PowerBook G4
Aluminium PowerBook G4 (15.2") |
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| Developer | Apple Computer, Inc. |
|---|---|
| Discontinued | January 10, 2006 |
| CPU | PowerPC G4, 400MHz–1.67GHz |
The PowerBook G4 are a series of notebook computers that were manufactured, marketed, and sold by Apple, Inc. (then Apple Computer, Inc) between 2001 and 2006 as part of its PowerBook line. It uses the PowerPC G4 processor, initially produced by Motorola and later by Freescale, after Motorola spun off its semiconductor business under that name in 2004. 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 aluminium body with an aluminium-colored keyboard, in 12", 15", and 17" sizes.
Between 2001 and 2003, Apple produced the Titanium PowerBook G4; between 2003 and 2006, the Aluminium models were produced. Both models were hailed for their modern design, long battery life, and processing power. When the Aluminium PowerBook G4s were first released in January 2003, however, only 12 and 17-inch models were available. The 15-inch retained the titanium body until September 2003 when a new aluminium 15-inch PowerBook was released. In addition to the change from titanium to aluminium, 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 series, and was succeeded by the Intel-powered MacBook Pro line in the first half of 2006.
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Titanium PowerBook G4
Titanium PowerBook G4 (nicknamed TiBook) |
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| Developer | Apple Computer inc. |
|---|---|
| Release date | 9 January 2001 |
| Discontinued | 16 September 2003 |
| CPU | PowerPC G4, 400MHz–1GHz |
The first generations of the PowerBook G4 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) deep, 0.7 inches (18 mm) shallower than their predecessor, the PowerBook G3. They were among the first laptops to use a widescreen aspect ratio. The PowerBook G4 Titanium also featured a front-mounted slot-loading optical drive. The notebook was given the nickname "TiBook", a blend of the words titanium, the material used for the computer's case, and the brand name PowerBook, the name of the computer.
Industrial design
The initial design of the PowerBook G4s was developed by Apple hardware designers Jory Bell, Nick Merz, and Danny Delulis. The ODM Quanta also helped in the design. The new machine was a sharp departure from the black plastic, curvilinear PowerBook G3 models that preceded it. The orientation of the Apple logo on the computer's lid was switched so it would 'read' correctly to onlookers when the computer was in use. PowerBook G3 and prior models presented it right side up to the computer's owner when the lid was opened. Apple's industrial design team, headed by British designer Jonathan Ive, was to continue toward minimalistic designs—the Titanium G4's design language laid the groundwork for the Aluminium PowerBook G4, the MacBook Pro, the Power Mac G5, the flat-screen iMac, the Xserve, and the Mac mini.
Quality issues
The hinges on the Titanium PowerBook display are notorious for breaking under typical use. Usually the hinge (which is shaped like an L) will break just to the left of where it attaches to the lower case on the right hinge, and just to the right on the left hinge (where the right hinge is on the right side of the computer when the optical drive is facing you). When the 667 MHz and 800 MHz "DVI" Powerbooks were introduced, Apple changed the hinge design slightly to strengthen it. At least one manufacturer began producing sturdier replacement hinges to address this problem, though actually performing the repair is difficult as the display bezel is glued together. In addition some discolouration, bubbling or peeling of paint on the outer bezel occurred, notably around the area where the palm would rest whiles using the trackpad. This appeared on early models but not on later Titanium PowerBooks.
Display issues
The video cable is routed around the left side hinge. With heavy use this will cause the cable to weaken. Many owners on the internet have reported display problems such as random lines or a jumbled screen. Few have replaced just the video cable to successfully resolve this problem. There is also a backlight cable that might fail. Tinkerers would try replacing either or both cables before buying expensive LCDs.
