PowerBooks updated by Apple

Apple Computer on Monday updated its PowerBook line with faster G4 processors, dropped prices on all of its laptop models and added two new patent-pending technologies: a “scrolling” TrackPad, and a Sudden Motion Sensor that works to stop hard-drive damage if the laptop is accidentally dropped.

But PowerBook fans won’t see something many had hoped for: a G5 processor in the new lineup.

As is often the case, Apple officials declined to talk about the prospect of a PowerBook G5 today. But Dave Russell, senior director for portables and wireless at the company, reiterated comments made earlier this month that squeezing a G5 chip into a portable is “the mother of all thermal issues” for Apple. “It’s that difficult,” he said.

Russell and David Moody, vice president of worldwide Macintosh products marketing, were more forthcoming about the changes made to the company’s overall line of professional laptops.

The top-end 17-in. PowerBook now sports a speedier G4 processor that clocks in at 1.67 GHz, marginally faster than the 1.5-GHz model it replaces. Apple’s midrange 15-in. models now come with either the 1.5-GHz G4 chip or the faster 1.67-GHz processor as a build-to-order option. The entry-model 12-in. PowerBook now sports the 1.5-GHz chip as well.

All three models saw price cuts of $100 and got faster hard drives holding up to 100GB of data and spinning at 5,400 rpm — faster than the standard 4,200-rpm drives used in most laptops. All PowerBooks now come with 512MB of RAM and, as in the last iteration, AirPort Extreme cards for 802.11g Wi-Fi networking.

The 15- and 17-in. models come with ATI Technologies’s Mobility Radeon 9700 video card, with as much as 128MB of video RAM available as an option on its 15-in. line. The 128MB card is standard on the 17-in. PowerBook and comes with Dual Link DVI, which allows that laptop to be used with the company’s 30-in. Apple Cinema Display. (The 12-in. PowerBook continues with the Nvidia card with 64MB of VRAM.) And the lineup now includes a faster 8X SuperDrive that burns DVDs and CDs, and Bluetooth 2.0 wireless networking.

Prices for the revised PowerBooks range from $1,499 for the 12-in. version to $2,699 for the top-of-the-line model.

“What we’ve done is upgraded the configuration and pricing in the PowerBook G4 line,” said Moody. “Faster processor, faster hard drives and lower prices, plus the iLife ’05 application suite. For creative professionals, these are an essential new product.”

The iLife suite is a set of applications Apple unveiled earlier this month for working with music, photos and digital video.

In a statement, Apple touted its scrolling TrackPad, which allows users to more easily move through long Web pages or across large photographs by using two fingers instead of one to move the cursor. It also unveiled its new Sudden Motion Sensor (SMS) technology, “which integrates a triaxis accelerometer to help protect a spinning hard drive if the notebook is accidentally dropped,” according to Apple.

Russell was particularly keen to talk up the SMS technology.

“That is a triaxis accelerometer that senses sudden movement in all three physical dimensions — x, y and z axis,” he said in an interview. “It detects when the PowerBook has been dropped, and in less time than it takes to be jerked off the table — and before it hits the floor — it commands the hard drive to park and lock the read-write heads off the [hard drive] platter into a safety zone. So by the time it hits the floor, the heads aren’t going to crash into the platter.

“Then as soon as it has stabilized, everything returns to normal,” he said.

“In just a fraction of second, the hard drive is protected,” said Moody. “There’s no [user interface]. It just works seamlessly.”

Russell stressed that the sensor is built onto the logic board of the PowerBooks, meaning it will work with any hard-drive vendor Apple partners with.

He and Moody also pointed to the PowerBooks’ new scrolling TrackPad technology, with Russell calling it “a terrific new advance … [and] one of the most intuitive things I’ve seen. There’s no learning curve.”

Documents or photos can then be easily scrolled through with it, Russell said. “It looks just like the TrackPad we’ve used all along,” he said. “I’ve got to tell you, it’s something I’ve been using, and it’s already something I can’t live without.”

Apple also updated the illuminated keyboards that come on the 15- and 17-in. models, and Russell said that the new keyboards are up to 10 times brighter. “It works much better in low-light conditions,” he said. “The first [such keyboard] was a real innovation. This uses a completely different technology than we had in the past. It’s much more efficient technology.”

Despite the updated components and processors, the PowerBook’s battery life remains unchanged, Moody said. Apple officially estimates five hours of use for the 12-in. model, and four and half hours of battery life on the larger PowerBooks. In real-world use, however, the battery life is shorter, especially if wireless networking or Bluetooth technology is being used.

Russell touted Apple’s decision to implement Bluetooth 2.0 on the new PowerBooks.

“Apple is the first company to implement Bluetooth 2.0, [which] runs up to three times faster than Bluetooth 1.x,” he said. “Apple has now jump-started the Bluetooth industry, much as we did with USB, FireWire and a whole new category of devices.”

Asked about the decision to go with the faster 5,400-rpm hard drives across the PowerBook line, Russell said the goal is to help users move data more quickly — especially when it comes to data as large as video files.

According to Apple, all three models are available for purchase today.