At long last, Apple today announced new iBooks sporting PowerPC G4 processors, in both 12-inch and 14-inch configurations. These new iBooks offer optional AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth, feature DDR memory and slot-load Combo (DVD-ROM/CD-RW) drives, and use ATI Mobility Radeon 9200 based AGP 4X graphics processors. In addition, USB 2.0 is standard on all models. The new iBooks ship with Mac OS X 10.3 "Panther", keeping them up-to-date in that department as well. According to Apple:
The new 12- and 14-inch iBooks have been completely re-engineered based on the high performance PowerPC G4 processor and DDR memory architecture providing improved speed, efficiency and overall system performance. Each iBook provides incredible graphics performance with ATI Mobility Radeon 9200 graphics with 32MB of dedicated DDR memory and AGP 4X for gaming and watching DVD movies at the highest quality. Outfitted with its hallmark durable, sleek polycarbonate plastic enclosure and weighing as little as 4.9 pounds, iBook notebooks are the ideal mixture of form and function designed with consumers and education customers in mind. The new iBook G4 provides up to six hours of battery life for all-day mobile use in the classroom or on the road.
?2003 is the ?year of the notebook? and Apple has the industry?s best notebook lineup, which has resulted in Appleis mix of notebooks growing to double the industry average,? said Philip Schiller, Apple?s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. ?The new iBooks bring powerful G4 processors and slot-load Combo drives into the most affordably priced G4 notebooks ever, just in time for the holiday season.?
Perfect for today?s digital lifestyle, every new iBook also includes iLife?, Apple?s integrated suite of award-winning digital lifestyle applications that features the latest versions of iPhoto?, iMovie? and iDVD? and iTunes?. iLife is the only integrated suite to include all of the four applications required for today?s ?digital lifestyle??digital music, photography, moviemaking and DVD creation?and is the first product to offer the benefits of seamlessly integrating them.
Pricing & Availability
The new iBook with a 12-inch display is available immediately, and the new iBook models with a 14-inch display are expected to be available next week through the Apple Store, Apple?s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers in three standard configurations.The 800 MHz PowerPC G4 iBook, for a suggested retail price of US$1,099 includes:
- a crisp 12.1-inch (diagonal) active-matrix TFT display;
- 256MB DDR SDRAM;
- a 30GB Ultra ATA hard drive;
- two USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 400, VGA video out, S-video and composite video out support;
- up to 6 hours of battery life; and
- a slot-load Combo (DVD-ROM/CD-RW) drive.
The 933 MHz PowerPC G4 iBook, for a suggested retail price of US$1,299 includes:
- a crisp 14.1-inch (diagonal) active-matrix TFT display;
- 256MB DDR SDRAM;
- a 40GB Ultra ATA hard drive;
- two USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 400, VGA video out, S-video and composite video out support;
- up to 6 hours of battery life; and
- a slot-load Combo (DVD-ROM/CD-RW) drive.
The 1.0 GHz PowerPC G4 iBook, for a suggested retail price of US$1,499 includes:
- a brilliant 14.1-inch (diagonal) active-matrix TFT display;
- 256MB SDRAM;
- a 60GB Ultra ATA hard drive;
- two USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 400, VGA video out, S-video and composite video out support;
- up to 6 hours of battery life; and
- a slot-load Combo (DVD-ROM/CD-RW) drive.
Additional build-to-order options for the new iBook line include the ability to upgrade to up to 640MB of DDR SDRAM, a 40GB or 60GB Ultra ATA/100 hard drive 4200-rpm performance, internal Bluetooth module, AirPort Extreme Base Station, AirPort Extreme Card and the AppleCare? Protection Plan.