Models
| Component | PowerBook G4 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Model | Jan 7, 2001 (Mercury) [1][2] | Oct 16, 2001 (Onyx) | April 29, 2002 (Ivory) | Nov 6, 2002 (Antimony) |
| Display (widescreen) |
15.2" TFT matte LCD display, 1152×768 | 15.2" TFT matte LCD display, 1280×854 | ||
| Processor | 400 MHz or 500 MHz PowerPC G4 with 1 MB backside L2 cache | 550 MHz or 667 MHz PowerPC G4 with 256 KB backside L2 cache | 667 MHz or 800 MHz PowerPC G4 with 256 KB backside L2 cache and 1 MB backside L3 cache | 867 MHz or 1 GHz PowerPC G4 with 256 KB backside L2 cache and 1 MB backside L3 cache |
| Graphics | ATI Rage Mobility 128 with 8 MB of SDRAM, AGP 2× | ATI Mobility Radeon with 16 MB of SDRAM, AGP 4× | ATI Mobility Radeon 7500 with 32 MB of DDR SDRAM | ATI Mobility Radeon 9000 with 32 MB or 64 MB of DDR SDRAM |
| Hard drive1 | 10 GB or 20 GB Ultra ATA/66 Optional 30 GB |
20 GB or 30 GB Ultra ATA/66 Optional 48 GB |
30 GB or 40 GB Ultra ATA/66 at 4200-rpm Optional 60 GB at 5400-rpm |
40 GB or 60 GB Ultra ATA/66 at 4200-rpm |
| Memory | 128 MB (two 64 MB) or 256 MB (two 128 MB) of PC100 SDRAM | 128 MB (two 64 MB) or 256 MB (two 128 MB) of PC133 SDRAM | 256 MB (two 128 MB) or 512 MB (two 256 MB) of PC133 SDRAM | |
| AirPort | Optional | Optional or Integrated 802.11b | ||
| Internal Slot-Loading Drive3 | 2x DVD-ROM | 2x DVD-ROM Optional 24x CD-ROM read, 8x CD-R write, 8x CD-RW write |
8x DVD read, 8x CD-R write, 24x CD-R read | 8x DVD read, 8x CD-R write, 24x CD-R read or 1x DVD-R write, 6x DVD read, 8x CD-R write, 24x CD read |
| Connections | 2 x USB 1.1 | |||
| VGA | DVI | |||
| 1 x FireWire 400 | ||||
| 1/8" audio output | 1/8" audio output/input | |||
| 10/100 Fast Ethernet | Gigabit Ethernet | |||
| Maximum Operating System | Mac OS X 10.4.11 "Tiger" and Mac OS 9.2.2 | Mac OS X 10.4.11 "Tiger" on 667 MHz and 800 MHz, Mac OS X 10.5.8 "Leopard" on 867 MHz and 1 GHz; both also Mac OS 9.2.2 |
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Aluminium PowerBook G4
Aluminium PowerBook G4 (17") |
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| Developer | Apple Computer |
|---|---|
| Release date | 7 January 2003 |
| Discontinued | 28 February 2006 (15") 24 April 2006 (17") 16 May 2006 (12") |
| CPU | PowerPC G4, 867MHz–1.67GHz |
In 2003 Apple introduced a new line of PowerBook G4s with 12, 15, and 17-inch screens and aluminium cases (prompting the new moniker "AlBook"). The new notebooks not only brought a different design to the PowerBook G4 line but also laid down the foundation for Apple’s notebook design for the next five years, replaced initially in January 2008 by the MacBook Air and the subsequent MacBook and MacBook Pro redesigns in October. The 15" titanium model was still available until September 16, 2003, when the Aluminium model replaced it. Notably, the 12" model brought a welcome return to the Apple subnotebook configuration, conspicuously lacking in their product line since the discontinuation of the PowerBook 2400 in 1998. While the titanium PowerBook G4s were capable of running Mac OS 9 or Mac OS X operating systems, the aluminium PowerBook G4s could only boot in Mac OS X from startup. Both series of machines could run Mac OS 9 in Classic mode from within Mac OS X.
Industrial design
The aluminium PowerBook G4 was designed by Apple's Vice President of Industrial Design, Jonathan Ive, and used a radically different design from the preceding titanium models. The most obvious change was the use of aluminium, not titanium, to manufacture the body. The keyboard, which was originally black, was changed to match the color of the body. Additionally, the aluminium keyboard was backlit on the 17" model and on one of the 15" models. The design was considered superior to most other notebooks when it debuted in 2003, and consequently, it made the PowerBook G4 one of the most desirable notebooks on the market. The external design of Apple's professional laptops continued to remain similar to the aluminium Powerbook G4 until the Spotlight on Notebooks event on October 14, 2008.
Quality issues
Some owners have experienced failure of the lower memory slot, with the typical repair being the replacement of the logic board. Apple had started a Repair Extension Program concerning the issue,[3] but it has been noted that some models displaying the issue have not been included. This leaves certain PowerBook G4 owners with only a maximum of 1 GB of RAM to use instead of a full 2 GB.
Apple previously had a Repair Extension Program to fix the "white spot" issue on its 15" PowerBook displays.[4]
There has also been a rash of reports concerning sudden and pervasive sleeping of 1.5 and 1.67 GHz models known as Narcoleptic Aluminium Powerbook Syndrome.[5][6] Symptoms include the PowerBook suddenly entering sleep mode, no matter what the battery level is or if it is plugged in. One cause is the ambient light sensing, and associated instruction set coding, with possible keyboard backlight and sleep light issues accompanying the so-called "narcolepsy". Another cause is the trackpad heat sensor monitoring the trackpad; system logs report "Power Management received emergency overtemp signal. Going to sleep.".
