by , 12:30 PM EDT, October 19th, 2005

Apple announced across the board upgrades to the PowerBook line at a special press event Wednesday. The 15 and 17-inch models received brighter, higher resolution screens and 22 percent better battery life, and an 8x SuperDrive DVD/CD burner is now standard across the PowerBook line.

The 15-inch PowerBook sports a 1440x960 resolution display, and the 17-inch model now has a 1680x1050 display. Apple claims the new displays are 46 percent brighter than previous models.

Both PowerBooks include a 1.67GHz G4 processor, 512MB RAM (up to 2GB), Gigabit ethernet, USB 2.0, FireWire 400 and 800, Bluetooth, Airport Extreme, and an ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 graphics card with 128MB RAM. The 15-inch model ships with an 80GB 5400 RPM hard drive, and the 17-inch model includes a 120GB 5400 RRM hard drive.

The new models are available from the Apple Store now, and retail at US$1,999 for the 15-inch model, and $2,499 for the 17-inch model. The price for the 12-inch model has also been lowered to $1,499.

[Update: This story has been updated with additional information from Apple; original source, Engadget]