Earlier this year, Apple CEO Steve Jobs proclaimed 2003 the “year of the notebook computer”.  For the entire computer industry, notebook computers make up about 25 per cent of all computer sales.  Last quarter, nearly 45 per cent of all Apple computers sold were notebooks. With the new products announced at last week’s Apple Expo in Paris, those numbers should rise even further.

The year of the notebook actually started two years ago, when Apple introduced the revolutionary 15” Titanium PowerBook G4 (or TiBook, for short).  The TiBook was the first Apple notebook to sport the powerful G4 processor, and was (and still is, for that matter) lean, light, and even described by some as “sexy”.  Only one inch thick and weighing in at a tad over five pounds, the TiBook combined power and beauty in a market segment dominated by thick, heavy, plastic slabs.  Apple followed the 15” TiBook with diminutive 12” and stunning 17” models, cast in aircraft-grade aluminum.  Observers felt it was only a matter of time before the 15” model shed its titanium skin for the aluminum casing of it’s smaller and larger siblings.  Sure enough, last week Apple announced a new 15” aluminum-cased  PowerBook, as well as improvements to the siblings.

All three PowerBooks got speed bumps.  The 17” flagship model moves from 1 GHz to 1.33 GHz, the 15” model up from 1 GHz to 1.25 GHz, while the 12” model moves from 867 MHz to 1 GHz.  Faster RAM also goes into all models, as well as more powerful video processors.  The 17” and 15” models can now be configured with up to two GB of RAM.  The 15” model also got the fiber optic backlit keyboard, previously offered only on the 17” model.  Built-in light sensors automatically adjust the keyboard illumination (and the screen brightness) based on the available ambient light.  This feature is ideal for working in a low-light environment like an airplane cabin or a music or video studio.

Prices for the 12” and 15” models stay the same as for previous offerings.  The high-end 17” model actually dropped in price from $3299 to $2999.

The 15” and 17” models get both FireWire 400 and the faster FireWire 800 ports.  All three get USB 2.0, which will give users a wider choice in PC peripherals, like external hard drives.

© 2003 Peter F. Zimowski