To correct this, service groups will often replace the logic board or power converter, but the actual fix (depending on the model) for the first cause is to replace or remove the left or right ambient light sensors; and for the second cause, disconnect, remove, or replace the heat sensor, or the entire top case which holds the trackpad heat sensor. Alternatively, there are reports which detail success in removing certain sensor kernel extensions or rebuilding the kernel using the Darwin Open Source project after commenting out the relevant sleepSystem() call; though permanent solution of the sleep issue in this manner is little documented.[7]
The 1.67 GHz model may suffer from manufacturing or design defects in its display. Initial reports pointed to this only being a problem with type M9689 17" PowerBooks introduced in Q2 2005, but then this problem was also seen in displays replaced by Apple Service Providers in this period (e.g. because of the bright spots issue). The devices were the last 17" models shipped with the matte 1440×900 pixel low resolution display. After many months of usage, the displays may show permanently shining lines of various colors stretching vertically across the LCD. Often this will start with 1-pixel wide vertical lines being "stuck" in an "always-on" mode. Various sites have been set up documenting this issue.[8][9] and a campaign seeks to get Apple to acknowledge that a defect exists. Posts regarding this in Apple forums have been heavily censored. There has been no official word from Apple on the issue.
Models
| Component | PowerBook G4 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Model | Jan 7, 2003 (Rev A) | Sept 16, 2003 (Rev B) | April 19, 2004 (Rev C) | Jan 31, 2005 (Rev D) | Oct 19, 2005 (Rev E) |
| Model #s | M8760LL/A, M8793LL/A | M9007LL/A, M9008LL/A, M8980LL/A, M8981LL/A, M9110LL/A | M9183LL/A, M9184LL/A, M9421LL/A, M9422LL/A, M9462LL/A | M9690LL/A, M9691LL/A, M9676LL/A, M9677LL/A, M9689LL/A | M9691LL/A, M9969LL/A, M9970LL/A |
| Display (15" and 17" widescreen) (all matte) |
12.1", TFT LCD display, 1024×768 | ||||
| N/A | 15.2", TFT LCD display, 1280×854 | 15.2", TFT LCD display, 1440×960 | |||
| 17", TFT LCD display, 1440×900 | 17", TFT LCD display, 1680×1050 | ||||
| Processor | 867 MHz PowerPC G4 with 256KB of L2 backside cache or 1 GHz PowerPC G4 with 1 MB of L3 backside cache | 1 GHz, 1.25 GHz, or 1.33 GHz PowerPC G4 with 512 KB of L2 backside cache | 1.33 GHz or 1.5 GHz PowerPC G4 with 512 KB of L2 backside cache | 1.5 GHz or 1.67 GHz PowerPC G4 with 512 KB of L2 backside cache 1.67 GHz PowerPC G4 only on 15" and 17" models |
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| Graphics | NVIDIA GeForce4 Go 420 with 32 MB of DDR SDRAM or NVIDIA GeForce4 Go 440 with 64 MB of DDR SDRAM | NVIDIA GeForce FX Go5200 with 32 MB of DDR SDRAM or ATI Mobility Radeon 9600 with 64 MB of DDR SDRAM | NVIDIA GeForce FX Go5200 with 64 MB of DDR SDRAM or ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 with 64 MB of DDR SDRAM Optional ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 with 128 MB of DDR SDRAM |
NVIDIA GeForce FX Go5200 with 64 MB of DDR SDRAM or ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 with 64 MB or 128 MB of DDR SDRAM | NVIDIA GeForce FX Go5200 with 64 MB of DDR SDRAM or ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 with 128 MB of DDR SDRAM |
| Hard drive1 | 40 GB or 60 GB Ultra ATA/100 at 4200-rpm | 40 GB Ultra ATA/100 at 4200-rpm or 60 GB or 80 GB Ultra ATA/100 at 5400-rpm | 60 GB, 80 GB, or 100 GB Ultra ATA/100 at 5400-rpm | 80 GB, 100 GB or 120 GB Ultra ATA/100 at 5400-rpm | |
