Home > Consumer Reviews > Apple Powerbook Laptop (400-MHz PowerPC G4, 128 MB RAM, 10 GB hard drive)

I have now had my PowerBook G4 667 MHz, 1024 RAM (yes - maxed out!) 48 GB HD, etc. etc. And the etc refers to the gigabit eithernet (included), built in AirPort Card (included), long life battery and the excellent quality 15.2" wide screen monitor we expect from Apple. The system is excellent - and well worth the price. The new graphics card is excellent for gaming with it's DDR RAM. This is an excellent choice for the professional in any profession. There is no PC notebook that compare to it. I have had to call Apple support a couple of times and the response was quick and they are able to answer any questions I had. I am very impressed! Good Work Apple - Keep it UP.

Being in the I.T /I.S business for 2 years now I've delt with many laptops but all of them Windows based, with the exception of the thinkpad series, everything else drove me nuts, windows locking up, having to disconnect the battery and the AC to restart, battery life only lasting about 2- 2.5 hours before dying.
And then I used this G4 laptop. 3.5-4 hours per battery, no show stopping operating system errors, Unix based OS so I can have a useful command line interface that gets things done. And the best screen on a laptop to date. There are some MINOR issues that I can nitpick, ethernet cables that have those boots over the release prong dont really work too well, the monitor hinge covers the area where you would stick your finger to depress it, I had to depress it with a pen, until I ripped the rubber boot off, since then its been fine. The machine AND the power adapter get pretty toasty, sit the machine literally on your lap for about 2-3 hours and it will get uncomfortable, on a table it doesn't matter. Also I'm rapidly getting myself into OSX 10.1.1 and my laptop DID NOT have a copy of the developer tools in it, apparently if you purchase OSX retail the box will include the tools, I find that to be silly, the download is gonna weight in at 130mb, not fun. Other then those little things, this laptop is amazing.

What a mistake that would have been! First off this computer is absolutly beautiful and completely functional in its design. I don't feel confined to a desk in the least. My PowerBook fits comfortly in my lap, the keyboard is large and the keys have a solid springy resistantance. The display is amazing! It doesn't look like anything else I have seen out there. Widesceen, clear, sharp and easy on the eyes. I don't feel any eyestrain in the least. OS X (10) is so fluid, beautiful, sparklely and truely easy to use. iTunes and iMovie 2 do not disappoint. Voice control that will make you want to name your computer Hal. The new lower price and the free double RAM really makes this hard to pass up. Did I mention the DVD player? Apple has out done themselves with this machine. I cannot recomend this notebook highly enough.

This Powerbook is awesome and it is a huge jump over the previous 400/500 series Powerbooks. First off, the new video card makes DVD's and games run very smooth, I've never once experienced a glitch. Second, I do believe this runs a bit cooler too b/c of the minor vent changes. Firewire runs at a better speed than the rev. 1 pb and not to mention the 33mhz bus boost and faster processor too. I haven't had a crash with OSX and run exclusively on it including photoshop6/Illustrator 9. AND the new poweradapter is awesome, you'll have to see it. Last, the ditch of the second option for the Apple/Command Key is great, no more offensive hand gestures. As with the previous build, it's got a titanium exterior, lightweight, long batterylife, yadda yadda yadda...

Don't buy this computer until they start shipping them with internal cd and/or DVD burners! yes, you can always add an external one to it, but why waste your money on something that will soon be intigrated with the computer?! If you really need a laptop, buy the ibook instead. It might be a tad slower but at least you can back up your data without having to buy anything axtra (except maybe a CD).