Macworld Expo Show Floor Report 1

We first visited Apple's booth to give the new 12" and 17" PowerBook G4s a thorough hands-on check out. We also wanted to initially try out Apple's new Keynote application which was loaded on the new PowerBooks. Our reports are below:

Hands-On Report--New 12" PowerBook G4: We are drawn to this new jewel (see at right) in Apple's crown because we travel too much and heavily use our own computer while on the road. We surf the web and take care of email like many people on business travel but we also prepare and make presentations, work with images, write and edit text, make and decompress PDF files, layout web pages and occasionally do some really heavy number crunching. Much of our work is done in the cramped confines of an airline seat and we have to lug it in a computer bag virtually everywhere we go.

To understand our perspective on small portables, here is a bit of history. The first Apple PowerBook that had the capability to do all of our work with aplomb was the remarkable and tiny 2400c. We got one in late 1998 after it was discontinued and we could afford it. We marveled at its design, power and diminutive size and came to love it as one can love a machine. It became the standard for our needs and we still have two, a working one that runs Mac OS 9.1 superbly and another for parts. Our working 2400c is fully tricked out with numerous upgrades consisting of a 320 MHz G3 CPU, 112 MB RAM, 6 GB SCSI drive, Cardbus implementing surgery, a translucent green keyboard, Ethernet, FireWire, USB, 56K modem and AirPort. It has external CD ROM and floppy drives.

Our 2400c was relegated to playing backup when the 12" iBook (Dual USB) came out. The iBook was a little larger and heavier but we could ditch an external drive, CDs had replaced floppies as the major optical media and the iBook's bright 1024x768 12" screen humbled the 2400c's 800x600 10" screen. Our aging eyes welcomed the larger and brighter screen. Then the PowerBook G4 Titanium with it's fabulous 15" wide-aspect screen weighing less than a pound more than our 2400c arrived in 2001 and seduced us. We replaced the iBook with one and adopted a two 'Book strategy. The 2400c became our traveling workhorse for long airline flights where we HAD to work so there was no risk of being shut out by a fellow traveler putting their seat all the way back and for going places where we feared for the safety of our more conspicuous and expensive TiBook. The 2400c also became our principal computer when we had to carry a computer much of the day--the TiBook's extra near-pound and size does make a difference.

Okay, enough perspective. We want to know if the new 12" PowerBook G4 is so good that we can comfortably fork over some $1799 plus $99 for and AirPort Extreme card and relegate our beloved 2400c to what our lovely spouse refers to as "our" computer museum. (That's another story for another time but you get the idea.) Indeed, can it also allow us to revert to a one 'Book strategy? The latter is not likely as we are struggling with the huge impulse to replace the 15" 800 MHz TiBook with the new truely awesome 17" 1 GHz PowerBook G4. But let's see. To satisfy our quest, we spent a lot of time at Apple's booth with the new 12" PowerBook G4.

Here are some salient specs that are different for the two small PowerBooks:

Feature	12" PBG4	PB 2400c
.
Dimensions (in)	10.9x8.6x1.2	10.5x8.5x2
Weight (lbs)	4.6	4.4
Screen (in/pixels)	12.1/1024x768	10.1/800x600
CPU (MHz/type)	867 G4	320 G3
System Bus (Hz)	133	40
Graphics Acceleration/3D	Yes	No
Max. RAM (MB/type)	640 DDR SDRAM	112 DRAM
Int. Optical Drive	DVD/CDRW	No
Battery life (hrs)	5	2
Bluetooth built in	Yes	No
PCMCIA Slot	No	Yes
Infrared Port	No	Yes
SCSI	No	Yes
ADB	No	Yes

The other internal features are roughly equal when giving the 2400c credit for its 2 PCMCIA slots that allow it to have a modem, FireWire, USB, Ethernet and AirPort although not all simultaneously.

Our first impression of the new 12" PowerBook is that it is a silver-colored iBook. It is clearly smaller than the iBook (see photo above) but there is a clear family resemblance. It feels as light as the 2400c but we didn't have one with us to heft along with it. Being thinner, however, and less than a half inch wider it is much easier to handle than the 2400c. The case feels durable but only use through time will tell. Even though it is anodized aluminum and not painted, it will still scratch but not as easily as painted titanium. Our gues is that it won't wear as well as the plastic encased 2400c or iBook.

