Apple Refreshes Power Mac, PowerBook

Apple on Wednesday refreshed both its PowerBook and Power Mac lines, adding SuperDrives and high-resolution displays to its popular laptops and dual-core G5 processors to its top-of-the-line desktop system.

It now appears all but certain that the PowerBook will not receive the boost to G5 chips that Steve Jobs promised at Macworld in 2004. Many analysts expect the PowerBook line to be one of the first to receive Pentium chips when Apple makes its transition to Intel processors starting next year.

The new PowerBooks will be capable of up to 36 percent higher resolution and will be up to 46 percent brighter, Apple said. Battery life has also been extended by one hour as well.

All models include Bluetooth and 802.11g wireless capability, a scrolling trackpad, and Mac OS X Tiger with iLife '05.

For its Power Mac line, Apple has moved the architecture to G5 dual-core processors. The Power Mac Dual will include a single dual core processor, and the PowerMac Quad, available in early November, will have two dual-core chips.

In Apple tests, processor-intensive programs ran up to 50 to 70 percent faster on the PowerMac Quad than the dual processor 2.7GHz version of the Power Mac G5.

The systems will be capable of handling up to 16GB of RAM and feature two ethernet ports. Also included are one FireWire 800 port, two FireWire 400 ports, four USB 2.0 ports, two USB 1.1 ports, optical and digital audio input and output, and built-in support for AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth.

Processor speeds of 2.0 and 2.3GHz will be available in the single chip systems, and 2.5Ghz in the dual-chip model.

Pricing for the PowerBooks will be $1,499, $1,999 and $2,499 USD for the 12-, 15- and 17-inch models. For Power Macs, the 2.0GHz and 2.3GHz single chip dual-cores will retail for $1,999 and $2,499 USD, while the dual chip PowerMac Quad will retail for $3,299 USD.