



Phat Bastard said:


> Did you design the iBook yourself, that's why you're defending it so vociferously?


Look buddy, I have owned a 12" Powerbook for a year and a half, I loved it, for me it was a great computer. I sold it in a fot of envy when I convinced my brother in law to get a 15" PB... I rushed out and bought a used 15" in an attempt to keep up with the Joneses. I did not like the 15" at all... it was too big, too prone to problems, etc... so I sold it and got a 12" iBook which for the money is a much better value than the 12" PB I originally owned.

So give the attitude a rest dude.

Look if there wasn't something happening with the 12" Powerbook line then Best Buy wouldn't be selling them for $400 less than what Apple is selling them for. The simple fact is that there is NOT enough differentiation between the iBook and 12" Powerbook to warrant having both product lines. Best Buy knows this... that is why they are dumping their stock of 12" Powerbooks.

I have been saying this since the iBook line was upgraded to the G4 from the G3 (even when I owned a 12" Powerbook)



Phat Bastard said:


> Comparing the cheapest Powerbook and iBooks (and keeping in mind the iBook had a hardware refresh 43 days ago, while the Powerbook, 219), I'd like to add:
> 
> faster bus speed and faster L2 cache speed on Powerbook--results in much better performance
> 60 GB 5400 rpm vs. 40 GB 4200 rpm hard drive--you can't underestimate the benefit of the additional rpm's


Um, I think you over estimate the speed boost you get from the L2 cache and bus speed. I admit that yes you do get better benchmark performance, but that does not necessarily equate to a notably faster experience when using your computer. I did NOT notice that big of a difference when I went from a 1.33 15" PB G4 to a 1.33 12" iBook G4... It was NOT noticeably slower. 

Disk speed will of course also speed things up as well... but again we are not talking about huge increases in terms of speed... we aren't going from a 4200 RPM to a 7200 RPM spindle which is a HUGE speed increase (BTW I run external 7200 RPM firwire disks for storage and I notice the difference when I save a large file to the internal disk as opposed to the external disk).





Phat Bastard said:


> Once the next hardware refresh is done, the differences between the Powerbook and the iBook will only grow. And this comparison completely ignores the MORE powerful Powerbooks.


That is if there is even another hardware refresh... If you are a consumer and you know that the Intel powerbooks are being released in a year why would you buy a new high end powerbook now? Apple knows this. They have to plan for this when they make those announcements. They aren't stupid. Any hardware refresh at this point would be counter productive as it would cost them money in terms of manufacturing and their return is minimal as consumer forgo this hardware refresh in favour of waiting for the Intel line.

I can assume that you've not worked in producing consumer goods before?



Phat Bastard said:


> The bottom line is, the iBook is a crippled Powerbook, but there is a market for it because it is cheaper albeit a less capable laptop. And there is a market for more expensive, top-of-the-line laptops, so there's no point in attacking the entire Powerbook line or saying it will disappear. Apple will never merge their "consumer" laptop line with their "power user" laptop line.


Yeah, Apple will absolutely merge their product lines. They've learned hard lesson's in the past remember the days of the Quadra and Performa? Those were essentially the same computers with minor differences rebranded for highly segmented markets... It failed miserably. I imagine that Apple will go back to a portable line with three options... low end consumer product, mid range professional product and a high end show stopper. I might be wrong and Apple will continue to differentiate based on accessories (such as Blue Ray drives, etc...) but I don't think so.

I'm not attacking the Powerbook line... you totally missed the point. The powerbook has been/is the flagship portable line for Apple since 1991 they will not drop the Brand recognition of that product (it is foolish to think so)... but that being said they should be consolidating their product lines and taking out those products that do NOT differentiate themselves from other products (such as the 12" Powerbook).


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