The 12.1" screen looks the same as the iBook's--great! It's bright and razor sharp. The keyboard feels very solid and typing on it is much more comfortable that on the iBook, TiBook or PowerBook 2400c with its smallish keys.

Since the new 12" PowerBook G4 (We're not going to call it the AlBook!) has an 867 MHz G4 CPU, it runs Mac OS X 10.2.3 as well as our TiBook 800. While some have installed Mac OS X on their 2400cs, the fastest 2400c upgrade was a 400 MHz G3, slower than the first 500 MHz iBook (Dual USB), with a much slower system bus and very ancient graphics. In fact, the graphics subsystem of the 2400c is its achilles heel. Mac OS X's Quartz graphics engine, not to mention Quartz Extreme, runs great on the new 12" PowerBook G4 but not well on the 2400c.

The only disadvantage of the new 12" PowerBook G4 for us is the lack of a PCMCIA slot for a backup modem to Apple's internal one. The weakest electronic part in Apple's PowerBooks in our experience has been the internal modem. We have had them fail to make a connection on a good line with alarming frequency. When we travel a modem that connects is essential. Fortunately, this risk is mitigated since we almost always pack an AirPort Base Station (surprisingly it's never had a modem connection problem) and carry a Bluetooth-enabled mobile phone.

Others may see a greater disadvantage in not having a PCMCIA slot because they have some critical legacy gear that requires it, a problem with the iBook as well. The lack of IR, SCSI and ADB ports also raises legacy concerns but, again, not for us.

Okay, so is the new 12" PowerBook G4 so much better than the 2400c that it is worth forking over the $1799 admission fee plus $100 and more for incidentals? Well, almost. We're going to cogitate on it some more. It's speed, graphics, screen, general usability, Bluetooth and built-in abilty to watch DVD and burn CDs are compelling advantages. What is pushing us the most towards "yes" is the Quartz graphics engine in Mac OS X and the new Keynote application but we want to use Keynote a lot first to see how well its promise is fulfilled. What's holding us back the most, perhaps surprising, is AirPort Extreme. We've become dependent on WiFi. While we aren't concerned about anything that we've seen at the Expo, we feel the need to see firsthand just how backward compatible it really is with all the 802.11b networks out there that we use. Hmmm...so how are we going to do that?

Hands-On Report--New 17" PowerBook G4: It is awesome (see image at right). As impressed as we were with the wide screen on the 15" TiBook when it first came out, the 17" screen is even more impressive, perhaps because it sits a top such an expansively wide PowerBook. Steve Jobs mentioned that it is the same screen as used on the 17" iMac. It is bright and sharp at its 1440x900 resolution.

Hallelulia, the new hinge system is the same as the iBook's--it's strong and minimzes the height of the open screen above the desktop. The hinge operates very smoothly, much smoother than the iBook's or than the similar one on the new 12" PowerBook G4.

The new 17" PowerBook G4 is nearly a pound and a half heavier than the current 15" TiBook but one is more impressed with the size difference than the weight difference, more so even than going from the 14" PowerBook 2000 to the 15" TiBook. The space on either side of the keyboard is over twice as wide as on the 15" TiBook. The lid with screen has two latches instead of one and the trackpad is about 50 per cent wider on the 17" PowerBook G4. The 17" PowerBook G4 feels immense but not unmanageably so. It will just take some getting used to as with the 15" TiBook.

The anodized aluminum finish should be generally more durable than the TiBook's painted finish. However, aluminum may marr easier than the harder Titanium. It will take some use of the new PowerBook to know for sure. Still, we are pleased that the nagging paint issues will not be carried into the new PowerBooks.

The keyboard is excellent, easily the best notebook keyboard that we have ever typed on. Unfortunately, we could not hear the speakers above the din on the show floor. The larger grills most likely house larger speakers.

As for the coolest new feature, i.e the lighted keyboard and ambient light controller, we were surprised that Apple did not have a display arranged to show it off. Several Apple staff members on hand said they were unaware of the feature until Steve Jobs keynote address. We have requested a special demo off the bright show floor and hopefully Apple will oblige us.

We "fiddled" awhile with the new iLife applications and Keynote but the crowd was too think to get much time without becoming and object of derision for hogging the machine. We will have to spend some quality time alone with Keynote to get to know it well. The 17" PowerBook G4 handled the applications with the same aplomb as its cousin, the 15" 1 GHz TiBook.