Labs

There are five PowerBooks in Apple's professional laptop range: two 12in models with processor speeds of 1.5GHz and either a Combo drive or an 8x SuperDrive; two 15in models with speeds of 1.5GHz and 1.67GHz respectively; and a 17in 1.67GHz model.

The two 12in models have 512MB of RAM and an Nvidia GeForce FX Go5200 with 64MB of RAM. The Combo and SuperDrive models have 60GB and 80GB Ultra ATA hard drives respectively.

The two 15in PowerBooks have 512MB of RAM plus one spare slot (the 12in models have just one memory slot), an 80GB hard drive, an ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 graphics chip with 64MB RAM, and either a Combo drive or SuperDrive. The graphics card can be upgraded to 128MB, giving it the ability to drive Apple's 30in Cinema Display. The 17in PowerBook has a 1.67GHz chip, 512MB of RAM, a 100GB hard drive, an ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 graphics chip with 128MB of RAM, and an 8x SuperDrive.

The 12in models have 100Mbits/sec Ethernet, while the 15in and 17in models have the gigabit variety.

All five PowerBooks come with built-in 54Mbits/sec AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth 2, as well as 56K V.92 modems. The two 12in PowerBooks have mini DVI ports, while the 15in and 17in

ADVERTISEMENT

models have full-size DVI. All models have two USB 2 ports and one FireWire 400 port; the 15in and 17in models also boast a FireWire 800 port, PC card slots and a backlit keyboard with ambient light sensor.

The much-hailed features of the current crop of PowerBooks are the new trackpads, which enable you to use two fingers to scroll around documents, and Sudden Motion Sensor technology to protect the contents of the hard disk if you drop the laptop.

The choice of whether to go for an iBook or a PowerBook is easier than ever. If you want a large, high-resolution portable, it's a no-brainer: a PowerBook is a must. There's no real contest between the 14in iBook and the 15in PowerBooks, as the latter has a 1280 x 854 pixel widescreen display. However, if your main concern is portability, you have to choose between the 12in PowerBook and the 12in iBook. Although there's a price difference of £350 between the cheapest iBook and the cheapest PowerBook, it's accounted for by a faster processor, larger hard drive, higher RAM allocation, better graphics chip and DVI output.

Choosing which of the PowerBooks to go for is trickier. Unless your PowerBook is your only Mac and you need to burn DVDs, you can safely ignore the SuperDrive models. If portability is key, the 12in Combo PowerBook is an ideal choice. However, if you intend using your PowerBook for deskbound work or presentations, the 15in models' higher resolution displays and full-size DVI output make them more suitable for connecting to external monitors and projectors.

We're hard pushed to see the merits of a 17in portable. It's well specified, but very big and heavy, and you pay a premium for the larger screen. We'd rather buy a 15in model and spend the savings on upgrading graphics, RAM and hard drive.