PowerBook G4

PowerBook G4 Notebook

The PowerBook G4 is a series of notebook computers that was manufactured, marketed, and sold by Apple Computer, Inc. between 2001 and 2006. It uses the PowerPC G4 processor, initially produced by Motorola and later by Freescale, a Motorola spin-off. The PowerBook G4 had two different designs: one enclosed in a titanium body with a translucent black keyboard and a 15" screen; and another in an aluminum body with an aluminum-colored keyboard, in 12", 15" and 17" sizes.

Between 2001 and 2003, Apple produced the Titanium PowerBook G4; between 2003 and 2006, the Aluminum models were produced. Both models were hailed for their modern design, long battery life and processing power. When the Aluminum PowerBook G4s were first released in January 2003, however, only 12 and 17 inch models were available. The 15 inch remained to be titanium until September 2003 when a new aluminum 15 inch PowerBook was released. In addition to the change from titanium to aluminum, the new 15 inch model featured a FireWire 800 port, which had been included with the 17 inch model since its debut nine months earlier.

The PowerBook G4 line was the last generation of the PowerBook, and was phased out in favor of various Intel-powered MacBook models in the first half of 2006.

The first generation of PowerBook G4s were announced at Steve Jobs' keynote at MacWorld Expo in January 2001 . They featured a PowerPC G4 processor running at either 400 or 500 MHz. They were just 1 inch (25 mm) thick, 0.7 inches (18 mm) thinner than their predecessor, the PowerBook G3. The PowerBook G4 Titanium also featured a front-mounted slot-loading optical drive into which optical discs (initially DVDs or CDs) could be inserted. The nickname "TiBook" was given to the notebook, derived from the chemical symbol of the element titanium, Ti, from which the computer's case is made, and the brand name iBook, Apple's other product line of laptop computers.

The initial design of the PowerBook G4s was developed by Apple hardware designers Jory Bell, Nick Merz and Danny Delulis. The new design was a sharp departure from the black plastic, curvilinear PowerBook G3 models that preceded it, more modernist than ergonomic. Apple's industrial design, headed by British designer Jonathan Ive, was to continue toward simple, elegant, and minimalistic designs—the TiBook laid the groundwork for the Aluminum PowerBook G4, the Power Mac G5 and the Mac mini.

info : wikipedia