| Memory | 256 MB (two 128 MB) of 266 MHz PC-2100 DDR SO-DIMM SDRAM or 512 MB (two 256 MB) of 333 MHz PC-2700 DDR SO-DIMM SDRAM | 256 MB (two 128 MB) of 266 MHz PC-2100 DDR SO-DIMM SDRAM or 256 MB (two 128 MB) or 512 MB (two 256 MB) of 333 MHz PC-2700 SO-DIMM DDR SDRAM | 256 MB (two 128 MB) or 512 MB (two 256 MB) of 333 MHz PC-2700 DDR SO-DIMM SDRAM | 512 MB (two 256 MB) of 333 MHz PC-2700 DDR SO-DIMM SDRAM | 512 MB (two 256 MB) of 333 MHz PC-2700 DDR or 533 MHz PC2-4200 DDR2 SO-DIMM SDRAM (two SO-DIMM slots support up to 2GB) |
| AirPort Extreme | Optional or Integrated 802.11b/g | Integrated 802.11b/g | |||
| Internal Slot-Loading Combo drive[c] | 8× DVD read, 24× CD-R, and 10× CD-RW recording (12" model only) |
8× DVD read, 24× CD-R, and 10× CD-RW recording (12" and 15" models only) |
N/A | ||
| Internal Slot-Loading SuperDrive3 | 2× DVD-R write, 6× DVD read, 8× CD-R write, 4× CD-RW write | 2× DVD-R write, 8× DVD read, 16× CD-R write, 4× CD-RW write | 4× DVD-R write, 8× DVD read, 16× CD-R write, 4× CD-RW write | 8× DVD±R (Dual Layer) write, 4× DVD±RW write, 6× DVD± read, 24× CD-R write, 10× CD-RW write | |
| Connections | 2 USB 1.1 | 2 USB 2.0 | |||
| Mini-VGA or DVI | Mini-DVI or DVI | ||||
| 1 FireWire 400 (plus 1 FireWire 800 on 15" and 17") | |||||
| Bluetooth 1.1 | Bluetooth 2.0 | ||||
| Maximum Operating System | Mac OS X 10.5.8 "Leopard" | ||||
Discontinuation
The PowerPC G5, which powers Apple's now-discontinued Power Mac G5 and iMac G5 computers, proved to be too power-hungry and heat-intensive to use in laptops.[10] This, along with the stalling development of the G5, is said to be one of the main reasons for Apple's transition from PowerPC to Intel processors. On January 10, 2006, Apple released its first Intel-based laptop, the 15" MacBook Pro. A 17" version of the MacBook Pro followed on April 24, 2006. The 12" PowerBook G4 and the G4 iBook were discontinued and replaced by the 13.3" MacBook on May 16, 2006, ending the whole PowerBook line. However, a replacement for the 12" subnotebook form factor was not immediately forthcoming; the MacBook Air, released in 2008, served as an indirect replacement while the 13" MacBook Pro released in 2009 is the direct replacement for the 12" PowerBook G4.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs noted during the introduction of the MacBook Pro that Apple wants the word "Mac" in the name of all its Mac hardware products. Subsequently, the trademark name "PowerBook" was retired in early 2006 despite the G4 version still on support.
As of August 28, 2009, the PowerBook G4 stopped supporting the latest version of Mac OS X. Snow Leopard (10.6) requires an Intel processor, meaning that Mac OS X Leopard (10.5) is the highest version of Mac OS X that can be installed on the PowerBook G4.
Timeline of portable Macintoshes
References
- ^ PowerBook G4 400 (Original - Ti) Specs (PowerBook G4, M7952LL/A, PowerBook3,2, M5884, 1854) @ EveryMac.com
- ^ PowerBook G4 500 (Original - Ti) Specs (PowerBook G4, M7710LL/A, PowerBook3,2, M5884, 1854) @ EveryMac.com
- ^ About the PowerBook G4 (15-inch 1.67/1.5GHz) Memory Slot Repair Extension Program
- ^ http://www.apple.com/support/powerbook/displayprogram/
- ^ narcoleptic powerbook cured | knit1, spin1
- ^ What can be done about a "narcoleptic" Powerbook G4? | Answerbag
- ^ java: PowerBook narcolepsy issue hack
- ^ AppleInsider | Apple retail preps for iPhone, 17-inch PBG4 defect, EU deadline
- ^ 17-inch PowerBooks starting to see new vertical-line screen defects? - Engadget
- ^ WWDC 2005 Steve Jobs Keynote
- 15-inch PowerBook G4 Developer Note
- 17-inch PowerBook G4 Developer Note
- Mactracker Detailed information on Apple Macintosh computers.
External links
- Apple - Support - PowerBook G4
- Video of Jobs launching PowerBook G4 Titanium at Macworld 2001
- Video of Jobs launching PowerBook G4 Aluminium at Macworld 2003
- PowerBook G4, EveryMac.com
- 15" Alu Powerbook G4 Narcolepsy Ambient light sensor-sleep issue repair
- Alu G4 Disassembly
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