My wife and I have had 12″ PB’s since they were first introduced. I still have mine (1.5GHz) while she traded her’s for a 2.13 GHz Air with an SSD.

My PB has been dropped countless times, the frame is separated from the top and bottom, I’ve had to pound out parts of the case enclosing the battery with a hammer, money is not an issue, yet I still have it. I cringe to think what dropping the Air would be like.

For anyone wondering about portability, 12″ at 5 pounds versus 13″ (2″ wider) at 3 pounds, the 12″ is portable, the Air is not nearly so. Lack of firewire turned out to be a non issue. Performance is nice on the Air but the 12″ get’s the same job done in the same time.

If you love your 12″ PB, Apple has yet to replace it. A 13″ MBP at nearly the same weight is a non-starter unless you really need the compute power. Neither the Air or the MBP is nearly as portable or, for lack of a better word, handle-able.

I own a 2.4Ghz Uni Macbook and I have to say that compared to my old 12″ 1.5 PB (One of the very last to be made) which was max’d out on Ram, although I loved the form factor it isn’t even close to the Uni-MB.

The new screens are a million miles off the old for clarity, the speed of the machine is phenominal and I haven’t even put any extra ram in yet, the keyboard is a joy to work with and the backlight makes it fantastic to Blogg at bedtime.

Now with Snow Leopard OSX as well, it’s unbeatable, no Windoze laptop is as tactile and fun to use whilst running so reliably.

And last but not least, having the built in web cam, (something which most Power PC Mac’s missed out on except very late G5 iMacs) is fantastic, iChat is wonderful to use for V-Conferencing.

I loved my G4, but won’t really miss it that much now I have the new one.

I sold my macbook aluminum, and now I’m shopping for the perfect 12″ powerbook G4. Unlike my macbook, my powerbook will NOT be my main computer. It will only be for campus use and coffee shop use. I’m gonna buy a new 24″ iMac when Apple introduces the 2010 line. But for now I’m gonna stick with the classic 12″ Powerbook.

But my job paid for a 17″ MP a year ago, while it’s a sickening heavy and big computer, the performance is second to non, and being a heavy Photoshop/Illustrator/Indesign user it really has increased productivity by milestones, but I do miss my 12″ and I had to buy new bags to carry around my 17″.

But with firewire port i the new UMBP I am seriously considering down grading to the 13″.

I think it is a worthy contender to replace both my 12″ and 17″.

I may never have the same affection for another computer ever, I still love my G4!!

Size, form factor, speed, display quality, speed, fit and finish, speed, the feel of the case…did I mention speed? And the thing is cool and quiet, which boggles my mind considering it’s racing right past my PC notebook and desktop and not breaking a sweat! My PC notebook is no slouch, but I’m used to the fan blowing hard while it heats up my lap. Not this MacBook.

I love this thing. I can’t recommend it highly enough. I’m actually looking forward to the work I have to do this week on it.

For portability, there is no comparison between the two. I have no hesitation throwing the powerbook into a bag, or taking it around the house with me when I’m browsing or working on a document. It’s not meant to be a desktop replacement, nor was it ever meant to be. I’ve also tried hackintosh on a msi wind and lenovo s10, but they don’t match the powerbook in build quality, trackpad usability or keyboard ease of use.

Then again, if apple comes up with a similar form factor containing a modern intel chip, I would not be able to give them my money quickly enough.

Making the thickness smaller is a marketing ploy. The REAL issue is not carrying a closed laptop, but trying to use an open laptop in a confined space!!