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From The Road Warrior Archive: TiBook vs. Cube As Portable Desktop Replacement

Back in February, 2001, I wrote this musing on the G4 Cube desktop as a potential notebook computer substitute. A few months later, I tried out the concept hands-on when I purchased a Cube. In the end, it didn't work for me, and I traded the lightly-used Cube for a year-old PowerBook - not a TiBook, but a Pismo - which I still have and use. I'm still occasionally tempted a bit by the relative power/features/price advantage of desktop Macs, and I expect that a Mac mini or even one of the current aluminum iMacs would make a better notebook substitute than the Cube, as nice as it was in many ways, did, but ultimately, for me, nothing can quite substitute for a 'Book.

CM

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From The Road Warrior Archive TiBook vs. Cube As Portable Desktop Replacement [Originally Published February 5, 2001]

Last July when Apple introduced the Cube, I wrote a Road Warrior column suggesting that the Cube would have some merit as a portable machine. Few agreed with me, but I think some may have missed my point, which was not that the Cube would make a viable PowerBook substitute (for one thing it lacks battery power), but rather that it is the first desktop Mac since the Classic and Color Classic were discontinued that can be reasonably regarded as "luggable."

Longtime Mac users will recall that the original, 17 pound, compact Macs were available with a carry case, and many Mac-heads did carry them around to Mac User Group meetings, or back and forth to school and work. While the complete kit weighed something in excess of 20 pounds, portability was possible, and I have even seen a photo of someone transporting one on a bicycle.

A Cube, along with a 15" Apple Studio Display LCD monitor, and a keyboard and mouse, and its big, clunky power supply, is at least in the same ballpark weight and bulk wise as those old compact Macs, and is likewise a practical proposition for lugging. An iMac with its bulbous shape and 35 pound weight plus peripherals is emphatically not.

And indeed, for folks like myself who use PowerBooks mainly as desktop substitutes, and rarely move them very far, A Cube really is a potential alternative. For my purposes, the biggest practical disadvantage of the Cube, versus a PowerBook, is the aforementioned lack of battery power. Living out in the boonies, as I do, the battery can save your bacon during power outages.

Willow, the Canadian specialist in Mac backpacks and cases, has just made the argument for the Cube as a portable Mac more convincing with the release of their new http://www.willowdesign.com/NL-29.html Cube & 15" Flat Panel Display Carry Case .
This case, as its name indicates, will hold a Cube, a 15" Flat Panel Display and all the other components of a Cube setup. Everything is protected by sturdy outer foam walls reinforced with corrugated plastic plus a hardboard bottom. There are dividers to separate the Cube, Flat Panel Display, power supply, speakers, mouse, keyboard and cables, allowing you to fit this entire desktop system into a manageable size package giving excellent protection.

Feature details:
• Protection for your entire system afforded by 1.2cm (0.5") foam reinforced by corrugated plastic on five sides with 8mm (1/4") hardboard on the bottom.
• Extra protection for the display screen afforded by three layers of corrugated plastic with internal 1.2cm (0.5") foam spacers to isolate the screen from the edge of the case.
• internal protection ensured by separate compartments for the Cube, 15" Flat Panel Display, power supply, speakers, keyboard, mouse and accessories.
• Velcro lockdown system for the horizontal divider to ensure that hardware components below can not shift around.
• Velcro tab to lock horizontal divider up and out of way to facilitate loading and unloading your gear.
• Handy mesh pocket in the lid for safe and convenient storage of the Cube keyboard.
• substantial extra material storage space set above the lower hardware level plus a manual or paper slot pocket built into the bottom level.
• Luggage feet riveted through the hardboard bottom of the case which actually keep it up and off the ground when you want to set the case down whilst entering and leaving your vehicle.
• Secure wrap handle straps with paddle hand grip.
• Riveted, high density polyethylene reinforced end handles to make it easier loading and unloading the case into vehicles or to share the load with another person.
• Contoured, thickly padded shoulder strap with heavy duty snaphooks for secure carrying.
• Handy 25mm web strap and quick release buckle on the back of the case to lock the case on to hand carts for easier carrying.
• Construction sturdy enough to allow double stacking of cases on hand carts for easier trade show or demonstration transportation.
• Available Colours: Black, Charcoal, Navy, Teal. Purple

The Cube & 15" Flat Panel Display Carry Case sells for $330.00 Cdn. (about $220.00 U.S.) plus UPS Ground rates to the United States of 25.00 US ($37.50 Cdn).

At 7.9 lb, this case puts the weight of the whole package over 30 pounds, but it's still portable. Also note well that this case is too large to be accepted as carry-on aircraft luggage. Frequent fliers will definitely be a lot better off with a PowerBook.

So how does the Cube stack up directly in comparison with the TiBook?

Price:
TiBook 400 MHz - $2,595
TiBook 500 MHz - $3,495
Cube 450 MHz with 15" Apple Studio Display - $1,499/$799/total - $2,298
Cube 500 MHz with 15" Apple Studio Display - $1,999/$799 total - $2,798

Weight:
No contest here!
TiBook - 5.3 pounds
Cube - 14 pounds; monitor - 11.5 pounds; power supply about three pounds; plus speakers, keyboard, and mouse. The whole rig is about 28 pounds plus the weight of a carry case.

It might be possible to substitute a five-pound http://www.sony.com/displays Sony LCD1525X 15 inch monitor for the Apple one. The Sony has an analog interface, and the Cube has a VGA port. (more information on the feasibility of this would be welcome). However, it's a pricy option. The Sony screen sells for $1,299.

TiBook advantages:
• Base unit comes with 128 MB RAM, vs. 64 MB for base Cube
• Much smaller size and lower weight
• Battery power
• 3:2 aspect ratio display format 1152 x 768
• Cardbus slot
• Infrared port
• Built-in keyboard and trackpad

Cube advantages:
• Entry-level model is 50 MHz faster
• Comes with full size keyboard and mouse
• 450 MHz/15-inch Studio Display combo is $300 cheaper than the low end TiBook.
• 500 MHz unit/15-inch Studio Display combo is $700 cheaper than the high end TiBook.
• 20 gigabyte hard drives standard on low end machine vs. 10 GB for low-end TiBook
• 16 Mb of VRAM vs. 8 MB for TiBook
• Two FireWire ports
• Supports RAM up to 1.5 gigabytes vs. 1 gigabyte for the TiBook
• Harmon Kardon speakers

With the lower price and somewhat richer feature set, the Cube/15" Display combo offers a lot of value for folks who don't absolutely need laptop lightness and portability.

Once again, this article is not intended is set up a dialectic opposition between the titanium PowerBook and the Cube, but rather to highlight the respective strengths of both machines. Personally, as regular readers know, I am mightily smitten by the TiBook, which is very much the current Apple of my eye, and as much as I admire the styling of the Cube, the all-of-a-piece compactness of the PowerBook appeals to me greatly, as does the 3:2 screen.

On the other hand, Chris's argument about your investment in a freestanding monitor staying with you when you upgrade is well taken, and there's that sound system. You can't go wrong with either of these choices.




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cmoore@macopinion.com


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CM