Apple refreshes PowerBook line: No increase in processor speed; Higher resolution, battery life
Apple refreshes PowerBook line: No increase in processor speed; Higher resolution, battery life
Apple has refreshed its 15" and 17" PowerBooks, increasing screen resolution and battery life, but failing to offer any increases in processor speed.
The new 17-inch PowerBook features a 1680-by-1050 pixel resolution -- 36 percent more than the previous generation -- and the 15-inch PowerBook features a 1440-by-960 pixel resolution -- 26 percent more than the previous generation.
Apple has also managed to make the screens on the 15" and 17" models brighter (purportedly more than 40% brighter) while increasing battery life up to an additional hour.
Available PowerBook configurations now include:
The 1.5 GHz, 12-inch PowerBook G4 at US$ 1,499:
- 512MB of PC2700 333 MHz DDR SDRAM, expandable up to 1.25GB;
- a slot-load 8X SuperDrive (DVD+/-RW/CD-RW) optical drive;
- an 80GB Ultra ATA/100 (5400 rpm) hard drive with Sudden Motion Sensor;
- AirPort Extreme 54 Mbps 802.11g WiFi fast wireless networking and internal Bluetooth 2.0+EDR;
- DVI, VGA, S-video and composite video support;
- two USB 2.0 ports and FireWire 400;
- audio line in and headphone out; and
- a scrolling TrackPad.
The 1.67 GHz, 15-inch PowerBook G4 at US $1,999:
- a slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD+R DL/DVD+/-RW/CD-RW);
- 512MB of PC2-4200 DDR2 SDRAM running at 333 MHz, expandable up to 2GB;
- 80GB Ultra ATA/100 (5400 rpm) hard drive with Sudden Motion Sensor;
- Built-in AirPort Extreme wireless networking & Bluetooth 2.0+EDR;
- DVI (Dual Link for 30-inch Cinema HD Display support), VGA, S-video and composite video support;
- Gigabit Ethernet (10/100/1000BASE-T);
- two USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 400 and 800;
- analog and optical digital audio input and output;
- illuminated keyboard with ambient light sensor; and
- a scrolling TrackPad.
The 1.67 GHz, 17-inch PowerBook G4 at US $2,499:
- a slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD+R DL/DVD+/-RW/CD-RW);
- 512MB of PC2-4200 DDR2 SDRAM running at 333 MHz, expandable up to 2GB;
- 120GB Ultra ATA/100 (5400 rpm) hard drive with Sudden Motion Sensor;
- Built-in AirPort Extreme wireless networking & Bluetooth 2.0+EDR;
- DVI (Dual Link for 30-inch Cinema HD Display support), VGA, S-video and composite video support;
- Gigabit Ethernet (10/100/1000BASE-T);
- two USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 400 and 800;
- analog and optical digital audio input and output;
- illuminated keyboard with ambient light sensor; and
- a scrolling TrackPad.
The 12-inch and new 15- and 17-inch PowerBooks are available immediately.
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