Review: Apple PowerBook G4 15-inch Aluminum

Important Note: this product is now obsolete and this review is retained for historical reference only. Apple's MacBook Pro 15-inch widescreen occupies the equivalent place in their current product line.  [July 7, 2010]

September 25th, 2003

Steve Jobs introduced Apple's aluminum PowerBook G4 15-inch at AppleExpo Paris in September 2003, The PowerBook G4 15-inch represents the "mid-weight desktop equivelant" portion of Apple's professional laptop product line.

The PowerBook G4 comes in two standard configurations and can be custom configured at Penn's Apple Store.

What it has

• PowerPC G4 processor (1.0 GHz or 1.25 GHz) with 512 KB level 2 cache
• 2 DIMM slots, supports up to 2.0 GB RAM (comes with 256 MB or 512 MB)
• 15.2-inch TFT display (1280 x 854 native resolution) with 64 MB ATI Mobility Radeon 9600 video controller
• CD-RW/DVD-ROM 'combo' drive or DVD-R/CD-RW 'Super Drive'
• Built-in stereo speakers and internal omnidirectional microphone
• One Type II PC Card/CardBus slot
• Video connectivity; S-Video, Apple Display Connector, DVI and VGA outputs through included adapter
• Audio connectivity; headphone/line-out jack, line-in jack
• Local connectivity; one FireWire 400 port, one FireWire 800 port, two USB 2.0 ports, optional integrated Bluetooth 1.1
• Network connectivity; 10/100/1000BaseT Ethernet, V.92 56 kbps modem, optional integrated 802.11b/g Wi-Fi
• Mac OS 10.2.7

What it doesn't have (that some competitors in the same laptop segment do)

• Floppy drive (external USB floppy drives such as the Imation SuperDisk are available)
• Removable drive bays
• Infrared 4-Mbps IrDA port
• IEEE 802.11a

Standard configurations

The PowerBook G4 15-inch is offered in two basic configurations. The Computer Connection has specially-priced bundles (PennKey required for link access):

• 1.0 GHz G4/256 MB RAM/60 GB hard drive/CD-RW/DVD-ROM 'combo' drive/3-year AppleCare
• 1.25 GHz G4/512 MB RAM/80 GB hard drive/DVD-R/CD-RW 'Super Drive'/AirPort Extreme/Bluetooth/3-year AppleCare

Analysis

The PowerBook G4 15-inch forms the vital center of Apple's professional laptop line. Apple attempts to differentiate in this market by the addition of value-added features, such as:

Standard

1. The PowerBook G4 15-inch remains the lightest laptop available with a 15-inch screen. At 5.6 pounds it is significantly lighter than a representative set of competitors which weigh between 6.6 and 7.9 pounds.
2. Integrated six-pin (powered) FireWire remains a differentiator among laptops - many still have 4-pin connectors, if they have FireWire at all.
3. The sound output from the PowerBook 15-inch's built-in speakers is better than the output of most comparable laptops, but is not exceptional. However, a headphone/line-out jack exists which can connect to headphones or external speakers for better sound output.

Optional

1. After over a year, internal writeable DVD drives remains unusual in a laptop that weighs between five and six pounds.

Technical issues & recommendations

Information Systems & Computing (ISC) does not expect there to be significant hardware-related compatibility problems with the PowerBook G4 15-inch. However, it will have the same software-related conflicts that any Mac OS 10.2.x-based workstation, including the previous generation PowerBook G4s, would have.

ISC has tested the PowerBook G4 15-inch for compatibility with University-supported hardware and software. The PowerBook G4 15-inch is compatible with the PennConnect 2003 CD-ROM and Penn's supported network applications. Like other Power Macs released in 2003, the PowerBook G4 15-inch does not have the ability to boot into Mac OS 9.x. However, support exists for running Mac OS 9.x-based ("Classic") applications from within Mac OS X. Support providers should be aware of this limitation if they have any Mac OS 9.x-based applications that must run natively.

The PowerBook G4 15-inch is a excellent choice for departments or individuals who need high-end, near desktop-class processing in a portable configuration. The 15-inch PowerBook is a very capable presentation laptop.

These workstations meet ISC's Recommended Configurations for Mid-Weight 'Desktop-Equivalent' Laptop Workstations. As always, support providers should be aware of the technical issues associated with any new workstation design.

--John Mulhern III, Senior IT Project Leader, ISC Technology Support Services (September 25, 2003)