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Ideally, Apple could license a small package of best-of-class Mac shareware titles for distribution on the PowerBook G4 - perhaps a card game from Freeverse, an arcade title from Ambrosia.
| PowerBook G4 1.33 GHz (15 inch) June 8, 2004 | Johan Hansén |
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from Apple definitely looks like an invitation to gamers on the road. With 1.33 to 1.5 GHz G4 processors, the new PowerBooks feature the fastest G4 processor in any Mac ever. And paired with 
ATI's Radeon 9700 Mobility graphics card in the 15” and 17” models, the PowerBook is surely enough for gaming. I was pleasantly surprised when the specs of the new PowerBooks were revealed, because I had just planned to get one myself. Since the computer was primarily for work, I didn’t choose the 1.5Ghz model with a 128 MB Radeon 9700 Mobility — the optimal gaming PowerBook — but settled for the least expensive 15-inch model, with a 1.33 GHz G4 and a 64 MB Radeon 9700 Mobility. The 1.33 GHz model is equipped with 256 MB RAM standard, which is a bit low for a modern computer and you can easily run out of memory in normal work, not to speak of gaming. Because of this, I bought and installed an extra 256 MB chip. The build-in hard drive is 60 GB, which could be tight for a hardcore gamer or movie director on the road, but should suffice if you don’t want every game out there installed at the same time and don’t work with movie production. Still, just my copies of Neverwinter Nights and Unreal Tournament 2004 with their modules takes up approximately 10 GB. I have a Mirror Drive Door dual G4/867 in addition to the PowerBook, so this isn't really a problem.The newer PowerBooks have an aluminum case, which is a very light and relatively sturdy metal, but can still suffer from cracking if mistreated, My own bike has an aluminum frame and has taken a lot of abuse, so I doubt anything would happen to a PowerBook. I was a bit surprised when lifting an Aluminum PowerBook for the first time, because they weigh a bit more than you would expect after having worked with aluminum before. The 15” machine weighs 5.7 pounds, but it's slim looks are deceiving. This doesn’t mean that the PowerBooks are heavy at all; they just look like they would be light as a feather, or … a large aluminum feather.On the left and right side are connectors for USB 2.0, Firewire 400 and 800, headphones, line-in, Ethernet, a 56k modem, DVI and S-Video out. The placement is logical with one USB connector on either side to suit both left- and right-handed people for connecting a mouse. The power connector, modem and audio connectors are also on the left side while the FireWire and visual connectors are on the right. The PowerBook also features built-in Airport Extreme and Bluetooth networking. Thus you can easily connect to 802.11b or g wireless networks and use Bluetooth peripherals without need for extra hardware. On the front of the PowerBook is the slot that leads to the DVD-ROM/CD-RW Combo Drive. The placement of this might hinder having the computer in the lap, but there’s more than this to stop you from this.
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Mac Powerbook G4 Power Adapter
New PowerBook Line Includes High Speed Graphics & Larger Hard Drives
CUPERTINO, California—October 16, 2001—Apple® today introduced its newline of Titanium PowerBook® G4 notebooks with faster processors, highspeed graphics and larger hard drives. The new PowerBook G4 line offersa significant performance boost with new PowerPC G4 processors up to 667MHz, a new system bus running up to 133 MHz, speedy new ATI MobilityRadeon AGP 4X graphics and built-in Gigabit Ethernet networking-thefirst time ever in a portable.
Creative professionals will benefit from the new larger hard drives upto 48GB and the new optional CD-RW slot-loading optical drives. The newPowerBook G4s now include both the new Mac® OS X version 10.1 and Mac OS9.2.1 pre-installed.
“The new Titanium PowerBook G4 is the world's thinnest and lightestprofessional notebook and offers stunning improvements in both video andprocessor performance,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple's senior director ofHardware Product Marketing. “We've made the fastest portable in theworld even faster.”
