Product Reviews

Less than six months after the last round of iBook updates, Apple is at it again. The current generation of iBooks has proved extremely popular since its launch in mid-2001, not just with its target schools and home audience, but also with business users.

These two groups are attracted by iBook's robust and sturdy design, combined with its simplicity and versatility, making it the ideal digital hub machine. Business users appreciate the iBook's small size, light weight and style, along with its low price. For those of us who don't need the super-fast performance of a PowerBook G4, the iBook is very capable for around half the price.

Apple has learned not to mess with a winning formula, so there are no surprises with the new iBook range. Physically, the mid-range combo model looks identical to all iBooks since the revamp in May 2001, except that the logo is printed in Apple's new corporate typeface, like on the new PowerBook. This is hardly ground-breaking.

The difference on the entry-level model is more noticeable, although still quite subtle. All the surfaces that had a metallic appearance on the old iBook have been replaced with plain white plastic. The outer casing of the machine is solid white, rather than translucent plastic with a white layer underneath, like the old model, and even the hinge that holds the screen in place is now white rather than silver. In addition, the newly whitened hand rest surfaces, as well as the trackpad button, have more of a rougher matte feel to them than the old model with its smooth feel.

At first glance, these changes make the new entry-level iBook look a little childlike and plasticky (these machines are primarily designed for use in schools and homes), but this impression soon fades and the pure white appearance is quite stylish.

The top-end model, which is the same as its mid-range counterpart except for its 14.1in screen and more memory, looks the same as its predecessor. According to Apple, there's no particular reason for the difference in appearance. We suspect it is because it's marginally cheaper to coat the plastic in a matt white finish, rather than a smooth metallic one. And production costs are vital when you take into account the most important improvement in these models - price.

The price is right
Customarily, when Apple updates its products, it adds new features or faster processors, but keeps the price unchanged. Not so this time. While the entire iBook range has been speed-bumped, the prices of all the models have been significantly reduced. The entry-level machine, which was previously a bargain at £850, is now £722, which must make it one of the cheapest Mac models ever. The mid-range model has dropped by an even greater £170 to £935.

To counter this, the changes in specification are considerably less dramatic. Both machines reviewed here have faster G3 processors by 100MHz, and perhaps more importantly, their graphics capabilities have been beefed up. They now use the ATI Mobility Radeon 7500, an extremely capable 3D graphics chip that was featured in the last generation of PowerBooks. The iBook 700MHz has 16Mb of dedicated VRAM, while the 800MHz model has an impressive 32Mb.
The enhanced graphics capabilities have, for the first time, made the iBook a reasonable gaming machine. Even relatively undemanding games crawled like snails on previous generations of iBook. However, the new models can handle the latest processor-intensive titles with relative ease. You will not get the realistic graphics you would achieve on a Power Mac G4 1.25GHz DP with Nvidia GeForce4 Ti, but you also won't be paying for the privilege.

In the interests of science, we tested the 800MHz model with varied games, such as The Sims Hot Date, Warcraft III and Max Payne, and we were very impressed with the smoothness of the graphics and game play. Some of these titles wouldn't even have run on older iBooks.

Another important benefit of the improved graphics performance is the support that it lends to Quartz Extreme, the advanced on-screen

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imaging engine built into Mac OS X 10.2. Much of the sluggishness associated with the day-to-day operation of OS X, compared with Mac OS 9, is a result of the increased visual demands.

With the ATI Radeon Mobility 7500, a very capable graphics chip, and at least 16Mb of VRAM, a significant proportion of the on-screen graphics are handled by the graphics chip rather than the CPU. This makes the operating system run faster and look better. As a result, the new iBooks are significantly snappier in OS X than their predecessors.

Model behaviour
We ran both the 700MHz and 800MHz models through MacUser's suite of speed tests (see p23), and the results threw up no great surprises, given that in most areas these machines are only marginally quicker than previous models. The iBook's biggest drawback is that it is the last Mac to still use the G3 processor (with the exception of the budget original iMac). But in certain instances, there's little difference in performance between a G3 and a G4 running at a similar speed.

For example, in our FileMaker Pro test, which assesses the processor's performance in an intense data sorting operation, the results for both iBook models are actually marginally faster than iMacs of the equivalent processor clock speed. But in graphics-intensive work, such as applying complex filters in Photoshop, having a good graphics card isn't enough. The G4 processor's AltiVec vector co-processing unit makes the world of difference, and the iBook's G3 chip simply can't keep up. In our Photoshop actions test, the performance of both iBooks fell well short of Apple's desktop machines.

While slightly frustrating, the iBook's inability to perform in these areas shouldn't present too much of a problem. It's not intended to be used by graphics professionals, who would be much better off with a PowerBook or Power Mac G4, and the iBooks are more than equal to the task of running games and most business applications.

The results in the Quake III frame rate test were more impressive, and were again in keeping with current iMac and eMac models. The 700MHz model gave a frame rate of 40.2 frames per second (fps), while the 800MHz ran at 45.1fps. Although nowhere near the speed of the latest PowerBook, these figures show that the iBooks can more than keep up with consumer desktop Macs.

Missing in action
We haven't seen one of the new 14.1in iBooks yet, but apart from the amount of RAM installed, its specifications are the same as those of the 12.1in model, so we expect it will achieve a similar performance.
Overall, it's pretty hard to find fault with either of the new iBook models, aside from our usual gripe about memory. As usual, both models are supplied with the bare minimum necessary to run OS X, or any relatively demanding applications or games.

This is understandable on the entry-level model where Apple may have cut some corners to make the machine such a competitive price. But for a mid-range machine like the 800MHz iBook to only ship with just 128Mb RAM is silly. If you're putting a new iBook on your Christmas list, make sure you ask for extra memory. If you're willing to install the memory yourself, shop around, as the price of extra RAM as a built-to-order option from Apple may be more than the price charged by third-party resellers.

Choosing between the 700MHz and 800MHz models is tricky. The entry-level machine sports the new all-white finish, which looks nice, but may not be to everyone's taste, and it's limited by not having either a DVD-ROM drive or a CD writer. On the other hand, it's exceedingly cheap, and the speed differences between it and the 800MHz model are marginal. But we think that the 800MHz model is just slightly more appealing, largely thanks to the added versatility afforded by the combo CD-RW/DVD-ROM drive, its bigger hard drive and more VRAM, which will offer better gaming performance.

By the time the next round of updates comes along, the current generation of iBooks will be over two years old, which is an eternity in the computer industry. The iBook formula is a tried-and-tested success, and we applaud Apple for not messing with it. But we hope that the next set of changes to the iBook will be more significant than a faster processor and a better graphics chip.

It's time Apple included AirPort wireless networking as standard, and we're surprised that Bluetooth functionality also isn't built-in. Finally, we hope that the current iBooks will be the last Macs to use the aging G3 processor. However, the new iBooks are as good as ever, and at their new low prices, we can't think of a reason not to get one.