This week Apple announced speed-bumps, price reductions, and across-the-line built-in wireless connectivity for all models in its popular iBook laptop computer line.

The low-end iBook sports a 12” XGA screen with a CD-burning/DVD-viewing Combo Drive, a 1.2 GHz G4 processor, and a very competitive base price of $999.

The mid-range model has a 14” XGA screen, Combo Drive, 1.33 GHz G4, and is priced at $1299.

The high-ender has a 14” XGA screen, CD-RW/DVD-RW “SuperDrive”, 1.33 GHz G4, and a price tag of $1499.

All three models gain built-in Airport Extreme 802.11g wireless capability. All three also come with only 256MB of RAM installed, which is the bare minimum needed for day-to-day operation. You really need at least 512MB of RAM to make Mac OS X hum (another $50 from third-party dealers).

The iBook upgrades prompted questions about possible speed-bumps for Apple’s PowerBook line. An Apple’s spokesperson squashed these hopes stating there would be no PowerBook upgrades before the end of the year.

Speaking of PowerBooks, I recently took delivery of a new PowerBook G4. After a month of use, I can tell you that this is one fast, responsive Mac, due to its bus architecture and 1.5GHz G4 processor. It arrived with no bad or discolored pixels, which is a malady that some have reported. The screen is twice as bright and crisp as the screen on my old PowerBook. When you’re working in low ambient light situations (like on an airplane) the PowerBook uses ambient light sensors to modulate your screen brightness and light up the keyboard keys. Battery life suffers a bit, as the faster processor, faster hard drive, and larger amounts of RAM and video RAM use a lot of “juice”.

Apple also announced a PowerMac G5 model that is, for all intent and purposes, a “headless” (no monitor) and expandable iMac G5. It pretty much the same basic specs as the new iMac G5 (single 1.8 GHz G5 processor, etc.) in the same case that houses the current line of dual-processor PowerMacs. This means many more options for adding RAM, bigger hard drives, upgraded video processors, etc. If you already have a monitor and desk space, this new PowerMac can take you into the “64-bit Promised Land” for (starting at) $1499. It’s a very good price for all the power.

© 2004 Peter F. Zimowski