The super-light, yet incredibly powerful new Titanium PowerBook G4 features:
Powerbook G4 Charger
- 1-inch thick Titanium metal body weighing just 5.3 pounds*;
- a stunning 15.2 inch (diagonal) TFT wide-screen active-matrix display;
- new 550 MHz or 667 MHz PowerPC G4 processors with Velocity Engine™ and 256K of on-chip level 2 cache, running at full processor speed;
- new 133 MHz system bus in 667 MHz model and 100 MHz system bus in 550 MHz model;
- 128MB or 256MB SDRAM, expandable to 1GB;
- slot-loading DVD-ROM drive or new slot-loading CD-RW drive option;
- new ATI Mobility Radeon graphics with AGP 4X and 16MB DDR video memory;
- new built-in 10/100/1000BASE-T Ethernet;
- new 20GB or 30GB Ultra ATA/66 hard drives standard, with drives up to 48GB optional;
- up to 5 hours of battery life on one Lithium-ion battery;
- AirPort® card now pre-installed on 667 MHz model, with antennas and slot for wireless networking on all models;
- USB, FireWire®, VGA and S-video output;
- new Mac OS X version 10.1, Apple's next-generation operating system installed, as well as Classic Mac OS 9.2.1; and
- a new small, lightweight power adapter.
Offering blazing performance, the new 550 MHz Titanium PowerBook G4offers a 100 MHz system bus, while the 667 MHz model features a 133 MHzsystem bus. Tapping into that power, the new Titanium PowerBook G4outperforms Pentium III-based 1.13GHz notebook systems on average by 48percent*. Both models provide advanced graphics and fast 3D renderingwith the ATI Mobility Radeon graphics processor with AGP 4X support and16MB of fast DDR video memory.
The new Titanium PowerBook G4 continues to set the standard for mobilecommunications with both built-in Gigabit Ethernet (10/100/1000BASE-T)and 802.11-based AirPort technology for 11 megabit per second wirelesscommunications. The new 667 MHz PowerBook G4 comes standard with bothGigabit Ethernet and AirPort wireless networking pre-installed. The new550 MHz PowerBook G4 also includes Gigabit Ethernet and the ability toadd AirPort wireless networking as an option.
PowerBook G4 customers can now choose to configure their system with aCD-RW drive to manage their digital music collection on the go usingApple's pre-installed iTunes™ software, the world's best andeasiest-to-use “jukebox” software, and also burn customized music CDs orcreate data CDs for file sharing and backup with Apple's Disc Burnersoftware. With Apple's iMovie™ 2, the world's most popular, easy-to-useconsumer digital video editing software which comes pre-installed, orApple's award-winning Final Cut Pro® professional video editing, effectsand compositing software, the PowerBook G4 is the ultimate system forportable video editing.
Pricing & Availability
The new PowerBook G4 line is available immediately through The AppleStore® (www.apple.com), atApple's retail stores and Apple AuthorizedResellers in two standard configurations.
The new PowerBook G4 line is available immediately through The AppleStore® (www.apple.com), atApple's retail stores and Apple AuthorizedResellers in two standard configurations.
The 550 MHz PowerBook G4, for a suggested retail price of $2,199 (US), includes:
- 128MB SDRAM, expandable to 1GB;
- a 20GB Ultra ATA/66 hard drive; and
- AirPort ready with integrated antennas and card slot.
The 667 MHz PowerBook G4, for a suggested retail price of $2,999 (US), includes:
- 256MB SDRAM, expandable to 1GB;
- a 30GB Ultra ATA/66 hard drive; and
- AirPort enabled with integrated antennas and pre-installed AirPort Card.
Mac Powerbook G4 Games Free
For a limited time, the two new standard Titanium PowerBook G4configurations will ship with double the amount of RAM at no additionalcost to the customer. For more information on Apple's Double for NothingRAM promotion, please go to www.apple.com/promo/.
Additional build-to-order options for the new PowerBook G4 include: aCD-RW optical drive, 48GB hard drive; up to 1GB of SDRAM; the AirPortBase Station and AirPort Card; and the AppleCare Protection Plan.
* Weight includes battery and DVD drive, and varies by configuration and manufacturing process.
** Based on 9 commonly used actions in Adobe Photoshop 6.0.
** Based on 9 commonly used actions in Adobe Photoshop 6.0.
Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Apple is committed to bringing the best personal computing experience to students, educators, creative professionals and consumers around the world through its innovative hardware, software and Internet offerings.
Press Contacts:
Nathalie Welch
Apple
(408) 974-5430
welch@apple.com
Nathalie Welch
Apple
(408) 974-5430
welch@apple.com
Apple Powerbook G4 Laptop
Apple, the Apple logo, Mac, Macintosh, AppleScript, Apple Store, AppleTalk, Aqua, ColorSync, Finder, iBook, iMac, iMovie, iTunes, Mac OS, PowerBook, Power Mac, Power Macintosh and SuperDrive are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.