I have a new iBook, and it's withstood several drops from my bed to my floor (about 2 feet.) It landed on the hinge area, but the screen and the rest of the computer was fine. I did have my Combo drive go out on me unexpectedly, but I had a CompUSA protection plan, so they sent it off to Apple, and I got a faster burner in it. 8x instead of 4x!!!
The old iBooks were rugged... I've dropped my old one several times, and it still works fine... They just don't make them like they used to...