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Stephan Somogyi
Apple's new PowerBook: A subnote with style

Stephan Somogyi
Contributor, AnchorDesk
Wednesday, March 26, 2003
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As a resolute iBook user who's been grousing for the better part of two years about wanting a professional-grade, subnotebook-sized laptop from Apple, the new aluminum-cased 12-inch PowerBook G4 (which I will henceforth refer to as the "AlBook12") hits the spot nicely. It provides a nice performance boost compared to my trusty iBook, but also brings with it a number of welcome tweaks. It is not, however, perfect.

Equipped with an 867MHz G4 processor, a 1024x768 pixel screen, and weighing in at a scant 4.6 lbs, the AlBook12 is, in fact, a contender. It's slightly smaller in all dimensions than the iBook, and surpasses its performance in all dimensions as well. Bluetooth support is built-in, as is an Nvidia GeForce4 420 Go graphics controller with enough oomph for both OS X's Quartz Extreme graphics technology and a second external display.

Unlike the iBook, the AlBook12 has a slot-loading optical drive, and can even be outfitted with a SuperDrive, which seems useful for conscientious road warriors who back up their data even when on the road.

WIRELESS NETWORKING is critical for me. One of the reasons I've been such an iBook booster--and a detractor of the titanium-clad PowerBook (aka the "TiBook")--is that the putatively "professional" PowerBook has provably poor 802.11b performance.

Which is why I'm pleased to report that the AlBook12's wireless reception is significantly better than the TiBook's. The new PowerBook's antennas are up in the screen where they do some good and not down in the base, where they don't. Judging by the signal-strength bars in the menu bar (admittedly, a somewhat dubious metric), the AlBook12's reception is only slightly weaker than the iBook's.

For those who don't want wireless networking, purchasing the inexpensive, $99 AirPort Extreme card is optional. Fence-sitters will find that installing the card is a snap.

I'd be remiss if I didn't point out that the AlBook12 uses a combo 802.11b/802.11g card, not just the plebeian 802.11b. I'll save my 802.11g experiences for another column, but suffice it to say that I've been able to connect to plenty of 802.11b access points with the AlBook12 sans problems, which speaks well for its backward compatibility. Throughput between the AlBook12 and my AirPort Extreme base station, which also supports both 802.11 flavors, is great, thanks to 802.11g's 54Mbps bandwidth.

Keyboard quality is also important to me, given the amount of time I spend hammering away every day. Unlike the iBook's keyboard, which had an unsettling tendency to flex under concerted digital assault, the AlBook12's feels solid. The keys themselves have good texture and just the right amount of mass. In short: full points awarded.

Another example of Apple not wanting to peeve its existing customers unnecessarily: The AlBook12's power adapter plug is compatible with the plugs on the preceding generation of PowerBooks. Which means that my investments in an extra power supply and a car/airplane adapter aren't lost. This may seem trivial to the stationary demographic. But for those of us who travel frequently, this is notable.

THAT SAID, I do have some quibbles about the AlBook12's design.

My trusty iBook is a hardy computer, designed for schoolkid-level abuse. Mine has comported itself well, through many thousands of flight miles in my backpack, with the concomitant x-rayings, removals from bag, reinsertions in bag, ad infinitum.

By contrast, I found the AlBook12 to be a bit more sensitive to its environment. Its textured shell (which Apple tells me is harder than plain old unanodized aluminum) is easy to grip. The downside is that the rough texture acts like sand paper on softer surfaces, such as the rubberized coating inside my messenger bag. Not a huge deal, and easily cleaned up with a damp cloth, but seeing dark smudges on the silver surface is aesthetically dissonant.

I've seen reports on some Mac sites about problems with overall fit and finish. The first AlBook12 I tested was clearly a very early production unit, and I didn't hold that against it. The second one I tested is just better made overall and speaks well of Apple's attention to detail. The only unfortunate aspect of this one is that I, like apparently a few others, have had a screw at the bottom of the screen pop out while the clamshell was closed. This was alarming, and gouged the plastic trim around the keyboard area before I could fix it.

Fortunately, a colleague had an appropriately sized hex driver so I could screw it back in. Issues like this get resolved over time, as Apple learns about them, but this experience has made me a little bit leery about being the first kid on my block with a new model machine.

Heat is another issue. The left side of the laptop--right where one rests one's left hand--gets mighty toasty. So much so that it causes said southpaw to sweat, leaving saline residue on the machine's otherwise pretty surface. And, no, it's not just me: I've talked to a number of folks who've had this same experience.

The heat output isn't enough to cause scalding, but it can get uncomfortable at times. I've found that using wired Ethernet rather than the wireless connection can increase the case temperature further, so clearly it's not just the G4 generating all those BTUs.

ONE NOTABLE disappointment is the AlBook12's battery life. Using OS X 10.2.4, my machine manages about 2.5 hours on battery power--not particularly impressive. I'm told this problem may be related to the OS version and that future releases may well address it. My iBook has a battery life of about 4.5 hours; that's the target Apple should be shooting for with this new laptop.

Another bummer: the limited RAM expandability. There's only one DIMM slot available. According to my contacts, the highest density single DIMM at present is 512MB. Which means that the Crucial half-Gig DIMM that I stuck inside this AlBook12 to get it to its 640MB max is as good as it gets for now. If the machine had a second DIMM slot, I could get beyond that, but for the moment I'm stuck. I'm told, however, that Crucial expects 1GB DIMMs around mid-year, and Apple assured me at a briefing during Macworld San Francisco that such DIMMs will work in the AlBook12's DIMM slot once available.

Other critics have opined that the new 12-inch PowerBook could use an L3 cache, a PC Card slot, and a DVI connector. I beg to disagree.

In a world where Newton's Third Law doesn't apply, we might be able to get such an L3 cache; in this world, it would likely mean more heat and even less battery life. I honestly don't know where a PC Card slot would go in the AlBook12 and what would have to be taken out or moved to accommodate it. I occasionally hanker for a DVI connector, but I mainly use the AlBook12's video-out for presentations, anyway, so all I've needed so far is the (supplied) VGA adapter. I wouldn't want to forfeit form factor for additional features, despite a deep desire for more pixels on this screen.

Bottom line: Those who want desktop replacements should get a bigger, more feature-endowed PowerBook. Those who want a real PowerBook and who simultaneously care about size, weight, mobility, and wireless reception, will be well-served by the AlBook12, despite its current flaws.

If Apple remains consistent with past behavior, it will fix many of these problems in future revisions of the AlBook12. But judging by the effervescence with which Apple describes its sales of this new PowerBook, I feel thoroughly vindicated that there clearly is demand for a compact-yet-capable PowerBook.

By day Stephan Somogyi is the director of products at PGP Corporation. The opinions expressed in his columns are his, and his alone.

If you were shopping for a notebook, would you consider the 12-inch PowerBook? Why? Why not? TalkBack to me !

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